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Direct quote from Demandred refutes this... Shannow Send a noteboard - 23/09/2012 10:49:10 PM
I just don't think he could realistically build an army of Channelers in secrecy or in the given amount of time. I think we will see him unleash mixed circle weaves on unsuspecting foes etc... Odds are most of these will be BA women and Dark Asha'man rather than hundreds of individuals Demandred personally trained.

Will he have a handful of his own people ... Almost certainly, how many of these will there be? Who knows!


These 10 could then each have trained 20 more, and he'd have his 200 Dreadlords.

Given that his moves have been unknown since the start of the series, and given that the Ashaman number around 500 or more and only started recruiting halfway through LoC, I see no reason why Demandred couldn't have set up something similar.

Especially if he recruited intensively from Shara, the Isle of Madmen, and Seanchan in addition to Randland.


There are around a total of 500 men at the Tower. Only a fraction of those are Full Asha'man ... I think someone says only a few dozen (with Taim promoting rapidly in the last few months to avoid the AS bond). And who would train and recruit the women, he'd want many women to form circles as we know how much more potent mixed circles are. Finding the numbers isn't the hard part. Training and keeping it secret from everyone is the hard part. Graendal, Moghedien and Aran'gar (the 3 masters of espionage)all comment that they couldn't find out what he was up to. Had he been doing something as overt as mass recruiting of Channelers they would have gotten wind of it.


And there is no such thing as a "Disturbance in the Force" that a Yoda like Forsaken could sense from the other side of the planet to tell them that Demandred is massing a few hundred channelers on some distant little tropical island in the Aryth Ocean.

And there are hundreds of millions of people on the planet.

Demandred's loyal dreadlords stealing one Sharan a day (out of a population of tens of millions), and one man from the Isle of Madmen a day (out of a jungly, plague-infested wilderness), and one Seanchan commoner a day( from an Asia sized continent), and whisking them away to this island to be forcibly turned to the Shadow by 13 Black Ajah and 13 Myrdraal is not going to be raising alarm bells anywhere.



Also, it is too far away from the action for a man like Demandred. What you describe is smart (assuming Demandred even knows the first thing about the altered world geography), but not in any way realistic to one of the Forsaken. They need to be seen and seen to wield power, even Moghedien needed to boast of her actions at every opportunity, It is how they measure their own success. Demandred couldn't stop talking about how amazing his achievements will be at every meeting. That and consistently threatening the others so they wouldn't think him weak. And why would he be wearing the latest fashions of the Age if he's hanging out teaching on an island?

If any of the Forsaken were willing to do this the battle would have been over before it started. Think of how Verin described them. Selfish. Not to mention the egos involved. Demandred sitting on a dessert island somewhere training a bunch of "children" to Channel for the good of the Shadow is laughable. Not while the other Forsaken were moving about and carving off fiefdoms. Not without direct orders from the DO or SH.

As a portion of his plan I can see him gathering a small core group and teaching them to a small degree, enough to enhance his armies, but as with all the FS he will be jealous of his knowledge. The thought of him training hundreds of master OP warriors seems both redundant and out of character. More likely he will recruit from the BA and Dark Asah'man, DF Sul'dam etc... to fight in his armies.

I can't see RJ having a new Channeler system start without giving us a few tidbits either, he loved to give us snippets of this type of stuff. And why would Bsand keep telling us the Demandred story will be epic if all we end up getting is another group of Channelers? I'd like to think Demandred is doing something new, not just being an imitation Taim. In the new prologue Moridin heaps praise on Taim for training new Dreadlords and says it was something none of the others had done.


After Sammael's death Demandred says exactly what you are saying.
He says Sammael's death was the price of " The need to be seen wielding power as well as wielding it"

He says it disdainfully, indicating his derision for Sammael's quest of the limelight, while he himself moved more subtly, behind the scenes, without anyone's knowledge.

This links to Sammael's comments about Demandred liking to use proxies instead of taking the limelight himself.

Demandred's modus operandi is in fact exactly what you think he is incapable of doing. Working behind the scenes to prepare for his big move.

