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The Karaethon Cycle contains the Prophecies of the Dragon, which are believed to detail how the Dragon will be Reborn and what his coming will mean for both the Light and the Shadow. They consist of a collection of Foretellings from before, during, and after the War of Power. Many are vague and can only be understood in hindsight. Most people avoid them, and they are banned in many lands.

"The Karatheon Cycle, – Thom said curtly. Rand blinked. The Prophecies of the Dragon. – Nobody tells the ... those stories in the Two Rivers. Not in Emond's Field, anyway. The Wisdom would skin them alive, if they did. [1]"
"Telling the Prophecies of the Dragon, or even possessing a copy of them, is enough to put you in prison, in Tear. [2]"

The Karaethon Cycle: The Prophecies of the Dragon[]

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...

The Shadow shall rise across the world, and darken every land, even to the smallest corner, and there shall be neither Light nor safety.
And he who shall be born of the Dawn[3][4], born of the Maiden, according to Prophecy,
he shall stretch forth his hands to catch the Shadow,
and the world shall scream in the pain of salvation.
All Glory be to the Creator, and to the Light, and to he who shall be born again. May the Light save us from him.

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 blind 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.[5]

On the slopes of Dragonmount shall he be born,[6][7]
born of a maiden wedded to no man. [8][9][10][4].
He will be of the ancient blood, and raised by the old blood.[11][12]
When the winds of Tarmon Gai'don scour the earth,
he will face the Shadow and bring forth Light again in the world.[13]
For he shall come like the breaking dawn,
and shatter the world again with his coming, and make it anew.[14][15]

Twice and twice shall he be marked[16][17],
twice to live, and twice to die.
Once the heron, to set his path.[18][19]
Twice the heron, to name him true.[20]
Once the Dragon, for remembrance lost.[21][22][23]
Twice the Dragon, for the price he must pay.[24]

Five ride forth,[25][26] and four return.[27][28]
Above the Watchers Over the Waves shall he proclaim himself,
bannered 'cross the sky in fire.[29][30]

The Stone of Tear will never fall, till Callandor is wielded by the Dragon’s hand.[31][32]
The Stone of Tear will never fall, till the People of the Dragon come.[33][1][34][35]

Into the heart he thrusts his sword,[36][37]
into the heart, to hold their hearts.[38][39]
who draws it out shall follow after,[40][41]
What hand can grasp that fearful blade?

Power of the Shadow made human flesh[42][43]
wakened to turmoil, strife and ruin.
The Reborn One, marked and bleeding,[44][23]
dances the sword in dreams and mist,[45][23]
chains the Shadowsworn to his will,[46][47]
from the city, lost and forsaken,[48][49]
leads the spears to war once more,[50][51][52][39][53][54]
breaks the spears and makes them see,[55][56]
truth long hidden in the ancient dream.[57][22][23]

He shall slay his people with the sword of peace, and destroy them with the leaf.[58][2][59][56]

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.[60][61]

The unstained tower, broken, bends knee to the forgotten sign.[62][63]
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.[64][65]

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.[66][67]

As the plow breaks the earth shall he break the lives of men,
and all that was shall be consumed in the fire of his eyes.
The trumpets of war shall sound at his footsteps, the ravens feed at his voice,
and he shall wear a crown of swords.[68]

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.[69]

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 lamentation and the gnashing of teeth,
for winter’s heart shall ride a black horse, and the name of it is Death. [70]

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.[71]

He shall heal the wounds of madness and cutting of hope.[58]

He shall hold a blade of light in his hands, and the three shall be one.[72]

He shall bind the nine moons to serve him.[58] The north shall he tie to the east, and the west shall be bound to the south. [73]

Twice dawns the day when his blood is shed.[74]
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. [17]

His blood on the rocks of Shayol Ghul,
washing away the Shadow, sacrifice for man’s salvation. [75]

He shall break chains and put others into chains.[58]

Fortune rides like the sun on high[76]
with the fox that makes the ravens fly.
Luck his soul, the lightning his eye,
He snatches the moons from out of the sky.[77]

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. [78]

Commentaries[]

Several books have been written about the Karaethon Cycle and the Prophecies of the Dragon. Commentary on the Dragon, by Sajius is one such book.

Some of these works may have been written in the style of prophecy themselves, with the authors incorporating their interpretations into the translations.

