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Kills
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Kills
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High above them the sky was blue, blank, and cloudless, and seemed innocent of any gods. And yet it might have been that forces were massing invisibly behind the two men; though the gunslinger and the sorceror stood alone as they faced each other before the battle, it could be said that each had a higher power on his side.
In Roland’s world, it is called ka. In Rand al’Thor’s, it is the Wheel of Time. They are guided, protected, blessed, burdened, and cursed by these forces; in mysterious, unseen hands are their fates written. Ka has always guided Roland to the Tower, through all his endless lifetimes; the Pattern is woven around Rand.
But these were not the only powers that ruled this match.
Before the battle, another yet more ferocious battle was raging in the stands, as wagers were taken, the odds rose and fell by the hour, and long, boozy arguments were carried over from tailgate parties to the arena benches. Though the tumult in the stands was nearly deafening, every voice sought to answer the same question: What was it, after all, that would decide this battle? Some referred to ancient and immutable laws–Guns beat swords. Magic beats guns–in endless philosophical rock-paper-scissors-style throwdowns. Convoluted quasi-theological arguments parsing the nature of ka, the vast and mysterious workings of the Pattern, grew thick and fast like choking vines.
The Tower junkies and WoT fanboys raised voices, raised fists…and raised glasses in celebration of the two great warriors before them. In the end, their applause would prove greater than either ka or the Wheel.
But as the match began, Roland gave no thought to cultivating their adoration, to converting those skeptics who had doubted he could take down the Elric and Gandalf–there was no time. No matter how it ended, it would end quickly…so quickly that later few who watched could even describe what they saw.
It was agreed that Roland must have drawn his guns. It could even be seen on the instant replay after the match–though only when played back in slow motion, and even then the motion of the gunslinger’s hands was a bright and blinding blur.
And even the most fervent Tower junkies could not argue that Rand al’Thor–now the highest-ranking seed left in the tournament, the oddsmakers noted–had not been ready, or that he did not have great, universe-shattering powers to call on. After all, the destruction of both Locke Lamora and Conan had been the work of an instant.
But it happened in less than an instant, in a unit of time so small it cannot be measured or named.
It was only for Roland that the event was perfectly perceivable; it had happened in the strange field of infinitely slow time that only gunslingers know. It was as if, when Roland drew his father’s guns, he had years to line up his sights and find just the right spot in the center of Rand al’Thor’s forehead. That the bullet took another decade to fly to its target straight and true. That the pitiless fusillade of bullets that followed–after fighting Elric and Gandalf, Roland knew that it was better to be safe than sorry–seemed to him as the stately movement of the planets around the sun.
As the bullets slammed into the sorceror’s body, Roland saw Rand hang suspended in the air, borne aloft by the impact of each bullet, for so painfully long that the old sorrows gripped his heart; another hero dead, and all for the Tower. He watched each droplet of blood gleam in the sunlight, soar through the air, and fall to the ground to darkly stain the dust. When Rand’s body finally fell to the ground it was slowly, heavily, with all the weight of the terrible deed, only the latest in his long and cursed life, that Roland had wrought.
The world around Roland slid into focus again. The killing had ended, for now.
For a moment, but only for a moment, the stands fell silent as the stunned audience wondered if they could believe what they had seen. And then they raised their voices…
Predicted Winner: Roland Deschain
(Rand Al’Thor is a character from Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series; Roland Deschain is a character from Stephen King’s Dark Tower series.)
Here, they haven’t, since Rand was leading anyway. On the other match though, in under an hour Drizzt suddenly came from way behind to _just_ ahead of Ged, and is staying exactly there. Weird? May it’s just me and my nasty suspicious mind.
I can believe Dragonmount and co getting in a few thousand votes. Remarkably, though, all those votes came in a VERY short time, I would have expected that not everyone on DM etc would be online at that moment and we should see a steady trickle of votes for several hours, but that didn’t happen. I don’t remember my old stats classes too well, but this seems more like a Poison distribution than a Poisson one. Especially since two matches last round went the same way and got decided (in favour of the one who way initially trailing handsomely) by less than 20 votes (which is a drop in several thousand!)
I can confirm after testing that cheating is possible. I voted once for Rand, once for Roland to cancel it out. I hope you guys can get it fixed! I am really enjoying the tourney!
Just out of curiosity I decided to figure out how hard it would be to hack these counters. Turns out super easy.
Really what you need is a Captcha for voting, else anyone with a small amount of skill can just spam all the votes they want.
