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Your search for the tag 'choedan kal' yielded 14 results

  • 1

    Interview: 2010

    Leth Filorn (13 August 2010)

    Could thirteen Aes Sedai linked shield Rand while he was channeling using Callandor? What about with Choedan Kal at full power?

    Brandon Sanderson (13 August 2010)

    I think I'm going to MAFO those. (Which means email me, say I said I'd ask Maria, and we'll add them to her list.)

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'm pretty sure of the answer, but I don't want to take the time to sort though the notes and look it up for certain while editing.

    Maria Simons

    I really don’t think so, for either, but I cannot find it specifically stated.

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  • 2

    Interview: Apr 5th, 1996

    Bill Garrett

    The Strike at Shayol Ghul

    Many people have asked about a short piece of writing called "The Strike at Shayol Ghul". Most people want to know: "Is it actually real, and if so, what does it say?"

    Robert Jordan

    First, it is real. Robert Jordan wrote it and it was included in the BaltiCon printed program. It's about four pages long in printed form, and is now available on the Web courtesy of Tor Books. Copies of the convention program, which includes the story, may still be available. See Colette Schleifer's announcement for information.

    The free availability of The Strike at Shayol Ghul on the eeb makes this summary rather superfluous (I wrote it when Strike was only available in printed form, in very limited quantity) but I'm keeping it here for completeness. Now on with my summary.

    In "The Strike at Shayol Ghul", Jordan describes the events leading up to the Sealing of the Bore from the perspective of a Third Age historian (at about the time of the story) who discovered some fragmented manuscripts that were written shortly after the Breaking. The single biggest fact revealed is that the during the War of the Shadow, the Aes Sedai were considering two alternate plans for defeating the Dark One.

    Lews Therin proposed that the Dark One be resealed in his prison by plugging the Bore. The plug would be inserted by thirteen linked male and female channelers and would be held in place by the seven seals, which were focus points of the weaving. 20,000 soldiers would accompany them to Shayol Ghul, where the Bore could most be sensed. Lews Therin's plan had supporters and opponents. Opponents argued that the Seals required precise positioning, and that any slight error would tear the Bore open wider.

    The alternate plan, which also had its share of supporters and detractors, was to build two large sa'angreal (one for saidin, one for saidar) and use them to build a new prison around the old one for the Dark One. The sa'angreal were so powerful that special "key" ter'angreal had to be constructed for channelers to use them safely. Opponents of this plan expressed concern that the sa'angreal could fall into the control of channelers following the Shadow or be misused accidentally by channelers serving the Light. Either way, the sa'angreal were expected to be powerful enough to destroy the world and beyond. Opponents also worried that while the sa'angreal might enable the building of a wall strong enough to contain the Dark One's strength right then, the Dark One was gradually chipping away at the Bore and gaining more power in the world. At some point, he might become powerful enough to tear down the new wall.

    Supporters of each plan began preparation, even though the Aes Sedai as a whole failed to reach a consensus.

    Latra Posae, an outspoken female Aes Sedai, considered Lews Therin's plan so dangerous that she organized support amongst the female Aes Sedai against it. In fact, she obtained the unanimous agreement of every female AS of significant power—in other words, every female Aes Sedai who could possibly be asked to assist in the force that would place the seven seals into the Bore to seal it shut. They believed this effectively halted Lews Therin's plan, as the men who supported him could not link without any cooperating women. (It was believed that correct placement of the seals required a linked group of the most powerful male and female channelers.)

    While the Aes Sedai were fighting over which plan should be used, the Shadow advanced rapidly. Lews Therin decided that something had to be done right away, so he covertly organized 113 male channelers who supported his plan (they were later called the Hundred Companions, a slight miscount) and over 10,000 soldiers who were also loyal to him. The force stormed Shayol Ghul, when all thirteen Forsaken were there, and put the Seals into place.

    At the moment of the resealing, the Dark One drove all of the surviving Hundred Companions (about 68, at that point) instantly insane. The Dark One also tainted saidin, although this wasn't discovered until after hundreds of other male channelers had been driven mad from it.

    Reads the introduction of the manuscript: "Whoever reads this, if any remain to read it, weep for us who have no more tears. Pray for us who are damned alive."

