View original postI agree that to a point the Creator is about creation, and Dark One about destruction, but the Dark One isn't mindless, and doesn't seem to want to just destroy everything. In some religions you see the idea of Creation vs Destruction, but often these are represented by mindless entities who can't help what they do, I think if intelligence is there, a force of destruction wouldn't destroy everything.
Why not? Humans are intelligent and are terrible at acting for the long term. And again, why would he not destroy everything?
View original postBut wouldn't this stand even if he was free? That the Dark One is bound by time, or can end time altogether, but at that point I don't think he would be able to retrieve souls lost due to Balefire either, I see this as anger / frustration at limitations to his power, not at imprisonment.
But the limitations to his power are his imprisonment. Time is part of Creation.
View original postI don't know if they are equal or not though, I get the impression (not backed by any facts admittedly)that the Creator is more powerful, but doesn't want to destroy the Creator, only contain him and give humankind the choice, and I also get the impression despite what Lanfear says that the Creator can't be destroyed by humankind, whereas Rand appeared to have the choice to destroy the Dark One if he wished.
Nope.
I envision the Dark One as being the dark counterpart, the dark balance if you will, to the Creator carrying on the theme, the yin yang, light dark, necessity of balance theme that has run through the books...it's somewhat Manichean, I know, but I think it works.
Robert Jordan