Egwene's Strategic Options

[Charlz Guybon]

First off it seems unlikely she and Rand will confer until near the climax of the novel, so what important things may she try to get going before that?

 

I assume she'll accelerate the repair of the gate towers and the Tower. This should go faster with some of the new novices and their strength in earth.

 

The combined Tower Guard has about 100k men. More then's needed in Tar Valon without an enemy at the gates. And if an enemy does appear at the gates they can be retrieved via gateway.

 

Where could she send half of these men with a large compliment of Aes Sedai to do some good work for the Tower? There are two places that immediately come to mind. Andor in order to aid Elayne against the expanding Seanchan and keep an eye on the Black Tower, or to Shienar to replace the men that Easar stripped away to send south. The Aes Sedai have been sending men to the Borderlands for tribute, so they are likely getting reports from Eyes and Ears there as well. They should be worried about what they're reading. Will the Tower redeem itself for failing Malkier and Manetheren?

 

Which do you think more likely? Or will the Tower just sit still and fortify, waiting for things to happen before reacting?

[Luckers]

I think Andor is unlikely. Egwene would be aware that such a move might be mispercieved as an attack against the Black Tower, and with the whole uncertainty of what happened to the women who went to the Black Tower I suspect she would first seek to gain intel on what's going on there before percipitating a confrontation.

 

In full truth I don't see Egwene sending her army anywhere yet. Her first steps now the Tower division is resolved with be to consolidate Tar Valon and send out feelers to learn more of what is occurring in the world.

[Charlz Guybon]

I think Andor is unlikely. Egwene would be aware that such a move might be mispercieved as an attack against the Black Tower, and with the whole uncertainty of what happened to the women who went to the Black Tower I suspect she would first seek to gain intel on what's going on there before percipitating a confrontation.

 

In full truth I don't see Egwene sending her army anywhere yet. Her first steps now the Tower division is resolved with be to consolidate Tar Valon and send out feelers to learn more of what is occurring in the world.

But that's boring.  :-\

 

There's also the matter of a declaration of War. Surely the Seanchan deserve one far more than Elaida ever did. A good way for Egwene to keep control and one the Hall can't deny, not after the damage done by the raid and the existence of open hostilities.

[Barid Bel Medar]

I think Andor is unlikely. Egwene would be aware that such a move might be mispercieved as an attack against the Black Tower, and with the whole uncertainty of what happened to the women who went to the Black Tower I suspect she would first seek to gain intel on what's going on there before percipitating a confrontation.

 

In full truth I don't see Egwene sending her army anywhere yet. Her first steps now the Tower division is resolved with be to consolidate Tar Valon and send out feelers to learn more of what is occurring in the world.

But that's boring.  :-\

 

There's also the matter of a declaration of War. Surely the Seanchan deserve one far more than Elaida ever did. A good way for Egwene to keep control and one the Hall can't deny, not after the damage done by the raid and the existence of open hostilities.

 

I really doubt even Egwene would be that stupid. TG is near, there is no time to start a full scale war with the Seanchan, i mean, thats been Rand's plot for 3 books, to stop people fighting the Seanchan and get on with defeating the Shadow.

 

However, it would be very satisfying to see this happen for two reasons. 1) the white tower would mostly get destroyed by the ever victorious armies (soldier quality, the 3 oaths restriction, and the damane's ability of using the one power as a weapon that totally owns anything the AS could do.)

 

and 2) Rand would be able to rip Egwene to shreds for being a complete and utter idiot (much as she always seems to think of him) for engaging in a war that would severly deplete the armies of light just before TG

[Charlz Guybon]

I think Andor is unlikely. Egwene would be aware that such a move might be mispercieved as an attack against the Black Tower, and with the whole uncertainty of what happened to the women who went to the Black Tower I suspect she would first seek to gain intel on what's going on there before percipitating a confrontation.

