I'm not even convinced she technically "died" at all.

The "meta" reasoning to begin with. This is the last book. If new information is introduced, it is with direct intent, if mysteries are intentionally introduced, it's to resolve them later in the books. It could be a false trail introduced for specific reasons (distract attention on another detail etc.), or it will be something that does indeed have some bearing, however minor, on the future plot development. We have to keep in mind in Jordan's mind, this was also to be a single novel. Sanderson could alter some developments or introduce elements simply because he thought the book split made that necessary (it looks to be the case with the Graendal cliffhanger in TGS, for example - Jordan would almost certainly have alternated between the POVs of Rand and Graendal in those scenes) but we know this isn't the case here, as Sanderson has said those chapters were written by Jordan himself, in near final state (he said he revised the language).

If we look at the dramatic purpose, there's absolutely no reason to introduce this information: someone from the Shadow, almost certainly Moridin himself, went to buy back Lanfear from the Finns and was shown Moiraine first ....and then was told the other woman died, and went back home.

Why? Because we already know Lanfear has been transmigrated and has returned as Cyndane - and more importantly - so does Rand who's met her in TAR a short while after that Moiraine scene, and there's no mystery at this point about Moridin either. He's got a very direct, very open face to face with Rand earlier in AMOL (Jordan's AMOL as it would have been as one novel I mean, not AMOL as "AMOL part 3".

In classic RJ style, with the Moiraine scene we got the first part of a "reveal", which gave us her side of the story, of her captivity. Then, shortly after, Jordan re introduced Mierin as a major player, by involving her directly with Rand again. We thought that RJ was so closemouthed about Cyndane (in the books, and in Q&A) because telling us more would spoil the mystery surrounding Moiraine's fate and that once we knew that, we'd be able to connect all the remaining dots concerning the story of Lanfear between the docks and her return as Cyndane. There was definitely that - preserving the revelations about Moiraine, but there was also the surprise that Moiraine's side of the story isn't quite enough to puzzle out for sure what happened to Lanfear yet (we just know how she lost her strength), and not only that but it introduced the new element that someone came for her. That was frustrating at first, but then the epilogue reveals to us why Jordan did this: Cyndane appears shortly after in the book, in a completely new role, and Moiraine's story about her was just a teaser. The book split made this into a minor cliffhanger, but originally it was supposed to be just a chapter cliffhanger that to be gradually resolved in later Rand chapters in the book. Lated in AMOL, Jordan suddenly wanted to turn the tables, and make us wonder if aware of Rand's epiphany and its nature (related to love etc. through their connection he should be able to puzzle out his mood - and no doubt he's very worried about "new Rand" who is a disaster for the Shadow) Moridin is playing the Cyndane card in an attempt to trap or kill Rand, or if Cyndane is setting a trap for Rand in his back, or if Cyndane in her despair has giving in and prostrated herself at the feet of LTT in order to be saved from the Shadow (and not necessarily without the intent to kill him after he's helped her). The third option borders on the absurd - that's she's back to loving him anyway and is truly repentent, when we know how RJ answered to those who tended to present Lanfear as a victim of fate who isn't deep down evil to her core (I refer to his answer when someone raised the issue that the drilling of the Bore affected Mierin to the point of making her evil - Jordan was adamant in his answer that it's got nothing to do with her evil and Mierin was ripe for the Shadow's plucking long before the drilling of the Bore), and then she appears in her Cyndane POV to have transferred all the blame for what has happened to her into a virulent hatred for Rand. If this was seen through another Forsaken's POV we could have speculated she's playing for the gallery, waiting for a moment to go back to her obsession with LTT, but we know from her POV her hatred is genuine, and equal to her previous "love" for LTT. Then in the epilogie there's the fact she appears to know Rand has memories from LTT now, and the only one who could tell her that is Moridin, and the only reason he might is if he was sending Cyndane on a mission to "deal with Rand". Of course, there's the fact in her POVs and scenes as Cyndane, the woman don't appear broken in the least, her hatred for Rand and her desire for revenage keeps her going and extremely motivated.

So this is almost certainly a trap, and the question is whether Cyndane set it herself, or Moridin is behind it. Of course we're not done with this, and this is where the element that a man (again, this is almost certainly Moridin) got her out of Finnland will somehow play out in later chapters. It could be used to create a bit of suspense, it could be used to reveal to the readers (and possibly Rand, through Moiraine) Cyndane as a fraud, because what she'll tell Rand won't match with what Moiraine has seen. It could be used for the opposite, as Cyndane, in order to play on Rand's sympathy and make her change of allegiance and her despair look credible, will reveal to him a rather horrific (and true or very close to the truth) story of how Moridin bought her back from the Finns only to bring her to Shayol Ghul to be punished, were for her role in helping Rand the DO stripped her soul from her original body and put her in a new one, gave her a humiliating name, made her a slave to Moridin and committed atrocities on her now soulless Lanfear body, kept at SG. This plot point can be used for a lot of things, that was merely some of the many possibilities, but what we can be nearly sure of is that this story that a man, likely Moridin, came for Cyndane will be used later in Cyndane's storyline. That alone almost convinces me Lanfear didn't die in Finnland the way Moiraine think she did, that this was just a typical Jordan "opening gambit". The next expected step was for Moiraine to tell Rand Lanfear died in Finnland, making Rand wonder even more if she's one of those who have been transmigrated, and which one she is. Then a typical Jordan plot twist: Cyndane herself goes to Rand, and he knows quite well by the end of the scene he's dealing with Mierin. If Lanfear died in Finnland, then the story point that Moridin came for her but too late is totally extraneous, useless.


