Re: They can certainly tell how much Power the other can draw
cristopher lee Send a noteboard - 11/12/2010 10:01:55 PM
When a man and a woman are linked are they able to roughly gauge each others strength in the power? And does strength factor into who takes control of the link at all when it is between a man and a women?
On a side note, now that there are no more Nym is it even possible for the song to be sung?
On a side note, now that there are no more Nym is it even possible for the song to be sung?
Merise could tell when Narishma was getting stronger.
Here is what is said in the BWB
Linking also has gender-based limitations due to the inherent differences in saidin and saidar. Men have the greater general strength in the Power, but women are essential for linking. Women can initiate a link; men cannot, though they can be part of it and even lead in certain circumstances.
Linking can be learned by any woman who can channel, and one who does not know how to form a link can be brought into one by someone who does know how. Leading a circle however, depends on both strength and skill, which are not the same thing. The greater the combination of strength and skill, the larger the circle that a woman, or man, can lead.
The one who forms a link is not necessarily the one to lead it. Control can be passed voluntarily, and in the cases of some mixed-gender circles must be passed in order to weave flows.
A circle of up to thirteen female channelers can be linked together without the presence of a man. If a man is added to the link of thirteen women, they can then increase the link to include thirteen more women, or a total of twenty-six women and one man. Two men can take the circle to include thirty-four women. The next total is forty-five, with three men linked with forty-two women, then fifty-four (four men and fifty women), then sixty-three (five men and fifty-eight women) and finally seventy-two (six men and sixty-six women). This last, a circle of seventy-two, is the maximum possible link in terms of numbers.
Other gender mixes are possible in a link as well. The number of men in a circle is limited only be the fact that with the exceptions of the linking of one man and one woman or of two men and one woman ( and of course, of two men and two women), there must always be at least one more woman in the circle than the number of men. Thus, three men would need four women to be in a circle together, four men would need five women, and so on. There can also be smaller circles than thirteen, whether of women alone or of men and women.
The cumulative strength of a circle depends on its size, the strengths of the individuals linked, whether or not angreal or sa'angreal are used, and the balance between male and female members in the circle. Although men are stronger than women, the strongest linked circles were those which contained nearly equal numbers of men and women. A smaller circle with a closer balance can be stronger than a larger unbalanced circle.
The most powerful circle potentially, depending on the strengths and gifts of those linked, would be one containing thirty-five men and thirty-seven women, achieving the maximum possible size of seventy-two members as well as the greatest possible balance of male and female.
In most cases, either a man or a woman can control the link - this is called leading, focusing, or guiding - but in the case of a circle of seventy-two, a circle of only one man and one woman, or in most circles of up to thirteen which contain more than one man, a man must lead. Excepting the examples given above, and other circles of thirteen or less, a woman must lead where the minimum number of men are present.
Correct me if I'm reading this wrong, but wouldn't this mean that a Woman must always lead when it is just a man and a woman linked? If that is the case, how did Rand lead at the cleansing?
Questions
- 11/12/2010 02:50:44 PM
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They can certainly tell how much Power the other can draw
- 11/12/2010 09:26:30 PM
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Re: They can certainly tell how much Power the other can draw
- 11/12/2010 10:01:55 PM
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