 

In full truth I don't see Egwene sending her army anywhere yet. Her first steps now the Tower division is resolved with be to consolidate Tar Valon and send out feelers to learn more of what is occurring in the world.

But that's boring.  :-\

 

There's also the matter of a declaration of War. Surely the Seanchan deserve one far more than Elaida ever did. A good way for Egwene to keep control and one the Hall can't deny, not after the damage done by the raid and the existence of open hostilities.

 

I really doubt even Egwene would be that stupid. TG is near, there is no time to start a full scale war with the Seanchan, i mean, thats been Rand's plot for 3 books, to stop people fighting the Seanchan and get on with defeating the Shadow.

 

However, it would be very satisfying to see this happen for two reasons. 1) the white tower would mostly get destroyed by the ever victorious armies (soldier quality, the 3 oaths restriction, and the damane's ability of using the one power as a weapon that totally owns anything the AS could do.)

 

and 2) Rand would be able to rip Egwene to shreds for being a complete and utter idiot (much as she always seems to think of him) for engaging in a war that would severly deplete the armies of light just before TG

The Tower is in a full scale war with the Seanchan already, no matter what Egwene does. Whenever the two meet there is battle, they are completely antithetical to each other.

 

Shouldn't be a big quality difference in soldiers with Bryne in command and Uno training them. Tower Aes Sedai have seen their weaves, they can copy them now and teach others to use them. The Oaths are a problem, but an Aes Sedai is likely to feel in danger immediately upon encountering any Seanchan.

 

The last time she declared war she never actually attacked anyone. While I'm sure that Egwene would plan to go on the offensive eventually, in the short term the main purpose of the declaration would be to maintain control of the Hall and stop them from doing anything stupid. Any movements made by the Tower will likely be defensive in nature such as coming to the aid of Andor or Shienar.

 

[Barid Bel Medar]

I think Andor is unlikely. Egwene would be aware that such a move might be mispercieved as an attack against the Black Tower, and with the whole uncertainty of what happened to the women who went to the Black Tower I suspect she would first seek to gain intel on what's going on there before percipitating a confrontation.

 

In full truth I don't see Egwene sending her army anywhere yet. Her first steps now the Tower division is resolved with be to consolidate Tar Valon and send out feelers to learn more of what is occurring in the world.

But that's boring.  :-\

 

There's also the matter of a declaration of War. Surely the Seanchan deserve one far more than Elaida ever did. A good way for Egwene to keep control and one the Hall can't deny, not after the damage done by the raid and the existence of open hostilities.

 

I really doubt even Egwene would be that stupid. TG is near, there is no time to start a full scale war with the Seanchan, i mean, thats been Rand's plot for 3 books, to stop people fighting the Seanchan and get on with defeating the Shadow.

 

However, it would be very satisfying to see this happen for two reasons. 1) the white tower would mostly get destroyed by the ever victorious armies (soldier quality, the 3 oaths restriction, and the damane's ability of using the one power as a weapon that totally owns anything the AS could do.)

 

and 2) Rand would be able to rip Egwene to shreds for being a complete and utter idiot (much as she always seems to think of him) for engaging in a war that would severly deplete the armies of light just before TG

The Tower is in a full scale war with the Seanchan already, no matter what Egwene does. Whenever the two meet there is battle, they are completely antithetical to each other.

 

Shouldn't be a big quality difference in soldiers with Bryne in command and Uno training them. Tower Aes Sedai have seen their weaves, they can copy them now and teach others to use them. The Oaths are a problem, but an Aes Sedai is likely to feel in danger immediately upon encountering any Seanchan.

 

The last time she declared war she never actually attacked anyone. While I'm sure that Egwene would plan to go on the offensive eventually, in the short term the purpose main purpose of the declaration would be to maintain control of the Hall and stop them from doing anything stupid. Any movements made by the Tower will likely be defensive in nature such as coming to the aid of Andor or Shienar.

