On Apr 10, 3:27 am, jazz...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> On Apr 9, 8:11 pm, Matthew Kuhl <patton1...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Uh, I am in fact new here, but I have read the FAQ front to back, and
> > I just thought of something about Taim. One of the points debated was
> > the fact that Taim built up such a tremendous organization for Rand at
> > the Black Tower, and why didn't he do that before then, if he was
> > capable of such a thing. I don't know if this possibility has been
> > discussed, but it could boil down to one word: ta'veren. So far as I
> > know, there are no indications that Taim is, was, or ever has been
> > ta'veren, which Rand, of course, is. He needs a lot of manpower
> > backing him (the Asha'man were quite crucial in rescuing him at
> > Dumai's Wells), and maybe the Pattern undertook itself to provide him
> > with a lot of raw material. Additionally, there is this: Yes, Taim
> > probably channeled for 15 years prior to his appearance in the books.
> > But for only a small ****tion of that would he have been widely known
> > as a claimant to the title of the Dragon Reborn. Imagine, if you
> > will, that you are an average Randlander male who happens to be able
> > to channel. This random guy who you do not know has come up to you
> > and said, "Follow me and I will teach you to channel." You're going
> > to be thinking, "Well, I could follow this charismatic chap I just met
> > down a path that will eventually lead to madness and rotting alive,
> > that is to say, if the Aes Sedai don't gentle me first. Or I could
> > just stab myself to death, which would be both faster and easier."
> > Presumably after 3000 years of people saying "Male channelers are
> > bad," there will be some sort of psychological inhibition against
> > willingly becoming a channeler. Follow a channeler claiming to be the
> > Dragon Reborn, yes. Learn to channel from your own free will,
> > probably not. My guess would be that the few men who Taim was able to
> > teach were among his more fanatical sup****ters, the ones for whom
> > devotion to Taim overpowered the societal prohibition against
> > channeling. It's possible, however, that for Rand, the fact that he
> > is the true Dragon Reborn would push them over the limit. Make of
> > that what you will.
>
> > (I thought it might make a pleasant change from the spam that appears
> > to be clogging this group. :) )
>
> It seems more likely to me that he didn't really think it possible. He
> was pretty cynical when Rand explained what he wanted Taim to do,
> thinking that finding men that could channel would be an extreme
> rarity. Of course, finding all the suitable men was the pattern
> providing Rand with what he needs, but I think that Taim never tried
> doing it himself, because he didn't think the result worth the amount
> of time he'd have to put into finding and teaching suitable candidates.
I do remember Taim saying at one point (in LOC, I think) that he had
tried to find and train other male channelers, but that he had only
found two or three and that all of them had suc***bed to the Taint
pretty darn fast.
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