A Study on Miscellaneous Shadowspawn
The Cairhien University is proud to issue the last of the Studies on Shadowspawn. Covering creatures of legend and dubious origins, it is unlikely that readers will ever encounter a creature in this report. Nevertheless, the University has compiled all known information on these creatures. Corrections to this document and other can be found in Errata and Corrigenda, an upcoming edition.
Forger
The Forger is unique among Shadowspawn. It does not kill in the sense we know it, nor was it ever intended to. The Forger may be considered part of Shayol Ghul's symbiotic relationship with the Myrddraal. They forge the blades that the Myrddraal wield in battle to such devastating effect.
Origins
The origin of the Forgers is unknown. Speculation points to Ishmael, rather than Aginor, as their creators. Their function is such that the geneticist would be unlikely to have conceived of them.
Characteristics
Forgers are dull, rough-hewn "men" in shape. Formed out of the very rock on which they stand, Forgers move slowly and methodologically at their tasks. If an object is put in front of a Forger, it will attempt to continue in its path until the object is removed. Forgers are mute, and assumed completely without intelligence or free will. Save for the living characteristics they exhibit, Forgers remind ancient authors of automatons.
Task
The Forger forges. First they form the blade from minerals and water taken from the slopes of Shayol Ghul. Then the blade is quenched within a living victim. The technique seems to transfer the soul of the victim to the blade. This may explain why Myrddraal blades rarely shatter. It also explains why no human will under any circumstances take a Myrddraal's blade as his own.
Cafar
Only vague descriptions remain from the Age of Legends concerning these creatures.
Origin
Aginor created the Cafar during the late years of the War of Power. Formed from predators, it was part of his attempt to create a "super-predator" totally under control of the Shadow. Such a creature would have been able to decimate target herd populations at will, stripping the enemy of food well behind the line of combat. The Cafar failed, being too uncontrollable.
Description
The only remaining fact about Cafar is that they nested, and would swarm out when bothered.
Quote
"It was only then, when Simon poked the bush, that we discovered what had killed the cow. [next passage covered with blood]…
…until he was pulled under. I used my shocklance, btu[sic] there were too many. I had to flame the bush, and Simon with it. The whole field is probably infested. We'll need to move."
Jumara (also known as Worms)
Jumara were the most powerful creatures ever in existence. They have been known to destroy mountain ranges inconvenient to their movement. While modern Worms are not as powerful, they would still be decimating should they ever leave the Blight.
Origins
During the War of Power, Aginor strived to create a "super-predator," a creature capable of damaging the Light's resource base far behind the lines of combat. The Jumara were the pinnacle of that effort. Radically innovative, the Jumara broke every single law of genetics. For a time, the Light refused to believe that it was the Jumara doing the damage, rather than a host of other creatures.
While much of the scientific explanation would be meaningless in modern times, the Jumara were essentially free-based organisms. Incredibly dense nuclear tissue could be broken down to form whatever shape was best suited for the moment. This change was engineered by retroviral RNA, which rewrote the DNA of the creature on a second to second basis.
Purpose
The Jumara's purpose was to destroy as much viable cropland and pastureland as possible. In order to do so, ten were gated into the ten regions that the Light relied most on for food. Early reports to Lews Therin talked of "tens of thousands of new Shadowspawn" rampaging over the country. Luckily for the Light, the ten were eventually killed, but only after the food industry was heavily damaged.
The Transformation
Jumara grew uncontrollable once Aginor was sealed away. While contained by the forces of the Light, Jumara continued to raid for several centuries after the War of Power.
When the Blight first appeared, Jumara vanished.
Our late colleague, Herid Fel, has suggested that the Blight and Jumara are essentially the same type of creation. The Blight is in a constant state of ecological flux, much like the early Jumara. Fel thought that the Blight had incorporated the Jumara as a defense mechanism. In doing so, the Jumara were frozen in the shape of the modern Worm, a creature capable of facing down an Aes Sedai or a pack of Myrddraal. While the form is still deadly, it now dies quickly once it exits the Blight.
