[Wot-l] A question...(a little off topic--hope you don't mind)

Mon Jan 21 19:57:00 UTC 2008

No problem.  And Cenn Buie is at least 80, I think.  :)

Terez

On Jan 21, 2008 1:50 PM, Josh Davis <joshbdavis at gmail.com> wrote:

>  Wow! Thanks for the info. I agree that he has to be atleast 70, but what
> I don't get is that most people do not seem to live that long. Maybe its
> just that he is the only non-Aes Sedai we've met that has lived to be that
> old, but I still have this feeling that there is something rather large we
> don't know about him. Anyway, thanks for all the info, that was quick!
> -Josh
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Terez <terez27 at gmail.com>
> *To:* The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan <wot-l at wikia.com>
> *Sent:* Monday, January 21, 2008 1:51 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Wot-l] A question...(a little off topic--hope you don't
> mind)
>
> Josh,
>
> How long do you think it really takes to travel to all the places that
> he's gone?  Not too terribly long...it would probably take, at most, a year
> to travel to Shara, for instance - a year taking delays into account.  How
> much would he have seen simply during the journey itself worth mentioning?
> Perhaps a total of 2 or 3 years to visit Shara, stay a year or so, and
> return - that's an estimate on the high side, in my opinion.  Longer to stay
> longer, of course.  He was young when he captured Cowin Fairheart -
> presumably around 25 or 30, perhaps even younger - but he was already known
> then as "Farstrider".  But it was implicit in Agelmar's words that he did
> much more traveling after that - quite probably before he wrote his book,
> which was published 13 years after he captured Fairheart.  He disappeared 13
> years after that.  We can estimate that Farstrider is currently between 70
> and 80 years old.  That's pretty old, but not old enough that we should
> wonder how he's still alive.  We know that Ishamael probably caused Noal's
> current mental state - it appears to be caused by extensive Compulsion - and
> though it's unclear, exactly, what he was Compelled to do, I don't think
> that the extent of Farstrider's adventures necessitate the explanation of
> fabrication, especially considering that we already know many of his
> fanciful stories to be true.
>
> It's been proposed, along the same line of thought as yours, that
> Farstrider visited the Tower of Ghenjei when he was young, which is where he
> got all of his "adventures" from.  Although it's possible, it seems
> unlikely.  Noal seemed to think that the Tower of Ghenjei was on the Shadow
> Coast somewhere, for one thing, and he claimed that Farstrider had always
> meant to find it, but never had.  For another, the only reason Mat got
> memories when he visited the Aelfinn was because he wished for the holes in
> his memory to be filled.  Why would Noal also get memories from the 'Finns?
> Why would Ishamael Compel him to forget his visit to the Tower of Ghenjei?
> And again, why must we assume that his travels are fabricated?
> *
> This is what we know of Farstrider's adventures:*
>
> He was "tamed" by Susa...somehow or another.  :)  (tEotW, Ch. 4)
>
> He captured the traitor Cowin Fairheart (tEotW, Ch. 47)
>
> Ishamael claimed to have used Farstrider to plant the rumors of the Dark
> One's intention to "blind the Eye of the World and slay the Great Serpent"
> in the Ogier Stedding (which would have been around the time of Farstrider's
> disappearance).  (tEotW, Ch. 51)
>
> He wrote many books, was the subject of many stories, and he vanished in
> 981 NE after having returned from the Blight, where it is rumored he
> traveled all the way to Shayol Ghul.  (tEotW, Glossary)
>
> He had "adventures among the Sea Folk and journeys to the lands beyond the
> Aiel Waste"  (tGH,  Ch. 31)
>
> He had a horse named Jeade'en, or "True Finder", that could always find
> the way home.  (tSR, Ch. 22)
>
> Rhuarc's claim that the Sharamen were liars and that they had many
> different names for their land was verified by Rand's memory of Farstrider's
> book, though Rand thought the tales "too fanciful to be true".  (LoC, Ch.
> 17)
>
> He traveled on a Sea Folk vessel and learned to bathe in cold salt water
> (WH, Ch. 19)
>
> He has been to "Shibouya" (Shara), "where women who could channel had
> tattooed faces, over three hundred crimes carried a penalty of death, and
> giants lived under the mountains, men taller than Ogier, with their faces on
> their bellies." (WH, Ch. 28)
>
> Noal has been to places warm enough to make Ebou Dar seem like Shienar.
> Everyone he had cared for in his life is long dead.  Looking at the bay of
