| The Healer And The Sadist
Guess who? Nynaeve Mandragoran née al’Maera, Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah, possibly the greatest Healer of the modern Age, she who has already defeated one Forsaken in battle... Nemene Damendar Boann, aka Semirhage, considered to be the greatest Healer of the Age of Legends, indisputably one of the most evil of all the Forsaken, she who hates the ‘untrained girls’ that call themselves Aes Sedai... The two greatest Healers. One on the side of the Light, one for the Dark. Wouldn’t it be fitting for these two to face off in One Power-battle? As far as strength goes, they’re equal - in fact, if there’s an advantage, it’s on Nynaeve’s side. She equalled Moghedien in The Shadow Rising, and it’s been mentioned several times that strength in the One Power develops over time. Moghedien herself called Nynaeve only ‘half-trained.’ As for skill, admittedly, Semirhage has had centuries of training and practise while Nynaeve has had what amounts to a crash-course and training in action. Still, skill can’t be everything, or Moghedien would have defeated Nynaeve easily. The shield/block tactics used in Shadow Rising take very little skill. And we have to remember that Nynaeve learns fast, very fast. So, an equal battle between the two is, at least theoretically, possible. Of course, to fight a battle, Nynaeve and Semirhage first have to come into contact with each other. Well, where is Semirhage? I haven’t the faintest idea. Before The Path Of Daggers came out I assumed she was in Saldaea and the reason Tenobia was in retreat hiding from visitors. Since Tenobia’s now on the move with the other Borderland rulers, that assumption was apparently wrong. She might still be with Tenobia, either as an advisor or posing as one of the Aes Sedai in the group, or she might be elsewhere. There are several theories I've heard since writing this as to where and who Semirhage is. Let's look at a couple of them. The best-known one still seems to be the one that Semirhage is in Saldaea and that Tenobia is her 'wilful charge.' Support for this theory; there are no other Forsaken in the Borderlands that we know of, and close to the Last Battle they're a major power. If this is the case, we should find out soon; according to Ethenielle, Tenobia only listens to the counsel of soldiers, and most of her advisors seem to be her uncles. While Semirhage might be disguised as a man (she's tall enough) it doesn't seem likely, so if we see Tenobia paying unusual attention to any female advisor, particularly a non-warlike one, we'll know to be suspicious. Another good theory was originated by my brother Shadar; he suggested that Semirhage is posing as Therava, one of the Wise Ones with Sevanna. Sevanna is most definitely a wilful girl. Semirhage, along with Mesaana and Demandred, was apparently involved in kidnapping Rand. Therava is an unusually tall woman and from her demeanor could easily be Semirhage. The problem with this is that it wouldn't be at all easy for someone to pose as an Aiel well enough to fool other Aiel. Just as an example: Wise Ones know how to unravel weaves, everyone else, including the Forsaken, consider this impossible. You might wonder why I mentioned height in both cases; after all, Illusion can be used to completely alter appearance. That's true, but remember that the closer it is to your own appearance, the easier it is to maintain, and if you have to deal with other people, they're less likely to notice something odd if you stay close to reality. So whoever Semirhage is posing as, she's still likely to be an exceptionally tall woman. Two more suggestions come from Taardad (Taardad Clan Hold); he theorised that a) Semirhage is posing as Serailla, Ethenielle's counselor, and b) that she is Careane, the Green sister with Elayne and Nynaeve's group, who has already come under some suspicion by readers as Black. So let’s leave location out for now, and just look at what happens when somewhere, sometime, Semirhage and Nynaeve meet up. Semirhage sees a young Aes Sedai at least as strong as herself, and since she’s not stupid - only sick and twisted - she’s going to start thinking, danger. A kill/capture attempt on Nynaeve is likely to be her next step. But what does Semirhage know about Nynaeve? Only her strength. What is she going to assume? That Nynaeve has very little training and knows nothing whatsoever about the Forsaken. What important fact can she not possibly be aware of? That Nynaeve has fought, defeated, and learned quite a lot from, one Forsaken already. Underestimating your enemy can be fatal. Semirhage attacks...
And they end up deadlocked. Neither one is going to have strength left to do anything except fight the other. Not even to defend themselves against anyone else who happens to be in the room. Now who is almost certain to be with Nynaeve at any time, night or day? - Does the name al’Lan Mandragoran come to mind? If Semirhage doesn’t attempt to defend herself against Lan - then, as she will soon find out, even a Forsaken will die with a sword through the heart. However, if, as is more likely, she diverts power from battling Nynaeve to deal with Lan, Nynaeve has power to spare and will certainly use it. And what will Nynaeve’s instinctive response be when she sees her husband and Warder in danger? Balefire. Semirhage, farewell! That’s one soul that won’t be missed from the Pattern. And the only thing that could make this scenario better is if, at some point, Semirhage finds out that this untrained girl has succeeded where she failed, at healing severing. Ahhh, sweet irony... |