Abilities and Usefullness

[trakand_01]

I've been thinking about individuals and their usefulness. Obviously we are all very caught up in the sub-plots and side-stories that each character is going through, but I wanted to consider each individual and their purpose when TG comes. I found that overall, we (the Light) have many many skills which maybe we had overlooked.

 

You've probably already thought of this but just bear with me  ;)

 

Rand - the DR, channeller, born to be the martyr of the Light. Obvious really

 

Mat - has acquired exceptional skill and knowledge as a general. Knows battle tactics and ways of controlling an army which have been lost through the generations. Will likely control Rand's armies along with Bashere at TG and will have the element of surprise over much of the enemy (with his methods). Also happens to have fallen in love with one of the royal family of the Seanchan.

 

Perrin - Can talk to wolves. Has the ability to provide highly effective scouts for the Light, and call in lupine reinforcements. The equivalent of those who gather info from the Ravens for the Dark.

 

Egwene - channeler. Few other 'skills'. I'm only on book 8 so dont know what she does in 9-11 but have the feeling we have more to come from her, in practical terms. Presumably binds the AS to Rand. Also may well be the tie between Gawyn and Rand, as Gawyn would certainly be a good addition to Rand's little coterie.

 

Nynaeve - channeler. No other skills apparent at present. I'm waiting though...

 

Elayne - can reproduce angreal. Mother of Rand's twins, soon-to-be Queen of Andor (remember i'm on book 8).

 

Aviendha - can 'read' angreal etc.

 

Min - can read people / auras. Can vaguely predict the future.

 

Lan - highly skilled fighter. Soon to be in a very interesting position when Moiraine comes back. King of Malkier and widely respected throughout the borderlands.

 

Faile - very intelligent woman. Sharp, daughter of the Marshall-General of Saldea - could turn out to be very influential indeed.

 

So, overall Rand can use Perrins' wolves to scout ahead of his army, which will be led by Mat and Bashere - one personally experienced the other holding hundreds of years of memories of battles gone, and tactics which once surprised and raised respect from Lan.

 

He will have Aes Sedai bound to him, perhaps the entire White Tower through the relationship he has with Egwene, and they will have a vast supply of 'angreal, sa'angreal and ter'angreal (possibly), read by Aviendha and recreated by Elayne.

 

He will have the Seanchan, tied to him through Mat and whatever transpires when he 'kneels to the Crystal Throne', and quite possibly two lost civilisations - Manetheren and Malkier, will rise from the ashes and fight behind him, with Perrin and Lan at their head...

 

Perhaps I've read this wrong. What do you think?

 

Personally I think that Mat and Egwene are the two most useful to Rand, purely because of their skills, knowledge and access to resources (Aes Sedai / Seanchan) that Rand needs.

[Majsju]

He will have the Seanchan, tied to him through Mat and whatever transpires when he 'kneels to the Crystal Throne', and quite possibly two lost civilisations - Manetheren and Malkier, will rise from the ashes and fight behind him, with Perrin and Lan at their head...

 

Perhaps I've read this wrong. What do you think?

 

Some random comments...

 

Rand kneeling gto the Crystal Throne is most likely the result of Ishamael messing up the Seanchan prophecies, and will thus never happen. Tuon might make some crazy demands, but Rand has gathered an army strong enough to destroy the Seanchan on thos side of the ocean completely, so it should not be hard for him to make her shut up.

 

Malkier is Dead, let it rest in peace.

Manetheren is Dead, let it rest in peace.

Digging up dead nations from the grave does not fit with the story.

 

That said, through Lan, Rand will get an army of the surviving malkieri, together with some civilian borderlanders. Not exactly the might of a nation, but enough to make a strong last stance that allows Lan to get a noble warriors death.

 

Through Perrin, Rand will most likely have a quite diverse army. Two Rivers folk, soldiers from Ghealdan, quite possibly the soldiers from Mayene will stay with him (it's not like Berelain will lead them into battle), and the channelers with him.

While he does have his connection to the wolves, they certainly does not view him as some kind of "king". They will be there for TG, but on their terms.

 

Bashere as a commander...Would not count on that, as there are a few hints that he might die, or betray Rand.

 

Mat as commander...I think that in the field Mat will only lead the Band, them being the army that is familiar with Mats ideas. There is not time for him to train a much larger army into following his sometimes quite unorthodox ideas. If there is time, he might help Rand and other generals with the overall tactics, but that is assuming there is time for a nice get-together with Rand revealing all his plans. Unfortunatly for them, I don't think the shadow is such a fair player that they will wait for this to happen.

 

 

[trakand_01]

Thanks for your comments  ;D I am only on book 8 and although I have read it, cannot remember book 9 so there are obviously things i've forgotten / not come across yet.

 

 

[Guest durram laddel cham]

Remember Egwene being Amyrlin? she'll probably lead the WT in TG, confirming your thought of Egwene binding the WT to him.

