How has Demandred "unleashed the balefire" in your opinion?

[thisguy]

If Natrin's Barrow is any indication, then Min and Graendal feel the balescream after the balefire happens and notice nothing before that. I don't believe they feel the compensations and sorting out of the paradoxes of the pattern until the balefire happens. The ramifications are felt in the present time.

 

I'm not sure if I'm expaining what I mean adequately here, but the symptoms of the Pattern's unraveling were not apparent until well after LoC (WH I believe?), where the balefire order was given. It would seem that if it went the other way back in time, there'd be stuff in LoC about it or at least in the timeline overlaps in ACoS. Also, I cannot imagine the balefire used would be strong enough to affect things in the past 'a long way' in any case.

I agree with the first part of what you say. Balefire has to happen in the present for it to have any affect on the past, otherwise there would be no altering of the pattern or timeline.

 

As for it being able to alter things a long way, who knows. It would probably have to be more than we've seen used, and if a tremendous amount was used, it could possibly destroy the pattern...

[Sid]

Yeah, I was basing my doubt of 'a long way' back on Brandon's estimation of Rand (the strongest channeler) using the CK (the strongest sa'angreal) with all his strength to balefire someone affecting a couple of months at the most. So, we can safely assume that anything Demandred is doing cannot be anywhere near 'a long way' in the past. And like you said it might destroy the pattern completely if he did use a tremendous amount (say with a strong circle of darkfriend channelers with angreals in a ring).