A question about Mydraal...

[Dagon Thyne]

I just started my second readthrough of the series and something is weird. In the beginning of Eye of the World, Mydraal have the ability to make themselves invisible to adults, but after Rand and company leaves the Two Rivers, this ability is never brought up again. I was confused over this fact. Why is it?

[Feral]

Erm I don't think it's an ability to make themselves invisible to adults, I think it's just their ability to use shadows to teleport that results in the adults never seeing them. I haven't read EotW for a while though...

[Suttree]

They were searching for boys, hence only boys seeing them.

[Dagon Thyne]

They were searching for boys, hence only boys seeing them.

 

 

Well that still doesn't make sense. Would Tam have seem him as well if he had turned around the moment Rand was looking at him?

[Suttree]

They were searching for boys, hence only boys seeing them.

 

 

Well that still doesn't make sense. Would Tam have seem him as well if he had turned around the moment Rand was looking at him?

 

Yes he would have, but didn't. They were keeping a low profile.

[Xcorpyo001]

I think he vanished the moment Rand lost eye contact. When Rand and Tam both looked back just a moment later, he was gone.

I've read the entire series a couple of times, so I know about Fades being out of time and reality, bla bla bla.

They can travel through shadows, etc.

What I was wondering is how did he took the horse with him? If a guy can 'melt' in the shadow, that doesn't mean his horse can do the same. Or can it?

[Suttree]

I think he vanished the moment Rand lost eye contact. When Rand and Tam both looked back just a moment later, he was gone.

I've read the entire series a couple of times, so I know about Fades being out of time and reality, bla bla bla.

They can travel through shadows, etc.

What I was wondering is how did he took the horse with him? If a guy can 'melt' in the shadow, that doesn't mean his horse can do the same. Or can it?

 

Great question Aiel, I had never thought of that...

[water_seeker]

I think he vanished the moment Rand lost eye contact. When Rand and Tam both looked back just a moment later, he was gone.

I've read the entire series a couple of times, so I know about Fades being out of time and reality, bla bla bla.

They can travel through shadows, etc.

What I was wondering is how did he took the horse with him? If a guy can 'melt' in the shadow, that doesn't mean his horse can do the same. Or can it?

 

Great question Aiel, I had never thought of that...

 

Since that ability hasn't really ever been fleshed out it would stand to reason that they could...but with that ability why bother with horses at all?

[Guest PiotrekS]

I think it is a first book syndrome. At the beginning of the EotW, the Myrdraal were pretty much the black riders from LotR and their specific powers were not fully fleshed out.

 

Although, Shaidar Haran was able to take Moghedien with him when he traveled from Shayol Ghul to wherever Moridin was in A Crown of Swords, so it might indeed be possible they could take the horses with them as well.

 

Why bother with horses? I don't know, maybe to get where there is no shadow, or maybe their ability is somehow limited in other ways. Or maybe they just like their cool, black war horses.

[Xcorpyo001]

I think it is a first book syndrome. At the beginning of the EotW, the Myrdraal were pretty much the black riders from LotR and their specific powers were not fully fleshed out.

 

Although, Shaidar Haran was able to take Moghedien with him when he traveled from Shayol Ghul to wherever Moridin was in A Crown of Swords, so it might indeed be possible they could take the horses with them as well.

 

Why bother with horses? I don't know, maybe to get where there is no shadow, or maybe their ability is somehow limited in other ways. Or maybe they just like their cool, black war horses.

 

 

I don't know for sure if he took Moghe himself.

He told her to close her eyes, he pushed her forward, she walked several paces, and she was inside Moridin's study.

I believed that Moridin simply created a gateway with OP(or TP), and SH just pushed her through it.

If he can take people/horses with him, it seems that he's using something that is not attuned only to him, like channeling a Shadow Travel gateway?!?

 

But I think that in that chapter in which Semirhage is torturing Cabriana Mecandes, she states that she tortured Fades, and Aginor used some nasty tests to find out how the 'shadow walk' works, and they found out nothing.

Not even the fades knew how they did it. So if it was a simple matter of opening a 'gateway' in the shadow and just pass through it with horse and all, they should have said so.

