The Wheel of time
The Forsaken
The Forsaken were channelers who served the side of the Shadow in the War of Power. They were known to followers of the Shadow as "Those Chosen To Rule The World Forever," or simply the Chosen. Among the Seanchan Darkfriends they are known formally as Da'concion, or "the Chosen Ones". The Aiel call them the Shadowsouled. Although during the War of Power there were dozens of Forsaken leading the armies of the Shadow, as time passed, the term "Forsaken" came to refer to only the thirteen most powerful among them, who were caught in the sealing of the Bore and imprisoned with the Dark One. The horrific deeds of each were remembered long after their disappearance. In the Third Age, these thirteen were such infamous symbols of the Shadow that mothers would use stories of their exploits to frighten children. A well known catechism about the Forsaken is as follows: "The Dark One and all the Forsaken are bound in Shayol Ghul, bound by the Creator at the moment of Creation, bound until the end of time," or a similar variant. This is incorrect, of course, as the Forsaken were not even born until the Age of Legends, and it is unclear if there even was an original "moment of Creation"—nor is the imprisonment forever. Due to the general weakening of the Seven Seals, some, perhaps all thirteen, had escaped by 997 NE, and all were certainly free by 998 NE.Agnior Aginor was sealed very close to the surface of the Bore and as a result time altered his features quite significantly. The skin of his face was like crazed parchment drawn tight over a skull, then pulled tighter still. Wispy tufts of brittle hair stood at odd places on his scabrous scalp. His ears were withered bits like scraps of ancient leather; his eyes sunken, peering out of his head as if from the ends of tunnels. Before turning to the Shadow, Ishar Morrad Chuain (Aginor) was a famous biologist. However, his complete lack of empathy resulted in him performing a number of unauthorized, unethical experiments. When these experiments were discovered by the Hall of Servants, he was sanctioned and forbidden to conduct any further genetic experimentation. This was unacceptable to him, and desiring more freedom to operate, he pledged himself to the Shadow during the War of Power. Sometime during the relatively early stages of the war, he discovered a way to create an animal/human hybrid of limited intelligence that could function as a shock-trooper and which bred at an astounding rate. These creatures became known as Trollocs and became the backbone of the Shadow's armies during the war. He also created a number of more specialized monsters, including Draghkar, Gholam, and Myrddraal amongst others. It is believed that somewhere between 35 and 50 million people died in the experiments that resulted in the Shadowspawn, at a rate of almost 10,000 per day. He was never directly involved with any military campaigns, and seemed to have done little during the war beyond his experiments. Despite this however, these experiments gave him an extraordinarily high body count, even for one of the Forsaken. Aginor and Balthamel were sealed near the surface of the Bore, and as such aged immensely by the time of their release. During his sleep of three thousand years, Aginor experienced endless nightmares. He and Balthamel were the first to be released. After his release, Aginor attempted to control all of the One Power from the Eye of the World; but he drained too much of it in a single time, so it was too much for him to control and Aginor was burned to ashes. |
Blathamael Being sealed close to the surface, time wore away at his body, leaving his skin so rotted that he covered all of himself in a shroud, his face a grinning mask. Further, he was no longer able to speak. During his time as one of the Chosen, he ran an extensive intelligence network, bested only by that of Moghedien, and committed several great atrocities - for example, he raised and organized breeding camps for humans to be fed to the Trolloc armies. When Lews Therin Telamon and the Hundred Companions struck at Shayol Ghul to seal the Bore, he was there along with twelve other of the most powerful Chosen, and imprisoned for three thousand years before his release in 998 NE. Soon after his release, he and Aginor confronted the Dragon Reborn, Rand al'Thor, at the Eye of the World. After manhandling Nynaeve al'Meara, Balthamel was confronted by Someshta who would not allow them to cause destruction in his home. Balthamel burned the Green Man badly, striking a mortal blow to the all but immortal being, but he, himself started to rot as organic weeds, fungi and such grew all over him from the touch of the Green Man, subsequently killing him. |
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.jpg) [00] New Spring |
 [01] The Eye of the World |
 [02] The Great Hunt |
 [03] The Dragon Reborn |
 [04] The Shadow Rising |
 [05] The Fires of Heaven |
 [06] Lord of Chaos |
 [07] A Crown of Swords |
 [08] The Path of Daggers |
 [09] Winter’s Heart |
 [10] Crossroads of Twilight |
 [11] Knife of Dreams |
 [12] The Gathering Storm |
 [13] Towers of Midnight |
 [14] A Memory of Light |
