— Androl to Pevara Tazanovni [1]
Androl Genhald is a Taraboner Asha'man. He reaches the rank of Asha'man. [2]
Appearance and Abilities[]
Androl Genhald is an approximately thirty-year-old, 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, and he is described as being weaker than many women who are turned away from the White Tower for lack of power. However, Androl has an apparently unique Talent. He is able to create gateways of gigantic size virtually instantly, even though someone of Androl's low strength should not be able to create a gateway at all. This talent extends beyond the impressive size of Androl's gateways. He is capable of creating multiple gateways simultaneously, virtually without thought, and can place these gateways almost anywhere. He is also capable of creating horizontal gateways rather than vertical ones, which he can use to drop things through.
Reflecting how easily Androl can create gateways, he often uses them for mundane tasks: for instance, dropping tea leaves into water by creating a tiny gateway under the leaves and another 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 employing gateways in unusual and inventive ways, such as using small, precisely placed 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. It is implied that he spent some time with Jain Farstrider. He had spent years learning a remarkable number of trades, and was full of practical knowledge. Other members of Logain's faction view him with respect and treat him like a leader in Logain's absence. He 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 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 Androl'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, Androl begins to worry about the state of the Black Tower. After learning that gateways are impossible to form within the large Black Tower camp, Androl 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 gain a growing respect for one another. Evin Vinchova enters and tells them that Welyn Kajima and his Aes Sedai Jenare Balmaen have arrived back at the Black Tower. However, his eyes are no longer his own, confirming that Welyn has been Turned. They realize that Taim must have Logain captured.
Androl meets with Welyn who announces that Logain and Taim are now working together. He also feeds the men false information about the Dragon's plans for Tarmon Gai'don. As Androl is about to leave Coteren arrives and informs that Androl has been demoted to Soldier. Androl is furious and embraces the source, but realizes they are outnumbered. He releases the Source, drops his sword pin and leaves the inn. Androl has had a very busy life trying many different things, but he realizes now that he has always been searching for the Black Tower and that earning that sword pin was extremely important to him. He lays a trap to capture Dobser with Pevara. Welyn and Leems also enter, which they had not planned for. Pevara manages to shield both Dobser and Leems and trips up Welyn as he tries to escape. Androl knocks out Leems and Welyn with a cudgel. Emarin arrives and manages to trick the location out of Dobser. Then all three of Taim's men are given a heavy sedative. Pevara, Androl and the rest of the group sneak into the Black Tower's foundations, where Taim has had hidden rooms constructed. There they find Logain kept captive. Before they can escape, they are found by Taim and his men after Evin reveals their plan. They are pinned in the cell until Taim brings the roof down on them, knocking the group unconscious.
Androl wakes bound and unable to channel. He is told that Nalaam died in the cave-in and that they are going to all be Turned to the Shadow. Evin is taken away first, and it doesn't take long before he comes back changed. Evin tells Androl that he managed to convince Taim not to kill him, but also be Turned. Androl is powerless as Taim's men continue to try and Turn Emarin and Logain, although unsuccessfully. They then bring Toveine Gazal in to be Turned next. While this is occurring Androl notices Taim with some sort of discs in his hand. Logain is almost completely subdued, but Androl sadly but cleverly tricks Evin through paranoia due to madness incurred from the taint, into attacking Abors who is shielding him. Androl again tries to create a gateway to Canler and the rest of their men, pleading for the gateway to work but the weaves slip away again. 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. Canler rushes to Androl telling him they heard Androl pleading for help through a tiny gateway.
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. Later Logain promises to promote Androl to full Asha'man.
Androl and Pevara welcome the White Tower delegation that had come to bond many Asha'man following the agreement between the Rebel Aes Sedai and Rand. Only 47 men are present to be bonded, those that actually didn't mind being bonded by an Aes Sedai. Lyrelle is not impressed and threatens to tell the Dragon Reborn. Androl retorts that the Dragon has gone to Shayol Ghul and sent one last message, that the men are not to think of themselves as weapons but as men. He then meets with Canler, Emarin and Jonneth. They are concerned about Logain changing after being subjected to the Turning process several times. However, they are loyal to what he decrees. Androl is concerned that Rand knew about the trap at the Black Tower and didn't help them. The men decide that they will take Rand's last command to heart and fight to live, rather than to die. They are not minions of the Dragon Reborn or the White Tower, but their allegiance lies to the Black Tower only.
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.[3] He and Pevara come up with a plan to disguise Androl as one of Taim's lackeys using the Mask of Mirrors. He is able to get close enough to Taim to brush against him and remove the pouch holding the seals. In a twist of fate, Taim uses the Mask to change Androl's features back to his own, with the instruction to infiltrate Logain's camp and kill him. Androl gives the seals to Logain to break when the time comes.
Pevara then comes up with the idea to use the Mask again, this time to make Androl look like Rand, so that he can fool Alviarin, Mishraile and the rest of their group into giving chase. He leads them to Stedding Sholoon, where they are captured and kept by the Ogier, presumably for decades.