Rand could see Asmo through the window from his location in the Caemlyn Palace as well, before Asmo walked away to get wine. It's also explicitely told in the books that Slayer spies on people. When Slayer saw that Asmo went in a certain direction, he jumbed there via TAR (as said, Slayer most likely knows the Palace quite well) and had the luck that Asmo apparently opened the first door on his way. Thus Slayer got the perfect opportunity to kill Asmo, especially since the Palace was largely deserted at this time. If Asmo wouldn't have opened the door, Slayer had simply waited for another chance to get Asmo.
In my view that makes more sense than e.g. the idea that Graendal randomly wandered in this part of the Palace for some obscure reason and without any disguise.
He was spying on him. Had the time/opportunity to jump into the dream world...run down the hall....get back out of the dreamworld....and Asmodean should have picked door number three. So then the question comes around to who commissioned Slayer to act?
That most likely Graendal sent Slayer to kill Asmo, because Asmo knew of Graendal's lair. She also ordered him to take the corpse, because she didn't want any traces pointing to her and probably liked the idea that Rand would wounder about Asmo's fate. This way she wouldn't risk her own life going near Rand & Co. It would also explain, why she is certain that Asmo is dead.
Otherwise it might have been an order by Lanfear, in case of her death.
As per Graendal wandering around the Palace herself. Well we know from this very book that she had a whole scheme brewing with Rhavin, Sammael, and Lanfear so she very well could have been in the palace. Why didn't she have a disguise? Well she just witnessed Rhavin's smack-down with Rand. She knew that there was a female channeler in the Palace, and that any channeling remotely near Rand would alert him of something going on. Would you risk disguising yourself?
Rahvin's death was at least a few hours ago. No reason for Graendal to stay that long in this part of the Palace. Besides that, one can invert weaves like a Mask of Mirrors. Plus, if Graendal had been such afraid to channel, your belief that Graendal used the One Power to kill Asmo, doesn't make much sense to me.
There are just a few things for Slayer that just don't add up. Not that I really consider author-speak canon, but RJ said that we knew the character who killed Asmodean. And that we knew of that character by that book. We had no idea who "slayer" was, and for all we knew, he was dead after Perrin shot him. We had no idea he was the shadow's gun-for-hire.
If one puts the clues from EotW till TFoH together (especially of course read TSR), as RJ said is necessary to figure the killer out, it becomes clear who or what Slayer is. Afer all, Slayer e.g. also hunts the renegade Fain, and he is basically described as an assassin in the Dark Prophecy, which also fits his obvious abilities when he battles Perrin in TAR.
And on a side note, it's a bit ironic that you tend to doubt Graendal's death, but think that readers had to believe that Slayer was definitely dead after Perrin shot him in the chest (explicitely not in the heart), although it was actually said that he fled from the Two Rivers on his horse. Slayer was just wounded.
Even Fain comments in the end of TSR that Slayer is likely still alive.
Considering the built-up for Slayer since book 1, it was clear that he didn't already die in TSR. And if one really needed an additional little clue for this, Slayer is mentioned in the beginning of LoC stalking in TAR.
In any case, if I'm right the killer was obvious to RJ, because he invented Slayer as an assassin-character and used him in previous assassination scenes. On the other hand, it's possible that many missed those clues, like BS said that he wouldn't have figured it out on his own.
And then the MO for Slayer isn't the same as his typical. Asmodean disappeared without a trace. No blood, no body, no harp...nothing. Yes, you could say that Slayer was ordered to not leave any evidence, but again, to what conclusion? The Forsaken who ordered the hit wanted it to look like a mystery? Oddly enough, I see the Forsaken making an example of anyone who betrayed them, let alone anyone who was weak. The example of this type of hit, which Slayer did do, would be the two Black Ajah sisters in the Stone of Tear. I mean, if the Forsaken wanted to really cause Rand issues, they could have rigged it so that the whole world found out that Rand's bard was the Forsaken Asmodean. That would have caused *major* issues with his allies. Instead, not a peep out of anyone...and we've seen each and every Forsaken who is still alive since then. The only bit of whatever that we have seen is that Graendal had her lips sealed when Sammael brought it up.
I explained that above.
