The Dragon Reborn and the Signs
Introduction
The common belief is that the signs proclaiming the DR's coming are only
necessary for the people of the world to recognize him as the DR, that they have
no function other than that. This common belief does not, in my opinion, fit
with what we know about the signs.
Development
According to the Wise Ones, Tigraine said that disaster would befall the world
if she was not there when the maidens came to Tar Valon. Why should it be a
disaster? Surely it would only mean that the DR would be born somewhere else?
Possibly because people would not believe he was the DR if he wasn't born on the
slopes of Dragonmount, but how many really know that he was anyway? And how many
believe he was? In the words of Mazrim Taim "history would have shown
it." Have any false Dragons had problems because they were not born at the
right place?1
The answer is that it is for the sake of the Pattern that signs are necessary,
at least the first major sign. If he hadn't been born where he was, the Pattern
wouldn't have recognized him as the DR. How can this be? Isn't it the soul that
determines that he is the DR? Yes, it is, but he is only the DR if he is born at
the right time, in the right age. Rand is a hero bound to the Horn, this
according to Artur Hawkwing in tGH, he is most likely spun out in times where
there is no room for the DR. In those incarnations, however, he isn't the DR
because he didn't fulfill the first major sign; born on the slopes of
Dragonmount. If he does proclaim himself the Dragon in those lives, he will
actually be a false Dragon, and I believe this actually happened when Guaire
Amalasan proclaimed himself the Dragon Reborn.2
Well, what does it matter if the Pattern recognizes him or not? If he can
fulfill the next major sign, namely taking Callandor from the Stone. Surely,
Callandor would recognize the soul? Yes, I agree; Callandor would recognize the
soul, but the Pattern would never allow the stone to fall, because it doesn't
recognize the soul.
Conclusion
What else is needed for the Pattern to recognize the DR? Well, he has to
proclaim himself. If he doesn't proclaim himself, he isn't the DR. The Pattern
continues to spin out false Dragons until the moment the DR proclaims himself.
The number of false Dragons increased steadily until Rand's time came. In the
lives he didn't proclaim himself, as we saw when he traveled with the portal
stone, there were even more false Dragons. The Pattern is probably trying to
compensate for the lack of the DR by spinning out false Dragons: "The
Pattern does not demand a Dragon, but the one true Dragon. Until he proclaims
himself, the Pattern will continue to throw up false Dragons, but after that
there will be no others."3