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1[[center: [-[[Characters/TheWheelOfTime Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/TheWheelOfTimeTaveren Ta'veren]] | [[Characters/TheWheelOfTimeOthersFromTheTwoRivers Others from the Two Rivers]] | [[Characters/TheWheelOfTimeRoyalLineOfAndor Royal Line of Andor]] | [[Characters/TheWheelOfTimeTheWhiteTower The White Tower]] | [[Characters/TheWheelOfTimeTheBlackTower The Black Tower]] | [[Characters/TheWheelOfTimeIndependentCharacters Independent Characters]] | [[Characters/TheWheelOfTimeTheAiel The Aiel]] | [[Characters/TheWheelOfTimeTheWhitecloaks The Whitecloaks]] | [[Characters/TheWheelOfTimeSeanchan Seanchan]] | [[Characters/TheWheelOfTimeHeroesOfTheHorn The Heroes of the Horn]] | '''The Shadow & Darkfriends''' ]]-]
2
3----
4[[foldercontrol]]
5
6!The Guy in Charge
7
8[[folder:Dark One]]
9!!Shai'tan
10
11The ultimate evil, equal and opposite of [[{{God}} the Creator]], imprisoned by Him at the beginning of time. Partially released during the War of Power and resealed by mortals, his ultimate goal is complete freedom and the annihilation of reality. Not really male, but "he" is the pronoun that is mostly used for convenience's sake because it's less awkward than "it". The Dark One's true name is Shai'tan, which is rarely used because it is (to all indications, correctly) believed to bring the Dark One's attention -- and attendant misfortune -- down on the speaker.
12----
13* TheAntiGod: The cosmic oppositional force to the Creator. So far as we know, they're the only two gods in the setting.
14* AsLongAsThereIsEvil: [[spoiler:Actually, [[InvertedTrope as long as there is the Dark One, evil will return and remain.]] As revealed in Book 14, the Dark One is the very concept of evil itself. He ''can'' be killed, and it would remove evil itself from the world... [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill along with human capacity for choice and change]].]]
15* BadBoss: Like the personification of evil would be anything else. [[spoiler:Lampshaded by Rand, who points out during his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech that the Dark One has no capacity to inspire loyalty except through fear and promises of power]].
16* BigBad: Not only the ultimate villain of the series, but is stated to be the direct or indirect source of all evil as a concept.
17* BoldInflation: Words said directly by the Dark One are always in all capital letters.
18* TheChessmaster: Being a god, the Dark One plans in the extreme long-term and the Forsaken don't always know what their boss is scheming up. [[spoiler:Though as Rand learns, it's incapable of actually learning from its plans when they fail, and because it doesn't understand humans beyond their basest impulses, it depends on the knowledge and cunning of its followers a lot more than it lets on]].
19* DarkIsEvil: He is "the Shadow" opposed to "the Light". As seen at the Bore, [[spoiler:he is described, or at least his prison is, as a blackness so deep that "black" doesn't even cover it]].
20* TheDarkSide: He is the source of the "True Power", an even more addictive and painful version of the One Power that grants even more abilities, such as {{Flight}}, but also causes the users to eventually be DrivenToMadness.
21* DespairGambit: [[spoiler:This is how he tries to destroy Rand in Book 14. While physically torturing him doesn't work, having many people he cares about be brutally murdered while he is ForcedToWatch from [[EldritchLocation outside of the Wheel of Time]] nearly does, and almost leads to him giving up. Unfortunately, the Dark One did not count on a HeroicSecondWind due to [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Egwene's]] [[NotTooDeadToSaveTheDay intervention]].]]
22* EldritchAbomination: Defined, as nearly as anyone can make out, as a SentientCosmicForce with incomprehensible but maleficent intentions, which exists outside of nature as we know it. When Rand gets a look at it in Book 14, he [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm cannot comprehend its true nature]].
23** It can be defined even plainer: ''a sentient idea of evil''.
24* EvilCannotComprehendGood: [[spoiler: And that's why he'll ''always'' make the same mistakes over and over again]].
25-->'''Rand:''' [[spoiler:[[HannibalLecture YOU CANNOT FATHOM IT, CAN YOU? IT IS BEYOND YOU. YOU BREAK US, AND STILL WE FIGHT! WHY? HAVEN’T YOU KILLED US? HAVEN’T YOU RUINED US?]]]]
26* EvilCounterpart: The equal and opposite to [[{{God}} the Creator]].
27** Somewhat subverted; it is heavily implied that the Creator has made many universes, each with its own Dark One. Should one break free and destroy that universe, the Creator just moves on. Meaning that the Creator also made each Dark One, and is wholly on a much higher level than all of them.
28* EvilEvolves: Inverted. Borderlands philosophy says (probably correctly) that humanity grows and changes, while the Shadow forever remains the same. The Dark One may come up with a new gambit every once in a while, but never changes at his root.
29* EvilIsBurningHot: The center of the Dark One's power in the world is the Pit of Doom, the lake of fire at the heart of Shayol Ghul. [[spoiler: Subverted in the last book when the Dark One's rising power extinguishes the flames, leaving only emptiness in the Pit of Doom]].
30* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: What will actually happen to the world if Dark One wins as Rand implies after learning its plans.]]
31* GodOfEvil: The ultimate source and personification of evil as an abstract concept.
32* TheHandIsGod: In the graphic novel adaptation of ''The Eye of the World'', his attempt to escape his prison is depicted as a gigantic taloned hand bursting out of the ground. As a SentientCosmicForce, he has no body as such in the books.
33* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:When Rand finally pulls him into the Pattern and nearly kills him, then seals him away, he uses the One Power, but coated with the True Power, the Dark One's own essence, making it impossible for the Dark One to effectively fight back due to the sheer amount of it.]]
34* IControlMyMinionsThrough: Fear and promises of power. [[spoiler:As Rand points out in his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, those are actually poor ways of instilling real, long-term loyalty]].
35* IHaveManyNames: Or at least many epithets. Father of Lies, Sightblinder, Leafblighter, Lord of the Grave, Grassburner...
36* InherentInTheSystem: [[spoiler:In Book 14, Rand and the Dark One face off by weaving the Pattern itself, creating possible worlds to show to each other. Rand attempts to create a world without his influence, but finds that, without the possibility of choosing wrong, the goodness of the world is banal. The Dark One is a fundamental part of the universe, and while he ''can'' be killed, it would also remove humanity's capacity for choice and change, seeing as those inherently mean conflict of some sort.]]
37* ItsAllAboutMe: The true core of the Dark One's personality seems to be selfishness. WordOfGod is that this is the single common character trait shared by all of its followers. [[spoiler:The second potential reality it shows Rand (and implies is most likely what it'd create) isn't ''too'' terrible to live in compared to, say, the Blight, but every human has had their empathy surgically removed to be just like it. It sums it up thusly: THERE IS ONLY ME.]][[invoked]]
38* MadeOfEvil: [[spoiler: Or, in light of revelations in AMOL, it might be better put the other way around -- the Dark One isn't made of evil, ''evil'' is made of ''the Dark One'']].
39* MeaningfulName: "Shaitan" is arabic for "Satan".
40* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Shai'tan. That's not even getting into its ''titles'', mentioned above...
41* NoBiologicalSex: Due to having no body. Though most characters use male pronouns for the Dark One, it's not really accurate, [[spoiler:and Rand ends up just settling on "it" during their duel]]. This is true of the Creator as well.
42* NotSoDifferentRemark: In Book 14, [[spoiler:Rand's world without the Dark One causes it to invoke this]].
43-->'''Dark One:''' [[spoiler:[[MindRape I TURN MEN TO ME.]] [[BrutalHonesty IT IS TRUE.]] [[BrainwashedAndCrazy THEY CANNOT CHOOSE GOOD ONCE I HAVE MADE THEM MINE IN THAT WAY.]] [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood HOW IS THIS ANY DIFFERENT, ADVERSARY?]]]]
44* OmnicidalManiac: [[spoiler: Though during his confrontation with Rand, a void is only one of the possibilities it shows if it wins -- the other two are both dystopias, one more blatant than the other. Rand thinks that the peace of nonexistence isn't something it'd really be capable of giving in the end]].
45* RealityWarper: If freed, the Dark One can reshape the world in any way it wants. Imprisoned, it can only do this inside Shayol Ghul, though as the series progresses and the Seals weaken it gains the ability to create localized, small-scale reality warps that are quite accurately termed "Bubbles of Evil".
46* SatanicArchetype: His true name certainly invokes this, and is in fact the Arabic spelling of Satan. Ironically, the Dragon of the Age of Legends, Lews Therin Telamon, is an {{expy}} of the same BiblicalBadGuy. The Dark One himself, also ironically, is ''not'' an expy of the Biblical Satan despite the similar name. Rather than a FallenAngel who tried and failed to take over Heaven, the Dark One is explicitly a cosmic force fundamentally opposed to the Creator, making him closer to the Zoroastrian Ahriman and an example of TheAntiGod. However, much like Satan, he is unable to perform Act of Creation, he was once sealed off by the Creator, his doings can be undone by the mortal people, and Rand is actually able to destroy him forever.
47* TheScottishTrope: His followers don't say his name out of reverence, his enemies don't out of fear. Only three characters have "named the Dark One" aloud at any point thus far in the story:
48** Rand spoke it twice. The first time, fifteen seconds later, an invasion of Trollocs happened, and the second time he suffered PowerIncontinence so bad it wiped out a good chunk of his own army.
49** Mat accidentally let it slip at the end of Book 3, but for some reason nothing appeared to happen, at least at first. Then again, the Dark One had just suffered a serious defeat, and Mat is BornLucky.
50** Ishamael on the other hand uses the name regularly: apparently being the Dark One's [[TheDragon favorite human]] gives you certain privileges in that area.
51** In Book 14, however, [[spoiler:Rand uses his name liberally in their encounter. Justified in that, considering Rand is in his domain, the Dark One does not need to be alerted to where he is except while Rand is entering the Pit of Doom, and during the actual confrontation, Rand has his full and undivided attention regardless of what he calls him]].
52* SealedEvilInACan: The weakening of the can is a main plot element, though technically it's outside the can, trying to break in[[note]] The Dark One is sealed outside of time. The Age of Legends Aes Sedai who accidentally discovered him created the Bore, a passage into the Dark One's prison that didn't allow him to escape completely, but let him touch the world. The Bore isn't really in any particular location, but is most easily accessed from the Pit of Doom at the heart of the mountain Shayol Ghul. Though the Dark One isn't actually inside Shayol Ghul, as far as most people are concerned, he might as well be[[/note]]. [[spoiler:The finale sees Rand drag the Dark One ''into the Pattern'' and contemplating killing it, before opting to reseal the Dark One properly with the weak point itself repaired so that it can no longer influence the world.]]
53* SentientCosmicForce: [[spoiler: During their mental duel, Rand at one point perceives him as a force as vast as the universe, which is implied to be his true nature, or as close to it as humans can perceive.]]
54* TheSocialDarwinist: "MY CHOSEN ARE ALWAYS THE STRONGEST." The Dark One has a distinct "survival of the fittest" attitude towards how it manages its minions, the Forsaken in particular. How much it actually ''believes'' in this ideology -- and how much is just it finding amusement from watching its followers battle among themselves for power -- is probably impossible to say.
55* TheDevilIsALoser: See VillainousBreakdown. [[spoiler:When events turned against it, we start to see what the Dark One ''really'' is like stripped of advantage, power, and minions -- a blindly horrible ''thing'' that can't even be properly called a person. Rand calls it ''pitiful'' before sealing it away.]]
56* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: [[spoiler: Both delivers one to, and is on the receiving end of one from, Rand.]]
57* UnseenEvil: Shai'tan is presented as a being far too abstract for human minds to grasp, and when fighting Rand [[spoiler:he just takes the shape of a shadowy void, rather than something comprehensible to humans. Furthermore, he is revealed to not just be an evil being, but to be the incarnation of the concept of evil in and of itself in that world, and killing him would lead to the destruction of evil in the Pattern]].
58* VillainousBreakdown: During Rand's HeroicSecondWind in Book 14, [[spoiler:Shai'tan's rantings become less about breaking him down, and more about reasserting its own position as superior. When it is yanked through the Bore with the One Power and the True Power, Rand ends up holding it with such force that it is struggling against ''his'' power, instead of vice versa. In the end, just before putting it back to a new [[SealedEvilInACan can]], Rand even calls it a "horrible, pitiful mite", a far cry from TheAntiGod]].
59* VoidBetweenTheWorlds: This is how it is defined in Book 14, as a force, rather than a being.
60* WorthyOpponent: As shown in Book 14, it seems to view Rand this way, or rather the Dragon as a whole. [[spoiler:It calls him "Adversary" in their battle.]] In general, it sees him as the only human really worth its time.
61* YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: [[spoiler:When Rand finally confronts the Dark One directly, he can only perceive him in his mind's eye as a featureless, endless void of nothingness, essentially anti-creation.]]
62[[/folder]]
63----
64
65!Friends Of The Dark
66
67[[folder:In General]]
68
69The "Friends of the Dark" or "Darkfriends", as they are commonly known, are the rank and file servants and worshippers of the Dark One, present from the Age of Legends down to the current Age. In the present, they are a nebulous but invisible force that have agents at every level of society and in almost every field -- the Black Ajah of the Aes Sedai are in many ways just a specific group of Darkfriends -- lured by promises of immortality and power. In practice, most Darkfriends in the current Age operated more as kind of international secret society / cult / crime syndicate, and few believed that the Dark One would be returning in their lifetimes or that they would be called upon to serve it... until the Forsaken Ishamael summoned them in numbers proclaiming that the time to serve the Dark had come...
70----
71* TheConspiracy: The Friends of the Dark have survived for millennia working on behalf of the Dark One and accumulating personal power and influence through treachery, deceit and murder, all over the world.
72* IncrediblyInconvenientDeity: Your average Darkfriend was quite happy to join the cause of the Shadow for the very simple reason that they either doubted the Dark One existed or, at the very least, did not believe that It would show up anywhere in their lifetime. Their collective reaction ranges from ecstatic fanaticism to abject horror that they will have to actually ''do'' something to help bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt rather than simply use their connections to make an easy life for themselves, or have their fantasies of being specially chosen by the Dark One itself tested and shattered as they are exposed as disposable pawns who [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness have to prove their worth or suffer death.]]
73* ProperlyParanoid: The heroes and many supporting characters, as well as many non-Dark-aligned villains, often suspect each other or different random people of secretly belonging to the Dark... and in many cases they are ''dead right''. One of the most potent weapons the Shadow has is the paranoia that brews as a result -- the forces of the Light don't co-operate nearly as well as they should with the Apocalypse looming largely because they are convinced that everyone else is secretly working for the Shadow, and of course the Shadow itself is happy to play on that for its own ends.
74* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: One of the dangers posed by the Darkfriends is that they are omnipresent, and several minor or supporting characters turn out to be Friends of the Dark in disguise. On numerous occasions the heroes meet a random farmer, traveller, merchant, aristocrat or whoever on their quest and have to fend off assassination attempts from an enemy agent.
75[[/folder]]
76
77!The Forsaken
78[[folder:The Forsaken / The Chosen]]
79
80In the previous War of Power, Lews Therin led the forces of Light, supported by a team of lieutenants and trusted advisers. Many Aes Sedai died, but others became {{Fallen Hero}}es and joined with The Shadow and The Dark One. The best-and-brightest of these Dreadlords were called "The Chosen" (short for "Chosen to Rule the World Forever") by the servants of the Shadow, "The Forsaken" by everyone else. It's thought there were originally about thirty Forsaken with various talents, ranging from military generals to doctors, scientists, artists, philosophers and so on. The [[ThirteenIsUnlucky thirteen]] most powerful Forsaken were trapped at Shayol Ghul at the moment Lews Therin sealed The Dark One's prison. There they have remained, largely suspended in time... and with the Seals wearing down, they are starting to break free.\
81\
82The Forsaken are a QuirkyMinibossSquad composed of NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast -- literally, since each of them took a MeaningfulRename after they turned to the Shadow. They are just one step below TheDragon ("Nae'blis") to the BigBad himself; most of them are of the CardCarryingVillain variety, and they often fight amongst themselves over who is going to ''be'' Nae'blis. (This level of DividedWeFall is implied to be one of the main reasons The Shadow hasn't won yet, though it's also something the Dark One is implied to actively look for in lieutenants: it prefers pure evil villains over stabler but less selfish minions.) They are here in the story's "present day" with all their knowledge from the Age of Legends intact, and the one thing everyone agrees on, both Light and Shadow, is that it's likely to be a CurbStompBattle once they start taking the fight to today's backwards yokels.
83----
84* TheArchmage: All of them were top-tier channelers by Age of Legends standards, which puts most of them at a truly epic stature compared to Third Age channelers (and with the egos to match). In particular, Ishamael (who wasn't the most powerful male channeler ever only because he was neck-and-neck with Lews Therin for the position), Lanfear (who is factually the most powerful female channeler, ever... until she runs into Alivia and gets one hell of a shock), Aginor, Demandred, and Rahvin were noted for this.
85* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Essentially how their hierarchy works; which Forsaken are currently the highest depends on who is most powerful, ruthless, and generally successful. Even before one of them was officially designated Nae'blis, WordOfGod has said that the top ranks of the Forsaken were always filled by Ishamael, Lanfear, Demandred, and to a lesser extent Graendal, Sammael, and Semirhage. [[invoked]]
86* BeautyIsBad: Not only are Lanfear and Rahvin apparently the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman and most handsome man, respectively, most of the others are also described as good looking to one degree or another (Graendal, Asmodean, Sammael, Demandred, Mesaana, Ishamael, Moghedien, Semirhage) and none of them as ugly - in their original forms, at least.
87* BerserkButton: Most of them have at least one, usually related to their FreudianExcuse or StartOfDarkness. As a group, they tend to get rather upset if they're called "Forsaken" -- it's "[[InsistentTerminology the Chosen]]", thank you very much.
88* CardCarryingVillain: Semirhage is the most obvious, though most of them have shades of this. [[spoiler: Ishamael was one as Ba'alzamon, but is much less so as Moridin, who's a more philosophically-inclined kind of villain]].
89* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: The Dark One seeks out selfishness in his followers. Therefore, betraying each other in pursuit of greater power and glory is par for the course with the Forsaken.
90* DeckOfWildCards: Fortunately for the Light, they have no loyalty to each other or the Dark One, only serve the Dark for the promise of power, and happily double-cross each other unless ordered to cooperate (and sometimes even then).
91* DemonLordsAndArchdevils: Play this role to the Shadowspawn and in their world's mythology, despite being human themselves. A few of them have names evocative of real-world demon lords and archdevils.
92* TheDragon: The official position Nae'blis, held by the leader of the Forsaken and the right hand of the Dark One. They all want it, but only [[spoiler:Moridin]] gets it.
93* DragonWithAnAgenda: Though they'll all obey the Dark One when directly commanded (it would be [[TooDumbToLive rather suicidal not to, after all]]), in terms of their day-to-day lives they're generally much more concerned with satisfying their personal ambitions than they are with actually serving the Shadow's cause. Ishamael is the chief exception to this.
94* TheDreaded: The group became the benchmark by which evil was judged in the setting for millennia, though as 'Ba'alzamon', Ishamael was a particular example, since everyone thought he ''was'' the Dark One and he did nothing to correct the misconception.
95* DreamWalker: All of them have at least some skill in this area, seeing as they used ''Tel'aran'rhiod'' for their meetings. Lanfear, Ishamael, and Moghedien are particularly good at it.
96* EleventhHourRanger: [[spoiler: In the last book, they get one new member -- M'Hael, aka Mazrim Taim]].
97* EvilerThanThou: They pull this on most people and Darkfriends to come their way, but Ishamael tends to pull this on the lot of them - while Lanfear is willing to defy him to his face and the others scheme against him (and privately think he's insane), they're all at least wary of him. [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership There is good reason for this]].
98* EvilFormerFriend: A disproportionate number of them (including Ishamael, Lanfear, Demandred, Sammael and Be'lal) were in Lews Therin Telamon's social circle before turning to the Shadow.
99* EvilIsPetty: The Forsaken who ''weren't'' just assholes looking for a cheap way out of problems they'd brought on themselves almost universally sold their souls to the cosmic embodiment of evil for the most spiteful, small-minded reasons imaginable.
100* EvilSorcerer: All of them. You don't get to be a Forsaken unless you can channel, and you wouldn't want to be a Forsaken unless you were evil.
101* FallenHero: Demandred, Sammael, Graendal, and for a certain value of "hero" (at least, someone who was greatly respected), Ishamael.
102* TheHeavy: The group as a whole play this role; though the Dark One is the ultimate villain, being both a SealedEvilInACan as well as more of a force than a person it is usually kept at arms length from the narrative while they take a more central role. Exactly which Forsaken is most prominent varies depending on what part of the series you look at.
103* HumanoidAbomination: Subverted. The people of the present Age consider them to be this, but they're actually just very powerful, very evil humans.
104* ItsAllAboutMe: According to Jordan, selfishness is the one common trait among them -- it's the one mindset the Dark One truly understands since it's the way he himself conceptualizes the universe.
105* TheManBehindTheCurtain: A running theme is just how ''pathetic'' a lot of them really are when you strip away their mystique.
106* MeaningfulRename: All of them; most were given to them by others, but Lanfear chose her own. All of them (except "[[OddNameOut Asmodean]]", which means "musician"), are also NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast. Those of them who are reincarnated into new bodies get ''new'' new names from the Dark One.
107* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Most of their names are evocative of demons or monsters from real world mythology. They also qualify as these in-universe, meaning rather nasty things in the Old Tongue (except Asmodean, whose name means "musician"). [[spoiler:This does not tend to hold true for some of the new bodies of dead Chosen.]]
108* NormalFishInATinyPond: More like ''Big'' Fish In A Tiny Pond. At the beginning, the heroes live in constant fear of the Forsaken because they know that they (the heroes) would be hopelessly outclassed in a fight; it's actually a really big moment when one of them (Nynaeve, the strongest good-guy female there is) discovers that she is actually able to ''match'' one of the weaker Forsaken blow-for-blow. But even at the end, after those heroes have all [[TookALevelInBadass taken numerous levels in Badass]], the Forsaken continue to present a credible threat: the FinalBattle, which involves the vast majority of the Light's strongest channelers and like twenty-five narrators, revolves around taking down just ''three'' of them. And it takes ''four'' {{Heroic Sacrifice}}s to do it.
109* OffstageVillainy:
110** The heinous deeds that inspired their status as TheDreaded took place over three thousand years before the series begins. This is particularly obvious with Asmodean, Demandred, and Mesaana, who come across as three of the least evil Forsaken largely because their worst atrocities[[note]]maiming rival musicians and having his mother killed by Trollocs for Asmodean, wiping out entire cities who disrespected him for Demandred, and brainwashing children to be {{Tykebomb}}s for the Shadow for Mesaana[[/note]] occurred in the backstory and are never directly relevant to their present-day role.
111** One of them does get a chance to do this in the present day, however, by taking control of the Black Ajah and organising the schism in the White Tower: [[spoiler:Mesaana]]. Out of all the Forsaken, she probably won the biggest victory for the Shadow; the whole business took seven or eight books to complete. All of this happens offscreen, as befitting the trope: even the head of the Black doesn't know which Forsaken she's taking orders from (or, for that matter, who that Forsaken is pretending to be).
112* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Multiple Forsaken have this attitude toward Rand. Of course, the Dark One will reward whoever manages to take him out (as long as they do it according to the rules; he frequently doesn't want Rand killed), but ItsPersonal for several. Demandred, Sammael, and Be'lal all want revenge and can't agree to work together for it. Lanfear just wants her ex back (and is happy to use MindControl to get him); obviously, this isn't compatible with the goals of the previous three, or with Graendal's mind control. (Graendal would be happy to use it on him, though she's not as into it as the others.) Ishamael wants Rand to serve the Dark One at any cost, though he'll kill him if need be and wait for the next cycle to turn him. Finally, all of them are opposed to Padan Fain getting to do the deed.
113* QuirkyMinibossSquad: Though they rarely work together unless forced to.
114* RedBaron: They're known by their Old Tongue epithets far more than by their actual given names, both in the series and on this page. We have the meanings of a few of them -- Betrayer of Hope (Ishamael), Daughter of the Night (Lanfear), Destroyer of Hope (Sammael), and the Spider (Moghedien[[note]]"moghedien" is actually the Old Tongue name of a particular kind of poisonous spider[[/note]]). We also have "Lady of Pain" (Semirhage) and "Netweaver" (Be'lal), but it's unclear if these are the literal meanings of their names or additional epithets. [[spoiler:The WOT Companion reveals that one of Be'lal's nicknames, "the Envious", is in fact one of the translations for his name (or more directly, "desire to have"). Semirhage, meanwhile, means "the promise of pain" or one who embodies it.]]
115* RecurringBoss: Unless their boss is unhappy with them, or their opponent uses [[DeaderThanDead balefire]] to do the deed, killing them once is rarely enough.
116* ResurrectiveImmortality: When one of the Forsaken dies, the Dark One can bring him or her back in a body taken from among the many dead Borderlanders littering the Blight. Although their appearance (and name) changes, their strength in the Power remains the same (and they will still channel saidin or saidar like they did before, even if brought back in a body of the opposite sex). The Dark One only has a small window of opportunity to do this, so using balefire to make them retroactively dead before their death prevents it from happening.
117* SealedCastInAMultipack: It's not known why these particular Forsaken were in the Bore. Maybe the Dark One was keeping them close as a PraetorianGuard; maybe they were running the defense of the battle; maybe it was a staff meeting. Whatever the case, there they were, and there they were trapped.
118* SealedEvilInACan: All of them were trapped in the Dark One's prison by Lews Therin at the end of the War of Power (except for Ishamael, who wasn't ''quite'' imprisoned and was able to act in the world for certain periods of time before being forced back into dormancy). For the most part, they were in perfect stasis, except for Ishamael and Aginor and Balthamel (who were close enough to reality to be both conscious and subject to the passage of time).
119* ShroudedInMyth: They're a dysfunctional -- though very dangerous -- group of powerful humans. Legends about them grew over the millennia that practically elevated them to lesser Gods of Evil in their own right.
120* TheStarscream: All of them [[spoiler:except Demandred]] scheme to KlingonPromotion their way to being Nae'blis, once the office is finally awarded. [[spoiler:Lanfear takes it a step further, plotting against the Dark One himself.]]
121* StupidEvil: Encouraged by their master. The Dark One needs them to retain their free will to use them with full effectiveness, but that carries the risk of one of them [[TheAtoner having a change of heart]]. So, without exception, its recruits are chosen for their willingness to be evil regardless of utility, and with only one exception, none of them ever do.
122* YouHaveFailedMe: The Dark One doesn't take failure lightly, and tends to send his [[TheDragon Dragon]] out to take care of failures amongst the Chosen. Select examples include [[spoiler:Lanfear/Cyndane, Moghedien, and Sammael]]. He also punishes [[spoiler:Graendal]] for plotting against other Chosen and leading to their deaths and other failures, but does so more directly, and sometimes punishes those he brings BackFromTheDead with their new bodies. The exception, said [[TheDragon Dragon]], is acknowledged as not getting any real retribution for failure, but it is also noted that the Dark One isn't exactly one to work fairly and equally. [[spoiler:Ends up being played straight on the latter in Book 14, with his punishment ''having been'' his resurrection, because all he wants is to permanently die.]]
123[[/folder]]
124
125[[folder:Ishamael]]
126!!Ishamael / "Ba'alzamon" / Moridin / Elan Morin Tedronai
127[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Ishamael_470.jpg]]
128
129A famous philosopher and writer in the Age of Legends and one of Lews Therin's closest friends. He is the most powerful of the Forsaken and their leader. Incredibly intelligent, he has profound insight into the nature of the Wheel of Time and the struggle between the Dark One and the Dragon. He is unique among the Forsaken as being the only member of the group who didn't join for the promise of power, immortality or revenge, but because his logic concluded that the Dark One must inevitably win against the Dragon, and therefore the only path was to join him and rule for a time. All of the other Forsaken believe him to be insane, though some of Ishamael's statements which are taken to be mad are in fact simply esoteric beyond what the other Forsaken are willing or capable of understanding (the brief talk on Chaos Theory at one of their meetings while burning a rat alive).\
130\
131He was only partially sealed in Shayol Ghul and has been manipulating and influencing the Pattern for eons by the time of the main series. He is responsible for both the Trolloc Wars and the fall of Artur Hawkwing.
132----
133* TheAntichrist: Sees himself as this, representing The Dark One as a counterpart to The Dragon, who is the MessianicArchetype for The Pattern. [[spoiler:He's right.]]
134* ArchEnemy: The only one of the Forsaken equal in power to Lews Therin / Rand and the one who has most went out of his way to make their respective lives Hell; took responsibility for Lews Therin killing his family, and at the very least showed up to rub his face in it, even giving him a moment of sanity just so he could comprehend what he had just done.
135* TheArchmage: One of the strongest channelers ever to live, and quite possibly ''the'' most experienced and knowledgeable. In addition to the One Power, he's also skilled with the True Power and Dreamwalking (as an actual Dreamer) and collects ''ter'angreal'', with likely only the White Tower itself rivaling his stock of powerful Second Age artifacts.
136* ArmchairMilitary: The Guide notes that during the War of Power, his official rank was Chief Captain-General of the Shadow -- despite the fact that he had no military experience and is never recorded to have actually led troops in person. [[spoiler: As Moridin, he largely dispenses with even that, leaving the running of the military side of things almost exclusively to Demandred while preparing for his personal confrontation with Rand]].
137* AxCrazy: The other Forsaken agree he's nuts. [[spoiler:Moridin was saner, or at least had a better lid on his insanity, though his constant use of the True Power gradually ate away at his stability.]]
138* BadPowersBadPeople: The True Power, which is like the One Power but can perform weaves impossible with the latter and derives from The Dark One, and is much more dangerous and addictive.
139* BeyondTheImpossible: He enjoys applying this to his Dreamshards, which contain sights such as burning oceans and endless seas with stone flooring.
140* BigBad: Within the Forsaken's group dynamic, anyway, though not the biggest bad story-wise. He's the most powerful of the Forsaken and as Nae'blis has overall command of the Shadow's forces, though he himself is TheDragon to [[GreaterScopeVillain the Dark One]].
141* BreakingSpeech: At times, he seems to talk almost exclusively in these.
142* BlackEyesOfEvil: The [[AddictiveMagic True]] [[TheDarkSide Power]] causes ''saa'', flecks of blackness, to flit across the eyes of habitual users, with more the more they use it. This ultimately culminates in completely black eyes, signifying their turn to completely, irreversibly AxCrazy in the current body. Ishamael is heavily implied to have full ''saa'' in the first three books, with the thousands of years with them causing their [[GlowingEyesOfDoom current state]]. [[spoiler:Moridin develops it over the course of his life due to using the True Power exclusively, culminating in him getting full ''saa'' immediately before his battle with Rand at the Pit of Doom commences.]]
143* CameBackStrong: As part of his resurrection as Moridin the Nae'blis, he is rid of the damage of 3 millenia of touching the [[PowerAtAPrice True Power]] and is granted near unlimited access to it, he's significantly more sane, he's given a fresh body at its physical prime, and the Dark One gifts him direct control over two of the other Forsaken as well.
144* CessationOfExistence: [[spoiler:His ultimate goal, due to his status as a StrawNihilist.]]
145* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler:In the end of Book 14... [[ProphecyTwist in Rand's body, which is burned on a funeral pyre]].]]
146* TheChessmaster: Bonus points for being an actual master of this universe's version of chess, along with numerous other strategy games. At one point he uses a game of ''sha'rah'' as a metaphor for the eternal war between the Light and the Shadow.
147* ColdHam: As Ishamael, he's prone to giving [[EvilIsHammy melodramatic monologues about his own power and the furtility of resisting the Shadow]]. As [[spoiler: Moridin]] he likes to give the same sorts of monologues but in a much calmer, more subdued tone, which if anything is even more unsettling.
148* CoolSword: He seizes [[spoiler:''Callandor'' in the final book, and imbues it with the True Power, causing it to glow a brilliant crimson. [[BatmanGambit Just as planned]]]].
149* DeathByIrony: [[spoiler:In Book 2, Ishamael gave Rand a WoundThatWillNotHeal that remained with him for the rest of the series. After a FreakyFridayFlip imposed by Rand in the last book, Moridin dies of the very wound he himself inflicted years prior.]]
150* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler: The last book confirms he wants to die -- and take reality with him -- because he can't bear the idea of existence any longer. When Rand asks why the Dark One never punished him for impersonating him, Moridin tells him that his punishment was to be brought back to life]].
151* DespairEventHorizon: It is implied by Rand's comments to [[spoiler:Moridin]] in the World of Dreams that it was Elan Morin reaching the same conclusion as Rand did on Dragonmount at the end of ''The Gathering Storm'' that led him to become a StrawNihilist in the first place -- he just didn't have an EpiphanyTherapy to bring him back from the brink. This, coupled with Graendal's thoughts on Elan Morin [[StartOfDarkness once having been good]] like herself, suggests that Moridin has the potential to return to the Light [[spoiler:though having no one to love mixed with a genuine death wish meant he never actually realized it]].
152* DevilComplex: For millennia, humanity believed that he, or at least his Ba'alzamon persona, ''was'' the Dark One, and while how much he bought into it himself is unclear, he certainly did nothing to correct the misconception. [[spoiler: He drops the act as Moridin, in part because the Dark One, not amused, [[IronicHell resurrected him]] without his madness.]]
153* DiscOneFinalBoss: In the first three books, everyone thought he actually ''was'' the Dark One (Moiraine figured out his true identity after [[spoiler:his death]]), and that when Rand killed him it was all over. Boy were they wrong...
154** RecurringBoss: One reason for this is that Rand [[spoiler:kills him more than once until Ba'alzamon finally stays dead, though he comes back with a wildly different personality, as Moridin]].
155* TheDragon: As Ishamael, he was the most powerful and consistently most favored of the Forsaken. [[spoiler: As Moridin, he was officially named Nae'blis.]]
156** ItsPersonalWithTheDragon: As the Dark One itself is an immensely powerful but mostly formless malevolence, Ishamael tends to take a much more central role as TheHeavy and Rand's ArchEnemy and EvilCounterpart.
157* TheDreaded: The Forsaken are this in general, but for millennia men thought he was The Dark One himself thanks to misinterpreting his title Ba'alzamon (that, and he thinks he is too). Though even without it, knowing he's the most powerful of the Forsaken and is equal to The Dragon tends to be sufficient.
158* DreamWalker: A master of ''Tel'aran'rhiod'' manipulation, he haunts Rand's dreams for much of the first three books [[spoiler: and again in the last three]]. In addition, WordOfGod indicates that at least one of the Forsaken is a Dreamer, and most fan speculation has Ishamael pegged for the role [[spoiler: confirmed by Rand after re-integrating Lews Therin's memories that Moridin is in fact a Dreamwalker due to his ability to create little pockets of dreamlike pseudo-reality called Dreamshards]].[[invoked]]
159* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:Moridin and Rand have a brief one against Sammael and Mashadar, as Moridin both wants Rand alive and wants to punish Sammael for falsely claiming to be Nae'blis. Mashadar just wanted to eat both of them]].
160* EnlightenedAntagonist: Subverted. Moridin plainly considers himself to be this, believing that his great insight into the metaphysics of the Wheel and the Pattern places him on a level above not only ordinary people but also the other Forsaken; however it's made plain that his commitment to his nihilistic worldview [[EvilCannotComprehendGood blinds him to important truths about existence]]. In the end, as even the Dark One says, HIS EYES ARE SMALL.
161* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Doesn't see the point of fighting against the, [[EvilOnlyHasToWinOnce in his view, unavoidable victory of the Dark One]]. He understand feelings like compassion and empathy perfectly well, but pays them no heed on his way to unmaking creation itself. And he tends to forget that others aren't as fatalistic as himself, thus acting vastly different than he.
162* EvilCounterpart: To Rand. Sees himself as this to The Dragon in general, believing that he serves as TheDragon to The Dark One in the same way Rand is The Dragon to the Creator, that they both reincarnate and battle for eternity. [[spoiler:This is made particularly obvious as Moridin, who even ''looks'' a bit like a dark-haired version of Rand]].
163* EvilGenius: In terms of raw brainpower, he's probably the smartest of the Forsaken by a fair margin, though the fact that this manifests mostly through metaphysical ponderings and obsessing with esoterica means that others beat him in more practical areas of intelligence [[note]]Most obviously, Graendal for personal manipulation and Demandred for military strategy[[/note]].
164* FallenHero: Not quite ''hero'', but he was a highly respected intellectual back in the day. He was called "The Betrayer of Hope" by the public when he publicly announced for the Shadow, signalling how far he had fallen in their eyes.
165* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:To his mind, ''[[WhoWantsToLiveForever being reincarnated]]''.]]
166* {{Foil}}: To Rand.
167* FreakyFridayFlip: [[spoiler:In their final battle, Rand does this to him intentionally. As a result of this, Moridin dies of Rand's [[WoundThatWillNotHeal Wounds That Will Not Heal]] [[KarmicDeath (the first of which he himself inflicted in the first place)]], and Rand is free to live out his life, unable to channel, in Moridin's body, to see the Fourth Age.]]
168* FriendlyEnemy: As [[spoiler:Moridin]], he and Rand have a number of downright civil, almost pleasant conversations, despite being fully aware that their respective positions as [[spoiler:Nae'blis]] and Dragon make them eternal enemies. He even goes so far as to [[spoiler:protect Rand from Mashadar]], since he knows of his importance to the Last Battle, which he considers imperative and inevitable. Rand [[spoiler: after merging with his memories of Lews Therin]] always refers to him as "Elan", rather than any of his chosen names or even "Elan Morin", which WordOfGod says could indicate insult or close familiarity -- and in this context likely means ''both''. See GoKartingWithBowser below. [[invoked]]
169-->Rand watched that fire for a time, thinking. One might have thought that they were old friends, [[FireOfComfort enjoying the warmth of a winter hearth]]. Except that the [[ColdFlames flames gave no heat]], and [[ArchEnemy Rand would someday kill this man. Or die at his hands]].
170* GlowingEyesOfDoom: As Ba'alzamon due to extensive use of the True Power.
171* GoKartingWithBowser: After achieving {{synchronization}} with Rand in Book 8 by accident, they have several meetings in the resident DreamLand where they do not actually attack each other, but rather have conversations. That said, they show that they are distinctly opposed to one another, and that they ''will'' eventually fight. [[spoiler:In Books 13 and 14, these conversations get to the point of them calling each other by their Age of Legends names.]]
172* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: At the end of the Last Battle, he stabs himself in the hand so Rand will feel the pain through their link and drop ''Callandor'', allowing Moridin to claim it. Before he can use it, Rand, Nynaeve and Moiraine take control of him through the flaw and use him to completely reseal the Bore]].
173* KarmaHoudini: Chosen who fail in the Great Lord's service are usually punished in some manner, but Ishamael gets away with losing to Rand in the third book and is even made [[spoiler:Nae'blis]] after returning. Moghedien, who suffers at length for her own failure, is furious about this. [[spoiler:It turns out that being brought back ''was'' Ishamael's punishment, as what Elan wants more than anything is to ''stay dead''.]]
174* KneelBeforeZod: His Ba'alzamon persona is obsessed with making Rand submit. [[spoiler: Moridin is too, he's just more subtle about it]]. Ultimately, almost everything he does in-series -- from his first appearance restoring Lews Therin's sanity so that he'll realize he killed his family to [[spoiler: his final conversations with Rand before the Last Battle]] -- is about trying to force the Dragon to recognize the power of Shai'tan and the inevitability of the Shadow's victory.
175-->'''Ishamael:''' "Kneel! Kneel, and acknowledge me your master! In the end, you will. You will be my creature, or you will die."
176* TheManBehindTheMan: Ishamael was not fully imprisoned, and, calling himself Ba'alzamon, was able to influence events unopposed for a couple of millennia. For instance, he started a world war.
177** It's implied that he was spun out of the Dark One's prison for 40 years at a time in 1000 year cycles, and that it has happened three times. The first time it happened he apparently woke up right in the middle of the Trolloc Wars, where he took command of the Trolloc forces and used them to nearly destroy civilization, but was spun back into the prison just before he could finish the job. The second time it happened, he caused the breakup of King Artur Hawkwing's empire and started a bloody war of succession called the War of the Hundred Years. The third time, he devoted his efforts to hunting down and turning Rand al'Thor to the Shadow before he could become a threat.
178* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Ishamael means "Betrayer of Hope" and [[spoiler: Moridin means "Death"]] in the Old Tongue. Ba'alzamon means "Heart of the Dark" in Trolloc.
179* NoImmortalInertia: After his [[spoiler:first]] death, his body rots into nothingness almost immediately. Apparently, it made quite a stink.
180* NotSoSimilar: He and Rand both teetered on the edge of despair, nihilism, and [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal mania]] when faced with the EternalRecurrence of the Pattern. The difference is that [[spoiler:Rand managed [[TheAntiNihilist to pull himself back by realizing it gave people new chances to do better]], while he [[StrawNihilist just dug himself in deeper out of feeling the only reprieve is the end of everything]]]].
181* TheOnlyBeliever: Out of the Forsaken, he seems to be the only one who genuinely wants to follow the Dark One, rather than just using the power to some other aim. He is fully aware of this, but does not care about the others' opinions on the matter as long as they are useful.
182* ThePhilosopher: Seems GenreSavvy to the endless repetition of the Wheel of Time.
183** StrawNihilist: The philosophical outlook he ultimately arrived at, which led him to ally with the Dark One in the first place. Ironically Rand is the Nietzschean Superman who has managed to accept EternalRecurrence while Ishamael's failure at this led to his downfall.
184* OmnicidalManiac: Nearly all the Forsaken and every Darkfriend believes that the Shadow is trying to TakeOverTheWorld, or will at least remake it after destroying it with its followers in positions of power and glory. Ishamael is the only one who believes (or, perhaps, realizes) that Shai'tan seeks to destroy everything for its own sake, and actually signed up for that express purpose, finding EternalRecurrence to be unbearable. As Ba'alzamon, it's unclear how much he really wanted the world to end versus believing that as the Dark One's avatar he'd have the power to remake reality to his liking [[spoiler:but Moridin is very much a straight example]].
185* {{Pride}}: Very obvious as Ba'alzamon [[spoiler: and more subtle, but still present, as Moridin]]. His unshakable belief that his understanding of prophecy, his place in it, and the metaphysics of the Pattern is ''right'' is one of the central facets of his character [[spoiler: and Rand triggers his final VillainousBreakdown simply by dismissing him as irrelevant]]. He also brushes aside Rand's very accurate belief that Dark One won't give him reprieve, and his "torment" will go on.
186* PowerLevels: Again, Jordan is fairly vague with this, but it's stated multiple times that Ishamael was comparable in power to Lews Therin during the Age of Legends, and is probably the single strongest channeler of either gender in the modern world other than Rand. In the first three books, his complete insanity seems to have gotten in the way of his power, but now...
187* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: [[spoiler:As Moridin. He also applies this to [[MadeASlave Cyndane and Moheigden]].]]
188* RedRightHand: As Ba'alzamon, he had flaming pits for eyes and a mouth (confirmed by WordOfGod to be a side-effect of overusing the True Power). As Moridin, he shows an earlier stage of this, the ''saa'', which take the form of tiny black dots that drift across his eyes. Eventually, they turn his eyes completely black. [[invoked]]
189* RedemptionRejection: In ''Memory of Light'', Rand offers him one last chance to turn back to the Light. [[spoiler: But because the Dark One has promised to give him the one thing he wants above all -- oblivion -- if freed, Moridin refuses]].
190* SaveTheVillain: [[spoiler:Rand carries his dying body out of Shayol Ghul. He dies of his own wounds anyway, but not in the way you might think.]]
191* TheSmartOneTurnsTraitor: In the Age of Legends, he was a world-renowned scholar, a genius, and one of Lews Therin's closest friends, until he came to the conclusion that [[EvilOnlyHasToWinOnce the world was doomed to fall to the Dark One eventually]]. Not only did he turn traitor, he did so in a public address that sparked widespread riots.
192* SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum: [[spoiler:And he wants to take reality itself with him, so long as he doesn't have to come back.]]
193* {{Synchronization}}: [[spoiler: After their balefire streams connect in ''A Crown of Swords'', Moridin becomes increasingly linked with Rand, to the point of sharing each other's pain and, on occasion, thoughts. This likely also enabled their body swap]].
194* TakingYouWithMe: Tries this with Rand [[spoiler:at the end of the final book by wielding a True Power-influenced ''Callandor'', but in doing so leaves himself open to the weapon's FatalFlaw.]]
195* TomeOfEldritchLore: [[spoiler: He's the proud owner of a very extensive book of Dark Prophecies which he uses as a guide for his plotting. He shows it to Graendal in ''Towers of Midnight'']].
196* TookALevelInBadass: Of sorts. He ''always'' stood at the top of the pack of the Forsaken in terms of power, intellect, and loyalty to the Dark One, but as Ba'alzamon he was too nuts to make effective use of his skills, to the point that Rand and co. were able to best him thrice. As [[spoiler:Moridin, though hardly sane, he's regained enough presence of mind to be far more dangerous and get himself officially named as TheDragon (a position he only held unofficially before)]].
197* TookALevelInKindness: A slight level, which makes him even more of a wild card to his peers. [[spoiler:By the final book,]] he's noted to have more or less stopped taking pleasure in the suffering he might once have enjoyed, having grown solemn and spending most of his time alone in thought.
198* VillainousBreakdown: Has a minor one when [[spoiler:Rand takes control of his Dreamshard and manipulates it as a message to the Dark One in Book 14]]. Technically, he's been doing this for quite a long time due to his insanity, but this is one of the few times his confidence cracks.
199* VillainousRescue: He saves Rand from [[spoiler:falling to his death in Shadar Logoth at the climax of ''A Crown of Swords'', fights Mashadar with him, and gives him some earnest advice on how to defeat Sammael.]]
200* WickedCultured: A well-educated, well-dressed, well-spoken man whose interests include philosophy, strategy games -- and [[OmnicidalManiac trying to destroy the world]].
201* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: By way of the True Power. [[spoiler:Moridin is just as strong, but develops his madness over the course of his new life, though not nearly to the same point as Ishamael.]]
202* WorthyOpponent: Believes himself one to the Dragon Reborn. [[spoiler:In Book 14, however, Rand makes it absolutely clear that he views Moridin as nothing more than a distraction, and tells him to tell the Dark One that he is coming for ''him'' instead.]]
203* YouShallNotPass: [[spoiler:He's the final obstacle between Rand and the Dark One, and invokes a variation of this.]]
204[[/folder]]
205
206[[folder:Aginor]]
207!!Aginor/Osan'gar/Corlan Dashiva/Ishar Morrad Chuain
208[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Aginor_5444.jpg]]
209[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here to see him as Osan'gar]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/osangar.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]
210
211Formerly known as Ishar Morrad Chuain, he was a famous biologist, but his lack of ethics got his license revoked so he turned to the Shadow for more... ''creative freedom''. He created most of the Shadowspawn that still terrorize the world an Age later.
212----
213* AgeWithoutYouth: Not ''quite'' as bad as Balthamel, but being caught within the Dark One's prison but close enough to reality to still experience the passage of time left him looking more like a dessicated corpse than a living man, as his picture illustrates nicely.
214* AllThereInTheManual: Him being second-strongest of the male Forsaken in the Power is alluded to in the books[[note]]Moiraine says he was "close behind" Ishamael and Lews Therin, but doesn't mention if anyone else was between them or not[[/note]] but only directly confirmed in the Guide and WordOfGod. Similarly, his role as the creator of the Shadowspawn is mentioned offhand at various points in the series, but it's supplemental materials where most of the info on his work and importance comes from. [[invoked]]
215* CripplingOverspecialization: Per WordOfGod he's one of the strongest of the Forsaken in the One Power after Ishamael and Rahvin, but he's focused on making monsters using [[MadScientist Mad Science]]. This made him key in the War of Power by creating the Shadowspawn armies, but in the Third Age he doesn't have the {{Magitek}} he needs for this purpose and as such he is one of the least effective Forsaken.[[invoked]]
216* EvilOldFolks: Physically, at least. How old he actually was in comparison to the other Forsaken is never stated.
217* MadScientist: He turned to the Shadow because, hey, when your boss is an omnicidal force of utter evil, nobody bothers you about ethics in your research.
218* MakerOfMonsters: He's a skilled and entirely amoral geneticist and personally responsible for the creation of the Shadow's monstrous {{Mooks}}. He created the trollocs, for instance, by performing Mengele-esque experiments on his fellow human beings and animals by the thousandfold in order to create ideal soldiers, although his general removal from combat meant he had little idea what made an ideal soldier beyond strength and aggressiveness -- [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome consequently, trollocs are little beyond savage, undisciplined killers]]. Alluded to by the name he was given as a Forsaken, which means [[spoiler:"slicer of the living"]].
219* MaskingTheDeformity: Balthamel the Forsaken wears a full-head leather mask due to an extreme case of AgeWithoutYouth. No one ever sees the extent of the damage, but it leaves him [[TheSpeechless unable to speak]].
220* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: An osan'gar is [[spoiler:a dagger dipped in slow poison]].
221* ObliviouslyEvil: To an extent. WordOfGod has said that Aginor is the kind of guy who would create a plague capable of driving the human race to extinction without ever pausing to wonder if he ''should'' or if it might have negative consequences. He generally seems to have been less "Capital E Evil" than completely amoral and heedless of consequence. [[invoked]]
222* {{Reincarnation}}: [[spoiler:Aginor is killed off after a five-page fight scene in the first book, but the Dark One eventually manages to stick his soul into someone else's body. The same happens with Balthamel, Ishamael, and Lanfear. He then goes into hiding, spending several books as an unimportant secondary character, managing to accomplish little of importance... and then he teleports onto the wrong hilltop at the wrong time and gets glassed again. Poor bugger.]]
223* SmallRoleBigImpact: He has a small role at the end of ''Eye of the World'' and is then killed off. [[spoiler:He comes back from the dead and dies again several books later after having accomplished nothing of much significance]]. But because of his role creating the Shadowspawn, he probably inflicted more suffering on the world than ''any'' other Forsaken.
224* UnskilledButStrong: He's second-strongest of the male Forsaken, but he's neither a fighter nor a general. Even his choice of cover identity isn't great; a number of savvy fans noticed that ''something'' was up with the man, though (in fairness) few thought there would be a freaking ''Forsaken'' HiddenInPlainSight. He claims to have encountered Lews Therin in the Hall of the Servants and "met him stroke for stroke", but it's possible that he's boasting; even if true, a one-on-one duel with the Power is not a battlefield.
225* WithCatlikeTread: Attempts to sneak up on Rand and Nynaeve [[spoiler:and steal the Choedan Kal while they're cleansing ''saidin'']].
226-->''... he began to skulk from tree to tree in what he imagined was a stealthy manner. It was toward the key that he skulked.''
227* YouHaveFailedMe: A subtle example. [[spoiler:The Dark One simply doesn't reincarnate him after his second death. Part of this might just be because Aginor's talents simply aren't that useful in the Third Age, since Forsaken who failed much more decisively still get revived repeatedly.]]
228[[/folder]]
229
230[[folder:Asmodean]]
231!!Asmodean / Jasin Natael / Joar Addam Nessosin
232[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wot__asmodean.jpg]]
233
234A famed musician and composer of the Age of Legends and the least violent of all the Forsaken. He is neither a schemer nor a general, and the only reason he turned to the Shadow was so that he could gain immortality and have enough time to learn every song ever written. However he ''is'' still a ruthless jerk, and [[FateWorseThanDeath stilled his own mother]] before [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil giving her over to the Myrddraal for sport]], among other terrible crimes. He favors Lanfear as an ally and is among the weakest of the male Forsaken (which means he's still bounds ahead of most men in the current age). His death is one of the single most famous mysteries in the series, fans arguing for years over who killed him.
235----
236* BackFromTheDead: He, Mat, and Aviendha accompany Rand to attack Forsaken-controlled Caemlyn in ''The Fires of Heaven'', but are killed by Rahvin; Rand's Balefire rewinds time and brings them back. He and Mat are both quite disconcerted over this ordeal and neither wants to dwell on it.
237* TheBard: In his backstory, as well as his cover story as [[spoiler:Natael]]. He formally becomes the Dragon Reborn's bard as a convenient way to keep him around without suspicion. [[spoiler:His Forsaken name even ''means'' "musician", showing just how important music was to him and how his life revolved around it.]]
238* CategoryTraitor: The Shadow perceives him as this and attempts to have him killed.
239* ChildProdigy: He became an accomplished musician at a very young age, and went on to be famous and successful. Just not as famous and successful as a number of critics, and in fact he himself, thought he should have been.
240* DeadpanSnarker: He has his moments.
241* DefeatMeansFriendship: Downplayed. After losing to Rand, he's forced by [[TheStarscream Lanfear]] to betray the Shadow and join Rand's side, and loses his immortality as well as much of his power. He takes this in his stride and decides to earnestly help Rand destroy the Shadow, and wants to cling on to his mortal life for as long as he can.
242* EvilIsPetty: In the previous Age, while Governor of his assigned domains in the service of the Dark One, he didn't really get up to many atrocities (compared to the rest, that is); ''however'', he ''did'' order every single musician, artist and any professional creative talent who had ever slighted him, been his rivals, or otherwise suggested he would never amount to anything to be ''maimed'' -- they lived, and there wasn't even torture involved, but they could no longer perform their craft.
243* EvilMentor: To Rand, in that he's evil and a tutor in the Power. It isn't that simple, however; Rand is fully aware of his evilness, but is happy to keep him around so long as he stays loyal.
244-->'''Asmodean''': No burning nets woven about my tent tonight? Do you finally begin to trust me?
245-->'''Rand''': I trust you like a brother. Until the day you betray me. You have a parole for what you've done, in return for your teaching, and a better bargain than you deserve, but the day you turn against me, I will tear it up and bury it with you.
246* {{Foil}}: To Moghedien, who finds herself forced into a similar situation in Book 5, with a very different outcome.
247* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Decided to genuinely turn back to the Light, according to WordOfGod. Then [[spoiler:Graendal]] killed him, and the Dark One, knowing of the betrayal, refused to resurrect him.[[invoked]]
248* HeelFaceTurn: Forced on him by Lanfear, who threatened to arrange for his death unless he taught Rand to channel.
249* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Joined the Shadow [[ImmortalitySeeker in exchange for eternal life]] in which to refine his musical talents. Bound his soul to a GodOfEvil. [[DisproportionateRetribution Mutilated]] every artist or critic who'd ever slighted him. [[BroughtDownToNormal Stilled]] his own mother [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil then gave her to the Myddraaal as a plaything]].
250* LastWords: "[[OhCrap You? No!]]"
251** YouExclamation
252** BigNo
253* ALighterShadeOfBlack: He's definitely the nicest of the Forsaken, and the most accommodating. And as compliments go, [[DamningWithFaintPraise that's not one]].
254* MasterSwordsman: Stated by Demandred during the final book, according to some interpretations. Demandred is trying to come up with anyone who might have survived from the Second Age and thus be his near-equal as a swordsman. He names, then immediately dismisses, Asmodean[[note]]Considering his personality, it's possible Asmodean was skilled in the sport of "Swords", but not so much in actual combat or relied on the Power, which he'd been denied at the time, for some sort of edge, as he's noted to be awkward the one time he's shown holding a sword in an actual engagement near the end of ''Fires of Heaven''[[/note]].
255* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "Asmodean" derives from "Asmodeus", a recurring [[DemonLordsAndArchDevils demon lord]] in Judeo-Christian lore. Note that this is not an example InUniverse; there, his name simply means [[spoiler:"musician"]].
256* NeverFoundTheBody: This incorrectly leads Rand to believe that Asmodean betrayed him.
257* OddNameOut: His name is the only one of the Forsaken's that was not chosen to invoke dread; it simply means [[spoiler:"musician", his initial profession]] and further indicates how he was relatively the TokenGoodTeammate of the bunch.
258* OpportunisticBastard: Subverted. [[spoiler:When Rand is near-death after a Shadowspawn attack, the last thing he sees before blacking out is Asmodean invoking the Power. He wakes up later and learns that Asmo tried to Heal him, despite lacking facility in that technique.]]
259* PunchClockVillain: A ChildProdigy who never quite lived up to his initial promise, he joined the Shadow because he loved music too much to spend only one lifetime on it, and was noted for being a relatively benign administrator of conquered territories -- except [[EvilIsPetty to rival artists]]. The fact his Forsaken name simply means "musician" shows just how much his talent meant to him.
260** Rand himself noted how foolish the FaceHeelTurn actually was when he learned of its reasons, albeit in narration.
261* QuizzicalTilt: A habitual gesture of his he uses often when looking at others.
262* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Or rather his redemption was punished by death.]]
263* RedemptionDemotion: He loses a lot of his power after switching sides, along with his immortality.
264* SilentSnarker: He tends to use his music to get his snark across when speaking would be improper.
265* TokenEvilTeammate: Becomes this for Rand after he gets captured.
266* TrappedInVillainy: Inverted. He attempts a genuine HeelFaceTurn (after being forced to train Rand by Lanfear) in part because, as he openly admits, the Dark One [[BadBoss does not take betrayals or failure well]], leaving him with little choice but to throw his lot in with the Light.
267* VillainTeamUp: He and Lanfear formed one. [[spoiler: It didn't end well for him.]]
268** It is also very likely, based on him having knowledge of her no one else did, and that all the Forsaken whose locations he knew were the same ones she knew of, that he had formed one with [[spoiler:Graendal]] prior to Lanfear finding him "hiding in a hole". [[spoiler:If so, it didn't end well for him either, since this acts as another motive for her killing him -- to keep him from giving away where she was, and to throw off suspicions of her loyalty since he had seemingly turned traitor.]]
269* WeAreAsMayflies: This actually gives him a more positive outlook on life; he had never considered that he might lose his immortality, and decides to cling on the precious little time mortals enjoy with everything he's got.
270* WhiteDwarfStarlet: Downplayed. He was still a famous and successful musician... but not as successful as everyone expected him to grow up to be when he was a ChildProdigy, including himself. Part of his willingness to join with the Shadow for immortality was a desire to learn every song ever written, and eventually ''actually'' become the supreme musical talent he'd always wanted to be.
271[[/folder]]
272
273[[folder:Balthamel]]
274!!Balthamel / Aran'gar/ Halima Saranov / Eval Ramman
275[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Balthamel_8949.jpg]]
276[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here to see him as Aran'gar]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arangar_3.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]
277
278The ''anti-Mat'', he was a historian in the Age of Legends famous for his study of primitive and extinct cultures, but is better remembered as a gambling, womanizing jackass. He had major anger management issues that eventually led him to the Shadow in order to dodge a RestrainingBolt against using the power for violence. He ran an intelligence network unmatched by any of the other Chosen except for Moghedien. His most remembered evil deed was raising and organizing breeding camps for humans to be fed to the Trolloc armies. He is resurrected in a female body partway into the series.
279----
280* AgeWithoutYouth: He and Aginor were sealed the "closest" to Randland, for lack of a better term, of all the Forsaken. That's why, while all the other Forsaken still have their youthful good looks, the two of them were exposed to the ravages of time.
281* BodyHorror: Aginor was left a withered old man. Balthamel '''lost most of his head''' to rot.
282* TheCasanova: A notorious lech, which made his resurrection in a female body ironic.
283* CruelAndUnusualDeath: The Green Man kills him in the first book by using his [[GreenThumb power to control plants]] to cause hundreds of mushrooms, weeds, and other plants that feed on rot to ''eat his decayed body into nothing'' in an instant.
284* DeaderThanDead: [[spoiler:As of Book 13]], courtesy of [[spoiler:Graendal, [[UnwittingPawn by way of Rand]]]].
285%%* DepravedBisexual: [[spoiler:As Aran'gar.]]%%ZCE
286* DramaticIrony: His Forsaken name means [[spoiler:"essence of youth", reflecting how he joined the Shadow solely for immortality]]. Now look at AgeWithoutYouth above...
287* EvilCounterpart: Of a sort to Mat, being remembered in history primarily for being TheGambler and a womanizer, but being decidedly on the other side of the conflict.
288* ExpressiveMask: When he's torturing the Green Man, Rand sees it grinning wider.
289* TheGambler: One of the things he was known for.
290* MaskPower: As Balthamel, he wore a mask that looked like a face in agony.
291* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: [[spoiler:By WordOfGod, his sexual preference was "expanded" when he was turned into a woman.]][[invoked]]
292* MsFanservice: [[spoiler:Women would describe Aran'gar as the type of woman who would be dreamed up by a lascivious man, with a thin waist, wide hips, a full bosom, and an overall striking beauty. Considering his prior life, the Dark One probably made him appear this way as an ironic punishment.]]
293* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: [[spoiler:An aran'gar is a dagger dipped in slow poison.]]
294* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Not so much ideologically (he doesn't really seem to have ''had'' an ideology, unless extreme selfishness counts) but note the bit about death camps in the description...
295* NothingIsScarier: Perceived this way by Rand in comparison to Aginor. Aginor is so withered he looks like an ancient corpse. What does Balthamel feel he has to hide behind a mask?
296* OutsideContextProblem: A minor example. [[spoiler:As Aran'gar, she is the ''only'' woman with the ability to channel ''saidin''. One of the few people that encounters her and ''realizes'' this has a bit of an OhCrap moment, and distinctly thinks that her channeling ''saidin'' is impossible. Not "possible, just really bloody difficult", not "only made possible through gaming the rules of reality like a pro", but ''completely'' impossible.]]
297* ReincarnatedAsTheOppositeSex: [[spoiler:Balthamel was a man, but was reincarnated as a woman by the Dark One. However, as Aran'gar, she still channels ''saidin''.]]
298* SupernaturallyValidatedTransPerson: It's unclear what his/her gender identity was as Aran'gar, but he/she still channels ''saidin'' despite the female body.
299* UnskilledButStrong: The Guide and other sources refer to him as having great strength in the Power, but he generally comes off as being a lazy hedonist without a whole lot of real skill in any particular area.
300* TheVoiceless: He has no tongue, and so never speaks.
301* WrongContextMagic: [[spoiler:As Aran'gar, he/she can still channel ''saidin'' in a female body, and is the only woman able to do so. One of the few people to realize this believes it to be completely impossible.]]
302[[/folder]]
303
304[[folder:Be'lal]]
305!!Be'lal / High Lord Samon / Duram Laddel Cham
306[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wot_be_lal_by_reddera_d507q7b.jpg]]
307
308A general of the Shadow, and MasterSwordsman. He was one of Lews Therin's closest friends before jealousy led him to turn to the Shadow. As per Word of God, he turned out to be the weakest of the male Forsaken (but still ranked eighth overall). The first Forsaken to ''actually'' be killed off DeaderThanDead.
309----
310* AmoralAttorney: According to the Guide, he was a lawyer in the Age of Legends.
311* BigNo: [[spoiler: The last thing he ever utters before being vaporized by balefire.]]
312* TheChessmaster: Played up as this in both the Guide and the information Loial has on him, but in the end he seems woefully inept when it comes to both fighting Rand and underestimating Moiraine. His desire for ''Callandor'' seems to have gotten in the way of his thinking things through.
313* DeaderThanDead: [[spoiler: Courtesy of Moiraine's balefire.]]
314* DrivenByEnvy: He was nicknamed "The Envious" because of it, in fact. Distinct from Demandred and Sammael, who specifically envied Lews Therin, Be'lal seems to have envied the powerful and successful in general (a group which, admittedly, ''did'' include Lews Therin).
315* GreenEyedMonster: Went to the Shadow because he envied Lews Therin Telamon. Also envied Lanfear and Ishamael for their favor.
316* MasterSwordsman: ''Reinvented'' swordfighting as a martial art with Lews Therin (before his defection).
317* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "Belial" is a demon in traditional Christian demonology.
318* OhCrap: [[spoiler: Has this reaction when he realizes all too late that Moiraine is going to use balefire on him.]]
319* RedBaron: The Netweaver. It's unclear if that was the literal meaning of his Forsaken name, or simply an additional title. [[spoiler:It's a title. The Companion reveals his name actually means "the Envious", another title listed above.]]
320* WeakButSkilled: A deadly warrior, skilled general, and crafty politician -- but was the weakest of the male Forsaken in terms of his raw power, hence his envy of the higher-ranked Forsaken and desire for ''Callandor''.
321* WeHardlyKnewYe: [[spoiler:Introduced late in Book 3. Balefired a couple pages later by Moiraine, which leaves the victim DeaderThanDead.]]
322* WorthyOpponent: Treats Rand this way, in honor of their once having been friends, allowing him to take ''Callandor'' if he dared and challenging him to a sword fight rather than just killing or blasting him off the cuff. However, this is ultimately subverted, as [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield only Rand can draw]] ''[[OnlyTheChosenMayWield Callandor]]'' [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield initially]], meaning that once Rand does so, he is free to take it from him if he manages to kill him, leaving him with an incredibly powerful [[AmplifierArtifact sa'angreal]].
323[[/folder]]
324
325[[folder:Demandred]]
326!!Demandred / Barid Bel Medar/ Bao the Wyld
327[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wot_demandred_by_reddera_d4falp3.jpg]]
328
329"Almost" would be the word to describe Barid Bel Medar's life. Born a day after Lews Therin Telamon, he is almost as handsome, close to Lews Therin in power, and almost as skilled. If not for Lews Therin, he would have been the most acclaimed man of his age. But in the War Demandred discovered something he was far better at: war. If not for the sealing of the Bore, the Shadow would have triumphed beneath his command. (Of course, his success as a general was part of ''why'' the forces of the Light attempted such an AlphaStrike, so you win some you lose some.)\
330\
331Since being released from the Bore, Demandred did... things. He was first introduced "on-screen" in the sixth book, but his actual plans and activities were deliberately kept BehindTheBlack until TheReveal in the final novel. With that much build-up, fans were hoping for him to make an impact. [[CurbStompBattle He]] [[NearVillainVictory did.]]
332----
333* AlwaysSecondBest: To Lews Therin, to the point where trying to prove himself better than Lews Therin is his FreudianExcuse.
334* ArchEnemy: Considers himself, rather than Ishamael, to be Lews Therin/Rand's. [[spoiler: Amusingly, they never actually face each other]].
335* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: In ''River of Souls'', [[spoiler:Demandred must undertake a taxing physical quest in order to prove himself as the Wyld.]]
336* BenevolentBoss: The only Forsaken who is actually shown to have some degree of care for those under his command[[note]]Sammael is stated to do so as well, but to a lesser extent and less focused on, and then seeming only to extend it to military personnel[[/note]]. [[spoiler: Taim]] is actually somewhat ''appalled'' that Demandred "coddles" his human troops and tries to preserve their lives. In "River of Souls", Demandred is shown to think to himself that while his followers may be his tools for revenge, there's no reason that means he should go out of his way to treat them poorly. Since his minions show a level of almost rabid dedication to him that no other Forsaken can claim, it's pretty clear that this leadership strategy works out for him.
337* BerserkButton: Don't tell him he's second best. Ever. And especially don't talk about how awesome / superior Lews Therin or Rand al'Thor are / is.
338* BlingOfWar: His new suit of armour for the Last Battle is described as intricate and beautiful.
339* CantCatchUp: Deconstructed. Being a hero who was perennially unable to catch up to Lews Therin is what drove Demandred mad in the first place, turning him into a villain whose central goal in life was to seek Lews Therin's destruction.
340* TheChosenOne: [[spoiler:He's not the Dragon Reborn, but even he is stunned at how flawlessly he fits the Sharans' own prophecies of their foretold Wyld. By the end of it, he fully accepts it.]]
341** [[spoiler: Per WordOfGod, this is because the prophecies of the Wyld ''were'' about Demandred. He just never realized it and thought he was stealing a position that belonged to Rand.]][[invoked]]
342* ClimaxBoss: [[spoiler:His defeat at Lan's hands comes at the end of the longest, bloodiest, and most action-packed chapter in the entire series, aptly named ''The Last Battle''. Of all the Forsaken, it's not a stretch to say Demandred did the most damage and required the most effort, sacrifice, and cunning to take down.]]
343* CombatPragmatist: Zigzagged. He's willing to engage in personal duels and makes sure that none of his troops interfere; however, he's also willing to use the One Power in a sword fight.
344* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler: He's a OneManArmy during the Last Battle, laying waste to swathes of enemies, and a large part of Mat's plan hinges on keeping him busy strategically. He also kills Gawyn with minimal effort, defeats Galad with only a little more, chases off Logain after a brief clash, and dominates Taim when Demandred grows tired of his snideness. It's not until Lan comes along that he deals with a real challenge.]]
345* DarkMessiah: [[spoiler: To the Sharans. He seems to legitimately buy into it, too, if only because it means he's better than the Dragon]].
346* DeathByIrony: [[spoiler:He's easily the [[ReadingsAreOffTheScale strongest channeler]] and [[GeniusBruiser greatest strategist]] the evil side has at the battlefields of the Last Battle, but he's eventually killed by [[BadassNormal Lan]], a man whose greatest skill is [[MasterSwordsman swordsmanship]] and the willingness to take a mortal blow just to kill his opponent.]]
