Other than that, she did not cure the madness. She only removed the "Compulsion", the taint, from his mind. Any permanent damage to his mind would still have lingered but the effects of the Taint was removed.

This doesn't line up well with what we saw with Naeff. He didn't just "stop getting madder", the previous symptoms of his madness (that is, seeing Fades everywhere, paranoia, etc) were cured. To line it up with what you said, that would strongly imply that there is no "madness" in a mental health capacity attributed with the taint -- it's all an ongoing compulsion to see and experience things that are not really there. I can't really otherwise buy that after several months of seeing Fades around every corner, Naeff instantaneously recognizes how silly he is and is "all better". If "madness" was still there, he wouldn't be thinking "that was silly", he'd be wondering how the Fades became invisible and be even more scared now that he can no longer see them.

Yeah, thanks for the note...I knew the part about the black cord controversy, but I didn't think to apply it out with regard to the insanity question.

Yeah but if I remember correctly the madness in Rand had spread so far and so deep, that it was in effect incurable without killing Rand. So that could be a simpler explanation for wy Lews Therin's madness could not be cured.

To give a quote so we can have a discussion:

Q: New Dreadlords? Via True Power? What are limits of True Power? When did we see it used before?

 

RJ: Access to the True Power is a matter of wanting it and the Dark One letting you. NOT black cords. In Prologue to The Eye of the World, we saw Ishamael use the True Power to Heal insanity. The One Power can not be used to Heal insanity. True Power used at Shayol Ghul will fry you instantly.

The answer wasn't "LTT's insanity was too extensive to be healed by the OP". It was "the One Power cannot be used to Heal insanity", full stop. So either the example he picked did not fit the point he was making, or there was in principle a difference between LTT's and 3rd Agers affected by the taint, since he implies that LTT's taint madness could not be healed whereas Naeff's was cleared right up (and Rand's wasn't in principle incurable, it would simply require such a great amount of effort that it would destroy his mind much like removing Graendal's Compulsion when she's serious).

2. You are correct. It is a subtle distinction, but an important one i think. Insanity in itself is incurable. But the taint induced maddness is something else. It is a forced maddness. You remove the abnormality of the taint from the persons mind, like Nynaeve did, you cure it. It was unnatural. The DO caused this. Natural insanity is something different. It is a problem of the mind, a deeper thing.

 

Sorry, it is very difficult to put into words, I am not sure if I got the point across. Basically, the taint caused an unnatrual maddness. Like a thorn in someones foot. Nynaeve pulled it out. Natural maddness there is something wrong with that proverbial foot. Much harder to cure. ,

The problem with this explanation is, as I recall the "insanity is incurable" statement from RJ was given in response to Lews Therin's madness. Lews Therin's madness was caused by the DO, so according to your explanation it should fall into the same curable category as Naeff's. One could postulate that LTT was in a different category since he was part of the Hundred Companions who were driven immediately insane, which I suppose could drive it into "natural insanity" in a Lovecraftian way (or simply being directly attacked by the DO is different than being slowly affected by only the taint). It would be interesting to find out if the Notes say anything about this inconsistency.

In The Great Hunt, Ishamael says

"They think themselves safe in their White Tower, but my followers number even some of their own. The Aes Sedai called Moiraine told you who you are, did she not? Did she lie? Or is she one of mine? The White Tower means to use you like a hound on a leash. Do I lie? Do I lie when I say you seek the Horn of Valere?" He laughed again; calm of the void or no, it was all Rand could do not to cover his ears. "Sometimes old enemies fight so long they become allies and never realize it. They think they strike at you, but they have become so closely linked it as if you guided the blow yourself."

 

When he makes the "old enemies" statement, is he referring to the Aes Sedai or Mordeth? It makes sense with either, but I'm not sure which he is refering to since he's talking about the Aes Sedai controlling him and him hunting the Horn, which is in Mordeth's possession.

It seems most obvious that he's referring to himself and Rand, and that when Rand is striking at him Ishamael's basically directing the blows (although at this point Rand still think he's the DO). He's trying to make Rand doubt his course of action by calling the reason he's doing it into question, and saying it's playing into the DO's hands.