 

 

fair enough points in general, but still, its too late to start any AS v Seanchan plotline, i doubt it will be liikely that Egwene will actually do anything momentous regarding the Seanchan, more likely she will be re-establishing the Tower and preparing for TG, anything else is just stupid, even the Seanchan are (slowly) beggining to see this. In any case, the whole "suldam can channel aswell" plot has been brewing since tGH, more likely than Egwene delcaring war on the Seanchan while TG is on the doorstep, it seems the revelation will topple the sul'dam/damane structure of the Empire, thus bringing the Westlands and Seanchan together

[Harbin]

 

However, it would be very satisfying to see this happen for two reasons. 1) the white tower would mostly get destroyed by the ever victorious armies (soldier quality, the 3 oaths restriction, and the damane's ability of using the one power as a weapon that totally owns anything the AS could do.)

 

 

This is a little off-topic but am I the only one thinking the White Tower would totally kick the ass out of the Seanchan in a full scale  power war ? Sure, Aes Sedai can only use the power when "in danger" but this is pretty irrelevant in a direct confrontation (not counting that the oaths could be removed if really necessary). Their main advantage is their ability to link. Circles of 13 plus access to angreal and sa'angreal would outpower any damane army. For the same reason, I doubt the Ashaman could do anything in a direct confrontation with the WT, the ability to link is a big tactical advantage. And despite being totally clueless at times, the WT Aes Sedai still know much more about the power than the other channelers (well, maybe Sharan ones excepted since we don't know a single thing about them).

[Kaman]

I think Andor is unlikely. Egwene would be aware that such a move might be mispercieved as an attack against the Black Tower, and with the whole uncertainty of what happened to the women who went to the Black Tower I suspect she would first seek to gain intel on what's going on there before percipitating a confrontation.

 

In full truth I don't see Egwene sending her army anywhere yet. Her first steps now the Tower division is resolved with be to consolidate Tar Valon and send out feelers to learn more of what is occurring in the world.

But that's boring.  :-\

 

There's also the matter of a declaration of War. Surely the Seanchan deserve one far more than Elaida ever did. A good way for Egwene to keep control and one the Hall can't deny, not after the damage done by the raid and the existence of open hostilities.

 

I really doubt even Egwene would be that stupid. TG is near, there is no time to start a full scale war with the Seanchan, i mean, thats been Rand's plot for 3 books, to stop people fighting the Seanchan and get on with defeating the Shadow.

 

However, it would be very satisfying to see this happen for two reasons. 1) the white tower would mostly get destroyed by the ever victorious armies (soldier quality, the 3 oaths restriction, and the damane's ability of using the one power as a weapon that totally owns anything the AS could do.)

 

and 2) Rand would be able to rip Egwene to shreds for being a complete and utter idiot (much as she always seems to think of him) for engaging in a war that would severly deplete the armies of light just before TG

The Tower is in a full scale war with the Seanchan already, no matter what Egwene does. Whenever the two meet there is battle, they are completely antithetical to each other.

 

Shouldn't be a big quality difference in soldiers with Bryne in command and Uno training them. Tower Aes Sedai have seen their weaves, they can copy them now and teach others to use them. The Oaths are a problem, but an Aes Sedai is likely to feel in danger immediately upon encountering any Seanchan.

 

The last time she declared war she never actually attacked anyone. While I'm sure that Egwene would plan to go on the offensive eventually, in the short term the purpose main purpose of the declaration would be to maintain control of the Hall and stop them from doing anything stupid. Any movements made by the Tower will likely be defensive in nature such as coming to the aid of Andor or Shienar.

