Karaethon Cycle
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The Karaethon Cycle is a set of prophecies in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series of novels.
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[edit] The Prophesies of the Dragon or The Karaethon Cycle
And it shall come to pass that what men made shall be shattered, and the Shadow shall lie across the Pattern of the Age, and the Dark One shall once more lay his hand upon the world of man. Women shall weep and men quail as the nations of the earth are rent like rotting cloth. Neither shall anything stand or abide…
Yet one shall be born to face the Shadow, born once more as he was born before, and shall be born again, time without end. The Dragon shall be Reborn, and there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth at his rebirth. In sackcloth and ashes shall he clothe the people, and he shall break the world again by his coming, tearing apart all ties that bind. Like the unfettered dawn shall he bind us, and burn us, yet shall the Dragon Reborn confront the Shadow at the Last Battle, and his blood shall give us the Light. Let tears flow, O ye people of the world. Weep for your salvation.
On the slopes of Dragonmount shall he be born,
born of a maiden wed to no man.
He will be of the ancient blood, and raised by the old blood.
When the winds of Tarmon Gai’don scour the earth,
he will face the Shadow and bring forth Light again in the world.
Twice and twice shall he be marked,
twice to live, and twice to die.
Once the heron, to set his path.
Twice the heron, to name him true.
Once the Dragon, for remembrance lost.
Twice the Dragon, for the price he must pay.
Twice dawns the day when his blood is shed.
Once for mourning, once for birth.
Red on black, the Dragon’s blood stains the rock of Shayol Ghul.
In the Pit of Doom shall his blood free men from the Shadow.
Five ride forth, and four return.
Above the Watchers Over the Waves shall he proclaim himself,
bannered ‘cross the sky in fire.
When the Dragon is Reborn he will break all oaths, shatter all ties.
The Stone of Tear will never fall, till Callandor is wielded by the Dragon’s hand.
The Stone of Tear will never fall, till the People of the Dragon come.
Into the heart he thrusts his sword,
into the heart, to hold their hearts.
who draws it out shall follow after,
What hand can grasp that fearful blade?
Power of the Shadow made human flesh,
wakened to turmoil, strife and ruin.
The Reborn One, marked and bleeding,
dances the sword in dreams and mist,
chains the Shadowsworn to his will,
from the city, lost and forsaken,
leads the spears to war once more,
breaks the spears and makes them see,
truth long hidden in the ancient dream.
He shall slay his people with the sword of peace, and destroy them with the leaf.
With his coming are the dread fires born again.
The hills burn, and the land turns sere.
The tides of men run out, and the hours dwindle.
The wall is pierced, and the veil of parting raised.
Storms rumble beyond the horizon, and the fires of heaven purge the earth.
There is no salvation without destruction, no hope this side of death.
The unstained tower breaks and bends knee to the forgotten sign.
The seas rage, and stormclouds gather unseen.
Beyond the horizon, hidden fires swell, and serpents nestle in the bosom.
What was exalted is cast down; what was cast down is raised up.
Order burns to clear his path.
There can be no health in us, nor any good thing grow,
for the land is one with the Dragon Reborn, and he is one with the land.
Soul of fire, heart of stone, in pride he conquers, forcing the proud to yield.
He calls upon the mountains to kneel, and the seas to give way, and the very skies to bow.
Pray that the heart of stone remembers tears, and the soul of fire, love.
Master of the lightnings, rider on the storm,
wearer of a crown of swords, spinner out of fate.
Who thinks he turns the Wheel of Time,
may learn the truth too late.
The Seals that hold back the night shall weaken,
and in the heart of winter shall winter’s heart be born,
amid the wailings of lamentations and the gnashing of teeth,
for winter’s heart shall ride a black horse, and the name of it is Death.
And it shall come to pass, in the days when the Dark Hunt rides,
when the right hand falters and the left hand strays,
that mankind shall come to the Crossroads of Twilight,
and all that is, all that was,
and all that will be shall balance on the point of a sword,
while the winds of the Shadow grow.
He shall heal the wounds of madness and cutting of hope.
He shall bind the nine moons to serve him.
He shall break the nations, and shatter the world.
His blood on the rocks of Shayol Ghul,
washing away the Shadow, sacrifice for man’s salvation.
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.
When the Wolf King carries the hammer, thus are the final days known.
when the Fox marries the raven, and the trumpets of battle are blown.
[edit] Explanations of the Prophesy
The Karaethon Cycle says that the Dragon will be reborn on the slopes of Dragonmount, where he died during the Breaking of the World.
