Prophecies of the Shadow

For other uses of the word "shadow," see Shadow.

The Prophecies of the Shadow are foretellings presumably made by Aes Sedai who followed the Dark One.

Fal Dara

A large excerpt of the prophecies was found written on the walls of the dungeons of Fal Dara following a Trolloc attack.

"Daughter of the Night, she walks again. The ancient war, she yet fights. Her new lover she seeks, who shall serve her and die, yet serve still. Who shall stand against her coming? The Shining Walls shall kneel. Blood feeds blood. Blood calls blood. Blood is, and blood was, and blood shall ever be."

"The man who channels stands alone. He gives his friends for sacrifice. Two roads before him, one to death beyond dying, one to life eternal. Which will he choose? Which will he choose? What hand shelters? What hand slays? Blood feeds blood. Blood calls blood. Blood is, and blood was, and blood shall ever be."

"Luc came to the Mountains of Dhoom. Isam waited in the high passes. The hunt is now begun. The Shadow's hounds now course, and kill. One did live, and one did die, but both are. The Time of Change has come. Blood feeds blood. Blood calls blood. Blood is, and blood was, and blood shall ever be."

"The Watchers wait on Toman's Head. The seed of the Hammer burns the ancient tree. Death shall sow, and summer burn, before the Great Lord comes. Death shall reap, and bodies fail, before the Great Lord comes. Again the seed slays ancient wrong, before the Great Lord comes. Now the Great Lord comes. Now the Great Lord comes. Blood feeds blood. Blood calls blood. Blood is, and blood was, and blood shall ever be. Now the Great Lord comes."

These prophecies talk about some actions of Lanfear, who had been freed of the Bore, and of Rand and the uncertainty of whether he will save or destroy the world. The entity known as Slayer is also referred to, as well are the Seanchan. The rest of the lines seem to speak of the chaos preceding Tarmon Gai'don. It is also possible that the seed of the hammer is Rand with the hammer referring to Lews Therin Telamon. The ancient tree would therefore be Avendesora  which was burned in Rand's fight again the forsaken Asmodean. "Again the seed slays ancient wrong," could be a reference to the inevitable slaying of the Forsaken by Rand or the Cleansing of saidin. Though it is a dark prophesy and these events do not promote the Dark One's victory, they are still turning points in the Pattern.

Verin's findings

When Verin Mathwin gave Egwene al'Vere her book containing all her info on the Black Ajah, she also mentioned a compilation of prophecies that Darkfriends believe, but these foretellings have not yet been revealed.

Towers of Midnight

Moridin has a thick book which he says contains prophecies spoken by isolated men and women, and these prophecies are known almost exclusively by Moridin himself. He shows to Graendal the prophecy about the death of Perrin by the hand of the Shadow. It is apparently reproduced at the end of the book:

"Lo, it shall come upon the world that the prison of the Greatest One shall grow weak, like the limbs of those who crafted it. Once again, His glorious cloak shall smother the Pattern of all things, and the Great Lord shall stretch forth His hand to claim what is His. The rebellious nations shall be laid barren, their children caused to weep. There shall be none but Him, and those who have turned their eyes to His majesty."

"In that day, when the One-Eyed Fool travels the halls of mourning, and the First Among Vermin lifts his hand to bring freedom to Him who will Destroy, the last days of the Fallen Blacksmith’s pride shall come. Yea, and the Broken Wolf, the one whom Death has known, shall fall and be consumed by the Midnight Towers. And his destruction shall bring fear and sorrow to the hearts of men, and shall shake their very will itself."

"And then, shall the Lord of the Evening come. And He shall take our eyes, for our souls shall bow before Him, and He shall take our skin, for our flesh shall serve Him, and He shall take our lips, for only Him will we praise. And the Lord of the Evening shall face the Broken Champion, and shall spill his blood and bring us the Darkness so beautiful. Let the screams begin, O followers of the Shadow. Beg for your destruction!"