"The Shadow shall rise across the world, and darken every land, even to the smallest corner, and there shall be neither Light nor safety. And he who shall be born of the Dawn, born of the Maiden, according to Prophecy, he shall stretch forth his hand to catch the Shadow, and the world shall scream in pain of salvation. All Glory be to the Creator, and to the Light, and to he who shall be born again. May the Light save us from him."
   —Commentaries on the Karaethon Cycle, Sereine dar Shamelle Motara, Counsel-Sister to Comaelle, High Queen of Jaramide, circa 325 AB, the Third Age.[79]
"And his paths shall be many, and who shall know his name, for he shall be born among us many times, in many guises, as he has been and ever will be, time without end. His coming shall be like the sharp edge of the plow, turning our lives in furrows from out of the places where we live in silence. The breaker of bonds; the forger of chains. The maker of futures; the unshaper of destiny."
   —Commentaries on the Prophecies of the Dragon, by Jurith Dorine, Right Hand to the Queen of Almoren, 742 AB, the Third Age.[80]

Statements about the Prophecies[]

These are statements describing the contents of the prophecies, not quoting them.

"When the Dragon is Reborn he will break all oaths, shatter all ties."[81]

"And prophecy said the Horn of Valere would only be found just in time for the Last Battle."[82]

The Karaethon Cycle does not mention the Horn of Valere, except that it must be found before the Last Battle. [83]

Other Prophecies concerning the Dragon Reborn[]

External links[]

