The Bore
One wound in the Pattern turned a utopia of light into a battlefield for the Shadow.
The Bore was not merely a physical excavation; it was a metaphysical scar torn into the fabric of existence itself. During the utopian Age of Legends, researchers—led by Ishamael—attempted to harness the raw power of the True Source directly, bypassing the safeguards of the One Power. Their hubris punctured the barrier holding back the Dark One, allowing his influence to bleed into a world that had forgotten the concept of evil. This breach ignited the War of Power, shattering civilization and setting in motion the cycle of events leading to the Last Battle.
- Originator
- Ishamael (and other researchers)
- Location
- Shara (specifically near Seanchan)
- Nature
- Wound in the Pattern/Reality
- Consequence
- The War of Power and the Breaking of the World
- Status
- Sealed (though weakened over time)
Lore & Background
In an era defined by peace and scientific marvels, a group of researchers became obsessed with probing the boundaries of reality. They believed tapping directly into saidin and saidar could unlock infinite energy, ignoring warnings about the instability of such an act. When they drilled the Bore, they did not find power; they punctured the prison of the Dark One. The immediate aftermath was subtle, manifesting as madness in those near the site, but it quickly escalated into a global conflict. Corrupted men and women fought for centuries until Lews Therin Telamon and the Hundred Companions sealed the breach at the end of the War of Power. Though trapped, the Shadow's taint on saidin remained, dooming male channelers to madness until the Dragon Reborn could finally mend the Pattern in the Last Battle.
In Their Own Story
The air in the laboratory tasted of ozone and something older, a metallic tang that clung to the back of the throat. Ishamael adjusted the crystal lens, his eyes reflecting the swirling vortex of energy he had summoned. "It is beautiful," he whispered, though the light seemed to cast no shadows on the walls. Beside him, the other researchers cheered as the needle pierced the fabric of their reality, but the cheer died in their throats when a silence deeper than any night fell over the room. From the tiny point of contact, a coldness seeped out, not of temperature, but of soul. The perfect, white city outside the window seemed to flicker, and for a heartbeat, the sky turned the color of bruised iron. They had sought knowledge, but they had opened a door that could never be closed.
Reader's Guide
The Bore marks the definitive split between the Age of Legends and the current Third Age. Its creation was not an act of malice by the Dark One, but a catastrophic error born from human curiosity within a society that had forgotten evil existed. Before the Bore, the world knew no war or crime; after it, humanity faced the Shadow for the first time in millennia. Understanding the Bore is essential to understanding the Wheel's central conflict: the necessity of the Dragon to seal what men broke, and the enduring cost of that seal on the very fabric of reality.
Did You Know?
- The Bore was located in a facility that later became Shadar Logoth, not Seanchan.
- Unlike other magical phenomena, the breach allowed the Dark One to influence minds directly, causing immediate madness in nearby researchers.
- Ishamael, one of the creators, survived the sealing and became the first of the Forsaken, bound yet free within the prison.
- The initial sealing required thirteen seals, a feat requiring male and female channelers working in unison—a cooperation lost for three thousand years.