#cyndane

[orbit-of-eternity]

Lanfear now Cyndane: I'm a changed woman

Everyone:

[anira-naeg]

Lanfear and Cyndane

[vulpixenthusiast]

Thing is. I disagree with a lot of takes abt lanfear. Like. I don’t think she ever really used compulsion. She didn’t seem to me to, like, “stoop so low” as to use that tool, which I’m sure she says so herself, moghdien is the one used to utilizing it. Also don’t think she would cause Rands nightmares, AT LEAST, not those ones we saw him having this season. It’s WAYYY more likely for her to cause the other eamond fielders nightmares just for funsies. And I also think she should dump LTT and be with me forever or illyena shhh but u know

[kunosoura]

anyway tangential to sanderson but one of my favorite parts of wheel of time that most wheel of time fans hate is the part in one of the later books where Perrin and Faile meet with Elayne to discuss the future of the two rivers. and Perrin (and a lot of the audience (wheel of time fans(idiots))) thinks "wtf why is she demanding loyalty. Andor never cared about the Two Rivers before. this is bullshit and elayne is a bitch". meanwhile when you look at the two people in the scene who know what's going on (elayne and faile) and pay attention to them you see exactly what's going on: two smart and politically savvy women who have to play their roles (A queen meeting with an unsanctioned, possibly rebellious lord and a noblewoman dealing with a stronger power censuring her) while also coming to a compromise where they both leave happy.

Elayne can't allow them to declare themselves independent because it would set a bad precedent for her sovereignty in the rest of the realm, even though she realizes the Two Rivers has been independent in all but name for centuries and she has nothing to gain from forcing their allegiance. Faile can't capitulate to having the Two Rivers rejoin Andor, because the people would riot at having to kneel to the laws and taxes of a kingdom that hadn't protected them from the trollocs or the whitecloaks, and Perrin likely wouldn't keep his position. They both know that neither full annexation nor open rebellion is an acceptable outcome, so they work together to come up with an alternative: the Two Rivers is declared land of the Dragon because Rand grew up there (which doesn't set a precedent that can be followed), independent from but allied to Andor (keeping the peace between them), with Perrin as the steward of the lands (allowing him to remain in power as a local leader with widespread support). and perrin (the PoV) is oblivious to all of this and just thinks huh why is my best friend's fourth favorite girlfriend being such a bitch. oh well at least my wife fixed things ^_^

[myclericalromance]

also i keep having to look people up because I Forgetted and then stuff gets spoiled oop

the problem with wheel of time being my new obsession is that it's gonna take me six months to finish the series and i can't interact with anything else because a lot has already been spoiled for me

[chosenasmodean]

Forsaken Week Day Thirteen: Lanfear

I mainly referenced bridal dresses for her outfit, though she also ended up with a bit of a 1970s feel.

Spoilers under the cut to Winter's Heart.

Cyndane's outfit is based off of an Edwardian walking dress. From my recollection it sounds like Moridin makes both Cyndane and Moghedien wear the same thing, so I wanted it to have a uniform feel.

[bigskydreaming]

Oh I am definitely here for this take on Moghedien. One scene and she's already 100 times more compelling than she ever was in the books.

LOL at Lanfear's victorious stroll as she thinks she's just successfully dealt with Ishamael and now will rid herself of all her rival Forsaken in one stroke, and her face the second she sees Moghedien's already out and about, and Ishamael ALREADY freed all the others and they've scattered to the winds.

The irony of her commenting just earlier that very episode about how well she and Ishamael know each other, scheming besties, always two parts of the trinity that was them and Lews Therin.....of course he knew she was gunning for him and planned accordingly.

I was hoping that they would go a slightly different route with his character, since I worried (given that they already cut the Forsaken down from 13 to 8) that they weren't gonna use Moridin later on, and so at least we got more of a presence from him before the battle at Falme then he had in the books....but then again, now that I think about it, I do think they still HAVE to use Moridin at some point at least. They might not go the whole Lanfear/Cyndane route, I suspect that will be cut out, but Moridin pretty much has to come into play or we'll have a MASSIVELY different Last Battle and outcome.

