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he Damned A'dam

by Stanzi: 2005-11-09 | 2.91 out of 10 (11 votes)

Recent Categories: Rand, Semirhage, and the Capture

Semirhage planned on being caught during the showdown with Rand in Chapter 27. While terribly strong evidence is lacking, there are quite a few clues to lead to this conclusion. The purpose of being caught is to be collared by one of the female a'dam Semi had in her possession. Either one or all of the female a'dam are reversed in usage, (ie the braclet is the submissive end, and the collar is the controlling end). Semi will be collared, and thus gain the power over whomever leashed her.

An obvious clue is the title of the chapter, "A Plain Wooden Box". This is the box in which the a'dam were found in. Jordan uses the chapter titles as clues to what's going on, as with the chapter titled, "Something...Strange". This refers to the ripple effect Faile feels at the Shaido camp, but is also the same words Suroth uses to describe the "let the lord of chaos rule" line from Semi.

The something strange is from the Shadow, so don't bother pegging it anywhere else, is what it's saying. Back to the "Plain Wooden Box" title, this points to the box with the a'dam as being very important. Nynaeve points out that there are copies of the male a'dam, which proves that they (the Dark folk) are making their own a'dam. It stands to reason that they are also making the female versions as well. And if the Great Lord can put a saidin wielder in a woman's body, why not reverse the a'dam control? The a'dam are simply too important to merit a chapter title clue, and not just because there are a slew of male a'dams now in their hands.

Another clue is given at the beginning of the book when Semi visits Suroth. Semi asks Suroth to kill Tuon, and Suroth thinks about seeing if she can get Semi to do it. (Semi is dropping hints she already has something else to do, but more on that later.) Suroth thinks: "Killing her [Tuon] would be impossible in those circumstances. Unless Semirhage could be induced to do it herself. Six damane might well be dangerous even to her [Semi]." Six damane is exactly how many Semi takes with her to see Rand. True, Suroth might not understand channeling and Semi's strength.

However, it stands to reason that if Semi wanted to capture Rand, she would have had more than just herself and six damane with her. She invited Rand to bring channelers with him as well, and knowing that Semi was at the Cleansing, and no doubt has heard about other Chosens experiences there, she must have a good idea as to how strong some of the people with him are. It would be a folly to expect him not to have the strongest with him at this time. So it's fair to say that Semi knew she would be out matched at that confrontation, and that her side would lose.

Another clue is the sul'dam she has with her. They are not DFs. The sul'dam and damane are described as being "stunned" (p.591 HC). And Falendre says on page 593, "We thought she was the High Lady....I swear it on my eyes!" The Seanchan don't take oaths lightly, and again, these sul'dam and damane are NOT Dark Friends. They believed they were following Tuon, and this explains where Tuon's missing sul'dam went. A good reason why the fight ended so quickly was because the Seanchan were no doubt shocked to see "Tuon" become Anath. But why would Semi bring this particular bunch with her? She surely should have known that they weren't enough to over power Rand and co. And she certainly couldn't keep up the Tuon disguise and return with this bunch to the main Seanchan headquarters. If she wanted to have secured Rand, she would have had Dark Friends and possibly other Chosen with her to secure the victory. By bringing these sul'dam with her, she weakens Tuon's defenses. However, Semi doesn't really care about Tuon anymore. She does't care whether she becomes Empress, or Suroth does.

"Take the offer, Suroth. I will not make it again. You will make certain matters slightly more convenient, but not enough for me to put myself out a second time." and: "But remember, if Tuon manages to return safely, it will matter little to me, so don't dally."

Semi is getting ready to be captured, and therefore will not be able to help Suroth out. Also, with the male a'dam and Rand in close proximity, her use of Tuon is over. The Seanchan serve no more purpose to the Shadow now except to sow that marvelous chaos. Why would Semi put herself out like that, and what does she know? Semi is as close to Mesaana as Chosen can be with one another. Mesaana was just really punished badly for screwing up, and following her own path. Moggy and Cydane are mindtrapped, and Chosen doing their own thing are disappearing. When Mesaana is reprimande by Moridin, Demandred and Semi avoid looking at her (p. 147). So she knows what happened. She's playing by the rules, Semi is. Which brings us to what Moridin says, "You will not harm him in any way!" This after repeated stating that no one else will determine Rand's death but him. As this comes on the heels of Mesaana's reprimand gives it some gravitas. Semi is NOT going to try to kill Rand, and she will try to keep the physical damage as light as possible. But... The fireball? The fireball she threw to him was to attract the attention of the others, not to harm him. The sul'dam with her would surely give pause to notice their High Lady channeling, and would stop them in their tracks. Semi tried to keep the damage as low but still dangerous as possilbe.

