IMO, it's because he thought he could. He was the Car'a'carn. He was supposed to break the Aiel. Custom stopped mattering to him. And since all the Aiel we ever meet are contemptuous of wetlanders to a certain extent, he doesn't have to be too much of an extremist to turn into such a monster.

The Wise Ones deemed him unfit for leadership, yes, but they didn't call for him to be executed or punished, and there was a lot of support for him to be sent to Rhuidean. That implies that he didn't break too many Aiel customs or laws while he was a warrior. After he thought he was the Chief of chiefs, he did whatever he wanted because he could (and likely thought he should).




No, as I pointed out, he could have been approached by Asmo in a dream. Or Asmo could have used Illusion and whatever else to appear before him like a glorious ancestor and "bless" him. There are many ways for Asmo to give Couladin the dragons without Couladin ever suspecting the work of a male channeler. Couladin never struck me as all that bright anyway.

And for another thing, if Couladin is a Darkfriend, then that would almost have to mean Sevanna was a Darkfriend, and I don't think she is either.

I'm not saying he was a good person, or misunderstood, or a puppet of more powerful players. He was a very evil person. But I don't think he was a Darkfriend.






And, I will note that it has been quite a while since I read the first few books of the series. My memory could be mistaken. But I can't remember anyone ever mentioning how Couladin got his dragons, other than that Asmo was responsible.