Summary
- The Forsaken are powerful channelers who gave themselves to the Dark One, and their seals are weakening, allowing them to walk the continent again.
- Ishamael is the most powerful and dangerous Forsaken, known as the Betrayer of Hope, and he believes the Dark One will eventually win.
- Lanfear, the most powerful female Forsaken, was in love with Lews Therin and caused the War of the Shadow in her search for power.
Amazon's The Wheel of Time has started to introduce its most powerful villains, the Forsaken, and while not all 13 have been properly explained on the show yet, important details have been revealed. Few characters in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time novel series are as dangerous and malicious as the Forsaken. The Forsaken are a group of powerful channelers who gave themselves, body and soul, to the Dark One during the Age of Legends.
As the Dark One's top lieutenants and some of the most powerful channelers ever in The Wheel of Time, they were locked away just before the Breaking of the World. However, with the seals of the Dark One's prison weakening during The Wheel of Time, the Forsaken are beginning to walk the continent again. That leaves some Forsaken The Wheel of Time has revealed details about, and some who remain shrouded in mystery.
13 Ishamael
Ishamael, or the Betrayer of Hope, is the most powerful and dangerous of the Forsaken. Ishamael is the Dark One's closest servant, and he is even granted the title of Nae'blis during the series, giving him direct authority over all other servants of the Dark. Ishamael is one of two channelers known to have roughly equal strength in the One Power to Lews Therin Telamon/Rand al'Thor. Ishamael ed the Dark One during the Age of Legends because he believed infinite turning of the Wheel made it inevitable that evil would eventually win.
Ishamael reasoned that it would be better to the Dark One and enjoy the benefits of his power before his lord destroyed the world and ripped the Pattern apart. Ishamael declared himself the Champion of the Dark, just as Lews Therin was the Champion of the Light, and began a rivalry with the Dragon, as Lews Therin came to be known. He has committed numerous atrocities over the ages, and his imperfect imprisonment by Lews Therin allowed him to walk the world in roughly 40-year periods every thousand or so years. Fares Fares portrays Ishmael on the Wheel of Time show.
12 Lanfear
The Wheel of Time's Lanfear is the most powerful of the female Forsaken, and she was previously in love with Lews Therin Telamon during the Age of Legends. She came to hate Lews Therin when he left her for his wife, Ilyena, but never fully quashed her desires. During the Age of Legends, it was Lanfear and her fellow researchers who accidentally drilled a bore into the Dark One's prison while seeking a new source of power, which turned out to be Dark One's highly dangerous True Power.
Lanfear's quest for this new type of power led her to lose the Dark One in the world, causing the War of the Shadow and the collapse of the near-utopian society that existed before then. She ed the Dark One because of her lust for power, and quickly became one of his most important tools. She is also known for being a master of the World of Dreams, known as Tel'aran'rhiod. In The Wheel of Time, Lanfear escapes her prison and disguises herself as Selene, played by Natasha O'Keefe in the series, then attempts to seduce Rand al'Thor and turn him toward the Shadow.
11 Aginor
Aginor is one of the most devious of the Forsaken, and he is best known for creating the Shadowspawn, including Trollocs, Gholam, Myrddraal, and Draghkar. Before ing the Shadow, Aginor was a famous biologist, but lack of morals in his genetic experiments caused him to be forbidden from conducting any further research. Aginor ed the Shadow in order to continue his arcane science project without restriction. In the Wheel of Time books, Aginor dies at the Eye of the World, but he is later resurrected by the Dark One and renamed Osan'gar.
10 Balthamel
Balthamel was a historian before ing the Shadow, and it was his desire for infinite life that pushed him to eventually the Dark One. He ran an extensive spy network during the War of the Shadow, and is known for overseeing camps of humans that were used for feeding Trollocs. Balthamel also dies at the Eye of the World in the Wheel of Time books, but is resurrected by the Dark One, receiving the name Aran'gar.
9 Asmodean
Asmodean was best known for being a talented musician before turning to the Shadow during the Age of Legends. Asmodean, feeling his talent was not recognized as it should be, ed the Dark One in order to obtain infinite life, which he could use to gain the musical recognition he felt he deserved. Asmodean is known for blinding or maiming musicians he felt were rivals to himself. He served as a governor for the Shadow's forces during the War of Power, and was an efficient .
In Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time books, Asmodean s forces with Lanfear for a time, before being defeated by Rand at Rhuidean. Rand captures him, with Lanfear's help, and forces Asmodean to teach him how to channel properly. He is later murdered on Graendal's orders, though it's unclear who actually carried out the killing.
8 Graendal
Graendal, who was a psychologist during the Age of Legends, is known for her obsession with beauty and control. Graendal carried rigid moral standards for centuries before turning to the Shadow, but after concluding that nobody could live up to those standards, she opted to begin living in direct contrast to them. Abandoning her humble, minimalist style in favor of decadent jewelry and seductive gowns, Graendal began using her knowledge of the human brain to become one of the most powerful wielders of Compulsion in the world.
Compulsion is a weave of The Wheel of Time's One Power that essentially allows the to control another's mind. Graendal is noted for using Compulsion to essentially empty the brains of her servants, reducing them to little more than husks. In the Wheel of Time books, Graendal is killed for failing to capture or kill Perrin Aybara, but she is later resurrected by the Dark One.
7 Moghedien
Moghedien, also known as The Spider, ed the Shadow shortly after the exposure of the Bore. However, Moghedien kept her allegiance a secret for a long time, working from within Lews Therin's network to undermine the forces of the Light, earning her the Spider moniker. She also led the Shadow's most extensive spy network during the War of the Shadow. In the Wheel of Time books, Moghedien is eventually captured by Nynaeve, who forces the Spider to teach her and Egwene weaves from the Age of Legends.
6 Mesaana
Mesaana turned to the Shadow after being overlooked by the Collam Daan University during the Age of Legends. Mesaana resented being forced to teach rather than research as she desired, prompting her to the Shadow and be given the freedom to conduct her research. Mesaana is one of the most powerful female channelers ever, and became extremely cruel after ing the Shadow. She is infamous for teaching children to worship the Shadow and encouraging them to betray their families. In Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books, she infiltrates the White Tower and directs the Black Ajah.
5 Demandred
Demandred is one of the most powerful of the Forsaken, stronger in the Power than all besides Lews Therin, Ishamael, and Rahvin. He turned to the shadow out of jealousy, coming to hate Lews Therin after the hero continually bested him in all fields. Demandred became the Shadow's top military general during the War of Power, and he leads the forces of the Shadow in The Last Battle during the final Wheel of Time book. Demandred is one of the most cunning and dangerous characters in the whole series, and his hatred for the Dragon drives him above all else.
4 Sammael
Sammael, like Demandred, ed the Shadow because he was jealous of Lews Therin. Sammael served as a military commander on the side of the Light during the War of Power, but after the Dragon was given supreme command of the forces of the Light, his bitterness caused him to turn to the Shadow. Sammael is one of the most powerful channelers ever, and he sets up his base of power in Illian during The Wheel of Time's main timeline. He is considered one of the top military generals from the Age of Legends, making this Forsaken member a formidable adversary.
