Be値al
Pronounciation: BEH-lahl
Translation: The Envious
Real name: Duram Laddel Cham
AKA: The Netweaver
Be値al trying to wake Lews Therin Telamon痴 memories in Rand. (Chapter 55: What is Written in Prophecy, The Dragon Reborn.)
Introduction
Be値al is the Forsaken of which least is known, but he is linked to one of the most important events in the series: Rand taking Callandor and thereby proclaiming himself the Dragon Reborn. Also I feel he痴 had the best chance of killing Rand that any of the Forsaken have had so far. So what do we know about Be'lal?Physical appearence and skills
Be値al is described as a tall, athletic man, with short-cropped silver hair. He was also a very capable fighter and a cunning planner. Be'lal was one of the Forsaken not afraid to fight a foe directly.The Age of Wonders
Duram Laddel Cham was what we would call an advocate. His third name is an honorific suggesting that he was good at his job. No translation of this title is known. Some sources suggest that he, like Sammael, was a leader in the fight against the Shadow at first.He went over to the Shadow because he was extremely envious of Lews Therin and, like many of the Forsaken, hated him intensely. The precise time he turned to the Shadow is also unkown. All we know is that it happened during the Collapse.
During the War of the Shadow, Be値al held a number of field commands as well as governing one (or perhaps several) regions. Not much is known about his military achievements but apperently he established himself as a capable general. There are indications that Be値al was among those that razed the Hall of Servants only days before Lews Therin Telamon and the Hundred Companions managed to seal the Bore, locking up all the Forsaken.
The Third Age
After his escape from the Bore, Be鱈al quickly manages to gain power in Tear under the name of High Lord Samon, although he is not mentioned until "The Dragon Reborn." In the third book of the series, he skillfully manipulates Rand into rushing to Tear and facing him, untrained, wounded, and ignorant of the danger facing him. Be値al tries to force Rand to take the Sword-That-Is-Not-A-Sword, but Rand refuses.Rand is not yet good enough to fight a blademaster and is allmost killed by Be値al. Moraine rescues him by balefiring Be値al. Rand proceeds to take Callandor and kills Ba'alzamon with it before proclaiming himself the Dragon Reborn.
The Forsaken reborn?
Some of the Forsaken that have been defeated seen to return as different, very powerful servants of the Dark One. A lot of speculation about which Forsaken was reincarnated as each new servant has been taking place. Since Be鱈al was killed with balefire it is generaly accepted he痴 beyond the Dark One's reach and is dead permanently. I致e read several theories concerning Be値al and the death of Asmodean but frankly none of them make any sense so I won稚 go into that here.Why is Be値al the coolest Forsaken?
In my opinion most of the Forsaken spend too much time hiding and not enough on getting their job done. Be値al saw an opportunity and decided to act on it. He had created the best chance of killing Rand, out of all the Forsaken. Of course he got soft in the end and gave Rand a chance to defend himself, but so far none of the other Forsaken have gotten that close.Another thing that bothers me about the Forsaken is that they seem to prefer using others for their dirty work. Manipulation is of course a very useful tool for the Forsaken and some of them seem to be very good at it but most of them seem to be unwilling to do any of the dirty work themselves. Because of this a lot of their plans have gone awry. In the meantime, Rand has gotten better at wielding the One Power, using his blade, and governing a nation.
Again, Be値al not only showed his skill in manipulating people (an entire people to be precise) but also showed the willingness and capability to handle the matter himself.
Submitted July 2002