Then there's simple internal plot logic. When he came back, Moridin spent a lot of time staying in the shadows, observing and tracking down the other Forsaken who, after they had passed the inspection (Sammael did not), were contacted by Shadar Haran to come kneel to the new Nae'blis. We can deduce Moridin did that at the DO's orders, because after Moridin suspected Sammael might be up to no good, it's Shadar Haran in person that continued the observation. We can even deduce why it's Moridin who made the first assessment leaving only the case(s) in doubt to his Master, as Shadar Haran revealed it was then a great strain for him to go very far from SG. SH's POV confirmed the DO is behind the "investigation" of the Chosen, incidentally.

It could be Moridin who possibly put Aran'gar on the track of Moghedien, after he found out she was involved in Tanchico with the BA, and with Nynaeve/Elayne who fought them there. As soon as he learned they were in Salidar, he ordered Aran'gar to keep an eye out... because the DO knew Moghedien was not dead. Of course, it could also be a stroke of luck by Aran'gar spying on Elayne and Nynaeve because of their meddling with Egwene, but the fact Aran'gar never made any big deal of it suggests this wasn't her personal triumph to have found Moghedien, that someone else (SH, Moridin) told her to look in Elayne and Nynaeve's entourage for her, which made Aran'gar spied on them and find out. That didn't stop her from being arrogant with Moghedien when she freed her, but she didn't try to milk her rescue of Moghedien later in front of the other Chosen.

So it appears logical that on his round to pass inspection on the Chosen, those alive and kicking and the two MIA, Moridin went to the same process to find out about Lanfear that Graendal followed, but the big difference is that Graendal concluded Lanfear died passing through the red doorway, while Moridin investigated the case with the knowledge from the DO that he didn't secure Lanfear's soul and thought it likely she might be alive (or knew, plain and simple - maybe he even told Moridin where to go find her...). That would be what sent Moridin to make a deal with the Finns to get her back for the DO. Lanfear held too many answers to unresolved questions for the Shadow to be left to rot there undisturbed. It is a fairly interesting question what the price to get Lanfear back has been, but obviously Moridin went in there with the full AOL knowledge of how to broker deals with the Finn, and obviously, not forgetting that without the doorways securing passage back after the deal (to channellers who can't hold the Finns at bay while escaping anyway), he had to negotiate safe passage back.



How tricky deals with the Finns are is one reason why Moridin (or the DO) is most unlikely to have left this to a third ager pawn, as obviously he/they care to get Lanfear back, to get serious questions answered - and to those who have this stupid notion the man was Isam or Luc, Isam looks Malkieri to the bone and has an uncanny ressemblance to Lan Moiraine would immediately notice, like Nynaeve did, and Luc Mantear was Moiraine's bloody brother-in-law!!!! There's not a chance the man Moiraine saw in Finnland coming for Lanfear was Slayer.

We know this interrogation of Lanfear has taken place (just not when) - while fondling her, Moridin alludes threateningly to the fact Cyndane no longer keeps any secret from him at a Forsaken meeting in WH.

It appears Cyndane and Moghedien were "given to Moridin" by the DO, perhaps for his success at getting them back Aran'gar and Osan'gar were spared that humiliation. Moghedien got a raw deal - giving knowledge to the DO's enemies was not forgiven, but Cyndane seems to have been punished far more harshly for her much more serious betrayal. Stripped of her body, renamed like the transmigrated Forsaken but the only one of the four given an humiliating name rather than a threatening one (Moridin's so grandiose and arrogant - it's part of one of Shai'tan's allowed titles (Lord of the Grave) the Shadow uses after all - it exasperates the other Chosen..., while the Gars bear the names of deadly weapons... Cyndane has the body of a young doll-ish girl so sexualized she can't be taken seriously, and she is forced to go with the name "Last chance", is forced to wear a very unflattering livery to replace the self-created Lanfear "livery" she so loved, forced to play the role of the obedient slave and implied sex toy of Moridin to a Forsaken audience while being forbidden to reveal she's forced to accept this because of a mindtrap. Body and mind she's humiliated, her Lanfear persona destroyed physically and psychologically. This all speaks to a very intentional desire to humilitate her as much as possible. I think she has zero chance of "redemption" in the Shadow, the DO seems to have spared her because Moridin can make use of her properly leashed, because death is too kind a fate for her in the DO's eyes, and likely because the DO wants to keep her around to witness his final victory and the destruction of the man she thought to abandon the Shadow for.

