The true nature of Ishamael

[chrisbren]

The true nature of Ishamael

 

(any reference to Ba’alzamon is obviously Ishamael)

 

This theory concerns the true nature of Ishamael.  Ishamael, being only half-caught (prior book1), exists as a strong entity within the World of Dreams (like the heroes connected to Tel’aran’rhiod), and potentially is becoming the vessel of the Dark One like Shaidar Haran appears to be in the later books.  This is also linked to Ishamael being unable to Channel.

 

Firstly Mohgedian says: ‘The other sounds like Ishamael, to me.  All his pride at being only half-caught, whatever the price - there was always was less human left in him than any of us when I saw him again; I think he half believed he was the Great Lord of the Dark - all his three thousand years of machinations, and it comes to an untaught boy hunting him down.’ (The Shadow Rising, ch 46. p771)

 

The main concern highlighted here is: ‘all his pride at being only half-caught, whatever the price.’  This just showing a the fact that Ishamael is only ‘half-caught’.  Now we know that Ishamael has been roaming around since the breaking and was not fully sealed in the bore, unlike the other Forsaken (who were fully sealed).  The prologue of book 1 also shows us that Ishamael was not sealed in the bor by Lews Therin before the Breaking, but we know that some part of him must have been, hence ‘half-caught’.

 

Like Aginor and Balthemael, Ishamael was also fully exposed to the turning of the wheel (as he was not fully sealed).  When Lews Therin sealed the Dark One along with the Forsaken, the Dark One’s hold on the world was diminished.  Ishamael is and always has been a focal point for the Dark One’s limited influence within the pattern, until the breaking of the seals.    This connection is seen in The Eye of The World where we see: ‘Ba’alzamon had a chord, too, he saw.  A black chord, thicker by far than his own, so wide it would have dwarfed the human body, yet dwarfed by Ba’alzamon, instead.  Each pulse along the black vein ate light.’ (ch51, p759).  Initially, because Ishamael’s body was fully exposed to the turning of the wheel, he would have suffered the constraints of time (due to the demise of the Dark One’s ability to touch the pattern, he feels the passing of time eg. age, deterioration etc).  Because of this, his connection with the Dark One is more strongly felt Tel’aran’rhiod.  This is a big part of why he becames less human (physically being in Tel’aran’rhiod decreases ones humanity, slowly loosing his projection of his physical self).  When we finally see Ishamael defeated in book three, we see the corpse appear in the Stone of a handsome middle aged man with smoke escaping from pitted eyes and mouth.  The only other person to be ripped out of Tel’aran’rhiod was Birgitte.  The only difference is that she remains alive while Ishamael was only a remnant.  Even though Birgitte was thousands of years old (in Tel’aran’rhiod) she was ripped into the pattern with no change to her physical appearance, just like Ishamael’s corpse.

 

When Ishamael swore to the Dark One, he gave, in affect, part of himself (his soul as it were) to the Dark One.  It is this connection that is caught in the bore, the part of him that now exists with the Dark One (prior book 1).  The Bond between Ishamael and the Dark One, is symbiotic, Ishamael gives part of his soul and the Dark One gives him part of himself (represented in the black chord).  Because of this bond, and Ishamael being the only ‘free’ Forsaken, all of the Dark One’s influence is directed solely at Ishamael, hence the massive black chord that we dont see on the other Forsaken.  When Rand severes the chord in book one, all the Dark One’s presence clings to Ishamael in the form of a black cloud (that we see later), as there is no where else it could go.

 

 

Throughout the first three books, apart from the prologue (of book 1) we do not see Ishamael oporate corporeally within the physical world (as a manifestation akin to the other Forsaken).  Throughout these books he primarily comes to the three boys, Egwene, and the other Forsaken in Tel’aran’rhiod.  The main examples of this are in the battles between him and Rand at the end of the first three books. 

