Re: Unlikely, and stupid if true - Edit 4
Before modification by DomA at 27/07/2010 03:34:31 AM
Maybe (that's what I actually think is the most likely) but it's not necessarily right.
SH causes such terror (look at Alviarin) that Elza was very likely on "cruise control", merely obeying orders and questionning nothing. The last thing on her mind would have been "personal initiative". With SH, Alviarin didn't think straight and try to look her best, she lost all her means and grovelled.
Shaidar Haran may not have been in the room with Elza, and Elza strictly obeyed its orders to steal the DB and bring it to him.
Or if SH was with her, he may have had no idea or interest in the statuette beside the DB. He didn't care to ask Elza what it might be, he was there to fetch the object with which Semirhage was to capture Rand and didn't get disctrated by anything else. Not very human of him not to be curious about that object in the warded trunk, but as RJ pointed out, Shai'tan doesn't think like a human being.
Maybe, but not sure I buy that. Yes, SH causes great terror, but Alviarin also believed that he was the DO. Generally in such a situation you would expect the darkfriend to do anything in his or her power to please SH. Giving the most powerfull sa'angreal to the shadow would certainly qualify. And while Elza may have been terrified, she had to have been atleast mostly stable, or she would not have managed to unravel Cadsuanes complex wards. Surely that would have taken a lot focus and concentration.
Still, you may be right that Elza was just so shellshocked that she could not think straight. She might just have unraveled the ward on "autopilot" or something. I also recall that BS also said Elza was given access to rare weaves to break Cadsuanes ward, which was "unpleasant" for her. I don't know what that means exactly but it could have messed with her mind even further.
I doubt however that Shaidar Haran is THAT alien. I think if he was there in the room, he would have noticed the access key. We have had POVs from SH and his thought patterns were not completely bizarre. He has intelligence even if he is not human. Realising the importance of the access key should be withing his grasp. He would be a pretty pathetic godly avatar otherwise I think.
Hmm. One other thing that does occur to me is the compulsion Elza was under. SH noticed it, and Semirhage did remove it, but only AFTER Elza had fetched the access key. Is it possible that Elza did notice the access key, but Verin's compulsion kicked in and prevented Elza from taking it since doing so would have been against "serving Rand".
I'm convinced Elza noticed the Access Key. I'm just totally unconvinced she was in the mental state to take any personal initiative or put herself in a good light with Shaidar Haran. If she reacted anything like Alviarin, or even Moghedien (and at the very least SH told her something like "I am the Great Lord's Hand, when you obey me you obey the Great Lord"
then Elza was in utter terror, focussed on obeying the orders and hoping this was all over with as soon as possible. I don't think Elza was in the mental mood to pick the AK and return to SH and tell him "I also brought you this, though you didn't ask", or if he was with her to point out to SH "do you want the statuette too, it's the CK AK you know...". She most likely did what she was told, and no more - especially if she tried to raise any objections or showed doutbs or hesitations before, she probably had a taste of what not being blindly obedient to SH meant... Possibly, Shaidar Haran just didn't know (or realized, if he saw it) the AK was in there and could have ordered Elza to deal with the ward, pick the DB and to be fast and quick about it and make sure she didn't raise any alarm or else it would be very unpleasant for her... Elza was probably terrified as well of what might happen if she got caught. She had all the reasons to be quick and do only what SH ordered her to do, really. She didn't know Cadsuane's room enough to travel out of there, she had to move around the corridors to get back to SH. The CK is a bit big to easily hide. Why take extra risk if SH ordered nothing about it? In any case, I woudn't be surprised SH overlooked the CK. We know what it was, Elza knew what it was, but nothing suggests SH knew what it was. It was an odd place to expect the CK to be, if you don't know Cadsuane took it from Rand after the Cleansing. SH may have overlooked it because he didn't know what it was just by sight and he never made the connection because it didn't occur to him Cadsuane, not Rand, had the AK (that's what I meant by SH not being interested in "Cadsuane's baubles", even her OP baubles).
As for her compulsion, I'm not sure Semirhage took the risk to remove it before Rand had been captured, as she clearly had misgivings about removing compulsion and if she failed she was screwed as she needed Elza to capture Rand with the DB. I think Semirhage decided to wait until after Rand was hers - it wouldn't have mattered then if she failed. Elza's sudden uneasiness when Semirhage started to hurt Rand seems to suggests she was still under her compulsion. Her compulsion wouldn't have interferred with what SH asked of her - Elza had convinced herself Rand had to remain alive to face the GL and be defeated. She wasn't serving Rand, she was protecting him until he could face the GL. Bringing Rand to face the GL would be more than allright by her.
He has intelligence even if he is not human. Realising the importance of the access key should be withing his grasp.
If he knew what it was. What I meant by his non-human thinking is that he may not have felt any curiosity the way a human might. Shai'tan is terribly alien, RJ warned us it's not really possible for a human mind to understand his way of thinking or his worldview. We see some of that in the way the DO is a constant puzzle to the Chosen. They are very afraid of what they call "his whims". If Moridin is right about Shai'tan's final goal (and not as much of a fool as all the others), then it has not even occured to all the Chosen Shai'tan intends to destroy everything. In their human way of thinking, Shai'tan wants to take over the place of the Creator in the world, and he will need them to rule over it. That Shai'tan might want Creation only to end it has not occured to them - it sounds... totally pointless from a human perspective.