This theory will attempt to describe as full a chronology of Taim's activities to help determine what his true motivations and loyalties are. I hope to cover some new ground, and not just rehash ezboard discussions. I recommend you open your mind when reading it, to appreciate the depth of analysis I have tried to put into this. Understanding Taim on a surface level only leads to theories like Taimendred, which was shot down by Winter's Heart, and by RJ himself in multiple interviews.

1.Pre-Eye of the World

Taim has been described as about the age of 35, according to Rand's POV in LOC. Since he is a sparker, it is established that he had to start channeling by the age of 20, or a little later, which would mean that he started slowing by about age 25 at the latest. To appear to be age 35 would mean that he is older than that, but not necessarily that much. For example, Morgase, who is in her early 40's, looks to be 30 due to the slowing process. She is as weak as a channeler can be, yet still is able to take advantage of the slowing effect. It took about 12 years or so off her appearance. However, she started training at age 14, which could be 5 or more years sooner possibly than Taim started, so her slowing could have started sooner as well.

The amount of slowing depends on strength, and clearly Taim is extremely strong, as powerful as almost any Forsaken, but it is not known how much OP strength causes how much slowing, so it isn't possible to determine just by that how long Taim has been slowing. Taim may have slowed for sometime between 15 to 35 years to look his age, which means he is somewhere between age 40 to 70, but tending toward the middle somewhere, meaning he was born sometime between 930 and 960 NE, and started channeling between 945 and 985. So he has survived somehow for over a decade and perhaps longer without succumbing to the effects of the Taint. How? Is he protected by a Black cord, or is he lucky, or is it something else?

If he is protected by the Dark One, then he is a Darkfriend. However, it is not certain that he is protected, despite seeming to be as sane as a non-channeler. While some saidin channelers go insane within months, others can channel for a decade or more before going mad. Still others have survived even longer by avoiding using saidin or even cutting themselves off from the OP by living in Steddings. Taim had avoided Aes Sedai notice for a long time, possibly by lying low and not channeling, which would help him avoid the Taint, since its effects aren't felt unless saidin is used. Logain, who appears short of his middle years, which is about Taim's age, and therefore may have been channeling as long as him, shows no signs of the Taint, and yet is not accused of being a Darkfriend – in fact, he seems to be Taim's primary rival at the Black Tower. So there can certainly be something else going on with them to explain their resistance.

Taim also seems to have some knowledge of useful saidin weaves that he learned before meeting Rand in LOC. When he learned it is not known, but it is likely before he declared himself as a False Dragon in TGH, since after that he had little free time for non-critical activities. He knew some attack weaves, which he used against the Saldaean army in battle, compulsion, testing for saidin ability, and additionally the trick for ignoring temperature, which is not a channeling ability but is generally associated with channelers. Did he have a Forsaken teacher at some time, or some other as yet unrevealed teacher, or did he learn these on his own? Since Rand (though with LTT's help for some weaves) and Logain learned some weaves on their own, and saidar wilders also learn on their own, it is not beyond reason to assume that Taim could do the same. And just because few saidin channelers are recorded in recent years (mostly because of being captured by the Red Ajah) doesn't mean there weren't some that survived the Taint and lived anonymously. Who knows if they didn't even have some as yet unrevealed organization? Also, ability to learn weaves (and presumably discover them) is directly tied to channeling ability, and Taim is on the very high side in that regard, just under Rand's ability at the least, and maybe stronger. Taim's “old style” healing (commented on by Cadsuane) may have been picked up from Dashiva, since early in LOC he was not a proficient healer.

It seems clear that Logain is not a Darkfriend. Why didn't the Shadow try to get him released as well as Taim, to cause chaos? Most likely because, at the time, they didn't have the Forsaken planning structure in place to pull it off. Logain was likely already in the White Tower and stilled before even Aginor and Balthamel escaped from the Bore.

2.Troubles in Saldaea

While the troubles in Saldaea mentioned in EOTW may have just been the increased Trolloc raids, it may also be Taim-related, since it was in the same sentence as Logain. He was already known in Fal Dara by the Aes Sedai there, so had declared himself sometime before the beginning of TGH. The Pattern spun him out as a False Dragon, since he was defeated and captured when Rand fought Ishamael over the skies at Falme. At that time, his being a False Dragon wasn't just a part of some chaos plot by the Dark One.