I recommend reCaptcha, put all this these man hours of capcha solving toward something productive. http://recaptcha.net/
They say in the Drizzt combat, that you only need to erase your history navigation or vote in private mode, and you can vote anytimes you want… if that’s true…Security fail
As much as I want Roland to win – vote increase by 8,000 or so in 5 minutes cannot be justified in any way. I’m totally fine with popularity/fanboy voting, but not with such blatant cheating (no matter in whose favor). Takes the fun out of it.
What the heck? I have to call major cheating on this. Just two hours ago rand was winning 76% to 24%. Now its 49% to 50%? Suvudu, you really need to step it up on your security system before you hold voting contests like this because apparently your system is very out of date
So i just timed it, there were over 30 new votes in the space of a few minutes. After there already being over sixty thousand votes there is just no way that there are so many people who haven’t voted yet to make this amount of voting in any way conceivable.
Okay–clearly someone didn’t hear the plea.
We’re going to try something–a different, hopefully more secure polling site.
This means that the current votes are going to, unfortunately, be erased. I’m sorry, but it’s the only way we can be sure that peoples’ voices are actually being heard, as opposed to being trounced upon by some bots (although, again, that is a pretty SF thing to do).
In the event we figure out a way to use twiigs in a secure fashion, we still have the results stored. And, if someone can convince us that this wasn’t spamming, we still have the results.
In the meantime, we’re going to try this–which means you’ll have to vote again (and let others know to vote again).
We want this to be fun, and right now it seems like people aren’t having fun.
C’mon, people–we’re better than Florida!
PS–the voting will go until Sunday, March 28th, 8pm EST now.
I think it’s a fair thing to do, it cost us anything to vote again, for this four matches, and is the correct thing to do because this was very disappointing
Awesome. Fingers crossed that it turns out better this time. Personally im pulling for Rand but if the only way for him to pull through is for some idiot to bot it, then id rather him lose. Same with the other way around
If I refresh the page… the options of voting…are again available…I hope that if you vote it didnt cout it or something like that because if don’t…we only make it worse.
Yeah there is… don’t get hit. Read both the WoT and the Dark Tower here. Rand is powerful but ultimately Roland is much, much faster, especially since Rand’s eyesight is messed up now. Channelers get killed by ARROWS all the time; this is a BULLET from the last, greatest gunslinger.
But channelers get killed by arrows in surprise normally, not when you have the archer in front of you, and you know he will shoot (thats my opinion thought)
Thank you, we have already counted your vote.
thats what it says if you refresh and vote again
Whoa. This is no longer even remotely funny. A difference of 10 votes?
All you nerds out there with the trigger-happy coding fingers? Couldja just get outta the way and let us enjoy the frigging match?
Moderators, is there any way we can have a rematch, with captchas for votes, and possibly ipchecks (though the latter is probably too much work, and would cause problems for people who share ips…)
~ The patrician believed in one man, one vote. he was the man, he had the vote.
Whoa, that was the quickest service *evah*
I post a request for a re-poll and refresh it, and voila….
Cool, I like the new one. Deleting cookies no longer makes it possible to vote again.
Cygnus, the argument doesn’t hinge on whether Rand comes in holding the source. Rather, on whether Rand comes in with air shields already in place; Roland’s hands are simply too fast for Rand to even perceive their movement before the bullets get there. Earlier, I cited a wiki on reaction time to back that up. As I said far above, it’s my biggest WoT pet peeve that Rand NEEEEVER has the common sense to put air shields in place before he walks into danger. If I hadn’t given away all my WoT books I’d look for examples, but alas. This stupid lack of shielding is why I’m going with Roland.
Thanks you Random person for check that.
Just a moment before I was reading the last book and he felt danger and the firts thought he has is to take up his swords… I only could say: Pum! Roland has killed you xD… he sais that is gonna change that… I’ll if this is true…
Thanks for restarting the match. I definetly dont want Rands victory to be tainted.
That happens in the 11th book Knife of Dreams. The newest book is The Gathering Storm mate
Can you dodge Balefire? Because it seems that with Roland’s incredible reflexes it might be possible to aviod it. And if so, how long would it take for Rand to send another blast?
