A thought about Demandred's army

[putts]

So, all we really know about Demandred is that he is off somewhere building an army to fight for the Dark One at the LB and that whoever his alias is is some person we've never seen "on screen."

 

Lots of people suggest Murandy but I don't get that on a couple of levels:

1. Murandy is not even a very large country and, that we know of, they aren't known for any outlandish secret weapons. Could Murandy's army even compete with Andor's or Illian's or Tear's? Let alone all 3 plus others? I understand that the DO's own personal army will be there as well but that brings me to the next point ....

 

2. Just because a Forsaken is in charge, doesn't mean the entire army is filled with DFs. What people in their right mind are going to be all up for fighting along side Trollocs and Fades against the rest of humanity? Even if Dred compulses a few nobles and generals to make them fiercely loyal, he's not going to do that to the entire army and I just can't see why all these otherwise normal people would continue to fight when it becomes abundantly clear that they're fighting for the DO.

 

 

So, if Murandy's force is not large enough by itself and we have no reason to assume that they'd all happily fight hand-in-hand with Trollocs then what role can they hope to play in the LB?

 

I just feel like it must be some other country/army that we haven't really seen much of that is either large enough to face the Rand Alliance by themselves or some group of people who won't mind fighting along side of Trollocs.

 

 

I will be greatly disappointed if Murandy shows up and fights all the other countries all at once or just falls in along side the ranks of Trollocs without even batting an eyelash ... without some enormous explanation of how the army would somehow rationalize this to themselves.

 

Has all this been discussed previously in one of the numerous Reodred threads? Reodran does seem a good fit as Demandred (of the people we know of) but Muarndy doesn't make sense as the DO's infantry.

[hjustinpace]

Yeah, it's been discussed. Seanchan, Seanchan mainland, Shara, Land of Madmen, and Portal Stones have all been bandied about. All are unsatisfying in their own way.

 

The conventional wisdom seems to be that Murandy is only one of many pots Demandred has his fingers in. But it could also be used as a staging ground.

[TootThatHorn]

That's the thing, with control being where it lies, Murandy could sound bad, but that's because everyone considers it as the ONLY place Dem is. Get a bunch of little countries together though and now you're talking. He could just send them after a country they despise to get both nations out of the way. Maybe Murandy is Dem's home and like in tDR with other forsaken, his dreams are affecting the people and making them violent. He could easily use Murandy as a distraction to unleash something he has up his sleeve. I just think it's implied that he has multiple staging areas, but Murandy seems likely where his 'rule is secure.' Hell, it could even be just something to throw the other forsaken off.

[Durinax]

Murandy is strong enough to have kept Andor and Tear at bay for years. They probably had the largest standing army pre Aiel due to the fact that they are waging so many wars that they would need it.

 

Also this war will be on many fronts, so it wouldn't be hard to keep Murandy away from the Shadowspawn, hell with the trollocs to the north, the Lights armies would be between murandy and the Shadowspawn. But I think they are going to raze Illian now that Andor is burning

[putts]

Defending your own ground where you have the strategic advantage is much different than having the ability to launch an attack on another nation ... or multiple nations.

[Daniel Hill]

What about the legion of the dragon. We know the black tower is full of df. The legion is made ip of the recruits that can't channel. What if they are mostly dark friends.

[Suttree]

What about the legion of the dragon. We know the black tower is full of df. The legion is made ip of the recruits that can't channel. What if they are mostly dark friends.

 

Think there is a pretty good chance that the Legion has a number of DFs in it's midst.

[Razdif]

The thing is that Murandy is useful no matter what, having it under DF control is better than not having it. The troops don't necessarily have to fight with trollocs, Dem could use them to attack a random target like Northern Altara or something in conjunction with waygate attacks on the Seanchan and do a fair amount of damage. It all depends on the tactics they use.

 

The thing about the staging area idea is that why would the shadow need Murandy now that they have Caemlyn? It has a city already conquered, a waygate open right in the middle of it and the legion of the dragon and the BT right next to it. It could not be better. I really think that Roedran is evil in some way though, whether or not he has been Demandred the entire time or Roedran is merely a darkfriend is the question for me.

