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But Etzel Send a noteboard - 01/10/2009 04:19:42 PM
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.


It's not really understandable then - if you compare those two lines I mentioned from the two Prophecies - that the degree of uncertainty is apparently completely similar before and after TG, as if TG actually isn't that important for the future of the world. Doesn't seem right to me.

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.


Still, it's possible for characters to figure out the meaning of Prophecies. That means if Nicola's Foretelling would be interpreted correctly, the Light could basically already celebrate, because they will win anyway according to the Prophecy (that's not even stated in the Prophecies of the Dragons, of course).

It's particular that Nicola's Foretelling is so often interpreted in a way that it has to play after TG, although almost all other Prophecies are naturally assumed to play before or during TG (e.g. no one argues that Berelain will fall for her man in white after TG or that the Seanchan will attack the WT after TG). IMO, the reason why it's different in the case of Nicola's foretelling is just the mention of "the great battle" and Rand being "dead but alive", though both could very well happen before TG like almost all other scenes from Prophecies. Considering this it is at least more likely that it will happen before TG than after TG, because usually Prophecies aren't about the time after TG.
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