"Blood of our blood mixed with the old blood, raised by an ancient blood not ours. On the slopes of Dragonmount shall he be born, born of a maiden wedded to no man."Part of the Aiel Prophesy that the Wise ones say.
"Fortune rides like the sun on high
This is a reference to Rand's heritage. His mother was Tigraine (daughter heir of Andor) who fled Caemlyn, on the advice of an Aes Sedai, to the Aiel Waste to become a Maiden of the Spear, of the old blood. His father was an Aiel chief who came the closest to uniting the Aiel for anyone coming before the Car'a'carn, of our blood. Taringail Damodroed of Cairhien was used to create an alliance between Andor and Cairhein when Tigraine left for the Aiel Waste the Cairheinin King, thinking the alliance abandoned, made a throne out of the Avensora or Tree of Life which cause four Aiel Clans to come over the Dragon Wall in the Aiel War. It is speculated that Rand was conceived during the Aiel invasion of Cairhien and then born under Dragonmount during the Aiel attack on Tar Valon. He was then adopted by Tam who was of the ancient bloodline from Manetheren, who resettled in the Two River's region of Andor. From the Aiel point of view, Aiel blood (Rand's birth father) mixed with the the old noble blood of Tigraine and raised by the old blood from Manetheren in Emonds Field where Manetheren died.
"When the winds of Tarmon Gai'don scour the earth, he will face the Shadow and bring forth Light again in the world."
"Twice and twice shall he be marked,
twice to live and twice to die.
Once the heron, to set his path.
Twice the heron, to name him true.
Once the Dragon, for remembrance lost.
Twice the Dragon, for the price he must pay."
"Twice dawns the day when his blood is shed.
Once for mourning, once for birth.
Red on black, the Dragon's blood stains the rock of Shayol Ghul.
In the Pit of Doom shall his blood free men from the Shadow."
The Great Hunt - Chapter 26, pg. 387
This is a reference, at first to the two herons branded into Rands hands. The first happened in The Great Hunt during one of the "dreams" from Ishamael, 'setting' his path towards admitting to him self that he is the Dragon Reborn. The second occurred at the end of the second book The Great Hunt when, after the fight with Ishamael, the image of the heron on his sword is branded into his hand. The Dragons were marked together, while Rand was in the 'remembrance' ter'angreal in Rhuidean showing him the history of his parentage (Aiel history from the point of view from his direct ancestors), 'for remembrance lost'. The second for the price he must pay (The loss of his hand). It is Speculated that the two times his blood was shed were when Ba'alzamon and when Padan Fain attacked him and left him with two evil scars that have not fully healed.
with the fox that makes the ravens fly.
Luck his soul, the lightning his eye,
He snatches the moons from out of the sky."
The first line refers to Mat's luck, how sometimes it is better than others, and as Mat notes seems to occur in waves
The second line describes how Mat, who is often associated with the fox, flees Ebou Dar with Tuon, therefore setting the Seanchan Ever Victorious Army on his heels, the raven being a symbol of the Seanchan Empire
The third line describes Mat's character, with luck being something he relies on heavily, and lightning symbolizing his ability to find a way out of most problems, but often with violent consequences. It is also worth noting the significance of "eye" rather than "eyes" as many fans speculate that Mat will lose an eye in the last book of the series - a theory reinforced by numerous dreams and visions seen by the characters Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere and Min Farshaw.
The last line is clearly describing when Mat "kidnaps" Tuon, the Daughter of the Nine Moons (literally meaning the daughter of the empire), next in line to be Empress.
[edit] Other Prophesies Concerning the Dragon Reborn
[edit] The Prophesy of Rhuidean
The Stone that never falls will fall to announce his coming. Of the blood, but not raised by the blood, he will come from Rhuidean at dawn, and tie you together with bonds you cannot break. He will take you back and he will destroy you.
He shall be marked by not one but two dragons on his arms.
Without him not one of the Aiel shall live beyond the Last Battle.
With him, He shall spill out the blood of those who call themselves Aiel as water on sand, and he shall break them as dried twigs, yet a remnant of a remnant shall he save, and they shall live.
[edit] The Jendai Prophecy
We must wander the waters until the Coramoor returns, and serve him at his coming.
He shall wield the One Power, and hold the Sword That Cannot Be Touched. The Aiel shall come over the Dragonwall to his call, the Stone of Tear shall fall, and war shall break over the nations of the land. Those who once ruled shall return, and shall be driven back for the first time.
The White Tower shall be broken in his name, and Aes Sedai shall kneel to wash his feet and dry them with their hair.
He shall bring us to glory and all the seas of the world shall be ours.
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