Will Mat's medallion stop saidin?

[MikeRules311]

While reading the series again, I came across what I believe is an
inconsistency with Mat's medallion. I can't seem to find out weather it really stops saidin or not. The first time the medallion has saidin channeled at it, the foxhead does not stop the male half of the one power. example: tFoH (To Caemlyn) p.649 "Mat's
smoking boots lay a dozen paces from where Mat himself lay sprawled on his back. Tendrils of smoke rose from the haft of his spear, too, from his coat, even from the silver foxhead, hanging out of his shirt, that had not saved him from a man's channeling."
Obviously, in this scenerio, the ter' angreal had not saved him from being killed from Rahvin's lightning attack. However, in LoC (The Color of Trust) p.554, the passage states "It should have been nothing, but before he had gone ten paces the foxhead went icy cold on his chest. He spun around, looking furiously for anything at all. What he saw was Halima staring at him in the firelight. Only for an instant before she seized a tall Warder's arm and whirled back into the dance, but he was sure he had seen shock on that beautiful face." As we all know, Halima is the reincarnation of a male Forsaken who, despite his now female body, still uses the male half of the source. This time saidin was stopped by the foxhead. In the first example, the power wasn't stopped. In the second example, it was. Please write in with your theories and help put my mind to rest on this quandary.

[Theoban]

in book 5, the lightning is not necessarily saidin, but could be caused by saidin. You can set fire to brandy, but the fire therefore ensuing is not saidin. To me this does not cause a contradiction, as cause and effect are two different things.

[Aan`allein]

Yes, the medallion stops saidin.
Halima channels (saidin) at Mat, and its blocked. Plus, Mat asked to be free of "the power" (and Aes Sedai). This means there's even a chance that his amulet will block the True Power, but certainly that it block saidin.

As Theoban noted, Rahvin's lightning is an indirect effect. Rahvin only channeled to create the lightning, but the lightning itself was not made of the One Power, so wasn't blocked my the amulet.

[MikeRules311]

I agree that if Rahvin were to use Saidin to create the circumstances for lightning, but the lightning were a natural occurence, then of course Mat would be dead. However I don't think that applies to this situation. First of all, Rahvin had no way to know Mat has protection against the one power. There was no reason for him to go roundabout and create the circumstances for lightning and let it strike naturally than to just weave lightning directly. That would be more time consuming and less precise. He has an invasion on his hands and needed a quick kill. Secondly, If Rahvin had created the circumstances for lightning and let nature do the rest, there would have been clouds to produce the natural lightning. Lightning struck out of a cloudless sky moments after they arrived. Also the quote " Rand wove Fire and Air to meet Fire and Air, a slow spreading shield racing the lightnings fall." (tFoH To Caemlyn p.649) proves the lightning was constructed of saidin. Mat's medallion still didn't stop the male half of the source.:confused:

[Tinkers Sword]

Whos to say the lightning actualy struck Mat, It could have easily struck close by and blew him out of his boots.

[Relayquin]

If I recall correctly, the scene does not tell us if Mat was hit by the lightning directly. If the lightning was strong enough, and it hit the ground very close to him, the discharge of electricity would still be enough to fry him to his bootsoles. The medallion would not protect him in this case, since saidin never touched him directly.

I think the scale of Rahvin's assault makes it likely that the lightning was not aimed at individuals, but at the group as a whole. When Rand, Aviendha and Egwene supported the attack on the Shaido at the battle of Cairhien, they struck at groups, not at individuals.

About whether the lightning itself was a saidin weave or a saidin construct: the dividing line between the power and what it creates is a thin one, and not always easy to discern. Did saidin only create the lightning, or was it the lightning? For instance, when Rand kept a fire going when he and Aviendha were out fooling around in their iglo, was the flame simply a flame, and saidin only the fuel, or was the flame a saidin weave? I think the
former, and I think that the same goes for Rahvin and his lightning.

edit: darn, Tinkers Sword beat me to it. That's what I get for taking too much time to write my posts... :)

[Tinkers Sword]

Don't take it to heart your post was far better besides your begining to clarify what are the limits of Mat Medallion.

Personally I reckon the medallion will absorb flows of the One Power both saidan and saidar, but not physical contructions of the power i.e. the medallion will absorb flows of Air, compulsion, healing etc. that are directed at Mats person, while a ball of fire shot at him would burn like a divel, erupting the earth under his feet would throw 'im. But what about bale fire - well I think the medallion would absorb bale fire because I think it IS the one power not a physical element of the world like fire, lightning, ice.