 

 

fair enough points in general, but still, its too late to start any AS v Seanchan plotline, i doubt it will be liikely that Egwene will actually do anything momentous regarding the Seanchan, more likely she will be re-establishing the Tower and preparing for TG, anything else is just stupid, even the Seanchan are (slowly) beggining to see this. In any case, the whole "suldam can channel aswell" plot has been brewing since tGH, more likely than Egwene delcaring war on the Seanchan while TG is on the doorstep, it seems the revelation will topple the sul'dam/damane structure of the Empire, thus bringing the Westlands and Seanchan together

 

 

After the sheer amount of face time that Egwene and the White Tower got in TGS I don't see her or the tower getting enough page space in ToM to pull off a vendetta war with the Seanchan. There are many more plotlines in real need of movement with TG beginning. Egwene only needs 2 or so POVs in ToM. One where she is cracking the whip on the rest Aes Sedai and getting them into fighting shape and one where she meets with Rand. Throw in a few POVs from other Tower Aes Sedai to show progress and one from Gawyn were he throws himself from the top of the WT for being the biggest douche of the third age and not much more is needed to get the tower ready for the last battle.

[Lord of the Morning]

I would love it if Egwene sent a group of sisters armed with angreal to Tarwin's Gap to aid Lan's crusade.  Even if lan gathers 50k soldiers on his trek, hed get torn apart by the dreadlords, and only with aes sedai of their own can they hope of putting up a fight at the Gap.  Plus i like the symmetry of the tower making up for their failure at malkier, helping the last king to retake his lands.

 

other than that Egwene's got her hands full, shell need to set up some defenses in case the Seanchan or forsaken attack.  andor has enough channellers that the WT doesnt need to worry about fortifying there.  egwene only has about 400 aes sedai with her right now, shell need every one of them during the Last Battle, most likely the Aes Sedai and Asha man will be spread throughout the ranks, so each legion has a few channellers.

[gambril]

Good question.  Egwene still has many things to come I think both personally and publicly.  For sure we're going to have to put up with Egwene and Gawyn having a "serious" talk (do these even exist in Randland?) and subsequently bonding him.  Somehow this bonding of Gawyn is going to save Egwene's life (with luck Gawyn will die immediately after accomplishing whatever he's in the story to accomplish).  Remember that Egwene is suppose to be on the "chopping block" somehow or another.

 

My suspicion is this threat to Egwene will somehow be tied to Mesaana.  Going even further off the deep end I believe that this plotline with Egwene/Gawyn/Mesaana will somehow end up with Gawyn saving her (thanks to warder bond making him aware of this threat) and it will be revealed to Egwene somehow through Mesaana the truth of the Oath Rod that the ignorant Aes Sedai espouse is what makes them Aes Sedai.  After all, Mesaana has defeated it or so it's believed.  So in perfect RJ dramatic irony fashion the one person (Mesaana) who makes it her personal goal to destroy all knowledge will unwittingly enlighten Egwene and all Aes Sedai with knowledge heh.

 

Who knows if we'll even get to see this in TOM or AMOL?  I hope TOM.  I hope that we just don't see Egwene playing footsies with Gawyn and then meeting Rand and her being angry with him.  Too bad Gawyn has to be around and Egwene can't just kick him to the curb and treat him like the 5 year old child that he is. Le sigh.

[Charlz Guybon]

I think Andor is unlikely. Egwene would be aware that such a move might be mispercieved as an attack against the Black Tower, and with the whole uncertainty of what happened to the women who went to the Black Tower I suspect she would first seek to gain intel on what's going on there before percipitating a confrontation.

 

In full truth I don't see Egwene sending her army anywhere yet. Her first steps now the Tower division is resolved with be to consolidate Tar Valon and send out feelers to learn more of what is occurring in the world.

But that's boring.  :-\

 

There's also the matter of a declaration of War. Surely the Seanchan deserve one far more than Elaida ever did. A good way for Egwene to keep control and one the Hall can't deny, not after the damage done by the raid and the existence of open hostilities.

 

I really doubt even Egwene would be that stupid. TG is near, there is no time to start a full scale war with the Seanchan, i mean, thats been Rand's plot for 3 books, to stop people fighting the Seanchan and get on with defeating the Shadow.

