Re: Egwene under compulsion - Edit 1
Before modification by Datakim at 18/05/2012 11:32:58 PM
Aran'gar seems like a relatively unskilled channeler and would not be able to pull off Compulsion on Egwene without causing significant destruction to her own plans. Masema is an example of a compelled person - he's feral in his desire to perform a command and it shows. We've had Egwene's PoV and there are no indications of Compulsion or her struggle to battle an abberant thought. When Moghedien used Compulsion on Nynaeve, we could see Nynaeve's internal struggle.
We did see Aran'gar use compulsion on Ramshalan at Graendals request in ToM. And Ramshalan did act pretty normal after that, suggesting that Aran'gar is not totally incompetent when it comes to compulsion. Granted, Rand balefired her pretty quick so we did not get to view Ramshalans behaviour for long, but Graendal atleast thought that Aran'gar was skilled enough to construct complex and convoluted compulsions and Graendal would presumably know best.
I don't think it would make sense for there to be any major compulsions in Egwenes mind (since as you say, there is no struggle), but I could see there being subtle commands there that are affecting her judgement.
Things like:
- Oaths are important and vital to beind an Aes Sedai (benefit of reduced combat against human darkfriends)
- The Dragon Reborn/Asha'man are dangerous and should be distrusted (obvious benefit)
- And so on. Basically, just enhancing thoughts/emotions already present might have helped shadow in some ways. Even very weak compulsions like the ones Verin used can have significant effect.
There is also the possibility of somekind of hidden trigger in her mind that is dormant and waiting, so if Aran'gar says/does something, that hidden compulsion kicks in to do something. Thoug I am unsure if this kind of "post-hypnotic suggestion" is possible with compulsion.