Yes yes I’m talking about Gathering Storm, I started it yesterday, is Rand talking with Cadsuane and the Wisdom (I don’t remember her name now) and someone came to the room and he goes for the sword and when he sees that there is no danger he thinks that it would be useless beacause the hand stuff. Thank you for the advise anyway, I started because someone said that he kills one of the Forsaken and I didn’t read that so I started searching in the net (I’m spanish so I didn’t knew that it where on the streets…)
Its to difficult to dodge it because Rand could send a mesh of it like in Resdient Evil movie for example, but like is said before is not necessary for Rand to kill Roland with balefire.
I think we all agree that Roland has damn fast hands, but his supposed ability is edging toward rediculous. Saying Roland could think and shoot Rand before Rand could even percieve it seems farfetched at best. If Rand is holding saidin, its simply untrue, considering that everything is drastically enhanced when one is holding the source. Rand once stopped an arrow in midair that was being fired from a nearby building while he wasn’t even paying attention. Imagine if he actually was prepard? Which if hes in a freakin cage match, he certainly would be ready for a fight. As soon as Roland’s muscles tensed up, a saidin weilding Rand would end the match. Now if hes not holding saidin, hes most likely screwed of course, but we all know that. I love em both, so no fanboyism from me, but instant apocalyptic power> Really fast Guns anyday.
Even if Roland drew first and hit Rand, would that kill him instantly?
With a mere thought, even whilst riddled with bullets, Rand could hit Roland with balefire and the bullets and any damage would disappear along with Roland, having never existed.
Of course, the fact that the match ever existed would disappear also
Assuming that Roland can “outdraw” Rand I guess it boils down to would it be an Insta-kill shot? If not, would Rand get credit for a match that never existed?
Good point, its worth noting that Roland didn’t actually one shot kill everything in the series. He better hope that he hits the head lol.
if Ronald could beat Gandalf, he can do it with this guy too.
Even if I have read only the 1. book and know too little.
Magic, Roland is a very good shot, if the bullets get to Rand, they are alternating between his face (x6) and his heart(x6). There is absolutely no way Roland would miss in an encounter this close. This is assuming the bullets get to Rand.
lakesidey, there are places where it says balefire instantly connects two points, and places like in The Gathering Storm, where it’s progress is barely visible. (My last point was aimed at your evidence that balefire isn’t instantaneous. Nothing you quoted proved either option)
But now, good Sir, I have my proofs! Robert Jordan, in 2000, stated “Balefire exists wholly and partially outside of time.” (Partially because you can sustain it within time)
This post is for you scorpinox, my post will be longer if I have to drag it out for hours! Mwhahahaha!
Anyways, to end the balefire controversy, lets just leave it out. I’m a good fan of both, which is weird because of the completely different writing style. Still, I’ve got to say Rand, both for power and wisdom. People say Roland is cooler than Rand, and they’re right, for 95% of the time. The 5% blows away Roland’s coolness though.
“How do you fight someone smarter than yourself?” Rand whispered. “The answer is simple. You make her think that you are sitting down across the table from her, ready to play her game. Then you punch her in the face as hard as you can…”
So, yea, I’m making a new faction that says Rand would just weave Folded Light (Invisibility) around himself and stand there watching Roland become impatient. Or maybe just weaves an invisible barrier of air before the match even starts.
I was going to say that the fight hinged on several factors until I read what Kyhkaen wrote and remembered the latest book.
In the last book rand shows that he is far more cold, calculating, and methodical than the rand from the earlier books. If you base your opinion of only the earlier books, then yes, he probably would lose. If you take into account the latest book, then probably not.
Post “Gathering Storm” Rand would wait for the appointed match time and then destroy the stadium, from a safe distance, killing spectators and Roland alike. Then have lunch.
ugh, I’m getting sick of Rand. Seems like nothing can stop him because he’s got the magic death star wand of ultimate deus ex machina in the balefire.
That’s not a weapon, that’s bad writing.
Whole thing should just be a race for second place, the way it’s going now.
Ged can stop him.
Unless fanboys get in the way, of course (and I’m not talking only of WoT fanboys).
Imho, it shouldn’t even be about fighting (their physical attributes). It should be about which character is more interesting (and thus has a bigger fan base) than the other. Vote for who you like. Personally I’m going for Rand because I think Ged can beat him. Then we could see a Kvothe vs. Ged matchup, namer vs. namer.
Ah yes! Folded light! How could I have forgotten? That’s another big advantage for Rand. All he needs to do is weave a barrier of folded light around himself, and he’s invisible to Roland. Roland is a deadly shot, but what he can’t perceive, he can’t shoot, unless he just starts blasting bullets in every direction, which is frankly absurd.
