He's not dead! He is the subject of the second mind trap. The text in the book says something akin to "and then death took him" or something like that. Jordan reveals that the nameMoridin means "death. Since Moridin can wield the true power and has obviously done so extensively, we can surmise that he is a powerful darkfriend. Since he also has intimate knowledge of the AoL, it is my suspicion that he is actually a reincarnation of Ishamael, a la Osan/Aran'gar. Asmodean obviously had some way of recognizing Ishamael even in his new guise (Even a bumbler like Asmodean must know some tricks, or else he wouldn't be Chosen).There ya go.