Why was Asmodean called to Shayol Ghul

[Smittyphi]

When LTT went with the 100 companions, the Forsaken were called to Shayol Ghul for a pow wow. Supposedly, the forsaken were chosen because of their abilities. What was Asmodeans remarkable ability that would entice the DO to make him one of the Forsaken? Music can't be that important to destroying the pattern and remaking your own.

[Durinax]

When LTT went with the 100 companions, the Forsaken were called to Shayol Ghul for a pow wow. Supposedly, the forsaken were chosen because of their abilities. What was Asmodeans remarkable ability that would entice the DO to make him one of the Forsaken? Music can't be that important to destroying the pattern and remaking your own.

no but he was fairly vicious, and cut throat so he could have had a high standing among the many forsaken there was during that time

[Guest Emu on the Loose]

It may have been coincidental. We don't know that each of the 13 Forsaken present at that fateful hour were truly among the elite of all the Forsaken. We only know that some of them were.

 

There could also be a number of substantive reasons. He might have been a tagalong or partner to one or more of the other Forsaken. He might have been contracted to play the music. He might have had some ability or power base we don't know about. He might have been serving coffee. He might have been there in the same place, but not part of the meeting.

 

I guess we'll never know.

[Muad Cheade]

They were the strongest of the Ccosen. AS for why they were called to Shayol Ghul, we don' knoe. Doubt we ever will.

[Terez]

1. Great strength in the Power.

 

2. Talent as a governor and/or administrator.

[hankscorpio]

We know Asmodean was the weakest of the male Forsaken, but is there really any evidence to suggest he was actually significantly weaker than the others? He pretty much battled Rand (albeit an inexperienced Rand) to a draw in tSR and was only defeated because Rand had the Fat Man.

[Terez]

We know Asmodean was the weakest of the male Forsaken, but is there really any evidence to suggest he was actually significantly weaker than the others?

No. And we only 'know' he's the weakest if we trust that the BWB lists them in order of strength.

[Majsju]

We know Asmodean was the weakest of the male Forsaken, but is there really any evidence to suggest he was actually significantly weaker than the others? He pretty much battled Rand (albeit an inexperienced Rand) to a draw in tSR and was only defeated because Rand had the Fat Man.

 

Weakest of the ones trapped with the DO. Considering that there were several thousand Forsaken running around at the time of LTTs attack, that does not really say anything.

Granted, that he held his own against Rand doe not really say much either, since I find it unlikely that Rand had reached his full potential at that time.

[Smittyphi]

1. Great strength in the Power.

 

Seems like there were many in the AoL that had great strength in Power. That's where all of the Forsaken came from including others not trapped by LTT and co.

 

2. Talent as a governor and/or administrator.

 

What would the DO care about this. If all went according to plan, governor/adminstrators wouldn't be needed if the DO was able to unravel the pattern and create his own.

[Sharaman]

I'm guessing he was one of the 29 who had received access to the True Power?

"Weakest" in this case implies he was still way stronger than the average strong channeller. He wasn't that much weaker than Rand when they fought.

[Vandar30]

There may have been no need for governors after the DO reshaped the pattern, but was certainly a need for them during the time of the war. Why would the DO not reward a good administrator who handled his mortal affairs well?

[Terez]

1. Great strength in the Power.

Seems like there were many in the AoL that had great strength in Power. That's where all of the Forsaken came from including others not trapped by LTT and co.

The 13 at Shayol Ghul were the top of the heap, both in the Power and in other abilities.

[Mats Spare Hat]

Almost enough to make you wonder what it was that the DO wanted everybody in house, at the same place, to do/talk about/commiserate over...weeeird

[Terez]

Probably just a normal war council, since things were pretty heated at the time. If the current Age is any example, then the 13 were probably essentially his top dogs in the chain of command.

[Massive]

I've wondered if the DO or Ishamael anticipated that LTT was coming and had those Forsaken there for a reason.

[Guest Emu on the Loose]

I've wondered if the DO or Ishamael anticipated that LTT was coming and had those Forsaken there for a reason.

 

Ishamael: Master, the hour of the Dragon's attack upon you draws nigh.

 

Shai'tan: ISHAMAEL, YOU MUST SUMMON THE GREATEST OF THE CHOSEN TO THIS PLACE, AND HERE CREATE A RESERVE OF EVIL. THEN WHEN THE NEXT AGE HAS COME AND GONE, THEY SHALL BECOME LOOSE UPON THE WORLD AND PREPARE THE UNWORTHY CHILDREN OF MY ADVERSARIES FOR MY INEVITABLE RETURN.

 

Ishamael: They shall perform your will with the utmost devotion, Great Lord! I have foreseen their innumerable successes against the Dragon Reborn, and the feeble nations of the coming age, and I have personally selected twelve of the greatest Chosen to fulfill this prophecy to perfection. Their competence shall be surpassed only by their effectiveness.

 

Shai'tan: NAME THESE EMISSARIES OF EVIL YOU GATHER FOR ME.

