Ishamael
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Ishamael is one of the primary antagonists of the Wheel of Time fantasy series by Robert Jordan. He is one of the Forsaken. His name is an altered version of the Biblical name "Ishmael" ("God shall hear"), the illegitimate son of Abraham to one of his wife's maids, although there is no clear meaning behind using the name, other than that Ishmael was "a wild-man" whose "hand would be against every man, and every man's hand against him".
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[edit] Life Before The Shadow
Elan Morin Tedronai was originally a philosopher and theologian during the Age of Legends. He was in the prime of maturity: good looking with fine cut clothes and dark, penetrating eyes and a commanding presence; his voice had the air of both reason and command. He was often too esoteric for popular appeal. He wrote many books including "Analysis of Perceived Meaning", "Reality and the Absence of Meaning" and "Disassembly of Reason". When the hole was made in the Dark One's prison, he looked at events critically, rather than despairing. Being a theoretician, he came to believe that the struggle between the Creator and the Dark One was not new to this world; it had, in fact, existed since the dawn of time in a cycle, using human pawns as champions. He believed that the Dark One would eventually be the winner and unmake the Wheel of Time, and so became one of the first Chosen by convincing himself of the logic of such a move. He is a master of sha'rah, which is the ancestor of the game of stones.
[edit] First of the Chosen
He became the Dark One's champion, being equal in the One Power as Lews Therin Telamon. He declared his allegiance to the Shadow at a conference of Aes Sedai, arguing that the Light was the losing side. His proclamation sparked massive riots. It was the masses who gave him his new name: Ishamael, Betrayer of Hope. During the War of Power he did not hold any field commands; however, he was defeated by Lews Therin at the gates of Paaren Disen.
[edit] Least Sealed?
An interesting phenomenon occurred when Ishamael was sealed with the other Forsaken inside the Dark One's prison at Shayol Ghul. Many people theorize that he was only half sealed (in contrast to Aginor and Balthamel who were merely sealed too close to the edge, and thus susceptible to the passage of time), and his soul was allowed to be released in the world from time to time. Aran son of Malan, an Ogier historian, had a theory based on Ishamael being "spun out" and touching the world for specific periods of time. In fact, Ishamael may not have been initially bound at all, since, at the beginning of The Eye of the World, he told Lews Therin that he had killed his family. He then gave him the moment of sanity so that he understood what he had done. He started calling himself Ba'alzamon during the breaking of the world and was revered by trollocs, and feared by Myrddraal. He ravaged the world when he sent trollocs forth, causing the trolloc wars. He is also credited of founding the Black Ajah. Which shows that he was out from the prison on multiples of forty years. He was not at Shayol Gul when the other Forsaken were bound. In FY 973, Ishamael came to Artur Hawkwing's court as Jalwin Moerad. He became Hawkwing's highest counsellor by summer 974, and held that position until Artur's death in FY 994. He set about wrecking that which Hawkwing had built. He had Artur do the following:
• Dismiss all Aes Sedai from his service.
• Lay siege to Tar Valon.
• Send his armies across the Ocean.
• Refuse Aes Sedai Healing on his death bed.
Jalwin Moerad had a volatile temper, and was half mad (which Ishamael was later shown to be). He had frequent long absences and anyone who enquired about him closely died. Tamika, Artur's wife, did not trust Moerad and he was openly contemptuous of Aes Sedai. Days after Artur's death he became the councillor to and then had killed the three closest contenders for the throne, one by one. They were Marithelle Camaelaine, Norodim Nosokawa and then Elfraed Guitama. Jalwin appeared for 40 years, and then disappeared, never aging a day. This lends support to Aran's theories.
Ishamael can, therefore, be credited with the greatest catastrophes of the third age: The Trolloc Wars, and the War of Hundred years. Truly the Dark One's top Captain.
In a memory seen by Rand al'Thor in Rhuidean, an Aes Sedai suspects at the Breaking that Ishamael isn't fully bound, or perhaps was never bound at all.
[edit] Ba'alzamon
The long years and the strain of being torn between the world and a possibly endless sleep seem to have driven Ishamael insane; in addition, he was one of the privileged few that the Dark One allowed to touch the True Power, a raw source of energy akin to the One Power but emanating directly from the Dark One, and in some ways more powerful. Use of this gift was even more addictive than saidar or saidin however, and it drove users mad before they died. In any case, Ishamael came to believe that he was part of the eternal struggle between the Dragon and the Shadow, and that he had been a part of that struggle not only in the Age of Legends, but throughout time. He may have honestly believed that he was the Dark One somehow; in any case, he came to be known by the Trollocs and other Shadowspawn as Ba'alzamon, "Heart of the Dark" in the Trolloc tongue. They believed, due to his appearance and leadership when all of the Forsaken were supposed to be bound and sealed, and so through them, the world came to believe that Ba'alzamon was the Trolloc name for the Dark One as well.
After his permanent release from the Dark One's prison in NE 997, he hunted Rand al'Thor relentlessly, wounding him at Falme. He was finally brought to bay and defeated by the use of the sa'angreal sword Callandor in the Heart of the Stone of Tear; it was only at that time that Rand learned that Ba'alzamon, his sworn enemy and persecutor for the first three books, was not in fact the Dark One but Ishamael, and that his battle against the Shadow had only just truly begun.
[edit] Moridin
When he was killed in the Heart of the Stone by Rand al'Thor, the Dark One resurrected him into a new body and with a new name, Moridin. He is now very tall and broad shouldered, he has very blue eyes and a deep voice and looks to be in his mid 20's with black hair. Moridin means "death" in the Old Tongue and is close to his previous name Elan Morin; he was given the title of Nae'blis by the Dark One, effectively naming him his regent on the Day of the Return , the coveted position that sets him above the other Forsaken. He mostly channels the True Power now, a dark form of the true source which flows from the dark one, and he is now the only one of the forsaken allowed to use the True Power.
He has two Cour'souvra (mindtraps) around his neck. One holds Moghedien, and the other holds Cyndane, and has started to consolidate the power of the Shadow under his command, as he once did as Ba'alzamon. Other Chosen say of him that now he is even madder than before, though he has much more control over himself.