[LemonPastie]

I would say he wanted a horse so he could lead the Trollocs

[OptimusPrime]

I think he vanished the moment Rand lost eye contact. When Rand and Tam both looked back just a moment later, he was gone.

I've read the entire series a couple of times, so I know about Fades being out of time and reality, bla bla bla.

They can travel through shadows, etc.

What I was wondering is how did he took the horse with him? If a guy can 'melt' in the shadow, that doesn't mean his horse can do the same. Or can it?

 

Great question Aiel, I had never thought of that...

 

Since that ability hasn't really ever been fleshed out it would stand to reason that they could...but with that ability why bother with horses at all?

 

Nothing to say on the matter, other than that I think these are some really good observations. Why bother with the horse indeed.

[spoke]

Since that ability hasn't really ever been fleshed out it would stand to reason that they could...but with that ability why bother with horses at all?

 

He needed the horse for the same reason as any other man would need a horse. When you are leading troops (trollocs), traveling through shadows isn't very useful.

[XXX]

In the first book the fades were ferocious scary creatures...by the 13th book, they are no better than cannon fodder for our hero's/heroines, even those who cannot channel, Perrin for instance keeps on dispatching them as they come.

[Sharaman]

I think there's a RJ quote that confirms Fades can't take other living creatures with them on their jaunts through shadows. So that horse was first book syndrome or, the fade disappeared by going into cover ala Aiel.

[Guest PiotrekS]

On the other hand, the Fade can definitely travel through shadows with all its clothes, armour and belongings, so it might seem that physical touch is essential to this. If it is tuned to "only Myrdraal", then they should travel without all their stuff as well.

The other option is that they can't take living creatures with them and if there is RJ quote to that effect, then that's the answer.

[damandred]

Lan says in the first book that fades have power of a sort, and it would take a weak AS to be defeated by one. Apart from shadow travel. What power do they have that would enable them to match even a weak AS.

[Dagon Thyne]

I think he vanished the moment Rand lost eye contact. When Rand and Tam both looked back just a moment later, he was gone.

I've read the entire series a couple of times, so I know about Fades being out of time and reality, bla bla bla.

They can travel through shadows, etc.

What I was wondering is how did he took the horse with him? If a guy can 'melt' in the shadow, that doesn't mean his horse can do the same. Or can it?

 

Great question Aiel, I had never thought of that...

 

 

I always assumed it was a type of join effect where a fade can take someone else or something else, like a horse, for example, through the shadows with him, as long as they remain in direct contact.

[rageofwar1978]

fades are not entirely within the world and due to this they can use the vaquole after a fashion. what they do is. . . instinctive would be the best word I can think of. contact with a passenger would be essential or else the passenger would be lost or simply not taken at all. the horse used by fades are I believe somewhat changed not unlike darkhounds. normal horses are at least fearful around trollocs and fades as well as most shadowspawn.

 

given that trollocs were created before fades it is suprising that fades being a "throwback" to the human stock even exist in the consistent numbers that they do. as for not knowing how they do what they do, better to ask a fish to teach a bird to swim. . . sorry had to throw that in.

[JeffNussbaum]

i thought that they could travel through shadows without their horses or with them it didn't matter. In terms of the adults not seeing them i think its just becuase they weren't looking at the time and they mydraal didn't want to be spotted by anyone else. Plus it was a forest lots of shadows in a forest so easy for them to get away.

[Kahsm]

I think there's a RJ quote that confirms Fades can't take other living creatures with them on their jaunts through shadows. So that horse was first book syndrome or, the fade disappeared by going into cover ala Aiel.

 

Are Fade's horses alive?

[rcfleming4]

Another question . . . once the Dark One is properly sealed away (no patch jobs) . . .will Fades lose their ability to shadow walk?

[OptimusPrime]

Since that ability hasn't really ever been fleshed out it would stand to reason that they could...but with that ability why bother with horses at all?

 

He needed the horse for the same reason as any other man would need a horse. When you are leading troops (trollocs), traveling through shadows isn't very useful.

 

But was that particular Fade with an army of troops though? Didnt look like it. Technically if a Fade was wandering around in the darkness it could teleport almost anywhere. It didnt need a horse to spy on Rand and Tam.

[Sharaman]

I assume they'll pop it, along with other Shadowspawn, since their DNA was apparently melded using TP.