Because Rand's subconscious made the Kari illusion say that, not Ishamael. There was nothing Rand wanted more than to know he had saved his mother from the DO. The Kari illusion said what he wanted to hear before dissipating.

Similar things happen later with Egwene's TAR-made Bela. She appears to have a life of her own, not because she has one but because she is created and controlled not only by Egwene's conscious will, but also by her subsconscious desires and her mental images of Bela.



What's so extraordinary about the rats? Ishamael killed the rats he had spying on the inn while in TAR, they were found dead in the real world. That's TAR 101 stuff!



Explain how creating Kari was harder than creating Nynaeve and Egwene, who were definitely just an illusion in that same scene?



Really? You forget Birgitte and Gaidal's appearances in TAR while dead, the Heroes coming at the end of TGH etc.



Pure guesses, kind of weak in the light of RJ's hints about limitations to "soul catching" and transmigration. In one Q&A, RJ more than a little implied that being a DF wasn't one of the limitations.



It's not a theory, that's RJ's factual explanation of how it works (in a few Q&A). That's why Shai'tan can only seize souls of people who died by balefire if the amount of balefire is really small. Otherwise, people die too far back in time and by the time Shai'tan (who is bound by Time) is aware of the death his window of opportunity is already over. And that's only one of a few other limitations RJ said existed but the rest of them, beside the fact he has only "a short window of opportunity" to be able to seize a soul, are all RAFO.



Don't use that sort of logic anywhere near a white sister.

The Trollocs who attacked the Salidar party in TAR were just an illusion (created by the fears and stray thoughts of the women who were discussing Shadowspawn in the Tower right before it happened, and fed by the fact the women were not denying their reality). Carlinya, Anaiya and co. were definitely affected by these illusions, therefore Carlinya and Anaiya must be illusions too?




I'm not quite sure why you bring balefire into this, but if Rand's will and belief that he could save Kari with his sword was stronger than Ishamael's will to hold the illusion, it would have worked.

Ishamael was obviously shocked that Rand was able to do as much as he did with the One Power already (and afraid he would kill himself with it), and his concentration wavered. That's how, more than the effect of his OP sword, Rand managed to dispel the illusion, and made it turn into salvation for Kari before it dissipated.