The game to which Moridin likens the eternal dance between Light and Shadow, comparing Rand al'Thor to the central figure, the Fisher King, which can play for either side is called sha'rah. This is my conceptualization of a way it might be played, based on the description in "Deceptive Appearances," the prologue to Robert Jordan's A Path of Daggers, book eight of The Wheel of Time cycle. I have reasons for each decision I made, which might not necessarily be the best.


     The Board

First is the board. We are told that it is a playing surface of alternateing black and white square, thirteen rows worth, bordered by a row of green and red, for a total of two hundred twenty-five squares. This makes several boards possible. All four corners are the same color, either red or green. The black and white squares also are cornered by a single corner. Since the colors are important in the movement of the Fisher King, the organization that is used affects the outcome.

I call the board cornered in black the Shadow Board, on which you play a Game of Dark Surrounds; and the cornered in white the Light Board, on which you play a Game of Light Surrounds. Green, I assign to the Light in honor of the Green Man. Red, I assign to the Shadow partly by default, and partly because they seem to spill more blood on both sides. Until further testing is done, it is uncertain whether a board is more favorable to one side or the other.

I realize that the text only specifies thirteen rows, which could mean eleven rows of black and white bordered by red and green for a total of thirteen. I chose the larger playing board because sixty-seven peices are in play at the beginning, and I like a lot of room.


     The Pieces

In addition to the Fisher (discussed further below), there are thirty-three pieces for each side. One set is green, the other red. Since Mr. Jordan does not give us the names of the colored pieces, I have designated one Queen, two Lords, two Ladies, two Domnisoari (I had been studying Romanian at the time I came up with this name, and couldn't get it out of my head. The other option was 'dame,' the title of a female knight, which has unpleasant connotations in America), thirteen Troublemakers, and thirteen Aes Sedai. The number thirteen plays a large role in many aspect of the world of The Wheel of Time. The pieces are placed on the board like so:

Pieces can capture certain other pieces in certain ways. When a piece is captured by another piece, which takes over its square, it leaves the board and does not return. Any piece can capture pieces of both colors.


     The Fisher

The Fisher is of neither side and of both. He is black and white. He is represented by the figure of a blindfolded man with a hand pressed to his side, a few drops of blood seeping through. Moridin thinks of him as the remnant of a memory of a Rand al'Thor of ages past. He starts on the central square (above, depicted with a dot), and is described as being strong in attack and slow in escape when on a black square, vice versa on a white square.

To satisfy these requirements, I have decided that when starting on a white square, the Fisher may Travel to any other unoccupied white square, or step one space to an unoccupied black square or the border. He may step to an white square occupied by a member of the side that is not controlling him, either forcing that piece to move back one or capturing that piece, thus taking it off the board entirely.

Starting on a black square, the Fisher can move like a chess queen if he is attacking another piece and lands on an occupied square, i.e., he can move as far as he wants along a row, column, or diagonal until he is blocked. If he is not attacking, he can move one space on the diagonal, landing on another black square, or to any square on the border.

A player may not move the Fisher with another piece until it has been captured for the first time and moved off the center square. After this, only the player who has most recently captured the Fisher may move it without using another piece. To capture the Fisher, a player must surround it on four of the eight squares touching it with pieces of that player's color.

The game can be won only by manipulation of the Fisher. The player who has most recently captured the Fisher, and who thus controls his movements, can win by moving the Fisher onto a square of her/his color at the opposite end of the board. The player who does not have control can win by forcing the Fisher onto a square of his/her color anywhere around the board, or by getting rid of all the Lords, Ladies, Domnisoari, and the Queen of the player who is in control. However, if a player has none of these 'Court' pieces and forces the other player to capture the Fisher within three moves of the last being captured (including the second player having control at the time that the last Court piece of the first player is captured), the game is declared a stalemate. The Fisher also must leave the board if his square adjoins that of both queens at once, after which the winner is the player who first gets her/his Queen to a square of her color on her side of the playing surface.

The Fisher resembles the legend of the Fisher King, which is an Arthurian legend concerning the wound of a king, and how it reflects the condition of his land.


     The Queens

The Queens are originally positioned on opposite sides of the board, in the middle of the first and thirteenth rows, sharing a color and a column with the Fisher. They can only be captured by the Fisher or by forcing them onto the red-and-green border.

