Channelers at the Last Battle.

[Hybrid]

Personally, I think the destruction from the Bore drilling was really a backlash of energy.  Also, it wasn't the city that got destroyed, just the spherical research institute above it, though that probably heavily damaged part of the city.  The DO did not really take much of a hand in the War of Power.  He had his minions going around destroying everything.  When Moghedien is brought to Shayol Ghul, she remembers doing the same herself in the War of Power.  In other words, the DO could only affect Shayol Ghul directly, as he can now.  After all, he is not free yet, nor was he in the War of Power.

 

Also, there are only 6 gholam total, and we've only seen one that survived the War of Power and the Breaking.

 

In regards to the state of chaos, you are right.  But we're not saying that the Light is in a position of power.  Far from it.  RJ himself said that things were looking bad for the Light, and we all pretty much agree with that. 

[Luckers]

I think you are all pretty confused. The Light at the moment, and I'm assuming in AMOL as well, is pretty messed up. All over the ENTIRE world, the DO's orders have been to "Let the Lord of Chaos rule". It seems to me that they've done a good job. Moridin is going around tearing holes in the pattern to get around. Semirhage comepletely destroyed the Seanchan Imperial family and court. Graendal has broken the Sharans sacred Sh'botay and Sh'boan 7 year rule, and no one knows how much havoc that has caused in Shara. The Aes Sedai, even the non Black Ajah ones, are all at eachothers throats, aka sisters being assaulted by other sister within the White Tower, and is growing worse by the day thanks to Alviaran/Mesaana. The rebels have their fair share of dissension within as well, although Halima was uncovered later on. Randland is completely racked by war, famine, and strife, thanks to chaos and the spoiling food.

 

By appearences the Light is messed up, but consider the reality. Killing the Seanchan imperial family will leave Tuon as Empress, placing one of the greatest military mights in the land under the control of a person who is loyal to the Light, and incredibly formidable.

 

The tower Aes Sedai are caving from within and Egwene is succeeding greatly in gaining respect, and all they need now is a nudge for them to fall back together--a nudge that is coming in the form of a Seanchan attack which will almost certainly take Elaida out of the equation as she lives on the top of the Tower where the Seanchan will be landing, thus completely clearing the path for Egwene to take over.

 

And what else has the result of the rebellion been? Moghedian captured and Forsaken level weaves disseminated amongst female channelers? That right that shatters the one major advantage the shadow had--its knowledge. What else? The opening of the novice books, bringing in another thousand channelers, some like Sharina of conciderable strength.

 

Shara's irrelevant since as a nation it will not take part--besides i rather doubt the Ayyad will leave things in chaos for long. They surely must have had methods in place for if one of their puppets died too soon--the methods already there really, the will of the pattern.

 

In KoD Rand said he hoped to break the seals himself before the pattern starts unravelling completely.

 

Could you quote that please? I do not remember it at all.

 

Likely the 12 Gholam will be running around trying to kill the most powerful Aes Sedai, aka Elaida, Egwene, Elayne, Rand, Cadsuane. And Mat.

 

There are only six gholam, and only one of that we know survived the breaking. And it can have Elaida if it wants.

 

The Gholam are not invincible. You could strike one with lightning, and i doubt he'd walk away from that easily. You could use a deathgate. Throw giant boulders whilst you weave a gateway.

 

They're nasty buggers, but they wont alter the flow of the war all that much.

 

About them needing millions of Trollocs to fullfill the Tarmon Gai'don, they sent hundreds of thousands in something of an effort to kill Rand.

 

They didn't. The Shadow officially had not part in sending those Shadowspawn, and if it was done by Taim as suggested, it was done stupidly. Either way it indicates nothing of the Shadow's feelings on the numbers of Trollocs, though like you i very much see there being several million in play.

 

As a flow back though, once Rand allies with the Seanchan, the Aes Sedai and the borderlanders than he can muster forces of around 2 million, including within them around 13,000 channelers who have access to the only remaning angreal and sa'angreal....

 

Not to mention the dark one litterally being free, or if you forgot Rands trip to Rhuidean where he saw the Bore drilled by Lanfear, a huge city of the AOL completely destroyed by the ground errupting in obsidian fire, simply because he was free. Wonder what he'll do when the pattern is already half destroyed? A bunch of fire?

 

The Dark One will not be free even when the seals are gone. Even then his strength and power and ability to affect the world will be vastly constricted--to the same degree as in the Age of Legends. The Sharom was destroyed by the backlash of the energy used to drill the bore, not the Collam Dan.

 

 

 

The light in truth is in a pretty good way. Its within five simple steps of total unifications--steps already underway. Rand needs to meet with Tuon, and whilst that fake prophecy of him kneeling may make some problems, we know he is successful in binding the nine moons to serve him. The unification of the Aes Sedai is perfectly set up and just needs a little push from the Seanchan. Rand will doubtlessly go to meet the Borderlanders soon--and then its done with. Oh there will be dramas, especially between the Aes Sedai and the Seanchan, but thats no great problem.

 

In the meantime the majority of the hidden Forsaken have been shoved out, and the Black Ajah is under scrutiny. The Shadow has no angreal or sa'angreal, and their channeling forces are by far weaker than those of the light.

[Charlz Guybon]

Grandael has a "relatively strong" angreal in the form of a gold ring.

[Asmo]

Actually, Graendal's angreal is pretty weak, according to her. In my view, Nynaeve with her angreal and ter'angreal can take down any of the surviving Forsaken, even the male ones.

 

Then again, there's nothing saying that Ishamael hasn't, actually, found an angreal or sa'angreal in the space between the Path of Daggers and now.

[Luckers]

Mmm. Asmo is correct... in fact Graendal was even more disparaging of it than 'pretty weak'.

[Charlz Guybon]

??? Encyclopedia WOT says "relatively strong".

 

http://encyclopaedia-wot.org:8008/items/gold_ring.html

[Luckers]

Encyclopaedia WoT is wrong. Ah, indeed, if you look at their notation they gathered that information from the RPG. The RPG is not to be trusted in the slightest.

 

Here is the quote straight from the books.

 

The angreal did not offer much, yet anyone who thought they knew her strength would find a shock.

 

[PoD: Ch12 - New Alliances]

 

The ring provides only a slight increase on her strength. Enough to surprise anyone who thought they knew how strong she was, but not enough to do any major damage.

 

Don't trust the RPG man, they make things up in order to clarify things for their rules of play. I still remember the fight about 'milking tears'. *shudders*.