Seals

There are seven seals holding the Dark One's prison closed. The seals are made from cuendillar, or heartstone. As strong as heartstone is, some of the seals have been broken. It is said that when the last seal breaks, the Dark One will return to the world. Here is the status of those seals.

  1. Found broken at the Eye of the World. (TEotW,Ch52) Moiraine shows the pieces to Siuan. (TGH,Ch5)
  2. Bayle Domon had one, intact, that he got from a shopkeeper in Maradon. (TGH,Ch9) It was taken by Turak. (TGH,Ch29) Moiraine found it after the fight, and it was broken by then. (TGH,Ch49)
  3. Turak had one. Moiraine found it along with (2). Also broken. (TGH,Ch49)
  4. Moiraine found one in the Stone of Tear, intact. (TDR,Ch56) In TFoH,Ch52, when they go down to the docks, Rand spots two casks with the two seals (#4 and #5) in them packed in wool for protection.
  5. Moiraine found another one in Rhuidean, and made a scratch. She put it back in her pouch. (TFoH,Ch2) In TFoH,Ch52, when they go down to the docks, Rand spots two casks with the two seals (#4 and #5) in them packed in wool for protection.
  6. Nynaeve found one in the Panarchs Palace, (TSR,Ch54), broken on the way to Salidar. (TFoH,Ch50)
  7. Mazrim Taim gives Rand one when he comes to Rand. He found it in a "decaying little farm in Saldaea. I stopped for water, and the farmer gave it to me. He was old, with no children or grandchildren to pass it on to, and he thought I was the Dragon Reborn. He claimed his family had guarded it for more than two thousand years. Claimed they were kings and queens during the Trolloc Wars, and nobles under Artur Hawkwing." Rand (or is it Lews Therin?) tries to destroy it, but Davram Bashere stops him. (LoC,Ch2)

We do not know where Rand is keeping his seal or if it was one of the items he rescued after the attack on his rooms in TPoD,Ch29. According to the Tor Q&A, Rand has the whole wagon train of items from Rhuidean stored in a warded warehouse in Cairhien, but we do not know if he left seals #4 and #5 there.

References (Possible Spoilers)#

  1. In The Fires of Heaven
    1. TFoH,Ch7 - Moiraine has the two unbroken seals carefully packed in separate barrels on Hadnan Kadere's wagons.
  2. In Lord of Chaos
    1. LoC,Ch18 - Rand asks Herid Fel if there is a reason to break the seals.
    2. LoC,Ch25 - Nesune Bihara wants to visit the Royal Library in Cairhien to look for information on the seals.
  3. In Crossroads of Twilight
    1. CoT,Ch24 - Rand and Bashere wonder where the seventh seal is and if it is intact.
  4. In The Gathering Storm
    1. TGS,Ch15 - From her studies, Min is convinced that Rand must break the remaining seals to defeat the Dark One. Rand agrees, but he does not know what to do afterwards.
    2. TGS,Ch22 - Lews Therin tells Rand that Min is right. He must break the seals.
  5. In Towers of Midnight
    1. ToM,Ch3 - Rand informs Egwene that he intends to go to Shayol Ghul and break the remaining seals. Egwene thinks there is way too much risk in doing that.
    2. ToM,Ch5 - Egwene writes letters to various rulers informing them of Rand's intent and soliciting their aid in stopping him.
    3. ToM,Ch14 - Egwene tells the Wise Ones about Rand's plan with the seals and they are shocked.
    4. ToM,Ch14 - Egwene tells Elayne and Nynaeve about the seals. They are lukewarm about the risk.
    5. ToM,Ch15 - Rand explains to Nynaeve why he must break the seals.
    6. ToM,Ch27 - Darlin Sisnera responds to Egwene's letter that he will bring some troops to the Field of Merrilor.
    7. ToM,Ch47 - Elayne tells Perrin about Rand's plan to break the seals, saying it is foolish.
    8. ToM,Ch51 - Rand informs the Borderlands rulers that he intends to break the remaining seals.
    9. ToM,Ch52 - Elayne thinks that Rand's plan is foolish but that he will see reason.
    10. ToM,Ch53 - Perrin tells Faile that he thinks Rand is right. He needs to make a new seal, not patch the old ones.
    11. ToM,Ch56 - Egwene tells Gawyn that deep down a part of Rand must know that it is wrong for him to break the seals. That is why he gave her so much advance notice, so she could gather resistance.
    12. ToM,Epilogue - Rand thinks that he will break the seals regardless of what is said at the Field of Merrilor.
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Copyright (c) 1998 by Gary Kephart