Well. Hmm. Then again, maybe not. There's actually nothing fundamentally essential to the Moridin and Rand face-off at the Last Battle....just the final resolution. But if they're not actually intending that to be the actual ending of the show (and I could see them wanting to explore an alternate ending for Rand), then they don't actually need Moridin. Huh. Guess we'll see.

But so far all three of the Forsaken we've seen have been excellently cast and had perfect energy for their characters. Lanfear is everything I wanted from her character, Ishamael was way more charismatic than he was in the books, and Moghedien is already sooooo much more interesting than she's ever been on the page. Can't wait to see what they do with Graendal, Rahvin, Asmodean & Sammael. (Still don't care about Demandred and I never will. I stand by that one).

[briannysey]

I'm imagining a game of cat and mouse between the Daughter of Night and the Daughter of Nine Moons kidnapping Mat back and forth as he tries desperately to keep his head and the Band of the Red Hand all in one piece.

Lanfear could create a public persona that acts as adjutant or maybe ruling lady of the Band while the Seanchan and Band skirmish all along southwestern nations as the Seanchan push deeper into the continent.

My toxic trait is that I need to know exactly where and when the canon divergence first started in even my crackiest, most goofy AU, even if it never comes up in the actual fic.

[circlemercs]

Circle Mercs level 6 new headshots by @renlikesstuff.

Blip, tabaxi Way of the Open Palm monk

Chess, human School of Chronurgy wizard

Cyndane, aasimar Storm sorcerer

Kol, human Oath of Vengeance paladin

Sarrihel, pallid elf Circle of Stars druid

These are traced from the very talented venusmage and only for our campaign's use on Foundry.

[ao3feed-lanaeve]

The Balance of Darkness and Light

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/cTg7tEi by LiskaFly "Once upon a time, he was but a man. A man in love with a woman who could light up his world like a thousand fireworks. A woman he would call the light of his life. He was desperately in love with a woman, who could never return his feelings. A woman, who could never be his. And once he realized that, everything about him changed, slowly, until he lost even the last spark and turned completely to the dark." Words: 352, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: The Wheel of Time (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: F/F, F/M Characters: Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, Siuan Sanche, Rand al'Thor, Lanfear | Cyndane, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Elayne Trakand, Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Alanna Mosvani, Liandrin Guirale, Leane Sharif, Verin Mathwin, Logain Ablar, The Dark One | Shai'tan (Wheel of Time), Original Characters Relationships: Moiraine Damodred/Siuan Sanche, Moiraine Damodred & Lan Mandragoran, Nynaeve al'Meara/Lan Mandragoran, Rand al'Thor/Egwene al'Vere read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/cTg7tEi

[elfcow]

What I will say is the new Liandran stuff absolutely rules. Fantastic fucking depth to a nasty piece of work. Much more human in the show, and excellent braiding into the scene with Suroth.

I also really love that we're getting to follow Ishamael and Lanfear around. The writing and acting is fantastic for them.

... It makes me kind of hope that the whole Moridin and Cyndane thing lets them keep the same actors instead? I really hope we get that route but I csn understand if we don't.

[anira-naeg]

Sindane (+ sketch of Semirhage)

[vulpixenthusiast]

Really really wish they wouldn’t cut lanfears meddling with the other Emond fielders, I need her interacting with Egwene pls

[cannoli-reader]

"To be a Green means to stand ready ..." That's how Alanna explained it. She didn't say "to fight."

But seriously, their job is to HELP fight the Shadow, to counter the Dark One's channelers. Like all the best weapons in WoT, the Green Ajah works best against the Shadow, not increasing the body count pointlessly against human foes, who are going to be some of the most effective contributors at Tarmon Gaidon.

