Re: We have no clue if Damane can tie off weaves - Edit 1
Before modification by Night Walker at 07/06/2010 09:26:45 PM
As I said before, supplies aren't needed, or in the amount we typically think are needed because Damane would be able to hook up with supply camps. Soldiers could carry a week’s worth of rations and the basics themselves.
Plus, why not a man every 3 seconds? If they are marching in a straight line you could easily move that number of people (100000-200000) in under 3 hours. I don’t know how in the world it could take 30 seconds a man. Even still though, at 30 seconds a man you could move an army of 100000 troops in under 10 hours, that is still huge. Though at that pace the Damane would tire. However, holding a Gateway for an hour wouldn't be so bad, plus they could be tied off making it even easier.
Finally Grady and Neald got so tired because they didn't tie Gateways off very often, if ever.
Plus, why not a man every 3 seconds? If they are marching in a straight line you could easily move that number of people (100000-200000) in under 3 hours. I don’t know how in the world it could take 30 seconds a man. Even still though, at 30 seconds a man you could move an army of 100000 troops in under 10 hours, that is still huge. Though at that pace the Damane would tire. However, holding a Gateway for an hour wouldn't be so bad, plus they could be tied off making it even easier.
Finally Grady and Neald got so tired because they didn't tie Gateways off very often, if ever.
It would take a day just to get the troops lined up the way you imagine! Even if they could pull that off even the slightest miss step would wreak havoc.
Have you ever seen 100,000 people together? Look at how long it takes a major sports event to empty out and that's with exits dramatically larger than you are talking about! It can take hours to empty 100,000 people from a stadium which allows dozens of people abreast to exit at one time!
The number of Damane necessary to do all of what you suggest would drain the Empire of resources quickly given how many large armies they have floating around out there. Better by far to use small guerrilla-style forces that can quickly move on their own once they are inserted behind enemy lines. 5 Damane/sul'dam pairs with maybe 5,000 men per unit string them along the enemy flank to strike from unexpected directions.
Further problem they'll have is that while some Traveling is better than NO Traveling, their enemies have the linking ability and thus a much more efficient machine. 13 AS Linked can make a massive gateway and move huge numbers of troops in a fraction of the time as individual Damane could hope too. Not to mention how much less energy as a whole they will expend, meaning they'll have a whole lot more fresh Channeling forces at hand without significant lag time between "jumps".
I've said this over and over, YES the Damane will be able to move troops, but the lack of linking is a significant disadvantage to them. It's like you have a pistol and your enemy has a machine gun, sure the pistol is better than just a knife, but you're still pretty much out gunned.
I understand your problems with this but I think you are discounting what this means for the Seanchan. You have arguably the most highly trained military force and you can now move and lighting speed in comparison to MOST of you enemies.
Another thing, I never suggested putting 100000 people in one place, I suggested putting a 1000 people in one place. If those bands move simultaneously (which due to the organization I think the Seanchan could mange fairly easy) you could move 100000 men to an area then march the remaining way to your target, plus those bands don’t have to be in the same starting place to move as one. Additionally, you could move half your force behind your enemy in the night and crush them while they slept. Like you said, even if there are multiple exits at a stadium it takes hours to move those people out, I am suggesting the same sort of idea only in a much more structured and efficient manner then what occurs after a major sporting event.
I agree that they are limited because they cannot link, but the Seanchan have shown they are a resourceful bunch and I think could make this "limited" form of Gateways just as efficient as the linked kind. As far as it being implemented though, I don’t think Rand’s or any other force in the world could use it as efficiently. I just think there would be to many "cooks in the kitchen" and such when it comes to organising something like a huge Gateway. That is not to say it can’t/won’t be done; I just think the Seanchan are more “one-minded” without the level of infighting that everyone seems to experience thus allowing them to implement something like this in an effective way.
Finally I should say I don’t think the Seanchan should use Gateways in this manner and go directly into battle, which would be a slaughter. They could however fairly stealthily and very quickly move large forces around the world, much like the SAS did just with a much larger number of Gateways, and appear outside a city before anyone knows they are there.