Demandred isn't the pinnacle of what an Aes Sedai could be in the AOL, and that doesn't even stem from his treachery. It starts because we now know conclusively that Lews Therin himself was no angel, and probably not at all as grand as we were led to believe. He was a lesser accomplished form of a flawed individual, despite all his strengths. There are third age characters with ten times the strength of character as Lews Therin or Demandred.
I fully agree.
Bel Medar and LTT appear not all that removed from this Age's Aes Sedai.
Both are gifted in the OP, but not in the Nynaeve/Semirhage ways, with one outstanding Talent that defined their career path.
Both appear to be scholars, or at least intellectuals, and both were power-obsessed politicians, who made a career rising through the hierarchy of the Aes Sedai Guild, as close to the top as they managed to. LTT was an artist. Both of them were writers, and for all we know they were novelists, not big time OP (they'd have been at the Collam Daan if they were) or political essayists! The whole society was deeply aesthetic, centered on its pleasures, and obsessed with gaining status.. you get the feeling that for many AS the primary motivation to serve was to shine enough to gained the status a third name gave an individual. There were AS like Moghedien and Balthamel not that interested in their ability, nor service. It's what Graendal denounced by making herself an abstemious ascete them turning into a caricature of the wost of AOL society.
Looking at Nynaeve's discoveries, you even get the feeling perhaps the AOL era before the Collapse had long been nearly stagnating, the greatest discoveries far in the past and the OP scholars more interested in competition between them then anything. Cliques everywhere.
The pre-WOS relations and situations of LTT/Bel Medar might not have been all that different, on a different scale of OP knowledge and sophistication of politics, than those of Elaida. Status, power, political bickering, lavish palaces, trophy wives.
The WOS woke them up. They accomplished great things, but LTT became more and more tyranical and stubborn, and Bel Medat ended up switching side.
No doubt Bel Medar is a genius of strategy and this will play out a lot, but indeed we have all signs he's not that great or brave physically and he hates getting his hands dirty. He's no daring soldier who will duel Rand, he's one of those backroom generals. A genius one. Demandred sounds much closer to a more competent Rhavin or Be'lal than a Sammael. As far as we can tell, Sammael is more comparable to LTT in personality.
RJ seems to have made Demandred into a kind of exagerated dark mirror of himself: RJ had a scholarly (scientific) background, got conscripted as a soldier, is a military-history buff and weapon collector, and after Vietnam he became a popular writer. And in his AOL, writers and artists could become politicians (well, there's Reagan...).
Demandred was an intellectual, writer and military-history buff who was forced to become a general.
This message last edited by DomA on 07/11/2012 at 09:10:14 PM
[Mik's Warp] - Demandred is.....*click to find out*
05/11/2012 01:06:42 PM
- 2735 Views
There are only 2 months left before AMOL comes out (or less)...
05/11/2012 02:10:07 PM
- 1292 Views
Re: There are only 2 months left before AMOL comes out (or less)...
06/11/2012 12:40:54 PM
- 1183 Views
I say Roederan is a better choice simply because of where he is located
06/11/2012 11:01:28 PM
- 1091 Views
Re: I say Roederan is a better choice simply because of where he is located
07/11/2012 09:42:00 AM
- 1344 Views
Plausible, albeit antilclimactic *NM*
05/11/2012 06:32:38 PM
- 607 Views
Unless Mat is Demandred, at this point it will be anticlimactic. *NM*
06/11/2012 04:02:38 AM
- 565 Views
You've tried too hard...
05/11/2012 07:53:41 PM
- 2803 Views
Will be so disappointed if the Shadow's greatest (non-crazy) leader is defeated by Mr Happy Go Lucky
05/11/2012 08:57:59 PM
- 1132 Views
I doubt Mat will kill him personally but
05/11/2012 09:24:48 PM
- 885 Views
I don't know
06/11/2012 02:01:41 AM
- 896 Views
My prediction of how it plays out...
