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he hand that rocks the Seanchan is the hand that rules the world

by Alanna Mosvani: 2003-12-09 | Not yet rated

Previous Categories: The Seanchan

Robert Jordan has been accused of letting the last few books run loose, with too many plotlines that he will never wrap up...But, if there is going to be a resolution within the next twenty books, there is one plotline that binds them all together:

The Seanchan.

Every major character has a tie to the Seachan:

1) Rand, about to form an alliance that may leave him confined by the Sad bracelets; (also, the importance of Alivia, may be a connection)

2) Mat, obviously, though whether he or Tuon ends up in control is anyone's guess;

3)Perrin, who is about to form an alliance with Rand's enemies;

4) Egwene, and through her the rebels. Maybe, when the Seanchan attack the White Tower, one will help her escape and she will bring the rebels to fight on the Seanchan side.

5) Elayne, possibly (many theories about the "Severed Hand phophecy suggest Rand has to cut his hand off to free them from an a'dam.)

6) Asha'man - Logain was one of those sent to meet with the Seanchan, but to what end?

Bad Guys:

Whitecloaks - in CoT prologue appears to be meeting with Seanchan (they are trying to learn to "control the witches")

Masema - meeting with Seanchan.

Demandred and Semirhage (who is presumably Anath) both have connections to Seanchan. These seem to be the most active, original Forsaken (That is, not reincarnated, and not under Morindin's thumb.)

I think that the Seanchan (except Alivia) are not directly involved in the Last Battle, but are somehow in a Pre-Last-Battle, the last real military roundup which sets Rand up for the actual Last Battle. The question is, who is one which side? Note that many prophecies yet unresolved could involve the Seanchan, as discussed elsewhere on this site...the "half the light of the world", "severed hand", etc.
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Comments

1

Tamyrlin: 2003-12-18

(Frenzy for Tamyrlin)
It could very well be that the Seanchan, though not directly involved like you've theorized, are the impetus that ties everything together before the last battle. The common enemy, so to speak.

A few nitpicks:
your #4 arguement is a little tenuous, but you can refer to Egwene's dream of being linked to a Seanchan woman to fit your theory.
#5: Why would Rand cut his hand off to free himself from the male a'dam? He gets the collar, not the bracelet.
evil: Can you clarify Demandred's connection to the Seanchan? Quotes?

2

Tigraine: 2003-12-19

In regards to number 5:

I'm not sure if it's been discussed before, but there is a think link between Rand's severed hand and the a'dam, although not necessarily the male a'dam. I do remember reading that in the past, Seanchan men were forced to sometimes put on the sul'dam bracelets and occasionally the man and the damane would die in terrible agony. I can only guess that this indicates that a male channeler wearing an a'dam bracelet causes this painful death while a non-channeler does not.

Ergo, Rand may be forced by Suroth to put on a BRACELET, not a collar, to prove that he is truly the Dragon Reborn and suddenly, he's put into excrutiating pain. The only option would be to cut off his hand. Here's where Perrin might come in with his trusty axe.

For those of you versed in mythology, it is obvious to even the most casual observer (tm) that Rand is very similar to the Norse God Tyr. In these myths, Tyr has his hand bitten off by Fenrir, a giant wolf. It's not too much of a stretch to guess who Fenrir could parallel...

Just a thought. Keep up the good work!

3

Tigraine: 2003-12-19

yeah, um... thin link, not think link :)

4

rubbernilly: 2003-12-19

I had a thought regarding this whole idea of Rand cutting off his hand...

On the one hand (no pun intended), Rand would not cut off his own hand to free anyone from the male a'dam. He'll be collared.

However, you have the moment with Min where Rand tells her he would rather cut off his arm than hurt her, and Min - who sees beyond - becomes suddenly very quiet.

What happens when a man who can channel (or who can learn to channel) when he puts an a'dam bracelet on while the collar is around a damane?

Death is a comfort to these people, who live their final moments in agony. The Empress does this from time to time in her court (though they do not know that it is the ability to learn to channel in the men that causes it).

So what if that is what Rand was reacting to? What if he were forced to put on the bracelet of an a'dam connected to someone that he loved? He might very well chop off his own hand to free himself and the woman from the pain.

Couple of problems that I realize:

1) Min can't channel, therefore it can't be her that Rand would protect by taking his hand

2) When Egwene was collared, she could no more harm herself than she could channel, so how could Rand decide to take his own hand?

For answer to the first, it doesn't necessarily have to be Min that he is protecting; Min's response to his comment could have been just because she saw that he would take his hand in defense of *one* of the girls.

In answer to the second, the male a'dam may work differently than the female version. In fact, we know that the man collared in it will begin to exert more and more control the longer the same woman/women are wearing the bracelets... so perhaps Rand would start out without the ability to harm himself, but as the same women wear the bracelets (and by the time the female a'dam is put on his wrist) he could gain the ability.

We have seen the sul'dam protective - almost to the point of being selfish - regarding their time spent with the damane. They each want to be "complete," and they each have their own favorites. It is not too much of a stretch to see that whomever among the women gets to wear Rand's bracelets will want to keep them on as long as she can. She'll not want to turn him over to anyone else. And we know from Moghedien's explanation that this is how the man can begin to gain the power in that relationship.

Just on a side note, who would be picked to control Rand? Probably the most powerful sul'dam that can be found (though Suroth may not know that their strength comes from an ability to channel a great deal of the OP). So when Rand finally turns the corner and gains control over them, he will be in control of a link between himself (by far the most powerful channeler) and two very powerful women. He'll have quite a lot of OP at his disposal.

5

Deadsy: 2003-12-19

I don't think they'll be a common enemy by the time the Last Battles comes. I think they'll be united with Rand, since he's going to "bind the nine moons to serve him." I think getting the a'dams off everyone will be something that comes about after the LB and we probably won't learn how long it took. I bet it will just be starting with Tuon, but it's not something that can happen quickly.

6

kainis: 2003-12-24

Demandred is the man behind the Seanchan. This is hinted in The Great Hunt, I believe. We are introduced the Seanchan and some of the Forsaken are overheard in The World of Dreams. I believe its Graendal who mentions Demandred's tendency to work by proxy and mentions armies in the West. Graendal is on Toman Head, and the only thing West of there is the Sea and the Seanchan.

7

Oatman: 2003-12-30

with the idea of rand cutting off his hand to protect a woman he loves, if this is the case it would be elayne, as i believe it is in the great hunt that min tells elayne that she sees a severed hand around her, but not her own.