 

However, it would be very satisfying to see this happen for two reasons. 1) the white tower would mostly get destroyed by the ever victorious armies (soldier quality, the 3 oaths restriction, and the damane's ability of using the one power as a weapon that totally owns anything the AS could do.)

 

and 2) Rand would be able to rip Egwene to shreds for being a complete and utter idiot (much as she always seems to think of him) for engaging in a war that would severly deplete the armies of light just before TG

The Tower is in a full scale war with the Seanchan already, no matter what Egwene does. Whenever the two meet there is battle, they are completely antithetical to each other.

 

Shouldn't be a big quality difference in soldiers with Bryne in command and Uno training them. Tower Aes Sedai have seen their weaves, they can copy them now and teach others to use them. The Oaths are a problem, but an Aes Sedai is likely to feel in danger immediately upon encountering any Seanchan.

 

The last time she declared war she never actually attacked anyone. While I'm sure that Egwene would plan to go on the offensive eventually, in the short term the purpose main purpose of the declaration would be to maintain control of the Hall and stop them from doing anything stupid. Any movements made by the Tower will likely be defensive in nature such as coming to the aid of Andor or Shienar.

 

 

fair enough points in general, but still, its too late to start any AS v Seanchan plotline, i doubt it will be liikely that Egwene will actually do anything momentous regarding the Seanchan, more likely she will be re-establishing the Tower and preparing for TG, anything else is just stupid, even the Seanchan are (slowly) beggining to see this. In any case, the whole "suldam can channel aswell" plot has been brewing since tGH, more likely than Egwene delcaring war on the Seanchan while TG is on the doorstep, it seems the revelation will topple the sul'dam/damane structure of the Empire, thus bringing the Westlands and Seanchan together

 

It's hardly starting a new plot line, it's merely a continuation of the one that already exists. There will definitely be some more conflict before the Shadow forces them to ally against it.

[Random Man]

An attack on Ebou Dar, perhaps? That could force the Seanchan hand. I don't think it's any accident that Tylee told Tuon that she believes the Trollocs are coming "here" (Ebou Dar).  Why would Tylee make such a blunt statement to Tuon unless she had good reason to believe it was the case? I'm sure she's a good enough general to use an approximation of a SALUTE (Size, activity, location, uniform, time, equipment) report to discern what an enemy's up to.

[Val Mickey]

As usual Egwene will kick Rand's bottom and bite his head off.

[Duskfire]

Egwene would never outright attack the Seanchan because she knows they would lose. Look how uneffective Aes Sedai were in general during the WT attack. In PoD Rand managed to hold them back because he had Asha`man and Callandor, yet even he suffered quite a few casualities, and he would have struggled to fight them all the way to Ebou Dar. If Aes Sedai were to attack the heart of the Seanchan empire on Randland they would be massacred. And even if somehow they did manage to succeed, the casualities on her side would be enormous.

 

Rodel Itruldo - one of the great captains of the time - did pretty well against them, but even he knew it was a hopeless mission. Egwene would simply have no chance. I dont think anyone would have a chance against them really.

[Charlz Guybon]

Egwene would never outright attack the Seanchan because she knows they would lose. Look how uneffective Aes Sedai were in general during the WT attack. In PoD Rand managed to hold them back because he had Asha`man and Callandor, yet even he suffered quite a few casualities, and he would have struggled to fight them all the way to Ebou Dar. If Aes Sedai were to attack the heart of the Seanchan empire on Randland they would be massacred. And even if somehow they did manage to succeed, the casualities on her side would be enormous.

 

Rodel Itruldo - one of the great captains of the time - did pretty well against them, but even he knew it was a hopeless mission. Egwene would simply have no chance. I dont think anyone would have a chance against them really.

Ashaman, like Damane have to fight one on one. Aes Sedai can use circles and thus have a great advantage.

 

I never said she'd go on the offensive though. Declaring war would merely be a political maneuver. Any movement Egwene would make in the short term would be defensive in nature like reinforcing Andor or Shienar.

