would be a rather surprising twist! I like the idea, and I am getting increasingly confused about Mat's exact role/purpose in the Last Battle. It seems like Perrin is taking over some of the military roles I expected Mat to assume, and we still have no clue how the Horn is going to figure in.

If Falme wasn't totally unique and was more of a foreshadowing then it is possible that for the Heroes to be useful, for the Horn to work, then Rand, the banner, the bannerman (Perrin), and the "trumpeter" (Mat) all need to be physically present to lead the battle. Will the three of them move together to the Last Battle, or will there be some weird serendipitous convergence at the right moment, when Mat brings the Seanchan, Perrin rallies the forces of Merrilor, and Rand prepares to confront Moridin or something?

Still, I am a little skeptical that Mat will become the Seanchan with the sword. First, Mat hates being anyone but himself. Second, he has never carried a sword. Third, I thought it was pretty clear in the dream that the Seanchan with the sword was female, but I could be wrong about that.

LoialT