[trakand_01]

Yeah Egwene is Amyrlin already, currently she's just had the tower declare war on Elaida and thus agree to follow her as their supreme leader as per the rules of war. I wondered if she might swear to Rand; she knows his fight is so important.

[Farslayer]

Don't forget Nynaeve can heal stilling, only two people on the Light can do that.

[Majsju]

Don't forget Nynaeve can heal stilling, only two people on the Light can do that.

 

Not anymore, since she showed the weave to pretty much every single Yellow sister in Salidar, and probably quite a few others as well.

 

I wondered if she might swear to Rand; she knows his fight is so important.

 

Oh, she better not.

[aevogt]

 

 

I wondered if she might swear to Rand; she knows his fight is so important.

 

Oh, she better not.

 

 

Yeah, I can think of a lot of things that would happen before Egwene swears to Rand, or any man, for that matter. 

 

 

 

[Shaidar_Rannow]

I think of all the people Rand has access to I wouldnt be suprised to see Moraine being the most important of all. When she shows up Rand will soften, Cad can do her job(Then hopefully die, what a b!tkh) Also Ewegune will be maybe a bit more important since she is Armlyin but she will lead the WT to TG under its own banner I would think. A common goal there, but Aes Sedai will not just follow Rand. They are far to haughty for that. They would all do well serving as GaiShain for a year and a day I say.

[aussie_ashaman123]

nynaeve is the healer strongest in the power. that may be important if she decides to finally heal death (such as a certain dragon reborn)

[walkerhound]

Rand kneeling gto the Crystal Throne is most likely the result of Ishamael messing up the Seanchan prophecies

 

Or maybe it's the other way around?

 

While he does have his connection to the wolves, they certainly does not view him as some kind of "king".

 

Not orders per say but it dose open the possibility of communication and thus coordination with the rest of the army's of light.

 

The wolves seam clear that there going to be there at the last hunt (i.e TG).  perrin could mean the deference between a bunch of wolves showing up and going for what ever shadow spawn happen to be in front of 'em or being a lest some what an integrated part of the armies’ of light. 

 

[Majsju]

Or maybe it's the other way around?

 

Not very likely. The Seanchan has one source for the Prophecies they consider "pure", the copy Luthair brought with him. Which means easy access for Ishy to get his hands on it. For him to mess up the Randland Prophecies, he would have to hunt down dozens of copies.

 

Not orders per say but it dose open the possibility of communication and thus coordination with the rest of the army's of light.

 

The wolves seam clear that there going to be there at the last hunt (i.e TG).  perrin could mean the deference between a bunch of wolves showing up and going for what ever shadow spawn happen to be in front of 'em or being a lest some what an integrated part of the armies’ of light. 

 

Possibly. But the point is the difference between giving orders and asking favours.

[Niss]

 

Not orders per say but it dose open the possibility of communication and thus coordination with the rest of the army's of light.

 

The wolves seam clear that there going to be there at the last hunt (i.e TG).  perrin could mean the deference between a bunch of wolves showing up and going for what ever shadow spawn happen to be in front of 'em or being a lest some what an integrated part of the armies’ of light. 

 

Possibly. But the point is the difference between giving orders and asking favours.

 

    The wolves are going to fight in TG. Although they have no obligation to fight with rand they probably would. Perrin could convince them the benefits of fighting as a "pack", all those for the light together. Remember they are completely rational thinking beings and would see the logic in fighting that way. It is not a favor to ask some one to do something that is mutually beneficial. the wolves would fight anyway now less get to die … so far haven’t seen the down side. They just need a communicator hmmm where do I know one of those….???

 

Mat as commander...I think that in the field Mat will only lead the Band, them being the army that is familiar with Mats ideas. There is not time for him to train a much larger army into following his sometimes quite unorthodox ideas.

    Mat as commander...if you knew the end of the world is coming would you be picky? No, you would fight. Mat although lazy he is not stupid, if Bashere is not there he would lead Rand’s army, he dose not want to die. And how do you think he became a commander in the first place.... he is gooood. In addition his troops trust him so they will tell the others about him-- he's famous isn’t he. Everyone knows him as the luckiest commander.

 

Malkier is Dead, let it rest in peace.

Manetheren is Dead, let it rest in peace.

Digging up dead nations from the grave does not fit with the story.

 

That said, through Lan, Rand will get an army of the surviving malkieri, together with some civilian borderlanders. Not exactly the might of a nation, but enough to make a strong last stance that allows Lan to get a noble warriors death.

Although Malkier is dead Lan could probably dreg up half the borderlands if not more to fight. Remember everywhere he goes up there you have half the warriors saying they are ready to fight for him (NS).

 

[Shaidar_Rannow]

nynaeve is the healer strongest in the power. that may be important if she decides to finally heal death (such as a certain dragon reborn)

 

Actually I believe that Sumeko of the Kin has a better ability in healing than Nynaeve. She may be weaker but quality beats quanity. Plus shes a moron hopefully she dies in TG.

