Elan Morin aka Ishamael

[parker sheaffer]

I am reading the series for the fourth time and I just noticed something that I should have questioned before. I don't know if others have pointed this out but maybe someone has an explanation for me.

At he beginning of Eye of the World, we find Lews Therin after he has gone insane and destroyed his family. Elan Morin appears to torment him and heals his madness so that he can realize what he has done. The question is, Lews Therin and the companions sealed the dark one and the forsaken into the bore. It was then that the dark one placed the taint one the male power, causing the male Aes Sedai to go mad. If Elan Morin/Ishamael was sealed away, how did he appear to Lews Therin? Was this a mistake on Jordan's part, or am I missing something?

I would love to hear your thoughts, 

Parker

[Thrasymachus]

Ishamael was only partially Sealed.  It took several years for him to become fully subsumed and unable to interact with the world, only for him to return a thousand years later to kick off the Trolloc Wars and form the Black Ajah, be subsumed again, then return again a thousand years after that to corrupt Hawkwing and kick off the Hundred Years War.  I suspect he tried to escape through Tel'aran'Rhiod or perhaps a Dreamshard, but was too close to the Dark One for that to work properly.

[Silasisas]

I am thinking about reading the series and i have to know, what is the magic system in WOT?

[Thrasymachus]

Discovering the nature of magic in the Wheel of Time in reading the books is part of it's charm.  It's a part of the world-building for which Jordan is so highly regarded, and as such, any kind of detailed account of what the magic system is, for a person who hasn't read the books yet, would be pretty spoilery.

 

However, something like this might suffice: Magic is gendered into male and female types.  Magic involves the classical elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit, and working magic is thought of as "weaving threads" of those elements to various effect.  For the last three thousand years, the male half of magic has been cursed such that any wielder of it will go dangerously insane and die of a rotting disease.  Have fun!

[Silasisas]

Thanks, i was deciding whether or not to read, but you sold me on WOT