In this same Age, in a different Turning of the Wheel of Time, could it be possible that it wouldn’t be Rand’s soul that was spun out as the Dragon, but for a different, female soul to take on this role?
Jordan said “Yes” then maybe a few more words and only then did I remember to actually put the recorder on again. If I remember correctly Avaeus taped those first few words on his digital camera however, so I’ll see if I can add those exact words here.
(transcription) …it would have to be. Err, in the differences between the same Age in different turnings of the Wheel, are that.. as for an analogy: imagine two tapestries hanging on a wall, and you look at them from the back of the room to the front of the store. And to look at them, they look identical to you. But as you get closer, you begin to see differences. And if you get close enough, they don’t look anything at all alike. That is the difference between the Ages. Between the Age in one Turning and the Age in another. So it’s quite possible that someone other than Rand could be the reborn soul of the Dragon Reborn. [And that’s the phrase that ended my jubilation.]
It would be the same soul, or it would be a different soul?
It would be the same soul. That is, that is the belief of the world that I’ve set up, that it’s the same soul. It’s a soul of someone bound to the Wheel, which is spun out for the purposes, for the Wheel’s purposes really, to attempt to re-balance the Weaving of the Pattern.
But the soul would always be male. Souls don’t change gender, so …
…so the soul of the Dragon Reborn is always going to be male, just as Birgitte’s soul is always born as a woman, just as Ameresu’s soul is always born as a woman. There are divisions here, and they are not interchangeable.
[He actually pronounced this as Amatherisu. Anyone else find it curious that Jordan would place her on equal footing with Rand and Birgitte? The way he said this reminded me of Mother Therese, just like “Materese the Healer” ( The Eye of the World , Chapter 4). Ameresu could most definitely be the same person as Materese. And the “The Healer” tag suddenly gets a lot more meaning, when thinking about how important she is to Jordan…]
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