The threat of Rand not regaining his humanity has gotten me thinking of the consequences this will have on his success in battling the DO, Shadar Haran, Moridin, etc. towards the end of this series. In the past, some have said that Rand will somehow defeat/imprison the DO and the wheel will turn whether or not Rand dies. I could have sworn that somewhere in one of the earlier books, that someone said that Rand was the last Dragon(was it Moiraine??). That if Rand died, then there would not be another incarnation of the dragon in ages to come. I suppose that Nynaeve or balefire could bring him back to life, but what if it doesn't...?