Discuss the Shadow (Full Spoilers)

[Julian Cook]

 

So the shadow never was Rand's enemy, That seems kind of Woolheaded, yes I get that the shadow can't win unless they submit to the shadow, but still in what sense is the dark one not the enemy,  The shadow was behind all the plans so in a very real sense he was the enemy in every way.

 

Err... what?

read the book 

[Rhienne]

 

Why didn't Graendal just balefire all the great commanders instead of taking the extra effort to use Compulsion on them?

Can't think of a plausible answer to most of your questions, but to this one, I think that theoretically it might have been more damaging for the generals to make poor decisions which led to troop loss than to have them balefired and just replaced with the second best set of generals who would already be aware of the overall plan.

[Entreri]

One of the little things that got onto my nerves in AMoL was, indeed, the Shadow's seeming incompetence.  I mean, I just felt the author's hand way too much at times, dragging things for the sake of drama.  The Shadow made so MANY mistakes.  

 

Why did Demandred duel Gawyn, Galad and Lan when he could have fried them with fire?

 

Why did Demandred stop using the full circle?  He could have probably destroyed the entire Light army like that, not to mention take LTT easily in combat.

 

Why didn't Graendal just balefire all the great commanders instead of taking the extra effort to use Compulsion on them?

 

Why didn't the bad guys use Deathgates against the good guys, or copy Androl's lava gun, or any number of other tactics they could have used?

 

Why did Moridin try to fight against Rand with A SWORD or all things?

 

Why did Moghedien take the trouble to use Compulsion in the Seanchan court when she could have just KILLED them all?

 

 There are many more but I just can't think of them all right now...  It just seems like the bad guys were either too incompetent, or simply designed to lose.

Gawyn was ultra fast.  Fox head medallion replica's. Demandred's ego combined with the skill level of the combatants (Lan, Galad).

 

Yes, Demandred could have destroyed the entire Light army and gone to SG, victory.   As for confronting Rand Sedai prior to him entering SG, Demandred would have lost.  Callandor has no buffer...at one point Rand wielded more saidin than at the Cleansing (Logain PoV)...LTT > any Forsaken, Rand Sedai >> any Forsaken.  And of course LTT was better at everything than Demandred, except being a general (Demandred PoV).

 

Certainly that would have cause temporary chaos to the Light forces.  Grandael likes to play the long game.  Eventually Mat would have been the leader, Grandael can't do anything to him. 

 

Who knows about the weaves.

 

He is Moridin. Anyway, he has no chance against Rand Sedai in a Power duel.  LTT wrecked him in AoL.

 

Spider likes to hide and manipulate and never (almost) never put herself on the front lines.

 

The bad guys were designed to lose.  At the same time if Rand kept the Choden Khal he could have raped the entire Dark Forces and seal up Shai'tan at his leisure using Callandor, easy as eating pie.

 

It is only fiction, but bear in mind that in real war there are A LOT of mistakes, fog of war.

[Mitsobar]

What's the deal with the Sharan's?.

 

The book said Demandred met some list of prophecies they had and they united behind him.

 

Why would an entire continent of humans, nearly half the landmass of the whole world going by the maps, freely commit to the Shadow.

 

 

It's just so bizarre, an entire super nation of dedicated nihilists. They had nothing to gain and everything to lose.

 

 

Ironically, due to their extreme isolation by natural barrier's and cultural oddities nothing will probably change much for them in the post DO world despite their actions making them the most hated race for millenia to come.

They will just carry on as before for a long time until they are likely left behind by the advances in the rest of the world and then either conqeured or foricbly absorbed into other nations.

 

 

[wRAR]

What's the deal with the Sharan's?.

 

The book said Demandred met some list of prophecies they had and they united behind him.

 

Why would an entire continent of humans, nearly half the landmass of the whole world going by the maps, freely commit to the Shadow.

 

 

It's just so bizarre, an entire super nation of dedicated nihilists. They had nothing to gain and everything to lose.

 

 

Ironically, due to their extreme isolation by natural barrier's and cultural oddities nothing will probably change much for them in the post DO world despite their actions making them the most hated race for millenia to come.

They will just carry on as before for a long time until they are likely left behind by the advances in the rest of the world and then either conqeured or foricbly absorbed into other nations.

