There's no proof that Verin even knows Compulsion, and there are strong hints that no Aes Sedai knows it. This was confirmed when Moghedien showed off her skills against Liandrin, who also thought she knew the weave. Verin's weave, at best, probably steered them to serving Rand. She hid the weave expertly and said only the best delving would find it.
But there was a very obvious difference between what Liandrin does and what Verin does. Liandrin's is more like torture to make the subject more open to forceful suggestion. Neither is there any mention of forgetfulness after the compulsion is complete.
What Verin does is different. She is subtly implanting a command that is driven by the person's own motives. It is exactly what Moghedien says when she compels Liandrin to live, that an order that makes someone do something they want to is very difficult to break.
We also hear of Graendal's powerful ability to do much the same, leaving almost no trace behind.
It's very unlikely that Moridin delved a Black Sister to see if she was tainted by some sort of mind weave. Elza also doesn't act strangely, so he wouldn't have any suspicion to do so. Not only that, but Shadar Haran or Moridin would both have to have great skill to deduce the function of some sort of weave of saidar hidden well in Elza's mind.
But Shaidar Haran can sense weaves, and differentiate between saidin and saidar. Maybe he sensed the compulsion in Elza, and since it was in her brain, deduced what it was.
It's much more likely that Moridin used his own Compulsion on Elza when he arrived there to get her to perform certain duties to ensure Semirhage's success. Thereafter, he had her tell Semirhage that she had a weave on her, which she should remove to remove any limitations the weave would have and make her useful.
This part is the true confusion for me. Why would his compulsion limit what Elza can do? And what did he have to compel her to do? Semirhage was already freed, and all of Elza's actions after that were post removal of compulsion. There was nothing she did that Moridin had to compel her to do!
Plus, don't you think Semirhage would have been suspicious of compulsion woven of saidin or the TP?
It doesn't matter how you look at it, the scene is messed up in some way.
If Shadar Haran sensed Verin's weave it would mean he is exquisitely sensitive to saidar - which may be, but I find it hard to believe. Elza has been walking around female channelers for months and despite Verin's best efforts to hide it, the Myrddraal sensed it. Secondly, SH would assume that any Compulsion placed on Elza would be from one of the Chosen, and it wouldn't make sense for him to get Semirhage to unravel it because it would have a purpose. Lastly, Elza tells Rand that finally his destiny has arrived and it is to meet the Dark One and be defeated i.e. she succeeded in getting him this far. If Semirhage unravelled Verin's weave, it didn't change anything - and it would if that was indeed Verin's command.
Compulsion makes people useless, and even Moghedien says it is very limited - she can't even get Nynaeve/Elayne to abandon their search with it. People under Compulsion are like zombies. Obviously Liandrin was not because 'live' is a command which doesn't contradict her free will too much. I find it likely that Moridin appeared there, killed or neutralized the Sisters, and Compelled Elza to do something specific. He didn't wait around for her to complete the task, which undoubtedly was to help Semirhage in some way. She was ordered to tell Semirhage about the Compulsion so that she wouldn't resemble a mindless baboon and could actually be of use in helping Semirhage with the Domination Band.
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Little oversight?
- 08/11/2009 03:23:40 PM
734 Views
Shadar Haran/Moridin probably killed him
- 08/11/2009 06:17:21 PM
396 Views
it's certainly not Moridin's
- 09/11/2009 02:46:17 AM
288 Views
It's definitely Verin's Compulsion
- 09/11/2009 03:15:20 AM
401 Views
Don't agree
- 09/11/2009 04:13:12 AM
290 Views
I'm even more confused now...
- 09/11/2009 05:28:46 AM
345 Views
Re: I'm even more confused now...
- 09/11/2009 03:52:53 PM
261 Views
Actually, I thought it was common knowledge that some of Rand's AS were under compulsion.
- 09/11/2009 05:33:43 PM
264 Views
he also apparently forgot about a few of Mat's soldiers in Hinderstap
- 09/11/2009 02:49:18 AM
358 Views
I noticed that in my read and did a search on the MB for it, finding this post.
- 10/11/2009 04:15:46 PM
229 Views