When did I say I bought into Linda's theories? - Edit 1
Before modification by darius_sedai at 15/10/2012 05:56:11 AM
Of course, Reanne could channel - she had expected that; hoped for it, anyway - but she had not expected the strength. Reanne was not as strong as Elayne, or even Nicola - burn that wretched girl! - but she easily equaled Sheriam, say, or Kwamesa or Kiruna. Not many women possessed so much strength, and for all she herself bettered it by a fair margin, she was surprised to find it here. The woman must be one of the wilders; the Tower would have found a way to keep its hands on a woman like this if they had to hold her in a novice dress her whole life.
So we have Kiruna, Bera, Sheriam, Rafela, Faeldrin, Masuri, Kwamesa and Reanne, just among the sisters discussed in this post. Not many?
By the way, your vaunted '13th Depository' lists Sheriam & Reanne at a level above Bera, Kiruna & Kwamesa, who in turn are a level above the three members of her embassy Merana has them equal to. So much for that as a source. In a few seconds, I found contradictions against quotes you and I have both obtained from the books.
I've been pointing you there to see the quotes you wanted not because I think Linda has al the answers. I disagree with many of her conclusions, including her placement of several women on her list, but she HAS done a lot of research and has pulled most of the relevant quotes from the text ... And some from author interviews.
7 AS out of 1000 and maybe a dozen more in the general ball park ... Yeah, I'd say that's pretty rare. Along with 5 around Elaida's strength and maybe 10 stronger than that ... We are talking about women in the AS structure that will stand out in any given room. Egwene comments on Sheriam when she first arrives in Salidar, noting that "Sheriam was clearly the strongest in the room" while surrounded by the Salidar Six. Myrelle and Anaiya being the closest to her. I don't believe there is an exact science to AS measuring each other's strength, but it's clear they can feel within a reasonable margin the difference between women standing right in front of them.