Eye of the World, CHAPTER: 13 - Choices: "Not that they don't want to, I expect, only the Governor don't trust them no more than I do. He won't let but maybe ten or so inside the walls at one time, and ain't they mad about that. The rest have a camp a little ways north, I hear. Bet they got the farmers looking over their shoulders. The ones that do come in, they just stalk around in those white cloaks, looking down their noses at honest folk. Walk in the Light, they say, and it's an order. Near come to blows more than once with the wagoneers and miners and smelters and all, and even the Watch, but the Governor wants it all peaceful, and that's how it's been so far. If they're hunting evil, I say why aren't they up in Saldaea? There's some kind of trouble up there, I hear. Or down in Ghealdan? There's been a big battle down there, they say. Real big."

Great Hunt, CHAPTER: 5 - The Shadow in Shienar: "Yes, Moiraine. You do not have to remind me. I've lived with the Prophecies of the Dragon as long as you." The Amyrlin shook her head. "Never more than one false Dragon in a generation since the Breaking, and now three loose in the world at one time, and three more in the past two years. The Pattern demands a Dragon because the Pattern weaves toward Tarmon Gai'don. Sometimes doubt fills me, Moiraine." She said it musingly, as if wondering at it, and went on in the same tone. "What if Logain was the one? He could channel, before the Reds brought him to the White Tower, and we gentled him. So can Mazrim Taim, the man in Saldaea. What if it is him? There are sisters in Saldaea already; he may be taken by now. What if we have been wrong since the start? What happens if the Dragon Reborn is gentled before the Last Battle even begins? Even prophecy can fail if the one prophesied is slain or gentled. And then we face the Dark One naked to the storm."

Lord of Chaos, CHAPTER: 2 - A New Arrival: "Taim studied Rand a moment before speaking. Despite the heat, the fellow barely sweated. "To see you. You were the one in the vision in the sky. They say it was the Dark one himself you fought." "Not the Dark One," Rand said. Bashere was not fighting him exactly, but he could feel the tension in the man's arm. If he let go, that blade would be out and through Taim in a heartbeat. Unless he used the Power. Or Taim did. That had to be avoided, if it could be. He kept his grip on Bashere's wrist. "He called himself Ba'alzamon, but I think he was Ishamael. I killed him later, in the Stone of Tear."

3. On the run

Clearly Taim had the Black Ajah to thank for his escape while being escorted by soldiers and Aes Sedai back to Tar Valon for his gentling, and this was a plot planned out carefully some time in advance. However, they just left Taim to fend for himself in the middle of nowhere, despite his apparent importance. They would not have left him if he were an important Darkfriend, yet he had to find his own way. He traveled by land, most likely by horse, since he was going slowly enough to be tracked by Bashere's army. No Forsaken scooped him up to bring him up to speed, or even keep from being captured and stilled for once and for all (as far as they knew at the time) and to possibly be interrogated to reveal Darkfriend plots. No one taught him the weave to Travel, so he could easily evade his Saldaean pursuers, which the Shadow must have been aware of. No, he was just left to wander on his own, and create what incidental chaos that he could manage by himself. That's no way to treat a so-called Dreadlord, especially someone that was allegedly being groomed by Ishamael. And though Ishamael died before Taim was freed, any ongoing plots that he initiated would have still been followed through on.

Shadow Rising, CHAPTER: 5 - Questioners: "Joiya shrugged. "As you wish. Let me see. Different words. The false Dragon, Mazrim Taim, who was captured in Saldaea, can channel with incredible strength. Perhaps as much as Rand al'Thor, or nearly so, if the reports can be believed. Before he can be brought to Tar Valon and gentled, Liandrin means to break him free. He will be proclaimed as the Dragon Reborn, his name given as Rand al'Thor, and then he will be set to destruction on such a scale as the world has not seen since the War of the Hundred Years."

Shadow Rising, CHAPTER: 17 - Deceptions: "Leane examined the red wax seal on the end of one of the small cylinders, no larger than her own finger joint, then broke it open with a thumbnail when she was satisfied it had not been tampered with. The rolled paper inside she extracted with a slim ivory pick. "Nearly as bad as Trollocs, Mother," she said almost as soon as she began reading. "Mazrim Taim has escaped."

"Light!' Siuan barked. "How?" "This only says he was taken away by stealth in the night, Mother. Two sisters are dead." "The Light illumine their souls. But we've little time to mourn the dead while the likes of Taim are alive and ungentled. Where, Leane?"

The reason he went to Andor may have been to join Rahvin as some claim (or kill Asmodean), but south was also the only logical escape route for him. West led back to Saldaea, east to Tar Valon, and north to the Blight. However, there is no known connection between Rahvin and Liandrin's crew, who were the ones to free Taim. It is barely plausible that Taim was told to go to Caemlyn and wait for Rand to show up though his arrival there was not part of any known Shadow plot – the Forsaken were planning on dealing with Rand in Illian. And if he was to meet Rand, it is possible that he was planning on taking Asmodean's place as Rand's teacher. However, it is not something he could have planned on his own without Forsaken guidance – rather he would have needed help from someone like Sammael or Graendal.

