Seaine Tarasind was a woman of average height and appearance. She is described as a hardheaded and practical woman. She was sometimes taken for being dreamy. She is more interested in real power than just the appearance of it and is often found in the shadows behind rulers, where she has full control of everything. At the time of the sealing of the Bore, she was considered to be in her middle years, about 300 years old. She was a teacher during the Age of Legends, a job she didn't want. She had aimed to be a researcher all her life, but the board at Collam Daan labeled her unfit for that. She ended up teaching about old research, instead of performing new research.
Disappointed and angry, she took the opportunity to get back at everyone and turned to the Shadow. She was an adequate general for the Shadow but much more skillful as governor over conquered territories. She started schools in her areas (and most likely in others as well) that taught the glories of the Dark One. The children were also taught to spy on their family and neighbors. She raised mobs of children from those schools to riot and destroy all places containing some kind of knowledge of the Age. Museums, schools, libraries and monuments were things that were ruined by "Mesaana's children." Groups of children were used to hunt down teachers, researchers and other educated people not in the Shadow's service. Her children also held courts and in some cases sentenced people to death, as well as actually carrying out the executions.
Since being released from the Bore, Mesaana is believed to reside in the White Tower. She is running the Tower through Alviarin. Her exact identity is not known, but there are many theories about it. One of the most commonly approved ones is that she is hiding as the Brown Sister Danelle or a servant in the Tower. The idea that she could be the Atha'an Miere wavemistress Zaida din Parede Blackwing has also been considered. The possibilities that she is Verin, Vandene, Silviana or Theodrin have been discussed as well.
The evidence for her being Danelle is quite compelling. Danelle is described as very dreamy even for a Brown, as was Mesaana, and she had a hand in the overthrowing of Siuan. As well, she didn't seem to mind or even notice that she was being shoved aside afterwards. This matches well with the fact that Mesaana is more interested in real power, and since she is controlling Elaida through Alviarin it makes the use of an obvious power position unnecessary for her. Danelle is said to be very young, and she doesn't have any friends. That would make it easier to masquerade as her. Mesaana always wanted to be a researcher, so she has the personality to be Brown.
As for her being a servant...this would indeed be a place no one would expect her to be in. And it goes in the line of her being interested in real power. Her strength in the Power would make it difficult to hide as a Sister as there haven't been any clues to whether or not it's possible to Mask only a part of one's strength. However, the fact that she was wearing a silk dress doesn't match with the servant theory.
The reasons given for her being Zaida, Verin, Vandene, Silviana, or Theodrin are more circumstantial and not as completely covering.
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