How did Ishy live till Book 3?

[Sabio]

Ok not sure if this ever been asked or if RJ ever answered it.  But how did Ishy live till book 3?

 

Book 1:

Rand pointed his sword at Ba'alzamon's heart and shot white fire at him, setting him and the room on fire.  Ok maybe he used a bubble like Rhavin did to protect himself after he got burnt.  So guess he could of survived.  Also he sliced the black cords attached to him which should of severed hiss connection to the DO.

 

Book 2 clearly states Rand stabbed him in the heart "drove the Heron-marked  blade into Ba'alzamon's heart".

 

Book 3 : Rand stabs Ba'alzamon in the chest again and severed the black cords attached to him.  So I guess the DO allowed Ishy to connect to him again for his protection?

 

So book 1 ok I could see him surviving.  But Book 2, Rand stabbing him in the heart, pretty sure that should of been fatal.  The only difference is book 3 he used Callandor

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

I'm not sure what the eventual in world explanation was but iirc when I was first reading as they came out, the first book was set up to be a possible one off if it didn't sell and when it did it was to be a trilogy. so it was set up for ishamael to at least seem like the final boss but with wiggle room to make him just a big boss but not the biggest.

[Orderofolde]

We also see the forsaken at the Eye of the World drinking in the concentrated Saidin from the Eye and healing the ravaged nature of his body.  We see Ishy's horribly burned face heal in much the same way, which is odd as Moiraine and Lan from the beginning make it clear Aes Sedai cannot heal or help themselves with the power.  It is likely an early bookism until RJ fine-tuned the OP system, or maybe it is a benefit of the Dark One's essence.  It was never made very clear to us from what I recall.

[Sabio]

I forgot it was never explained how he healed.  I always assumed  maybe a boon to being  allowed to use the TP.  Since the TP works and acts differently, maybe it comes from that somehow.  We saw Dem drain Taim using  it, so maybe there  is away with the TP to say drain someones essence to heal yourself slowly. 

[hankscorpio]

I always got the impression that RJ originally intended Ba'alzamon in The Eye of the World to actually be The Dark One, and later changed his mind to have it be Ishamael instead.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

ya I think so

[Graendals favourite]

That doesn't really fit with the prologue, and the dreams. It's pretty clear the Betrayer from the prologue was Ba'alzamon, though it was disguised a bit. Aside from practical considerations of how many books get to go out, it's good sort of good to leave the audience in the dark as to who they're facing. Still, by the Eye of the World, Betrayer was Ba'alzamon was Ishy the Forsaken.

[jack of shadows]

how exactly did elan morin manage to stay alive for 3000 years?

if he was sealed with the other 12 forsaken how could he meet lews

therin at his home?if he managed to escape lews therin's attack at 

shayol ghul how could he sill be alive after 3000 years?do we know 

the ilfe expectancy of someone as strong in the op/tp as rand or moridin?

[MasterAblar]

how exactly did elan morin manage to stay alive for 3000 years?

if he was sealed with the other 12 forsaken how could he meet lews

therin at his home?if he managed to escape lews therin's attack at 

shayol ghul how could he sill be alive after 3000 years?do we know 

the ilfe expectancy of someone as strong in the op/tp as rand or moridin?

 

Ishamael was only partially sealed, which meant that there were certain periods, about every 1000 years where he was free of the prison. So directly following the sealing of the bore he was free, then around the beginning of the trolloc wars, then around the height of Arthur Hawkwing's empire, and lastly shortly before the start of the the Eye of the World. It seems he was free for around 40 years each time so about 120 years and the 20 or so years that he was free prior to the start of the book. Lews Therin Telamon was 400 when he died, and was i believe said to be in his middle years. So considering Ishamael was just as strong as Lews Therin, there's nothing odd about him still being alive.

[Sabio]

Yeah as Albar said  Ishy was  occasionally spun out and then sucked back in.  The companion went into some good detail on what happened.  He would slowly begin to fade, grow tenuous, until he was drawn into the trap of the seal.  Then about a 1000 years later the process would slowly reverse itself.  First at intervals in a wispy form, then more solidly, until finally he seemed to be again whole.  He was spun out 3 times, trolloc wars, Hawkwing empire,  and the companion said the final time was to discover the Dragon had been reborn.  

[Guest Guilherme Silva]

I always got the impression that RJ originally intended Ba'alzamon in The Eye of the World to actually be The Dark One, and later changed his mind to have it be Ishamael instead.

Serious ? I read the book and know that is Ishy when he talks with Rand.

[mb]

how Ishamael survive to book 3?  long ago I speculated that he was not wholly free; just as the books speculate that he was not wholly bound.  maybe he need to be stabbed 3 times in order to be wholly killed.

 

or like other posters seem to speculate, perhaps Ishamael was somehow healed from the first 2 stabbings.