> Ebou Dar after the Return arrives, he comments that he has never seen so
> many ships in one place before.  He fishes well, and he knows how to make a
> fish and pepper stew from Shara.  Noal notices a very dark-skinned Seanchan
> with blue eyes, and notes that he has seen the like before, but he cannot
> remember where. (CoT, Ch. 1)
>
> Noal has been to "Co'dansin" (also Shara) and knows of the Ayyad.  He
> recites a quote from the Prophecies about Mat (Fortune rides like the sun on
> high/With the fox that makes the ravens fly/Luck his soul, the lightning his
> eye/He snatches the moons from out of the sky).  Noal has been trying to
> remember this bit for some time.  (CoT, Ch. 28)
>
> Farstrider is believed to have done a translation of the Karaethon Cycle,
> which is probably true, since he quotes the obscure bit to Mat.  This bit
> was dropped in Rand's point of view, by the way, certainly to give clues as
> to Noal's identity, considering the proximity. (CoT, Ch. 35)
>
> Noal tells stories of the Ayyad to Olver.  Mat asks Noal if he is related
> to Farstrider.  Noal says Farstrider was a cousin.  It is obvious that he is
> lying, because he tells of Farstrider's abandonment of his wife with deep
> personal pain.  He also mentions being made a fool by someone - probably
> Ishamael, since he shows signs of the post-Compulsion confusion
> mid-sentence. (KoD, Ch. 6)
>
> Noal tells of Malkier and other places in the Borderlands.  (KoD, Ch. 9)
>
> Noal talks of Sea Folk women.  He says that not many know the tale of the
> Tower of Ghenjei any more, and that Farstrider had always intended to go
> looking for it, thinking it was along the Shadow Coast.  Noal thinks that he
> would like to go there..."something Jain bloody Farstrider never did".  He
> says that he has heard that it gleams like burnished steel, and that it's
> 200 ft. tall and 40 ft. thick, and that there is no opening in the tower
> that can be seen. He listens to Mat's stories about his experiences with the
> 'Finns intently, and asks Mat if he was related to Farstrider, says that
> Mat's adventure topped anything he ever did, and anything Farstrider ever
> did too, and then asks if he can be the unknown third person Moiraine spoke
> of in her letter. (KoD, Ch. 10)
>
> Noal tells of the walled trading city in Shara, apparently the same one
> that Rhuarc spoke of, or perhaps the port that the Sea Folk visit.  (KoD,
> Ch. 25)
>
> He is said to have traveled to the frozen land north of the Blasted Lands,
> but he disappeared on that trip.  (BWB, Ch. 15)
>
> Farstrider is one of three main sources of knowledge about Shara - the bit
> about the natives lying to foreigners is repeated.  (BWB, Ch. 16)
>
> ________________________
>
> From these bits, we can surmise that Farstrider has:
>
> 1.  Been to Shara, perhaps more than once.
> 2.  Been on a Sea Folk ship, perhaps more than once.
> 3.  Been to the Blight, and perhaps also to Shayol Ghul and north of the
> Blasted Lands.
> 4.  Traveled the Borderlands extensively.
> 5.  Probably been in the Waste, though stories of that wouldn't be so
> exotic as the others - perhaps he doesn't tell stories of the Aiel for that
> reason - nearly everyone has seen them now.  Also, Aiel upset Olver.
> 6.  Been a prominent member of Borderland society, perhaps a high-profile
> thief-catcher (Susa probably fits in here somewhere - perhaps Susa was his
> wife).
> 7.  Most likely been Compelled by Ishamael.
> 8.  Possibly been in Graendal's company and Compelled by her as well - a
> man fitting his description was seen in her lair, and she has also been to
> Shara, perhaps inspired by his stories.  The man fitting Noal's description
> is highly suspicious because he does not meet Graendal's standards for her
> slaves, yet he sits among them for no apparent reason (tFoH, Prologue).
> 9.  Probably gone to other places in Randland proper as well.
> 10.  Possibly been to Seanchan as well, but it seems more likely that he
> knew the dark skin and blue eyes from elsewhere
>
> _________________________
>
> I don't see how all of that is too much for Farstrider to have done before
> he published his book.  As previously noted, he was already known as
> Farstrider when he captured Fairheart, and the book was published 13 years
> later.  With all the traveling that Mat has done in less than two years,
> mostly without assistance from the Power, it seems easy to imagine a
> determined wanderlust like Farstrider traveling quite a few places and doing
> quite a few interesting things in a period of what appears to be about 20
> years.
>
> I hope this info helps,
>
> Terez
>
> ------------------------------
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