Why is Book 13 called "Towers of Midnight"?

Juliya Karisu

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And what does Perrin have to do with the Seanchan towers?
 

Ephrem Elpidius

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Hmm, this is a good question. I would also like to know.
 

Juliya Karisu

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Welp, was gone for the weekend hoping someone would have some brilliant answer for me when I came back, but no luck.

All I know is it's mentioned in the Prophecies of the Shadow:

In that day, when the One-Eyed Fool travels the halls of mourning [this is obvs. Mat], and the First Among Vermin lifts his hand to bring freedom to Him who will Destroy [Rand wanting to break the seals?], 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.

So Perrin's mentioned with the Towers of Midnight, but I can't see the connection.
 

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Maybe it's a connection to Slayer, and Malkier? :scratch
 

Juliya Karisu

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Well, I thought it had to do with the Malkier towers as well, but the Glossary and the Companion very specifically state that the Towers of Midnight are in Seanchan.
 

Atarah al'Norahn

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Egwene also has a dream in Towers of Midnight that could possibly be a reference, in which the Forsaken are figured as "black towers": "Thirteen black towers rose in the distance beneath a tarlike sky. One fell, and then another, crashing to the ground. As they did, the ones that remained grew taller and taller. The ground shook as several more towers fell. Another tower shook and cracked, collapsing most of the way to the ground—but then, it recovered and grew tallest of all. At the end of the quake, six towers remained, looming above her."

There's also a link in the number--thirteen black towers/Forsaken in Egwene's dream, book 13 of the series.
 

Aduiavas Ida

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Towers of Midnight is a structure in Seanchan. It is not really related to much in the books, other than the wind that blows past it in the first chapter...

Remember, both this title and Gathering Storm were made after the fact, when they had to split the last book into three parts :look:

EDIT:
The Towers of Midnight form a fortress complex located within the city of Imfaral, located on the northern landmass of the Seanchan continent. There are thirteen towers in the fortress. The Towers of Midnight are first noted in history as the place where Deain, the creator of the a'dam, was imprisoned after being betrayed by Luthair Paendrag Mondwin during The Conquest.

The Towers of Midnight and the city of Imfaral were captured early during Luthair's invasion, and were the primary base of operations for the invaders before they took Seandar later in the war.

Since the Consolidation, the Towers have remained unoccupied. Legend has it that when a time of dire need comes, the Imperial family will return to the Towers and "right that which is wrong".

https://wot.fandom.com/wiki/The_Towers_of_Midnight
 

Ephrem Elpidius

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That is excellent, thank you so much Aduiavas Sedai. That answers the first question for me. :D

That prophecy does seem to have a lot to do with Perrin though, the Broken Wolf, I thought of Hopper for a second... but maybe not (doesn't make sense in the larger context)... I really wish the Companion explained the cryptic stuff better haha (maybe the wolf/Perrin stuff was unfinished story).

Maybe that is the point though, I don't know, sort of like when Brandon Sanderson says he likes to leave a lot of things to the readers imagination, and its fine if its different for people. I don't know...
 

Eliza Al'Shaw

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My feeling was, as a dark prophecy it simply wasn't true. It was possible in some World Perrin fell the Seanchan, but in this World he didn't :cheeseeni:
 

Tobias Carawin

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Towers of Midnight is a structure in Seanchan. It is not really related to much in the books, other than the wind that blows past it in the first chapter...

Remember, both this title and Gathering Storm were made after the fact, when they had to split the last book into three parts :look:

EDIT:
The Towers of Midnight form a fortress complex located within the city of Imfaral, located on the northern landmass of the Seanchan continent. There are thirteen towers in the fortress. The Towers of Midnight are first noted in history as the place where Deain, the creator of the a'dam, was imprisoned after being betrayed by Luthair Paendrag Mondwin during The Conquest.

The Towers of Midnight and the city of Imfaral were captured early during Luthair's invasion, and were the primary base of operations for the invaders before they took Seandar later in the war.

Since the Consolidation, the Towers have remained unoccupied. Legend has it that when a time of dire need comes, the Imperial family will return to the Towers and "right that which is wrong".

https://wot.fandom.com/wiki/The_Towers_of_Midnight

While I completely agree with Aduiavas Sedai, I also believe there is also a lot of symbolism with this book name.
Within this book, we see our heroes fight the darkness within both the White and Black Towers. Egwene conducts her cleansing of Mesaana from the White Tower. Perrin also battles Isam within the Tower. At the Black Tower, some of the soldiers and dedicated have started noticing the true darkness within their community. Matt and friends enter the Tower of Ghenjei in this book which I believe is a portal to the Towers of Midnight in Seanchan.
While I believe Perrin has no involvement with the Seanchan Towers of Midnight, His battle fought on the White Tower grounds is what connects him to the "Dark Towers" theme.
 

Juliya Karisu

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You're right, there are definitely a lot of towers going on.

I don't think the Tower of Ghenjei is a portal to Seanchan, though. I think it's a portal to the world of the Aelfinn and Eelfinn which is in a different dimension/an alternate reality (such as in the Great Hunt)?
 

Tobias Carawin

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Yes, I agree. I was half asleep when writing my reply. I have a theory on the Aelfinn and Eelfinn that covers that. I will post mt theory soon.
 
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