 

Book 1: (Eye of the world. ch51 Against the Shadow) ‘Darkness surrounded him, the utter blackness of total nothing.  The steps were still there, hanging in the black, under his feet and ahead.  When he looked back, those behind him were gone, faded away to nothing, into the nothingness around him.....The chamber, too, was as he remembered, the mad, striated sky beyond the balcony, the melted walls....the terrible fireplace with its roaring, heatless flames.’ (possibly Tel’aran’rhiod in the flesh, or something akin to the bubbles of evil, hence why people see the bright light above Trawin’s Gap).  At the Eye of the World, I dont think Ishamael expects Rand to be channeling from the pool!  Rand channels the sword and Ishamael is helpless to stop him!

 

Book 2: In book two, we see Ishamael approach Rand in the streets of Falme and take him away from the battle ‘Suddenly Ba’alzamon was before him in the mists, throwing his arms wide...They were alone, only they and the rolling fog...whatever chance he did have lay in the One Power.’  When Ishamael says: ‘You pitiful wretch .  You have sounded the Horn of Valere.  You are linked to it, now’. this to me reinforces the fact that Ishamael has not beeen watching the battle in the physical world at Falme, otherwise he would see that Rand did not blow the Horn, I believe he senses Rand and uses the Dark One’s influence he has around him to pull Rand into an enviornment of his control (possibly Tel’aran’rhiod in the flesh, or something akin to the bubbles of evil, hence why people see the battle in the sky at Falme).

 

Book 3: Be’lal ‘Take it! Take Callandor!....Take it, and defend yourself, if you can!’  Be’lal’s plan!!!

Rand: ‘Slowly the shadow descended, resolving into Ba’alzamon, clothed in dead black...he hung in the air, two spans above the floor...Ba’alzamon’s blow struck him as he leapt, struck inside him, a ripping and crumpling, tearing something loose, trying to pull a part of him away....The one power surged through him (callandor)....’you will not take my soul’...Ba’alzamon fled, man and shadow vanishing.  For a moment Rand stared, frowning.  There had been a sense of -folding- as Ba’alzamon left.  A twisting, as if Ba’alzamon had in some way bent what was....Rand reached out, twisted through Callandor, and twisted reality to make a door to somewhere else.  He did not know where, except it was where Ba’alzamon had gone.’  Here we Ishamael and Rand entering Tel’aran’rhiod in the flesh!

 

‘Water filled the halls...he made it air again....the air gained weight...the pressure vanished...the air was solid rock...then nothing at all to fill his lungs.  He sprang each trap and ran on. “ Here we see that Ishamael does not channel at all, instead he uses his powers in Tel’aran’rhiod to overcome Rand.  When this does not work we see Ishamael call upon the essence of the Dark One that surrounds him:  “‘i will not be undone!’ Ba’alzamon cried. ..’i cannot be defeated! Aid me!’ Some of the darkness shrouding him drifted into his hands, formed a ball so black it seemed to soak up even the light of Callandor.  Sudden triumph blazed in the flames of his eyes. ‘you are destroyed!’ Rand shouted.  Callandor spun in his hands.  Its light roiled the darkness, severed the steel-black lines around Ba’alzamon convulsed.  As if there were two of him he seemed to dwindle and grow larger at the same time. ‘You are undone!’ Rand plunged the shining blade into Ba’alzamon’s chest.”  Ba’azamon’s final demise!!  (notice Ishamael does not channel at all! He just uses his powers in Tel’aran’rhiod and the essence of the Dark One that he asks for ‘aid’!)

