I'm not sure that this is true, but it is a thought. Shaidar Haran may actuallly be the true chosen that will have to face Rand. In the first book, the DO talks in Tarwin's Gap (I hope everyone recognized that those big letters meant the DO was doing a little projecting) about not interfering and that the "chosen" must battle with Rand. Who do we see next? Ishy! He was the chosen thread opposed to LTT in The War of Power (see the prologue to TEotW). But Ishy is dead, and even if he comes back (or is back), he's not going to be the DO's chosen physical emmisary in the world. I think that honor will go to Shaidar Haran. He is not afraid of the Forsaken, he can find and manipulate vacuoles, he has all the abilities of a Myrdrall, and he has some interesting powers (he can burn spears and the like). On top of all that, he is linked to Shayol Ghul. He is powerful, and he seems to repeat this "I am Shaidar Haran" buisiness whenever anybody linked to the DO threatens or disobeys him. I think he is real chummy with the DO, I mean he seems to have tea with the embodyment of evil, and I think he will end up as a real obstacle in tarmon'gaidon.