Why didn't Rand notice?

[dmanmiller34]

Ok so we know that the male Forsaken have the little black chains things that protect them from the taint. Rand saw this and Cut Asmo's off and got a teacher. So if Rand was so familliar with these black band things why did he not notice them on Dashiva since it is generally accepted that he is one of the FOrsaken? Dashiva Channled in front of Rand loads of times.

[MystErikEry]

Osan'gar, or Dashiva, is newly-made, and is being given a "last chance" by the Dark One.  It's possible that the Dark One's protection was eliminated.  Or, perhaps, he's discovered how to hide this black tether.

[Minnea]

I thought those "black cords" were only visible in in some places, such as the skimming void where Rand chases Asmo to Rhuidean. Then he just tried to rememer where it "connected" and stuck at it without really seeing it in the real world.

 

Rand har confronted several male Forsaken by now, and those black cords are not mentoned much. Anyway, Rand only saw Dashiva channel in the real world, and I don't think it's possible to see the black cords in the real world. Maybe they are visible in T'A'R too?

[Guest Dreadlord]

Didnt he see one ine EotW on Aginor or Balthamel? Or were they channeling from the Eye?

[Bob T Dwarf]

That was the Eye.

 

He saw a silver chord connecting to Aginor and a thinner one connecting to himself.  Those were the conduits of pure saidin they both were drawing.

[RAND AL THOR]

Osan'gar, or Dashiva, is newly-made, and is being given a "last chance" by the Dark One.  It's possible that the Dark One's protection was eliminated.

 

Highly unlikely. You might want to remember that those cords protect the male forsaken from the taint so if the DO doesn't grant it then it is very dangerous for the forsaken involved. So that is exceptionally unlikely. Unless the DO wants to have some fun of course, but that would seem pointless since why bring back a person if you're only going to doom him to madness???

 

Or, perhaps, he's discovered how to hide this black tether.

 

That seems far more likely-and its the strongest point I've seen so far. Likely, they were concealed.

 

One more point: Rand never noticed the links on Asmodean when he came to talk to Rand as the gleeman in TSR. how come???? Do you need to be drawing saidin for the links to become visible?

[Bob T Dwarf]

There's been a lot of discussion over the years about the black chord and the black threads that attach to the Forsaken.

 

My memory about that is a little hazy, but...

 

They are only visible in T'a'R and other such-like places.  Even then, Rand only notes them while holding saidin and either in the midst of battling the Forsaken or preparing to.

 

The chord is probably the conduit for filtered saidin.  The threads are probably a combination of things... a way for the DO to keep track of them... a way to buffer them from the effects of aging, etc.

 

That's why when Rand severs those things, the Forsaken screams.  He isn't just being cut off from filtered saidin, he's lost his link to immunity to aging.

[Luckers]

Indeed. Beyond that, of interest i can only add that once someone made a comment about them being protection from the taint and RJ saying that that was what 'Rand thought they were'.

 

What that implies, I don't know. Especially given Asmodean stated his protection was gone with the black threads....

[Dhaos]

I still don't see why so many people think the Dark One has granted the Forsaken immunity to aging.  All of the Forsaken are within the normal lifespan for powerful channelers who have never held the Oath Rod.  They aren't 3000+ years old; they were outside of time for about 3000 years while in the Bore.

 

I would think Asmodeon would have been a bit more pissed with Rand if he had lost that form of immortality.  I don't recall him mentioning it.

 

As for why the Forsaken scream- perhaps they're just scared of the taint?  These people do deal with the Dark One on a regular basis, and are more or less terrified of him.

[Bob T Dwarf]

The only Forsaken viewpoint we have on this comes from Asmo as he's walking toward that fateful door...

Idly - but with a shiver, too - he wondered whether being reborn is this fashion made him a new man.  He did not think so.  Immortality was gone.  That was a gift of the Great Lord; he used that name in his head, whatever al'Thor demanded on his tongue.  That was proof enough that he was himself.  Immortality gone - he knew it must be imagination, yet sometimes he thought he could feel time dragging at him, pulling him toward a grave he had never thought to meet - and drawing the little of saidin he could was like drinking sewage. ...

 

So, whatever the chord and the threads really are, so far as we can tell, the male Forsaken consider them their links to immortality.  Their proof against age, their proof against the taint, and possibly proof against other disease, as well.

 

Additionally, we know that Ishamael was frequently "active" during that 3000 years, and he hadn't aged.

[DemandredFO]

Another point for immortality is Aginor, Balthamel and Ishamael were all 3000 years old when they died.  Aginor and balthamel looked desicated and ancient but still alive.  Though Ishamael did not look 3000 years old, he had advanced Saa and he was partially free.

[Dhaos]

Thank you for the quote.  I do wonder whether or not it's merely their perception that they're granted literal immortality by the bond to the Dark One- I guess we would know for sure if the female forsaken were tied to the DO with a similar link.  So far we haven't seen one, but then Rand only saw Ishamael's under special circumstances.

 

There's a very easy way for the good guys to find out: Rand could sever that same 'spot' for Semirhage.

 

As for Aginor and Balthamel..so much of the last 80 pages of The Eye of the World doesn't fit with the rest of the series that it's hard to make a good determination of what exactly was going on.  (See: Moiraine's bizzare use of that earth-and-fire weave; Aginor's sudden revitalization while drawing from the Eye; Aginor's utter stupidity in burning himself out; THE CREATOR(?) SPEAKING; Stairs to Tel'aran'rhiod; etc)  But I do concede they may have been sustained by their tie to the Dark One.

[aevogt]

IIRC, Graendal too comes right out and says words to the effect of

 

"I've been granted immortality, I'm not going to throw it away facing the Dragon and dying"

 

I'm fairly certain this took place during one of her clandestine meeting with Sammael.