Why does AOL chanellers tilt their head as if they are straining to listen? Examples I most recently noticed are in TSR: Lanfear meeting Rand near the beginning of the book, Asmodean as Jasin Natel, and AOL Aes Sedai near Ruhidean.

 

That makes good sense. Its weird to see Rahvin make the statement that Be'lal always rushes his plans rather than let them take the time they need. Doesn't really match up with someone who's nickname is "Netweaver".

 

Is there any possible way that Be'lal actually survived Moiraine's balefire? Maybe something Ishamael did right before the balefire hit?

 

I have to admit that it seems rather unlikely - him suddenly reappearing would very much feel Deus Ex Machina like. He had his part - and is history. Or better said - he had never existed at all :)

It would be very weird. Its just a silly thought of mine revolving around the silver-gauntleted hand grasping lightning bolts. Sammael sits on a throne with that symbol, which to me means he took Be'lal's throne after he died as a little momento of winning the Illian v. Tear battle. Unless Be'lal didn't actually get balefired, and he can back as Taim. Chalk that one up to crazy Monday theories.

Why does Messana order the Black Ajah to reveal themselves by stealing the ter'angreal stash AND flee to Tear? It doesn't make alot of sense.

 

Is that to both capture/kill the super girls and disrupt Be'lal's plans to get Callandor?

 

From Rahvin's perspective, he's happy to see the girls get in Be'lal's way, but wants them dead too. And via Perrin's dreams, while Black Ajah is laughing that the super girls are captured, Lanfear is laughing at them.

 

The only thing I can get out of the whole exchange is that the reader gets an insight into how all the Forsaken fight, plot, interfere as much with each other as they do the light.

Well I don't have the answer but I will share my thoughts until someone who really knows can come along and answer it for you.

 

I thought that it was a plot cooked up between Mesaana and Be'lal to get the girls to Tear where they would capture them (as they did) and use this to get Rand to come to the stone so that Be'lal could grab Callandor off him. Because they didn't know that Rand would go straight to Tear anyway.

 

Also some of the Black Ajah had to get out of the tower after Falme as once the girls returned they would inform Siuan about Liandrin being Black Ajah so Liandrin would have to flee anyway so she might as well take others with her and grab as much ter'angreal as they can (remember they also tried to break into the room which housed the angreal).

 

Note this is just my conjecture hopefully someone else has something more solid which could well prove me wrong.

That makes good sense. Its weird to see Rahvin make the statement that Be'lal always rushes his plans rather than let them take the time they need. Doesn't really match up with someone who's nickname is "Netweaver".

Is there any possible way that Be'lal actually survived Moiraine's balefire? Maybe something Ishamael did right before the balefire hit?

Why does Messana order the Black Ajah to reveal themselves by stealing the ter'angreal stash AND flee to Tear? It doesn't make alot of sense.

Is that to both capture/kill the super girls and disrupt Be'lal's plans to get Callandor?

From Rahvin's perspective, he's happy to see the girls get in Be'lal's way, but wants them dead too. And via Perrin's dreams, while Black Ajah is laughing that the super girls are captured, Lanfear is laughing at them.

The only thing I can get out of the whole exchange is that the reader gets an insight into how all the Forsaken fight, plot, interfere as much with each other as they do the light.

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.

In the WOT encyclopedia, they keep referring to the Fade that smiles in EotW and TGH as an early version of Shaidar Haran.

 

Fain kills this Fade by nailing it to a door in TGH.

Different Fade. The one that smiled was the one Rand saw in Baerlon, not the one Fain killed (which we never actually saw before its death so far as I can remember.)

Rand encountered the Fade that Fain killed in Fal Dara keep, and it smiled at him. Rand was preparing to fight him, just after witnessing the tail end of a 7 on 1 battle where the Fade dispatched them all, when Ingtar interrupted him and told him to run. I can only assume that the smiling Fade here, is the same from Baerlon, and would then be the same Fade that Fain kills.

Also, since Ingtar was involved in the freeing of Fain, why does Hurin not smell violence on him?

Possibly because Ingtar has not really been more violent than anyone else (i.e. fighting the Shadowspawn inside Fal Dara keep). Just because he is a Darkfriend doesn't mean he is murdering people on a regular basis. The nobility are probably used more for their power than for their ruthlessness. In fact, since Ingtar knew of sniffers, he'd likely have taken care to avoid leaving such trails.

Good point about knowing about the sniffers.

In the WOT encyclopedia, they keep referring to the Fade that smiles in EotW and TGH as an early version of Shaidar Haran.

Fain kills this Fade by nailing it to a door in TGH. Is this the reason why the DO wants him dead? Because he killed the DO's Hand?

Also, since Ingtar was involved in the freeing of Fain, why does Hurin not smell violence on him? Or does he just assume that the violence is from fighting Trollocs that evening?

When we first meet Ishamael in Rand's dream, he has a normal face, but sometimes would flash to having fire eyes & mouth. I've attributed that to him not holding his form in the Dream, similar to when Egwene can't hold her clothes in a single form, but I've also heard that this was attributed to too much use of the True Power.

Which is "right"?