Re: Graendal: What would you do when a man appears at your door?
Sidious Send a noteboard - 06/12/2009 06:33:58 AM
A man appears from the Dragon Reborn, alone, at _her_ palace door. After Compulsion, the interrogation inevitably would have to lead to what the Dragon had said to him, and the very strange riddle the Dragon had queried: "How do I outthink an enemy I know is smarter than I am." That by itself and given that the Dragon had woven a hole in the air directly to her palace, AND the fact that Rand outrightly identifies her: "My current foe understands the others in a way that I cannot hope to match. So how do I defeat her?" (567) would she not be in the least bit suspicious immediately?
Rand's story to him was that he was sending people all over the land to talk to the nobility, which is what he would have relayed to Graendal. Although Graendal would have pulled the puzzle question from him, there is no indication that Rand was talking about Graendal - he only revealed this after the messenger left. Graendal would be suspicious anyway - it's in her nature. Whether she would act on it and flee is the crux of the debate. The fact that she sent him back with Compulsion saying that she was a loyal subject indicates that she fell for the ruse and tried to set Rand on another path.
Yes the chess game of wills is one thing, but effective the moment she compelled him and discovered the dialogue that the Dragon had said, she's knows he knows where she is.... Why stay at all? Especially when she's got to think to herself how is he getting back to Rand (with no horse, or entourage....)? The thought that the Dragon has got to be somewhere in the vicinity has to have crossed her mind, right? Her hiding place has been compromised, that is an immediate fact.
She knows that Rand is around, but now she has actually taken it upon herself to try and defeat him. Moridin lured her into that subplot.
Add to that, that if Aran'gar were there, wouldn't Aran'gar have felt the buildup of saidin for the balefire; it was a lot of balefire after all.... (the passage reads that it was a moment to be sure, but a long one)...?
I don't think there's any evidence that Aran'gar would have been around. They probably visit one another occasionally much like Graendal and Sammael did.
I know Sanderson kind of dumbed her down and forgot some of the details of her scenes, but given just how smart she is, I'd think she'd not be so foolish as to just Compel him and send him on his way and then resume her idle fancies....
I don't think she did it that simply. I think she sent him on his way, and sent dozens of pets in different directions to create some elaborate trap. Moments later she was balefired. To her horror I'm sure.
Wheel of Time board admin
Fan of Lanfear
Fan of Lanfear
Graendal: What would you do when a man appears at your door?
- 06/12/2009 03:37:39 AM
1147 Views
I tend to agree
- 06/12/2009 03:46:37 AM
621 Views
Re: I tend to agree
- 06/12/2009 04:01:22 AM
723 Views
Delana!!! 
- 09/12/2009 08:35:40 PM
555 Views
- 09/12/2009 08:35:40 PM
555 Views
I think the weaving was too complex for a n00b like Delana. Nynaeve's comments point to Graendal.
- 09/12/2009 10:52:55 PM
490 Views
I was assuming Delana was mind-dead compulsed to weave the complex weaves by 
- 10/12/2009 06:34:09 AM
569 Views
- 10/12/2009 06:34:09 AM
569 Views
Ah, so you're proposing that
- 06/12/2009 04:29:34 AM
692 Views
Re: Graendal: What would you do when a man appears at your door?
- 06/12/2009 06:33:58 AM
694 Views
We're going to see Graendal's plan in ToM, including her interaction with Ramshalan.
- 06/12/2009 08:03:33 AM
559 Views
She'd have had to ask the right questions to get the right answers.
- 07/12/2009 12:44:29 AM
602 Views
Re: She'd have had to ask the right questions to get the right answers.
- 07/12/2009 02:18:07 AM
500 Views