Forsaken - the executive dream?

[trakand_01]

So I was reading the BWB about the Forsaken and what each of them did before they became Forsaken. I dont have the books with me now to list each of them in turn, but I remember that Graendal was a psychologist, Semirhage was a doctor, Mesaana a failed teacher - a researcher, Lanfear a scientist and one of Aginor / Balthamel was a biologist, Ishamael was a philanthropist / philosopher and so on.

 

But, apart from... Aginor? Creating the Trollocs and the Myrdraal, and obviously Semirhage's skills at extracting information, I dont think we see very much of their past professions in them.

 

Is it kind of, you become Forsaken and go sit in the shiny glass office with all the executive toys, gradually forgetting what you are skilled at, in favour of using your new-found power to destruct and manipulate?

[General Cauthon]

Graendal use Compulsion on almost everyone, so you can't say she doesn't use her former profession

[trakand_01]

Christ if the aim of a physchologist is to use compulsion on you, I'm never going to see one!  ;)

 

I see the compulsion that she (and moghedien) use as more like a side-benefit of her previous profession. She learnt that whilst conducting her work as a psychologist, it didnt comprise her work entirely.

[Kadere]

Well Mogehiden still uses the shadows to spy on everyone, much like what she did in the AoL. Bal'el still used his netweaving abilities in Tear to rise to power and control things. Messana is in the White Tower, possibly in a teachers position running the Red Ajah and the Black Ajah to do her dirty work like she did with the children in the AoL. Ishamael was all about his philosophical ideas of the Wheel and the ever lasting fight of the Dragon vs. the Nae'blis, and even as Moridin he still thinks in philosophical terms a lot of the time, to him it's logical that the Dark One must win. Demandred is most likely growing a giant army to be the general of. Lanfear uses TAR for her control and to terrorize people, and still plans to turn Rand. Asmodean didn't really do what he did in the AoL, but only because he failed so miserably with his first try. Rahvin used deplomacy over out right attacks to take over Caemlyn, which is what he liked to do in the AoL. Sammael used Illian to try and bring Rand to him because he chooses to defend, if he did attack it was with a certainty of victory, just like he did in AoL. Balthamel also ran a network of spies to rival Mogehiden, and studied ancient cultures, which he now uses to minipulate Egwene and the Aes Sedai.

 

Really, they all still use their old tactics to fight the Light, which is probably why their that much easier to trick. They're too stuck in their ways.

[balefireruinssteaks]

Asmodean didn't really do what he did in the AoL, but only because he failed so miserably with his first try.

 

Asmodean was an accomplished musician/composer.  Not that he couldn't use dark influence to write evil music but it just didn't really transfer over for practical use.  We know that Asmodean joined the Shadow because immortality would give him the ability to compose forever.

 

We don't really know if any of the Forsaken have other Talents like seeing ta'veren, recreating the effects of ta'veren, etc.

[Kadere]

Asmodean's big thing was torturing other musicians and artists by cutting off their fingers or whatever they needed to do their art. Which he never does in the Third Age.

[aussie_ashaman123]

Lanfear and Moghedien uses thier dreamwalking abilties. Moghedien was also worked in insurance, so she takes as few risks as possible.

 

Sammael was a sportsman, kept his gear in perfect condition, the same way his does with his armies (when Rand takes Illian, its only Tairen grain that has kept anyone not in the army alive)

 

Rahvin is an expert manipulator, which is why it was easy for him to gain control of the Andoran throne. He turned Morgases allies against her and filled the palace with those with little loyalty to her, disbanded the army and replaced with his one. It was so subtle that if Lanfear didnt tell Rand where Rahvin was, chances are he still wouldnt know.

[Luckers]

Keep in mind that the thirteen we know weren't always that Chosen in charge of the Shadow. The Chosen rose and fell depending on their skill and ability to manuever. They didn't sign themselves to the shadow and gain immediate power--indeed, from memory, of the thirteen we know only Semirhage, Ishamael, Graendal and later Sammael held consistant authority.

 

We don't even know if the thirteen caught were actually all big shots--there have only been twenty-nine Chosen throughout the War of the Shadow granted access to the True Power, which we can infer means status, yet there were hundreds of thousands of Chosen. Certainly Asmodean never spoke of it, and we have no idea the purpose of the meeting in which the thirteen we know were captured... yes it probably means they were pretty damn high up the food chain, but with hundreds of thousands involved...?

[Majsju]

When it comes to using the TP, keep in mind that an important aspect is the wish to use it. Someone like Asmo, who was a skilled governor, but more or less useless on the battlefield would most likely have found himself in extremely few situations where he would feel desperate enough to actually want to use it.