4.Arrival in Caemlyn.

Why didn't Bashere recognize Taim? Was someone impersonating Taim at any point or is that a red herring? Taim certainly knew Bashere and mentioned an accurate portrayal of how Bashere's followers ended up (compelled by the One Power. Was Bashere compelled at some point also, affecting his short or long term memory? Was Taim planning on giving the seal to Rand the entire time he had it, which was awhile since the Black Hills are a hike from Caemlyn, or did he just decide on the spur of the moment? Was it just Rand's luck that he had it in the first place, or some Darkfriend plot?

Rand puts Taim in charge of training the Asha'man which he accepts, in exchange for his amnesty. Taim had no way of knowing that would happen before he went there, or knowing what they would even want with Taim, whether he would be in a close position to Rand. So if Taim had some ulterior motive for joining Rand, he had no way of knowing in advance how he would be in position to implement it. That works if Taim is just flying by the seat of his pants, but not if he is working some intricate plot for the Shadow.

Taim's training may or may not have been done by Asmodean, however, was Taim's placement facilitated by Asmodean's death? RJ stated the dark one didn't order his death, so it wasn't planned anyway.

Lord of Chaos, CHAPTER: 3 - A Woman's Eyes: "Taim caught up to him before he and the Maidens were halfway back to the trees. "If you stay a little longer, you can learn the test." Exasperation touched his voice. "If I really do find four or five more, anyway, which truly won't surprise me. You do seem to have the Dark One's own luck. I assume you want to learn. Unless you mean to dump it all on my shoulders. I warn you, it will be slow. However hard I press, this Darner has days yet, weeks, before he can even sense saidin, much less seize it. Just seize it, not channel even a spark."

Fires of Heaven, CHAPTER: 56 - Glowing Embers: "If his anger disturbed Bashere at all, the man gave no outward sign. Those tilted eyes watched Rand carefully, but not uneasily. “The White Tower allowed Mazrim Taim to escape. The false Dragon.” He paused, then went on when Rand said nothing. “Queen Tenobia did not want Saldaea troubled again, so I was sent to hunt him down once more and put an end to him. I have followed him south for many weeks. You need not fear I've brought a foreign army into Andor. Except for an escort often, the rest I left camped in Braem Wood, well north of any border Andor has claimed in two hundred years. But Taim is in Andor. I am sure of it.”

This part of his plan he had not meant to reveal so soon. Delay could be costly, but he had intended to have a firm hold on the nations first. Yet it might as well begin now. “I am announcing an amnesty. I can channel, Lord Bashere. Why should another man be hunted down and killed or gentled because he can do what I can? I will announce that any man who can touch the True Source, any man who wants to learn, can come to me and have my protection. The Last Battle is coming, Lord Bashere.

There may not be time for any of us to go mad before, and I would not waste one man for the risk anyway. When the Trollocs came out of the Blight in the Trolloc Wars, they marched with Dreadlords, men and women who wielded the Power for the Shadow.

We will face that again at Tarmon Gai'don. I don't know how many Aes Sedai will be at my side, but I won't turn away any man who channels if he will march with me. Mazrim Taim is mine, Lord Bashere, not yours.”

5. Running the Black Tower.

Taim does take his recruiting job seriously, doing a very good job of bringing in both channelers and legionnaires for Bashere to train. That doesn't seem to cause chaos in any meaningful way, since Rand gained a lot of followers.

Taim is good at strategic thinking, for example with regard to how Sammael would defend himself. But that shouldn't be surprising, seeing as how he has fended for himself for a long time and managed to gain a large army of followers before his capture. He is very resourceful and intelligent, which doesn't speak for his allegiance particularly.

He shows up ostensibly to tell Rand of Narishma when the gray man attacked-did he have advance notice of it somehow? It had to be sent by a Forsaken though. It's unlikely that Demandred would have sent it, even as a trick for Rand to gain Taim's trust, and it was probably from Sammael, and there is no connection from Taim to Sammael.

Taim's "so-called Aiel" comment is similar to something Moridin said, which makes people think Taim is a Darkfriend by association. However, the Forsaken don't only work with Darkfriends, and could have trained/used/manipulated Taim for their own reasons without him being a Darkfriend. It could also be that Aiel weren't ten feet tall and cannibals as they were thought of by many people. And his knowledge of the Old Tongue, as well as others', could have been picked up from Dashiva, who claims to be a scholar of it.

