ight's "aran'gar" and "osan'gar"
by a dragonburned fool: 2004-11-18 | 6.43 out of 10 (14 votes)
This is a theory about the meaning of the right hand that falters and the left hand that strays from the Karaethon Cycle prophecy we have in the beginning of tCoT (here the quote):
"And it shall come to pass, in the days when the Dark Hunt rides, when the right hand falters and the left hand strays, that mankind shall come to the Crossroads of Twilight and all that is, all that was, and all that will be shall balance on the point of a sword, while the winds of the Shadow grow."
The prophecy is speaking about a moment of growing power of the Shadow and riding "hunt" of it, so the weakening of the both hands must be the weakening of the Shadow's opponent, of what defends teh mankind from Shadow's hunt. So we have: 1. Both hands as defense against the Shadow, 2. Shadow's opposition against them.
What the Shadow would oppose against the both "hands"? The first option coming to mind is, that the Shadow would raise it's right and left hands against the Light's hands. What could be those Shadow's hands? There are two Forsaken with names of daggers for a left hand and for a right hand: Osan'gar and Aran'gar. Can they be the clue?
When DO resurrected Aginor and Balthamel, he gave them the names of weapons used in a kind of duel known as sha'je. That are two daggers for the both hands of one of the participants of the duel, but a duel can exist only when there are two persons fighting with the same weapon. At least sha'je implied two opponents, each of them witn his aran'gar and osan'gar. The fact that DO names the 'gars so means that DO wants them to participate in a duel against an enemy who also has left-hand dagger and right-hand dagger.
When facing an opponent in a duel your right hand will be against the left hand of the opponent and your left hand against his right hand. So Aran'gar - the right-hand dagger - is destined to face the "left hand" of the Light, while Osan'gar - the left-hand dagger, is destined to face the "right hand". So we have only to trace the position and task of the 'Gars and we'll see who are the "left hand" and the "right hand" of the prophecy (at least according to what the Shadow knows about it).
Now: Aran'gar - the right-hand dagger is in rebel AS camp, so the rebel AS are the "Left hand" from the prophecy. Osan'gar - the left-hand dagger is in the Black Tower, so the asha'man are the "Right hand" of the prophecy. If this is true, then the Rebel AS are to "stray" while the Black Tower is to "falter" in the time of CoT. The AS definitely "stray" in inner fights in the time when it has to face the Shadow. But why asha'man are to "falter". We don't know yet how exactly they reacted to the Cleansing of saidin, but Logain's reaction indicates tendention to think about it as about sudden gift from nowhere. Also exactly in CoT Logain desided to begin resolute actions for unificatoin with the Dragon and for purging the Black Tower. However the Dragon cannot still rely on the Black Tower as whole, but only on a faction of it, and Rand now falters about clearing the case with the tower. Maybe that puts the situation of the whole tower in a state of "faltering". Or the Black Tower is now faltering before to decide what side to take.
Another possibility is that Aran'gar is against Egwene - the head of the female channelers, while Osan'gar is against Rand - the head of the male channelers. In the meeting of Forsaken (WH ch.13) Halima is speaking about Osan'gar's task being to keep track on Rand, wile her's is the massage (i.e. personally treating Egwene). Rand's situation now can be described as "faltering", and Egwene is strayed more and more, until she is strayed now in Tar Valon imprisonement.
Maybe the both options can be combined. "right hand" may mean "male AS" as the right hand of the mankind, and "left hand" may mean the "female AS", both as the organization and the head representing it. So the left hand is both the Amyrlin and AS (now AS' head is "strayed" from the body), and the right hand is both the Tamyrlin and the asha'man (now the Head is faltering to control the body).
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1
Tamyrlin: 2005-02-02
I like your theory. I think you could see falter as a form of failure; the White Tower is faltering, the Black Tower is faltering, and mankind is at a crossroads. However, what I think is the most ingenuitive part of your theory is the part the 'gars play in the prophecy; the hands of the DO put into play against the hands of the Light (you could even throw shaidar haran in if you wanted to).