    Footnote

    A version of The Strike at Shayol Ghul appears in The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time (aka the BWB).

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  • 3

    Interview: Oct 24th, 1998

    Drew Gillmore

    The first question Chris channeled through me had to do with the female mega-sa'angreal on Tremalking, and the Seanchan damane there. We were wondering if the female sa'angreal would have the same effect on female channelers as the male sa'angreal in Cairhien had on Rand. Our impression of events was that Rand did not willingly channel into the thing, but that it just pulled the One Power through him.

    Robert Jordan

    Unfortunately, RJ answered the question with a "Yes, if they tried to channel through it." Uh. Okay. Whatever.

    Footnote

    As far as we know, there were never any damane on Tremalking. After Falme, Suroth took control of the smaller islands not far from Tanchico, but not Tremalking. Winter's Heart had not yet been released, but when it was, Timna's thoughts did not indicate that the Seanchan had ever been there. Also, RJ seems to be indicating that Rand unconsciously channeled through the sa'angreal in The Great Hunt; he hadn't yet consciously tried to channel at all, so this is not surprising, especially considering the way the access key affected Egwene in The Shadow Rising.

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  • 4

    Interview: Nov 14th, 2000

    SciFi.com Chat (Verbatim)

    Nevik

    Can you give some more details on how the taint was cleansed? I was sort of confused reading the book.

    Robert Jordan

    Sorry...I can't.

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  • 5

    Interview: Dec 12th, 2000

    CNN Chat (Verbatim)

    Telchar

    Will the Choedan Kal be used again during the series, and if so, will other access keys be found? Let me guess ... read and find out?

    Robert Jordan

    This is my answer: You got that one right, sport!

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  • 6

    Interview: Apr 6th, 2001

    lowlander

    Question concerning Winter's Heart: What happened to the female ter'angreal Choedan Kal, what didn't happen to the male ter'angreal Choedan Kal?

    Robert Jordan

    RAFO!

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  • 7

    Interview: Apr 8th, 2001

    Question

    In The Shadow Rising, Lanfear mentioned two sa'angreal stronger than Callandor that a male could use. Is the second one ever going to appear?

    Robert Jordan

    Read And Find Out.

    Aan'allein

    (Of course, but hey, there's no harm in trying anyway...)

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  • 8

    Interview: Oct 27th, 2009

    Matt Hatch

    The Choedan Kal, does it amplify your power? Is it a limited, for example, if I have a certain amount of power does it give me 10x what I have, or is it a certain amount of power I can access?

    Brandon Sanderson

    One of the things I’ve been doing when I answer questions is that I’ve been saying that this is my understanding and putting an asterisk at the bottom that is a—I am speaking from my understanding and not from specific knowledge from the notes, meaning yes I am probably right but these are the questions I could be wrong on...this one my understanding is that it is a reservoir of power. It is not necessarily a magnification. A very weak person with a very powerful sa’angreal is very powerful. I’m pretty sure on that one, but I will add the asterisk just in case. If you send me an email, I can go back and look to make sure. But I’m reasonably sure on that one, the reasons being things that are talked about in the notes mixed with the way angreal and sa’angreal worked previously in the books mixed with two specific things that he talked about in the notes when people using angreal and sa’angreal after they become very weak or after they are weak.

    Footnote

    Brandon is presumably talking about Siuan and Moiraine, both of whom are weaker and supplemented by a sa'angreal and a strong angreal respectively. However, Brandon's explanation wouldn't explain why Elayne thought it prudent to give the angreal to the strongest women when the Bowl of the Winds was used. If it were simply a reservoir of power, then it wouldn't matter who used the angreal in a circle.

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  • 9

    Interview: Nov 21st, 2009

    Matt Hatch

    Ok, we’ll move on from there. Were male channelers across Randland able to feel Rand's use of the male Choedan Kal when he destroyed it atop Dragonmount?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I would certainly think they would have been able to, consistent with what has happened before.

    Matt Hatch

    But did they know that it was destroyed? Is that what they felt, or was it just the use of?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I do not believe the destruction of a sa’angreal would be the type of event that you would be able to notice. It is not consistent with what we have seen before.