 

 

The dragon Reborn p409 - Perrin’s wolf dream  “ ‘Great Lord,’ one of the men muttered, ‘where is this place?’....I was asleep in Tar Valon, Great Lord.  I am asleep in Tar Valon! Where is this place? Have i gone mad?’  Some of the men around him wore ornate coats full of embriodery, others plainer grab, while some seemed to be naked, or in their smallclothes. ‘I, too, sleep,’ a naked man nearly screamed.....’and I do sleep in Illian’...the black-clothed man did not speak loudly...eyes and mouth were holes boring into a raging forge-fire....’You all dream’ Ba’alzamon said, ‘but what happens in this dream is real’’  This proves that Ishmael has extraodinary power in the Dream World where he can pull people into the World of Dreams against their will, which is exactly what he does to the boys throughout the early books.  Then Lanfear appears “‘you make free use of my domain’, she said.  ‘Your domain’? Ba’alzamon said..’you claim it yours, then? Do you no longer serve the Great Lord of the Dark’ The Darkness around him thickened for an instant, seemed to boil”.....(lanfear says) ‘Dreams were always mine, to use and walk.  Now I am free again, and I will use what is mine.’  ‘What is yours’, Ba’alazamon said.  The blackness swirling ‘round him seemed mirthful.  ‘you always thought yourself greater than you were, Lanfear.’....(lanfear says)‘What have your plans come to?  Three thousand years and more of whispering in ears and pulling the strings of throned puppets like an Aes Sedai!’’’  The important thing in the above quote is the fact that the blackness surrounding Ishamael appears to be self conscious and aware because it reacts as the Dark One would to what Lanfear is saying (Perrin having the wolf abilities is able to sense this).

 

Chapter 4 The Dragon Reborn (perrin spying on Forsaken meetin Ishmael, Rahvin and Be’lal) ‘The first two men stood side by side, now, made uncomfortable allies by the presence of the newcomer...His eyes, Perrin thought.  What is strange about his eyes?..abruptly the main in dark velvets threw his arms wide, as if demanding an end to it.’  Stange dont you think! Forsaken meeting Ishmael in Dream World.

 

When Moiraine is talking in Eye of the World about Fain she says: Fain was summoned to Shayol Ghul where ‘he met a man with eyes of fire, who named himself Ba’alzamon.’  Moiraine then says  when Fain returned to Lugard, Ba’alzamon came to him in a dream....‘Fain claims it was Ba’alzamon himself who drove the Myrddraal...His words.  Ba’alzamon appeared like a flickering candle flame, vanishing and reappearing, never in the same place twice.’  Moiraine then says ‘This year, Ba’alzamon walks in the dreams of those who live in the light, and actually appears, if with difficulty, at Shadar Logoth.  ‘Not in his own body...a projection that flickers and cannot hold’.  In the prologue of The Great Hunt Bors says: ‘but then the air above the Halfman shimmered...the figure of a man floated in the air above the Myrddrall’  Ishamael says: ‘The place where you stand lies in the shadow of Shayol Ghul’.  Reinforcing Moiraine’s belief that Ishamael finds it easier to project himself closer to Shayol Ghul (as opposed to Shadar Logoth which is much further away.)  Bors then says:  ‘Ba’alzamon was gone.  The Myrddraal was gone, too, and only rough stone was where the door it had used had been.’  The proves that over the years of being ‘free’, Ishamael has found it harder to manifest into the physical world as he has become less human.  As the seals weaken, Ishamael can start appearing more easily (as seen in Falme and in Tear).

 

Now to talk about it all.  Not once do we have hard evidence of Ishamael channeling!  Rand never senses that Ishamael can channel or that he has the ability to channel.  I would have thought that if Ishamael tried to tempt Rand with being a teacher he would want to show that he could channel.  He never does this.  Referring back to Moghedian’s quote : ‘All his pride at being only half-caught, whatever the price - there was always was less human left in him than any of us when I saw him again’.  Whatever the price! Why are the Forsaken not jealous of Ishamael being free for three thousand years whilst they have been stuck in a timeless void outside the pattern?  Well the price of not being able to channel for three thousand years is a pretty good reason!  When you look at the nature of channeling, channeling seems to be linked very closely to the fact that your soul is connected to the Wheel. How can you channel when a part of your soul has been sworn to the Dark One and exists outside the pattern.  Referring to Moghedian quote we can see that the Forsaken class themselves as superior to humans due their oath to the Dark One.  Ishamael forsees that eventually the seals will be weak enough and that the Dark One will fully manifest within the world through Ishamael, however, due to his death, the need for another vessel arrises, hence the creation of Shaidar Haran.