06/11/2012 07:12:15 AM
- 995 Views
I don't think that's likely
06/11/2012 06:04:55 PM
- 956 Views
Re: I don't think that's likely
06/11/2012 11:21:21 PM
- 894 Views
Re: I don't think that's likely
07/11/2012 08:14:28 PM
- 1018 Views
Re: I don't think that's likely
07/11/2012 09:05:07 PM
- 1117 Views
Re: I don't think that's likely
08/11/2012 05:52:16 PM
- 938 Views
It sounds like we're at the same stage of vision of the AOL
08/11/2012 07:48:17 PM
- 891 Views
Statistics refute some of that...
09/11/2012 07:35:59 AM
- 903 Views
We're not talking about the same things...
09/11/2012 11:31:12 PM
- 888 Views
The real question is how much of that was caused by the Bore and the Collapse
09/11/2012 11:50:20 PM
- 931 Views
It doesn't mean no one in this Age can be at Talented or Intelligent.
09/11/2012 11:43:26 PM
- 1082 Views
Re: It doesn't mean no one in this Age can be at Talented or Intelligent.
10/11/2012 07:34:34 AM
- 1001 Views
You're putting the Evil on a pedestal.
06/11/2012 03:12:38 AM
- 817 Views
... is defeated by Mr Happy Go Lucky
06/11/2012 08:45:02 PM
- 1045 Views
Mat is essentially the man (men) who wrote the books Demandred studied
06/11/2012 10:42:40 PM
- 874 Views
I didn't try hard at all; Demandred found me...
06/11/2012 03:31:41 PM
- 1054 Views
My biggest contention with Demandred being with the Sea Folk
06/11/2012 10:54:50 PM
- 1024 Views
Re: My biggest contention with Demandred being with the Sea Folk
07/11/2012 12:07:02 AM
- 1074 Views
Well, it instantly gives the Shadow access to attacking every coastal city...
07/11/2012 10:32:23 AM
- 945 Views
If he married Nynaeve and Moiraine he'd have his wives at Rand's side in the Pit too....
07/11/2012 03:28:38 PM
- 915 Views
I find that approach unnecessarily convoluted. Just hit them with 1 billion Trollocs and crush them.
08/11/2012 07:00:36 AM
- 904 Views
May I ask some practical questions?
08/11/2012 05:28:41 PM
- 842 Views
Re: May I ask some practical questions?
08/11/2012 10:35:38 PM
- 973 Views
Re: May I ask some practical questions?
10/11/2012 12:09:15 AM
- 910 Views
Re: May I ask some practical questions?
10/11/2012 03:11:59 AM
- 914 Views
LOL ... Seems more than a little far fetched *NM*
10/11/2012 06:17:34 AM
- 512 Views
Well, they hadn't planned on them being Traveling grounds as they didn't know about
09/11/2012 02:57:16 PM
- 787 Views
Re: Well, they hadn't planned on them being Traveling grounds as they didn't know about
09/11/2012 09:03:14 PM
- 908 Views
I know. I'm saying they were not doing this with Traveling in mind.
09/11/2012 11:57:34 PM
- 882 Views
Re: I know. I'm saying they were not doing this with Traveling in mind.
10/11/2012 10:08:04 PM
- 2420 Views
I see what you are getting at ... And I see how Zaida used it to her advantage
11/11/2012 07:45:19 AM
- 942 Views
Re: I see what you are getting at ... And I see how Zaida used it to her advantage
12/11/2012 02:57:08 PM
- 955 Views
Nesta sent 2 ambassadors to the Coramoor. Both looking for the same thing
12/11/2012 04:11:50 PM
- 991 Views
Re: Nesta sent 2 ambassadors to the Coramoor. Both looking for the same thing
12/11/2012 06:01:33 PM
- 1074 Views
Well there is also the fact that Harine pretty much tells us she MUST make a Bargain
12/11/2012 06:51:24 PM
- 1106 Views
Re: Well there is also the fact that Harine pretty much tells us she MUST make a Bargain
12/11/2012 09:30:57 PM
- 909 Views
Not to belabor the point
12/11/2012 10:56:39 PM
- 858 Views
Re: Not to belabor the point
13/11/2012 12:46:21 AM
- 819 Views
I think you are way off base on the economics
13/11/2012 01:24:35 AM
- 785 Views