Shadowspawn
From A Wheel of Time Wiki
Shadowspawn is the generic term for creatures of the Dark One. If they pass through a gateway, they die.
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[edit] History
During the War of Power, Aginor first created the Shadowspawn.
[edit] Darkhounds
Darkhounds look like pony sized dogs or wolves, and are used by the Shadow to hunt down targets. Their saliva is deadly poison; a single drop on the skin can kill. Darkhounds leave footprints in stone, along with a trace scent of sulphur, but will leave none at all in softer ground.
Darkhounds do not easily give up on a trail once on it. The Darkhounds dislike rain and thunderstorms, but this will not stop them once on the trail of their quarry. They are faster than horses, and can maintain their speed longer than even the strongest horse. Once a Darkhound is on the trail, the only choice is to turn and kill it, or be killed.
[edit] Trollocs
- Main article: Trolloc
Trollocs have the body of a man and the head and feet of an animal such as a bear, bird, wolf or goat. Trollocs are quite large, generally around eight feet tall. They are unable to swim, and will not even wade through waist-deep water.
Trollocs can see well in the dark, but bright light will blind them temporarily. Some may track by scent or sound, but they are lazy and easily give up unless driven to pursue their prey. Trollocs kill for the sheer pleasure of killing.
Trollocs are divided into tribe-like bands, each with their own sigil.
- Ahf'frait - whirlwind
- Al'ghol
- Bhan'sheen
- Dha'vol - horned skull
- Dhai'mon - iron fist
- Dhjin'nen
- Ghar'ghael
- Ghob'hlin
- Gho'hlem
- Ghraem'lan
- Ko'bal - blood red trident
- Kno'mon
The Trollocs were originally a failed experiment. While their great strength and size make them powerful troopers, they are useless as soldiers due to their bloodlust and inability to follow orders. Only the males fight, with the females doing little but serving as breeding machines.
[edit] Myrddraal
- Main article: Myrddraal
Occasionally, a Trolloc offspring is a genetic throwback in the direction of the original human stock and the taint of evil is even stronger in them. Myrddraal -- also known by many other names including Fades, Lurks, the Eyeless, Halfmen and more -- are man-sized and pasty white with no eyes, yet they see like eagles by night and day.
Their powers stem from the Dark One, such as the ability to travel instantly to any place where shadows meet the light. Aginor expended over one hundred Myrddraal attempting to learn more about this ability, but was unsuccessful. He believed that the Fades might be slightly shifted out of phase with reality. Halfmen appear as misty blurs in a mirror, and their dead black cloaks are not touched by even the strongest wind.
Myrddraal are no match for an Aes Sedai, but they can best most warriors in melee combat. When finally killed, they seem to "refuse to die" for a long time, thrashing about until sunset -- even when beheaded. Thus, even a Myrddraal's dead body, if armed, is deadly. Their blood is corrosive, and must be cleaned off of weapons or armor soon after exposure, to avoid pitting and corruption.
The Myrddraal were the answer to the initial uselessness of Trollocs as soldiers. Trollocs are terrified of Myrddraal and will not disobey them under almost any circumstance -- the only time a Trolloc will disobey is when they are ordered to face something that terrifies them more deeply than the Myrddraal.
Myrddraal have the ability to "link" with a limited number of Trollocs; this allows an even greater scope of control, but results in the instant death of the linked Trollocs if the Myrddraal is struck down.
The Myrddraal do not use the same crude weapons and armor as their Trolloc parents. Instead, they wear black plate armor, which enhances their serpentlike appearance. The Halfmen wield swords made at Thakan'dar, near the entrance to the Pit of Doom. Each sword is quenched in the tainted streams of Shayol Ghul and seasoned with a human soul. A wound inflicted by one of these blades almost always proves fatal unless the One Power is used to Heal the victim.
[edit] Gray men
Gray Men are men (and women, though allegedly rarely) who have given their souls to the Dark One. After this process, they become almost completely unnoticeable. While the Gray Men are not invisible in the literal sense, they are used primarily as assassins because of their ability to pass completely unnoticed, even by alert eyes.
[edit] Jumara
A jumara is a worm-like Shadowspawn, denizen of the Blight. They are so dangerous that other creatures of the Blight flee from them. A single jumara is said to be able to easily kill a Fade. They lack any tactile sensation, but they do feel hunger. They must be cut to pieces to be killed. According to Sammael, they are the larval stage of an even more terrifying breed of Shadowspawn, which is never closely described.
[edit] Gholam
- Main article: Gholam
Six gholam, three each appearing male and female, were created during the War of Power as assassins of Aes Sedai. They look like ordinary people but are immensely strong and have no bones. This lack of bones makes them particularly efficient assassins, allowing them to squeeze through cracks in walls and doors to gain access to those they target. Their semi-liquid composition also makes them basically immune to conventional weapons, as wounds inflicted by sharp implements will close almost instantly. The lack of any vital organ likely makes blunt force equally useless.
Gholam are immune to the One Power and can detect a channeler at fifty paces. Gholam live on fresh blood, and when feeding generally rend their victims limb from limb. Gholam feel the One Power and even the True Power as an itch akin to what the Myrddraal feel, even up to several miles away.
In present-day, there is only one known gholam active (likely pulled out of a stasis box). Due to its immunity to the One Power and incredible physical strength, there is only one thing in the present-day world with the power to fend off the gholam's attack: the foxhead medallion worn by Mat Cauthon.
While not necessarily made of the same material, the gholam and Mat's foxhead medallion are seemingly the only things which absorb the One Power, other than cuendillar (which is said to be strengthened by it, not dispersed/conducted by it).
[edit] Draghkar
- Main article: Draghkar
In their service to the Shadow, the Dreadlords corrupted humans to create some of the Shadowspawn and the Draghkar are among the products of this corruption. Their appearance is similar to a large man with bat-like wings, whose skin is too pale and whose eyes are too large. On foot, they typically wear their wings as a cloak.
Unlike the Myrddraal and Trollocs, the Draghkar have little in the way of fighting ability. Instead, the Draghkar use their soft, hypnotic song to draw their prey to them. Once the Draghkar have their prey, they "kiss" them, draining away the person’s soul. After the soul has been devoured, the Draghkar then drains away life as well.
People rescued from the clutches of a Draghkar are lifeless shells, with no soul or personality left to them. Once a Draghkar has a hold of someone, it is probably best to let the Draghkar finish its work.
The Draghkar are used primarily as assassins. Their abilities are best utilized at night and outdoors. They are often used in conjunction with a distracting attack by Myrddraal and Trollocs. An attack of this kind often allows a single target to be singled out and killed by a Draghkar.
[edit] Cafar
Cafar are only mentioned in passing as a very unpleasant creature, most likely locked away in a stasis box.
[edit] Forgers
- Main article: Forger
Forgers are thick, slow-moving man shapes that forge the blades of Myrddraal on the slopes of Shayol Ghul. They are not truly alive and would crumble to dust if they left Shayol Ghul.
[edit] Zomara
The dead-eyed men and women who are very graceful servants. One of the Forsaken said that they "hated how it knew what they were thinking, even though it could not communicate it." They are only intelligent enough to receive basic commands. It was also remarked that someone must have found a stasis box full of them.