Queens can move along rows, columns, and diagonals, no more than six spaces at a time and no fewer than two. If a Queen is positioned two spaces away from another piece, of either color, that piece can be moved one space towards the queen as a part of the move bringing the Queen to her space. A Queen can only capture a Troublemaker, which she does by approaching from the front and taking over its space. A Queen can pass over one piece that is in her way, but not more than one, and not on a move of only two spaces. The only time a Queen can move onto the border is after the Fisher leaves the playing surface because he was adjacent to both queens at once, at which point she may move onto any point along the border.

The Green Queen is the Queen of Andor, Elayne. The Red Queen is the Queen of the Night, Lanfear. (Yes, I know the accurate traslation is 'Daughter of the Night.')


     The Lords

Lords start on the first row, two spaces out from the Queen, on the same color. They can be captured by the Fisher or a Troublemaker or another Lord. Lords can move up to five spaces diagonally, or one space along a row or column. They can capture Lords, Domnisoari, Troublemakers, and Aes Sedai by moving onto their spaces. They can never move onto the border.

The Green Lords are the Warlord, Mat Cauthon, and the Wolf Lord, Perrin Aybara. The Red Lords are the Lord of Death, Moridin/Ishamael, and the Lord of the Black Tower, Mazrim Taim/Demandred.


     The Ladies

Ladies start on the first row, two spaces out from a Lord, on the same color. They can be captured by the Fisher or a Troublemaker or another Lady. Ladies can move as far as they want to along a row or a column, or up to five spaces diagonally. They can capture Ladies, Domnisoari, Troublemakers, and Aes Sedai by moving onto their spaces. They can never move onto the border.

The Green Ladies are Egwene and Nynaeve. The Red Ladies are Mesaana and Moghedien.


     The Domnisoari

Domnisoari start on the first row, two spaces out from a Lady, on the same color. They can be captured by the Fisher, a Queen, a Lord, a Lady, or another Domnisoara, but not by a Troublemaker. Ladies can move as far as they want to along a row or a column, or up to five spaces diagonally. They can capture another Domnisoara, Troublemakers, and Aes Sedai by moving onto their spaces. They can never move onto the border. By placing a Domnisoara two spaces in front of the Fisher, but no other piece, the Fisher can be drawn one space towards the Domnisoara.

The Green Domnisoari are Aviendha and Min Farshaw. The Red Domnisoari are Semirhage and Graendal.


     The Troublemakers

The Troublemakers are originally positioned along the second rows. They can be captured by any piece, although a Queen or an Aes Sedai must approach from the front. They can advance one or two spaces in any direction, and can capture Troublemakers, Aes Sedai, Lords, and Ladies by moving onto their squares. They can never move onto the border.

An important aspect of Troublemakers is that they have a distinguishable front and back, and must be positioned facing one of the eight directions upon arriving in a new square. A move can be used to reposition a Troublemaker so it faces another way. The Troublemaker can move in a direction it is not facing.

Another thing about Troublemakers is that they can be manipulated by the opposite player under certain circumstances. If a piece of the opposite color lands on a square on a slant behind the Troublemaker (if the Troublemaker is facing a row or column, the slant would be one of two diagonals in the row behind; the the Troublemaker is facing a diagonal, the slant is on the row and the column behind), it can move the Troublemaker one or two spaces in any direction as a part of the player's move.

The Green Troublemakers are thirteen Whitecloaks. The Red Troublemakers are thirteen Seanchan.


     The Aes Sedai

Aes Sedai are originally positioned along the third row. Aes Sedai can move as far as they want in any direction. They can never move onto the border. The only pieces they can capture are Troublemakers, and only when approaching from the front. They affect other pieces by going after them and forcing them to move one or two steps away from the side on which they approach, providing the way is not blocked by another piece; however, after an Aes Sedai does this once, she must leave the board. When an Aes Sedai approaches a piece at the edge of the playing surface that cannot move onto the border from the side opposite the border, or she approaches the Fisher while he is on the border, the piece is not affected, and the Aes Sedai must stop in the square next to the piece. When the Aes Sedai approaches a similarly located piece from a diagonal, the piece is forced along the border, and the Aes Sedai must leave the board.

This is a bit obvious; Green Aes Sedai are two of every Ajah and only one of Red Ajah. Red Aes Sedai are all Black Ajah, but they look like two of every Ajah and one of Red. However, the players can tell them apart easily because of coloring.




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