I believe that Callandor was intended to be a dual sa'angreal, one usable by both men and women (and that it may also have another function on top of that). It was an experimental prototype made specifically for the Dragon Reborn and that is why it is flawed. Let's start with a little logic. This is from Jonai's point of view in Rand's trip through the glass spires. The scene begins with him running through the Hall of Servants to meet with one of the Aes Sedai. I'll spare you the lead up and get right to the important part. [Quote]When he saw what was on the table, the shiver became a shudder. A crystal sword – perhaps an object of the Power, perhaps an only an ornament; he had no way of telling – held down the banner of Lews Therin Kinslayer, spread out like a tablecloth[/quote] Jonai overhears the Aes Sedai discussing a foretelling but since Callandor and the Dragon Banner are present, we can safely conclude that the foretelling speaks of Rand and that they are discussing what to do with those objects. So, now let's jump ahead to Jonai leaving the Hall of Servants. [Quote]Thousands of wagons in ten lines stretching nearly two leagues, wagons loaded with food and water barrels, wagons loaded with crated things the Aes Sedai had given into Aiel charge, angreal and sa'angreal and ter'angreal.[/quote] So, there are lots of wagons, which would seem to indicate lots of angreal and sa'angreal to choose from. So, now I'm going to ask you a question. Of all the sa'angreal that these Aes Sedai could have set aside for the Dragon, why are they giving him the broken one? And yes, they know it's broken. They know that Callandor is flawed because books have been written on the subject – that's how Cadsuane knows – and those books must predate the Breaking or at least be copied from books that predate the Breaking. The only way they could discover that Callandor is flawed is to use it and see what happens. And no one has used Callandor in over 3000 years. So, why are they deliberately putting a flawed sa'angreal aside for the Dragon Reborn? If the only thing Rand will need from them is a sa'angreal, surely there are others to choose from. The answer is simple: of all the sa'angreal to choose from, only Callandor can provide Rand with what he really needs to win the Last Battle. Flaw or no flaw, Rand needs this particular object and none of the others will do. Moving on. [b]But what does Callandor do?[/b] There's an interesting slip of the tongue in the Dragon Reborn, something Siuan says that she should not have been able to say. [Quote] “Mother, what is Callandor?” Nynaeve asked. This time it was the Amyrlin who forgot herself, half turning toward Nynaeve before jerking herself back. "They cannot be allowed to have that." Her whisper was barely audible, as if meant for her own ears alone. "They cannot possibly take it but...." She took a deep breath and her soft words firmed enough to be clear to Nynaeve. "No more than two dozen women in the Tower know what Callandor is and perhaps as many outside. The High Lords of Tear know but they never speak of it except when a Lord of the Land is told on being raised. The Sword that Cannot be Touched is a sa'angreal, girl. Only two more powerful were ever made and thank the Light neither of those was ever used. With Callandor in your hands, child, you could level a city at one blow. If you die keeping it out of the Black Ajah's hands - you and Egwene and Elayne - you'll have done a service to the world and cheap at the price.[/quote] “With Callandor in your hands, child, you could level a city at one blow.” Siuan just told Nynaeve that she can use Callandor. Siuan has stated outright, without any equivocation, that a woman can use Callandor as a sa'angreal. Given what we know about angreal, that should have been impossible by the Three Oaths. Let's take a moment and review the situation. 1) Angreal are gender specific; some are made for men and others are made for women. Rumors of angreal that work for both genders have never been confirmed. 