"Silviana = Mesaana" is a bold claim, but there are a few reasons I suspect her:
1) She gets to mete out punishment, something the FS love to do.
2) It's a powerful position, and she can blame Elaida for anything she does.
3) See seems above and beyond the Ajah disputes - this makes perfect sense for someone who sees the AS as children anyhow.
4) It gave her a chance to try to break Egwene. When Egwene didn't break, she decided to do what she claimed in the Prologue of tGS: "I will deliver ... an entire brood of channelers who - one way or another - will serve our cause in the Last Battle" and "More and more join our cause. Some intentionally, others unwittingly".
From the above quotes, it seems that she realises that a strong tower could be better for the Shadow if it can be turned to fight for the wrong cause. Who better to misdirect the tower than someone the Amyrlin trusts and relies on - the Keeper?
Mesaana can tell that Elaida will fall - so she goes out to the Hall and proclaims support for Egwene, knowing that Egwene will hear of this and reward her.
5) Perhaps one of the most compelling pieces of evidence - Silviana was the first Tower AS to swear on the Oath Rod. This means she could decide exactly what to say, rather than having to follow a set formula. In this way, she could make the oath that she wasn't BA and noone would question it - if the first oathtaker had said something like "I have never served the Dark One", then Mesaana would need to make a similar oath or risk sounding like she was circumventing something. By swearing first, she avoids this.
6) Finally, the part of the text that gave me the idea it might be her: In the Epilogue, Egwene is considering who Mesaana might be, and coming up with blanks. The very next sentence involves Silviana entering the study to take Egwene to see something - I might be wrong about the other stuff, but I know a literary technique when I see it.
I agree that Tsutama might well be Mesaana, but I think there is still some evidence for it being Silviana. Another possibility is that she was masquerading as a Black sister, and has left the tower - Duhara strikes me as a possibility, since she is now close to Elayne, and could free a cohort of imprisoned Black Ajah and then strike at Andor.
1) She gets to mete out punishment, something the FS love to do.
2) It's a powerful position, and she can blame Elaida for anything she does.
3) See seems above and beyond the Ajah disputes - this makes perfect sense for someone who sees the AS as children anyhow.
4) It gave her a chance to try to break Egwene. When Egwene didn't break, she decided to do what she claimed in the Prologue of tGS: "I will deliver ... an entire brood of channelers who - one way or another - will serve our cause in the Last Battle" and "More and more join our cause. Some intentionally, others unwittingly".
From the above quotes, it seems that she realises that a strong tower could be better for the Shadow if it can be turned to fight for the wrong cause. Who better to misdirect the tower than someone the Amyrlin trusts and relies on - the Keeper?
Mesaana can tell that Elaida will fall - so she goes out to the Hall and proclaims support for Egwene, knowing that Egwene will hear of this and reward her.
5) Perhaps one of the most compelling pieces of evidence - Silviana was the first Tower AS to swear on the Oath Rod. This means she could decide exactly what to say, rather than having to follow a set formula. In this way, she could make the oath that she wasn't BA and noone would question it - if the first oathtaker had said something like "I have never served the Dark One", then Mesaana would need to make a similar oath or risk sounding like she was circumventing something. By swearing first, she avoids this.
6) Finally, the part of the text that gave me the idea it might be her: In the Epilogue, Egwene is considering who Mesaana might be, and coming up with blanks. The very next sentence involves Silviana entering the study to take Egwene to see something - I might be wrong about the other stuff, but I know a literary technique when I see it.
I agree that Tsutama might well be Mesaana, but I think there is still some evidence for it being Silviana. Another possibility is that she was masquerading as a Black sister, and has left the tower - Duhara strikes me as a possibility, since she is now close to Elayne, and could free a cohort of imprisoned Black Ajah and then strike at Andor.
Mesaana is ....
- 17/11/2009 12:50:49 AM
2376 Views
I like it.
- 17/11/2009 01:22:25 AM
1019 Views
Solid theory. But there are some problems...
- 17/11/2009 03:09:39 AM
1010 Views
Re: Solid theory. But there are some problems...
- 17/11/2009 04:41:57 AM
1062 Views
Re: Solid theory. But there are some problems...
- 17/11/2009 05:29:58 AM
1180 Views
Does anyone remember the girl who was being punished on a farm who was killed w. OP?
- 17/11/2009 05:25:06 AM
954 Views
Sahra Covenry
- 17/11/2009 05:36:04 AM
988 Views
Yes, we never really got an explanation for that.
- 17/11/2009 07:07:04 AM
942 Views
Mesaana? Blue? Tower basement? Are you sure you don't mix up something? *NM*
- 17/11/2009 10:49:20 AM
451 Views
No. she tortured a blue Aes sedai in the basements of the white Tower. *NM*
- 17/11/2009 07:21:44 PM
515 Views
Maybe Mesaana is playing Sahra?
- 17/11/2009 12:07:07 PM
879 Views
I think we had a POV from Sahra as she was killed.
- 18/11/2009 10:39:25 PM
901 Views
right and wrong
- 09/12/2009 05:02:39 AM
829 Views
Possibly - or maybe Silviana?
- 17/11/2009 06:12:41 AM
935 Views
I think her switching to Egeane was due to her reading the book about raising amyrlins.
- 17/11/2009 07:05:39 AM
950 Views
I can see more towards Evanellein...
- 17/11/2009 10:48:09 AM
1014 Views
Evanellein is my top suspect, too, but Tsutama is a good one after her.
- 17/11/2009 02:26:27 PM
999 Views
I don't think so, because of:
- 17/11/2009 11:31:22 AM
902 Views
If I'm not mistaken, at that time Tsutama was still just a Sitter, not head of the Red Ajah
- 17/11/2009 02:36:52 PM
819 Views
An excellent point
- 17/11/2009 03:42:22 PM
882 Views
3rd Red Sitter is now Duhara, who is Black and last seen on a mission for Elaida in Caemlyn
- 17/12/2009 12:30:58 AM
1141 Views
As others said...
- 17/11/2009 03:39:55 PM
892 Views
Meh - I'm not a fan of these "mysteries". I'm starting to think she's playing Mistress Laras.
- 18/11/2009 03:31:58 PM
790 Views
The main problem, IMHO, is that Mesaana doesn't like extravagance.
- 17/11/2009 08:02:49 PM
904 Views
Maria confirmed at Twitter...
- 18/11/2009 04:46:06 PM
1047 Views
What, we have to start monitoring Twitter as well now?
What's her account?
*NM*
- 18/11/2009 09:56:36 PM
432 Views
What's her account?
*NM*
- 18/11/2009 09:56:36 PM
432 Views
