aboutgray

Is Sheriam Sedai Black? If so/not, then who is her "master"?
     I don't believe that Sheriam is black, simply because of her aura. Min has seen "rays of silver and blue [flash] around her fiery hair, and a soft golden light [TFoH, 317]." (However, that chould simply allude to her roll as Keeper of the Chronicles for Egwene.
     Then who is her "master"? Although I don't believe the Sheriam is Black Ajah or a Darkfriend, she has obviously been feeding information to someone. The only clues we have are from The Path of Daggers. She entered her tent, and "had only time to realize she was not alone when she was shielded and flung face down on her cot." In the end, she was left wishing "that she had never in her life spoken to a single sister in the Hall."
     Firstly, we know this master can wield the one power, but are they male or female (or both in one???)? We're sort of limited to Sitters and their acquaintances, because Sheriam's remark about "wishing she had never spoken..." The Hall refers to a very limited group: the Amyrlin, the Keeper, and the Sitters. I have two suspects...
          1.) Aran'gar (aka Halima): She/he is already there, and as one of the reborn Forsaken, she/he does have the ability to use saidin, the male half of the Source. Sheriam would not have been able to sense her/his ability to channel, and Aran'gar is snugly close to one of the Tower's Sitters in the Hall.
          2.) Mesaana: She has the ability to mask her ability to channel; we know this because Alviarin has commented on it. So, again, Sheriam would not have been able to sense her when she entered the tent. Her presence in the Rebel camp would also explain why she sometimes seems "ignorant" of Tar Valon happenings when she is questioning Alviarin. But does this mean that Mesaana is masquerading as one of the Rebel Sitters???

Is Verin Sedai Black?
     There is a lot of thought out there as to Verin Sedai's true loyalties, and all of this is based on a simple statement from Moiraine Sedai. In her letter to Rand (after her apparent death), she says to trust no Aes Sedai, even Verin. Personally, I don't think that she is Black Ajah, but she may very well have other motives.

Is Aram a Darkfriend?
     After doing some research about the Slayer and glancing through Perrin's prophecies, I noticed a disturbing trend. It seems that everyone's favorite Tinker may have some ominous connections. It can be summed up best in one of Egwene's Dreams from The Fires of Heaven: "A man in a bright yellow coat stood near to Perrin's shoulder, a sword strapped to his back... Every time he moved close to Perrin it was as if a chill of doom shot through everything [214]."

Is Noal Charin the Old Man from Ebou Dar? Updated!!!
    In A Crown of Swords, Mat follows the Lady Shiaine to the palace of Jaichim Carridin, and he meets up with an old man described as "a scrawny, white-haired fellow... Mat looked at him questioningly, and he grinned, showing gaps in his teeth. His stooped shoulders and sad weathered face did not fit his fine gray got. Despite the bit of lace at his neck, he was the very picture of hard times [ACoS: 14, White Plumes, 282]." He notes later that "the old man tapped a gnarled finger against the side of his beak of a nose. Both looked to have been broken several times." This familiar fellow disappeared into the crowd.
     Mat meets Noal Charin in Winter's Heart, and describes him as "a stoop-shouldered, white haired old man with a large hooked nose planted in the middle of a sad face and a bundle slun on his back [WH: 16, An Unexpected Encounter, 355] ." Sounds familiar, but Mat doesn't seem to place him as a familiar face, like he did with the old man in ACos.

Updated 04/01/01: Check out the Theory Pages for Jain Farstrider (aka Noal Charin).

updated 04/01/01