Hello everyone. This is my first time posting on this site, but I have been a long time reader. As we near the end of the series, the purpose of Callandor has begun to bother me. I looked through the theory index, and I didnt see my theory anywhere. If someone has already put this up, I apologize. Here it goes...

CK: During the War of Power, two huge Sa'angreal, one attuned to saidin and one to saidar, were constructed. The Choedan Kal were to be used to destroy the Shadow's forces and erect a barrier around Shayol Ghul until there was a safe method to permanently seal the Bore.

As an example of how powerful the CK is, this is an exerpt from Winter Hearts, by Cadsuane.

TITLE: Winter's Heart
CHAPTER: 35 - With the Choedan Kal
Cadsuane hesitated, something she was not accustomed to doing. The girl could not leave the circle until young al'Thor released her, but unless these Choedan Kal were flawed in the same way as Callandor, she would be buffered against taking in enough of the Power to damage her. Except that she was acting as a conduit for far more of saidar than the entire White Tower could have handled using every angreal and sa'angreal the Tower possessed. After having that flow through her for hours, simple physical exhaustion might be killing her.

This is just the power wielded by the female access key. When combined with the power of the male access key, its no surprise why Lanfear thought with both, one could challenge the Dark One or the Creator (occurs when she sees Rand with the access keys, in the Shadow Rising).

Thus considering the power just one of these access keys can grant, its surprising to read Osangar's thoughts regarding Callandor....also in Winter Hearts.

TITLE: Winter's Heart
CHAPTER: 35 - With the Choedan Kal
A pity it had to be destroyed along with al'Thor. But still, he could take Callandor after al'Thor was dead. No One else among the Chosen possessed so much as an angreal. Even Moridin would quail before him once he had that crystal sword.

Not the CK but Callandor would make Moridin quail?! I read this as its a shame the CK has to be destroyed, but the real prize was Callandor. My friend reads this sentence as, Callandor being a fitting alternative to the loss of the CK. He believes it reads as if Osangar had a choice, it would be the CK and not Callandor. I think my way holds more merit, when you read a recent interview with Brandon Sanderson.

INTERVIEW: Apr, 2012
Afternoon Tea with Brandon Sanderson - Luckers (Paraphrased)

LUCKERS
Okay, so, there have been three incidences where characters have ignored the Choedan Kal in favour of Callandor—or well, not even that. Just ignored the Choedan Kal. Shaidar Haran in The Gathering Storm when Elza took the Domination Band, Solinda during Rand’s flashbacks was the one who gave the ter’angreal to the Aiel, but made no efforts to secure the Choedan Kal like Callandor, and the Aes Sedai who was looking to fight Ishamael during the breaking who took sa’angreal from the Aiel, but left the Choedan Kal. So I guess the question is...

BRANDON SANDERSON
Why are they choosing Callandor over the Choedan Kal?

LUCKERS
Well, not even that, really, because two of those have nothing to do with the Callandor. I guess it’s more, was there something dodgy... did they know something about the Choedan Kal... why did they leave it?

BRANDON SANDERSON
There is a reason. It has to do with Callandor being key to the ending, and the Choedan Kal not.

This is very interesting. Considering the amount of One Power the CK can grant(and its safely done...has a buffer to prevent burning out), the final battle cant be about Callandor just granting great access to the One Power(as an addendum, I would like to add, that Callandor is in fact the 3rd most powerful Sa'angreal ever created for men...the first is the CK, and the second has never been mentioned...at least not that I remember).

In an interview with RJ a few years ago, the origins of Callandor were briefly discussed.

INTERVIEW: Oct 28th, 2005
KOD Signing Report - Jason Wolfbrother (Paraphrased)

JASON WOLFBROTHER
Was Callandor constructed during the War of Power?

ROBERT JORDAN
Yes.

JASON WOLFBROTHER
Was it used in the War of Power?

ROBERT JORDAN
Yes, that is how the flaw was discovered.

JASON WOLFBROTHER
Why didn't they ward/buffer Callandor?

