I wonder if being turned in some way isolates you from the effect of the taint? There seem to be a great many of these SN and why would Ishamael have trained a bunch of insane channelers or kept them around in one place?

But anything is possible ... Too little information to be certain of anything

I didn't get the impression they've been trained. I think they function as a twisted Aiel society: they train each other, and given the rules in place, it seems to me they must be trained during raids in the Blight, far from the town itself (where it appears they're forbidden to channel or there's a mechanism in place to prevent them touching saidin. We know apparently not all of them have been turned either, it sounds like some were raised there.

My intuition is that they're forbidden or prevented from touching saidin and aren't insane from the Taint. Rather it's the True Power they use, and the DO is not letting them use it in the Town itself... but Moridin of course is allowed.
As for being insane I'm not so sure. The taint is very debilitating... few would last very long if they used saidin without protection, which they may not have/use because they simply don't use saidin...

As for their behaviour and totally wild side, I'm not sure it's insanity so much having been turned... and being Aiel in the first place. RJ gave the impression such people become utterly and completely evil, as if they had been immersed completely in the essence of the DO by the 13x13 ritual. Aiel without ji'e'toh to humanize and civilize them would be pretty frigthening....

I also find it pretty interesting that at the end of TOM Fain seemed to be nearing that town... a town where a lot of people, like him, have been forced by the Shadow to do things against their will...




But it's also more like a curse... they want the honour but they don't want to use it unless they must.

Personally I suspect the whole thing about limiting access to the TP is deceitful. By restricting access to the top of the Chosen, the DO sought to increase its appeal to the masses of Chosen who envied them, and it hides its real price from any but the top leaders. I suspect if the AOL Aes Sedai who went to the Shadow had all been granted access to the TP, a high percentage of Aes Sedai would have rethought their allegiance after they touched that inhuman and evil power. So basically the DO restricted knowledge of this to the people so committed to the Shadow there wouldn't even be welcome back to the Light if they wished. And once he got them addicted, there was no way back. Ultimately, the DO might see letting his followers use the essence of his enemy as something he has no choice to tolerate rather then something he's happy about. The Chosen are not permitted to use the OP anywhere close to him, incidentally.

So I wouldn't be surprised the DO gave access to the Red Veils for whom there's no way back and who live in the Blight. They would be a secret weapon of his (only Moridin and Isam may know of them). They would also all be addicted and thus loyal to the death.



It's not much evidence. Isam spoke of restrictions the Red Veils had in the town which Moridin didn't have. It could just as well indicate the Dark One refuses them access to the TP in the town area but that refusal didn't apply to Moridin. They wouldn't know how to use saidin if they're forbidden to use it and must use the TP when they channel. They couldn't defend against Moridin.



Men can't know if another has the ability unless he channels or is holding the source. The TP is undetectable by anyone but the user and the DO, even if you're a TP user too.



The evidence is that they didn't know Moridin. I think the older ones train the new arrivals, that's all. It's apparently been going for 2000 years - they don't need Ishamael's help.




I suspect Jordan created them mostly for Isam's mission against Rand, though it's not impossible Moridin sends them to Demandred during TG. His own "Aiel".... a dangerous gift, I get the feeling Demandred wouldn't like them much more than Isam.



I'm pretty sure there's a circle of DF among the Aiel - how could Melindrah have been one without that? - and that there's a line of DF WO, choosing and training others each generation. I suspect it's Bair who's the top DF honcho. We'll know when she comes back from Rhuidean. Many prefer Sorilea for it, but I think she's a red herring. Sorilea just had the chance to grab the tiller following Aviendha's vision, and she didn't take it. Bair, however, did - and by going herself she pretty much ensured the other WO wouldn't feel like they need to send a third person to verify Bair's verification of what Aviendha saw. Bair might return saying she saw another future completely, proving Aviendha's but a possibility. Bair as a WO and a dreamer would of course be an ideal asset for Ishamael.