And this would most certainly not be his entire plan, sitting on some island training dreadlords. He will train a dozen or so, and add them to 13 Black Ajah and 13 Myrdraal, and then leave them to do most of the training while he sets up more proxies across Randland, for his grand strategy.
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AMOL Prologue : Analysis of Forsaken section *major spoilers* - 19/09/2012 05:47:21 PM 3168 Views
You left out that Taim and Demandred have met before. - 19/09/2012 06:19:01 PM 1427 Views
Part of me keeps screaming Logain, though that can't be right... - 20/09/2012 12:14:00 PM 1385 Views
I thought of Logain as well... - 20/09/2012 06:10:58 PM 1253 Views
We have our answer as to why Cyndane and Moiraine are reduced in power. - 20/09/2012 05:14:01 AM 1309 Views
It was spelled out before. - 20/09/2012 05:25:05 AM 1189 Views
And some of us guessed that's what happened, we just didn't have evidence. *NM* - 20/09/2012 12:04:18 PM 684 Views
Nor a lot of support for the idea... - 22/09/2012 06:28:14 PM 1173 Views
Really? Seemed like the obvious series of events - 23/09/2012 02:32:35 PM 1118 Views
I know... - 23/09/2012 05:30:42 PM 1165 Views
I'm not so sure - 24/09/2012 05:32:50 PM 1153 Views
Why question it? - 25/09/2012 01:40:39 AM 1039 Views
Re: Why question it? - 25/09/2012 06:12:32 AM 993 Views
Six Chosen... - 20/09/2012 05:19:17 AM 1354 Views
It's fan fiction, but it's cannon fan fiction - 20/09/2012 06:55:18 AM 1319 Views
Demandred - the wasted Forsaken - 20/09/2012 08:14:15 PM 1215 Views
RJ's writing was bad. Sanderson's is far worse. *NM* - 21/09/2012 06:19:04 AM 687 Views
Re: Demandred - the wasted Forsaken - 22/09/2012 07:23:19 PM 1115 Views
Talmanes - 23/09/2012 12:42:27 AM 1520 Views
Re: Talmanes - 02/10/2012 03:27:05 PM 967 Views
Two interesting Forsaken issues you haven't raised - 22/09/2012 06:21:34 PM 1352 Views
Seems to me that Taim himself was behind going to Rand - 23/09/2012 02:53:32 AM 1074 Views
Re: Seems to me that Taim himself was behind going to Rand - 23/09/2012 05:50:48 PM 1122 Views
I think I rebel against this thought process because of the Taimandred Red Herring - 23/09/2012 06:35:19 PM 1049 Views
Re: I think I rebel against this thought process because of the Taimandred Red Herring - 23/09/2012 07:46:59 PM 1292 Views
The first time we hear about Transmigration is in LOC - 23/09/2012 08:50:10 PM 1300 Views
Why was Ishamael reinstantiated as Nae'blis after his death? - 02/10/2012 10:17:03 PM 1136 Views
I have to wonder at Hessalam - 23/09/2012 01:20:13 PM 1320 Views
Re: I have to wonder at Hessalam - 23/09/2012 06:52:10 PM 1375 Views
Re: I have to wonder at Hessalam - 24/09/2012 05:18:29 PM 1536 Views
I don't think she's old. Just really really really ugly! - 25/09/2012 03:22:56 AM 1020 Views
Re: I don't think she's old. Just really really really ugly! - 25/09/2012 06:13:51 AM 1076 Views
So based on this new info, what is Demandred's big game? Shara or Isle of Madmen back on the table? - 23/09/2012 08:01:03 PM 1137 Views
Re: So based on this new info, what is Demandred's big game? - 23/09/2012 08:52:48 PM 1249 Views
Interesting... - 23/09/2012 09:06:18 PM 1067 Views
Re: Interesting... - 23/09/2012 11:31:31 PM 1273 Views
Just one comment.. - 23/09/2012 11:53:09 PM 1748 Views
If I had to take a guess right now I'd say he has been setting up various Shadow armies thought the - 23/09/2012 09:30:34 PM 1067 Views
I think at the very least he has recreated the One-and-Eighty male channelers from the AOL... - 23/09/2012 09:34:56 PM 1162 Views
As I said he will almost certainly have Channelers - 23/09/2012 09:47:53 PM 1310 Views
All he needed to do was train 10 guys personally.. - 23/09/2012 09:51:46 PM 971 Views