 

The symbolism of Ishamael’s eyes being like funaces is another give away. Isn’t it the old cliche that a person’s eyes is a gateway to their soul. Trust Jordan to give a souless and bodiless character flaming eyes. Ishmael exists in the void outside of the pattern as well as in the pattern.  This is also why Ishamael has built up such a strong network of Darkfriends, Black Ajah, Rulers etc.  Because he needs them to track people and do his work for him (he cant stay in the physical world).  This is why he sends Fain to the Two Rivers.  If Ishmael could channel there would be no way that he would not confront Rand in the real world.  He feels safe at confronting Rand in the world of Dreams because he has no other option.  He knows that Rand does not know how to channel yet, therefore, cannot attack him.  Ishamaels power and knowledge of the World of Dreams is far superior to Rands, infact he could be the strongest ever.  Ishamael says in Eye Of the World ‘I began the setting of your path the day you were born, a path to lead you to your grave, or here.  Aiel allowed to flee, and one to live, to speak the words that would echo down the years.  Jain Farstrider....whom I painted like a fool and sent to the Ogier thinking he was free of me.  The Black Ajah, wriggling like worms on their bellies across the world to search you out.  I pull the strings and the Amyrlin Seat dances and thinks she controls events’.  This proves that Ishamael has got all his people working for him pulling strings everywhere.  Note Moghedian’s quote: ‘all his three thousand years of machinations’.  Again showing that moghedian knows the ‘price’ he has payed for being half bound and also in what ways has he been serving the Dark Lord!! Lanfear also implies a similar message: “Three thousand years and more of whispering in ears and pulling the strings of throned puppets like an Aes Sedai!’’    Once Ishamael knows that he looses Fain, he hires Slayer to go and kill him!  Isn’t it convenient for Ishamael to have a hitman that can enter the world of dreams.

 

 

Ishamael fights Rand in the bubbles and in Tel’aran’rhiod, obviously he is trying to ultimately take the Dragon out of the Pattern either through ripping his soul apart, or turning him to the Dark One.  Rand’s main defense against Ishamael’s power in these fights is his ability to channel.  When Rand holds the power it enables his soul to seemingly remain more strongly ‘connected’ to the wheel and who he is within the wheel.  Notice as Rand becomes stronger with the Power Ishamael’s confrontations with him lesson.

 

An interesting point about Farstrider is that when he arrived in Stedding Shangtai Loial said he had an unknown sickness.  An interesting thing is that knowbody can enter a stedding in the World of Dreams, not even Ishamael!!!! Funny how Farstrider suddenly started recovering, isnt it!

 

Another interesting point is when Verin gives the dream ter’angreal to Egwene! Now I know Verin is a darkhorse, but why didnt she give Coreanin’s notes to her if she was the last know Dreamer!! We dont know how Coreanin died but to me I think it would be no suprise if she was killed by Ishamael in the World of dreams or because she had documented links between Ishamael and the World of Dream’s or maybe the Black Ajah’s involvement in the World of Dreams.  Wouldnt it be interesting if that is what the notes contained.  I dont think they contained something about the ter’angreal being dangerous!!! I mean it has been used so many times by the girls with no adverse affects that that is just not plausible and I think Verin would not worry about giving Egwene that information.  Quote Verin ‘Once again she considered burning the manuscript, just as she had considered giving it to Egwene....But destroying knowledge, any knowledge, was anathema to her.  And for the other.....No.  It is best by far to leave things as they are.  What will happen, will hapen.’  Curious!

