Re: I can see that as a possibility too - Edit 1
Before modification by Sidious at 27/01/2011 07:39:44 AM
Nynaeve is obviously meant to be shown as of such rare strength that almost no one will ever be born who could match her ... to be honest I have always hated that RJ started adding women like Sharina and Alivia into the story as stronger than Nynaeve ... there seems to be no reason for them to be stronger and it takes away from Nynaeve IMO ...
I also think on RJs original list that Nynaeve was at the top of is where quotes like "candles and bonfires" came from ... but as the list revised he started bringing the levels closer together. Now, even women like Moiraine seem very strong in the power, and they can't be more than "average" on the Bell Curve he talked about ... another thing I find bothersome is that at the beginning of the series AS are supposed to be generally weak(ish) in the Power as a general rule, but as we've progressed we've really not seen any evidence of a ton of women who are Stronger than run of the mill AS.
This is why I consistently believe Egwene and co are so much closer to the FS level than the AS level. The simple rarity of women of their strength. There are may be as many as 15 women with more strength than Egwene (looking at Linda's list there are 6 levels 21-16 above her and there are 13 women across those levels)... below them there is an exponential increase in incidence of strength (on Linda's list the 6 levels below Egwene comprise over 70 women) ...
Additionally, AS would have noticed Wilders of great strength if there were more than a handful above the level of Moiraine ... the fact that not one AS ever mentions meeting a Wilder as strong as Egwene on the main continent just speaks further to the rarity of her strength. Not to mention Seanchan, Aiel and Seafolk Channelers consider them incredibly strong ...
Overall, my point is that all of this supports your assertion that Nynaeve is likely the Strongest mainland Sparker born since the AOL ... and Egwene and co are nearly as rare and likely far closer to Nynaeve than they are to the crop of women such as Moiraine.
I also think on RJs original list that Nynaeve was at the top of is where quotes like "candles and bonfires" came from ... but as the list revised he started bringing the levels closer together. Now, even women like Moiraine seem very strong in the power, and they can't be more than "average" on the Bell Curve he talked about ... another thing I find bothersome is that at the beginning of the series AS are supposed to be generally weak(ish) in the Power as a general rule, but as we've progressed we've really not seen any evidence of a ton of women who are Stronger than run of the mill AS.
This is why I consistently believe Egwene and co are so much closer to the FS level than the AS level. The simple rarity of women of their strength. There are may be as many as 15 women with more strength than Egwene (looking at Linda's list there are 6 levels 21-16 above her and there are 13 women across those levels)... below them there is an exponential increase in incidence of strength (on Linda's list the 6 levels below Egwene comprise over 70 women) ...
Additionally, AS would have noticed Wilders of great strength if there were more than a handful above the level of Moiraine ... the fact that not one AS ever mentions meeting a Wilder as strong as Egwene on the main continent just speaks further to the rarity of her strength. Not to mention Seanchan, Aiel and Seafolk Channelers consider them incredibly strong ...
Overall, my point is that all of this supports your assertion that Nynaeve is likely the Strongest mainland Sparker born since the AOL ... and Egwene and co are nearly as rare and likely far closer to Nynaeve than they are to the crop of women such as Moiraine.
Well we'll have to disagree on this forever I guess
I agree that Egwene has rare strength and Nynaeve too but I don't think their strength levels can be extrapolated from it. According to Elayne even a woman of Sheriam's strength is uncommon. Therefore a woman like Moiraine is already rare. Egwene had Egwene's power in the beginning of book 4 already, and she said that Rand smothered her with ease, clearly showing how much stronger a channeler can be compared to Moiraine. Ultimately I think channelers like Lanfear are several times stronger than women like Moiraine, especially because Rand can easily engage two women who are not much weaker than her at the same time.
Therefore I believe in a large leap from AS to Egwene, and another large leap to Nynaeve. My best guess is that Egwene is twice as strong a most women, and Nynaeve three times. Egwene is a middle-man between Forsaken strength and average women. She's rare and can outclass most channelers but falls way short if very strong channelers compete.