[Aan`allein]

Well, the above should serve, but there's also an interesting mention in the entry from the FAQ (http://linuxmafia.com/jordan/2_nondark/2.3_one-power/2.3.10_mat-medallion.html) on this:
Indirect effects of the Power, such as picking up a rock with Air and throwing it, or lightning (lightning was mentioned by RJ as a specific example), are not blocked. Thus, failure of the medallion to protect against the lightning strike at the end of TFOH can be explained. Rand's belief that the medallion didn't protect Mat from a man's channelling was in error.

Leanna's page (http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/8513/creator-op-tp.htm) provides the quote from the report of the Jordan signing upon which this is based:
Mat's amulet blocks both Saidin and Saidar. Jordan answered this one straight-out when asked. He pointed out that the amulet only blocks actual weavings of the One Power, not the physical effects that could be caused by a weaving. For example, Elayne was able to use the OP to hurl a rock at Mat. Rahvin was able to create a bolt of lightning which struck Mat.

[Abraxas77]

Good point Tinkerbell and Relayquin, and with Aan'allien's reply, Mike's theory of condradiction is disproved. But I wonder :rolleyes: (that's a "tilt head in deep thought" not "roll eyes") ...does Mat know this????


Sorry, I meant Tinkers Sword. :)

[MikeRules311]

Thank all the contributors that finially set my weary mind to rest. I guess you can't argue with RJ on his own series, huh?

[Abraxas77]

Yeah, don't argue with an author about his own story. He may just introduce a character named Mike and kill him horribly. ...maybe even have a Myadraal rape you :eek:

**run away!!!!!

[MikeRules311]

If that happens, we will all have to quit reading tWoT

(trust me, yall don't want to see me raped by an eyeless!)

[balefire]

There seems to be 1 of those errors in POD though. If I recall correctly it was the chapter Unweaving when Aviendha picked her gateway apart. There doesn't seem to be any mention of Mat removing the medallion before passing through the gate, & the weaves didn't collapse. Don't tell me the "hole in air" isn't made from weaves. When Egwene Travelled to Tel'aran'rhiod "she wove her shimmering curtain of Spirit".

[Aan`allein]

Originally posted by balefire
Don't tell me the "hole in air" isn't made from weaves.The hole isn't made from the One Power. The OP is only used to open the hole - thus being the framework, being only used to create the similarity. If Mat would have directly touched the 'edge' of the Gateway his medallion might have had an effect, though even then it's not really certain. After all, the weaves aren't directly influencing Mat... That's something that depends on the exact functionality of the medallion though, which we simply don't know.

[supuradam]

if he touched the end, wouldn't he have like cut his finger off? rj likes to make a point of how "the edge of a gateway makes the sharpest razor look dull"

[MikeRules311]

When learning to "skim", asmodean explains that the OP is only used for the construction of the "doorways". I wonder if Traveling is similer?:confused:

[balefire]

Originally posted by Aan`allein
The hole isn't made from the One Power. The OP is only used to open the hole - thus being the framework, being only used to create the similarity.

The hole is made from the Power. You can't keep a gateway open without channeling into the weaves or tying them off right?! Release the Power & the gateway closes. See the part in TFOH where Aviendha Travels to Seanchan. The weaves span the opening which defines the gateway.

Originally posted by Aan`allein
If Mat would have directly touched the 'edge' of the Gateway his medallion might have had an effect, though even then it's not really certain. After all, the weaves aren't directly influencing Mat... That's something that depends on the exact functionality of the medallion though, which we simply don't know.

We don't know how exactly the medallion works, but we know if any weave touches Mat it dissolves. There's a scene somewhere (I can't recall exactly) where Nynaeve or Elayne tried to pick him up with Air & "the weaves just....melted". They weren't channeling directly into him, but touching him with the weaves was enough to neutralize them.

Originally posted by MikeRules311
When learning to "skim", asmodean explains that the OP is only used for the construction of the "doorways". I wonder if Traveling is similar?:confused:

How do you mean "construction of the doorways"? The gateway is the weave. Anyway Traveling & Skimming are much the same...except that Traveling doesn't allow you to enjoy the scenery ;)

[nightfairy]

hey, balefire, where've you been? we've missed you 'round here. :)

[balefire]

Originally posted by nightfairy
hey, balefire, where've you been? we've missed you 'round here. :)

Well, I've been gone for 3 months (sort of...check the posts), except for occasional peeks in here when my email tells me someone's replied to some old thread I used to post in. I decided to leave because I didn't want to put up with the bickering I used to get involved in....I figured if it happened a couple of times it's likely to happen again in the future. I've got a case of bickering offline as well, & I felt that since I have that sort of thing in the real world, there's no need to put up with the same from cyberspace. It's just that I noticed a few posts which I thought would be worth some commenting on, so I posted.