Taim's ego could explain why he was angry when Rand made his "Asha'man" speech and gave Taim his pins. That seemed to be one part of the Taimendred ruse, since it is similar in attitude of subservience toward Rand to Demandred. If Taim was a Darkfriend, why would he let his main rival Logain rise and gain influence that threatens his own within the Tower without taking drastic measures? He certainly doesn't seem to be someone to let bygones be bygones.

6. Rescue of Rand.

In an interview, RJ stated that Taim tracked down Rand at Dumai's Wells because of his paranoia, not due to inside knowledge of the forsaken planning the kidnapping. If he were working with the forsaken, then he would have helped them rather than taking his own initiative to rescue Rand. If not, his boss would have at least told him to stand aside. The kidnapping seems to have been intended to succeed, though even his rescue caused there to be discord between Rand and the White Tower. Taim wanted to place one of the fearsome foursome with Rand, and got upset when Rand chose Dashiva. Possibly he wanted them to spy on Rand, because he trusted them or because he was their Darkfriend boss and didn't know who Dashiva was.

7.The Fearsome Foursome

They seem to have been working with Taim closely for some time. Is this due to a dark alliance, or for some other reason. If the Foursome were more advanced than other students by having extra training, then maybe they infiltrated to gain Taim's trust, and he raised them quickly because of their ability. The Shadow's M.O. is generally to get someone in power as second in command to major institutions, like The White Tower and the Seanchan.

8. Attack on Rand.

Taim knew about Rand's wishes to cleanse saidin since early in LOC when they met for the first time. Yet nothing happens to Rand, at least at Taim's hands. In fact, Taim rescues Rand from the Shadow.

Lord of Chaos, CHAPTER: 3 - A Woman's Eyes: "How many Aes Sedai are there altogether? A thousand?" "Not so many, I think," Taim said cautiously. Culling the human race. Burn them for it, even if they had cause. "Well, there will be enemies enough anyway." One thing he did not lack was enemies. The Dark One and the Forsaken, Shadowspawn and Darkfriends. The Whitecloaks certainly and very likely Aes Sedai, or some of them, those who were Black Ajah and those who wanted to control him. Those last he counted enemies even if they did not think themselves so. There surely would be Dreadlords, just, as he had said. And more beyond that. Enemies enough to crush all his plans, crush everything. His grip tightened on the carved haft of the Dragon Scepter. Time was the greatest enemy of all, the one he had the least chance of defeating. "I am going to defeat them, Taim. All of them. They think they can tear everything down. It's always tearing down, never building up! I'm going to build something, leave something behind. Whatever happens, I will do that! I'll defeat the Dark One. And cleanse saidin, so men don't have to fear going mad, and the world doesn't have to fear men channeling. I'll ..."

"Cleanse saidin" Taim said softly. "I think that would take more power than you can imagine." His eyes lidded thoughtfully. "I have heard of things called sa'angreal. Do you have one you think could actually—"

Three months later, Rand makes another comment, and two known Darkfriends overheard it. All of a sudden, there is urgency by the Shadow, though there is no sudden change in Rand's ability to cleanse Saidin. The only difference is the fact that the Shadow now knows about his intentions. He is attacked within two weeks, despite there being no absolute lifting of the order to not kill Rand by Moridin at the time.

Path of Daggers, CHAPTER: 14 - Message from the M'Hael: "Rand had not realized he had spoken any of his thoughts aloud. Narishma's eyes, and Morr's, and Hopwil's, belonged in one face, shining with sudden hope. Dashiva looked poleaxed. Rand hoped he had not said too much. Some secrets had to be kept. Including what he would do next.

Winter's Heart, CHAPTER: 22 - Out of Thin Air: "Kill him," Demandred had commanded later, but he had added that it would be better they died than let themselves be discovered again. By anyone, even the M'Hael, as if he did not know of Taim's order.

And later still, Moridin had said, "Kill him if you must, but above all, bring everything in his possession to me. That will redeem your previous transgressions." The man said he was one of the Chosen, and no one was mad enough to make that claim unless it was true, yet he seemed to think al'Thor's belongings more important than his death, the killing incidental and not really necessary.

Winter's Heart, CHAPTER: 13 - Wonderful News: "Killed?" Moridin moved his hands as though weighing something. "If it comes to that, yes," he said finally. "But finding him is no problem. When he touches the Choedan Kal, you will know where he is.

And you will go there and take him. Or kill him, if necessary. The Nae'blis has spoken."

In conclusion, Mazrim Taim is not so obviously a Darkfriend as many make him out to be. I believe that he is his own man, and while some of his objectives in terms of gaining power and glory intersect with some Shadow goals, that is by happenstance only, though the Shadow may help or manipulate him from time to time when their interests are the same.