[Durinax]

Defending your own ground where you have the strategic advantage is much different than having the ability to launch an attack on another nation ... or multiple nations.

yes but currently it would be launching an attack on a (essentially) unguarded nation.

 

Besides it is nothing short of a miracle Murandy hasn't been scooped up anyways, considering two powerhouses on the door step, being disunified, and mistrusting of each other. Their ability to form into one cohesive fighting unit would have be unparallelled especially considering the rivalries (that would) between various noble factions

[Daniel Hill]

The majority of the legion of the dragon are probably dark friends. The shadow will break the world. The darks armies will destroy almost every city including Tarvalon.

 

[demonspawn]

The majority of the legion of the dragon are probably dark friends.

 

Not necessarily. Bear in mind that these were people rejected by Mazrim Taim after failing the Test. It was Davram Bashere (or was it Rand, my memory is a bit sketchy on this point) who suggested training them up.

 

So there is NOTHING that points towards them being mostly DF's... No more so than any other Army in Randland

[FarShainMael]

What intrigues me is that Talmanes and the Band worked as mercenaries for Roedran for some time (TPoD18). If Demandred is Roedran, I can't believe he would have passed up such an opportunity!

 

And after this, Talmanes had acquired a 'gold-rimmed' pipe, from somewhere, though Mat doesn't know where (TGS20).. which he did not take with him into battle (AMoL Prologue). Some have suggested that this pipe might have a 'finder' or other weave on it.

 

I can't see the Band as being mostly DFs, though..

[Razdif]

It depends when the Legion stopped being trained by Mat and Bashere. Pretty sure it has been growing this entire time and Bashere hasn't been there for a fair while considering he's supposed to have been training them and Mat certainly hasn't had any input since the early stages. Who has been in charge for the interim? When was the last time we heard anything about the legion?

 

Also I think based on the percentage of channelers to the regular population if the BT is nearing a thousand members the Legion must have more than thirty or forty thousand. A very difficult number to turn into DFs without anyone noticing. Much more likely they're led by a Taim or Demandred proxy. Probably Demandred.

 

And FarShainMael also remember that they more than doubled their numbers while in Murandy, how many DFs could Demandred sneak in if he rules Murandy?

[Mik]

I think I have found Demandred;

http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/75864-miks-warp-demandred-isclick-to-find-out/

 

Please keep in mind, that this theory (*wink* Suttree) is i the General discussion section. No spoilers there.

[FarShainMael]

It depends when the Legion stopped being trained by Mat and Bashere. Pretty sure it has been growing this entire time and Bashere hasn't been there for a fair while considering he's supposed to have been training them and Mat certainly hasn't had any input since the early stages. Who has been in charge for the interim? When was the last time we heard anything about the legion?

 

Also I think based on the percentage of channelers to the regular population if the BT is nearing a thousand members the Legion must have more than thirty or forty thousand. A very difficult number to turn into DFs without anyone noticing. Much more likely they're led by a Taim or Demandred proxy. Probably Demandred.

 

And FarShainMael also remember that they more than doubled their numbers while in Murandy, how many DFs could Demandred sneak in if he rules Murandy?

 

VERY good point!!

 

(PS: I've long had the thought that Olver will be persuaded by a DF that Mat killed his dad and go after him for revenge.. and he hasn't been seen in the kerfuffle in and around Caemlyn. That may be part of it; a way to deprive the Band of its leader.)

 

@Mik: So that's what the Atha'an Miere are for..

[demonspawn]

 

(PS: I've long had the thought that Olver will be persuaded by a DF that Mat killed his dad and go after him for revenge.. and he hasn't been seen in the kerfuffle in and around Caemlyn. That may be part of it; a way to deprive the Band of its leader.)

 

 

I hope not... Too close to Masemas influencing of Aram against Perrin

[FarShainMael]

 

(PS: I've long had the thought that Olver will be persuaded by a DF that Mat killed his dad and go after him for revenge.. and he hasn't been seen in the kerfuffle in and around Caemlyn. That may be part of it; a way to deprive the Band of its leader.)

 

 

I hope not... Too close to Masemas influencing of Aram against Perrin

 

Which nearly worked.. And bear in mind that Mat implicitly trusts Olver.