347* DecapitationPresentation: [[spoiler:Once Lan gets up from his HeroicSacrifice, this is what he does, completely demoralizing the Shadow's armies.]]
348* TheDragon: He's the greatest warrior and general of the Forsaken and has direct command on the battlefield.
349* TheDreaded: Cements himself as this during the Last Battle; not only is he now a [[spoiler:OneManArmy and NighInvulnerable, he completely dominates almost everyone who confronts him personally with his swordsmanship skills. He's also the toughest enemy general Mat has ever faced on the battlefield.]] Even Logain refers to Demandred as a monster after an ill-fated showdown with him, and Elayne fears that he's surpassed ''[[WorldsStrongestMan Rand]]''.
350* EvilCannotComprehendGood: [[spoiler: The guy determined to prove himself the greatest man who ever lived wouldn't understand that Lan would be willing to die in order to kill him]].
351* EvilCounterpart: [[spoiler: As the Wyld, he fashions himself as the EvilCounterpart to the Dragon. Unfortunately for him (but fitting the general theme of his life), Rand already has a ''better'' EvilCounterpart in Moridin. And, as the Shadow's greatest general, Demandred is ultimately ''Mat's'' EvilCounterpart]].
352** He's also a minor one for Logain. Both men were the NumberTwo to the Dragon among male channelers in their respective Ages. Except Demandred turned evil. [[spoiler: It's partly why Logain's the only channeler Demandred fights one-on-one in the Last Battle.]]
353* EvilOverlord: [[spoiler:In Shara]].
354* FallenHero: Originally a friend of Lews Therin and a commander for the Light; turned to the Shadow after Lews Therin was named the Light's commander over him and Barid Bel's resentment boiled over into outright homicidal loathing.
355* FourStarBadass: The greatest general ''and'' greatest warrior of the Shadow. As noted in Book 14, this is the one thing he was better than Lews Therin at.
356* FrontlineGeneral: He defies this in ''Winter's Heart'', but after [[spoiler:completely overpowering himself in ''A Memory of Light'', is happy to take an active part in the battlefield.]]
357* GeniusBruiser
358* GreenEyedMonster: Is extremely envious of Lews Therin. He even seems offended when Rand doesn't show up for their showdown in AMOL.
359--> "Lews Therin can hate me or rail against me, but he should '''not''' ignore me."
360* HeroKiller: Demandred+[[spoiler: Sharans]]+[[spoiler: ''sa'angreal'']]+[[spoiler: really big circle]]= bad news for the heroes. [[spoiler: Seriously, in the Last Battle he nearly routes the White Tower forces, kills Gawyn, nearly kills Galad, humiliates Taim rather than put up with him, sends Logain running with his tail between his legs, and when he's finally killed by Lan, nearly takes him with him]]. He's probably one of the Forsaken who most lives up to the hype.
361* HiddenDepths: Two years among the [[spoiler:Sharans stirred emotions within him -- compassion, mirth, and even affection -- that he had long thought himself incapable of. He finds himself earnestly wanting to protect these people who raised him up as their saviour.]]
362* IgnoredEpiphany: [[spoiler: At the high-water point of his victories on the Field of Merrilor, Demandred realizes that he has everything he ever wanted -- the respect of all Shara, the power to defeat all his enemies, the love of a beautiful woman (something he hadn't dreamed of in ages), and yes, the chance to be a hero by turning on the Dark One and kicking the Shadowspawn army's collective ass. Everything, that is, except Lews Therin dead at his feet. Nah, that's more important. That sums up Demandred's FatalFlaw right there; he could have been one of the greatest heroes of all time, if only he'd been able to let his hate go]].
363* IHaveManyNames: In addition to "Barid Bel Medar" and "Demandred", he also has [[spoiler: three Sharan names -- Bao the Wyld, He Who Is Owned Only By The Land, and the dragonslayer. Maybe four, if "Bao" and "the Wyld" are counted separately (as both are used individually at various points)]].
364* ImNotHereToMakeFriends: Makes this clear in ''River of Souls'', but even he comes to wonder if it's true.
365-->'''Demandred''': I do not have friends. And I certainly did not come here to find them.
366* ItsPersonal: No one on the side of the Shadow hates ''anything'' more than he hates Lews Therin, or now Rand al'Thor. Given what utter hateful bastards the Shadow has working for it... that's a lot of hate. [[spoiler: This is his undoing in ''A Memory of Light'', since he wastes the most powerful Channeling circle and AmplifierArtifact in the world posturing and demanding that Rand come out and fight]].
367* IrrationalHatred: The other Forsaken note that he hated Lews Therin far more than Sammael ever did, despite having far less direct cause.
368* IShallTauntYou: [[spoiler:He continuously taunts Lews Therin throughout the Last Battle, hoping to draw him out, and announces his defeat of both Gawyn and Galad to demoralize the enemy.]]
369* KeystoneArmy: [[spoiler: His death doesn't completely dissolve the Shadow's forces, but does turn the tide of the Last Battle.]]
370* ALighterShadeOfBlack: In certain respects, he's one of the less evil Forsaken, being mostly focused on his vengeance on Lews Therin for one-upping him all his life (and to a lesser extent on anyone else who's slighted him) but if he ''doesn't'' feel you've slighted him or you're not standing between him and Lews Therin, he probably won't go out of his way to harm you (but he'll kill you ''dead'' if you ''did'' do those things, mind). [[spoiler: Around his Sharans, he shows something of a NobleDemon streak, due to partially BecomingTheMask while acting as their hero and genuinely buying into the idea that he was the world's savior, and he generally seems to at least ''remember'' being the good man he once was, something most of the other Forsaken can't really say. In the end, though, none of it is enough to overcome his hate for the Dragon and sway him from the Shadow]].
371* LightIsNotGood: [[spoiler: Wears white and silver Sharan armor while leading the Shadow's forces at the Last Battle]].
372* MagicKnight: An expert in both physical and channeling-based combat.
373* MasterSwordsman: Almost certainly the best swordsman in the franchise. How do we know? [[spoiler:''He outfights Lan.'']]
374* MightyWhitey: [[spoiler: Demandred apparently figures in Sharan prophecies as the hero of the Last Battle.]] He is a white man from a more advanced society who has taken over another society. The way the [[spoiler:Sharans]] treat him has hints of the way this trope played out in old adventure fiction. Considering that this is evil's top general in [[spoiler: probably the most repressive regime on the planet]], the association does neither Demandred nor [[spoiler: Shara]] any favors.
375* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast:
376** "Demandred" is a contraction of "demon" and "dread".
377** Per WordOfGod, [[spoiler: "Bao the Wyld"]] is intended to be evocative of [[spoiler: Beowulf]], leading into... [[invoked]]
378** [[spoiler: "The dragonslayer"]] is a pretty badass title in ''any'' 'verse, but especially in this one, since [[spoiler: rather than a large, pyrokinetic reptile, "the Dragon" here is TheChosenOne -- meaning he's calling himself "the ''Messiahslayer''"]].
379** [[spoiler: "Bao"]] also happens to be the sinicized version of the Mongol surname "Borjigin" - made famous by the conqueror Temujin Borjigin, also known as UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan.
380** [[spoiler:Demandred means "one who twists the blade" according to the Companion, a reference to both his swordfighting skill and his having betrayed Lews Therin, thus "twisting the knife."]]
381* {{Narcissist}}: He is the Doctor Doom of the Wheel Of Time-verse. His motivation boils down to that he cannot stand the fact that he is only the ''second'' greatest all-round badass who ever walked the face of the Earth.
382* NotSoDifferentRemark: He admits that he's killed to get where he is, but believes that he's far from the only one with blood on his hands.
383-->'''Demandred''': And has your Dragon not murdered? Has [[spoiler:your sister]] never killed to keep, dare I say ''seize'', her throne?
384-->'''[[spoiler:Gawyn]]''': That's different.
385-->'''Demandred''': So everyone always says.
386* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler:Decapitated by Lan in Book 14.]]
387* OneManArmy: [[spoiler:During the Last Battle.]]
388* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Initially, he didn't care ''who'' killed Rand, so long as he got to confirm it; from the climax of ''Winter's Heart'' on, though, he becomes increasingly fixated on doing the deed himself.
389* OvershadowedByAwesome: Demandred was awesome at everything he did. Unfortunately for him, Lews Therin was slightly ''more'' awesome at all those same things.
390* PerpetualFrowner: He never smiles and he never laughs; he claims he will the day he kills Lews Therin. [[spoiler:However, in ''River of Souls'', he's so overcome with joy after fulfilling the Sharan prophecies that he does both.]]
391* PersonOfMassDestruction: He qualifies normally, but takes it up a notch [[spoiler:during Tarmon Gai'Don, where he completely overpowers himself and lays waste to the forces of Light.]]
392* PetTheDog: A retroactive example. [[spoiler:Moghedien mentions shortly after his death that there was an elderly Sharan monk whom Demandred treated with kindness.]]
393* TheResenter: Building up slowly but steadily over the years, until he finally snapped and joined the Shadow.
394* RoaringRampageOfRevenge / EvilIsPetty / DisproportionateRetribution: One of the first things he did as general of the Shadow was feed cities to Trollocs; specifically, he went after cities he felt slighted him while he was on the side of the Light. For that matter, his whole StartOfDarkness was triggered by a petty grudge that got too far out of hand.
395* RomanticRunnerUp: He and Lews Therin both courted Ilyena. She chose Lews Therin.
396* SanityHasAdvantages: [[spoiler:He crashes the Last Battle with an army, a battalion of linked channelers, and the world's most powerful AmplifierArtifact; then struts around demanding a duel from Rand, who is thousands of miles away from the front lines. The thought that his hated arch-nemesis simply had better things to do than deal with him never occurs to him, to the net effect that he gets his head lopped off by someone else before Rand even learns that Demandred is looking for him.]]
397* ShadowArchetype: [[AllThereInTheManual As the Guide puts it]], "almost" is the story of his life in relation to Lews Therin. He was born shortly after him, almost as old; he was very good looking except for his hooked-nose, almost as handsome; he was almost as strong in the One Power; he was almost as best-selling an author; [[RetCon he was almost as brilliant as general,]] he almost got the girl, etc., etc. His FaceHeelTurn was explicitly prompted when Lews Therin was chosen as the top general of the Light over him, as his BerserkButton is being told he is second to Lews in ''anything''. Now he's transferred that rivalry to Rand. Being slightly inferior to the most badass man on the planet means that you are still incredibly badass yourself, which makes him a very, very dangerous enemy.
398* TheStarscream: Defied. [[spoiler: He knows full well that the other Forsaken want to be Nae'blis and expect him to as well, but while he resents taking orders from Moridin he has no interest in pursuing the position until ''after'' he's dealt with Rand/Lews Therin. The fact that the Dark One itself dangled the job in front of him if he succeeds may also play into this]].
399* TheStrategist: '''The''' best general on the side of the Shadow, and the only one of the Forsaken whose SecretIdentity is still intact as we enter the final book.
400* TheStoic: He doesn't let himself feel anything but hate, or show any expression.
401** NotSoStoic: When he finally lets all that hate out, [[spoiler: he turns out to be a LargeHam]].
402* TinTyrant: Partially. [[spoiler: At the Last Battle, he wears a heavy, often-described suit of armor described as resembling coins, but unlike many examples of this trope he's not TheFaceless, as he often wears his "fearsome" helmet with the visor up, or, as he tends to hang back from the main action, off altogether]].
403* TragicVillain: WordOfGod calls him the most tragic of the Forsaken, a great man who let a rivalry define his life and was destroyed by it. Rand seems to share the opinion. [[invoked]]
404* UndyingLoyalty: Inspires this in his troops, [[spoiler:even without swearing them to the Shadow.]]
405* UnholyMatrimony: [[spoiler: ''A Memory of Light'' reveals that he's involved with Shendla, a Sharan woman whom he considers to be every bit as ruthless and driven as he is. The little we see of their relationship seems remarkably genuine and stable]].
406* VillainBall: [[spoiler: Yes, he utterly ''wrecks'' most of the forces of the Light, but he'd have been far more effective if he didn't waste so much time bellowing and waiting for Rand to come out and challenge him. Rand was nowhere ''near'' the battlefield; had Demandred concentrated on blasting the forces of Light and commanding his armies, the Last Battle would have ended far sooner, and ''not'' with a good-guys victory. But then, never being able to let his hate go ''is'' his FatalFlaw.]]
407* VillainousBreakdown: By ''A Memory of Light'', his hate for the Dragon has clearly sent him off his rocker [[spoiler: to the point that he spends much of the Last Battle bellowing for Rand -- who isn't even ''on'' the battlefield -- to come face him. Since he's wielding a ''sa'angreal'' comparable to ''Callandor'', linked to and in control of the largest circle possible, and still in full possession of his military acumen -- you can't deny the man can multitask -- this doesn't hamper him much]].
408* VillainEpisode: He's the main character of the short story "River of Souls", a series of cut scenes from ''A Memory of Light'' that give a window into exactly what he was doing during the series.
409* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Whatever else the man is, his countrymen clearly love him.
410* VillainHasAPoint: [[spoiler:Gawyn chides him for using the Power to fling rocks at him during their one-on-one duel, but Demandred points out that he's under no obligation to play fair with an assassin who tried to stick a knife in his throat.]]
411* VillainTeamUp: He, Mesaana and Semirhage have an alliance to eliminate their mutual rivals and not betray each other until they are the last of the Forsaken remaining. They never trust each other.
412** For once, though, this plan seems to have worked: all three are among the most successful Forsaken and Demandred himself never suffered any setbacks or compromises throughout the series until Book 14, and is the only member of the Forsaken who can claim that.
413* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: During the Last Battle, Mat fears that Demandred, [[spoiler:now a NighInvulnerable PersonOfMassDestruction obliterating swathes of the heroes' armies within a maximum circle and wielding a scepter ''sa'angreal'']], will simply take a Gateway to the middle of his command tent and slaughter everyone. A justified example, however: [[spoiler:Demandred fears that [[WorldsStrongestMan Rand]] will spring an ambush on him if he makes so bold a move.]]
414* WorldsStrongestMan: Contends with Rand for the title in the final book.
415* WorthyOpponent: Subverted ''three'' times in the Last Battle: [[spoiler:Demandred compliments Gawyn, Galad, and Logain each in turn, yet curb stomps all three. He ultimately finds an equal in Lan as a swordsman and Mat as a general, however.]]
416[[/folder]]
417
418[[folder:Graendal]]
419!!Graendal / Heartseeker / Hessalam / Lady Basene / Kamarile Maradim Nindar
420[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wot_card_teasers_graendal_by_reddera_d4dj757.jpg]]
421
422One of the Shadow's most dangerous and competent servants. Graendal was born Kamarile Nindar (a middle name is a sign of accomplishment in the Age of Legend) and she was a famous psychologist for nearly four hundred years, able to heal mental afflictions even use of the One Power could not cure. She was also a distinct ascetic, living an unadorned life free of physical and mental pleasures. Of course, she also imposed these same impossible standards on the rest of the world and felt that anyone that couldn't hold to them was morally inferior. Eventually she snapped from the realization the world would never live up to her expectations, and was in general not a good place. She did a completely moral 180, creating the alter ego of "Graendal" that was the pure opposite of everything Nindar had been: lusty, indulgent, selfish, and vain.\
423\
424She has a better understanding of the human mind than any living person, and is an expert at [[MindRape Compulsion]], capable of reducing even iron willed badasses into grovelling slaves with ease. According to Lews Therin it is impossible to outthink her.
425----
426* BadPowersBadPeople: The [[EmptyShell things]] she can do with MindControl are absolutely nightmarish, and she very much enjoys doing them.
427* BeautyIsBad: She's one of the most beautiful Forsaken and easily one of the worst.
428* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: See her backstory listed above. From an ascetic allied with [[LightIsGood the Light]] to TheHedonist allied with [[DarkIsEvil the Shadow]].
429* BreakTheHaughty: Likes being served by brainwashed 'pets' who were once powerful people. [[spoiler:Also happens to her at the hands of Shaidar Haran.]]
430* TheChessmaster: Even among the Forsaken, she's probably the best. [[spoiler: She miscalculates the Dark One's patience, though.]]
431* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Has no qualms to backstab her fellow Forsaken like [[spoiler: Asmodean]] and [[spoiler: Aran'gar]]. Incidentally, while she is on the lookout to backstab everyone around her, those two killings serve very specific purposes. Any of the other Forsaken would have done the same in her position, though.
432* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Her perverse habits and hedonist nature belie her competency. She's one of the most dangerous and lucid Forsaken, and along with [[spoiler:Demandred, she completely wrecks the forces of Light for most of the Last Battle.]]
433* DepravedBisexual: She flirts with Aran'gar as well as several male Forsaken and keeps a mixed-gender harem of mindless slaves.
434* EnemyMine: At one point, she asks Rand for a "stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours" alliance while he fought the other Forsaken. Rand refuses, but she pretends that he said yes as part of yet another game.
435* TheEvilGenius: She's extremely intelligent and relies on her cunning and mastery of mental manipulation to sabotage the Light's forces.
436* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Averted. She can understand good like Moridin, but unlike him she isn't a fatalist who does not understand why Rand would feel burdened by his regret for killing thousands of people in order to kill an enemy. Since EvilCannotComprehendGood is the predominant flaw of The Shadow, this is part of what makes her a great asset.
437* FaithHeelTurn: She was (in)famous for her ascetic lifestyle and high moral standards before turning to the Shadow, but though she was popular with the masses for this, in private those who knew her greatly disliked her because she always judged them by her ridiculously high and rigid standards, being a HolierThanThou {{Narcissist}}. She pledged to the Dark One after she realized that ''nobody'' could meet her standards, and went to the opposite extreme as a purposely immoral hedonist out of spite.
438* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:At the hands of Shaidar Haran for one too many failures (and schemes against the other Chosen). The last of which is putting her soul into the body of an extremely ugly old crone as well as her MeaningfulRename below.]] Then again [[spoiler: at the Last Battle, she gets zapped with her own Compulsion so hard it erases her personality almost totally]].
439* GoodPowersBadPeople: She is very likely the most skilled psychiatrist in the world. Unfortunately, she's also the last person anyone would want within striking distance of their mind.
440* HeadTiltinglyKinky: When it's ''other Forsaken'' who think she's depraved, you know she's out there.
441* TheHedonist: Post-StartOfDarkness, and today.
442* {{Jerkass}}: Pushes Mesaana's BerserkButton in ''Lord of Chaos'', and taunts Lanfear about Lews Therin in ''Fires of Heaven'', for no real reason, and can't help but [[BuxomBeautyStandard increase the bust size of her current alias]] when dealing with the haughty (and well-endowed) Sevanna of the Shaido Aiel.
443* KarmicTransformation: [[spoiler:As Rand notes, the Dark One might indeed have a sense of humour. She, who had once prided herself on her near-unrivalled beauty, is stuck in the form of a truly ''hideous'' old hag throughout ''A Memory of Light''.]]
444* LadyOfBlackMagic: A cunning, powerful channeler. Unlike most her talents lie not in ElementalPowers but in her mastery of [[MindControl Compulsion]] to sabotage the forces of the Light.
445* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:Gets zapped with her own Compulsion and will probably spend the rest of her life mindlessly worshipping Aviendha. Irony is beautiful]].
446* ManipulativeBastard: Made Sammael think she was manipulating him one way when she was really manipulating him in another way. Tricked Moridin into believing her greatest defeat was JustAsPlanned. In the backstory she apparently used psychology to outthink and manipulate everyone.
447* MeaningfulName: The name Graendal bears a remarkable resemblance to "Grendel" (of Beowulf fame). And the Companion reveals it means [[spoiler:"vessel of pleasure"]] in the Old Tongue.
448* MeaningfulRename: [[spoiler: As part of her punishment for her failures she is renamed 'Hessalam' which means 'Without Forgiveness' in the Old Tongue.]]
449* MindControl: The best of the Forsaken at Compulsion and uses it in various degrees for almost everything. Her execution of Compulsion tends to be anything ''but'' subtle, however. The beautiful men and women in her collection are functionally little more than zombies.
450* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Her name sounds extremely similar to [[Literature/{{Beowulf}} "Grendel"]].
451* NoOneCouldHaveSurvivedThat: [[spoiler:She's seemingly killed off by Rand in ''The Gathering Storm'', but ''Towers of Midnight'' shows the event from her point of view and details her spectacular escape.]]
452* ObfuscatingStupidity: She presents the image of a vapid hedonist, but while she certainly enjoys her creature comforts, she's ''far'' more savvy than her demeanor suggests. Of course, everyone who knows her well is fully aware of it. At one point she reflects that she deliberately cultivates predictable habits so that when she's ''unpredictable'' it catches everyone else by surprise.
453* ThePerfectionist: Pre-StartOfDarkness.
454* PsychoPsychologist: She is a sadist and a ManipulativeBitch who uses her knowledge of psychology in the service of Evil and to torment her enemies and innocent people. So a textbook case here.
455* PunishedWithUgly: [[spoiler:After many betrayals, the Dark One punishes her by reincarnating her as the hideous Hessalam.]]
456* TheSocialExpert: Thanks to her background as a therapist, she's extremely skilled at reading people and accurately predicting their behavior and interactions.
457* TheStarscream: Though she doesn't plot against the Dark One directly, she's one of the Forsaken most determined to be named Nae'blis, and to off [[spoiler: Moridin]] once he gets the job. [[spoiler: She expresses particularly intense feelings in this regard after becoming Hessalam]].
458* StartOfDarkness: Her point of view in ''Towers of Midnight'' shows she and several of the other Forsaken had these happen to them long ago[[note]]She was an overly proud ascetic who turned to the Shadow after realizing no one could meet her incredibly high standards of behavior[[/note]]. She then uses Semirhage as a counter example of someone who was always utterly evil.
459* ThereAreNoPsychologists: It's been pointed out that ''she'' is the only actual psychologist in the series, possibly the world. Which is ironic considering one of her tasks is to destroy Rand's mental state.
460* VillainTeamup: She, Lanfear, Sammael and Rahvin attempt one. [[spoiler:When Lanfear and Rahvin die she remains with Sammael until his death. Then she organizes another one with Aran'gar.]]
461** [[spoiler:It is also very likely, based on him having knowledge of her no one else did, and that all the Forsaken whose locations he knew were the same ones she knew of, that she had formed one with Asmodean prior to Lanfear finding him "hiding in a hole". If so, this acts as another motive for her killing him -- to keep him from giving away where she was, and to throw off suspicions of her loyalty since he had seemingly turned traitor.]]
462* WickedCultured: In spite of being a depraved hedonist, she has rather refined and high-class tastes.
463* WouldHurtAChild: According to Rand, she murdered children during the War of Power after enslaving their parents.
464* XanatosSpeedChess: [[spoiler:When Rand decides to simply destroy her, her base, and all of her minions from afar with a colossal amount of Balefire, it looks as if [[NoOneCouldHaveSurvivedThat her fate is sealed]], but through some very quick thinking Graendal is able to see through the plan and not only escape with her life moments before the guillotine falls, but kill off another rival in doing so.]]