It took Taim nearly a year to train a dozen men to a place where they could teach - 23/09/2012 10:00:40 PM 940 Views
The world is 25,000 miles by 25,000 miles in size... - 23/09/2012 10:15:22 PM 1047 Views
That is just far fetched ... I think I would laugh out loud if that is the case - 23/09/2012 10:43:37 PM 1042 Views
Direct quote from Demandred refutes this... - 23/09/2012 10:49:10 PM 1020 Views
Demanded is much more like Mesaana in his ways - 23/09/2012 10:55:00 PM 1051 Views
Re: Demanded is much more like Mesaana in his ways - 23/09/2012 11:36:54 PM 1061 Views
Not really - 24/09/2012 12:31:48 AM 1099 Views
"My rule is secure." Could Demandred be ruling an entire Mirror World? - 23/09/2012 10:43:51 PM 1141 Views
I can certainly something like this happening - 23/09/2012 10:50:35 PM 940 Views
I'm not sure it's possible... - 24/09/2012 03:02:26 AM 1078 Views
I think ... - 24/09/2012 05:36:38 PM 1056 Views
The changes in Moghedien - 25/09/2012 03:29:15 AM 940 Views
I believe she commented on Graendal's strength, comparing it to Nynaeve or something? - 25/09/2012 11:07:24 PM 1086 Views
Well.. - 25/09/2012 11:15:21 PM 944 Views
Thanks for the quote, but reading that, it kind of implies the opposite, to me... - 25/09/2012 11:35:53 PM 1258 Views
Hmmm.... - 26/09/2012 12:00:33 AM 999 Views
Hehe, that old argument again. - 26/09/2012 12:09:25 AM 888 Views
Yes. - 26/09/2012 12:58:03 AM 882 Views
I agree the Forsaken are all pretty close in effective Strength - 26/09/2012 04:11:16 AM 991 Views
Re: I agree the Forsaken are all pretty close in effective Strength - 26/09/2012 08:53:02 AM 945 Views
Well... - 26/09/2012 09:09:38 AM 911 Views
Re: Well... - 26/09/2012 10:17:03 AM 1045 Views
Nice speculation. I like that type of calculation. - 26/09/2012 10:59:43 AM 977 Views
Re: Well... - 27/09/2012 03:12:06 AM 935 Views
Re: Well... - 27/09/2012 08:17:07 AM 894 Views
Re: I agree the Forsaken are all pretty close in effective Strength - 27/09/2012 03:00:04 AM 991 Views
Re: I agree the Forsaken are all pretty close in effective Strength - 27/09/2012 07:23:11 AM 984 Views
Actually...... - 26/09/2012 02:30:00 AM 1051 Views
Agree with this.. - 26/09/2012 06:12:34 AM 867 Views
Not sure that's completely true.. - 26/09/2012 06:42:51 AM 912 Views
Re: Not sure that's completely true.. - 26/09/2012 03:02:41 PM 1069 Views
This is what I've been saying for years! - 26/09/2012 05:48:01 PM 792 Views
Re: Not sure that's completely true.. - 27/09/2012 03:17:00 AM 952 Views
Probably something like this - 26/09/2012 08:36:40 AM 968 Views
Probably true, but maybe a hint from a Sanderson interview should be considered here... - 26/09/2012 08:56:32 AM 928 Views
Re: Probably true, but maybe a hint from a Sanderson interview should be considered here... - 26/09/2012 10:01:08 AM 875 Views
Graendal almost has to be Stronger than Nynaeve - 26/09/2012 05:57:35 PM 1124 Views
One thing about that... - 27/09/2012 02:58:56 AM 1012 Views
Possible, but I find it unlikely - 27/09/2012 06:16:56 AM 911 Views
The reason I think that... - 27/09/2012 06:25:48 AM 951 Views
I always assumed Nynaeve at the top was a list he later revised as he decided to bring in - 27/09/2012 06:39:35 AM 1029 Views
Of course that's the correct answer, yes. - 27/09/2012 08:12:45 AM 1087 Views
I wasn't making a Strength comparison ... I was commenting on her lack of cowardice - 26/09/2012 03:45:36 AM 991 Views
Re: I wasn't making a Strength comparison ... I was commenting on her lack of cowardice - 26/09/2012 05:30:36 PM 1061 Views
That is the question I was getting at - 26/09/2012 06:00:03 PM 1020 Views
Re: That is the question I was getting at - 26/09/2012 07:01:34 PM 1048 Views

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