Thanks to Sanderson, we now have a DEFINITIVE female Forsaken strength list... - Edit 3
Before modification by Shannow at 18/11/2009 08:51:06 PM
As per KCF's Q&A thread below, Sanderson says that Nynaeve is incredibly strong, and that only 6 women are above her on RJ's revised strength list.
Sanderson says that Cyndane is severely weakened in the Power. (He clarified this at the Pasadena signing, to rectify his earlier mistake, where KCF quoted him as saying Cyndane was a very, very weak channeler. Apparently what he meant is, she is much WEAKENED, but still strong).
Sanderson says that Cyndane is DEFINITELY not one of the 6 channelers above Nynaeve in strength.
Sanderson says that he is "pretty sure" that Nynaeve is stronger than Semirhage, but not 100% certain. He stressed that Nynaeve and Semirhage are very close to one another in strength.
Sanderson also says that Mesaana is definitely weaker than Nynaeve, and that she is not particularly strong for a female Forsaken.
The above quotes are incredible. For the first time they allow us to put together a definitive strength list of the female Forsaken.
First we have Lanfear, the strongest woman ever.
Next, I will use Nynaeve as a benchmark, as she is the common denominator Sanderson used to compare the female Forsaken to one another.
Sanderson is not 100% sure if Semirhage is weaker than Nynaeve, but he is DEFINITELY sure Cyndane is not one of the 6 females above Nynaeve. He stresses that she is MUCH weaker than before.
That makes it pretty clear that Semirhage is the second strongest female Forsaken!
We also know that Graendal HAS to fall even lower than Cyndane, as she acknowledges herself that Cyndane is stronger than her.
Sanderson's dismissive reference to Mesaana makes it likely that she comes next, with Moghedien obviously bringing up the rear.
So the female Forsaken strength list, HAS to look as follows:
Lanfear
Semirhage
Cyndane
Graendal
Mesaana
Moghedien
It could be argued that Mesaana and Graendal might fall on the same level, and that Cyndane could conceivably be on the same level as Semirhage, but Sanderson's certainty that Cyndane is below Nynaeve, while not being that sure of Semirhage's position seems to argue against that.
Wow. After YEARS of debate, it seems we have the answer to the big strength question. For the females at least.
And incidentally, it seems as if Nynaeve is either stronger than all the female Forsaken except Lanfear, or at worst, she is exceeded only by Lanfear and Semirhage.
I think that Sanderson could not remember who was the stronger of Nynaeve and Semirhage, because they are probably on the same level of RJ's strength list. And therefore, without looking at more in depth notes to get a definitive answer, he most likely gave the benefit of the doubt to Nynaeve.
That's why he said he was "pretty sure" she was the stronger, but not certain. And that's probably why he stressed that they are very close in strength.
Anyway this is mindblowing stuff for me. Information I've been waiting for since I first read FoH, when we had the first Forsaken scene involving Rahvin, Graendal, Lanfear and Sammael.
So what do you all think?
Sanderson says that Cyndane is severely weakened in the Power. (He clarified this at the Pasadena signing, to rectify his earlier mistake, where KCF quoted him as saying Cyndane was a very, very weak channeler. Apparently what he meant is, she is much WEAKENED, but still strong).
Sanderson says that Cyndane is DEFINITELY not one of the 6 channelers above Nynaeve in strength.
Sanderson says that he is "pretty sure" that Nynaeve is stronger than Semirhage, but not 100% certain. He stressed that Nynaeve and Semirhage are very close to one another in strength.
Sanderson also says that Mesaana is definitely weaker than Nynaeve, and that she is not particularly strong for a female Forsaken.
The above quotes are incredible. For the first time they allow us to put together a definitive strength list of the female Forsaken.
First we have Lanfear, the strongest woman ever.
Next, I will use Nynaeve as a benchmark, as she is the common denominator Sanderson used to compare the female Forsaken to one another.
Sanderson is not 100% sure if Semirhage is weaker than Nynaeve, but he is DEFINITELY sure Cyndane is not one of the 6 females above Nynaeve. He stresses that she is MUCH weaker than before.
That makes it pretty clear that Semirhage is the second strongest female Forsaken!
We also know that Graendal HAS to fall even lower than Cyndane, as she acknowledges herself that Cyndane is stronger than her.
Sanderson's dismissive reference to Mesaana makes it likely that she comes next, with Moghedien obviously bringing up the rear.
So the female Forsaken strength list, HAS to look as follows:
Lanfear
Semirhage
Cyndane
Graendal
Mesaana
Moghedien
It could be argued that Mesaana and Graendal might fall on the same level, and that Cyndane could conceivably be on the same level as Semirhage, but Sanderson's certainty that Cyndane is below Nynaeve, while not being that sure of Semirhage's position seems to argue against that.
Wow. After YEARS of debate, it seems we have the answer to the big strength question. For the females at least.
And incidentally, it seems as if Nynaeve is either stronger than all the female Forsaken except Lanfear, or at worst, she is exceeded only by Lanfear and Semirhage.
I think that Sanderson could not remember who was the stronger of Nynaeve and Semirhage, because they are probably on the same level of RJ's strength list. And therefore, without looking at more in depth notes to get a definitive answer, he most likely gave the benefit of the doubt to Nynaeve.
That's why he said he was "pretty sure" she was the stronger, but not certain. And that's probably why he stressed that they are very close in strength.
Anyway this is mindblowing stuff for me. Information I've been waiting for since I first read FoH, when we had the first Forsaken scene involving Rahvin, Graendal, Lanfear and Sammael.
So what do you all think?