Basically, Lanfear lost everything (but her life itself) because of her love for LTT, which is why she blames him/Rand and hates him with such passion. That's a much easier path to take than blaming the real culprit for her misery: herself, her miscalculations and her betrayals, all for a man she had zero chance to make fall for a wiles ever again and she made a complete fool of herself over.

She told Rand once they would eliminate all the others together, if he came to her. And we saw with her jealous fury at the docks that she genuinely believed with all the fibers of her body he would come to her in the end. Yet she told Sammael, Graendal and Rhavin they would capture him for the DO together... Totally contradictory and it's rather easy to figure out Lanfear meant to paint Rand in a corner: either he joined her and linked and using Callandor they'd suprised the other three, or she would let him die facing Sammael, Rahvin and Graendal together. The other point is that for Lanfear, Rand coming to the DO with her was quite secondary to Rand/LTT returning to her as her lover. She likely would have preferred him to join Shai'tan, as she saw herself as the DO's Queen on earth with LTT as her consort, but she had also told him the price of her eventual betrayal of Shai'tan, in case serving Shai'tan was the unsurmountable obstacle to his return to her.

And the point is: there was no good reason for Moridin to risk going to the Aelfinn and Elfinn (on the mere suspicion, if a solid one, that it's where she was) unless the DO had shown him signs of wanting her back, if he didn't openly ordered Moridin to track her and Moghedien down and bring them to him because SH was not yet up to those tasks away from SG, which is far more likely This supposes that the DO knew for sure or highly suspected Lanfear was still alive, and there was a huge clue on this issue at the beginning of LOC: they are both absent from his list of Chosen who have died. Shai'tan only mentionned Rahvin - dead and unretrievable - and Asmodean, a traitor who died the final death (Shai'tan lied by omission, we know from RJ he wasn't able to capture his soul) to Demandred, not Moghdien nor Lanfear who both "vanished" at the same time. He clearly didn't have Lanfear's soul at the beginning of LOC. Shai'tan knew they were both alive, or at the very least couldn't tell if they were dead. Moridin tracked down all the Chosen, and Shadar Haran expanded the efforts to keep an eye on at least one (Sammael) Moridin reported may be disobeying the DO's orders, and this appears to have resulted in a greenlight from the DO to Moridin to kill Sammael if necessary, even if it resulted in the final death (Moridin wouldn't have used TP balefire without having zero chance that the DO would mind Sammael dying and his soul being untretrievable. It's not what killed Sammael - Mashadar got his soul - but that's beside the point). There was no point at all for the DO to let Moridin run a fool's errand to track down Lanfear if she died when and how Moiraine think she did, drained too fast by Finns driven drunk mad by her strength. Thus several weeks or more after her capture, Lanfear must still have been alive when Moridin (most likely) went to buy her back and bring her to SG to face Shai'tan's idea of justice that resulted in her transmigration as Cyndane. The real question is if this was done intentionally - her soul stripped from her living body as is done for Grey Men, or if Lanfear died while facing the DO or SH at SG (Moghedien thought she would die soon - and I'm sure if she did die from SH's ministrations she would have been transmigrated too, Lanfear whose crimes were far more serious must have gotten an even worse treatment at SG) .


Then, we have rather good evidence that Lanfear, while drained of a substantial amount of raw strength by the Finns (perhaps the same as Moiraine, perhaps far more, perhaps less as it stopped earlier for Lanfear while Moiraine was rescued later), wasn't anywhere close to being "drained" of her substance/OP strength - Cyndane's still stronger than all the other female Chosen. She lost a relatively small amount of her strength, far less relatively speaking than Moiraine who's really the one who was drained, very slowly over months it seems. It makes the whole theory of Moiraine about Lanfear very shacky. She doesn't know the facts about Cyndane, but we do. From our perspective, it rather looks that far from losing control of themselves and draining Lanfear too fast, the Finns considered her a bit like a fine vintage and intended to make her last for as long as possible. The very partial evidence suggests they may have drunk more or less the same amount of raw saidar strength out of Lanfear that they did from Moiraine, and while some may suggest that means there's a fixed limit independant of global strength, it sounds far more likely that it's simply evidence that the Finns knew what they were doing, and just like they did to Moiraine, they absorbed Lanfear's strength slowly and gradually over a long period of time. Moiraine was almost emptied and would have died soon, it seems. Lanfear was nowhere near "emptied" - and a that rhythm could probaby last for a few more years.. but Moridin came for her and her fate, ironically, took a turn for the worst.