Re: What were your biggest "WTF?" moments? - Edit 1
Before modification by RugbyPlayingAshaman at 24/02/2010 08:56:24 PM
IIRC We don't know if you need a sa'angreal for the weave. Lews Therin, for example, created a ward around the Dark One and the Forsaken without using one and that is much more powerful of an effect than what he used in the Stone. All we know is that Rand had access to Callandor, and used it to craft the weave.
It says in the description that there are so many flows of power used to make that thing that Rand cannot even "begin to count" them. The description of the feeling of power used and the way Callandor is glowing incredibly brightly also suggests that a huge amount of power was used to make it. The only other time Rand considers a weave like this is when facing the Seanchan WITH Callandor, again implying that a sa'angreal is required.
All in all, it seems likely that Rand alone cannot do what he did here. Certainly it could probably be done in links with several others, but somekind of power boost is surely needed.
All in all, it seems likely that Rand alone cannot do what he did here. Certainly it could probably be done in links with several others, but somekind of power boost is surely needed.
That implies that the effect required very complex combinations of flows to generate, not that it required an immense amount of Power. Egwene, Elayne and other Aes Sedai are often amazed at how complex Nynaeve's methods of Healing can be, but Nynaeve rarely works at her utmost potential when Healing someone.
There is the additional possibility that it is the complexity of the weave that causes Callandor to glow brightly, not the amount of Power he is channeling through it. And my point was that if massive amounts of Power was necessary, this would have been a better candidate for dealing a massive blow to the Shadow versus balefiring two Forsaken and thinking of doing the same to the Seanchan. It is quite convenient that the feat that would have neutralized the Shadow's forces on a massive level wasn't duplicated when Rand had access to enough saidin to destroy half the world, while he remembers how to weave something that destroys reality and human beings.
BTW. How do you know LTT did not use a sa'angreal at the sealing? Not that it necessary matters here. Placing the seals could well have been a question of skill/delicate channeling rather than strength.
We know he explicity did not use Callandor because this was left behind, nor did he have access to the Choedan Kal, and no sa'angreal was mentioned so I think it implies that this was a feat using male channelers using their expertise rather than items of the Power. In all likelihood, it had more to do with making sure whatever dimension they were trying to affect was centered on the cuendillar seals versus massive flows of the One Power. If generating this effect required massive amounts of the Power woven in a certain way, Lews Therin would have supported Latra Posae's plan - instead he said it was too dangerous to use that much of the Power. The implication is that the solition didn't require massive amounts - it required knowledge and skill. This is probably why the debate against Lews Therins' own plan centered around the danger of not placing the wards in the right place, rather than the methodology itself.