What Semi knows: Rand won't kill or allow the murder of a female; Nynaeve had Moggy in an a'dam before, and is the woman who helped him with the Cleansing; someone knows where she is, and will come and rescue her butt if necessary. ("No one is allowed to go advernturing on their own any longer." Moridin, p. 147. And someone did save Moggy after some time.)

Semi will be collared before anyone puts the braclet on, and having spent time among the Seanchan, she will know how to behave. Semi's perferred weapon is nerve stimulation. The a'dam works in that fashion, in that the sul'dam can think of pain and the damane feels it. She will be in the position to Compel whomever dons the braclet, and control them however she sees fit. It will be her and the woman she contols... two women, two needed for the male a'dam. If severing is brought up, she will be rescued. But with the a'dam, the good guys WILL collar her instead. As far as they know, it is the perfect imprisonment. Moggy's escape was due to slack guarding, but Semi will be guarded. Risky, yes. But at this point the Shadow is taking more risks. A very weak clue is Min's viewing about Perrin. Rand will need him twice. The first time Rand was a prisoner. And so will he be the second. Rand needs the guy to save him, not just be there.

At this point, all the Dark wants is Rand. Why, I don't know. But the Great Lord wants him, alive, and that's where all of the energy is going. The Seanchan, White Tower, Black Tower, etc. is all to sow chaos, but not the main goal. Everyone else in Randland is distracted with this, that, and the other. To have any one of those groups in His pocket is moot, and not gonna win the war. All He needs is Rand, and that's where He is directing the Chosen. He doesn't care if the Chosen set up kingdoms, or anything like that, and doesn't want them wasting their time on such things anymore. He doesn't care if they even die, so long as Rand is captured. Counterpoints: Semi wanted to win. Well, then why the a'dam, and why so far out of reach? Tuon's sul'dam are useless once Rand is captured, and there's no doubt the others (Rand's party) would be killed. Taim already has a slew of male channelers, and there's been no proof at all that the Chosen are out to recruit the good guys to their cause. They either use them, or kill them. The female a'dam serve no purpose, as it seems highly unlikely Semi would have the sul'dam take Ny and whoever back with them to base.

I'm sure there are more counterpoints, and I know I can dig up more info to strengthen this theory with a little more time. One argument that won't hold is the whole "The Forsaken are dumb and continually **** up". When Moridin lectured them this last time, he mentioned twice "The Time of the Return". (Second mention is was simply "The Time".) If ever there was a time for a high ranking dark friend to cut the crap, I image it would be at this Time. And with the apparent induction of Taim into the cool kid, bad guy table Moridin has a 3rd ager willing to get the point through that these so-called channelers are the real deal. Thanks, more later!
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Comments

1

Tamyrlin: 2006-01-05

(Frenzy for Tamyrlin) Stanzi, this is ~very~ far-fetched. Why would Semirhage create backwards a'dam and place herself in harm's way? (and why would the Great Lord do it for her?!) What possible purpose would that serve? She doesn't NEED to directly control another female channeler, because she has more power than most everyone on the planet right now. Besides, as Anath she has easy access to damane already. Why try to go get Rand's? Another interpretation of the chapter title is a referencce to Rand's earlier imprisonment in a plain wooden box. Semirhage intended to capture Rand, and hold him. She wasn't going to hold him in a plain wooden box like he was earlier, but she WAS going to use what was IN the plain wooden box to hold him. Also, Tuon's missing sul'dam and damane are with the Deathwatch Guards and Furyk Karede, not Semirhage. That kinda kills that bit of your evidence. To put herself into such a dangerous position and HOPE that one of her fellow Chosen will break her free is asinine. And goes against your idea that the a'dam was reversed, with Semirhage in charge even though she's wearing the collar end of it. So what is it you're trying to argue? That Semirhage WANTED to be captured? That may be, and i suggest you look at Ozymandias' theory about Semirhage faking her capture for the debate on it.

