All of my instincts indeed argue that 4 of the Forsaken CANNOT below Nynaeve, but... - Edit 1
Before modification by Shannow at 18/11/2009 07:07:26 PM
Lanfear's viewpoint at the Cleansing seems to suggest that even in the Age of Legends, she never met a woman who matched her strength.
I doubt one is going to pop up in this age, with about 1% of the population size of the previous age.
Her point was that no one was stronger than her in the Age of Legends. Doesn't mean no one equaled her!
And if the population is an issue... you should then be rigorously arguing that Lanfear cannot be the only Forsaken stronger than Nynaeve.
It was extremely rare for women to be stronger than Graendal in the AoL, yet we have Nynaeve and five others who are not Forsaken top Graendal. That means all bets are off, and Lanfear is definitely not alone at the top.
Sanderson has upset the applecart. Frankly, RJ said Nynaeve was as strong as most of the female Forsaken. People interpreted that to mean she was as strong as the average female Forsaken.
Turns out, she is only exceeded by Lanfear, and possibly matched by Semirhage.
It makes no sense to me, but there you have it.