465[[/folder]]
466
467[[folder:Lanfear]]
468!!Lanfear / Moonhunter / Selene / Cyndane / Mierin Eronaile
469[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wot_card_teasers_lanfear_by_reddera_d49kg3o.jpg]]
470
471Mierin Eronaile is the most powerful woman to ever channel. Ever. She's also the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman, so she's got a lot going for her. However, the one thing she ''didn't'' have was also the one thing she always wanted: the love of her ex-boyfriend, Lews Therin. She became obsessed with winning him back by any means necessary, and one such experiment (meant to earn her glory that she was sure would bring Lews Therin back to her, despite him being married) is what originally freed the Dark One, when she and her team happened on what seemed to be a source of power not divided into saidar and saidin. She's skilled at scheming, lying, and manipulating to get what she wants, and she only wants one thing: Lews Therin back, even eons later. The Dark One does not truly trust her because of this, but she is kept around because there is ''no one'' that knows the Dragon better.\
472\
473She is also the only Forsaken to stand trial in front of the Hall of the Servants for her crimes, where she proudly declared herself to be a servant of the Shadow. And then blasted her way free.\
474\
475In the present day, Rand first meets her in the guise of a young woman named Selene during a Great Hunt for the Horn of Valere.
476----
477* AlasPoorVillain: If [[spoiler:her death scene]] doesn't bring tears, then her confrontation with Rand in the dreamshard likely will. Not that this changes her evil one whit.
478* AmbitionIsEvil: And her ambitions are ''big.''
479* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: One of the most prominent Forsaken [[spoiler: at least in her original body]] and as powerful with ''saidar'' as a human channeler can be.
480* AxCrazy: Definitely has it in her, though she (usually) does a decent job of keeping a lid on it.
481* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Moridin had to kill her to free her from the Finn. The Dark One brought her back as Cyndane, but the two of them also punished her for her failure and her treachery]].
482* BatmanGambit: In ''A Memory of Light'', [[spoiler:she reveals that she wants to save the Dark One when he is helpless against Rand, saving the Dark One when nobody else can. This shines a new light on her proposal to attack the Dark One with Rand, as this could be just her first plan to get into that position]].
483* BeautyIsBad: Explicitly characterized as the most beautiful woman in the entire series and one of the most dangerous agents of the Dark One. When she's not plotting to betray him, anyway.
484* BerserkButton: Calling her by her birth name, Mierin Eronaile, to her face. She doesn't seem to mind when Rand does it, though. Also don't romance Rand, or remind her that she lost Lews Therin to Ilyena.
485* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler:See NotQuiteDead. At some point before Tarmon Gai'don, Lanfear realized that she was in trouble no matter which side won. The Dark One was angry with her and the other Chosen loathed her, so the Dark One's victory would be bad for her. If the Light won, they'd devote themselves to tracking down any remaining Forsaken. The only solution would be if the Dark One was sealed, but the forces of the Light thought that she was dead. To that end, she manipulated Perrin into thinking that he killed her, and went on her merry way. After all of the plotting and the backstabbing, she is the only Forsaken to be both alive and free.]]
486* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Lanfear has stabbed pretty much everyone she's ever worked with or for in the back at ''least'' once. [[spoiler: In ''A Memory of Light'', she manages to backstab Slayer, Perrin, ''and'' the Dark One with the same scheme!]]
487* ClingyJealousGirl: ''Holy crap.'' She ''hated'' Ilyena Sunhair for "taking" Lews Therin away from her and was so obsessed with getting him back that she was part of the experiment that freed the Dark One himself. Her obsession leads her to aggressively pursue Lews Therin's reincarnation, Rand, thousands of years later over much of the series. She will also react with murderous rage at the very idea of another woman courting Rand. Because Elayne has similar hair to Ilyena she's the target of Lanfear's wrath in particular.
488* ConsummateLiar: Asmodean describes her as a woman who could lie to the Dark One himself. [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder He's right.]]
489* ControlFreak: At one point, she inserts herself into Rand's EroticDream to tell him that he isn't allowed to have sexual dreams of any woman but her.
490* DoNotCallMePaul: She absolutely hates her birth name, and nearly killed Asmodean for saying it once.
491* TheDreaded: In the Age of Legends, she was the most feared of all the governors of the Shadow, because her hobby was to drive people mad in their dreams via ''Tel'aran'rhiod''. Her territories had the highest suicide rates by far as a result. Even in the Third Age, she's regarded as the most powerful of the Forsaken after Ishamael.
492** Even wolves, being creatures with one paw in ''Tel'aran'rhiod'', have their own name for her: Moonhunter.
493* DreamWeaver: The most practiced at manipulating ''Tel'aran'rhiod'' out of all the Forsaken bar Moghedien (who is less powerful at channeling and a DirtyCoward, so doesn't bother publicly disputing Lanfear's claim to be mistress of ''Tel'aran'rhiod'').
494* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: She has very dark hair and eyes, is pale and fair in complexion, and always wears white. [[spoiler: Her color scheme as Cyndane is quite a bit different, though.]]
495* EnemyMine: Lanfear is the bad-guy character most willing to help Rand, or at least not hurt him. This is partially due to UnrequitedLove, and partially because she is constantly trying to talk him into a FaceHeelTurn. Particularly, she wants to join forces with him -- the two strongest channelers alive -- defeat both The Creator and The Dark One, and set themselves up as {{God Emperor}}s. As of ''Memory of Light'', she even does this with [[spoiler:Perrin in the World of Dreams]], although it is subverted since [[spoiler:she uses him to get into a position where she and nobody else can save the Dark One]].
496* FatBastard: One of her disguises is an ugly, overweight peddler with as bad a temper as ever. She attributes the effectiveness of it to no one expecting the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman to make herself look like one of the ugliest.
497-->"Do you think I could stand to be fat, ugly Keille?" She ran hands over her rounded slimness for emphasis. "... My pride is strong enough to support a little fat, when it must."
498* FaustianRebellion: Her master plan.
499* FauxAffablyEvil: Usually polite and charming, even to her enemies, unless you mash one of her several {{Berserk Button}}s, in which case she'll show [[AxCrazy a rather different side of herself]].
500* GenerationXerox: Lanfear seems to have dismissed any of the complications arising from the half-sided ReincarnationRomance she wants to start with Rand. He's fallen for a blonde, like he always does ([[MeaningfulName Ilyena Sunhair]] was Lews Therin's wife).
501* GreenEyedMonster: If she so much as gets a hint of Rand being attracted to another woman, [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge bad things]] happen.
502* HairTriggerTemper: To the point that even the other Forsaken comment on how dangerous and unpredictable Lanfear's anger points are.
503* IfICantHaveYou: [[spoiler:She does not take Rand telling her he would never love one of the Forsaken very well.]]
504* IHaveManyNames: Lanfear, Selene, Mierin, [[spoiler:Cyndane]], Moonhunter, The Daughter of the Night, Keille Shaogi and several others are all the same person. She also impersonates Else Grinwell to start the Idiot Ball rolling for Egwene, Min, Nynaeve and Elayne.
505* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: She's not without her sympathetic traits, [[spoiler:but ultimately rejects every opportunity for redemption and is one of the final threats during Tarmon Gai'don]].
506* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler: [[FakingTheDead Fakes her death]] and abandons the Shadow when it becomes clear that the Dark One is about to lose.]]
507* LadyOfBlackMagic: The strongest female channeler alive, noted to be as powerful as a woman could be in the One Power, with the ambition and scheming to match.
508* LightIsNotGood: Normally wears white and silver, and her actions and channeling often carry a moonlight motif.
509* LoveMakesYouCrazy[=/=]LoveMakesYouEvil: A major component of her personality (though she was always a little bit unstable, which is why Lews Therin dumped her in the first place).
510* ManipulativeBastard: Especially to Rand [[spoiler: but does a good job on Perrin in the last book, too]].
511* MasterOfIllusion: She has a habit of adopting different forms as disguises. She usually appears as a beautiful, twenty-something woman with dark hair in a white dress, though she also takes less attractive forms at times, usually with the same white motif. Her actual true form, as she reveals to Rand in Book 4, is that of [[spoiler: a slightly older version of her usual "Selene" form, only more mature, perhaps 30-ish, and even more beautiful]].
512* MeaningfulRename: As the only Forsaken who changed her own name after turning to the Shadow (as opposed to adopting [[TheDreaded the names the forces of the Light gave them]]). It means "daughter of the night", referencing both her abilities in the World of Dreams and her moon-and-stars motif.
513** NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: In addition to the above, "Lanfear" comes from the French ''l'enfer'': Hell.
514* MurderTheHypotenuse: Her dating philosophy around Rand. Whether or not this was also around Ilyena is unknown.
515* MysticalWhiteHair: Attains this as [[spoiler:Cyndane, courtesy of the very much supernatural {{reincarnation}} by the Dark One]].
516* NearVillainVictory: In ''The Shadow Rising'' she sneaks up on Rand and shields him from the One Power before he knows she's there, then considers just opening a gateway to Shayol Ghul and having him [[MirrorMoralityMachine forcibly converted to the Dark One]]. Thankfully, she decides not to, because she wants him to [[VillainessesWantHeroes come back to her willingly]]. If she'd been as willing to resort to MindControl as she became in the next book, she'd have won the war for the Shadow in one stroke.
517** Her final plan in ''A Memory of Light'' also comes very close to success, only stopped by [[spoiler: Perrin breaking free of her Compulsion at the last minute. Ultimately subverted though, as the whole thing with Perrin was a trick (see NotQuiteDead).]]
518* NeckSnap: [[spoiler:Her ultimate fate, courtesy of Perrin. Except [[NotQuiteDead that's not what happened]].]]
519* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:The research team she led was responsible for breaking the seal on the Dark One's prison during the Age of Legends, thus starting the War of Power.]]
520* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler:Rand would almost certainly gone insane if she hadn't arranged for Asmodean to teach him to use the One Power properly. This was intentional on her part, but only because she wanted him to [[WeCanRuleTogether rule the world with her]], and this doesn't happen. She also unwittingly helps the Light by teaching Rand how to use the Portal Stones, and teaching Perrin more about the World of Dreams.]]
521* NiceToTheWaiter: Charn, the Da'shain Aiel in her service before the War of the Shadow, remembered her fondly for [[PetTheDog supporting his marriage]] (even though it meant leaving her service), and insisted to everyone that she wasn't always evil. This isn't the case once she became Lanfear, who is very much a BadBoss.
522* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler:All that stuff about her real death? ''It was all a trick''. According to Creator/BrandonSanderson himself, approved by Team Jordan, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTwpNP67A4M revealed 10 years to the day after AMoL was released (January 6th, 2022)]], her "death" was an elaborate trick to get Team Light off of her back while making sure that the Dark One was defeated. She gets to live her life as perhaps the most powerful channeler alive (and second most powerful person after Rand) and do exactly as she pleases with absolutely nobody the wiser.]]
523* PetTheDog: Her emotional response when [[spoiler:Lews Therin Telamon talks to her through Rand and calls her "Mierin." It is the only time she is addressed by her birth name that doesn't send her into a rage.]] She also has similar emotional responses when Rand confronts her in his dreamshard, and when discussing with Perrin her fall to the Shadow and what her existence has truly been like. In the end, even Rand feels sorry for her.
524* PsychoExGirlfriend: Of Lews Therin, and trying to seduce him now that he's Rand al'Thor. (In her defense, there are moments when she does seem to genuinely love him.)
525* {{Pride}}: Her major FatalFlaw, along with [[AmbitionIsEvil Greed]], and the reason she cannot come back to the Light.
526* RavenHairIvorySkin: The contrast of her pale skin and dark hair is mentioned a lot.
527* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: [[spoiler:Cyndane takes up Moridin's colors once she is [[MadeASlave mindtrapped]] to him. She is also far less nice, going so far as to, in Book 14, order Slayer to kill Rand.]]
528* RedemptionRejection: [[spoiler:In the dreamshard, Rand offered to protect her from Moridin and the Dark One if she would unguardedly let him into her mind, then come back to the Light to help them win. She actually visibly and painfully struggles and almost, ''almost'' agrees before finally rejecting the offer thanks to her {{Pride}}. Considering her plan turned out to be to use whoever took her in (Rand or Perrin) to put herself in a position to save the Dark One and reign supreme, the genuineness and worthiness of this moment can be questioned, but she clearly was tempted to agree, and we will never know what would have happened if she had.]]
529* ReincarnationRomance: Well, sort of. She is in love with Rand, who is the reincarnation of her dead lover, but wasn't reincarnated herself, and the romance is rather one-sided. [[spoiler:She later gets reincarnated herself, however, as Cyndane. While Lanfear in a dream seems to still love Rand, Cyndane is very much a WomanScorned.]]
530* ReplacementGoldfish: [[spoiler:In the final book, starts hanging around ''Perrin'' in the World of Dreams, nominating him her new partner-in-crime-to-be in replacement of Lews Therin Telamon due to his total mastery of the World of Dreams. This leads to her own death when, in one last moment of DramaticIrony, Perrin reveals that he WouldHitAGirl.]]
531* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: At the end of ''The Fires of Heaven'', when she [[spoiler:hears a rumor that Rand slept with another woman, Aviendha]].
532* RomanticRunnerUp: To Ilyena (and to Elayne, in her own mind at least. The thought that a Forsaken might be gunning for her doesn't seem to have crossed Elayne's mind yet).
533* SocialClimber: Her love of power and prestige defined her life and ultimately were what caused her fall to the Shadow. Lews Therin even ended their relationship because he realized that Lanfear enjoyed the prestige of being his lover more than actually being his lover.
534* TheStarscream: Has expressed interest in overthrowing the Dark One and the Creator using the Choeden Kal. As [[spoiler:Cyndane]] she lost this quality [[spoiler: but in ''A Memory of Light'', she tried to ''extort'' the Dark One by arranging so that she would be the ''only'' one that could save it from Rand. Unfortunately for her, Perrin intervened]].
535* ThatManIsDead: Played straight with regards to her old name as Mierin, to the point where she had chosen the name Lanfear herself. [[spoiler: Averted when it comes to Cyndane. Despite her name being changed by the Dark One as punishment, it's plain that in her heart, she'll always be Lanfear in this life, and goes by that identity for most of ''A Memory of Light'']].
536* TragicVillain: It isn't clear how much of what she says to Rand and Perrin about her past is true (the theme of what really happened being changed or forgotten by history as it becomes legend applies yet again) and how much her simply trying to play for sympathy (''Is'' there more to her story we don't know? ''Was'' her conversion to evil as clear-cut and easy as we've been told it was? We may never know). But there's certainly some gray ambiguity, and when placing that against her heartfelt pleas to Rand and how clearly heartbroken she is when Rand finally tells her he feels absolutely nothing for her, good or bad, it's hard not to feel sorry for her, especially when [[spoiler:she came so close to coming back to the Light]]. Rand does feel pity for her, and Perrin even actually does cry over her [[spoiler:as she lies dead in his arms, by his own hands]].
537* VainSorceress: She's as legendary for her unsurpassed beauty as for her power and depravity, and sold her soul to the Dark One for eternal youth. {{Exploited|Trope}} when she fools Rand for weeks by [[LieToTheBeholder disguising]] herself as a fat old woman, then quips that her pride could bear the extra weight.
538* VillainessesWantHeroes: As Mierin, she was the lover of Lews Therin Telamon. As the villainous Lanfear, she's got her eye on his reincarnation, Rand.
539* VillainTeamup: First [[spoiler:she pretends to form one with Asmodean only to betray him and force him to teach Rand]]. Then she, Graendel, Sammael and Rahvin attempt one to defeat Rand.
540* VoluntaryShapeshifting: [[spoiler:In ''A Memory of Light'' she takes advantage of ''tel'aran'rhiod's'' [[YourMindMakesItReal properties]] to get her original appearance back, rather than that of Cyndane.]]
541* WeCanRuleTogether: She makes this offer to Rand as an alternative to Tar'mon Gai'don and the long line of crappy stuff waiting for him down the road. He's not interested.
542* WifeHusbandry: Rare female example, although she narrowly missed out on putting it into practice. She laments that things would been much easier had she been released from Shayol Ghul a few years earlier and thus free to find and raise her [[VillainousCrush beloved future partner]] as her own.
543* WildCard: If Ishamael is the most loyal to the Dark One of all the Forsaken, Lanfear is probably the least; though definitely evil, in the end the only side she's really on is her own, and she'll happily work with or against anyone to get what she wants. [[spoiler:This ends up getting her KilledOffForReal.]]
544* WomanScorned: Especially [[spoiler:Cyndane]], who actively wants Rand dead by Book 14.
545* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: Explicitly described as such by everybody she meets.
546* WorldsStrongestWoman: ''The'' strongest female channeler alive ([[spoiler:until Moirane tackles her through that doorway, at least, whereupon she becomes weaker but is ''still'' the most powerful of the female Forsaken]]). Yes, that does mean "stronger than Nynaeve".
547* WoundedGazelleGambit: She arranges for Rand to first meet her as a DamselInDistress.
548* {{Yandere}}: Have we mentioned she's interested in Rand?
549[[/folder]]
550
551[[folder:Mesaana]]
552!!Mesaana / Danelle / Saine Tarasind
553[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mesaana_card_teaser2.jpg]]
554
555"The Shadow Amyrlin", she is a teacher, organizer, and researcher from the Age Of Legends. She got turned down for a field study and was relegated to an educator's role, [[EvilIsPetty so she turned to the Shadow]]. As far as Forsaken go, she's pretty okay for a person, though she still [[CorruptionOfAMinor conditioned legions of children into an army of little monsters that were capable of murder]]. She is among the most dangerous because of her refusal to scheme and plot against and with the other Forsaken (though she does form a non-aggression pact with Semirhage and Demandred) and instead focuses on the "down and dirty" aspects of winning this war. Up until her FateWorseThanDeath she is ''by far'' the most successful of all the Forsaken in doing this, causing a schism in the White Tower that nearly destroyed it and murdering countless Aes Sedai.
556----
557* BenevolentBoss: Well, by comparison. She usually only punishes her minions when they actually screw up, and will reward them when they succeed. In particular, she's one of the few Forsaken willing to teach new weaves to her followers. However, Alviarin at least finds her attitude extremely patronizing.
558* BerserkButton: As Egwene determines in ''Towers of Midnight'', she was an extremely skilled planner and organizer who ''hated'' that those very skills commonly relegated her to a background role.
559* BoringButPractical: According to records on the War of Power she acted as an organizer for the Shadow who reluctantly maintained order and provided a degree of unity to the other Darkfriend channelers.
560** Which remained true even during the books' time frame. With her skilled use and coordination of the Black Ajah, she very nearly made it so that the White Tower was not a factor in the Last Battle. In general, she's one of the least flashy, but most effective, Forsaken.
561* ChildSoldiers: Mesaana educated children to act like this. Even in the present day Mesaana's Children are remembered and feared, the name having been continued by marauding bands in the aftermath of the War of Power.
562* DisproportionateRetribution: In ''Crossroads of Twilight'', [[spoiler:she is punished severely (heavily implied to be [[RapeAsDrama rape]])]], and the reason boils down to being that she didn't come when the Dark One called her. This despite the fact that she was by far the most successful of the Forsaken at sowing discord and chaos. It's pretty apparent that we're supposed to feel appalled on her behalf.
563* DramaticIrony: Despite joining the Shadow for being relegated to a teaching job instead of research she is the only Forsaken to willingly teach others. Underscored even more by the meaning of her Forsaken name [[spoiler:"teacher of lessons", though this can also refer to how she would "teach them all" after she was spurned by the Collam Daan]].
564* EvilCounterpart: To the Amyrlin Seat, as explicitly noted in ''Towers of Midnight''. She is the leader of the Shadow's Ajah and teaches channeling and administration for the Black Ajah. She is even deliberately called "the Shadow's Amyrlin".
565* EvilIsPetty: Went over to the side of unlimited evil essentially because she got denied a grant.
566* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind (against Egwene) [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] MindRape equals AndIMustScream.]]
567* FromNobodyToNightmare: From a lacklustre academic to one of the most infamous agents of the Shadow.
568* InSeriesNickname: "The Shadow's Amyrlin".
569* TheManBehindTheMan: She was giving orders to [[spoiler:Alviarin, the head of the Black Ajah]], who was in turn manipulating Elaida. She may also have been manipulating Galina and Katerine, and was certainly the one pulling the strings on Liandrin and her coven.
570* TheMole: Is somewhere in the White Tower running the Black Ajah. Her sole identifying feature is that she once wore a dress with a brown hem. She did such a good job of being HiddenInPlainSight that, [=WMGs=] aside, the only reason anyone -- reader or character -- was able to figure out her cover identity was that said identity became an EmptyShell after Mesaana herself was defeated. [[spoiler:It was Danelle Sedai of the Brown Ajah.]]
571* NotSoHarmlessVillain: In ''Towers of Midnight'' she [[spoiler:uses her knowledge of Tel'aran'rhiod to create a new basement level, lures Egwene there with no chance of rescue, and captures her using an ''a'dam'', and if Egwene hadn't had a EurekaMoment allowing her to surmount her fear and escape she would have been [[{{Brainwashed}} Compelled]] into being Mesaana's puppet.]]
572** In general, as noted under BoringButPractical, she's not as spectacularly powerful or evil as many of her compatriots, but her calm, methodical approach to scheming tends to get some of the best results in the long run.
573* OnlySaneMan: Along with [[spoiler:Demandred]], one of the most practical and goal-oriented Forsaken. She's probably one of the better adjusted of the lot as well, though that's faint praise.
574* TheResenter: For being relegated to a teaching position instead of getting to be a cutting-edge researcher at the Collam Daan. According to records on the War of Power her anger is second only to Demandred's, though unlike Demandred, her resentment is generally directed at everyone she feels looks down on her or doesn't recognize her abilities, rather than overwhelmingly directed at a specific person.
575* SadistTeacher: Ran schools that trained child soldiers for the Shadow. In the White Tower, she treats her Black Ajah minions like students as well, including how she disciplines them. She even treats Egwene the same way when they have their showdown.
576* VillainTeamUp: She, Semirhage and Demandred have an alliance to eliminate their mutual rivals and not betray each other until they are the last of the Forsaken remaining. They never trust each other, but they still have probably the stablest and most effective alliance out of all the Forsaken.
577[[/folder]]
578
579[[folder:Moghedien]]
580!!Moghedien / Marigan / Lillen Moiral
581[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wot_moghedien_by_reddera_d4w5124.jpg]]
582
583"The Spider" Moghedien was originally an investment advisor named Lillen Moiral. Often looked down on even when she was part of the Light, she cultivated a massive network of spies and assasins for the Shadow, using an image of a meek and little woman to lead many agents of the Light to their deaths. She escaped after being revealed as a traitor and killing thousands to engineer a distraction. She favors moving and striking "softly from the Shadows". She is a master of the World of Dreams, making up for her lack-luster strength in the One Power.
584----
585%%* AintTooProudToBeg
586* ArchEnemy: To Nynaeve.
587* BreakTheHaughty: Averted, despite going through a lot. She puts on a very docile act after she's captured in Tel'aran'rhiod, but none of the protagonists buy it and her internal narration is as haughty as ever. She's then [[spoiler:punished by Moridin and suffers having her essence ripped out and forced into an item that can be crushed any time Nae'blis chooses,]] but she recovers in time and still plans to put herself on top.
588* TheChessmaster: An infamous manipulator.