The first real test in fighting the Shadow came at the Cleansing, where it is worth noting that only the circles led by channelers explicitly trained as soldiers, who were themselves veterans of long-standing (Damer Flinn and Alivia), and the Greens (Cadsuane & Merise/Elza) succeeded without taking losses. In fact the casualties taken by the defenders can be explicitly blamed on the failures of Verin and Daigian. Verin, rather than striking with everything she had to eradicate or kill Graendal, tried to shield her, and it didn't work, because there is no way to tell if she has an angreal, which she did. Shielding is strength vs strength, with the defender having an edge. An all-out attack requires them to stop it from killing them, which is an issue of skill and luck (note that Cyndane badly injured Alivia, who had greater strength, plus an angreal, plus defensive ter'angreal). In any case, when you are already outmatched, you have to make the most of any chance you get, because you don't know if you'll get another. Verin was already counting her chickens when Graendal was a long way from hatching, and she strayed from the mission, which was about eliminating any threat to Rand & Nynaeve, full stop. Not collecting Forsaken. Even if Verin's plan succeeded, it would have diluted their strength by requiring someone to hold her shielded. She was, like a Brown, thinking of knowledge, and failed her combat assignment.

Daigian, on the other hand, basically was wandering in enemy territory, with her gun unloaded and packed away. Eben noted that she was only holding enough of the Power to maintain the link, meaning that before she acts, she has to first draw on the Power, so she's not ready to weave. Beyond that, her reaction to Aran'gar is utterly moronic. They are at Shadar Fucking Logoth. No one is just out riding in the area! Logically, it's POSSIBLE, but the consequences of burning to a cinder the first movement you spot could range from Enemy Eliminated to Innocent Bystander Killed. Failing weakens the defenses around the most important channeling feat since the Bore was sealed and increases the chance of the bad guys stopping it. The negative consequences of shooting first and working out syllogisms later are vastly less harmful than the negative consequences of getting taken by surprise while vetting possible innocent passers-by. Daigian failed at her job AND at logic. Note that the Green in her circle was at least suspicious of Aran'gar.

Honestly, the whole incident is an illustration of the faults of the Aes Sedai. The circles should have been led by anyone BUT sisters, if you had to have circles. FFS, why do you even need one? Every channeler present was strong enough to kill a human being. The logic Cadsuane used in the bubble of evil outside Cairhien holds true for the Cleansing, where a channeler in a circle is basically dead weight, who if she spots something, has to point it out to the leader of the circle. Being in a circle, that needed the slow reaction times of an academic to actually fight, prevented Eben and Beldeine from acting on their observations. The Aes Sedai, however, are blinded by their favorite tactic, which, conveniently, allows most of them to not act, and so they shackle a large number of channelers to the wills of a handful of women who are the least experienced combatants in a hundred miles. The non-Aes Sedai were three Asha'man with recent experience fighting a Forsaken, and damane on a military campaign, and a damane with more combat experience than any 10 living non-Seanchan channelers, Forsaken included. The Forsaken's combat experience is a ten year war. You would need 40 Forsaken to match Alivia's experience. And Shalon, while we have nothing on her experience aside from her being old enough to have helped raise a middle-aged Wavemistress, is, like the Asha'man and Alivia, at least unbound by the Three Oaths, and able to strike before it is obvious that she is under attack.

So this got a bit away from me, but while Aes Sedai suck in a fight, the Green Ajah put up a better showing the first time it counted. And they succeeded, unlike Egwene usually does in combat. Egwene is always slow to react to actual danger and quick to lash out pointlessly and uselessly. All she did against the Seanchan was kill people, she did nothing to prevent the Seanchan raid from being a resounding success by the objectives they set out for themselves ahead of time, and "drove off" people who had no intention of staying (unlike Verin, Seanchan know how to keep on mission).

Jordan was a combat veteran. None of this is an accident.

Dude, the Green Ajah is so disappointing. You first hear about them and you’re like, “Whoa, Battle Ajah! I wanna see Aes Sedai kick some ass.” but, save for the Trolloc Wars, they’ve done nothing but sit around in the Tower for 3000 years with their thumbs up their asses. “Battle Ajah;” sister, please.

Then the Tower itself is attacked, the Greens are like, pretty much M.I.A. Everyone’s asses are saved by a bunch of Novices with a sa'angrael and a fucking Brown. Get your shit together, Green Ajah.

[wot-tidbits]

character portraits2by AngelikAdrie

[thewayoftheleaf]

A lot of this reread is just being like "YOU!!!" at characters in disguise and then spending the rest of the book trying to remember which character they actually are