This message last edited by Etzel on 23/03/2010 at 09:34:57 AM
Intuitively obvious, my dear Watson
22/03/2010 01:53:54 AM
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The best explanation for the "intuitively obvious"-comment is...
22/03/2010 09:41:32 AM
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So again...how would Slayer know he was in the hallway?
22/03/2010 03:18:51 PM
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I think Slayer spied on Asmo
22/03/2010 03:45:20 PM
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I agree. Slayer is the most intuitively obvious candidate. *NM*
22/03/2010 06:29:07 PM
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Slayer....the book4 minor villian? *NM*
22/03/2010 06:34:52 PM
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Slayer actually was a major villian in TSR.
23/03/2010 09:11:39 AM
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Re: Slayer actually was a major villian in TSR.
28/03/2010 07:16:59 PM
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In my view, Graendal might have sent Slayer, which would explain her knowledge. *NM*
29/03/2010 09:45:14 AM
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As far as I'm concerned...
25/03/2010 06:42:53 AM
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The problem is that people don't read the books or at least ignore what is said about Slayer...
25/03/2010 09:41:09 AM
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Correction...
25/03/2010 05:22:46 PM
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So, basically...
25/03/2010 05:50:42 PM
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The clues are there?
25/03/2010 06:29:16 PM
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Re: The clues are there?
26/03/2010 12:51:43 AM
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He wasn't being insulting, I don't think.
26/03/2010 02:16:26 AM
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well, RJ was a nuclear engineer. 'Nuff said about obviousness, huh?
26/03/2010 04:38:00 AM
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Apparently...
26/03/2010 08:58:32 AM
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No it isn't.
26/03/2010 05:43:02 PM
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You don't understand...
27/03/2010 09:11:35 AM
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Re: You don't understand...
27/03/2010 05:23:35 PM
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Both merged into one being
29/03/2010 09:43:47 AM
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Not what I asked.
29/03/2010 06:10:42 PM
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If he couldn't do this...
29/03/2010 06:59:16 PM
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Re: If he couldn't do this...
29/03/2010 07:46:39 PM
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That Basel Gill comparison just silly...
29/03/2010 08:49:19 PM
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I've asked you only one question, repeatedly.
30/03/2010 12:34:44 AM
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Yeah, and I repeatedly tried to show you the clues...
30/03/2010 09:17:59 AM
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You have never provided anything even resembling evidence.
30/03/2010 08:20:54 PM
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Dude
30/03/2010 09:49:05 PM
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You know what's really embarrassing?
30/03/2010 10:28:38 PM
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One last time...
31/03/2010 09:18:01 AM
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Egwene did it though
09/04/2010 02:26:10 AM
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Not before Lord of Chaos she didn't.
09/04/2010 08:03:12 AM
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Rand does it in the end of TFoH, though, shortly before Asmo's death. *NM*
09/04/2010 08:34:23 AM
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But we don't actually see that
09/04/2010 12:23:37 PM
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But why would he return to his starting point, makes no sense.
09/04/2010 12:44:21 PM
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by your argument Rand should have re-entered the waking world outside to join that battle
09/04/2010 07:58:26 PM
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A question on balefire/2 servants
24/03/2010 04:31:49 PM
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Re: A question on balefire/2 servants
24/03/2010 05:03:32 PM
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First rule of balefire:
25/03/2010 06:44:17 AM
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Re: First rule of balefire: Whatever RJ wants to undo from it is what BF does!
28/03/2010 06:59:04 PM
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On the servants theory
25/03/2010 11:33:08 AM
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Rand's odd wounds
29/03/2010 02:48:58 AM
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RJ said that special properties of TAR was responsible for the wounds.
29/03/2010 09:47:01 AM
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Who says the Dark One couldn't bring Asmodean back? Why would he want to?
25/03/2010 05:50:55 AM
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RJ said that. *NM*
25/03/2010 09:31:32 AM
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@Fanatic-Templar: Proof Slayer can't travel through T'A'R...
31/03/2010 03:54:19 AM
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Maybe none of it matters anyway, Slayer will go down like a punk and I know how it goes
31/03/2010 05:56:46 AM
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Re: Maybe none of it matters anyway, Slayer will go down like a punk and I know how it goes
31/03/2010 03:52:16 PM
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