I've been out of touch for so long, there's no way I can catch up on all the posts. In any case I wouldn't be able to say much. I read Winter's Heart half-way & then it was due back in the library, so I don't know much, except for the things I discovered when skipping ahead, such as the cleansing saidin business. I know some people think that's the ultimate sin, but hell, I never walk in the Light anyway. ;)

[Mike]

Hmm, I'm not pleased that people simply go away. We do our best to make this place fun for everybody. That may not be possible, but we can and will try. If something's up, then don't just leave. If something bothers you, tell us. We can't deal with everything, but we can do a lot.

We DO wonder why some people stopped visiting, you know. I wonder why people that posted nearly every day have fanished into thin air. And all I can do is wonder because I don't know why they left. If it's because something here is not to your liking, and if no one tells us that, then there's nothing we can do, and I hate doing nothing and I hate not knowing. Makes me feel incompetent.

[Abraxas77]

Originally posted by Mike
I hate doing nothing and I hate not knowing. Makes me feel incompetent. That sounds like sexual frustration mike. I think you've been chatting to much, and not paying enough attention to your wife. :D j/k

But you are right. People shouldn't just up and leave without goodbyes and whatnot.

But back on topic...............I never considered the medalion's affect on traveling. hmmmmm.............

[Mann]

The hole itself couldn't be a weave. The hole isn't there, the doorway surrounding it is. If Mat had touched the edge the weave would have unravelled and Mat wouldn't have been cut. But what if he'dd been travelling through it at the time?

[Beowulf]

Originally posted by balefire


Well, I've been gone for 3 months (sort of...check the posts), except for occasional peeks in here when my email tells me someone's replied to some old thread I used to post in. I decided to leave because I didn't want to put up with the bickering I used to get involved in....I figured if it happened a couple of times it's likely to happen again in the future. I've got a case of bickering offline as well, & I felt that since I have that sort of thing in the real world, there's no need to put up with the same from cyberspace. It's just that I noticed a few posts which I thought would be worth some commenting on, so I posted.

I've been out of touch for so long, there's no way I can catch up on all the posts. In any case I wouldn't be able to say much. I read Winter's Heart half-way & then it was due back in the library, so I don't know much, except for the things I discovered when skipping ahead, such as the cleansing saidin business. I know some people think that's the ultimate sin, but hell, I never walk in the Light anyway. ;)

Funny I don't recall any intense bickering involving you, esp when that's usually the first thing I notice at the forums. I remember you fretting about Jacob not liking you but that's about it.

You should name names and specific incidents. Then everyone can ostracize or reward those involved properly as they see fit. :rolleyes:

[balefire]

Originally posted by Mister Beowulf
You should name names and specific incidents. Then everyone can ostracize or reward those involved properly as they see fit. :rolleyes:

I don't think I should; all that happened last year, so there's no need to stir up the autumn leaves after they've settled nicely on the compost heap. It would also draw in people who were uninvolved in the argument & everyone would be taking sides....not something I want to happen. Besides, the forum is right out here on the web, open to all, so any arguments would be taking place in public, so to speak. There shouldn't be a need to point out anything to anyone.

Originally posted by Mann
The hole itself couldn't be a weave. The hole isn't there, the doorway surrounding it is. If Mat had touched the edge the weave would have unravelled and Mat wouldn't have been cut. But what if he'dd been travelling through it at the time?

The hole is kept open by the weave. See the time Egwene wove her 1st gateway & the time Asmodean made Rand's gateway invisible, & you'll see that the weave spans the opening. And isn't the gateway just the place where 2 distant points on the Pattern meet? Isn't the door to your house the place where the inside of your house meets the outside? You can't say the doorway is just the doorframe right? It's the entire opening that we call a door isn't it? As to Mat passing through the gateway, if the weaves collapsed the gateway would close & he would be cut. See the time Rand had his bootheel sliced off when going through Asmodean's gateway to Rhuidean.

Of course you are free to disagree with the above. In any case I won't be saying anymore on gateways lest I be cut too.

[Mike]

Balefire, if there is any issue you don't wish to discus in public, then send us admins a PM, or email us. There is a need to at least point out things to us.

[supuradam]

ummm... but hasn't mat walked through gateways before? ie: caemlyn to salidar, salidar to ebou dar, 'finnland to rhuidean, carhien to caemlyn, carhien to plains of mardeo...... so how come they didn't melt there?

[Abraxas77]

I think the edges of the gateway is the only part that is an actual weave of the OP. So Matt, would be able to walk through them no problem.....Cadsuane (she has a similar ter'angreal) also Travels.

[Mann]

You can't have a doorway without the doorframe, but you still walk though it even though there's nothing there. Same with the gateways (the weaves define the hole, but don't cover it).

[Buckweet]

Maybe..(sorry, havent checked the theory threads in a while :D)

...ahem..maybe the weaves have to be directed at/into him..Maybe walking through a weave isn't enough. this would explain why saidin/saidar lightning doesnt work either. If the weave for a bolt of lightning is going into the lightning and making it, then the bolt hits Mat and bam...smoking boots. Same with door. the weave isnt directed at him, but athe gateway itself.

