Francis Kahoy
2004-04-21 00:48:24 UTC
Shaidar Haran sometimes speaks of himself almost as if he were the
Dark One. Of late, this has largely been taken to mean that he is the
DO's avatar in Randland - but I think there's an alternative
explanation. After all, this is behavior we've seen before.
Ba'alzamon did the exact same thing. So what if Shaidar Haran has
something of Ba'alzamon in him?
Consider - Ishamael was the Dark's MVP for 3,500+ years. During all
that time he kept the game going, engineered the Trolloc Wars,
Hawkwing's undoing, the Black Ajah, and all other sorts of mischief.
Yet when it comes right down to it, he was killed by a farmboy.
Granted, given all his previous accomplishments, it makes sense that
his boss would reward him with a promotion (Nae'blis) along with
resurrection, but some kind of barb or penalty for losing in the end
would be in keeping with the Great Lord's sense of humor.
So here's my idea: While Ishy was rewarded and resurrected into
Moridin, he was also punished/given warning by having a part of his
soul - or a shadow of it - formed into the shape of Superfade. It
would be kinda him... only not. A dark warning and a penalty, but also
one that the Dark One uses for his own purposes.
Which also helps explain the apparently amicable relations between
Moridin and Shaidar Haran, given that they are (were?) kinda the same
person.
This also has the additional advantage of being somewhat analogous to
Rand's situation. Robert Jordan's fixation on balance and all.
Dark One. Of late, this has largely been taken to mean that he is the
DO's avatar in Randland - but I think there's an alternative
explanation. After all, this is behavior we've seen before.
Ba'alzamon did the exact same thing. So what if Shaidar Haran has
something of Ba'alzamon in him?
Consider - Ishamael was the Dark's MVP for 3,500+ years. During all
that time he kept the game going, engineered the Trolloc Wars,
Hawkwing's undoing, the Black Ajah, and all other sorts of mischief.
Yet when it comes right down to it, he was killed by a farmboy.
Granted, given all his previous accomplishments, it makes sense that
his boss would reward him with a promotion (Nae'blis) along with
resurrection, but some kind of barb or penalty for losing in the end
would be in keeping with the Great Lord's sense of humor.
So here's my idea: While Ishy was rewarded and resurrected into
Moridin, he was also punished/given warning by having a part of his
soul - or a shadow of it - formed into the shape of Superfade. It
would be kinda him... only not. A dark warning and a penalty, but also
one that the Dark One uses for his own purposes.
Which also helps explain the apparently amicable relations between
Moridin and Shaidar Haran, given that they are (were?) kinda the same
person.
This also has the additional advantage of being somewhat analogous to
Rand's situation. Robert Jordan's fixation on balance and all.