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  • 10

    Interview: Apr 17th, 2011

    Terez (sleepinghour)

    Why did the female Choedan Kal melt at the cleansing but not the male one?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I’m out on a limb on this one, so this one is basically Brandon assumptions without as much substantiation...The female one is...you know that male channelers tend to be a bit stronger. My understanding is that the female Choedan Kal...they weren’t built with equal power levels; they were built with power levels of equivalent [or respective power potential], and so the amount of power pulled through was almost enough to destroy the male, but was enough to destroy the female as I understand, but that one’s out on a limb.

    Terez

    It might possibly have something to do with the fact that Nynaeve is not at the top of the female strength level, but Rand is at the top.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Both of them are kind of drops in the bucket compared to what the Choedan Kal can do. I honestly don’t think that was a factor. It is a valid theory, though, because in that case Rand is contributing more, and Nynaeve’s sa’angreal needs to contribute more, if that makes sense. And so...I mean, that could be valid, but the first one was my understanding, but I’m like way out on a limb on that one. I’m not sure on that one at all.

    Footnote—Terez

    Since Brandon made it clear that my theory was valid, I'll explain my reasoning: Verin believed that only Siuan, Moiraine, Elaida, and the supergirls were strong enough to use the female Choedan Kal, so apparently one's strength does make a difference in whether or not one could handle a super-sa'angreal, whether or not Verin was correct about who could handle it and who could not (she seemed to think Logain could not handle the male one, but she was probably wrong). Of course, she might have been lying, but what was her motive for lying to Perrin about it? Also, RJ fairly consistently places the strongest channelers with the angreal and sa'angreal in group efforts, presumably because strong channelers can get more out of them. (Rand, Nynaeve, Alivia; and with the Bowl of the Winds: Nynaeve, Aviendha, and Talaan; etc.)

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  • 11

    Interview: Apr, 2012

    Luckers

    Okay, so, there have been three incidences where characters have ignored the Choedan Kal in favour of Callandor—or well, not even that. Just ignored the Choedan Kal. Shaidar Haran in The Gathering Storm when Elza took the Domination Band, Solinda during Rand’s flashbacks was the one who gave the ter’angreal to the Aiel, but made no efforts to secure the Choedan Kal like Callandor, and the Aes Sedai who was looking to fight Ishamael during the breaking who took sa’angreal from the Aiel, but left the Choedan Kal. So I guess the question is...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Why are they choosing Callandor over the Choedan Kal?

    LUCKERS

    Well, not even that, really, because two of those have nothing to do with the Callandor. I guess it’s more, was there something dodgy... did they know something about the Choedan Kal... why did they leave it?

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    There is a reason. It has to do with Callandor being key to the ending, and the Choedan Kal not.

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  • 12

    Interview: Nov 4th, 2009

    mrc1ark

    I asked Brandon about [the destruction of the Choedan Kal] tonight at the DC signing because it bugged me too.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Sanderson said Rand realized that he did not need the Choedan Kal for the Last Battle. He also said that Rand was not at a point where he needed the Choedan Kal for anything he wanted to do.

    mrc1ark

    He said the sentence in a way that leads me to believe post epiphany Rand is much stronger than pre epiphany Rand though that is my interpretation of his sentence.

    Brandon Sanderson

    On the subject of the Choedan Kal, he said that the True Power was not as strong as someone with the Choedan Kal. Just it felt as tempting and as addictive as the One Power through the Choedan Kal.

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  • 13

    Interview: 2013

    Xx255q (March 2013)

    If full Dragon had the same amount of power as pre-Dragon with the access key, how much power was full Dragon holding with his power multiplied? Or orders of magnitude larger? Such as, how many people who can hold the power equal him, or what could he do with all of it?

    Brandon Sanderson

    One of the realizations that Rand came to in the books was that brute, raw power was of far lesser importance than he'd once imagined. Comparing his power post and pre access key is a moot point, as it wasn't power he was seeking. It was a method to accomplish what he needed to accomplish. But, to give you something more of an answer to the question you're actually asking, Rand post-epiphany is not more powerful than Rand with the access key. However, he was far more efficient, as he gained hundreds of years of experience with the use of weaves.

    Xx255q

    Impressive using the sword with the power and skill like that.... He could do anything.

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