Analysis

Here "the One-Eyed Fool" is undoubtedly Mat and "the First Among Vermin lifts his hand to bring freedom to Him who will Destroy" must be about Rand and his decision to break the Seals. Though it is also possible that the statement refers to Logain Ablar as he broke the seals and at the time the seals were broken he was the leader of the Asha'man. Though saidin has been cleansed many still think poorly of men who can channel and many of them had been turned to the shadow. "The Fallen Blacksmith" most likely refers to Perrin.

The Broken Wolf

There are many theories as to who the Broken Wolf refers to. The easiest interpretation would be to assume that it is Perrin, even though he is mentioned already in this Dark Prophecy. The statement, "In that day, when the One-Eyed Fool travells the halls of mourning, and the First Among Vermin lifts his hand to bring freedom to Him who will Destroy, the last Days of the Fallen Blacksmith's pride shall come," refers to Mat, Rand, and Perrin, the three major ta'veren. This makes Perrin's being the Broken Wolf even less likely, as he is neither "broken" nor destroyed.

Jain Charin The "Yea, and the Broken Wolf, the one whom Death has known, shall fall and be consumed by the Midnight Towers." refers to Jain Farstrider having been broken by Ishamael, who is now Moridin (Death), staying behind to cover the escape of his companions and being "consumed by the Midnight Towers." However, only Mat and Thom discover who Jain Charin truly is. His death should not shake the will of men.

Hopper

Another interpretation could be that Hopper is the "Broken Wolf" as well as "the one whom Death has known," having been slain by Isam who was a Malkieri, with the seven towers of Malkier possibly being the "Midnight Towers." However, only Perrin knows the importance of Hopper. The wolf's second death would not break men's hearts as the prophecy says. Although if Hopper had died too early then he could not have taught Perrin everything he would have needed to know for the last battle. He would not have been able to defeat Slayer or overcome Cyndane's Compulsion ultimately leading to a Shadow victory.

Brandon Sanderson explained in a post-A Memory of Light TorChat that the "Broken Wolf" was Perrin's spirit guide.

Rodel Ituralde

A third interpretation could be that the Broken Wolf is Rodel Ituralde, also known as the Little Wolf. Before Rand's reintegration with his past lives, and after Semirhage breaks him to point of allowing the Dark One to give him the True Power, he uses his ta'veren nature (now twisted by the Dark One) to manipulate Ituralde to "hold back the Shadow." There is no question that this is the Dark One's will, the start of a vast plot to break the will of mankind before the Last Battle by breaking the Little Wolf. When the Dragon intervenes at Maradon, he explains that...

"I grew angry, I had thought myself beyond that. It was not a terrible anger, like before. It was not an anger of destruction, though I did destroy. In Maradon, I saw what had been done to the men who followed me. I saw the Light in them, Min. Defying the Dark One no matter the length of his shadow. We will live, that defiance said. We will love and we will hope. And I saw him trying so hard to destroy that. He knows that if he could break them, it would mean something. Something much more than Maradon. Breaking the spirit of men...he thirsts for that."
   —Rand al'Thor on the invasion of Maradon

Ituralde as the Broken Wolf is made even more likely by the fact that his army and, to a degree, his will are both destroyed at Maradon and at Shayol Ghul. Rodel is, in A Memory of Light, also compelled by Graendal to fall for the traps of the Shadow at Shayol Ghul. This could explain how the Broken Wolf "fell," and how he was "consumed by the midnight towers," if the midnight towers are interpreted to be Shayol Ghul. His fall, as well as the fall of the other great captains, definitely "shook the will of men."

Slayer

A further possibility for the Broken wolf is that one of the two halves of Slayer, Isam and Luc is a wolfbrother who has been turned against his own kind. This would explain his strength within the wolf dream and his ability to hunt wolves, hence the broken wolf. A second point that suggests this possibility is also suggested in the first dark prophecy where it states that "one did live, one did die, both are" then in the second prophecy it states "one who Death has known." How his death would shake the will of men is a question that needs further exploration but could relate to the links to the royalty of two nations and his betrayal of the light.

The Lord of the Evening

The "Lord of the Evening" most likely refers to Moridin. Rand and Lews Therin have the title "Lord of the Morning." The Dragon is a messiah of the Light. Therefore, "Lord of the Evening" would be a messiah of the shadow or the closest thing the shadow has to one: Nae'blis Moridin.