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Androl Genhald is an Asha'man.

Appearance and Abilities

Androl Genhald is a middle aged, square shaped, Taraboner with heavy eyebrows and a full head of hair. He is slightly short, with an oval face, and long fingers. Androl has a weathered look about him, but not farmer weathered. He has seen much of the world and this wear shows on him. Androl is a careful, humble, and diffident man, but nonetheless others eventually look to Androl for wisdom and guidance.

Androl's strength in the One Power is extremely limited, weaker than many women turned away from the White Tower for lack of power. However, Androl has a virtually unique Talent: creating large and powerful gateways, even though someone of Androl's low strength should not even be able to create a small and simple gateway. This talent extends beyond the impressive of Androl's gateways; he is capable of creating multiple gateways simultaneously, virtually without thought, and can place these gateways almost anywhere.

Reflecting how easily Androl can create gateways, he often uses them for mundane tasks: dropping tea leaves into water by creating a tiny gateway under the leaves and over the water. Androl's talent even allows him to create very small gateways within the area of influence of a Dreamspike, a feat that should be completely impossible.

In battles, Androl compensates for his lack of strength by effectively employing gateways, performing functions that they are typically not used for: using small gateways to behead foes; redirecting his opponent's attacks back at them through gateways (including balefire); and opening gateways beneath foes to drop them great distances. At one point while in control of a powerful circle, Androl opened several gigantic gateways straight into Dragonmount's core, and utilized the high-pressure magma present there to wipe out an entire shadowspawn army. During this and other moments of bonding, Androl marvels at the power other channelers control.

Activities

Androl was widely traveled before arriving at the Black Tower and rich in life experience. Andorra had spent years learning a remarkable number of trades, and was full of practical knowledge. Other members of Logain's faction view Androl with respect and treat him like a leader in Logain's absence. Genhald doesn't understand why these men treat him with such deference, because he is one of the weakest men in the power having attended the Black Tower.

Part of Logain's faction

At first Androl could only channel the One Power while holding a strap of leather. Mazrim Taim beat this mental block out of Androl so he can now channel at will. Androl has retained some madness from the taint: if he holds saidin too long, Androl starts to see shadows crawling from dark corners and shadows toward him.

Androl is part of the Logain Ablar faction in the Black Tower, which is first suspious and then opposed to Taim's larger, and darker, faction.

Logain is deeply impressed with Genhald's special ability with gateways, while Taim regards this as impossible. Due to his skill with gateways, and therefore with Traveling, and his relative weakness with other weaves, Androl often serves as a messenger and transporter, which has earned him the derisive nickname "Pageboy" by members of Taim's faction.

Androl is one of the few channelers at the Black Tower still loyal to Rand al'Thor. When the Black Tower divides between those like him and Mazrim Taim's questionably-motivated Asha'man, Genhald begins to worry about the state of Black Tower. After learning that gateways are impossible to form within the large Black Tower camp, Genhald approaches Aes Sedai currently in residence, to plot an escape.

To bond and be bonded

Though he continues to deem himself unworthy as a leader, Androl cannot help but rally a growing resistance, many from the Two Rivers, rather than see the Tower fall into the hands of the Shadow. He and Pevara Tazanovni speak, reluctantly at first. Pevara informs Androl of what she suspects has happened to the people that have undergone suspicious behavior changes - that they have likely been turned to the Shadow. She begins to teach him how to link. Flooded with wonder and overwhelmed with the feeling of power, Androl feels unstoppable and begins moving objects around, and she bonds him out of fear. Upon this happening he retaliates and bonds her back. The effect is unexpected in that they now can "hear" each other's thoughts. Androl and Pevara share much about each other's past, and have a growing respect for one another.

Men continue to be turned. Upon the announcement that Logain and Taim are now working together, Androl plans to help Logain escape. They are captured, and one by one Taim continues to turn them to the Shadow. Logain is almost completely subdued, but Androl sadly but cleverly tricks his former friend through paranoia into attacking the man shielding him. Due to his weak abilities, and the Dreamspike blocking gateways, Taim does not even bother to shield him, weaving balefire. In that moment, Androl weaves a very small gateway that absorbs the balefire in spite of the Dreamspike, saving his life just as the rest of the Two Rivers lads arrive to rescue them.

A full on battle begins, with Myrddraal, Hessalam, and Taim. Suddenly Androl is able to weave gateways again, and uses them to full and innovative effects, turning their attackers' channeling against them by placing a gateway behind them. He also sends Logain to a safe place. Taim and Hessalam escape, but Androl manages to kill several Darkfriends by placing a wide gateway beneath them with the opening a fall of several hundred feet.

Joining the Last Battle

When Elayne Trakand's armies are pressed to the point of breaking on the battlefield at Cairhien, Logain, Androl, and the men who fought to hold the Black Tower appear and form a circle to produce "one miracle." Androl channels an extremely large gateway above the Trolloc army which opens to Dragonmount, spilling lava and buying them all time to regroup for a last stand.

At the end of all the battles, he is promoted to the rank of full Asha'man by Logain. It has been strongly hinted several times at this point that he and Pevara are in love.[1]

Notes

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