[Auld Manriva]

It seems likely, to me, that there will be a move in The Hall to retaliate. This would be the opening needed by Eggs to assert her "war powers" option, thus removing The Hall from haggling over who steers the ship...

 

Someone is reading the "Sean's" as some kind of irresistible force. They aren't.... They've had their hats handed to them multiple times over their history. Their great advantage is that they learn from mistakes and persist. The easiest way to overcome that is to allow NO recovery from the mistake, thus quashing persistence. Get them on their heels and drive their arses into the Sea of Storms. Job done.....

 

Not that it will come to that. It won't. The 'Seans are needed to fight the good fight. The New Rand will take care of em' by metaphorically B*&ch slappin' Tuon, in some manner, to wake up and smell the coffee. It's about time and not an impossibility. Rand is Billy Bad Arse now that he's "clumb' the mountain" so to speak. And he won't need to trash them, but will wash over their arrogant, superstitious, annoying and sanctimonious backsides like a tsunami. You watch.

[StringWinder]

It seems likely, to me, that there will be a move in The Hall to retaliate. This would be the opening needed by Eggs to assert her "war powers" option, thus removing The Hall from haggling over who steers the ship...

 

 

I really don't think that will be the case.  While she may declare war and get full athority, I don't think that she will have to trick the hall.  With or without special authority I think the Hall will back her.  I think everyone in the WT had quite a scare and is tired of the division.  They have been utter failures under Elaida's reign, and they know it.  That is exactly why they let Eggy step up.  They made this choice with full knowlege of what it meant and why they were doing it.  There is no time to second guess or backslide, and many in the tower are beginning to respect her.

 

I don't think the tower is going to do much battling in the outside world.  Right now they are woefully unprepared for TG, and Eggy knows it.  A lot of what she is going to have to do strategincally is going to involve working on themselves, so to speak. 

 

I think she will consolidate the Kin into the tower, increasing there power and ranks.

 

She will teach the novices things they were not allowed to know before, particularrly how to link, so their strength will be effective in battle even if their knowledge is not up to par.  The kin and novices will mostly be trained in support roles of that nature.  Gateways, circles, wardings, things like that.  With the kin and the novices properly trained, they could have an AS w/ experience at the head of a mighty cirle, backed by the strenght of the untrained.

 

I think her view of the Seanchan might be part of the fulfillment of the "know her anger" foretelling.  Rand will make peace with the Seanchan, and will negotiate with eg to halt the hostilities she will likely want to bring to the Seanchan.  She will be dead set against this due to collaring, but that battle will truly have to wait.  There just isn't time to resolve that yet, imo

[Duskfire]

Someone is reading the "Sean's" as some kind of irresistible force. They aren't.... They've had their hats handed to them multiple times over their history. Their great advantage is that they learn from mistakes and persist. The easiest way to overcome that is to allow NO recovery from the mistake, thus quashing persistence. Get them on their heels and drive their arses into the Sea of Storms. Job done.....

 

They arent an irresistable force; however they are vastly superior to Aes Sedai in basically every way. And though they have had their ass kicked on a number of occasions, those occasions came from: the Horn of Valere, Rand and an army of Asha`man, Mat using Guerilla Warfare, and Rodel Iltruldo using something similiar. Basically exceptional people and/or circumstances, none of which would have been able to continue their campiagn and drive them effectivily out (except for at Falme of course.)

[Harbin]

They arent an irresistable force; however they are vastly superior to Aes Sedai in basically every way. And though they have had their ass kicked on a number of occasions, those occasions came from: the Horn of Valere, Rand and an army of Asha`man, Mat using Guerilla Warfare, and Rodel Iltruldo using something similiar. Basically exceptional people and/or circumstances, none of which would have been able to continue their campiagn and drive them effectivily out (except for at Falme of course.)