ROBERT JORDAN
The flaw with Callandor is simply a manufacturing flaw. He went on to talk about how they were at the end of their tech age with only a few sho-wings and jo-cars left. A couple of shocklances were still around but they were not as prevalent as they had been. Anyway they had been mass producing ter'angreal, angreal, and sa'angreal, and there are bound to be flaws with the products. The flaw with Callandor is simply one such flaw.

The known flaw of Callandor was discovered during the Age of Legends (its lack of buffer allows a person to draw on incredible amounts of One Power, but said person would burn out). As LTT was present during this time, its safe to say he would have known about any KNOWN flaw. Since Rand has "accepted" all of LTT memories, and still doesnt know what the flaw in Callandor is, I think its unknown function was known only to a few. They hid clues in the prophecies of the Dragon, so that one day the dragon reborn would be able to use the flaw to his advantage.

In TGS Ch. 48: Rand wonders about Callandor. (It is an inferior and flawed Sa'angreal. So why is it mentioned in the prophecies of the dragon, and the CK are not).

The prophecy: He shall hold a blade of light in his hands, and the 3 shall be as one. (I have bolded hands, since this will be mentioned in my theory...Also, I think the 3 shall be as one, is not just the 3 people being linked as one, but of 3 powers being linked as one (Saidar, Saidin, and the True Power or Saidar, Saidin and the True Source).

In case someone is confused by my use of True Power and True Source: The True Power is derived from the Dark One. The True Source is the driving force of the Universe. While independent of the True Source, Saidar and Saidin still draw upon its power.

My theory: I think this Last Battle is going to be a more permanent one. No I dont think the Dark One will be destroyed, but I do think his imprisonment will be permanent. During the AoL, Tamyrilin was able to sense an unknown power source, through a thin patch on the Dark One's seal. LTT tried to seal the bore, but was only able to use Saidin (since the female Aes Sedai refused to help in his mad plan), thus while present, the Seal was weak, and only a patch. In ToM, Rand believes he has to break the remaining seals, and place them again using both Saidar and Saidin. If this was just ANOTHER LB, I think this end would occur. The Seal on the DO prison would be more secure than LTT's, and we would wait again for the Age where someone would bore a hole through it again (after sensing the unknown power behind it). The cycle would continue, and Ishamael/Moridin would be right in their view point of this battle eventually being won by the DO.

For me, I believe RJ told us the story of this LB, because the pattern allowed for a different outcome then just another stalemate. As i believe the DO can not be destroyed, his death is not the victory.....instead its his imprisonment. When Rand re-seals the DO prison, if the seal was no longer thin, then perhaps the next turn of the Age, their will be no weakness for someone to sense the DO, and bore their hole.

At first I thought it would just be done by using Saidar and Saidin together. But if that were the case, the CK would be more than enough power to accomplish the feat, and Callandor would be useless. Since Callandor plays such a crucial role in the LB, I believe the final seals will be made from more than just the One Power. I think the TRUE flaw in Callandor will allow Rand access to another power source....the True Source or even the True Power (I realize that this power is granted by the Dark One, but in past interviews it has been mentioned that there is an alternate method for tapping into the True Power).

How will Rand be able to tap into this power? At some point, someone from the AoL had figured out the flaw. Being so close to the end, perhaps that person didnt want to risk one of the Forsaken gaining access to Callandor and this alternate power source. Min will eventually ferret out this secret from her studies, and inform Rand. When you take the prophecies of the dragon into account, i think i have an idea of how Rand will access the flaw.

Prophecies of the Dragon: He shall hold a blade of light in his hands, and the 3 shall be one. (We have known for some time now, that Rand only has one hand. How is it possible for him to hold something in both hands? After he lost his hand during the confontration with Semmi, Rand remarks on how he will have to re-learn to sword forms. Since that time, he has had little or no opportunity to practice the Sword. I think once everyone is done talking at the Field of M, someone will come up with a fake hand for Rand to use. We know this from Min's viewing in ToM.....She saw a glowing Sword, Callandor, being gripped in a black hand.....I think this hand will be made from Cuendillar (Since its black and not the white Cuendilllar that Ewgene makes, I think it will be made with both Saidar and Saidin), and it will act as an access key for Callandor's hidden flaw.

Looking forward to what you guys think.