Theoryland of the Wheel of Time

The evil power in Padan Fain has neither decreased nor increased, nor has that in the dagger. The corruption in him was partly caused by the taint on Shadar Logoth, but it didn't constitute a real connection to the city. Remember that it was because he was Padan Fain, the Hound of the Shadow, that he was able to leave Shadar Logoth in his new condition after he merged with/absorbed Mordeth. (By the way, any other artifacts that might be lying around from Shadar Logoth would have the same long-term corrupting effect as the dagger. Fortunately, or unfortunately, any such thing would need to be metal or stone. The wood and fabric had decayed. It wouldn't have been pleasant to get a splinter from, say, a chair from Shadar Logoth.)

The destruction of Shadar Logoth has not driven Fain any more insane. I'm not certain he'd be able to function at all if he were any madder than he already is. But being insane doesn't make him any less dangerous, only less predictable. He no longer responds to situations or events in any sort of sane, logical manner. His abiding concerns are hatred of Rand al'Thor (and to a lesser degree Mat and Perrin) because he blames them for what the Dark One did to him in order to turn him into the Shadow's Hound, and hatred for the Dark One because of what the Dark One did to him. He goes after Rand because Rand is the easiest target in his mind, but if he can take a swipe at the Dark One or the Dark One's minions in some way that he felt would cause real harm, he'd leap at it.

A question from me again (sometimes me with my horrible accent has to repeat the question a few times, for him to get it). Although if I remember correctly it was Aan'allein's question.

How did Aginor manage to sense the Shadar Logoth dagger in the The Eye of the World?

Isabel

Robert Jordan

Question

Robert Jordan

For Anonymous—a busy poster—the ruby in Padan Fain's dagger is just a ruby. Of course, the entire dagger is corrupted and corrupting.

Ok. You mentioned that Mordeth was a man that had "power". You are reported as saying that his power was that "which he got by seeking out all of the evil things that weren’t related to the Shadow"...

He was seeking things that were related to the Shadow. I think that that might be a misquote. He was looking into the power of the Shadow in order to defeat it, was his goal. He was looking into everything. He was looking into things that were not necessarily related to the Dark One as well. He was looking for everything that he could get...

Matt Hatch

..previous to him arriving to Aridhol?

Brandon Sanderson

...Yeah...

Matt Hatch

...before he went to the King and became the counselor, Mordeth was this guy that went around searching for Power?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, he wanted to defeat the Dark One and he felt that he could find other ways to do it [...] He originally was good. He did not...he wasn’t this terrible person to begin with but he was looking to defeat the Dark One, to find a way to defeat the Shadow. And he looked into a lot of things he shouldn’t have looked into. There are evils that are not necessarily directly related to the Dark One, though everything evil kind of has...just as there are goods that are not related necessarily to the One Power...we are talking much as Perrin runs with wolves. This is a thing older than...there are other evils things that are old in a similar way...

Matt Hatch

...is the assumption then that he found one of these?

Brandon Sanderson

He did.

Matt Hatch

He found one or multiple?

Brandon Sanderson

He found many things of darkness. There is one in specific that is driving him but he knew too much. He found things he should not have gotten into and that is what turned him into...when he got there he was already corrupt. He still thought he was doing a good work. He still thought we are going to raise this Kingdom up and it is going to become this bastion against the Shadow, but he was already by then corrupted.

Matt Hatch

Is this same corrupting influence what corrupts everyone through the dagger itself?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. Through him, yes. And even through his presence.

MATT HATCH

[Hah—Maybe I should have asked if Mordeth was under the influence of the Finns...or at the very least if they were one of the powers he found in his quest... ]

I heard you answer a question last night, which sounded interesting. Someone asked about Padan Fain and Elaida.

A lot of people don’t remember that they met.

Matt Hatch

So, his influence, how long for example...wasn’t Egwene exposed to Padan Fain? Are there still effects that Egwene has on people because of him?

Brandon Sanderson

Remember the idea that people have, generally, a choice. There are ways to turn people to the Shadow against their will, but when that happens the person is no longer the person. What is happening with Padan Fain is, naturally tendencies can be exacerbated or they can be fought off...

Matt Hatch

...so Elaida’s paranoia fed that? With someone like Egwene she might have fought it off, so it’s not going to be...

Brandon Sanderson

...right. exactly, or someone like Rand who continues to fight it off. He has become very paranoid. And the wound in his side, certainly someone could make the connection that that might have an influence. I won’t say for certain but...

Matt Hatch

...so, the suggestion is not only does he have the taint, which is negatively influencing him, or influencing him in such ways that might bring on paranoia, there is this accentuation of it because of Fain...

Brandon Sanderson

...this corruption...I mean that wound and the dagger...

Matt Hatch

...that is another source...

Brandon Sanderson

...Mat managed to fight it off pretty much completely, well not completely, but we don’t see Mat running around paranoid anymore...Elaida gave it something to feed upon and it was very very small and subtle with Elaida but certainly that was an influence.

Isabel

Umm...yes, you don't abandon it that easily, but, the other touch on Fain is far more dominant.

LOIALSON

That would be Mordeth?

BRANDON SANDERSON

Yes.

LOIALSON

Is Fain still a Darkfriend?

BRANDON SANDERSON

I don't know if Fain counts as a Darkfriend anymore. I think Fain is his own faction.

LOIALSON

How is Fain getting Trollocs and Myrddraal to follow him if he is not a Darkfriend?

BRANDON SANDERSON

He is using...other means...they aren't following him because he is a Darkfriend. Certainly not [he smiles a bit here].

LOIALSON

Is Mat still attached in any way to Fain's dagger?

BRANDON SANDERSON

Read and Find out.

Um, was there any connection between Mat's luck and the dagger?

Um, not that I know of. Good question, but we can MAFO that one, but you can give the, "not that I know of". I'm still kind of...you know, the Mat's luck being beyond him being ta'veren, is one that's very interesting to me, because everything that I know says that his luck does extend beyond his ta'verenness, but...

Terez

Well, it's like his whole plotline seems kinda designed as like this revenge story for Manetheren against Aridhol, you know?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, uh-huh. Yep.

Terez

And, you know, he starts speaking the Old Tongue right before they go into Shadar Logoth; that's the first time he speaks it...

Brandon Sanderson

Uh-huh. Yep.

Terez

...you know, and then as soon as he wakes up from the Healing, he's got memories, he's got this luck, you know?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. Mmmhmm.

Terez

So...yeah.