 

Ishamael: They are Aginor, Graendal, Demandred, Lanfear, Semirhage, Mesaana, Be'lal, Rahvin, Asmodean, Sammael, Moghedien, and Balthamel.

 

Shai'tan: ARE YOU JIVING ME?

 

Ishamael: Master, they will prevail! They will wreck the world even as Kinslayer is about to do now.

 

Shai'tan: THEY COULD NOT SCREW IN A LIGHT BULB.

 

Ishamael: Too late! They're already here, and here come the Hundred Companions. I'm gonna go let them in.

 

The Other Chosen: Yo! We're here. You said there'd be kaf and jo-nuts?

 

Ishamael: Yeah, just wait here. (Mmffmffm heh heh!)

 

Shai'tan: GRRRRRRRR!!

[Thaed]

^ I lol'd

 

And I do remember it being something about a war council although i sadly do not have my BWB with me to verify

[Terez]

Week 12 Question: In Winter's Heart, you mention that back in the Age of Legends, there were several other Forsaken that the Dark One had killed because he suspected they would betray him. What's their story? Were those people ever as high ranking as the thirteen survivors, or where they more like high-ranking Dreadlords then actual Forsaken?

 

Robert Jordan Answers: First off, Dreadlords was the name given to men and women who could channel and sided with the Shadow in the Trolloc Wars. Yes, the women were called Dreadlords, too. They might have liked to call themselves "the Chosen," like the Forsaken, but feared to. The real Forsaken might not have appreciated it when they returned, as prophecies of the Shadow foretold would happen. Some of the Dreadlords had authority and responsibility equivalent to that of the Forsaken in the War of the Shadow, however. They ran the Shadow's side of the Trolloc Wars, though without the inherent ability to command the Myrddraal that the Forsaken possess, meaning they had to negotiate with them. Overall command at the beginning was in another's hands.

 

Forsaken was the name given to Aes Sedai who went over to the Shadow in the War of the Shadow at the end of the Age of Legends, though of course, they called themselves the Chosen, and despite the tales of the "current" Age, there were many more than a few of them. Since they occupied all sorts of levels, you might say that many were equivalent to some of the lesser Dreadlords, but it would be incorrect to call them so. At the time, they were all Forsaken—or Chosen—from the greatest to the least.

 

Some of those Forsaken the Dark One killed were every bit as high-ranking as the thirteen who were remembered, and who you might say constituted a large part of the Dark One's General Staff at the time of the sealing. With the Forsaken, where treachery and backstabbing were an acceptable way of getting ahead, the turnover in the upper ranks was fairly high, though Ishamael, Demandred, Lanfear, Graendal, Semirhage, and later Sammael, were always at the top end of the pyramid. They were very skilled at personal survival, politically and physically.

 

In large part the thirteen were remembered because they were trapped at Shayol Ghul, and so their names became part of that story, though it turned out that details of them, stories of them, survived wide-spread knowledge of the tale of the actual sealing itself. Just that they had been sealed away. Other Forsaken were left behind, so to speak, free but in a world that was rapidly sliding down the tube. The men eventually went mad and died from the same taint that killed off the other male Aes Sedai. They had no access to the Dark One's protective filters. The women died, too, though from age or in battle or from natural disasters created by insane male Aes Sedai or from diseases that could no longer be controlled because civilization itself had been destroyed and access to those who were skilled in Healing was all but gone. And soon after their deaths, their names were forgotten, except for what might possibly be discovered in some ancient manuscript fragment that survived the Breaking. A bleak story of people who deserved no better, and not worth telling in any detail.

Notice that the top dogs are not necessarily the strongest or the most talented. Aginor was certainly second only to Ishamael in strength, and his contributions were pretty huge, with the Shadowspawn, but he's not exactly skilled at 'personal survival'. As for Sammael, RJ thought it appropriate for him to be killed by something he wasn't paying any attention to (Mashadar), but to be fair, he was distracted by Rand balefiring things.

 

While the exact events of that day can never be known, some of the details have survived. The Dragon and his companions arrived at Shayol Ghul to discover an unexpected bonus: a gathering of the thirteen most powerful leaders of the Forsaken Aes Sedai was taking place at the Pit of Doom deep within the mountain at the same moment, perhaps summoned by the Dark One for a conference. The Companions struck quickly and mercilessly, sealing the bore safely, without ripping open the Dark One’s prison as many opponents had feared. Forty five of the companions were killed in the battle, and apparently the warmen took a much higher percentage of casualties. The strike trapped all the attending Forsaken within the sealing, thus removing with one stroke the Shadow’s touch and his leadership in this world. With the seals safely placed, the cuendillar discs were safely hidden.

[FarShainMael]

Notice that the top dogs are not necessarily the strongest or the most talented.

 

'Twas ever thus..

 

(no that's not a dig at anyone here, just an ironic comment on the way of the world)

 

@Emu:

[Thor]

Aginor has a third name which is more than what could be said of Lanfear, I think it's time people stop criticizing him.