Theoryland Chronicles

Members :Spidy : Sammael is Not Dead

Introduction

Let's set the scene.

At the end of A Crown of Swords we have Rand in a tower, Sammael near the Waygate, and Liah on top of the great mound of rubble. A single thin tendril of Mashadar approaches Liah whereas a wave of Mashadar is descending towards Sammael, picking up speed as it fell.

Now Rand begins to gather the flows for balefire and raises his hand when Liah screams. Key differences here are that Sammael physically turns towards the sound. Rand on the other hand only flashes his eyes towards Liah.

He whispers Liah, thereby not giving his position away by sound, the only way Sammael can know where he is by feeling saidin . So Rand balefires Liah using one hand only. For less than a heartbeat the shape of her is still seemed to be there, all in stark black and snowy whites, and then she was gone. Compare this when Rahvin bit the dust. Rand used both hands with a beam of molten light thicker than a man. It struck the Forsaken, and Rahvin ceased to exist. The Darkhounds in Rhuidean had become motes before they vanished, etc. Before this, Rahvin simply ceased.

Now, physics and mechanics as outlined by Robert Jordan throughout this yarn tell me that once you start weave of balefire, then you can't increase or decrease the strength of the balefire unless you stop and create a new weave. The weave that Rand used to destroy Liah is only a hand wide.

Therefore, even if, and I saw even if, Rand did balefire Sammael, then he would see the same shape outlined all in stark black and snowy whites. However, we know that when Rand looks for Sammael again, he is not there.

Another point before I go back to the last paragraph. Rand sweeps the balefire down towards the square and stops at the edge of the lake of Mashadar. I repeat, lets go of saidin before the bar of white touched the lake of Mashadar. Robert Jordan makes no mention of balefire sweeping through Sammael or where Sammael was standing. From Rand's point of view, he thinks that Sammael was taken by Mashadar.

Development

Okay, I think the above dispels the notion that Sammael was balefired by Rand. There has to be another reason as to how Rand was healed and my guess it was Flinn who also was in Illian when Rand returned. This is the most likely reason as to how he was injured, and then not. It also explains why Alanna doesn't think it was a sister as Aes Sedai cannot fell saidin being woven.

What remains is whether Sammael was killed by Mashadar or he escaped, or a mysterious third option.

Back in Shadar Logoth, Rand does not see Sammael leave or channel Saidin so he believes that Mashadar got him. Therefore if Mashadar got him, then Sammael is dead. However, Sammael could have used the True Power to escape but we have no indication that anyone other than Moridin/Ishamael/Shaidar Haran (question over the last one here) from Robert Jordan to date. So I think it unlikely that Sammael used the True Power.

The only other references to Sammael come in The Path of Daggers when the gholam has his point of view. He says that the man who commanded it wanted the man dead, he is referring to Mat as the person wanted dead. Now Melindhra tried to kill Mat with a knife with nine golden bees on it. I previously thought this was a red herring but after careful thought believe that it isn't a throw off but a key indicator. Also, as opposed to other posters, I can find no fact or lead that inclines me to believe that Sammael has lost control of the gholam. The gholam does not say that its previous master is dead or gone. However, it does make mention of being constrained, which means compelled or forced. It is talking about following the women. It has to follow a human's orders but the gholam is being forced to follow the women as opposed to it making a choice to either go for Mat or the women.

The other is when Moghedien and Cyndane visit Graendal. Cyndane says to Graendal, do you know that Sammael is dead? (How does Cyndane know? I believe that Moridin told her.) If Graendal did not know Moridin, then I should be able to safely assume that Sammael did not know of him either. Then Shaidar Haran turns up and takes control. Shaidar Haran is acting under Moridin's orders outside of Shayol Ghul. (There has been great discussion about Shaidar Haran and Moridin, but the gist is that at Shayol Ghul, Shaidar Haran is boss, but outside Shayol Ghul, Moridin is boss.)

Now something that springs to mind when I have been researching this theory is that on the last page of Chapter 40 of A Crown of Swords, Shaidar Haran is spying on Sammael and comments that much was happening outside of the Pattern. If Sammael served chaos all was well, if not... You get the drift. Sammael also says in the preceding paragraph that the Great Lord rewards success, and he's never cared how it was achieved. And Sammael then says he only has to wait for al'Thor. We know that Sammael wants to kill Rand, he is not interested in capturing him so Shaidar Haran has to tell Moridin as that is not the Great Lord's wishes.

So isn't is handy that the people who say Sammael is dead are under the control of Shaidar Haran, who just happened to spy on Sammael in the first place. To Moridin's pov in The Path of Daggers. He is watching Elayne and company leave Ebou Dar and he ruminates on Sammael and thinks that Sammael had never been half as clever as he thought. He himself would not disrupt his plans merely on the off chance.

Later on he says he would not allow chance slips to spoil his plans now and even further on that he disliked people meddling with his carefully laid plans. Those who did, and lived, lived to pay.

Some people have made mention of the possibility of a third mindtrap. I will now put forward the theory that Sammael was taken by Moridin (the wanderer) in Shadar Logoth using the True Power. Remember that Rand used a weave called Folded Light when being attacked in Cairhien. Whatever can be done with the One Power should be able to be done with the True Power and Rand wouldn't be able to feel the True Power being used. Moridin probably knew about Sammael's plans because Shaidar Haran told him after Shaidar Haran's spying mission. Perhaps that is why Rand could not see him due to a covering weave or something similar.

I think that all the happenings at Shadar Logoth were of Moridin's design, allowing him to take Sammael out of the picture by distracting Rand with Liah. Why else was Moridin there, to save Rand from Sammael, and to capture Sammael for not doing the right thing by the Great Lord's orders. All this points to me that Moridin has put Sammael under wraps for doing his own thing not acting to the plan set by the Great Lord.

Conclusion

• Sammael was not balefired and those who believe he was need to be balefired themselves.
• Sammael could be dead by Mashadar, which would then maybe allow him to be resurrected by the Great Lord. There could be the option of Sammael becoming a part of Mashadar for all time and therefore not able to be resurrected unless Mashadar was disbanded and the souls set free.
• He escaped, which I don't think is likely because there wasn't enough time to run or weave a gateway.
• My third option, which I know is a bit out there, but is a possibility that he is in the clutches of Moridin for safekeeping. He will be brought out in due course.