2
Callandor: 2005-02-02
**(you could even throw shaidar haran in if you wanted to).**
Oh boy, what part would he be?.... :-P
**The prophecy is speaking about a moment of growing power of the Shadow and riding "hunt" of it, so the weakening of the both hands must be the weakening of the Shadow's opponent**
I don't think it ~must~ be the Shadow's opponent ;), but supposing it is....
I do like the placement idea for the hands. However, couldn't it be that Osan'gar "faltered" by being killed, and Halima is "straying" by letting (or allowing? ;)) Egwene to be captured?
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a dragonburned fool: 2005-02-03
Shaidar Haran? Who is the only one Hand of the Dark One? It is possible to put him in, because he is connected to Aran'gar and Osan'gar being the first who directs them... but putting him in the symbolics would be too much of convoluted speculation even for me :-P
**I don't think it ~must~ be the Shadow's opponent ;), but supposing it is....
I do like the placement idea for the hands. However, couldn't it be that Osan'gar "faltered" by being killed, and Halima is "straying" by letting (or allowing? ;)) Egwene to be captured?**
If the 'gars are the both hands of the prophecy, than Aran'gar the right-hand dagger has to "falter" (maybe it can be described so) and Osan'gar has to "stray" (more difficult to say it for him). And in the prophecy the words about the both hands come together with the strenghtening of Shadow's hunt. And it becomes weird to suppose that the Shadow's hunt is so good because it's both hands are faltering and straying. I personnaly cannot figure out a complete interpretation of this prophecy quote that would have the 'gars as the left and right hand - how this would relate to the rest of the strophe? I have the impression that the "right" and "left" hand" in the prophecy relate to the chances of "mankind" mentioned also there.
The duel-association in the names of Aran'gar and Osan'gar means that they are supposed to be turned against an opponent. Aran'gar and Osan'gar are created to fulfill a Shadow's plan, so who's opponent it could be if not Shadow's opponent?
4
Manetheren: 2005-02-03
I think it's more likely that if the Cycle is referring to any Light "hands," it's referring to Mat and Perrin. Ishamael/Moridin and Rand/LTT are more like the champions of Dark and Light, and with Moridin having his gars, I think Rand probably has his own in Mat and Perrin. Which is faltering and which is straying is up for discussion, but I personally believe that Mat is straying from his path of generaling the Light's armies, a role he's seemingly been created for in more ways then one, in favor of escorting Tuon due to him knowing he's going to marry her. After all, if he were to leave her behind, he'd probably be able to cross country a lot quicker. As for Perrin, he's flat out faltering in his mission to bring the Prophet before Rand in order to put a stop to the Dragonsworn madness in favor of tracking the Shaido across God knows how much country to gain his wife back. Just my two cents.
5
ilgross: 2005-02-04
I think the assumption that the Light must have a 'left' and 'right' hand is too litteral. I don't think the DO went so far in his naming of the two.
I do agree that th prophecy refers to Mat and Perrin, as the hands and that they will falter both in their own ways.
6
ranman38: 2005-02-04
I think you are right on. Sometimes prophecy is literal. THe 'gars/hand reference is too much of a coincidence, to be..well, a coincidence. :)
7
Fox Eyes: 2005-02-04
This is a really great theory! The refence to the "hands" and the creation of the 'gars could very well be linked. i'm not so sure that the light needs to have its own "hands" though...
