Ishamael (ih-SHAH-may-EHL) (Originally known as Elan Morin Tedronai) is one of the primary antagonists of the Wheel of Time fantasy series by Robert Jordan. He is one of the Forsaken. In fact, he is considered the most powerful of the thirteen Forsaken, holding the position of Nae'blis among the Forsaken, a position counted as second only to the Great Lord of the Dark.
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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 despairingly. 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 (as Shaitan only must win once, and can always try again; the Creator must win eternally, losing once, being unmade, thus making it mathematically impossible for the ultimate victor to be the Creator) and so became one of the first Chosen by convincing himself of the logic of such a move. He is a master of the board game sha'rah.[1]
He became the Dark One's champion, being equal in the One Power to Lews Therin Telamon. He declared his allegiance to the Shadow at a conference of Aes Sedai, arguing that the Light was the losing side. Given his stature as a figure of power, his proclamation sparked massive riots.[2] It was the masses who gave him his new name: Ishamael, Betrayer of Hope. Also called "Soul of the Shadow", he was the Dark One's leading general, despite the fact that 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.
Many people theorize that, unlike the other Forsaken, Ishamael was only partially sealed inside the Dark One's prison at Shayol Ghul (in contrast to Aginor and Balthamel who were merely sealed too close to the edge, and thus susceptible to the passage of time), and that Ishamael's soul was released into the world from time to time. Aran, son of Malan, an Ogier historian, had a theory of Ishamael being "spun out" and touching the world for specific periods of time. Evidence suggests that he was free to roam the world for periods of approximately 40 years every millennium since the end of the Age of Legends.[2]
In fact, Ishamael may not have been initially sealed away at all—he was said to have been away from Shayol Ghul when the other Forsaken were bound. In the prologue to The Eye of the World, during the Breaking of the World, Ishamael told Lews Therin that he had killed his own family. He then gave Lews Therin a moment of sanity so that he understood what he had done. In a memory seen by Rand al'Thor in Rhuidean, an Aes Sedai suspects at the Breaking of the World that Ishamael is not fully bound, or perhaps was never bound at all.
Ishamael started calling himself Ba'alzamon during the Breaking of the World and was revered by Trollocs, and feared by Myrddraal. A thousand years after the Breaking he ravaged the world when he sent the Trollocs forth, causing the Trolloc Wars. He is also credited with founding the Black Ajah.
In FY 973, Ishamael apparently came to Artur Hawkwing's court posing as Jalwin Moerad. He became Hawkwing's highest counselor by the summer of 974, and held that position until Hawkwing's death in FY 994. He set about wrecking that which Hawkwing had built. He had Hawkwing do the following:
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 inquired about him closely died. Tamika, Hawkwing's wife, did not trust Moerad. He was openly contemptuous of Aes Sedai. Days after Hawkwing's death he became the counselor to, and then had killed, Marithelle Camaelaine, Norodim Nosokawa and then Elfraed Guitama, the three closest contenders for the throne, one by one. Jalwin appeared for 40 years, and then disappeared, never aging a day, lending support to Aran's theories.
Ishamael can, therefore, be credited with the two greatest catastrophes of the Third Age: The Trolloc Wars and the War of the Hundred Years—truly the Dark One's top captain. In truth, he has manipulated much of the Third Age's history; every time humanity unified (Covenant of the Ten Nations, Hawkwing's empire), he found a way to dissolve that bond, leaving humanity vulnerable again.
Many of the "misunderstandings" from the characters' point of view are explained by the fact that Ishamael has acted like the Dark One for three millennia; mistaking him for Shai'tan, the Trollocs named him Ba'alzamon, and everyone else assumed Ba'alzamon was the name of the Dark One. Ishamael, when free, can use Tel'aran'rhiod; believing him to be the Dark One, Moiraine assumed in The Eye of the World that his appearances in dreams meant that the seals on Shayol Ghul were weakening greatly. Similarly, she wondered why he was able to appear in the sky at Falme, seeing as he is supposed to be bound in Shayol Ghul. Only after Ishamael was killed by Rand did she realize that Ba'alzamon was a man, and thus clearly not the Dark One.
The long years and the strain of being torn between the world and a possibly endless sleep seem to have driven Ishamael insane. Though privately, other members of the Forsaken doubted that Ishamael was completely sane even during the Age of Legends. 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 somehow was the Dark One. Due to his continued appearance and leadership when all of the Forsaken were supposed to be bound and sealed, the Trollocs and other Shadowspawn came to call him Ba'alzamon, "Heart of the Dark" in the Trolloc tongue. 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 slain 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 instead Ishamael, and that Rand's battle against the Shadow had only just truly begun.
After Ishamael 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; 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 only channels the True Power now, a power similar to the One Power but which flows from the Dark One, and he is now the only one of the Forsaken allowed to use the True Power. It is quite possible that he also used it as Ba'alzamon, since he performed numerous feats of altering reality that Rand could not see weaves for.
Moridin has two cour'souvra (Mindtraps) around his neck. One holds Moghedien, the other Cyndane. He has started to consolidate the power of the Shadow under his command as he once did as Ba'alzamon. Other Chosen say that now he is even madder than before, though he has much more control over himself.
There has been indication that a connection between himself and Rand al'Thor has been established when the two accidentally clashed two beams of balefire together. Rand has been frequently afflicted with illnesses that Nyneave cannot find the root of, particularly one with his eyes as she indicated at the end of Knife of Dreams, that Moridin may be experiencing due to his extensive use of the True Power, which has been shown to affect the eyes with the saa, black flecks that float across the eyes of someone who has used too much of the True Power. This and the fact that Rand and Lews Therin both periodically see a face in their head that in Knife of Dreams was shown to be Moridin. The full repercussions of this bond have yet to be shown, and whether or not the odd sicknesses that Rand has been suffering are due to damage his body sustained wielding tainted saidin, or Rand's two "dark" wounds on his side, or because of their connection and Moridin's rampant use of the venomous True Power has yet to be seen. However, there were no real indications to his sickness until after the events of the seventh book, A Crown of Swords, when the two clashed balefire at Shadar Logoth.
More recently it has been shown that Moridin appears angry every time Rand sees him during a bout of sickness. The connection is so strong that in The Gathering Storm Moridin unknowingly draws Rand into his dreams and his left hand aches now that Rand's is gone. He is unsure of the nature of the bond and personality aspects that are transferring; Rand now wears red and black frequently and has access to the True Power. Moridin has expressed confusion over feeling Rand's tiredness.
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