Looks like they were dedicated not to Shadow but to a great leader, promised by the prophesies? And only a relatively small part of the entire nation followed Demandred.

[Mitsobar]

 

What's the deal with the Sharan's?.

 

The book said Demandred met some list of prophecies they had and they united behind him.

 

Why would an entire continent of humans, nearly half the landmass of the whole world going by the maps, freely commit to the Shadow.

 

 

It's just so bizarre, an entire super nation of dedicated nihilists. They had nothing to gain and everything to lose.

 

 

Ironically, due to their extreme isolation by natural barrier's and cultural oddities nothing will probably change much for them in the post DO world despite their actions making them the most hated race for millenia to come.

They will just carry on as before for a long time until they are likely left behind by the advances in the rest of the world and then either conqeured or foricbly absorbed into other nations.

Looks like they were dedicated not to Shadow but to a great leader, promised by the prophesies? And only a relatively small part of the entire nation followed Demandred.

Semantics, a point would of come where they knew they were aligning with the Shadow behind Bao. Yet they still seemed to think it a good idea.

 

Of course the whole nation was not there, but it seemed a huge portion of the leadership and those with power in Shara were and again chose to inexplicably side with the Shadow.

 

Prophecies can be powerful, but to convince so many of one people to actively fight for the destruction of the world - no matter what is promised in return it is pretty insane.

[BFG]

 

 

What's the deal with the Sharan's?.

 

The book said Demandred met some list of prophecies they had and they united behind him.

 

Why would an entire continent of humans, nearly half the landmass of the whole world going by the maps, freely commit to the Shadow.

 

 

It's just so bizarre, an entire super nation of dedicated nihilists. They had nothing to gain and everything to lose.

 

 

Ironically, due to their extreme isolation by natural barrier's and cultural oddities nothing will probably change much for them in the post DO world despite their actions making them the most hated race for millenia to come.

They will just carry on as before for a long time until they are likely left behind by the advances in the rest of the world and then either conqeured or foricbly absorbed into other nations.

Looks like they were dedicated not to Shadow but to a great leader, promised by the prophesies? And only a relatively small part of the entire nation followed Demandred.

Semantics, a point would of come where they knew they were aligning with the Shadow behind Bao. Yet they still seemed to think it a good idea.

 

Of course the whole nation was not there, but it seemed a huge portion of the leadership and those with power in Shara were and again chose to inexplicably side with the Shadow.

 

Prophecies can be powerful, but to convince so many of one people to actively fight for the destruction of the world - no matter what is promised in return it is pretty insane.

 

I thought Demandred had convinced them that when they won and they got to reweave the Pattern, he'd ensure that the Sharans were protected, and that life would be better...

[Guest The Master]

For what it's worth, there is a pale ale brewed in Salt Lake City, UT called WYLD. Kinda close to home.

[Guest BaoTheWyld]

Theres two things that are really bugging me about the Shadow in aMoL.

 

1.  Shaidar Haran! where was he? on of my favourite charecter from the shadow and not one whiff of him. i feel like he must be there and ive missed him if so, sombody please tell me where! it would have veen terrifying i he had led the attack of the mydraal at SG.

 

2. general Shadowspawn. I imagined the last battle to contain all of the evil things the blight has to offer i.e worms etc. but there wasnt really any of this. why? the only thing i can think of is that the creatures in the blight dont have an aligence to either side. but still i was rather hoping Demandred would finally make his appearence riding one of the disgusting worms screaming for Lews Therins head.

 

apoliogies if this has been raised some place else.

[wRAR]

Theres two things that are really bugging me about the Shadow in aMoL.

 

1.  Shaidar Haran! where was he? on of my favourite charecter from the shadow and not one whiff of him. i feel like he must be there and ive missed him if so, sombody please tell me where! it would have veen terrifying i he had led the attack of the mydraal at SG.

RAFO. Chapter 25.

[Lord D]

My two main complaints about the Shadow:

1. The DO should have let Semirhage compel Rand into killing Min when Rand was under Semi's control in tGS.  Only after that should he have offered Rand the True Power.
2. Where was the Blight?  We see lots of it in tEotW, and then nothing until Faile's brief excursion there in aMoL.  Why wasn't the Blight advancing over the Borderlands as the Seals failed?

I think SH could only stop the channelling of dark-side characters, not light-side characters.