8
Gareth: 2005-02-05
I do like this theory
But Aran'gar and Osan'gar are only weapons; basically they are tools. So who would you suggest to be the fighter that uses those daggers ? I can think only of the DO itself and Moridin, the Nae'blis. I would favour Moridin because of the Tcheran game that tends to indicate that he likes using pawns.
but that's just opinion of course
9
Manetheren: 2005-02-05
To Foxeyes-
Of course the Light has it's own "hand's." For one thing, the quote itself comes from a Prophecy of the Light side, and those prophecies, when they speak of the Dark One and his followers, rarely say more then "He's coming and he's gonna whup some behind." Light side prophocies tend to deal with what's going to happen so the Light will have a chance to win, which gives the added effect of raising the Light's morale, giving them hope. When you want to find out what sort of players/actions you're going to find in the Dark One's camp, you normally look to their prophecies, which in addition to raising morale of the Dark side troops, add in tidbits such as "Oh, by the way, a member of the royal family of a Blightborder nation and an Andoran prince coming up to fight evil in the Blight are going to be forcibly merged into becoming the world's most perfect assassin for us. Good stuff, eh?"
Even the wording of the Cycle can be shown as evidence that the "hand's" referenced to are warriors for the Light. It starts out with
"And it shall come to pass, in the days when the Dark Hunt rides"
In other words, the Dark is getting ever stronger.
And continues with
"when the right hand falters and the left hand strays,"
And look at that, the Light side is losing focus, and because of the Dark growing stronger and the Light not getting their act together, what's going to happen?
"that mankind shall come to the Crossroads of Twilight and all that is, all that was, and all that will be shall balance on the point of a sword, while the winds of the Shadow grow."
My point is, Foxeyes, that the Cycle unquestionably is talking about hands of the Light. The reason I tend to favor Mat and Perrin being these hands over the Asha'man and the Aes Sedai can be summed up in this :
- Osan'gar was placed, not with Rand, but inside the Black Tower. It was Rand himself, and a Rand choosing completely randomly, that made it so Osan'gar was put so close to Rand.
-Even if you mean to say that the Light's hand is the Asha'man, why would they need Osan'gar there to counteract it? If Taim isn't a Darkfriend, and I think most people by now believe he's not only a Darkfriend but Ishamael's prized pupil, then it would make sense. But come on - if the guy tried to act any more evil, he'd have to wear a black cape and learn a maniacal laugh to do it.
- Last thing, what's Osan'gar, even if he is Forsaken, going to do against a few hundred channelers? I suppose he could try to control Taim like Halima controls Egwene, but even if Taim wasn't Dark already I seriously doubt Osan'gar could pull it off. Taim has traveled the world, led armies, and been channeling for fifteen years. He isn't some annoying twenty year old who was cleaning the family inn a couple years ago.
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a dragonburned fool: 2005-02-07
It can be debated, whether the left and right hands of Shadow's opponetnts are hands of the "Light" or of the "Pattern" or of the "mankind". All three options seem possible enough. And all three options are equally the great metaphysical opponent of the Shadow - my statement is that Aran'gar and Osan'gar are aimed against the "hands" of this metaphysical macro-opponent.
About the option of Mat and Perrin:
The only argument for Mat and Perrin I can think about is, that they are co-ta'veren to Rand, and therefore could be eventually called his (Rand's) right and left hands. I stress it: eventually. We have never seen such assotiation be expressed explicitely yet. But if this is right, than the prophecy strophe has to speak about Rand. I have not the impression that this is exactly so. This strophe is speaking about the fate of mankind, the strenght of the Shadow, but it doesn't mention the Dragon Reborn. And this prophecy line is introducing the book where Rand has almost no part in the story.
Male and Female channelers have better chances to be the both hands, because they are the "servants of the All", they are usually supposed to be the hope and the defenders of the mankind (i.e. functions "hands" usually symbolize) and they have already lot of dualist symbolic (left-right is dual symbolic, i.e. it's best appliable when there are only two things possible in a category). Symbols of organizations often mean in the same time bot the head of it and the organization as a whole.
