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2.3.02: The "Sad Bracelets"/Male A'dam

[Luke Mankin, Pam Korda, Leigh Butler]

Descriptions of the item:

• [TSR: 52, Need, 600] "...-a necklace and two bracelets of jointed black metal-..."
• [TSR: 54, Into the Palace, 628] "...dull black collar and bracelets... ...wide jointed collar..."
• [TSR: 54, Into the Palace, 630] Moghedien: "[The bracelets are] not metal, but a form of cuendillar.... Put the collar on a man who channels, and a woman wearing the bracelets can make him do whatever she wishes, true, but it will not stop him from going mad, and there is a flow the other way, too. Eventually he will begin to be able to control you, too....Or two women can each wear one bracelet, if you have someone you trust enough; that slows the seepage considerably, I understand, but it also lessens your control....Eventually, you will find yourselves in a struggle for control with him, each of you needing him to remove your bracelet as surely as he needs you to remove the collar."
• [TSR: 54, Into the Palace, 630] Moghedien: "The collar and bracelets were made after I was [bound in the Bore]"
• [TSR: 55, Into the Deep, 638] 'Egeanin touched the collar, pushed the bracelets away from the collar.... "It is not an a'dam," the Seanchan woman said. "That is made of a silvery metal, and all of one piece.'

Where are the bracelets now?

Egeanin and Bayle were sent off in TSR to dump the bracelets and collar into the ocean, near the Aile Somera. But of course, they ran smack into Suroth and were forced to turn them over to her [WH: 21, A Matter of Property, 422].

And who is right there next to the DF Suroth in Ebou Dar? None other than Anath, aka Semirhage (see section 1.1.9). An interesting thing to note is something Anath says to Tuon in [WH: 14, What a Veil Hides, 329], in reference to the Dragon Reborn: "'You must be careful,' Anath purred. 'You must not let him learn how dangerous you are to him until it is too late for him to escape.'"

Putting two and two together, there's an obvious conclusion to be drawn: Anath as good as has the sad bracelets in her possession, and controls Tuon (or did at that point, anyway). Tuon is sul'dam-trained (see section 2.2.8). Ergo, the threat she represents to Rand is that she could use the bracelets on him, perhaps to force him to kneel to the Crystal Throne as Seanchan prophecy apparently foretells (see section 4.5).

It's not a guarantee that Anath knew about the bracelets at that point - this conversation took place on the ship, before they made landfall and met up with Suroth - but it's perfectly possible that Anath had been in contact with Suroth beforehand and knew she had the bracelets in her possession. The interesting thing, if the bracelets are what Anath was referring to, is that evidently Tuon knows about them as well (she showed no puzzlement or surprise at Anath's statement).

And indeed, events in COT do point to a plan to use the Sad Bracelets on Rand, as suggested above (see section 1.4.12).

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