2) Callandor is a sa'angreal made for a man. 3) Siuan knows this. Therefore, Siuan should not have been able to tell Nynaeve that she can level a city with Callandor because it would be an outright falsehood, a violation of the Oaths. In Nynaeve's hands, Callandor is nothing but a pretty sword. So, unless this is a minor error on RJ's part, we have to conclude that Siuan genuinely believes that Nynaeve can use Callandor on her own. And why would she believe such a thing? Perhaps after years of gathering every scrap of information pertaining to the Dragon Reborn, she learned something of Callandor's intended purpose and she knows that it is no ordinary sa'angreal. Now, I've received a few counter arguments since mentioning this idea and I'd like to go through them one by one and point out why they're all flawed. [b]Siuan meant “you” in a generic sense. [/b] “With Callandor in your hands, child, you could level a city at one blow.” This is the most common objection I encounter. It's wrong because even if we assume that Siuan meant “you” in the most generic sense possible, the statement is still false. Many people use “you” in place of “one.” There are slight semantic differences but in common speech the two are interchangeable. So, we have two possible interpretations “You” refers to Nynaeve specifically. “You” refers to a generic, unspecified person. The problem is that both of these interpretations are equally false. By RJ's numbers, roughly one percent of the population can channel and of that small minority, very few are male. Siuan may not know the exact figures but she knows damn well that channelers are a very small subset of the population. To the vast majority of people, Callandor is nothing more than a pretty ornament with a sharp edge. In this case, using the word “You” in place of a generic, unspecified person would be far too liberal to avoid triggering the Oath. Aes Sedai are required by the first Oath to be as precise as possible whenever they speak. Which brigs me to... [b]Siuan was not intending to be precise.[/b] Aes Sedai have to be precise. For example, let's look at the beginning of her explanation to Nynaeve. “No more than two dozen women in the Tower know what Callandor is and perhaps as many outside. The High Lords of Tear know but they never speak of it except when a Lord of the Land is told on being raised.” Why burden Nynaeve with such pointless, superfluous information about Tairien customs regarding the raising of a High Lord? Why not just say “The High Lords of Tear know but they never speak of it?” Because she can't. She knows perfectly well that they do speak of it – if only rarely – and therefore she cannot say “They never speak of it,” even as a figure of speech. She has to list the exceptions; she has to specify precisely what she means. The Oath would not allow her to use “you” to mean a generic, unspecified person when the statement is only true in a very specific case. [b] Siuan didn't mean it literally [/b] This one baffles me. Yes, there are cases where context makes it clear that the character didn't intend their words to be taken in a strict literal sense but none of those clues are present in this scene. Moreover, this is a piece of plot exposition, which almost always meant to be taken literally. [b]Siuan meant that if Nynaeve had a sa'angreal like Callandor...[/b] She didn't say “a sa'angreal like Callandor.” She said Callandor. If she had meant the former, then by the Oath, she would have had to say the former. Anyway, there are others but the fact remains that Siuan said something she should not have been able to say. So, unless we assume that RJ made an error, the only way Siuan could have uttered those words was if she knew that Callandor would work for a woman. From this, I deduce that Callandor is actually one of those fabled sa'angreal that will tap both saidin and saidar, perhaps the only one of its kind. I believe that it is for this very reason that the blade is flawed. Callandor was a prototype, an attempt to create an entirely new kind of angreal and the Aes Sedai didn't have time to work out the kinks. Why do this? Why make a dual instead of just setting aside one of each for the Dragon Reborn? Raw Power was definitely a factor. We know from Siuan's exposition that only two other sa'angreal were more powerful and those were the Choeden Kal. Clearly the Aes Sedai believed that Rand would need raw power but not just raw power alone. He would need massive amounts of both sides of the True Source to do what must be done. Second, by making Callandor a dual sa'angreal, by forcing Rand to use it in circle, the Aes Sedai ensured that Lews Therin would not repeat his mistake. He would not put his plan into effect without the aid of women. Yes, yes, I know the original plan would have failed even if the female Aes Sedai had joined in but that doesn't negate the fact that whatever Rand needs to do will require both saidin and saidar. It's all part of RJ's theme of interdependence. Men and women need each other. An interesting corollary to this theory might be that flaw was INTENTIONALLY built into Callandor to ensure that Rand would need to work with women this time.