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Who are Aran'gar and Osan'gar?

(Survey Says)


We've been told since TEotW that the DO is Lord of the Grave. It is about time he started acting it. In LoC: Prologue, The First Message, 59-61, we see "Aran'gar" and "Osan'gar," two minions of the Shadow brought back from the dead and put into new bodies. It is a good first approximation to assume that they are reincarnated Forsaken, and not some random Dreadlords. After all, if the DO is going to bring people back to life, why not Choose the strongest of his servants? So, what Forsaken are available for reincarnation (i.e., are dead)? Aginor and Balthamel, the Terrible Two from the TEotW finale, Ishamael, Rahvin and Be'lal, and possibly Asmodean and Lanfear. Well, Rahvin and Be'lal died of balefire, and their souls are beyond the reach of even the DO. Asmodean was a traitor, and the DO apparently lumps him in with Rahvin as having "Died the final death" (LoC: Prologue, The First Message, 15), so it probably wasn't him.

Aran'gar is not Lanfear, because of Osan'gar's statement "Lanfear seemed cautious in contrast [to Aran'gar]." Furthermore, Osan'gar cannot be Lanfear because his Forsaken-name had been "given in scorn and adopted in pride." Lanfear was the only Forsaken to have chosen her own nom de gu�rre. Finally, when Osan'gar tries to channel, he naturally reaches for saidin, not saidar. This leaves us with Aginor, Balthamel, and Ishamael.

Now, Ishamael was not bound like the other Forsaken during the Third Age. He was "partly bound," or maybe not even bound at all. There are references to this throughout the series, starting with the prologue to TEotW, where Ishamael appears to LTT during the Time of Madness (chronologically after the sealing of the Bore). However, Osan'gar makes reference to "waking from the long sleep" with an aged body. The long sleep is obviously the time spent sealed between the universe and the DO's dungeon dimension. Thus, Osan'gar must be either Aginor or Balthamel. As to which one, all we really have to go on is his comment on having helped make the Trollocs and not liking the Halfmen who were an unexpected effect of that experiment. We know that Aginor was very involved in creating the various Shadowspawn, and that he was unnerved by Fades, spending lots of time trying to discover how they "fade." So, if we have to choose one or the other for Osan'gar, I'll say he was Aginor.

Now for Aran'gar: She is extremely upset at being put into a woman's body, and Osan'gar thinks it is a "fine joke." From TEotW, we know that Balthamel enjoyed "the pleasures of the flesh." That is to say, he was a real lecher. Thus, it would be a great joke to put him in a female body. Furthermore, it is stated that Aran'gar was always rather rash. I really wouldn't classify Ishamael as "rash," not with his centuries of careful planning. So, it is a good bet that Aran'gar was Balthamel.

Still, it is not 100% certain; we don't have enough evidence to narrow it down to which of the two is Aginor and which is Balthamel for certain, and, even though Ishamael probably isn't either of the two, I would bet that he has been reincarnated in a similar fashion, perhaps as Moridin.

Here is a further hint that Osan'gar and Aran'gar are Aginor and Balthamel: "Some of us are bound no longer. The seals weaken, Aes Sedai. Like Ishamael, we walk the world again, and soon the rest of us will come. I was too close to this world in my captivity, I and Balthamel, too close to the grinding of the Wheel, but soon the Great Lord of the Dark will be free, and give us new flesh..." (emphasis mine). (TEotW: ?, 748, Meetings at the Eye, ? REF?)


Survey Says

Who is Aran'gar?

Who is Osan'gar?


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