The Cairhien University is proud to issue the last of the Studies on Shadowspawn. Covering creatures of legend and dubious origins, it is unlikely that readers will ever encounter a creature in this report. Nevertheless, the University has compiled all known information on these creatures. Corrections to this document and other can be found in Errata and Corrigenda, an upcoming edition.
Forger
The Forger is unique among Shadowspawn. It does not kill in the sense we know it, nor was it ever intended to. The Forger may be considered part of Shayol Ghul's symbiotic relationship with the Myrddraal. They forge the blades that the Myrddraal wield in battle to such devastating effect.
Origins
The origin of the Forgers is unknown. Speculation points to Ishmael, rather than Aginor, as their creators. Their function is such that the geneticist would be unlikely to have conceived of them.
Characteristics
Forgers are dull, rough-hewn "men" in shape. Formed out of the very rock on which they stand, Forgers move slowly and methodologically at their tasks. If an object is put in front of a Forger, it will attempt to continue in its path until the object is removed. Forgers are mute, and assumed completely without intelligence or free will. Save for the living characteristics they exhibit, Forgers remind ancient authors of automatons.
Task
The Forger forges. First they form the blade from minerals and water taken from the slopes of Shayol Ghul. Then the blade is quenched within a living victim. The technique seems to transfer the soul of the victim to the blade. This may explain why Myrddraal blades rarely shatter. It also explains why no human will under any circumstances take a Myrddraal's blade as his own.
Cafar
Only vague descriptions remain from the Age of Legends concerning these creatures.
Origin
Aginor created the Cafar during the late years of the War of Power. Formed from predators, it was part of his attempt to create a "super-predator" totally under control of the Shadow. Such a creature would have been able to decimate target herd populations at will, stripping the enemy of food well behind the line of combat. The Cafar failed, being too uncontrollable.
Description
The only remaining fact about Cafar is that they nested, and would swarm out when bothered.
Quote
"It was only then, when Simon poked the bush, that we discovered what had killed the cow. [next passage covered with blood]…
…until he was pulled under. I used my shocklance, btu[sic] there were too many. I had to flame the bush, and Simon with it. The whole field is probably infested. We'll need to move."
Jumara (also known as Worms)
Jumara were the most powerful creatures ever in existence. They have been known to destroy mountain ranges inconvenient to their movement. While modern Worms are not as powerful, they would still be decimating should they ever leave the Blight.
Origins
During the War of Power, Aginor strived to create a "super-predator," a creature capable of damaging the Light's resource base far behind the lines of combat. The Jumara were the pinnacle of that effort. Radically innovative, the Jumara broke every single law of genetics. For a time, the Light refused to believe that it was the Jumara doing the damage, rather than a host of other creatures.
While much of the scientific explanation would be meaningless in modern times, the Jumara were essentially free-based organisms. Incredibly dense nuclear tissue could be broken down to form whatever shape was best suited for the moment. This change was engineered by retroviral RNA, which rewrote the DNA of the creature on a second to second basis.
Purpose
The Jumara's purpose was to destroy as much viable cropland and pastureland as possible. In order to do so, ten were gated into the ten regions that the Light relied most on for food. Early reports to Lews Therin talked of "tens of thousands of new Shadowspawn" rampaging over the country. Luckily for the Light, the ten were eventually killed, but only after the food industry was heavily damaged.
The Transformation
Jumara grew uncontrollable once Aginor was sealed away. While contained by the forces of the Light, Jumara continued to raid for several centuries after the War of Power.
When the Blight first appeared, Jumara vanished.
Our late colleague, Herid Fel, has suggested that the Blight and Jumara are essentially the same type of creation. The Blight is in a constant state of ecological flux, much like the early Jumara. Fel thought that the Blight had incorporated the Jumara as a defense mechanism. In doing so, the Jumara were frozen in the shape of the modern Worm, a creature capable of facing down an Aes Sedai or a pack of Myrddraal. While the form is still deadly, it now dies quickly once it exits the Blight.