Date: 2000-11-30
Type: Paraphrased
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Reporter: Matt Peck
There was more time for questions than I thought. It was well attended, but few die-hard fans were there, and the line was clear by 8, leaving time for plenty of discussion. I didn’t ask them all anyway, because I thought he might like to chat about something not directly related to the books for a little. But anyway…
Is Sammael really dead?
In the words of the Creator, “Sammael is toast. The man is dead.” He went on to say that wasn’t it cooler to just say RAFO and have something to look forward to.
I think he was just sick of being asked this one, so he spilled the beans on it. I didn’t ask about a reincarnation, and he didn’t say. I think that’s a RAFO anyway.
Was the Eye of the World a Well/variant of a Well?
He said that it was similar, but different. Similar in the sense that it it held the One Power, but it’s not a ter’angreal . They are also created in different ways. The Eye was a one-time use, where a well can be refilled. He went on a little further, but I forget a little of his explanation. But no earth-shakers here, just a little clarification of what we already knew.
I asked that as the Wheel turned, each time an Age rolls around, is the Pattern exactly the same each time, or does it change?
He seemed to like this question. He likened it to a tapestry. When seen from a distance, each Third Age (to make it easy to track) has exactly the same pattern as the previous Third Age. However, when seen up close, there are differences. Threads are different, different nations exist, geography is different, different personalities rise to prominence. These changes, while minute in the grand scale of the Pattern, affect the Pattern enough so that while two iterations of an Age are almost the same, the first “Third Age” may be wildy different from the hundredth “Third Age”.
(My interpretation) Thus while some point out that since the Wheel keeps turning, there can’t be anything new under the sun, in fact the “Age Lace”, as it’s referred to, is going somewhere. It may be that this really will be a “Final Battle”, if the Age Lace is at this crux point and the Dark One wins. The Dark One says He’ll break the Wheel and finally rule all time or whatever. This may be possible, however, it probably requires very specific victory conditions, as has been mentioned elsewhere. Other conditions may require more turning. But if the Light wins, it probably keeps turning.
Anyway, hope this sheds some light on everything. And someone else ask the questions I didn’t.
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