2

Paddy: 2006-01-06

I agree with Tam. Your theory is very far fetched. While i personally also believe Semirhage meant to be captured, i fail to see what advantage she has over controlling another female channeler.

I still go with my own theory that Semirhage had herself captured to sow chaos amongst Rands Followers.

3

Traveller: 2006-01-08

Sure this is far-fetched, but so are all the things Forsaken do simply to spread chaos. Your theory is interesting and brings up points I had forgotten, such as Semirhage throwing the flameball at Rand, but not being allowed to kill him.

I think that others may be dismissing this theory out of hand without real reasoning- simply becaise there is no obvious reasoning at this moment. I repeat: There are so many actions Forsaken took to spread chaos that had no obvious reasoning.

4

Anubis: 2006-01-12

Here is my problem with this. Semi had just killed the Empress. Do you honestly believe that Tuon would be more heavily protected then The Empress May She Live Forever? Semi has nothing but contempt for everyone who isnt her, and that especially includes 3rd age channelers.

5

Stanzi: 2006-01-13

Frenzy, I know it's far fetched, and I can't even remember half of the points I had drawn out for it (I wrote it months ago, and things get buried over the holidays!) Yes and no, to suggesting that Semi wanted to be captured. I think she had a plan for either event, but was hoping for being caught in the end. I didn't mean that having another Frosaken free is her was her main means of escape, but rather a back up. I understand the interpretation of the plain box refering to the previous trap for Rand. It could refer to that, it could be to draw emphasis to the box in the chapter. There's no way to prove that one either way, and so one's as good as the other in y book.

Anubis - yes, I believe that Tuon is viewed as more important to the Chosen than the Empress as she is personally on the mainland. Where the battle is to be fought. The Empress, may she shave forever, is useless in Seanchan, and thus useless all around. The Chosen use monarchs of the main continent not because of who they are, but because of where they are and what resources they have. In effect, there's more to gain with Tuon than with her mother. And Semi might be a hag or whatever, but she can play well with others (Dem and Mes) and can check her self to follow through later (her time as Anath.) So uh, yeah.

Traveller, thank you for your support. So many times I've read someone's theory and thought it was complete rubbish. More often than not, they turned out false. But there were times when they weren't 100%, but pretty damned close. And you're right: plenty of things have happened in the books that made no sense at the time that either were clarified later or still serve as WTF moments in the story. I guess I should've put this together a little better, and hope I can present a better case once I get my ducks in a row. Thank you!

6

JakOShadows: 2006-01-14

I admit that it is possible that this could happen, but it just doesn't seem likely that she would put herself in harms way. She doesn't know for sure that the reverse adam would be used, and what she could do once she's captured. For all she knows, she could be held someplaced far away from Rand and be pumped for information by someone else. It just seems to risky considering the position she is in now.

7

a dragonburned fool: 2006-01-16

I think that if Semirhague planned or hoped to be captured, then she wouldn't react co calm and proud after being captured. Semirhague's proud deference is something that would rather alarm her captors in a moment when best for Semirhague would be they think she is in their hands, if she had plans to use her capture. It's unlikely that she would plan to act in a challenging manner. But this calm reaction is exactly what is to be expected from Semirhague's personality if she sees herself in an unexpected trouble. It's HER way to play the last defense, I guess. Semirhague is a top bully in her essence, it's her way to do with her problems. She already bullied out her way to the freedom when she was captured during the War of Shadow. Her way to face an ultimate danger is to pretend being even more dangerous. But if she wanted them to think they have her in their hands, this behavior wouldn't be the most proper one.

8

robbocop: 2006-07-26

I don't think semi planned her own capture. As they approached the small house cadsuane made a mention that if any one were channeling without their detection, if she could get close enough, she could do something about it. I reckon that this something is the ter'angreal that she has that is similar to mat's medallion. When Semi got close enough her weave was disrupted showing her true form for an instant and then, a steplater, destroying the weave completely. I think the semi was attempting to get close enough to kill rand before anyone knew she had channeled. I suppose she figured that if she died from it in the end she would still be serving the great lord of the dark and be ressurected like Lanfear. If she didn't die,well. It's win, win for her. Capture, I think is the worst possible outcome for her, but I think she may be able to turn the tables in the last book.