"Again the seed slays ancient wrong, before the Great Lord comes. Now the Great Lord comes."
The first verse most likely refers to the Seanchan attack on the WT, which Ishy certainly foresaw. TG will begin sometime after the attack, because then the DO will come.
In my view Nicola's foretelling of "a great battle done" also refers most likely to the Seanchan attack on the WT.
The famous Nicola foretelling was:
"The lion sword, the dedicated spear, she who sees beyond. Three on the boat, and he who is dead yet lives. The great battle done, but the world not done with battle. The land divided by the return, and the guardians balance the servants. The future teeters on the edge of a blade."
I think this entire prophecy is about events following the Last Battle. "The great battle done" is referencing Tarmon Gai'don, not the Seanchan attack on the WT. It suggests that any unity that is achieved will dissolve shortly after TG - the land is "divided by the return" and the Asha'man and Aes Sedai have to work things out. Just because TG has been won doesn't mean that everything will be perfect.
Especially the last line in the Prophecy states that the future of the world is still undecided, although it's precisely the point of TG to decide the future. Therefore it makes no sense that TG is done, won by the Light, and the future still teeters on the edge of a blade.
If you compare it to another Prophecy which clearly deals with a time before TG, namely the one in the beginning of CoT: "And it shall come to pass, in the days when the Dark Hunt rides, when the right hand falters and the left hand strays, that mankind shall come to the Crossroads of Twilight and all that is, all that was, and all that will be shall balance on the point of a sword , while the winds of the Shadow grow", you'll see that almost the same image is used for the unknown future before TG here.
Besides that, as far as I know no other Prophecy - especially none by Nicola - deals with the time after TG that casually, basically taking for granted that TG will of course be won. Also considering the intention of RJ by writing these Prophecies to give a little glimpse on the plot, it would be totally anomalous to invent one Prophecy which clearly states to the readers and the characters that the Light will win TG.
Therefore actually nothing really suggests that Nicola's Prophecy deals with a time after TG, and it would be quite strange, because the general rule is that Prophecies deal with a time before or during TG.
It absolutely makes sense that the future is still uncertain after TG. Accepting the fact that the Light will obviously win the Last Battle, there will be a number of issues of authority to reconcile following victory at TG with Rand no longer at the helm - not to mention the threat of the Seanchan once Rand's coming truce with them is over.
I don't think it's fair to argue what RJ's intent is with prophecy as a plot device. We as readers all know that the Light will win TG, and in no way does Nicola's foretelling indicate to the characters that winning the Last Battle is a given, considering those who have heard it don't even believe it to be authentic. Part of the reason this prophecy attracts so much attention is precisely because it seems to reference a time after TG; Nicola doesn't need to have had multiple foretellings about the time after the Last Battle for this one to be about a post-TG period.
This message last edited by Corwin on 30/09/2009 at 09:19:00 PM
Dark Phrophecy would really like Sidious' input
- 30/09/2009 03:18:21 PM
1004 Views
Yes
- 30/09/2009 03:34:05 PM
741 Views
Wasn't it The Great Battle done? *NM*
- 30/09/2009 04:28:54 PM
228 Views
Yes...
- 30/09/2009 04:42:09 PM
687 Views
I agree with fionwe1987. IMO that was a reference to Fel & Rand's discussion earlier about TG.
- 01/10/2009 05:21:16 AM
633 Views
There also is another Dream...
- 01/10/2009 04:07:29 PM
557 Views
Was that cited as a Dream, or one of those she thinks are just nightmares? Because it can't happen.
- 02/10/2009 01:38:47 AM
564 Views
I disagree
- 30/09/2009 05:58:24 PM
740 Views
Well...
- 30/09/2009 06:41:04 PM
709 Views
*NM*