589* CorruptCorporateExecutive: She was a shady "investment adviser" before going to the Shadow.
590* CompellingVoice: A big fan of [[{{Brainwashed}} Compulsion]].
591* CowardlyLion: She prefers to hide in the shadows, is frequently frightened off and terrified when things don't go her way, is incredibly easily spooked, and ''many'' characters point out her habit of straight up [[ScrewTHisImOuttaHere running away]] when things look bleak, but she's nevertheless a cunning and haughty manipulator as well as a powerful channeller by Third Age standards.
592* DeadPersonImpersonation: [[spoiler:She disguises herself as Demandred after his death in order to keep the Shadow's forces rallied.]]
593* DemotedToExtra: One of the most prominent Forsaken in Books 4-7, after getting [[spoiler: mindtrapped]] she's mostly reduced to running errands in the background [[spoiler: though she has a decently sized role in ''A Memory of Light''.]]
594* TheDeterminator: Surprisingly.
595* DirtyCoward: Though she lords it over those weaker than she, she tends to duck and run any time she's faced with an opponent who could actually do her harm. She prefers keeping to the shadows and pulling strings from afar; things tend to go badly for her when she steps out of her comfort zone. However, after surviving the [[spoiler:cleansing of ''saidin'']], she claims that she'll never fear anything again, [[spoiler:and during the Last Battle was evidently willing to put herself in more danger than she'd normally risk.]]
596* TheDragon: She defers to [[spoiler:Demandred]] during Tarmon Gai'don and helps their cause by spying and sowing dissension among their enemies.
597* DragonTheirFeet: [[spoiler:She outlives Demandred and, against her nature, decides to openly take over as general of the Shadow's forces for a short time. She's also the last Forsaken standing at the end of the series... or at the least the last one who remains herself.]] Except [[spoiler: it turns out that Lanfear not only survived, but got away clean]].
598* DramaticStutter: She's shown to stutter when particularly scared or surprised.
599* EvenEvilHasStandards: A twisted example. She'd kill a child, but claims that she wouldn't MindControl one.
600* EvilIsPetty: She goes out of her way to try to murder Nynaeve with Balefire in ''A Crown of Swords'', despite having to reveal herself in public and possibly compromise her mission in doing so. She also can't help but laugh at seeing Graendal's [[spoiler:hideous new form.]]
601* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:First, for her multiple failures, she is mindtrapped by Moridin, relegated to his slave. After the Last Battle, she is the last living Forsaken who is mentally herself... and is turned to a ''damane'' by a Seanchan ''sul'dam'' who misinterprets the Dragon's Peace (while still not breaking it. The Seanchan says they only can't take Aes Sedai but they were not to take any allies of Rand's, which excludes Moghedien).]]
602* {{Foil}}: To Asmodean. Both are weakened and made to tutor channellers of the Third Age (Nynaeve, Elayne, and Egwene for Moggy; Rand for Asmodean), but while Asmodean deals with his lot in life and begins making a [[HeelFaceTurn turn for the better]], Moghedien is thoroughly hateful toward her captors and seizes the first chance she gets to flee.
603* FriendlyFire: Of a sort. Trapped by an ''a'dam'', Moghedien's power is drawn upon by Nynaeve to attack her fellow Forsaken Rahvin.
604* FromNobodyToNightmare: She started out as an investment advisor and was overlooked as harmless and unimportant, so she built up a huge intelligence network for the Shadow right under the Aes Sedai's noses. Fast-forward and she's remembered as one of the Shadow's most dreaded, insidious, and quietly effective agents.
605* GoodPowersBadPeople: Moghedien is the undisputed master of Tel'aran'rhiod. (Don't tell that to Lanfear, who claims it as ''her'' domain. Moghedien is even better at manipulating it, but can't match Lanfear in the physical world and is a DirtyCoward, so...)
606* HumiliationConga: The books are less than kind to Moghedien. In her first appearance in ''The Shadow Rising'', she gets defeated by Nynaeve. In ''Fires of Heaven'' she spends most of the book a menacing villain, but gets defeated by Nynaeve ''again'' and captured by her this time, spending most of ''Lord of Chaos'' as her prisoner. In ''A Crown of Swords'', after she's freed she gets chewed out by the Dark One, mindtrapped and tortured by Shaidar Haran, and then handed over to Moridin, who makes her spend the next several books as a glorified errand girl. [[spoiler: In ''A Memory of Light'' she gets her groove back, successfully spying on the Seanchan army for most of the Last Battle, but is ultimately captured by a ''sul'dam'' and turned into a ''damane'', where she'll likely live out the rest of her natural life as a pet channeler -- and channelers live a ''very'' long time]].
607* ItsPersonal: Towards Nynaeve, whom she loathes with a passion for not only getting the better of her in Tanchico, but enslaving her with an ''a'dam'' for a time.
608* KickTheDog: The first thing she does after [[spoiler:assuming control of the Shadow's forces during the Last Battle is send off a raid of Trollocs to slaughter the women, children, and elderly refugees in order to divert the enemy forces who will no doubt not stand for this.]]
609* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Her life philosophy seems to be built around this.
610* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: Her ultimate fate at the end of the series, where she is captured by an ''a'dam'' for the second time. Only this time, [[FateWorseThanDeath she is captured by the Seanchan]]]].
611* TheMole: During the War, she was the only one of The Forsaken who did not publicly announce her allegiance in some manner after turning to the Shadow, meaning that she was still "officially" on the side of the Light even when actually on the side of the Shadow. Thus, she was an invaluable servant, destroying the forces of the Light from the inside with nobody the wiser, but was in a bit of a quandary once she was found out. [[spoiler: She plays the role again during the Last Battle, infiltrating the Seanchan command center disguised as a servant and feeding Demandred intel on their every move]].
612* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Her name is the Old Tongue name for a very stealthy spider with a ''very'' potent poison (that kills within seconds).
613* NiceJobFixingItVillain: She inadvertently helps the good guys nearly every time she attacks them directly instead of focusing on spying and subversion. Even her attempt to [[spoiler: massacre the wounded and infirm at the Last Battle while posing as Demandred]] helps the Light by triggering [[spoiler: the crucial last step in Logain's CharacterDevelopment]].
614* NoSell: Her reaction to Liandrin's failed attempts to Compel her is first to mock her for trying and then to saddle her with a FateWorseThanDeath.
615* OhCrap: She has two moments of this during Tarmon Gai'Don. [[spoiler:First when Talmanes fires a dragon on her forces, which she only narrowly survives; and second when she feels the clink of an ''a'dam'' around her neck.]]
616* PetTheDog: In the guise of [[spoiler:Marigan]], she adopts two orphaned children from the streets and takes them with her to join the rebel Aes Sedai camp; the kids are [[LickedByTheDog frantically worried]] over their "mother" when she's dosed with forkroot by Nynaeve. The kids are otherwise broken and distant, but Moghedien insists that she found them that way and her story is, at the very least, corroborated by Yellow sisters who inspect the boys, and even Elayne admits that she's probably telling the truth. She continues to care for them during her stay in Salidar and after about two months they're noted to be on the mend.
617* PowerLevels: Moghedien is explicitly described as being equal in The Power to Nynaeve. However, her channeling abilities are dead last amongst the Forsaken.
618* RecurringBoss[=/=]TheRival: To Nynaeve [[spoiler:until Book 7, where she tries to murder her by blowing up her boat with [[DeathRay balefire]] without being seen. After that, she has no idea that Nynaeve is still alive]].
619* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler:Don't hold your breath for Nynaeve getting that third showdown with her that she thinks about after the balefire attack. Moghedien never even finds out it failed.]]
620* SmugSnake: Being the weakest Forsaken (well, outside of the World of Dreams, that is) doesn't stop her from being incredibly arrogant in her dealings with Third Agers.
621* SneakySpider: Of the Dark One's most [[TheDreaded dreaded]] servants, Moghedien (literally, "Spider") is infamous for being an insidious and devastatingly effective [[TheSpymaster Spymaster]], [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]], and DreamWeaver. She got her NomDeGuerre from a type of tiny spider whose venom kills within seconds.
622-->'''Birgitte:''' She hides and takes no risks. She attacks only where she sees weakness, and moves only in shadows.
623* SoleSurvivor: [[spoiler:The only surviving Forsaken. The only other two who didn't die in body (Mesaana and Hessalam) are still irrevocably broken, by brain-death and MindRape.]]
624* SoulJar: [[spoiler:Moridin mindtraps her, and wears her essence as a necklace.]] However, he eventually grows bored of it and gives it to Moghedien herself, who while grateful is quite unnerved at his change in demeanor.
625* SympatheticPoV: Subverted. She undergoes a harrowing ordeal at Shayol Ghul [[spoiler:when Moridin entraps her mind]], but she admits that she's taken innocent people here herself to suffer the same thing.
626* TemptingFate: [[spoiler:She's quite beside herself with glee after surviving the Last Battle, even with the Dark One sealed and her armies dispersed. She consoles herself with the knowledge that the world is still her oyster: with all the power and knowledge she has, as well as with the other Forsaken all dead, she can TakeOverTheWorld herself. Her reveries are quickly ended by a Seanchan ''sul'dam'' who takes her captive in the same manner Nynaeve once did.]]
627* TheFriendNobodyLikes: She was widely looked down upon while she was ostensibly serving the Light (and to be fair, she ''was'' a DoubleAgent), but she doesn't get on with any of the other Chosen either.
628* VainSorceress: She finds one of the most detestable things about keeping up her [[spoiler:Marigan]] persona the fact that her guise looks so damn ugly.
629[[/folder]]
630
631[[folder:Rahvin]]
632!!Rahvin / Lord Gaebril / Ared Mosinel
633[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wot_rahvin_by_reddera_d507px7.jpg]]
634
635A diplomat and megalomaniac, his specialty was pushing regions into non-violent surrender to the Shadow.
636----
637* AmbiguouslyBrown: Described as "dark". Exactly what ethnicity in or out of universe he most resembles is uncertain.
638* TheCasanova: Like Balthamel, a major lech.
639* DeaderThanDead: [[spoiler:Balefire's time-bending properties (it actually kills you - chronologically speaking - some time, usually a few seconds or less, ''before'' it hits you) mean that Forsaken killed by it can't be revived (the window the Dark One has to revive them is measured in fractions of a second). Rahvin got hit hard enough to rewrite fifteen minutes and over a chapter's worth of events.]]
640* HandsomeLech: And he knows it.
641* HeroKiller: When Rand stages his attack in Book 5, Rahvin ''instantly kills Mat, Aviendha, and Asmodean!'' If Rand hadn't later killed Rahvin with [[DeaderThanDead balefire]] the story would've forever lost 2 of its most important characters then and there, while depriving Asmodean of his more mysterious death that would beguile and aggravate readers for the next decade and a half.
642* MindControl[=/=]MindRape: His favorite means of manipulating others. His skill with Compulsion is said to be second only to Graendal's, and the number he does on Morgase in particular is rather horrific. He finds the whole thing amusing... and arousing.
643* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "Rahvin" resembles "raven" (an ill omen in-universe, as such birds can be made to spy for the Dark One) and Ravan/Ravana, a powerful demon from Myth/HinduMythology known for, among other things, abducting beautiful human women.
644* NearVillainVictory: His relatively early DeaderThanDead death has obscured the possibility that he may have come closer to completely defeating Rand than any other Forsaken. He'd gained the upper hand on Rand in ''Tel'aran'rhiod'', [[FateWorseThanDeath transforming Rand into a non-sentient creature.]] If Nyneave hadn't arrived for her BigDamnHeroes moment, Rahvin would've won.
645* PersonOfMassDestruction: He's an absolute powerhouse, in the same class as Rand and Ishamael. He's a bit less adept at combat than either of them, but he still nearly kills Rand.
646* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: See MindControl and MindRape above. It's mentioned at one point that he has a harem of at least seven women whom he's placed under Compulsion in addition to Morgase.
647* TheRival: Not to Lews Therin (unlike Demandred, Be'lal, and Sammael), but to Be'lal (and, to a lesser extent, Sammael). While he trusts none of his fellow Forsaken in the VillainTeamUp, he explicitly decides to have Elayne killed when he learns she is going to Tear, simply to keep Be'lal from gaining an advantage over him. He also has arguments with him in the World of Dreams which are most likely over ''Callandor''.
648* SmallRoleBigImpact: He doesn't appear on page that much, but his actions and death destabilise Andor and lead to a civil war, directly impact the plots and character development of Rand (whose FailureHero shtick becomes all the stronger after he believes he failed to save Morgase), Morgase, Elayne, Gawyn, Galad, Gareth Bryne, Perrin and Faile (via Morgase), and Siuan as well as all the Salidar Aes Sedai (via Gareth Bryne) for the rest of the series.
649* SpearCounterpart: He's basically the male version of Graendal, from the hedonistic tendencies to the ManipulativeBastard style of operating to the love of Compelling people to adore him.
650* VillainTeamUp: He, Graendal, Lanfear and Sammael attempt one to defeat Rand.
651* WeHardlyKnewYe: While he lasts from Book 3 to Book 5 (though only appearing in two of those), he is only given one POV scene and is otherwise left to plot and scheme in the shadows. In fact he is an in-universe version of this, since it's stated in the Guide he is the Forsaken about whom the least is known -- no one in fact knows what he did or who he was before he joined the Shadow, other than his name. Also reflected by the obscure and unexplained meaning for his Forsaken name given in the Companion: [[spoiler:"promise of freedom" -- freedom from what? The Dark One? Mortality? Morality (see his love of MindControl plus being a HandsomeLech)? The supposed perfections of utopia?]] We will never know.
652[[/folder]]
653
654[[folder:Sammael]]
655!!Sammael / Lord Brend / Tel Janin Aellinsar
656[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wot_sammael_by_reddera_d4vmo8j.jpg]]
657
658One of the chief generals for the Shadow, he was friends with Lews Therin Telamon, although it is not certain how deep this friendship ran; more likely he considered himself a rival to Lews Therin. He turned to the Shadow relatively late in the game, but still won major victories for them. He was scarred in battle by Lews, a scar he refused to let be healed, swearing he would do so only after killing him.
659----
660* BeardOfEvil: Has a short, square beard, as depicted in his picture.
661* BenevolentBoss: DoubleSubverted. He cared a great deal about the men under his command as a general -- the way a sportman cares for his equipment, at least -- but in the Age of Legends at least this came at the direct expense of the civilians under his rule, as it meant rations and medicine were always directed more towards the military than the civilian or even forced labour sectors. Thus, masses of people starved to death or died from illness under his rule. He pulls the same thing on Illian while ruling it; the Council of Nine are happy to hand the city over to Rand after [[spoiler: Sammael dies]] at least in part because "Lord Brend" had been pulling food and supplies away from the civilian population to make sure everything went to the army.
662* BigBadWannabe: Probably the most blatant Forsaken when it came to wanting to be Nae'blis and setting himself up as an EvilOverlord. He didn't make it past the halfway point of the series.
663* BlatantLies: Tells Graendal he has a truce with Rand Al'Thor and that he has been appointed Nae'blis. [[spoiler: The Dark One responds by sending Moridin to kill him.]]
664* EvilOverlord: "Lord Brend" made no real pretensions of being anything but the military dictator of Illian.
665* FallenHero: Like Demandred and Be'lal, he was a commander for the Light before turning to the Shadow.
666* GreenEyedMonster: He was extremely jealous of Lews Therin's military victories... [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and his height]].
667* TheHeavy: For Books 4-7, the last two in particular, he is Rand's most visible and powerful opponent as the ''de facto'' ruler of Illian.
668* KeepingTheHandicap: His [[GoodScarsEvilScars distinctive facial scar]] was given to him by TheChosenOne Lews Therin Telamon; he vowed not to remove it with HealingHands until he could kill Lews Therin personally.
669* KilledOffForReal: Courtesy of Mashadar, which prevented the Dark One from reincarnating him[[note]]Unlike balefire, Mashadar wouldn't make reincarnating him impossible, but it would taint his soul to the degree that whatever came back [[CameBackWrong wouldn't be Sammael anymore]][[/note]].
670** KilledOffscreen: The actual moment of his death is never shown, leading to a number of EpilepticTrees in the fandom.
671* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: His name means "Destroyer of Hope".
672* TheNapoleon: Hated the fact that he was so short, though in reality he was only slightly under average height -- he just happens to be contrasted with tall guys like Lews Therin, Rand, Ishamael, and Demandred.
673* RedHerring: In Books 12 and 13, [[spoiler: someone is impersonating him to commandeer a bunch of Shadowspawn. If not for the WordOfGod stating he was "toast", this might have just resurrected (no pun intended) those old ChekhovMIA theories. In a way, they're true, since Sammael did still come back to serve a purpose -- it just isn't actually him. In all likelihood, it was really Demandred or Taim, though some fans have speculated Fain.]][[invoked]]
674* TheResenter: Though Demandred puts him to shame in this department.
675* RivalTurnedEvil: To Lews Therin (who seems to have had a habit of attracting these).
676* ScarsAreForever: Played with. Sammael chooses to keep the scar until he can kill Lews Therin/Rand. It was stated that after the death, Sammael would ask for one of the other Forsaken to remove it.
677** GoodScarsEvilScars: An evil one, of course.
678* SmugSnake: He was good, but his arrogance and ambition exceeeded his skill. In particular, though a skilled battlefield commander (Rand, through Lews Therin, recalls a number of notable victories he won for the Shadow), he doesn't seem to have had much of a grasp of subtlety, and wasted enough time during his final confrontation with Rand being ironic and theatrical that he didn't notice Mashadar until it was too late. In-universe, Moridin reflects that Sammael was just never as clever as he thought he was.
679* TheStrategist: One of the Shadow's best generals, though Demandred was better.
680* VillainousUnderdog: He gradually develops into this, since he [[CantCatchUp doesn't noticeably expand his power base]] from his first appearance in ''The Dragon Reborn'' while Rand improves his position by leaps and bounds in each book. By the time of ''A Crown of Swords'', he's the ruler of a single western kingdom, faced with an enemy who's in control of an Aiel army larger than the one which, in living memory, defeated ''all the western kingdoms at once.'' Oh, and a second army of male channelers. Oh, and ''two'' western kingdoms. At that point, you almost kind of have to admire the guy for [[VillainousValor stubbornly standing his ground]] instead of abandoning Illian and going into hiding like Graendal urges him to do.
681* VillainTeamUp: He, Lanfear, Graendal and Rahvin attempt one to defeat Rand. When [[spoiler: Lanfear and Rahvin die he remains with Graendal until his death]].
682[[/folder]]
683
684[[folder:Semirhage]]
685!!Semirhage / Anath / Nemene Damendar Boann
686[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/semirhage_by_ariel_burgess_official_wheel_of_time_artist.jpg]]
687
688Sadistic and evil to the core, Semirhage required no corrupting. A world-renowned Healer in the Age of Legends, she was the TokenEvilTeammate for the Light until the Hall of the Servants found out that she was torturing her patients as "payment" for Healing (as she wanted to sate her sadistic needs). They gave her an ultimatum: take a RestrainingBolt against her "pleasures" or be severed from the One Power forever. She said ScrewThisImOuttaHere and joined the Shadow, where she became one of their most valued assets.\
689\
690She is ''the'' most feared of all the Forsaken, and even her fellows are more than a bit scared of her (except for Ishamael, who's the strongest of the lot of them and mad besides). Prisoners have committed suicide rather than be tortured by her.
691----
692* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:Cadsuane eventually realizes the key to breaking her isn't pain, but public humiliation... such as being forced to kneel and eat off the floor like a dirty beggar, or being spanked on the behind like a child in front of an audience.]]
693* DeaderThanDead: [[spoiler:Rand balefires her with the True Power.]]
694* DepravedBisexual: She gets a sexual kick out of torture, regardless of who the victim is.
695* TheDreaded: During the War of Power, captives often committed suicide -- even by ''biting their own wrists'' -- when they learned they were being taken to her, to the point that her minions had to take special precautions against it for all prisoners. At one point she was captured, but she freaked out the guards so much that they actually ''smuggled her out and set her free''. She was an incredibly sadistic torturer and MadScientist, who enjoyed discovering new ways to make people suffer, and she has turned the SadisticChoice into an art form. And her Forsaken name means [[spoiler:[[MeaningfulName "the promise of pain itself"]], or one who embodies it.]]
696* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Some time after she first actually appears, she establishes her status as probably ''the'' most feared of the Forsaken by casually relating how she singlehandedly [[spoiler: destroyed the Seanchan Empire, having slowly tortured the Empress to death, coating the Crystal Throne in her blood (and musing at how much blood the human body could contain in the process), as well as eliminating every other member of the Imperial family bar Tuon, leaving the Empire in chaos]].
697* EvilWearsBlack: Semirhage's usual outfits are of unrelieved black. ''Don't'' imply that this fashion choice is in response to the fact that Lanfear always [[LightIsNotGood wears white]].
698* FlawExploitation: Knows Rand WouldntHitAGirl. Is a girl. See where this is going?
699* FateWorseThanDeath: Being captured by her due to her status as a TortureTechnician.
700* GoodPowersBadPeople: She was a world-renowned Healer, possibly the best in the world, back in the Age of Legends, but also a sadist even before she [[FaceHeelTurn joined the Dark One]]. This makes her ''really'' good at MindRape.
701* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:She tries to force a dominated Rand to kill Min by choking her to death with his bare hands, since it's the most torturous thing she can imagine doing to him. This results in Rand reaching out for the True Power for the first time, and in her eating balefire.]]
702* MindRape: One of the many services she offers.
703* {{Narcissist}}: In the Age of Legends, she tortured those she healed as payment for, essentially, making her waste her time and occasionally killed those she thought did not deserve to live. Her FaceHeelTurn ([[TokenEvilTeammate for lack of a better word]]) came about because the Aes Sedai dared, ''dared'', to tell her off for this and value her victims more than her. She is a {{Sadist}} because of her raging God complex and thus, in her mind, she thinks every single one of her victims deserve it -- for the crime of being inferior.
704* PowerStereotypeFlip: Semirhage's gift for HealingHands is one of the strongest in millennia. Unfortunately, she's a vicious {{Sadist}} and also the most [[TheDreaded infamous]] TortureTechnician in millennia.
705* RedBaron: The Lady of Pain.
706* {{Sadist}}: The rest of her entry should explain why.
707* [[ScaryBlackMan Scary Black Woman]]: A much straighter example than Tuon. If you've read the rest of the entry, you don't have to ask why. (She even gets the "larger and more intimidating" part, since she's well above average height, at least in the Third Age.)
708* TheSociopath: As mused by Graendal, she is one of the few Forsaken to have had no StartOfDarkness -- she joined the Shadow because the good guys fired her for being a TokenEvilTeammate. Mostly because she was already an infamous TortureTechnician.
709* TokenMinority: We don't really know what Ishamael and Balthamel originally looked like, but Semirhage is the only black Forsaken that we know of.
710* TooKinkyToTorture: Semirhage ''loves'' pain, and knows more about it than anyone, making actually breaking her with it all but impossible. [[spoiler: Fortunately, Cadsuane determines that her ego is rather more fragile than her body]].
711* TortureTechnician: At one point (post-Age of Legends), she kills a man by ''over-stimulating his pleasure centers''. She also succeeded in keeping a man alive for hours after replacing all the blood in his body with tar.
