Androl Genhald
General
Androl Genhald is a Taraboner Asha'man with the rank of a Dedicated. He is a square fellow with heavy eyebrows, and he wears a gold signet ring. After Logain takes most of the loyal trained men, Androl becomes the unwilling de facto leader of the remainder of the loyal faction (ToM, Ch. 46). He is trying to hide the details of his past and sometimes tries to keep the details of just how much he knows hidden (ToM, Ch. 46). Once, he has tried himself at the Game of Houses, which is an episode he doesn't want to go into (AMoL, Prologue).
He has a mild form of madness and feels that the shadows are creeping towards him every time he holds saidin for long periods of time. He is aware that this is madness due to the taint, but this doesn't stop him from believing it completely (ToM, Ch. 46).
He knows how to use the Flame and the Void (AMoL, Ch. 3).
Timeline
- Ten years ago he had fought in the Knoks Rebellion in Murandy to overthrow the local lord (AMoL, Prologue).
- Before going to the Black Tower, he traveled widely, learned the sword from his own instructors, learned the horse well enough to shoot an arrow from horseback, worked the ground and learned a farmer's sense for right and wrong regarding the land, sailed two seas, cliff jumped off the highest cliff he could find with the Sea Folk (AMoL, Ch. 8), and had a dozen apprenticeships, including one with a master architect (ToM, Ch. 46, Ch. 56) and a town's Wise One (AMoL, Ch. 3). He also trained as a scout in the woods of the Mountains of Mist, and can pick locks (AMoL, Ch. 4).
- He reports daily to Logain and tells him he has found two more Asha'man interested in "that new kind of Healing this Nynaeve used on Logain" (WH, Ch. 2).
- He cannot understand why Gedwyn, Kisman, Rochaid, and Torval, who are all Taim's men, would desert (WH, Ch. 2).
- Coteren tries to embarrass him by demonstrating how weak in the Power Androl is. Canler and Nalaam both seize the Power to defend him, but he persuades them against a confrontation (ToM, Ch. 46).
- After Traveling into and out of the Black Tower is prevented, he has the loyal men survey the perimeter to see the extent of the problem (ToM, Ch. 56).
- He realises that Mezar is no longer Mezar. He tells Norley to have the loyal men moved into a shared barracks (ToM, Ch. 56).
- He goes to see Pevara and asks for her assistance (ToM, Ch. 56).
- While he is trying to make saddles, Pevara questions him about his past and if he came to the Black Tower out of his own free will or was recruited. When "Emarin" and Canler join them, they discuss what to do about Taim, and the rebel Aes Sedai camping outside the gates (AMoL, Prologue).
Relationships
He is one of Logain's faction and serves as a leader in his absence. Although he is probably the weakest channeler at the Black Tower, the other men on his side look up to him (AMoL, Prologue).
He thinks "Emarin" is a master at giving insults, which amuses him. He also knows that he is really Algarin of House Pendaloan, a Tairen nobleman (AMoL, Prologue).
After Pevara spontaneously bonds him, he also bonds her (AMoL, Ch. 2), which allows them to have a sort of telepathic connection (AMoL, Ch. 3).
Strengths and Talents
He is so weak in the Power that he can't break apart a small rock (AMoL, Ch. 56). However, he has a Talent for making gateways (TGS, Ch. 5), and he can make large gateways even though he should not be strong enough in the Power to make a functional one (ToM, Ch. 46). It was because of this Talent that he was raised Dedicated, though Logain had to go to Rand to get him raised, as Taim refused (ToM, Ch. 56).
Androl understands gateways - they make sense to him. He thinks this might be because of his fondness for traveling and learning new things (ToM, Ch. 56).
He is aware that he is perhaps the weakest Asha'man in the Black Tower (AMoL, Prologue).
Points of View
Androl is one of the charcters that we see from his own point of view.
- Points of View Chapters
- Towers of Midnight, Chapters 46, 56
- AMoL, Prologue, 3, 4,
Quotes
"Something's wrong in this place. Something worse than you understand. Once, long ago, men and women who worked the Power strove together. They were stronger for it. Please. Hear me out." (To Pevara; Towers of Midnight, Chapter 56)
"Such an odd man, this Androl Genhald. How did he so fully mix determination and diffidence, like two threads woven together? He did what needed to be done, all while worrying that he shouldn't be the one doing it." (Pevara, A Memory of Light, Chapter 3)
