<b>Understanding the nature of Tarmon Gaidon requires an understanding of the nature of the Pattern and the Dark One.</b> <p>After re-reading the series to date with a full knowledge of what would come next I've had a lot of time to reflect on the nature of the mythos behind the world of Robert Jordan. There seems to be a misunderstanding that as the Dragon Reborn, Rand must be the one to win Tarmon Gaidon and seal the Dark One away in a prison. <p>I don't believe this is entirely accurate.<br> <p><b>Let us begin with an understanding of what the pattern and the dark one truly are</b><br> <p>From the outset, everyone from Herid Fel to the disembodied Lews Therin has suggested that the DO's prison must be destroyed in order for the bore to be sealed. Many here on these forums have suggested that the pattern itself is what seals the DO away from the world. Anyone with three brain cells and the ability to synapse can see the relationship between the ancient symbol of the Aes Sedai and the yin-yang. It doesn't take much further thought to identify the halves of the yin yang as representing two intertwined aspects: on one hand male and female and on the other order and chaos. <p>The Dark One commands his subjects to spread chaos in the world whereas the creator, embodied by the pattern, represents order. Both must be in balance but due to the bore, the pattern is thin and the DO is able to touch the world more strongly. Either Order or chaos would each happily consume the world if they could. Neither can be allowed to do so as pure order or chaos amount to non-existence (physics: it's a binary world - neither 1 nor 0 can exist alone). <p>If this all sometimes sounds a little bit like Anakin Skywalker and the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the force, it's because the theme isn't new. Like the Star Wars saga, however, this story won't unfold with Rand defeating darkness in order to win the ancient war and allow order to reign supreme. It will end with balance; a restoration of the pattern in which chaos/order are in harmony and the wheel turns under their power like some great magnet driven engine of time.<br> <p><b>How this understanding of the nature of the pattern relates to the last battle</b> <p>Having established that the pattern represents the embodiment order while the Dark One represents chaos and having further established that in order to restore balance to the world the pattern must reinforced (as opposed to patched), one can see the previously stated idea of the pattern actually being the dark one's prison beginning to take shape. <p>It is along the lines of this theory that we can begin to see how the last battle will unfold. <blockquote>1. It is neither the duty nor fate of the Dragon Reborn to patch the bore or seal away the DO from the world. The purpose of the Dragon Reborn is to destroy the patch on the bore and fight the forces of chaos long enough for the pattern to be properly reinforced. <p>2. The one power drives the pattern. It has been theorized that both men and women must weave the power together in order to properly seal away the dark one. I believe this is correct. <p>3. What has been strongly implied from very early on in the series is that a patch on the prison will not work. Thus, the solution is to reinforce the weak parts of the pattern. While this can be done using the One Power and we can speculate all year long on who may form that circle, there is a problem in that none of the people included can actually see the pattern. <p>4. The one person who can see the pattern is Min. Although I cannot predict her role in the final repair of the pattern, any theory on Tarmon Gaidon must necessarily include her on par with Rand Al'Thor because she is the only person in all of creation with the ability to see its threads.</blockquote> <p><b>In summary</b> <p>Rand must destroy the prison and hold back the dark tide of chaos long enough for a circle of powerful Aes Sedai / Asha'man to reinforce the thinness under the guidance of the only mortal being able to see the pattern - Min. One might assume that the Aelfin or Elfin could be involved as they appear to operation dimensionally outside of the pattern. They are able to both see and manipulate not only the pattern but time itself. <p>Thus, any theory on the Last Battle must take into account not only the nature of the bore but the unique talents of the individuals. It must also account for Rand's true role and not the one that a more simple-minded author than Jordan would have granted him. <p><br><br><br><i>Enjoy your discussions. If my assumptions are reasonably compelling, some great new specific theories should come out of this post.</i>