 

Their only advantage comes from using the OP in battle (oh and also thair raken air force). Against opponents that make use of the power they aren't that good : Tylee knew the Shaido would have crushed them if not for the forkroot (she only had a few damane to oppose 300-400 channeling WO), they were beaten badly by the Ashaman, and except for the capture of Elaida their raid against the WT wasn't even that successful considering it was a surprise strike against completely disorganized AS (they lost a lot of damane/suldam and a lot of raken). As far as we know they even are not really successful in their war against the Sea Folk. When armies face using the OP as their main weapon it all comes down rapidly to a slaughter and normal soldiers do not count anymore.

[Random Man]

They arent an irresistable force; however they are vastly superior to Aes Sedai in basically every way. And though they have had their ass kicked on a number of occasions, those occasions came from: the Horn of Valere, Rand and an army of Asha`man, Mat using Guerilla Warfare, and Rodel Iltruldo using something similiar. Basically exceptional people and/or circumstances, none of which would have been able to continue their campiagn and drive them effectivily out (except for at Falme of course.)

 

Their only advantage comes from using the OP in battle (oh and also thair raken air force). Against opponents that make use of the power they aren't that good : Tylee knew the Shaido would have crushed them if not for the forkroot (she only had a few damane to oppose 300-400 channeling WO), they were beaten badly by the Ashaman, and except for the capture of Elaida their raid against the WT wasn't even that successful considering it was a surprise strike against completely disorganized AS (they lost a lot of damane/suldam and a lot of raken). As far as we know they even are not really successful in their war against the Sea Folk. When armies face using the OP as their main weapon it all comes down rapidly to a slaughter and normal soldiers do not count anymore.

The Seanchan still consider their raid to be a success (according to Brandon) even though Egwene managed to put up enough of a fight for it to cost them dearly. But yes, it was largely a success because the Aes Sedai were caught with their stockings down. If the WT employs the Salidar Aes Sedai's Forsaken defense protocol -- the system of quickly linking into full circles -- it would render the damane useless. The Aes Sedai could simply shield all the damane and be done with it.

 

While the Ever Victorious Army is good as far as armies go, and has plenty of unique resources, they aren't the end-all to warfare. It's only been recently that anyone's put up a real challenge to them in a long time, and warfare on this side of the world is much different. They're going to have to adapt faster than they've ever done before in a war, and so far it isn't really going very well.

[Auld Manriva]

The Seanchan still consider their raid to be a success (according to Brandon) even though Egwene managed to put up enough of a fight for it to cost them dearly. But yes, it was largely a success because the Aes Sedai were caught with their stockings down. If the WT employs the Salidar Aes Sedai's Forsaken defense protocol -- the system of quickly linking into full circles -- it would render the damane useless. The Aes Sedai could simply shield all the damane and be done with it.

 

While the Ever Victorious Army is good as far as armies go, and has plenty of unique resources, they aren't the end-all to warfare. It's only been recently that anyone's put up a real challenge to them in a long time, and warfare on this side of the world is much different. They're going to have to adapt faster than they've ever done before in a war, and so far it isn't really going very well.

 

Exactly my point. Hit hard, fast and with some twist or killer tactics from someone they disdain (like Tower AS) and you KEEP hitting till they "run so fast that the hounds couldn't catch em, down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico" or the Sea of Storms whichever comes first and they're toast... with cheese if you prefer.

 

But Rand will deal with them now and not have to do that. Why trash a perfectly good weapon when you merely have to re-forge and hone it.

 

As someone mentioned earlier. Eggs will want them melted to slag, thus... Rand feels the "Amyrlin's Wrath".. Much like a horsefly buzzin' about. An annoying pain in the backside but not threatening in the least.

 

Egwene's first REAL strategic move needs to be ... have a heart to heart with Randy-poo.

