After years of having every "Demmy is character X and controls faction Y" theory shot down by RJ, I had finally come to accept the idea that he wasn't building a temporal power base and instead was manipulating a wide web of agents in a slowly tightening circle around Rand.

And given how Belal, Rahvin, and Sammael fared, that really did make him seem cooler and smarter and more dangerous. People close to Rand were going to suddenly turn on him and it was all going to be 'cause of the Magnificent Demmy!

Then TGS comes out and he throws out that "My rule is secure" line, and we're right back where we started. Except there aren't really any good factions left for him to rule.

I mean Murandy? Seriously? Yes, stiffened with some of Taim's channelers, their proximity to Caemlyn could allow them to have a decisive effect on one battle, but he's had what, a few months at most to build up that army? There's no way he's converted them all to the shadow. He can probably convince them to strike at Andor for political reasons, but once the TG hits the fan, they're not going to line up alongside Trollocs and Dreadlords and help the Forsaken conquer the Westlands for the glory of the DO. Murandy is a one-shot weapon at most. Then again, that's the sort of disappointing and short-sighted strategy we've come to expect from the Forsaken.

But where else could he have set himself up to rule? Shara seems to be the best option, but honestly, having Demmy turn up with a Sharan army in the last book would be a little too out of left field for my tastes. But at least it could be strategically decisive.