712* VillainTeamUp: She, Mesaana and Demandred have an alliance to eliminate their mutual rivals and not betray each other until they are the last of the Forsaken remaining. They never trust each other.
713[[/folder]]
714
715[[folder:M'Hael]]
716!!M'Hael / Mazrim Taim
717
718->See ''Characters/TheWheelOfTimeTheBlackTower''.
719[[/folder]]
720
721----
722!Other Major Agents of the Shadow
723
724[[folder:Shaidar Haran]]
725!!Shaidar Haran
726[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shaidar_haran_by_ariel_burgess.jpg]]
727
728The Myrddraal are mutant [[TheUsualAdversaries Trollocs]] that resemble pale humans with smooth skin where their eyes should be. Commonly used as commanders of the Dark One's armies, they are much more intelligent than their brethren and possess great fighting skills as well as minor magic, but are much weaker than the average channeler. Shaidar Haran, the most powerful of the Myrddraal, is a different story entirely, a fearsome creature that can command the loyalty and fear of even the Forsaken. Its true nature is the subject of much debate, but it is unarguably one of, if not the, most powerful weapon in the Dark One's arsenal -- and might be something more...
729----
730* AchillesHeel: Because he's tied so closely to the Dark One, Haran will begin to lose power if he stays away from Shayol Ghul for too long and must return to be "refreshed".
731* AntiMagic: Can put a block so powerful on the One Power that it acts as a temporary [[BroughtDownToNormal sever]][[FateWorseThanDeath ing]].
732* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Some of the Forsaken have tried defying it. The results... weren't pretty. Though Haran is apparently much less powerful against those not sworn to the Shadow.
733* BadBoss: While Moridin is usually the one handing the Forsaken their orders, Shaidar is the one who punishes them when they screw up.
734* CreepyMonotone: Like all Myrdraal, his voice is flat and dead, compared to bone crumbling.
735* TheDragon: Subverted. It looks as though it and the Nae'blis are on nearly equal terms, but Shaidar Haran is [[FightingAShadow a vessel for]] [[BigBad the Dark One]], not a true minion.
736* EarlyBirdCameo: In ''The Dragon Reborn'', darkfriend Jaichim Carridin is confronted and threatened by an unusually expressive (but normal-sized and unnamed) Myrddraal. WordOfGod has confirmed that this was an earlier version of Shaidar Haran, who doesn't make his official debut until ''Lord of Chaos'', three books later. [[invoked]]
737* EnigmaticMinion: Except for his power and tendency to show up and punish the Forsaken, very little is revealed about this guy. [[spoiler: He's a much weaker copy of the Dark One in a myrddraal body]].
738* FightingAShadow: According to WordOfGod, he's not truly the Dark One, but is a vessel for a "shadow" of him. He's a Myrddraal body possessed by a much weaker, independent section of the Dark One that has to return to Shayol Ghul every so often to get "recharged".[[invoked]]
739* FullNameBasis: In the books themselves, he's always referred to as "Shaidar Haran". Since it means "Hand of the Shadow", it's probably as much a title as a name.
740* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: Well, the Myrddraal body is, anyway. The piece of the Dark One that lived inside him apparently rejoined the greater whole]].
741* LargeAndInCharge: Ordinary Myrddraal are human-sized. Haran is almost half again as big.
742* MouthOfSauron: As the Dark One's avatar, his primary function is to be its mouthpiece among its minions.
743* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: His means "Hand of the [[DarkIsEvil Shadow]]".
744* RealityWarper: Of a minor sort. He can do whatever he wants to those sworn to the Shadow, usually to punish them for failure, but WordOfGod indicates it ''only'' works on those sworn to the Shadow, hence why he stays away from the front lines.[[note]] There's not a lot of WordOfGod -- and less in the books themselves -- describing how Haran's powers work, but some of it indicates he may not even be able to physically ''touch'' those not sworn to the Dark One. Apparently he needed to use Elza and Semirhage to place the male ''a'dam'' on Rand, as he would have been physically incapable of doing so himself.[[/note]] [[invoked]]
745* RedHerring: [[spoiler:Many readers thought he was being saved up for a final showdown with Rand, or at the very least he would be involved in the Last Battle. But instead it seems he existed merely to allow the Dark One to travel outside his prison so as to corral Forsaken/direct the Black Ajah and Dreadlords, and that once he was close enough to breaking free, he disposed of it and re-absorbed his power from it.]]
746* SlasherSmile: Unlike ordinary Myrddraal -- who never smile and rarely show emotion -- Haran has been known to wear a deeply unnerving grin on occasion. Even the Forsaken think his smiles are disturbing.
747* TheUnfought: Despite his prominence to the Shadow side of the conflict, Haran [[spoiler:never actually meets any of the agents of the Light while alive]]. When Rand, [[spoiler:Moiraine]], and Nynaeve arrive at the Pit of Doom, [[spoiler: they find Haran already dead, with Moridin standing over him, having to explain what he was in the first place. Apparently he was more of an accessory to the Dark One than an actual individual, primarily useful as a physical presence in the world, and his death allowed the "full" Dark One to manifest in its true form as the void]].
748* VillainTeleportation: Having a myrddraal body, he's able to teleport between shadows. He often uses this ability to pop up unexpectedly when the Forsaken think they're out of their master's direct oversight.
749* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:Of a sort. When he has his only cameo in ''A Memory of Light'', Book 14, in Shayol Ghul, he is dead, and described as nothing more than a husk. Moridin reveals that he used to be a vessel for the Dark One, but is no longer necessary.]]
750[[/folder]]
751
752[[folder:Padan Fain]]
753!!Padan Fain/ Mordeth/ Ordeith/ Jeraal Mordeth/ Shaisam
754[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wot_padan_fain_by_reddera_d507pr0.jpg]]
755
756Originally a Darkfriend sent to spy on the Two Rivers, Fain was forcibly recruited by Ishamael and some Myrddraal to aid in the hunt for Rand. The resulting proceedings filled him with hate for both sides, and a chance encounter in the haunted city of Shadar Logoth left him merged with the spirit of the infamous EvilChancellor Mordeth. Now he pursues revenge against both the Dragon and the Dark One, and he may well have the power to accomplish it.
757----
758* AccentSlipUp: His speech tends to veer back and forth between the lower-class accent of Fain and the more cultured, sophisticated one of Mordeth. This happens largely unconsciously, and creepily, it'll occasionally happen in the middle of a sentence.
759* AchillesHeel: By the time of Book 14, [[spoiler:Shaisam, as the entity calls itself, considers ''Fain'' to be this, being a mortal physical body. It's right, since, upon Mat stabbing it, "together they died".]]
760* ArtifactOfDoom: That cursed knife Mat had for a while is now back in his possession after he burgled it from the White Tower. In anyone else's hands, the knife merely spreads TheCorruption and [[ArtifactOfDeath will kill anyone exposed for too long]], but for Fain, who draws his powers from the same source as the blade, it serves as a potent AmplifierArtifact.
761* AxCrazy: Progressively (as the result of an imperfect merger of two evil but very different individuals plus two evil but very different supernatural forces) to the point that WordOfGod specified that if he was any ''more'' insane, he probably couldn't function at all. [[spoiler:Shaisam seems saner, though that doesn't necessarily mean ''sane''. It's more that there's hardly any humanity left in him by that point, so human definitions of sanity no longer really apply.]][[invoked]]
762* BigBadWannabe: [[spoiler: Had ambitions of killing Rand, eating his soul, and taking over Shayol Ghul, effectively replacing the Dark One as BigBad in the process but was killed before he was able to realize them]].
763* TheCorrupter: Using his ArtifactOfDoom, he can either cause very bad wounds or corrupt people with paranoia and fear. Of course, he can also corrupt people the old-fashioned way using Mordeth's skills as a ManipulativeBastard.
764* EldritchAbomination: [[spoiler:By the time of Book 14, he has become a new Mashadar using Fain as a vessel.]]
765* EmotionBomb: Myrddraal can make ordinary people feel fear with a look. Fain can make ''Myrddraal'' feel fear.
766* EvilChancellor: As Mordeth. He's weaseled his way into this role a couple of times as Fain, too, for Elaida's White Tower, Toram Riatin's rebellion, and the Children of the Light (he wasn't as lucky with the Seanchan).
767* EvilSorcerer: He's not a channeler, but he certainly wields ''some'' form of really nasty magic that comes from Mordeth's side. Where ''he'' got his powers is never explicitly elaborated on, and Mordeth/Fain is the only character to use this kind of power.
768* EvilVersusEvil: The merged personality of Fain and Mordeth is utterly evil, but also despises the Dark One and the Shadow (and the feeling is mutual). He ''also'' hates Rand and wants to kill him, and [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou will happily take out Shadow agents he thinks might steal his kill]]. [[spoiler: His arrival at Thankan'dar briefly turns the Last Battle from a straightforward good-vs.-evil struggle into a nasty ''melee a trois'' between the Light, the Shadow and Shaisam and his undead Shadowpspawn]].
769* FallenHero: Mordeth started out genuinely wanting to save the world from the Shadow, only to gradually become corrupted by the forces and methods he utilized until he was no better than the Dark One himself. The original Padan Fain personality is ''not'' an example, though, since he started out just wanting to save his own skin and became progressively worse from there.
770* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: [[spoiler:After he dies, his flesh melts from his bones, and the taint of the Shadar Logoth dagger turns his body completely black before melting into him.]]
771* FingerPokeOfDoom: In one book, during his POV, a Darkfriend child brings him news on Rand, and just hearing the news drives him into a rage. He just ''touches'' the boy, and the child collapses in severe agony. Fain's inner monologue shows that he doesn't know (or care) if the kid is going to live or die. In the same section, Fain explicitly muses that he needs to touch someone to use his powers on them, [[spoiler: though in later books this limitation goes away as he gains the ability to summon Mashadar and extend his power through it]].
772* FogOfDoom: He is followed around by Mashadar following [[spoiler:the cleansing of ''saidin'']]. By the time of Book 14, [[spoiler:he [[LivingBodysuit is just Mashadar using Fain as a convenient vessel]]]].
773* FromNobodyToNightmare: ''Good God''. From a Darkfriend peddler to a deadly, manipulative sorcerer to [[spoiler: an EldritchAbomination]].
774* GrandTheftMe: What Mordeth tried to do to him. The result was less a possession and more like an even fusion of the worst aspects of both due to the Dark One's pre-existing modifications of Fain complicating matters.
775* HatePlague: Those who spend too long in his company become corrupted themselves; most obviously, he does it to the Whitecloaks under his command in ''The Shadow Rising'', but his brief association with Elaida apparently accelerated her breakdown as well.
776* HeWhoFightsMonsters: This was Mordeth's undoing, believing that the best way to destroy the Shadow was to use the Shadow's own methods against it. WordOfGod notes that in this way, Mordeth's evil and the Dark One's are opposites -- while the Dark One's brand of evil is born of [[ItsAllAboutMe selfishness]], Mordeth's is born of good intentions corrupted. [[invoked]]
777* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:He's killed with his own dagger this way by Mat, who is [[AcquiredPoisonImmunity immune to]] his HatePlague.]]
778* HumanoidAbomination: Book 13's prologue point-of-view section refers to him as "the creature that had once been Padan Fain". Even as early as ''The Great Hunt'', Hurin's ability to "sniff" evil pegs him as ''worse'' than a Myrddraal. By the later books, he's less a person than he is a collection of dark powers contained in a human body [[spoiler: and only barely that by ''A Memory of Light'']].
779* IHaveManyNames: Changing his alias every few books, he racks up a fair number.
780* ImMelting: [[spoiler: After he's killed, his body dissolves]].
781* ImmuneToFate: In ''A Crown of Swords'', Min cannot see any visions around Padan Fain, even though most normal people (i.e. non-channelers) always have at least a few. This implies he is somehow "outside the Pattern" and therefore this trope, and by WordOfGod he is something unique that has never happened before; at the very least he is unpredictable. [[spoiler:By the end though it seems he isn't truly immune, since even if no one can guess what he will do, he is very easily eliminated by use of his own ArtifactOfDoom and its powers, suggesting the Pattern still had ways (through ''ta'veren'' Mat) to remove him and keep him from ruining everything.]][[invoked]]
782* LateArrivalSpoiler: It's so hard to talk about him without revealing both his evil and his powers that its sometimes hard to remember he was introduced as an ordinary peddler and only later revealed as a villain.
783* LivingBodysuit: [[spoiler:By the time of Book 14, "Shaisam", as the creature calls itself, is essentially Mashadar without the limit of needing to stay within a single city, though it is looking forward to finding one to achieve immortality again. Fain is conscious within, or at least has some degree of awareness, but it is clear that Mashadar is really calling the shots.]]
784* TheManBehindTheMan: As Mordeth, he was the man behind the last king of Aridhol. WordOfGod also indicates that there is some specific dark power driving Mordeth (and by extension, Fain and Mashadar) though it's never specified in the books if this power ''is'' Mashadar or if Mashadar itself is merely another manifestation of it. [[invoked]]
785* ManipulativeBastard: His primary method of causing trouble. Mordeth was so skilled at this he was able to become the power behind the throne of Aridhol and ultimately lead to the city's undoing, and Fain inherits his skill at finding and exploiting people's worst impulses.
786* MeaningfulRename: [[spoiler:The combined Fain/Mordeth creature eventually rechristens himself "Shaisam", though this name seems to include Mashadar as well, which has also become attached to Fain.]]
787* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: Being brutally used and abused by Ishamael and those Myddraal in ''The Eye of the World'' broke his loyalty to the Shadow; unfortunately, instead of leading to a HeelFaceTurn it just filled him with hate for ''absolutely everyone''.
788* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "Mordeth" sounds like "[[Literature/TheSilmarillion Morgoth]]" and "More Death". It also sounds like Mordred, King Arthur's traitorous son.
789** ThemeNaming: Taking the Myth/{{Arthurian|Legend}} naming scheme of several characters and places, he sounds similar to [[AntagonisticOffspring Mordred]], the [[MutualKill killer]] of Arthur, in comparison to the sound of Rand ''al'Thor'' and his name.
790** He has a habit of taking ominous names. Ordeith is the Old Tongue word for wormwood, which is lampshaded in-universe [[spoiler:by someone who somehow still doesn't get the hint]]. In the last book, [[spoiler:Shaisam roughly translates to shadow-destroyer]].
791* {{Necromancer}}: His expanded abilities in the last two books has granted him the power to create zombified Shadowspawn that are stronger and fiercer than the originals.
792** NightOfTheLivingMooks: Marked by their pockmarked appearances.
793* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: He'll happily gut other villains who get between him and Rand.
794* OurGhostsAreDifferent: Mordeth is introduced as a being who's not quite alive and not quite dead, neither fully spirit nor fully flesh, and trapped within Shadar Logoth until he could find a new body to jack. That would be when he met Fain, and the rest is history.
795* PsychoKnifeNut: After his MergerOfSouls with Mordeth, Fain starts using the [[EvilWeapon cursed dagger]] from Shadar Logoth as his weapon of choice and sees it as a part of himself. He also starts LickingTheBlade.
796* PunchClockVillain: As Fain, initially, he was your standard rank-and-file Darkfriend who joined up for the power and stayed joined because the alternative was to become Trolloc-food. After merging with Mordeth, he drops the "punch clock" and just becomes straight-up evil.
797* RedHerring: [[spoiler:He's not really all that important at the Last Battle.]]
798* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Against... everybody, honestly, but Rand is on top of his list, and the Dark One is a close second.
799* ScarilyCompetentTracker: Granted the ability to find Rand, Mat, and Perrin wherever they are. The painfulness of the process where he acquired this ability is the main reason he hates both the Dark One and the heroes.
800* SealedEvilInACan: Mordeth was a sealed evil in a ''city'', as he was bound within Shadar Logoth's limits until he merged with Fain, allowing him to escape.
801* SplitPersonality: Downplayed. He's unified in thought and purpose - there's not two voices in his head, and he never holds conversations with himself - but does have two sets of mannerisms he'll switch between and sometimes can't remember if his name is Fain or Mordeth (not that he really cares anymore, admittedly).
802* TheStarscream: He started out serving the Dark One, but after merging with Mordeth he starts actively working against the Shadow and poaching its minions while pursuing his own ambitions and revenge [[spoiler: and ends up becoming a being with designs on replacing the Dark One entirely]]. Quite a promotion from the PunchClockVillain he started out as.
803* ThatManIsDead: By the time of Book 13, he is known as "the creature that had once been Padan Fain" in the narration. [[spoiler: By Book 14, he goes by Shaisam and only grudgingly acknowledges that he was once Fain.]]
804* TookALevelInBadass: Many times over the course of the series. He started a random PunchClockVillain, got turned into "the Dark One's Hound" by Ishamael to track Rand, got partially possessed by Mordeth and absorbed his memories and powers, further enhanced said powers by taking his [[ArtifactOfDoom dagger]] back [[spoiler: and was in the process of taking another level as Shaisam when he finally got killed off]].
805* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: Twice. First, he is so [[TouchedByVorlons corrupted by the Dark One]] that [[TheCorrupter Mordeth]] can't perform an effective GrandTheftMe on him, resulting in them [[FusionDance merging into a single "Ordeith/Jeraal Mordeth"]]. Later, [[LovesTheSoundOfScreaming Machin]] [[EldritchAbomination Shin]] approaches him in [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace the Ways]], but recognises Fain as a [[HumanoidAbomination kindred]] [[TheDreaded spirit]].
806** WordOfGod explicitly invokes this. When asked what would happen if Fain got tossed into the Pit of Doom, Creator/BrandonSanderson responded that the Dark One would spit him out because he tastes bad. [[invoked]]
807* WildCard: After splitting with the Shadow in ''The Great Hunt'' he becomes a faction unto himself, moving through the background of the series' various conflicts and stirring chaos as he goes. It gets to the point that both sides have assassins actively trying to kill him throughout the series. Most of them end up dead, the lucky ones just never find him, or get killed by Fain without using his ArtifactOfDoom.
808* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Starts out as your average corrupt-but-sane Darkfriend. The more powers he gets, the more off his rocker he goes, until by the most recent books he's potentially one of the most powerful beings in the world and is ''completely freakin' nuts''.
809* TheWorfEffect: Invokes this in the prologue of ''Towers of Midnight'' by killing a [[AnimalisticAbomination jumara]].
810* YourSoulIsMine: Per WordOfGod this was one of the original Mordeth's powers, and therefore presumably also one of Fain's, though he hasn't shown it explicitly so we don't have a clear idea of the mechanics. [[spoiler:Shaisam's goal is to take in Rand's.]][[invoked]]
811[[/folder]]
812
813[[folder:Slayer]]
814!!Slayer
815
816Once upon a time, two different men -- Lord Luc, brother of Tigraine and blood-uncle to Rand and Galad; and Isam, cousin to Lan -- had a destined encounter in the Blight; Luc was there because he'd been sent by a Foretelling made by Gitara Moroso ([[TheChessmaster the same one]] who foretold Rand's birth ''and'' sent Tigraine off to the Waste to become a Maiden of the Spear), while Isam was there because he grew up there after his mother colluded with the Darkfriend Cowin Fairheart to betray Malkier to the Shadow. Now they have somehow become one entity and act as Chief Assassin of the Dark.
817----
818* ArchEnemy: To Perrin, partly due to opposing him in the Two Rivers but mostly due to his wolf-killing.
819* AristocratsAreEvil: Twice over! Though his Luc persona is much more nasty, it seems. [[spoiler: ''A Memory of Light'' shines a bit more light on this: Isam is generally the more ruthless personality, but is also more clinical and detached in his violence. Luc, by contrast, is generally less ruthless but takes defeat much more personally and is more spiteful to those who've successfully opposed him, like Perrin]].
820* DimensionalTraveler: Despite being unable to channel, he can travel physically into Tel'Aran'Rhiod.
821* DreamWeaver: He can enter Tel'Aran'Rhiod (in the flesh); make use of its morphability to fast travel, change things around him, and summon weapons; and stepping in and out of it is how he changes from one persona to the other.
822* EgomaniacHunter: Describes his interactions with the wolves. The way he acts toward Perrin, as well as the notion of killing Aes Sedai, puts him very close to crossing into HuntingTheMostDangerousGame territory. [[spoiler: ''A Memory of Light'' confirms that he considers wolves and humans to be the greatest hunters in the world, which is why ''he'' hunts ''them'']].
823* EnemyToAllLivingThings: Or at least wolves, though no animal seems to particularly like him. [[EgomaniacHunter And with good reason]].
824* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Luc and Isam were {{Badass Normal}}s. Becoming Slayer granted them great power over the World of Dreams.
825* EvilCounterpart: To Perrin, and though it's not really emphasized, to Lan as well.
826* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: What he specializes in, particularly how he killed Amico and Joiya.
827* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler: Isam was raised in a town in the Blight inhabited by Darkfriends and run by Myrddraal and forcibly-turned Aiel. It's honestly remarkable that he's as well-adjusted as he is]].
828* FusionDance: It is still left unexplained exactly how the Shadow accomplished this gestalt, but the end result is a Switcher situation, where he is Luc in the real world and Isam in Tel'Aran'Rhiod. Since "one did die and one did live" during their Blight confrontation, it's implied the one who died was Isam and the one who lived was Luc, but this has yet to be confirmed and may not even be true. It's revealed he was Isam when he killed the two Black Ajah, and though that may have been done in the World of Dreams because dying there kills you in the real world too, it seems difficult to believe nailing tongues to a door would carry over. And the Trollocs in the Two Rivers called him Isam.
829** Made even more confusing because we have no real reason to think Luc was a bad guy before the combining; he braved the incredibly dangerous GardenOfEvil Blight at the mysterious command of Gitara without any real personal benefit, for instance. Isam was apparently a sort of evil counterpart of Lan already. But now they're both one weirdly combined {{Jerkass}}.
830* LovesTheSoundOfScreaming: Whether human or wolven.
831* MoralEventHorizon: The in-universe example would be for Perrin in ''Towers of Midnight'' when he [[spoiler:kills Hopper]].
832* TheMunchausen: Much of his behavior in the Two Rivers in ''The Shadow Rising'' seems to fit this trope, as it isn't clear how much of his bragging about his warrior skills and his knowledge of tactics is real. (Though Isam for certain is a good warrior, and as a noble and former First Prince of the Sword Luc probably is too.) Eventually it's revealed he really can do some of what he says. The trope is still subverted however, since a great deal of his seemingly ignorant and useless activity either conceals more nefarious doings, works at cross-purposes to Perrin, or even gets Emond's Field in greater danger from the Shadowspawn and Whitecloaks alike -- he has the skills, but is downplaying them so as to cause trouble.
833* ObfuscatingStupidity: Because he acts like a preening, self-absorbed, but somewhat helpful and mostly harmless lord, no one but Perrin suspects [[VillainWithGoodPublicity he could be a villain]], at least at first.
834* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Nobody but Perrin (and Verin) knows who he really is, and Perrin refers to him solely by the name the wolves give him. Even Moridin just calls him "the man with two souls".
835* {{Permafusion}}: He has both Luc and Isam's personalities and can switch between their physical forms at will, but they've become a single entity.
836* ProfessionalKiller: His job under the Shadow, though he also indulges for his own pleasure (and to create Darkhounds).