[Charlz Guybon]

Someone is reading the "Sean's" as some kind of irresistible force. They aren't.... They've had their hats handed to them multiple times over their history. Their great advantage is that they learn from mistakes and persist. The easiest way to overcome that is to allow NO recovery from the mistake, thus quashing persistence. Get them on their heels and drive their arses into the Sea of Storms. Job done.....

 

They arent an irresistable force; however they are vastly superior to Aes Sedai in basically every way. And though they have had their ass kicked on a number of occasions, those occasions came from: the Horn of Valere, Rand and an army of Asha`man, Mat using Guerilla Warfare, and Rodel Iltruldo using something similiar. Basically exceptional people and/or circumstances, none of which would have been able to continue their campiagn and drive them effectivily out (except for at Falme of course.)

This is laughably untrue. Veteran Damane were held off by novices once they linked. A circle is virtually unbeatable by Damane. If the Seanchan had attacked the rebel camp instead of the White Tower they would have been crushed because they had a detailed emergency plan in place to link in case of attack.

[Random Man]

Someone is reading the "Sean's" as some kind of irresistible force. They aren't.... They've had their hats handed to them multiple times over their history. Their great advantage is that they learn from mistakes and persist. The easiest way to overcome that is to allow NO recovery from the mistake, thus quashing persistence. Get them on their heels and drive their arses into the Sea of Storms. Job done.....

 

They arent an irresistable force; however they are vastly superior to Aes Sedai in basically every way. And though they have had their ass kicked on a number of occasions, those occasions came from: the Horn of Valere, Rand and an army of Asha`man, Mat using Guerilla Warfare, and Rodel Iltruldo using something similiar. Basically exceptional people and/or circumstances, none of which would have been able to continue their campiagn and drive them effectivily out (except for at Falme of course.)

This is laughably untrue. Veteran Damane were held off by novices once they linked. A circle is virtually unbeatable by Damane. If the Seanchan had attacked the rebel camp instead of the White Tower they would have been crushed because they had a detailed emergency plan in place to link in case of attack.

That's what I was pointing to earlier. The rebel camp's contingency plan for a Forsaken attack was to bring all channelers into circles; Egwene as Amyrlin is likely to institute such a plan in the White Tower, preventing the success of any future raids. If the WT had such a plan in place during the Seanchan raid, they could have just sliced incoming weaves and shielded the damane as they came at them. The only real reason the Seanchan raid was successful was that the WT was in such a poor state that it was incapable of the cooperation necessary to overpower such a force through the use of linking. That and the fact that no Aes Sedai in the WT had been put in such a situation before save Egwene.

[Val Mickey]

If you all agree Mat knows his war, he does mention that 'Seanchan soldiers are good, very good'.

They've faced armies with damane (during revolutions) and have been preparing for this 'Homeland' invasion for ONLY a couple of centuries. Without damane the Seanchan are useless? No freakin' way.

With the damane they're just unstoppable. If they get Tsoro'vande Doon, just go and take your oaths. Or curl up and die.

 

Egwene will have to ally with the Tower and the Dragon to have any bargaining power. Because bargaining is all that 's left.

[Random Man]

If you all agree Mat knows his war, he does mention that 'Seanchan soldiers are good, very good'.

They've faced armies with damane (during revolutions) and have been preparing for this 'Homeland' invasion for ONLY a couple of centuries. Without damane the Seanchan are useless? No freakin' way.

With the damane they're just unstoppable. If they get Tsoro'vande Doon, just go and take your oaths. Or curl up and die.

 

Egwene will have to ally with the Tower and the Dragon to have any bargaining power. Because bargaining is all that 's left.

It's not that the Ever Victorious Army is useless without the damane. The damane simply give a serious tactical advantage to the army when facing non-channelers. The damane would be useless if they were to face full circles of channelers, however. This negates the damane advantage for the Ever Victorious Army, and the advantage would go to Rand with Asha'man, or Mat and the Band, or so on. Ituralde showed you don't even need Aes Sedai to counter damane if you're bold, and lucky, enough to take out the damane early on in any engagement.