But my main argument is, that the names Aran'gar and osan'gar mean nothing else but a kind of duel, and duel means facing an enemy with similar weapons. I don't see any symbolic of a duel closer to that. Aran'gar and Osan'gar have shown no activity connected with Perrin and very little activity towards Mat with no insisting on it (i.e. rather accidental one as sidestep from the main task.
to Ilgross and Foxeyes:
Light may not need "hands" but it can just happen that Light has such. I'm a little bit surprised, ilgross, that You find my interpretation of the Light's hands litteral, I thought male and female channelers being the "right" and "left" "hands" is a typical allegory. Never mind, as Manetheren already said, "hands" are actually mentioned in the prophecy, and this particular prophecy mentions the mankind's fate, but doesn't mention the Dragon. Does the "mankind" need hands or not, the male and female channelers are a sort of hands of the "mankind". And if "mankind" is not exactly "Light" it is of the same kind of wide-ranged categories, not a singular character like Rand.
to Manetheren
***Osan'gar was placed, not with Rand, but inside the Black Tower. It was Rand himself, and a Rand choosing completely randomly, that made it so Osan'gar was put so close to Rand.***
And in Osan'gars placement there is absolutely no relation neither to Perrin nor to Mat. Dashiva is sometimes not far from Perrin, but he shows absolutely no interest towards Perrin.
At the meeting of the Forsaken Halima said that it's Osan'gar's duty to watch after Rand, and that her duty is to do it with Egwene. Osan'gar doesn't like it, but he agreed. So whatever they did in the beginning, their mission is expressed clearly by the Forsaken themselves in a situation that doesn't indicate lies about this point (if Halima lied, then Osan'gar would find an objection). But if the asha'man are the "right hand", it would mean both the Black Tower and Rand, so he could place himself in either of the locations first. Since it was not easy to attach yourself near Rand, Osan'gar took the easier way. Later he either had luck to be chosen by Rand, or used some inverted weave as a subtle method to arrange Rand's choice.
***Even if you mean to say that the Light's hand is the Asha'man, why would they need Osan'gar there to counteract it?***
Using the same logic we can ask: if the Shadow allways has Delana in the Salidar Hall, isn't sending Halima there redundant? Or if Alviarin is the Keeper in the Tower, why is Mesaana needed there. A more high-ranked one takes the command on a crucial location: that's the Pattern of Shadow's actions all over the world. We don't know what exactly were the instruction of Osan'gar and Aran'gar, but sending someone capable with private instruction to a crucial organization is quite normal thing to be expected.
btw I don't believe that Taim is a darkfriend, but it's an old and large discussion and it's better to do it on the message board now, because it's discussed there right now.
***Last thing, what's Osan'gar, even if he is Forsaken, going to do against a few hundred channelers? I suppose he could try to control Taim like Halima controls Egwene, but even if Taim wasn't Dark already I seriously doubt Osan'gar could pull it off.***
I'm completely sure that thre are lot of things a Forsaken can do against few hundreds of channelers, especially if the Shadow's only choices are not either to destroy them immediately or to surrender. The "aran'gar" and "osan'gar" from the duell were not just daggers, but daggers poisoned with log-frist effect poison, i.e. Dashiva and Halima are supposed to "poison" their opponents.
And if Taim was a darkfriend (what I doubt), he would do everything what a more high-ranked Chosen would say hi, nevermind what skills and merits he would have. If Shadow has something, it's a strict hierarchy.
And finally, Manetheren, I haven't seen any of Your reason to prefer the options of Mat and Perrin. If they are the Hands, why the Shadow doesn't oppose them? And where are the hints of Mat's and Perrin's function as the hands in this context, that would over-thrump the function as hands of the male and female channelers with their heads?
to Gareth:
Shaidar Haran is more visibly connected with Osan'gar and Aran'gar than Moridin. Shaidar Haran is the first one who visits them after their transmigration and he is the one who gave them first instructions. Also Shaidar Haran is "Dark One's hand", i.e. a hint of the similar name is not impossible. But since Moridin and Shaidar Haran seem to play the same game in perfect synchronization, they both together could be regarded as the player. For to say more we need to know what are the relations between Shaidar Haran and Moridin.