 

The next issue is that of Taim.  We now know that Ishamael is the masterplanner.  I wouldnt be suprised if, in his search for the Dragon Reborn, he approached all the false dragons too.  Now, it is possible that Ishmael has confronted Taim in the World of Dreams and offered him salvation through the Dark Lord.  Taim accepts, but Ishamael cannot teach him to channel because he cant do it himself.  Taim only has the luxury of being able to channel freely because the taint does not affect him! He is still walking blindly, so to speak. Now, everything goes wrong when Taim is captured by Aes Seadai.  However, we know that Ishamael is behind the Black Ajah and it is probably that it was he who ordered the rumoured attack by the Black Ajah to free Taim.  This just seems so logical.  Ishamael is behind the Black Ajah, he cant channel, cant strongly manifest in the real world, so he must get the Black Ajah to do it.  He then instructs Taim to lay low for a while after his escape!  On a side note this is an interesting point for Cadsuane,who went to capture Taim.  Cadsuane says she has never failed to do something she intended to do for 270 years!!! If she captured Taim and then let the other sisters take him to the tower, then she was not around for his escape! However, if she was taking him to the tower when he escaped then i think if she wern’t Balck Ajah then that would be something she would see as a failure!!! Not exactly sure on this, might need some help there!

 

Now, obviously everything falls apart for Ishamael when he is killed by Rand!  The interesting part in the Taim line of thought is what happens after Ishamael is gone!  I’ll now refer to Demandred’s visit to Shoyal Ghul in Lord Of Chaos.  The dark Lord tells Demandred that Asmodean is dead.  He tells him ‘who shall live and who shall die’ and to ‘let the lord of chaos rule’  This is where the world divides on Taim.  Those who are in favour of the Taimandred theory will believe that Demandred knows that Asmodeean is dead, knows where Taim is, goes and kills Taim, uses a slight illusion and then goes and meets up with Rand.  The rest of the world will believe, that either Ishmael arranged for Demandred to teach Taim or Demandred just went and found Taim, teaches him and then launches him at Rand, his ‘proxie’.  The later may also fit in with Kisman getting the same orders from Moridin, Taim, and Demandred.

 

And now when Ishamael is reborn as Moridin. The true Ishamael!  We see a powerful, intelligent character.  He never hides his appearance.  He is always channeling, far different from the confinned Ishamael.  I also think this is why the Dark One does not name a Nae Blis until Ishamael is at full strength.  Since his rebirth he comes back as with his full soul and his humanity.  He is no longer being used as a vessel for the Dark One’s essence but has now being elevated higher than any of the other Forsaken.  All the other Forsaken had there own personal agendas.  Ishamael has been fighting for the Dark for three thousand years, going mad and not being able to channel.  Once he is available to once more be treated as a Forsaken, then he is obviously the top dog.  He is the most loyal Fosaken.  If the Dark One named any other Forsaken Nae Blis early on, then the other Forsaken would be out to get him.  Somebody would Balefire him and then Dark Lord would be dealing with internal conflict.  When Ishmael is killed the Dark One puts Demandred as his spoksmen but does not name him naeblis (as he knows Ishamael will be returning.  Demandred is only a consort.  Notice how as soon as Moridin is reborn, the strongest channeler ever, best World of Dreams user, he is given the only control to True Power through Dark One, named Nae Blis and given two pet Forsaken.  Notice he never confronts Rand anymore becuase Rand is way to threatening.  He is waiting to unfold his masterplan.  Notice how after Ishamael is killed do we see Shaidar Haran, the new vessel of the Dark One.

 

As soon as he is regenerated he whips the Forsaken into line. He reestablishes his connections with Taim (if he is not Demandred) but may not be able to trust him fully now that he has gained so much power. So he sends his orders to Kisman who he knows is leading the Ashaman against Rand.  Demandred gives his orders to Kisman because he is either A) really Taim but is still keeping his true identity from the ashaman b) still is behind Taim but he too feels he needs to take matters into his own hands now that Ishamael is back on the scene!! Is he loosing control of his ‘proxie’?  I think at the end of 11 when we see the black and red floor tiles (Ishamael’s colours) that this could mean that Moridin has established his power there again!

