Rand and Darkfriends

[KrisAnton]

I noticed a small line in my re-read of The Great Hunt that I'd never noticed before. As Rand and his small party emerge from the Portal Stone into the mainland ahead of the Darkfriends who had stolen the Horn of Valere, Selene (Lanfear) says something about all the Darkfriends and asks, quite curiously, if Rand knows if a way to kill them all. She asks in a way that suggests a weave that only destroys Darkfriends and we know from Rand's actions in the Stone of Tear that such weaves are possible. Brian Sanderson noticed on his re-read of the Eye of the World that Lews Therin Travels to a spot where he is unable to sense people and then he is consumed by the power, giving birth to Dargonmount. The champion of the Light is capable of sensing people who walk in the Light, can he destroy those who walk in the Shadow?

 

I think Lanfear was feeling Rand out, she was trying to see how much of LTT Rand remembered, if any. At this point, he doesn't remember anything and only acts out of instinct. When Rand goes to Maradon to relieve Ituralde, he battles the Shadow there with a mixture of Light and other weaves, but doesn't make a single weave that destroys all of the trollocs, as he did in the Stone.

 

Is this something missed by the authors or is this intentional? Rand says after Maradon that it came too close to a confrontation with the Dark One, so he may be holding that weave in reserve, but it seems entirely possible that Rand/LTT knows of a way to eradicate Darkfriends from the world. This wouldn't really do much in the long run, it would only destroy the DO's tools, not the source of the Shadow itself, but it would make battling the Shadow much easier for the armies gathered at Merrilor. Even if Rand is ignorant of any such weave, it seems that Lanfear at least is aware of the possibility. This would make an interesting twist, especially when considering Rands dream at the end of Towers of Midnight.

[CoonDawg]

First off, great find. But unfortunately, that may very well be reading into it too far. I think, as readers, we digest how the authors write things, and even the words they use, and see them as some form of Foreshadowing, when it's really just page filler. Or, it could be the final plot point.

 

Only argument I have against this really is it is kind of overpowered. Rand is going to walk into the blight with his army, snap his fingers, and every trolloc/evil Asha'Man/Myrddraal is going to drop dead? Unlikely. Besides, I think this would have been used in the Age of Legends to combat the enemy.

 

HOWEVER, I do believe it is POSSIBLE, and that Lanfear was checking to make sure even LTT didn't know of it. Perhaps, in the last moments, as his armies fall around him and the DO reaches his hands out of the bore (metaphorically), the idea will strike him, and he'll unleash a weave that kills the opposition, once again putting them back into the fight? Possible. Unlikely.

[OptimusPrime]

Im thinking a construct might require a sa'angreal. Rand made the one in the Stone of Tear with Callandor, and Im pretty sure he didnt have that with him at Maradon.

 

I do agree this is a great find though, and I dont think for a second you're reading into it too far Ituralde. I really like these kind of finds because it justifies the suddenness of Rands new power in ToM that little bit more.

 

But yeah, I think Rand could very well do something that would hunt down those marked as Darkfriends. After all, they ARE all marked somehow, Fain can tell if someone is a Darkfriend by looking at them. But like I said, I think those kind of weaves require the kind of power level that only a sa'angeal can achieve

[Byzantine279]

Fain can tell by looking, Rand can tell by making them look at him, they certainly have some mark, I don't see why there wouldn't be a weave that would seek out and destroy only those so marked. Remember that the War of the Power was NOT a war of subterfuge like it is today, the Darkfriends openly declared themselves back then, perhaps it was because if they didn't they would simply be found and destroyed?

[KrisAnton]

I forget the names of the two Darkfriends in Maradon, the woman who killed herself and the man who gouged his own eyes out. They weren't even facing any windows yet they felt the overpowering source of Light that was coming from Rand. Imagine if he held Callandor, he could possibly "Lighten" the entire world and evaporate the will of those who serve the Shadow. The question remains though, if Rand knows it, LTT should have known it. I think if LTT was capable of such feats, he would not have allowed the use of Balefire in the beginning of the War of Power.

 

I'm growing convinced however that Lanfear has something to contribute to the success of the Light, and I'm becoming more positive that it isn't accidental. She has given the Light siders too much information not to be aware of her deeds. Shadar Haran's line to Graendal, that the "pattern builds a framework of failure" or whatever he says definitely applies more to Lanfear than Graendal. There seems to exist an inner struggle between those Darkfriends and Chosen who wish to simply rule the world and those who seek to Destroy the Pattern. Adding the new-and-improved Rand and Mordeth into the mix certainly makes for a gripping finale to this complicated and convoluted series.

 

There have been many quotes by Ishamael and others that this is the LAST Last Battle, the final struggle between the Shadow and the Light. As Neo was The One in the Matrix in that he was born to bring his experiences to the Source, he was also The One in the sense that he was able to bring peace between the Machines and Mankind. No doubt our story will end with the reader thinking that the Shadow had been defeated indefinitely only to find in the Eplogue that something else stirs, something sinister and perhaps darker than the Shadow.

 

The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, there must be something the Pattern is benefitting from in the struggle between the two sides. Perhaps without Evil, there can be no Good. Without the Shadow, there can be no light, or some such nonsense.

 

Sorry for the rambling, but it has been a neat experience getting back into books that I haven't read in 15+ years.

[KrisAnton]

Fain can tell by looking, Rand can tell by making them look at him, they certainly have some mark, I don't see why there wouldn't be a weave that would seek out and destroy only those so marked. Remember that the War of the Power was NOT a war of subterfuge like it is today, the Darkfriends openly declared themselves back then, perhaps it was because if they didn't they would simply be found and destroyed?

 

Indeed. Lanfear openly swore to the Shadow in the Hall of the Servents.

 

Other than possibly Demandred, none of the Chosen have openly ruled in a territory without hiding behind some disguise. There is something they fear in fighting out in the open and they have had 3,000+ years to plan this out.

[Gathering Storman Norman]

IB,

Great pull! I don't know if you're right but what you suggest is certainly possible and might be even probable.

I can't wait to find out if you're right!

[Thanatos]

I was actually just reading this yesterday.

 

They way it comes across to me is Selene (Lanfear) is just referring to the darkfriends that Fain has with him. Shortly after Rand take's the Horn back, she is asking him if he knows a way to kill all the darkfriends. I don't think this means "ALL" darkfriends. Just the one's that are with Fain at the time, because Rand can't defeat all the Trollocs and darkfriends with just his Heron-Marked Blade.

 

At least that is how it came across to me.