Why is channeling banned at Shayol Ghul?

[OsaroLJ]

I've been reading the books over again and I noticed an interesting threat that comes up over and over again. Each time a forsaken enters Shayol Ghul, they explicitly state that it is forbidden to channel there. They state that the penalty is death. My question is why? Is the DO afraid of channeling? Is there something in the OP that maybe scares him? Regardless, how does this "fear" affect Rand and his quest to defeat Shaitan?

 

Anybody know?

[callandor]

to show respect? ??? maybe just cause if they do, the DO's power would be to over-whelming and it would destroy them. it might be something they themselves set as a law or rule.

[OsaroLJ]

why would it be disrespectful to channel in shayol ghul? It's not like they can challenge him...or can even harm him in any way (supposedly)

 

Also, I doubt the forsaken set it as a law because there were occasions where they hold the Source amongst each other. What makes Shayol Ghul different?

[callandor]

um... its Shayol Ghul? ::)

[Rainman]

I could be wrong but doesn't it have something to do with the taint of the DO's presence corrupting whatever the person channeling is trying to do that makes it dangerous?

[bcxanth]

The way I understand it, it's because the Bore makes the power so wild and uncontrollable it could rip them apart.

[Majsju]

Week 9 Question: We've read in the Forsaken's POVs that channeling in the Pit of Doom would have some...unpleasant...effects. Is this related to the nature of the opposition of the One Power to the True Power or is it the Dark One consciously acting against the channeler? If so, why should the Dark One care?

 

Robert Jordan Answers:It is a matter of the Dark One consciously acting, though interactions between the One Power and him, the source of the True Power, can be unpredictable. The Dark One is not pleasant. He is also highly distrustful. He…dislikes…things that happen outside his control or not at his order. Call him the ur-control freak. Combine these two facts, and anyone channeling in the Pit of Doom without permission can expect swift punishment on the assumption that failure to ask permission means you intend to do something he won't like. It isn't that he believes anyone can harm him, just that he is in charge, and your failure to ask permission, your presumed intention to do something he wouldn't like, means that your faithfulness quotient has just suffered a severe downturn. Myself, I'd sell you short in a skinny minute.

 

http://www.wotmania.com/faqtopic.asp?ID=152

 

[Ealdur Tinuviel]

Maj got to it before me...

[GrandpaG]

I envision it this way:

 

The DO is like a big time gangster (Al Capone, e.g.).  He is very powerful and well protected.  Imagine a small time hood (aka Chosen) coming to meet the big boss.  He walks into a room of thugs holding tommy guns all pointed at him and ready to fire.  Should the boss be afraid of the pocket knife in the hood's pocket?  No.  But, if the boss told the hood "no weapons in my hideout" and the hood pulled out the knife to peel an apple, what would happen?

 

 

BBBBBBBBBDDDDDDRRRRRRRRDDDDDUUUUUUMMMMMMPPPPPPPPPLLLLLLLLTTTTTT!!!

* chunks of red meat flying in all directions *

* hood's body convulses as slugs push and tug at each square inch *

 

Was he a threat to the boss?  Hardly.  Did he disobey?  Yup.  Case closed.  Sentence administered.  The next hood won't bring a tooth pick let alone a pocket knife.  Does that make sense?

[Blackrose]

GG great metaphor(SP?) 

 

 

I thought it had something to do with the unstablbility(SP?) inside the bore so any channeling would go wrong and/or oversurge and kill the channeler

 

im probabily wrong but that my 2p worth

[loki redfern]

i also would have though it would have been disrepectfull to use the OP there, seeing as its basically like the power that the creator provided to power the wheel, you know the same wheel the DO wants to break..and ect, so its like 'hey your stuck in a hole and look what the creator can do :P' that would annoy the hel out of me too

[Ealdur Tinuviel]

Well, I dont really think he wants anyone using the True Power either...

 

The One Power is neutral though...

[Darth_Andrea]

I honestly thought that it might have something to do with the seal on the prison. I figured they feared channeling around the seal in fear that it might re-capture them. Obviously I was wrong but it seemed plausable at the time.

 

 

Darth_Andrea

[Ealdur Tinuviel]

Well, it still seems plausible, since cuendillar is made stronger by the OP.

 

However, the cuendillar seals were just focal points for the prison, and they were already warped pretty much beyond recognition by the DO. I assume the True Power is what weakened the seals to the point they were.

 

And in fact, it seems more and more like the cuendillar seals simply reflect the strength of the true seal. They've gotten to the point that now they can be broken easily, so they are kept with Rand, and DF's want after them so they can break them and free the DO to the extent he was free in the AoL.