Mistake in the Pattern

[Lord of the Morning]

Hello all, I'm currently in my third re-read of the series, and something has caught my attention that I wanted to share.  I'm currently about halfway through The Great Hunt, and just witnessed the scene where Ba'alzamon, (aka Ishamael) comes to Rand while in the portal stone world, and realized while reading that Ba'alzamon constantly calls Rand Lews Therin.  This makes sense since Ishamael knew Lews Therin, but Ishamael went further to say that he knew all of Rand's past names and lives.  This also makes sense since Ishy had 3000 years with the DO to learn all the DO knew of the Dragon, but if that's the case, then why did Ishy not continue to brag and call Rand by his other names?  This is easy to answer, since the only past Dragon anyone in the age knows of is Lews Therin.  That should be the end of this but, then I began to think, why is the Dragon reborn but Ishy is not.  In fact it seems as though the Shadow has a decided advantage over the forces of light, because unlike the light, the shadow gets to keep it's 13 most dangerous fighters from the last war.  This is an anomoly, that I feel the creator has repaired with the group that surrounds Rand, (Mat, Perrin, Egwene, Nynaeve, Lan, Thom, and moiraine), who through various ways help Rand to become what he needs to be, (Moiraine's main part in this will take place in amol, when she meets Rand for the first time since her death). 

 

This still doesn't answer however, why the Light gets a new tool, while the dark doesn't.  This isn't right, it is a mistake in the weaving of the pattern, or is it.  What if the pattern continued to weave as normal in the respect of the dragon and the hand of the Dark, what if another, (forget the word, but means the DO's Dragon), was born in the third age.  A man born with the spark of saidin in him, the spark that rivals Rand's own power, in fact during LoC Rand notes that this man is probably as strong as himself, A man born with the ability to channel, yet never went mad, a previous false dragon who said once that he thought he could have been the dragon. 

 

This man is of course Mazrim Taim.  Taim has resisted the corruptedness of saidin his whole time channeling, (about 30 years I think), yet was still willing to let the Aes Sedai turn him into a false dragon.  I do not think Taim was a darkfriend at that time, but he almost certainly is now.  And just as Taim rises in power to match the dragon and Moridin, another man of considerable strength has arisen, a man destined for glory, a man who was gentled, and then given his power back just as Taim met Rand. 

 

Logain.  I won't delve into my feelings on what will happen with Logain, but I feel that he's there to offset the other imbalance in the pattern, two advocates for the DO.  Perhaps this is how he will break the formk of rand that really is not rand?  Perhaps he is destined to kill the man who once thought himself the dragon. 

 

We can only speculate until aMoL comes out, but I feel my idea has some merit to it. 

 

Thoughts?

[RobertAlexWillis]

Ishamael is a liar.  He doesn't really know all that stuff about previous Dragons (as evidenced by his anger in the prologue of TPoD about the things he didn't know).  Not only is he a liar, but he's insane to boot.

 

Mazrim Taim is just a regular male channeler who was probably a Darkfriend before all this began, and is certainly one now.

 

Logain is also just a regular male channeler.

[Lord of the Morning]

I'm not so sure that we can tack ishy as just a liar, consider that he got to hang out with the DO for 3000 years, you'd think that the DO would teach him everything he knew to ensure his victory.  This does not mean that Ishy knows everything in the world, since Shai'tan doesn't know everything, but you have to expect that Ishy does know about the continual battle through the DO.  Logain may be an ordinary male channeler, but I cannot believe that Taim is as well. 

 

[BrainFireBob]

1) Ishy is a liar, RJ even confirms this.

 

2) Darksbane, Stonebow, Logain- these are all false Dragons. Taim is as well. There is only one Dragon soul, and Rand is currently in possession thereof- the prior owner being both dead and insane.

 

3) The DO does not know. The "pattern" of the Age is identical, but not the details. That's what keeps confounding the DO in his bid to take over. There is only one Rand al'Thor ever. If this age repeats again, the Dragon may be raised as a shepherd in a remote region between rivers- but even that may be too specific for the "Pattern" of the Age. Realize, too, that things are far more complicated this time due to the Breaking- madmen can be outside the control of the Pattern, and the DO's counterstrike was not anticipated, even by the Pattern- the Pattern is blind to what the DO does (he is independent of the Pattern). Incidentally, this is why the Forsaken were so desperate for immortality. It's nature+nurture in Randland, not nature alone, that creates a person.

[Majsju]

Ishy did not "hang out" with the DO for 3000 years. He was in a sort of dreamless sleep, except for the times he was released into the world.