837* PunchClockVillain: In some ways, Isam seems like this, at least in how he treats Perrin.
838-->'''Slayer''', ''as Isam'': Luc hates you, you know. Hates you deeply.\
839'''Perrin''': And you don't?\
840'''Slayer''': No more than the wolf hates the stag.
841* RaisedByOrcs: He was raised by Darkfriends and Shadowspawn. [[spoiler:As a result, Isam. Returning to the Town terrifies him even as an adult.]]
842* RealityWarper: In the World of Dreams, to an even greater extent than the dream wolves.
843* ReminiscingAboutYourVictims: One passage involves Slayer blissfully thinking about how Isam (not Luc) had killed the Black Ajah Joiya Byir and Amico Nagoyin in the Stone of Tear. He also seems to very much enjoy [[WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied taunting Perrin]] about the wolves he has killed in the World of Dreams.
844* {{Synchronization}}: Whatever happens to Isam in the World of Dreams happens to Luc in the real world, as seen when Perrin shot him with an arrow. Normally this is nothing special as YourMindMakesItReal for anyone who suffers injuries in Tel'aran'rhiod, but Luc/Isam's case is, as we've established, rather unique since it involves two different people who are somehow linked. Perhaps it's wholly consistent with the established rule since there can only exist one of them at any given time, but the precise details are rather muddy. [[spoiler: Even Isam doesn't fully understand how it works, only that the Dark One managed to make it happen]].
845* TeleportSpam: When fighting Perrin and the wolves in ''Towers of Midnight''. And when fighting Perrin in ''A Memory of Light'' [[spoiler:both within the World of Dreams itself, and back and forth between it and the real world]].
846* ThisCannotBe: His reaction to [[spoiler:Perrin being able to follow him between worlds in Book 14]].
847* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:He completely panics once he realizes Perrin can follow him between worlds. Cue his death.]]
848* VillainousFashionSense: Though considering the fact his outfits correspond with either Andoran or Borderlander nobility, this would also be [[IdiotBall a dead giveaway as to his identity]] -- ''if'' anyone who had seen him knew who Luc or Isam was, or had described him to someone who knew they were related to Rand and Lan. (Which at this point is just Rand and Lady Dyelin for Luc, Lan and possibly Moiraine for Isam.)
849* YourHeadAsplode: [[spoiler:Via hammer to the face from Perrin on the slopes of Shayol Ghul.]]
850[[/folder]]
851
852----
853!Shadowspawn
854
855Artificial beings created by Aginor during the War of Power, the Shadowspawn are notable for being AlwaysChaoticEvil (thanks to the Dark One's taint being incorporated into their creation) and forming the bulk of the Dark One's forces. There are many different kinds of Shadowspawn, but the most notable are discussed below.
856
857[[folder:Trollocs (Including Narg)]]
858
859Brutish, bloodthirsty beast-men, the Trollocs are the most commonly encountered Shadowspawn and are the standard {{Mooks}} for the Shadow. Though inhumanly large, strong, and aggressive, they're not very good soldiers and need someone or something else in command in order to be at all effective.
860----
861* AlwaysChaoticEvil: They're exceptionally aggressive, bloodthirsty animals; though they have their own language (and some speak the human language as well), your average Trolloc isn't interested in much but fighting and killing and their intelligence is generally subhuman.
862* DumbMuscle: It's about all they're good for.
863* ImAHumanitarian: Trollocs will eat anything with meat on it, and that includes humans and their own dead. They'll usually eat their captives, and Darkfriends are sometimes threatened with being fed to them to ensure obedience.
864* MixAndMatchCritters: All Trollocs look like large, overmuscled humans with animal features mixed in, but ''what'' animal they resemble varies a great deal from Trolloc to Trolloc.
865* {{Mooks}}: Their primary role is to be the footsoldiers of the Shadow.
866* OurOrcsAreDifferent: Their name is a mashup of "troll" and "orc", and they generally fill the latter's niche.
867* SuperSoldier: They were created by EvilutionaryBiologist Aginor to be ideal soldiers... except Aginor had never seen real combat and had no idea what actually makes for a good soldier. As such, they're strong, tough, and durable, but dim-witted and undisciplined, so mostly limited to ZergRush tactics when not commanded by a Myrddraal.
868
869!!Narg
870One of the first Trollocs in the series and the only one given a distinctive name. Despite his early and ignominious death, he still fascinates the fandom on a level surpassed only by Bela, leading to his inclusion in lists where he really doesn't belong.
871----
872* BlatantLies: Tells Rand that he's not going to hurt him... then tries to kill him.
873* FakingTheDead: Hides among his comrades' corpses to try to ambush Rand.
874* GeniusBruiser: Claims to be such. "Narg smart". By human standards, he comes off as a total moron, but WordOfGod indicates he probably ''is'' a certified genius by trolloc standards. [[invoked]]
875* KilledOffForReal: By Rand not long after his introduction, via InertialImpalement no less.
876* MixAndMatchCritters: Like all trollocs. Narg's got a bit of wolf in him; apparently, wolf-trollocs tend to be smarter than average.
877* {{Mook|s}}: An uniquely memetic one.
878* NominalImportance: Averted. He's the only Trolloc named, but dies just as easily as any of the others.
879* OneSceneWonder: Doesn't last two pages from introduction to demise.
880* YouNoTakeCandle: Me Narg. Narg smart. [[BlatantLies You no need sword. Narg no hurt.]]
881[[/folder]]
882
883[[folder:Myrddraal]]
884
885Throwbacks to the Trollocs' human heritage, Myrddraal make up less than 5% of the Trolloc population but are by far the most important. More human-looking -- and far more intelligent -- than their cousins, they generally serve as EliteMooks or {{Mook Lieutenant}}s. It is their presence that infuses Trollocs with the discipline and coordination necessary to be an effective fighting force.
886----
887* AlienBlood: It's ''acid'', ink-black and capable of pitting metal.
888* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Though unlike Trollocs, Myrddraal are smart enough to know exactly what they're doing. As such, they represent a more cold-blooded, calculated form of evil.
889* BlackCloak: The standard Myrddraal "uniform" consists of a BlackCloak worn over formfitting black armor. The cloak always hangs flat, never rippling because of wind or movement, so long as the Myrddraal is alive.
890* CreepyMonotone: Their voices are flat and devoid of inflection, compared to the sound of bone crumbling.
891* EliteMooks: They're more formidable than Trollocs and are dispatched on missions requiring more power, stealth, and finesse.
892* EmotionBomb: They can induce fear with a look.
893* EvilWeapon: Their swords are forged in the valley of Thakan'dar. Even the slightest scratch will prove fatal. Aes Sedai Healing is explicitly necessary to counter these wounds.
894* {{Expy}}: There's more than nine of them, but they are clearly Jordan's take on the [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Nazgûl]].
895* EyelessFace: They resemble eerily pale and graceful humans except for the fact that they have only smooth skin where eyes and sockets should be. "The look of the Eyeless is fear," as they say in the Borderlands.
896* FateWorseThanDeath: The original meaning of this phrase -- one of the favorite things Fades enjoy doing to mortals (and, to judge from Shaidar Haran, to use as punishment for female Forsaken) is rape. Whenever a child results from such a union, the mother usually [[DeathByChildbirth dies in childbirth]]. Usually. Perhaps mercifully, such children are always stillborn.
897* GeniusBruiser: They're noted for their cunning, but they're also deadlier warriors than regular Trollocs and can cut through all but the most badass humans with ease.
898* HumanoidAbomination: Aginor never intended to create these things -- they just sort of happened as a side-effect of making the Trollocs. They're described as being slightly out of sync with the rest of reality (hence why their cloaks don't ripple in the wind), have freaky powers that the ordinary magic of the setting can't explain, and are essentially the same evil personality replicated over and over again.
899* IHaveManyNames: Fades, Eyeless, Halfmen, Neverborn...
900* KeystoneArmy: The simplest way for a Myrddraal to keep control of its fist of Trollocs is to bind them to it mentally. But if you kill the Myrddraal, its squad gets knocked over too.
901* MagicKnight: Though they're not as powerful as human channelers, Myrddraal have a number of supernatural abilities in addition to their martial prowess.
902* MarsNeedsWomen: They are sterile but have a strange and disturbing penchant for raping human women. Best not to speculate on exactly what they get out of it.
903* MookLieutenant: They're often found in command over squads of Trollocs, which is about the only way to make Trollocs into a disciplined fighting force.
904* OneGenderRace: They all look male, but are usually referred to as "{{it|IsDehumanizing}}" rather than "he" in narration. (This despite their proclivity to rape.) WordOfGod is somewhat conflicted on the issue -- Jordan seems to have considered them to all be male, while his wife and editor Harriet [=McDougal=] described them as all neuter (they can't have children anyway, so the distinction is somewhat academic here).[[invoked]]
905* TheStoic: Myrddraal feel very little emotion, and show next to none apart from extremely cold-blooded sadism (or under extreme circumstances). This is, in fact, a tip-off that Shaidar Haran is ''not'' actually a Myrddraal, as he frequently smiles and laughs (though his sense of humor is quite cruel).
906* VillainForgotToLevelGrind: In the first few books, they're terrifying. Later on, the protagonists can kill them with only slightly more difficulty than Trollocs, though they're still a terrible threat to most people in the setting.
907* TheWorfEffect: In regards to Fain; the fact that his powers let him kill, torture, and control them is used to emphasize how powerful and evil ''he'' is (normally, Myrddraal only back down for Forsaken or the Dark One himself).
908[[/folder]]
909
910[[folder:Draghkar]]
911
912The Shadow's flying scouts and assassins, Draghkar are winged, humanoid creatures with the power to consume the souls of their victims. Fortunately they're said to be even less intelligent than Trollocs, but they're still deadly when under the command of a Myrddraal.
913----
914* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Like trollocs, of the animalistic variety.
915* BlackEyesOfEvil: They have large, glossy, black eyes and are certainly sinister.
916* {{Flight}}: Thanks to their wings.
917* KissOfDeath: They're dreaded for their kiss, which is how they use their SoulEating and VampiricDraining powers.
918* MusicalAssassin: They use their song to mesmerize their prey before swooping in for the kill/soul sucking.
919* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Their generally humanoid appearance, bat-like wings, mesmeric abilities, and ability to consume souls certainly give off this vibe.
920* SoulEating: They can suck out the souls of their victims. Normally this is fatal, but it takes awhile -- and it's said that it's kinder not to be rescued at all from a draghkar than to be rescued [[FateWorseThanDeath too late]].
921* VampiricDraining: Once they finish devouring a victim's soul, they consume their life force.
922* WingedHumanoid: They resemble somewhat gaunt, ethereal humans with bat-like wings.
923[[/folder]]
924
925[[folder:Gray Men]]
926
927These are standard human Darkfriends who have surrendered their souls to the Shadow. In exchange, they get turned into {{Ridiculously Average Guy}}s who can enter without anyone noticing, which serves them well in their role as assassins.
928----
929* BeneathNotice: {{Invoked|Trope}}. Grey Men are typically written into the narration as an UnusuallyUninterestingSight, inviting ''the reader'' to overlook them. {{Double Take}}s can follow, both InUniverse and out.
930* ParadoxPerson: {{Invoked|Trope}} by the Dark One in their creation. Soul loss usually leaves the victim a drooling EmptyShell, yet Grey Men have intellect but no ''self'', a paradox that creates the PerceptionFilter around them.
931* PerceptionFilter: They're next to impossible to see coming; they don't even trip the SpiderSense radar that Warders get with creatures of the Shadow. The only ways to survive a Grey Man attack are to get lucky (have their initial attempt miss or fail somehow, which reveals their presence), be ''very'' quick (they become a lot easier to notice right before they strike, because the "OH GOD HE HAS A KNIFE" mental response overrides their powers), or to have some other way of detecting them -- ([[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Perrin]], for example, can smell them coming).
932* NonIndicativeName: Yes, women can become Grey Men. Although it's noted that [[WomenAreWiser fewer women are foolish enough to do so]].
933* RidiculouslyAverageGuy: Their powers make them completely nondescript, so that they're almost impossible to notice until they do something to draw attention to themselves.
934* TheSoulless: One of their names, and the source of their power. Having their souls devoured by the Dark One within the EldritchLocation of Shayol Ghul lets them survive the experience as this trope -- for a loose value of "them" -- rather than be left an EmptyShell.
935[[/folder]]
936
937[[folder:Darkhounds]]
938
939Formed by twisting the soul of a wolf by another Darkhound, these pony-sized dogs or wolves are NighInvulnerable and have corrosive saliva, making them very deadly assailants.
940----
941* AnimalisticAbomination: They look similar to wolves, but leave footprints in stone and ''not'' softer ground rather than the other way around, their saliva is poisonous or corrosive to the extent that a single drop is deadly, and some possess powerful regenerative abilities.
942* EliteMooks: Ordinary darkhounds are bad enough; then there's the Wild Hunt, which is composed of the worst of their kind. Some of them are further upgraded with healing powers.
943* EvilCounterpart: To wolves, who call them "Shadowbrothers" with disdain -- and absolute horror.
944* FearOfThunder: They are afraid of thunderstorms, but this does not stop them once they are on a hunt.
945* {{Hellhound}}: They fit the type, though they aren't actually from Hell.
946* NighInvulnerable: Certain Darkhounds have all the regular Darkhounds' deadliness, plus the power to reform after being mortally injured. The only sure-fire way to kill them is with [[DeathRay balefire]]. [[spoiler:Perrin's Power-wrought hammer [[HotBlade Mah'allenir]] can also kill them.]]
947* PoisonIsCorrosive: Subverted. Their saliva is (only) an extremely deadly poison when it touches humans (possibly all living beings) and corrosive upon contact with anything else.
948* PoisonousPerson: A drop of their blood or saliva can kill a human on contact, and their bite is "as deadly as a knife through the heart."
949* SavageWolves: Make that ''demonic'' wolves.
950* SoulEating: They consume the souls of the wolves they kill.
951* SuperPersistentPredator: They don't give up a trail easily once they have it.
952* SuperSpeed: Faster than and can maintain their speed longer than horses.
953* WasOnceAMan: They're the corrupted and transformed souls of wolves.
954[[/folder]]
955
956[[folder:Jumara]]
957
958[[CallASmeerpARabbit Also known as "Worms"]], these Shadowspawn take the form of large worms, but their "cries" can be heard when they travel in Wormpacks. This type of Shadowspawn is only very occasionally seen, seeing as they do not seem to leave [[GardenOfEvil the Blight]]. Jumara can transform into an even more terrible Shadowspawn that is unknown, but those remaining in the Blight cannot do so, as they have no access to the necessary process or catalyst.
959----
960* BigCreepyCrawlies: They're enormous, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin worms]]. [[spoiler:Adults are multipedal, but still insectoid.]]
961* CallASmeerpARabbit: Though they are technically like worms, their size makes it hard to qualify them as such.
962* CaveMouth: [[spoiler:Demandred even confused the mouth of the Hearttomb for a cave, while it's really a jumara'nai's mouth.]]
963* CombatTentacles: [[spoiler:On the adults.]]
964* TheDreaded: ''Myrddraal'' are afraid of jumara, and Lan takes steps to avoid them.
965* FeedItWithFire: [[spoiler:Unlike ''[[MageKiller gholam]]'', who can NoSell direct channeling, adult jumara grow even stronger from it.]]
966* MadeOfIron: The only way to kill a jumara is to cut it into many pieces. [[spoiler:Padan Fain, as of Book 13, can subvert this with [[ArtifactOfDoom his dagger]].]]
967* MeaningfulName: The name jumara comes from the old French word for "chimera." Although it itself is not a combination of creatures, the name does evoke the multi-stage forms in its life process.
968* MetamorphosisMonster: Jumara can transform into an even more terrible Shadowspawn that is unknown, but those remaining in the Blight cannot do so, as they have no access to the necessary process or catalyst. [[spoiler:A fully mature one appears in "River of Souls", in Shara, where it had killed generations of Sharan heroes. Demandred finally killed ''it'', cementing his position as the Sharan Wyld. He himself admits he wouldn't have stood a chance if he hadn't known what it was and how to kill it going in]].
969* SandWorm: Very small scale, but they are large worms. [[spoiler:Adults fit the type much better.]]
970* SpikesOfVillainy: [[spoiler:Adults have many spines on their bodies.]]
971* TakeOurWordForIt: Their more horrible form is only alluded to in the main series, considering they can't turn into one (see above under {{Metamorphosis}}). [[spoiler: One does appear in "River of Souls", and it's every bit as nasty as alluded to, with Demandred thinking that Aginor probably made the critter so horrible [[ForTheEvulz just to see if he could]]]]. Also, they are said to be afraid of whatever is even further into the Blight, though we don't know what that is aside from the Dark One. Granted, once more of the Blight is seen, there's nothing new at all, or really much of anything. Either NothingIsScarier to them, they are afraid of the [[spoiler:Town]] in the Blight, or something ''used to be'' there that scared them enough that GeneticMemory of a PrimalFear perhaps did the rest.
972[[/folder]]
973
974[[folder:''Gholam'']]
975An anti-channeling assassin created during the Age of Legends and kept [[HumanPopsicle in a stasis box]] until the present time in the Third Age. ''Gholam'' are completely immune to channeling, which may be why only six were ever made. Only one actually appears in the series proper, but his behaviors and near indestructibility has made him one of the more notable single Shadowspawn. The word ''gholam'' is always italicized in print.
976----
977* AndYourLittleDogToo: Threatens everyone Mat cares about when he confronts him eventually, specifying [[spoiler:[[TagalongKid Olver]], [[CoolOldGuy Noal]], [[OldMaster Thom]], and [[ArrangedMarriage Tuon]].]]
978* AchillesHeel: The foxhead medallion. ''Gholam'' do, however, lack one of the notable Achilles Heels of most shadowspawn -- the inability to survive passage through a gateway -- owing to being a much more advanced creation.
979* AndIMustScream[=/=]DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler: Invoked by Mat, who declares that he's doomed to fall into the [[AnotherDimension Skimming dimension]] for all eternity after Mat kicks him off the platform in ''Towers of Midnight''. However, WordOfGod says that he actually died soon after; even a ''gholam'' can't survive the Skimming void for long unprotected.]][[invoked]]
980* AntiMagic: Cannot be harmed by weaves directly, or even touched by them. However, it seems that he himself is composed of them, since the weave-destroying medallion can burn him.
981* ArchEnemy: Seems to be one to Mat, due to [[AchillesHeel the foxhead medallion]], which is the only thing he fears; it's personal on Mat's end too, owing to the ''gholam'' having killed a number of soldiers under his command, including Nalesean. Eventually, he is even deliberately sent to kill him and those close to him.
982* BizarreAlienBiology: Completely bloodless and seemingly boneless, and doesn't seem to react to any wounds not made by his AchillesHeel.
983* BossInMookClothing: No other Shadowspawn has ever been so much trouble for the protagonists as this one.
984* CompactInfiltrator: In its EstablishingCharacterMoment, it seeps under a locked door to reach its target.
985* TheFarmerAndTheViper: Though not actually used (he ''is'' a Shadowspawn), it is still brought attention to in a conversation with Mat.
986-->'''''Gholam''''': A bird must fly. A man must breathe. I must kill.
987* {{Golem}}: As per his MeaningfulName, he is a constructed man, albeit far more agile than many of that type.
988* HeroKiller: Kills many members of the Band of the Red Hand, at least. His other kills have been noncombatants. In general, this seems to be what ''gholam'' were created to be - assassins for killing channelers and other powerful, high-profile targets.
989* HumanoidAbomination: Ordinarily looks like a bland-looking human. Is actually a monstrously powerful ''thing'' and the most advanced, deadly type of Shadowspawn.
990* ImplacableMan: No matter how many hits he takes, this guy just keeps coming.
991* KickTheDog: [[spoiler:Killed and drained a tied up [[MrsRobinson Queen Tylin]] because he needed the blood, even though (or maybe [[CombatPragmatist because]]) she was unable to defend herself.]]
992* KryptoniteFactor: He's completely immune to channeling and at the least extremely resistant to mundane attack, but even ''touching'' Mat's medallion burns him. Apparently AntiMagic and AntiMagic don't mix.
993* LastOfHisKind: It is unknown if any of the other ''gholam'' in stasis are still alive, so he is presumed to be ''the gholam''.
994* MageHuntingMonster: ''Gholam'' was made to be this, being NighInvulnerable for most weapons, [[AntiMagic immune to direct channeling]], [[NoSell able to travel through gateways and survive]], and able to follow their prey [[RubberMan almost anywhere]]. They were essentially assassins specifically made to kill channelers.
995* MadeOfMagic: Implied to be composed of weaves, considering the AntiMagic foxhead medallion can burn one. Especially ironic, considering weaves cannot harm it.
996* NighInvulnerable: Can only be stalled through indirect uses of the Power, or harmed by the foxhead medallion. Whether or not he can even die is unknown. [[spoiler:WordOfGod confirmed that ''gholam'' do die of old age eventually, though they live a ''very'' long time, and the one Mat fought didn't last very long falling through the Skimming void.]][[invoked]]
997* NoNameGiven: He is only ever known as "the ''gholam''". It's unclear if he even ''has'' another name.
998* TheNondescript: The ''Gholam'' appears to be a very ordinary man who would be completely unremarkable if you didn't know what he was beforehand.
999* NoSell: It is revealed in ''A Memory of Light'' that ''gholam'' were created as immune to the instant death characteristics of entering gateways that is reserved for other Shadowspawn, perhaps explaining [[spoiler:how the fate of the one Mat fought - and pushed through a Skimming gateway, which would have been fatal for an ordinary Shadowspawn - worked]].
1000* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Drinks the blood of his victims in order to fuel his powers, tearing their throats out to do so.
1001* RubberMan: Can avoid nearly every attack and fit into a space "two hand spans wide" by squeezing and turning himself around it. Supposedly has no bones at all.
1002* SealedEvilInACan: He was stuck in a stasis box at some point during the War of Power and remained trapped there for millennia until he was found and released by the Forsaken in the modern day.
1003* SuperSoldier: A much better one than the Trollocs -- Aginor appears to have perfected his craft with these things.
1004* SuperStrength: Far stronger than his frame suggests.
1005* ThisCannotBe: His reaction to [[spoiler:Mat's copies of the medallion]].
1006-->'''''Gholam:''''' How? ''How!''
1007[[/folder]]
1008
1009[[folder: Forgers]]
1010
1011Giant rock golems that are only found in Thakan'dar, as their name suggests they create the cursed weapons favored by the Myrddraal and other Shadow high-ups, but are also said to be peerless warriors.
1012----
1013* FakeUltimateMook: They're extremely lethal warriors, [[spoiler: which is why the channelers with Rand's force make sure to disable them before they can join the fight at Shayol Ghul]].
1014* GiantMook: Some of the largest, and most physically powerful, shadowspawn.
1015* {{Golem}}: Giants made of living rock; apparently anything less durable wouldn't be able to survive the process of creating Thakan'dar blades.
1016* MightyGlacier: Big, slow, but enormously powerful.
1017* PoweredByAForsakenChild: They use human sacrifices as the final touch to give the weapons they make their particularly lethal properties.
1018* UltimateBlacksmith: Of the evil variety; they're the ones who create the Myrddraal's cursed swords.
1019[[/folder]]

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