Dark One
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The Dark One is a fictional character and primary antagonist of The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.
His true name is Shai'tan. Shaitan, which is the root of the word "Satan" and most literally means "adversary" or "opponent". Shaitan/Satan in Christian and Islamic mythology are essentially interchangable. Both are angels who refuse God's command and are condemned as a result, and both occupy central theological positions as a counterbalance to God's salvation. The origin of Shaitan is found in very early Semetic mythology and and is not so clear or central a figure, if it exists at all.
In the Wheel Of Time books Verin Sedai says the Dark One is the "embodiment of paradox and chaos, destroyer of reason and logic, breaker of balance, the unmaker of order, and the opponent of the Creator". Shai'tan is the godlike figure of the creatures of darkness. (Dragon 188) Sheriam tells Egwene that the ability to channel confers a weakness, that those who can channel can be turned to the Dark One (TDR 'Sealed'). There is also a catechism in the books series that states that "The Dark One was bound by The Creator in the moment of creation." It is unclear just what the Dark One is or how powerful he is in relation to the Creator. It is very much implied in the books that the Dark One has the capability to unmake or reorder all that is, was or ever will be, which leads one to the conclusion that in some way the Dark One is a match for the creator. However, the fact of the Dark One's imprisonment at the moment of creation and his apparent lack of a role in that creation would contradict that. It's possible that the Dark One is just what he is often called or intimated to be: not so much a force of evil as a force of death and destruction, opposed to existence and the pattern itself.
Speaking the true name of the Dark One is believed to bring misfortune on the speaker. Darkfriends claim not to fear this misfortune but consider speaking his name to be blasphemy. As a result there are many alternative names for him
- Father of Lies
- Sightblinder
- Lord of the Grave
- Shepherd of the Night
- Heartsbane
- Soulsbane
- Heartfang
- Old Grim
- Father of Storms
- Grassburner
- Leafblighter
- Lord of Chaos
- Great Lord of the Dark (Used only by Darkfriends)
The Dark One is imprisoned at the time of the books in the same nameless state the creator placed him in at the moment of creation, but with a "Bore" drilled into that prison. A path made by Lews Therin Telamon and The Hundred Companions at the end of the Age Of Legends patches the Bore which was made by Mieren Eronaile aka Lanfear.
The Geographic location in which the Bore (a metaphysical hole into the pattern itself, and not a physical thing) is most prevalent and the dark one is closest to the world is The Pit Of Doom. The Pit Of Doom is an otherworldly place beneath Shayol Ghul which is a mountain in the valley of Thakan'dar, just beyond the Blight. In the books the Shayol Ghul is entirely a real place, but the Pit Of Doom, while it lays beneath Shayol Ghul is either partially or wholly not in the world and is the place where the Dark One's power over the pattern is greatest.
