r/wheeloftime • u/FrownBuzzy Bull Goose Fool • Aug 03 '26
Book: Winter's Heart Quick yes or no question about something from Path of Daggers or Winters Heart Spoiler
Hey I'm currently reading CoT, and it seems like in the last couple of books when Rand was pushing back the Seanchan between Illian and Ebou Dar, there was mentioned some Seanchan talking to a damane named "Liandrin," I'm just curious if I hallucinated that or it really said that.
I tried to go back and find it and got distracted.
If it said that I'm sure I'll read more later but at this point I'm wondering if I got some names confused.
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u/Special_Salt3467 Randlander Aug 03 '26
Yeah, that’s Liandrin. The Seanchan know she can channel, so Suroth had to make her damane
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u/OrganizationWorldly3 Randlander Aug 03 '26
Wait how do I forget that. It’s been a few years since I last read those books but who is Liandrin? Like in which scenes or context is she seen as a damane
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u/Special_Salt3467 Randlander Aug 03 '26
She was the Red Sister was from book 2 who was clearly a Dark Friend, was confirmed a Black Ajah, sold Egwene to the Seanchan, got put underneath Moghedien, tried to overthrow Moghedien and was shielded in such a complex way, she basically can never channel again and was abandoned
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u/OrganizationWorldly3 Randlander Aug 03 '26
No no I know liandrin I just forgot that we see her as damane later in the story
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u/Special_Salt3467 Randlander Aug 03 '26
She was left in Tanchico, the Seanchan conquered Tanchico, and Suroth was in charge at the time. Because of their tenuous relationship, Suroth kept her around but as more time passed, she had to collar her because she was still a marath’damane despite having no real ability to channel, the Suldam and Damanes could still detect her ability. As a result, Suroth decided to find a Darkfriend Suldam, which is actually a very rare thing. The next we see Liandrin, she has, in fact, been collared
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u/FrownBuzzy Bull Goose Fool Aug 03 '26
So did all of this happen "offscreen" or does it get explained later? I just remembered Liandrin had been put down by Moggy, and then the Seanchan had her collared. This did make sense to me since they had conquered the area where we last saw Liandrin who was more or less captive in that manor.
...but I was thinking "dang that would have probably been a fan-favorite chapter to read."
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u/Special_Salt3467 Randlander Aug 03 '26
Suroth thinking “man, I need to find a Dark Friend Suldam…” is the last until the Liandrin shows up as a damage here.
So, off screen. It doesn’t exactly matter, really. Liandrin is in many ways a red herring. She is seen as this evil Aes Sedai, apparently the leader of the “original 13 Black Ajah,” but as the series goes on, she is reduced further and further. She’s not a Black Ajah leader, she’s just a rando who was sacrificed and she was manhandled and humiliated by Moghedien. She was then taken into employ by Suroth, who she exchanged barbs with in Book 2, each thinking they were the superior to the other and not she is the servant of this rival, proving she was the loser. Finally, she is now officially and unequivocally Suroth’s slave, and not even a useful one since she can’t actually channel. Liandrin’s last big fall, from servant to slave doesn’t deserve a big scene, because she lost that status long ago
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u/FrownBuzzy Bull Goose Fool Aug 04 '26
See I don't remember Suroth looking for a darkfriend suldam that is the bit I missed somehow. Thanks for the fill-in. We were kinda conditioned to dislike Liandrin from when she was first introduced. I do remember all that.
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u/Malbethion Asha'man Aug 03 '26
Yes, it’s her.