Shadar Logoth, (Old Tongue: Place Where the Shadow Waits, or simply The Shadow's Waiting, pronounced: SHAH-dahr LOH-goth), was once Aridhol, a great city which destroyed itself during the Trolloc Wars, by becoming more evil than that which it fought against. Now Mashadar, a shapeless evil which manifests as a pale white fog, haunts the city. Shadowspawn will only enter at great compulsion, as Mashadar is drawn to things of the Shadow like the attraction between opposite poles of a magnet. The city is lethal to all who enter, however; any who take even a pebble will be tainted by that evil, and will eventually spread it like an illness. It is said Shadar Logoth is dangerous under daylight, but deadly at night.

LocationEdit

Shadar Logoth is located a few hours' ride from the town of Baerlon in western Andor. It is located north and east of the town across hilly country, on the southern banks of the River Arinelle. Despite its relative proximity to an inhabited settlement, Shadar Logoth is avoided by everyone bar only river traders sailing the Arinelle from Saldaea to Illian, and even they try to avoid mooring near the ruins unless the need is great.

The creation of MashadarEdit

Aridhol was the capital of the nation of the same name during the Trolloc Wars. Because of his deep despair, the king of the time, Balwin Mayel, followed the advice of Mordeth, and used the tactics of the Shadow against ithe Shadow. Their battlecry was, "The victory of the Light is all", and they uttered it more frequently as their deeds became more of the Shadow than the Light. Soon it came to be that some would prefer to see the arrival of Trollocs than soldiers from Aridhol.

Eventually, this despicable fall into evil led to every man, woman, and child of Aridhol slaying each other in a single night. In their demise, they left this horrible evil behind in the very foundations of the city. One man had survived.

In the latter days of the Trolloc Wars, a Shadow army - Trollocs, Dreadlords, Darkfriends, and Myrddraal - camped in the ruins of Aridhol. The next day, they did not come out. Men were sent to find out what had occurred. They found pieces of weaponry and armor, and walls streaked with blood and pleas to the Dark One to save them written in blood in the Trolloc tongue. When they later returned, they found nothing. All the walls had been scoured clean, and the weapons and armor were gone.

After the revealing of Mashadar, men named the city Shadar Logoth.

Recent history of Shadar LogothEdit

In later years, the city had greatly decayed. The streets and buildings were pitted and cracked, some buildings had collapsed, and others were broken. Any who entered in the daylight felt unseen eyes on them, and any who entered at night felt worse. Someone waited in those damaged buildings: Mordeth, the advisor, who had somehow survived. He waited for someone to come to him, and accompany him to the borders of the city, so he could devour their soul and walk the earth once more in their body. He succeeded (in a way) in 998 NE, when he fused with Padan Fain. It was a place that was mostly avoided by merchants and travelers, though Rand al'Thor and others camped there to avoid a Trolloc force pursuing them, which led to a series of events where Mat Cauthon was 'infected' with the taint on the city.

DestructionEdit

In 1000 NE, Rand al'Thor used Shadar Logoth to cleanse saidin, by siphoning the taint into the city with a weave of saidar, causing Mashadar and the taint to annihilate each other. This did not lessen the strength of artifacts located outside the city like Padan Fain's ruby-hilted dagger^[verify], though it did annihilate the city.

During this cleansing of saidin occurred the Battle near Shadar Logoth.

All that now remains of Shadar Logoth is a great hemispherical hole, which may one day become a lake.