Darkfriends

[FossMaNo1]

Okay, here’s an organizational question concerning the Dark One’s followers.

 

We all know that Darkfriends exist, however they tend to operate as individuals or as small cells. Before the seals weakened and let the Forsaken out, who was running the overall show? Who coordinated the darkfriends and planned events?

 

We all know Myrddraal are smart, but they’ve never been shown to be leaders of men—only trollocs. I can’t imagine Gray Men taking orders from shadowspawn (especially considering no shadowspawn has been shown to be intelligent). Ishy comes out every 1,000 years or so, but in the meantime who was calling the shots?

[Durinax]

channellers tend to take control/the most vicious of them it seems

[yoniy0]

I don't believe anyone was calling the shots, which is why civilization made some great leaps in between Ishi's 'awake-times'.

[Lacanos]

They probably weren't organised a great deal beyond the cells. There was no need for a "Darkfriend Central HQ", but rather simply for DFs to operate in little areas. In fact, it's arguably to the benefit of the Shadow they weren't too organised in this time; else there'd have been a greater possibility of detection and less ability for Ishamael to use individual cells in the way he did early on in the series.