[ElektroDragon]

Just finished New Spring, the Novel. My first Jordan book. Lots of fun, but I don't understand the following:

***SPOILER WARNING****

1) How could the Black Ajah know about the Dragon Reborn and start killing "lucky" guys, but NOT know when the Dragon was born, when that should have been SO incredibly obvious, because the Amyrlin suddenly issued the very public order to seek NEW MOTHERS around Tar Valon to reward and CATALOG them and their infants. Either Jordan botched his plot here, or he expects us to believe the Black Ajah are real dunces!

2) Who DID send the 6 darkfriends to kill Lan? Was it Edeyn so she could get the Malkier "throne", or was it really Ryne, the hidden darkfriend, who just wanted to get rid of one of the Light-loving Shadow-hating Lan?

[ChrisW]

1. The reason she gave for seeking new mothers and rewarding them was reasonable. I don't see why the BA should think that she new Rand had been born.

2. Who said they were darkfriends? It's been awhile since I read it but I don't recall them being identified as Darkfriends.

[Matrim]

1. The Aes Sedai in general are not that bright, especially the Black Ajah, so it's not unreasonable to assume that they didn't put two and two together and didn't connect the reward given with the Dragon Reborn.

[Janos]

1. The Aes Sedai in general are not that bright, especially the Black Ajah, so it's not unreasonable to assume that they didn't put two and two together and didn't connect the reward given with the Dragon Reborn.
Yeah, they study magic their entire lives... Long lives... and they're still fairly ignorant about it. Like why is it that something so obvious to me - not sure which book it is, so....that a woman can heal a stilled woman to only a partial amount of their previous powr, and a woman can heal a man to their full amount of power. Can not even one of the Aes Sedai - who fear stilling above all else - make the connection that maybe a MAN could heal a woman to full power?

In the words of Dr Evil, the Aes Sedai are "frickin' idiots!"

[Bond]

Yeah, they study magic their entire lives... Long lives... and they're still fairly ignorant about it. Like why is it that something so obvious to me - not sure which book it is, so....that a woman can heal a stilled woman to only a partial amount of their previous powr, and a woman can heal a man to their full amount of power. Can not even one of the Aes Sedai - who fear stilling above all else - make the connection that maybe a MAN could heal a woman to full power?

In the words of Dr Evil, the Aes Sedai are "frickin' idiots!"

Possibly but it must be remembered that the thought of male channelers in itself is a sickening concept for Aes Sedai. It's taboo. It's like wondering about the nutritonal value of eating human remains. You could probably theorize which parts of the human body have the highest nutritional value and might taste best for a cannibal but is it something that your mind turns to with relish even if it were ever to become necessary?

[Janos]

That's a good point, but...... well, it seemed to me that stilling was WAY worse than male channelers. :D

It just seems that for people who study magic their entire lives.. that maybe.. you know... they'd be a little more intelligent..... They did seem to get a lot more dense as the series went on :rolleyes:

I mean, in the beginning, they were the mysterious magic users. They had great power and knowledge. As the series went on, they still had power, but the knowledge was disappearing.

[Bond]

It's the natural order of things I guess that familiarity breeds contempt. :)

Actually something important to note about how and why the Aes Sedai seem to have so little knowledge of the One Power that may not be immediately obvious is that Aes Sedai in the current age are much much weaker than they were in the Age of Legends. Because of this the vast majority simply cannot do certain weaves such as travelling for instance.

[JIF]

It just seems that for people who study magic their entire lives.. that maybe.. you know... they'd be a little more intelligent..... They did seem to get a lot more dense as the series went on

Why should studying magic affect your intelligence? Knowledge and intellgence are two completely different things after all. Thus, if an Aes Sedi comes to the White Tower with a low IQ then I imagine they continue to have a low IQ no matter how much knowledge they gain. Since comprehending the time of the Dragon Reborn's birth would require logic and basic reasoning skill (both of which are aspects of intelligence) knowledge wouldn't greatly improve the Aes Sedis' chances of figuring the date out.