 

Obviously Moridin is now planning his master attack!  This master attack will be of a similar nature to Ishamael’s original attacks at Rand.  He is attempting to remove the Dragon from the turning of the Wheel. Simply killing him will not adequetly do this.  The Dragon will be reborn again and the battle will continue.  This is why Moridin creates the link between himself and Rand in Shadar Logoth.  It is through this connection that they will become linked, one not being able to survive alone whilst the other is alive. 

 

It is so logical when you think about how Ishmael acts in the early books, how he confronts Rand and then the transformation to Moridin when he has his ‘full’ soul back with his body and his power fully restored.  From the start of the breaking when he was ‘half caught’ , unably to channel, manifesting in Tel’aran’rhiod in the flesh, to being a vessel of the Dark One, his plans failing when he is killed, but then being restored as Moridin similarly to what he was like in the Age of Legends.  He is one of the best characters in the book! Ishamael fits in on so many levels.

 

Chrisbren

[dholm]

Ishamael does channel.

 

As if to answer him, a blazing shaft like the one Moiraine had made shot out of the shadows among the columns, straight toward his chest. His wrist twisted the sword instinctively; it was instinct as much as anything else that made him loose flows from saidin into Callandor, a flood of the Power that made the sword blaze brighter even than that bar streaking at him. His uncertain balance between existence and destruction wavered. Surely that torrent would consume him.

The shaft of light struck the blade of Callandor—and parted on its edge, forking to stream past on either side. He felt his coat singe from its near passage, smelled the wool beginning to burn. Behind him, the two prongs of frozen fire, of liquid light, struck huge redstone columns; where they struck, stone ceased to exist, and the burning bars bored through to other columns, severing those instantaneously as well. The Heart of the Stone rumbled as columns fell and shattered in clouds of dust, sprays of stone fragments. What fell into the light, however, simply was not, anymore.

 

So, yeah. Your argument pretty much falls flat on its face.

[Mr Ares]

This is also linked to Ishamael being unable to Channel.

He can. He channels TP frequently, aside from the quote dholm has already given you. You need to be able to channel in order to use the TP.

 

Now we know that Ishamael has been roaming around since the breaking

On and off.

 

Like Aginor and Balthemael, Ishamael was also fully exposed to the turning of the wheel

He wasn't. As we can see, he lacks their withered form.

This is a big part of why he becames less human

Mostly because he uses TP.

When we finally see Ishamael defeated in book three, we see the corpse appear in the Stone of a handsome middle aged man with smoke escaping from pitted eyes and mouth.

An advanced form of saa.

The proves that over the years of being ‘free’, Ishamael has found it harder to manifest into the physical world as he has become less human.

It comes in cycles. He was out to advise Hawkwing, then disappeared. He was out at the start of the Breaking and during the Trolloc Wars, some of the time at least. He threw Jarna Milari into a ter'angreal, possibly taught Taim, etc.

 

Those who are in favour of the Taimandred theory

Are completely wrong. There's not many people left, though, what with RJ having shot it down years ago.

 

Long! Winded! Crap! Completely! Wrong! Too! Many! Exclamtion! Marks!

[OptimusPrime]

Ishamael cant possibly have had no soul, because a soul is required for the Dark One to reincarnate; if Ishamael had no soul, there would be no soul to "catch" and place in an alternate body. Ishamael had to have a soul for it to be possible for him to return at all.

[Mr Ares]

Suffice it to say that everything said about souls in this theory is either wrong or just completely unsupported.

[OptimusPrime]

Trust Jordan to give a souless and bodiless character flaming eyes

 

Trust every Wheel of Time character who saw Ba'alzamon to not comment on a floating pair of flaming eyes.