 

my memory isnat as good with the WoT as it is with HP, and i'm on my re-read right now but only on tDR. but when Rand cleanses the source, doesn't it refer to the Black Wind & Mashadar screaming and dieing? and isn't it speculated by characters that the Ways are safe to travel (ie: that the Black Wind died)

 

i could be wrong; i often find i'm wrong when i try to remember things in this series with having not done a re-read in a while

 

 

*snaps fingers about the Ghollam* i still think it was a cheap way to kill him though, he had such potential to kill everyone and remake the world in his image!!

For the first part, there was a rush of wind and such due to the void created in SL during the cleansing (I believe from Moggy's POV). I don't see a reason to connect it with the Black Wind, though, as the taint being used was being skimmed directly from on Saidin and not from the Ways (without doing a re-read at the moment, I don't really remember the Ways factoring in to the Clenasing at all). Also do not recall said speculation. I will try to keep an eye out if I do another re-read (or maybe someone will jump in).

As for the gholam, it can't be helped. The person ordering it around was too stupid to send it after any of the ($World_Population - 1) people who could not harm it, so that's what happens I suppose. Horrible waste of resources.

1. has anyone considered the possability that Taim is also Mordin?

There's a link above. It's been discussed. For me, it's a problem in that while RJ was trying to beat us over the heads about Demandred not being Taim (and him thinking his hints made it so obvious), he did the repeated scene where the assassins after Rand received orders from Taim, Moridin, and Demandred. It would seem silly if that structure was supposed to help make it clear that Taim != Demandred, while the truth is really Taim = Moridin. Wouldn't be unbelievable (I was big on Taim = Demandred, fwiw), but seems clunky.

in the later books, i forget which one, Fain appears after a good hiatus and gives Rand his 2nd wound on the side. it's before Sadian is cleansed. if you recall this meeting, a thick fog comes out of no where and seems to be alive, i think i rememebr the fog actually phsyically attacking people.

One of the glossaries explicitly refers to that fog as a "bubble of evil". So the question there would be how canonical are the glossaries.

is it possible that the Black Wind has joined with Fain to prevent itself from being totally destroyed. and if so, what abilitys might it give him in terms of channeling since it is a live creature made fromt eh tain of Sadian.

Do note that the taint is not "of Saidin". It was on Saidin, but does not have anything specific to do with channeling. It is the essence of the DO, pretty much. It doesn't seem obvious or likely that absorbing the taint would grant someone the ability to channel. I also did not pick up on the hint you mention regarding the cleansing affecting the Ways; perhaps a citation can be provided? That would seem unusual, for much the same reason male channelers did not spontaneously become sane when the taint was cleansed.

4. The Ghulam. is he set to return?

No. Sanderson explicitly said the gholam died shortly after going through the skimming portal. One of the other five could always pop up, but it doesn't seem likely this late in the game.

EDIT for another response to another poster:

who was the person dressed all in black that confronted Lews Therin in the prologue to EOtW? Was that the dark one in some physical manifestation or one of the forsaken? And if it was, how did they get imprisoned? Lews Therin seemed to perish only moments later.

Ishamael. Lews Therin recognizes him. It's heavily hinted (not sure if stated outright in series proper, I think one of the other FS refers to it. There's also the name within a name stuff written after the Breaking that says Ba'alzamon = Ishamael, and he's not sealed) that Ishamael was never fully sealed with the other forsaken, so he was apparently free right after the sealing of the Bore. There was a section in the BBoBa that mentioned a theory by an Ogier scholar that Ishy was free for 40 years, then bound for 40 years. That reference book is subject to the same issue of no omniscient narrator as the books, but it fits well enough.

Also need to keep in mind that proto-SH was around to screw with Carridin in tDR, so it really couldn't be the one that Fain nailed to the door. As Terez mentions, there were multiple fades in Fal Dara. Also, Fain described the Fade that he killed as "raging and demanding". The characterization doesn't fit too well, as SH is always smug and self-assured.

At one point somewhere around chapter 10, Amyrlin was spelled Aymrlin. Don't have books with me so I can't give a page. Will edit it in later if nobody else looks it up.