Even assuming Rand doesn’t resort to folded light or an air barrier that renders him immune to bullets, there’s still the fact that his perception and reaction time are increased when he holds Saidin, cancelling out any speed advantage Roland might have, and the possibility of balefire saving him from bullets that have already hit him.
Rand al’Thor all the way.
I’m tired of people going on and on and on and on (etc), about Balefire. What about kvothe? He says a name, poof gone, doesnt exist anymore. Seems a lot like balefire, just without the bale and fire.
Magniloquent is dead on for my largest reason for voting for Rand.
Even looking past that Roland has 1 trick in his bag compared to Rand’s thousands, Roland goes with his gut a lot, while Rand is a cold stone thinker. Relying on intuition and your finger trick against a scheming god-killer like Rand is a good way to die.
Also, good point to whoever pointed out that Roland never 1-shot anyone in DT…
Finally, to those who call balefire deus ex machina, you are mistaken. Deus ex machina means an author’s rabbit-out-of-the-hat for the protagonist in an impossible situation, while balefire was established long before Rand ever used it. Powerful, yes, but so is the Force, and no one ever called it Luke’s deus ex machina when he blew up the Deathstar.
Positronics makes a very good point, i had never even thought of that before. Balefire had been used for over 3,000 years before Rand was even born. Doesn’t seem like a Deus Ex Machina if it existed before the character did
The audacity to think that bullets can hurt Rand.. hmmmm.. would like to see that happen.
Whats with the whole balefire thing? anyone that is up to date with WOT knows that Rand has a lot of deadly tricks for anyone he thinks is dangerous. Balefire is not the only weapon in his arsenal. He’s also an unofficial blademaster and those guys are unusually quick. Maybe I’m being a little bit biased here but i really don’t know anything about roland.. maybe i’ll start reading the dark tower series next.. but right now i have to finish Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson
I know its not his thread but… people keep saying how Kvothe can name something out of existence.
Until Wise Man’s Fear comes out, I think we only know a small part of what Kvothe really can do. It may be a lot more than we expect but it also may be considerably less.
Aside from the contest though, I VERY much look forward to both Tower’s of Midnight, and Wise Man’s Fear to hear about both Rand and Kvothe more. The writings of Ged and Roland though are (as far as I’m aware) complete.
Personally I don’t see Rand using balefire anymore.
Sure in the last book it was like his go to spell of choice, until he almost balefired his dad into last week, realized what he was doing, freaked out, bolted, and then came to terms with his existence.
Not to say he still couldn’t nuke the entire stadium, but I think he’s not so much into balefire now. I’m just saying.
I still like the idea of Rand balefiring himself. Plus, it’s really nice to see stable vote percentages for a change. Good move, Suvudu.
Oops, I spoke too soon. Roland has started gaining. Not implausible yet, just a couple of percentage points in the last 10 minutes, but I’m feeling extra vigilant after the earlier fiascos.
I’m a member of thedarktower.com, and had posted about this cage match business in earlier rounds..but now it has it’s own thread on the forums…that may explain the increases.
I’m like you, though…definitely wary any time the votes have a change.
Also wondering what would happen with a self/balefire.
I will confess that my interest in the potential effects of balefire on Rand is not purely academic. It could become important in future rounds. As far as the voting, it’s back to 59/41 Rand as I write, no obvious anomalies so far.
I have seen theories on WOT boards that the Voice in Rands head tired to balefire himself when he killed himself. It didn’t work, the Dragon is to important to be removed from existence. It did create one big honking mountain though.
It would be awesome if Rand won a round by creating another Dragonmount during this tournament
Roland couldn’t die, he could just ascend or decend a level on the tower, sooner or latter he will find his way through the Ka to put a bullet in Rand forehead. It’s just a loop. It’s Ka
If Roland beats Gandolf, then loses to Rand, I call shenannigans on the whole tourny…
If anyone was going to beat Gandolf, I am glad that it was Roland, based on how much I enjoyed the Dark Tower alone. But it is SO OBVIOUS that Gandolf owns Rand for free…
Past aside I think Rand wins hands down, balefire wouldn’t even be needed, but if Roland beats Gandolf, Roland beats Rand. Simple as that.
You people real books??? Its a wonder North American is losing the world.
If Rand wins and if he uses Balefire. I think a good out come is that he takes Roland out of history far enough back that Roland’s previous kills come back and rejoin the competition. Just thought this would be funny.