[aussie_ashaman123]

quality beat quantity in some cases, but bring someone back from the dead is gonna require a lot more of the Power, you're gonna need someone you can heal unusually well and move a lot of the one power at the same time, possibly linked with Flinn

[Shaidar_Rannow]

My understanding of ALL healing comes down to the ability to weave. There are many weaker channelers that can heal remarkably better than others. Moraine had little facility in healing BUT she was among the strongest cheannelers.(prior to the wonder girls) That tells me that it doesnt matter how strong you are specifically but how well you weave.

[Generic Aelfinn #2]

um...i'm pretty sure moiraine was quite skilled at healing....not a yellow, but definitely better than average

[Shaidar_Rannow]

In TEoTW I am sure she says she lacks a great ability in healing. In fact I think its just after winternight. I will seek out specifics.

[Leopoled Boothe]

Egwene - channeler. Few other 'skills'. I'm only on book 8 so dont know what she does in 9-11 but have the feeling we have more to come from her, in practical terms. Presumably binds the AS to Rand. Also may well be the tie between Gawyn and Rand, as Gawyn would certainly be a good addition to Rand's little coterie.

 

Egewen is more than just a mere channeler as she is also a dream walker, a skill that was all but lost to the Aes Sedai thus giving her a very unique tallent among other channelers.  Granted the Aiel wise ones had been using this trick the whole time I believe that Egwene will prove to be a particularly gifted dream walker even for wise one standards.

 

Nynaeve - channeler. No other skills apparent at present. I'm waiting though...

 

Also not just another channeler.  Nyneaves special skill is not just being a particularly powerfull channeler but rather her special tallent is her apititude for healing.  She has found a way to heal severed channelers and as far as we know she is the first person ever to accomplish this feat.  They have stated that this skill was not even known in the AOL.

 

So to sum up Egewene and Nyneave are not just channelers.  Each has a very unique tallent unto herself.  Egwenes skill = Dream walking

Nyneaves skill = Healing

[Shaidar_Rannow]

Nynaeve stumbled onto the healing weave for stilling. The reason no one else did is simply because they didnt try, I mean why would they? Stilling and Gentling were punishments, not meant to be healed. She got lucky. Not to mention that Moggy helped in her other discoveries. Egwene has more than dreamwalking, she also can delve quite remarkably. Though the wondergirls discoveries(by that I mean Moggy) may yet pale to the abilities of some of the Damane, who have shown great aptatude in things also not seen in Randland for some time.

[wvlr]

Aviendha - can 'read' angreal etc.

*************

So, overall Rand can use Perrins' wolves to scout ahead of his army,

 

I thought you said that you were only up to Book 8.    That Aviendha one was not until MUCH LATER.

 

I don't think that Perrin has told Rand about the "wovles". 

[Shaidar_Rannow]

Does Faile even know conretely? He finds it shaming and always has shyed away from questions concerning it. He isnt all that important. Oh you can talk to wolves, big deal. Elayas said it takes a pack to take down a fade, how many wolves do you think live in Randland? Not enough to be any use. The Mask of Mirrors is more likely to be employed for scouts.

[BKVMC]

Nynaeve stumbled onto the healing weave for stilling. The reason no one else did is simply because they didnt try, I mean why would they? Stilling and Gentling were punishments, not meant to be healed. She got lucky. Not to mention that Moggy helped in her other discoveries. Egwene has more than dreamwalking, she also can delve quite remarkably. Though the wondergirls discoveries(by that I mean Moggy) may yet pale to the abilities of some of the Damane, who have shown great aptatude in things also not seen in Randland for some time.

 

i  politely  disagree i  think it  would have been studied  by the light and  dark forces  to  try  to get their  people back on the field  they  believed absolutely  that still cannot be healed  the same way  the current aes sedai felt. also  while current aes sedai  havent  studied  stilled women  so much they have  studied gentled men.  Moghedien in no way  shape or form  added anything to  Nynaeve  healing  being stilled Moghedien  couldnt even  tell her how to heal  individual body  parts  like they  did in her own age  she is no better as  a  healer than any random aes sedai of present day.

 

Nynaeve is like the flip side of damer flinn and i  anticipate them working together  in  AMOL.

[Shaidar_Rannow]

First of all, I did not say moggy told nyneave how to heal stilling, I was refrencing her other "discoveries". Secondly, you show me valid proof that other Aes Sedai tried to heal stilling or gentling, I will retract my statement. Nyneave healed Logain by stroke of luck. Trial and error.

[BKVMC]

First of all, I did not say moggy told nyneave how to heal stilling, I was refrencing her other "discoveries". Secondly, you show me valid proof that other Aes Sedai tried to heal stilling or gentling, I will retract my statement. Nyneave healed Logain by stroke of luck. Trial and error.

 

2  chanellers  stumbled into  healing  stilled people  and for  2 ages we know of  that has never been done before  they both are very lucky( or they have a talent for  delving people  and seeing things most people overlook) !  you honestly believe that  no channeler in the AOL or this age ever  studied a  stilled person  even if they  werent trying to heal  them ?