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Manetheren: 2005-02-08
My reason for thinking the hands referred to are Mat and Perrin instead of the channelers are that it's a lot easier to view Mat and Perrin's actions as "straying" and "faltering" then the channeler's. Although there are infiltration of Darkfriends and quite a bit of infighting going on in the Channeler camps, very few of them seem to be "straying" or "faltering" in the fight against the Dark. Elaida and Egwene are fighting for control over the Aes Sedai, but at the same time, both of them have kept a very close eye on things to do with the Dragon Reborn and the Last Battle. The Black Tower, while it may have a Darkfriend faction, brings in recruits telling them they're being trained to protect mankind against the Shadow. They two channeling groups aren't doing all that they could, certainly, but faltering and straying have very specific definitions, and I don't see their actions as fitting with them. Mat and Perrin's actions, on the otherhand, do, as I stated in the above post.
As for Taim, I'm not even sure why there's still a debate going on about him. Unless my memory is failing me, the only confirmed Darkfriends in the Black Tower were all very closely connected with him. He's ordered Rand's death, as confirmed by one of the assassin's memories. I guess people could believe some convuluted theory about how just because he doesn't like Rand, but he's not *evil*, but I prefer Occam's Razor. The simplest solution is usually the right one.
12
Anubis: 2005-02-08
**And if Taim was a darkfriend (what I doubt), he would do everything what a more high-ranked Chosen would say hi, nevermind what skills and merits he would have. If Shadow has something, it's a strict hierarchy.**
Its fairly common for a high ranking darkfriend to disguise themselves as someone of lower rank, even to the point of putting themselves under a lower ranking darkfriend.
13
Manetheren: 2005-02-09
In addition, we have concrete proof from the books that the Forsaken don't always reveal themselves to their lackeys. Remember, the leader of the Darkfriend merchant wagon that went into the Waste with Rand had no idea that Asmodean and Lanfear were with him; he just thought they were highly placed Darkfriends. It's perfectly plausible that Osan'gar was in the Black Tower with a Darkfriend Taim without Taim knowing that he had a Forsaken by him. Heck, if it was to be revealed that Osan'gar was placed in the Black Tower for the purpose of keeping an eye on *Taim*, I'd not be surprised. The Forsaken don't trust anybody, and whoever Taim's teacher is, he has to know that Taim has both very considerable strength and ambition. Osan'gar and Aran'gar appear to have been under Moridin's thumb from their very awakening. If Ishamael was the teacher of Taim, this would fit in nicely.
14
penguindude: 2005-02-09
One thing that might be considered in interpreting the poem is that Jordan appears to have slipped in the works of other contemporary authors in his writing; one of the most referenced ones being Gareth Bryne's use of the alias Underhill. The CoT poem sounds like the philosophy used in Ursula K. LeGuin's "Left Hand of Darkness", which basically goes: "Darkness is the right hand of light, and light is the left hand of darkness."
If the right hand were to represent the Shadow, then it could certainly be said to be faltering. Internal disputes and grasps at power have just about stopped any advancement on their part.
The Light as the left hand does appear to be straying in the form of Rand. He has focused on dealing with the Seanchan, the Asha'Man, and Fain, but has put less effort into the immediate threat of the Last Battle as he has previously in the books.
The book "Left Hand of Darkness" does bear several similarities to the Gars as well. One of the most noticable feature is that non-human characters in the novel have the ability to change gender at certain periods, much as Aran'Gar does when returned from the dead. I wish I could remember a bit more of the book, but its been a few years since I've read.
Just thought that might be of interest to your theory.
15
ranman38: 2005-02-10
Greater scholars here than I can answer that Jordan does pay homage to certain writers, in his writing.
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1337ist Gary: 2005-02-13
A small piece of evidence - the ancient symbol of the aes sedai is a ying yang, where the white drop (tear of tar valon? anyway it represents saidar and therefore female aes sedai)is on the left, like in your theory where the white tower is the left hand, and the black drop (dragons fang, represents the male opposite of aes sedai i.e. ashaman) is on the right, also in accordance with your theory.