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Eye of the World, Chapter 13
  2. 2.0 2.1 The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 6
  3. Rand and Mat return to Chaendaer where they are met by the Bair. Couladin claims Rand murdered Muradin and attacks him. Before any damage is done, Bair stops them and has Rand show the signs. Couladin and the Shaido stand on one side. Rhuarc, Heirn and the Jindo stand on another. Lan stands in between. Egwene, Amys, Melaine and Seana come out of the tents. They all see that Rand has dragons on both arms. Bair announces that a Car'a'carn, "chief of chiefs" in the Old Tongue, has been chosen.
  4. 4.0 4.1 The Shadow Rising, Chapter 34
  5. The Great Hunt, Prologue
  6. Tam hints that he found a babe cold in the snow and that his wife named the child Rand during a fever dream after Trollocs attacked his farm.
  7. The Eye of the World, Chapter 6
  8. Elayne recalls a line from the Prophecies of the Dragon, "On the slopes of Dragonmount shall he be born, born of a maiden wedded to no man." She notes that Rand looks like an Aiel and also looks like Tigraine as well. Egwene recalls what Moiraine told her about Tam and Kari al'Thor not being Rand's real parents.
  9. The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 39
  10. Rand al'Thor's mother was Tigraine Mantear, who left her life as Daughter-Heir of Andor, under the direction of Gitara Sedai, to become a Maiden of the Spear. His father was Janduin, a clan chief.
  11. The ancient blood references Rand al'Thor's Aiel ancestry; the old blood refers to him being raised Tam al'Thor, a descendant of Manetheren.
  12. The Great Hunt, Chapter 8
  13. A Memory of Light
  14. As quoted by Siuan Sanche.
  15. The Great Hunt, Chapter 5
  16. As quoted by Thomdril Merrilin.
  17. 17.0 17.1 The Great Hunt, Chapter 26
  18. Ishamael attacks Rand in his dreams with fire as the Dragon holds Tam's Sword. The fire sears a heron on Rand's hand when he awakens.
  19. The Great Hunt, Chapter 15
  20. Rand and Ishamael fight in the sky at Falme. Rand uses the Oneness and saidin to make him one with Tam's sword.The Great Hunt, Chapter 47 After his victory, the fight leaves another heron seared into the other hand.The Great Hunt, Chapter 49
  21. Remembrance lost is the history of the Aiel, shown through the Glass columns in Rhuidean.
  22. 22.0 22.1 The Shadow Rising, Chapter 25
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 The Shadow Rising, Chapter 26
  24. A Memory of Light
  25. Perrin, Rand, Mat, Hurin, and Ingtar are the first to volunteer to enter Falme. Verin does not allow anyone else to go.
  26. The Great Hunt, Chapter 44
  27. Ingtar refuses to leave with the group and confesses his sins to Rand with hopes that his sacrifice will lead to repentance.
  28. The Great Hunt, Chapter 46
  29. Rand and Ishamael fight in the sky at Falme.
  30. The Great Hunt, Chapter 47
  31. Rand infiltrates the Stone at takes Callandor out of desperation. The Stone does not fall until after he proclaims himself.
  32. The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 55
  33. As quoted by Thomdril Merrilin.
  34. The Aiel infiltrate Tear and sneak into the Stone prior to Rand's third fight with Ishamael.
  35. The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 54
  36. Rand thrusts Callandor into the Heart of the Stone within the Stone of Tear, telling the Tairens that he will come back for the sword.
  37. The Shadow Rising, Chapter 21
  38. Rand admits to Moiraine that he left Callandor in Tear in order to bind the Tairens to him because they will fear his return.
  39. 39.0 39.1 The Fires of Heaven, Chapter 2
  40. Jahar Narishma draws the sword out for Rand prior to his Altaran Campaign against the Seanchan.
  41. The Fires of Heaven, Chapter 21
  42. The first Bubble of evil Rand experiences turns his reflections into human flesh.
  43. The Shadow Rising, Chapter 2
  44. This is Rand after his travels through the Glass columns and is marked as the Car'a'carn.
  45. Rand and Mat flee the mist covered Rhuidean when a Bubble of evil creates creatures out of sand.
  46. Rand defeats Asmodean by severing his connection to the Dark One, leaving him no choice but to help Rand or risk execution from the other Forsaken.
  47. The Shadow Rising, Chapter 58
  48. Rand defeats Asmodean in Rhuidean.
  49. The Shadow Rising, Chapter 24
  50. Moiraine asks Rand where will he lead the spears to war once more in Cold Rocks Hold once she understands that the spears in prophecy point to the Aiel, not the Tairens.
  51. The Shadow Rising, Chapter 49
  52. When Moiraine prods Rand, he admits that his plan to lead all eleven Clans across the Dragonwall in order to quell the nations through strength, not diplomacy as Moiraine planned.
  53. When news of Shaido and their departure from the Aiel Waste reaches Rand, he orders the Clan chiefs to rouse the spears and follow him.
  54. The Fires of Heaven, Chapter 7
  55. Rand tells the Aiel at Alcair Dal about a time when they followed the Way of the Leaf, creating the Bleakness.
  56. 56.0 56.1 The Shadow Rising, Chapter 57
  57. The Aiel history hidden in the Glass columns in Rhuidean.
  58. 58.0 58.1 58.2 58.3 As quoted by Moiraine.
  59. Rand tells the Aiel at Alcair Dal about a time when they followed the Way of the Leaf, creating the Bleakness.
  60. Fragment from The Prophecies of the Dragon believed translated by N'Delia Basolaine, First Maid and Swordfast to Raidhen of Hol Cuchone (circa 400 AB).
  61. The Fires of Heaven, Prologue
  62. After the battle of Dumai's Wells, Rand counts twenty-three Aes Sedai prisoners from the White Tower...and nine representatives from the Salidar Aes Sedai Because they brought nine when he said six, he now places them on the same level at the other Aes Sedai and orders them to kneel. With the forgotten sign, the ancient Aes Sedai symbol above everyone, the unstained tower, broken represented by the two groups of Aes Sedai, swear fealty to the Dragon Reborn.
  63. Lord of Chaos, Chapter 55
  64. The Prophecies of the Dragon translation by Jeorad Manyard Governor of the Province of Andor for the High King, Artur Paendrag Tanreall.
  65. Lord of Chaos, Epilogue
  66. From a much-disputed translation by the poet Kyera Termendal of Shiota, believed to have been published between FY 700 and FY 800.
  67. A Crown of Swords, Prologue
  68. A Crown of Swords, Chapter 18
  69. A Crown of Swords, Chapter 41 - From a fragmentary translation attributed to Lord Mangore Kiramin, Sword-bard of Aramaelle and Warder to Caraighan Maconar, into what was then called the vulgar tongue, circa 300 AB.
  70. Winter's Heart, Prologue
  71. Crossroads of Twilight, Prologue - From the translation believed done by Jain Charin, known as Jain Farstrider, shortly before his disappearance.
  72. The Gathering Storm, Chapter 45
  73. A Crown of Swords, Chapter 34
  74. In AMoL it is referenced that the third age ends and the fourth age began at noon referencing a death and birth during the final battle.
  75. The Shadow Rising, Chapter 3
  76. Fortune rides like the sun on high" - This can be literal, given that Tuon's name is Fortuona and she literally rode with the Fox (Mat). On the other hand, metaphorically, the phrase "rides like the sun on high" may also be a reference to Fortuona as Empress of the Seanchan. Or this could be a reference to Mat's specific brand of ta'veren nature, dealing in especially good, or bad, luck and fortune.
  77. Crossroads of Twilight, Chapter 28
  78. Knife of Dreams, Chapter 4
  79. The Shadow Rising, Chapter 1
  80. The Dragon Reborn, Prologue
  81. The Great Hunt, Chapter 46 - Paraphrased by Uno Nomesta
  82. The Great Hunt, Chapter 5 - Paraphrased by Siuan Sanche
  83. The Great Hunt, Chapter 20
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