If this is true then if a Aes Sedai decides to make a sword out of air and cut him with it, then he would get cut.

If the gateway shuts down midway through it... well half of you makes it, and the other half doesn't :p

[Darius Sei'taer]

I love Bibiana

[Arsenic & Lace]

Although it's beside the point, Mat never went through that gateway. He stayed behind, and was buried under a wall shortly thereafter.

[sven]

first of all Mat never went through aviendha's gateway, he was still in ebou dar looking for the kid sorrry i'm drunk and cant remember his name. secondly mat wouldn't touch the actualy weave he'd be going through the middle of it which would be just air. not the weave of air just air.

[Darius Sei'taer]

I don't think so
Where does it say that men can't go through saidar made doorways?

[Reuvyn]

what?
we are talking about mat

[sven]

sheep swallop and blody buttered onions!

[TimGoldenboots]

But Mat went through the Gateway that Rand made to get him near Salidar, then he went through the one Elayne made to get them to Ebou Dar. It never mentioned him taking the ter'angreal off, so he must have been wearing it...

It is most likely that the OP is used to cute a whole through the patern and the edge of the whole is made of the one power, but the whole itself is just empty air. Otherwise I suspect that passing through a gateway would be similar to walking through a Way Gate where you can actually feel yourself passing through to the other side...

[Thecaptain420]

Robert J, HAS been quoted saying that Mat's foxhead DOES block
BOTH Male and female halves of the power. ROBERT JORDAN said this himself! If that dosn't put your mind to rest...I don't know what will. BUT what was not said, was if it blocks the True power.

[Byrn]

Mat's Medallion blocks flows directed at him. So if you use air to throw some dirt at him, the dirt will hit him. But if you try and hit him with Air, the flow will disolve. Pay attention. It says as much when Mat is traveling with Elayne to Ebu Dar.

[Simnos_Reborn]

despite the whole sharpest razor deal i think the medallion would protect mat from a gateway. after all that is pure weave. basically though, if you're not protected from lightning you're pretty easy to kill. the medallion would be put to much better use if it were given to rand.

[Llothlian]

Rand has found his own protection from the source. He is the single most dealy being ever to be born in the pattern. No single mortal can kill him. Of course, they could sneak up on him and balefire him, but we all know he would sence them and kill them first. What does he need something which dissolves weaves for if he can kill Moridin, the single most powerful person after him effortlessly, unaided. He now has 3 of the most powerful Sa'andgreal ever main in his possesion (one is broken, Egwene will fix it). If all 8 of the remaining forsaken linked and came at him together he could annihilate them with those Sa'angreals. He needs no trinket from Mat.

[Enariom]

If someone able to channel were to use the medallion, would that block them from the source? Just wondering... :umm:

[Night_Daughter]

I think that the medalion acts like a shield so it doesn't matter who has it, the poiwer can't pass it.

[Backwardsman]

I don't know about the gateways and the medallion together, but who says that Rahvin had to use saidin...? True power!!!!

[Jaric Mondoran]

Look, we all know what the deal really is.

RJ simply screwed up, yet again.

The sole purpose of the medallion, in the first place, was to protect Mat against channelers. In other words, to give him an even chance in a fight against someone who can use the Power.

So, if all you need to do is construct lightning and aim it at Mat, well then the medallion is not much protection, is it?

RJ just made a mess of the scene at the end of FoH, that's all.

Most likely he originally intended to make the medallion only protect against saidar. By the time of Lord of Chaos, he obviously changed his mind. Now he is trying to pull a fast one on the fans. And you're all falling for it.

Just like he changed his mind on Taimandred after LoC. That is obvious to any objective reader, whatever the die-hards choose to believe.

People should stop thinking that RJ is this great, infallible genius.

He is just an average Joe, whose books became much more popular than he ever imagined. Originally, he probably did not even plan to create the Ashaman, so he did not foresee that male channelers would become so widespread. And back then, Rand was picking off the few remaining male Forsaken like fruit from a tree.

No doubt some will be getting a lynchmob together just because I dared suggest such heresy.

But, protest however much you want to, wishing it wasn't so has never yet changed the truth...

[Byrn]

It's simple really. Direct Flows of the Power disolve when they get near the medallion. But if you create a fireball and throw it at Mat, is' going to hit him. RJ is not "pulling a fast one". If you don't like the writing don't read it.

[Jaric Mondoran]

It's simple really. Direct Flows of the Power disolve when they get near the medallion. But if you create a fireball and throw it at Mat, is' going to hit him. RJ is not "pulling a fast one". If you don't like the writing don't read it.

My, my, that post certainly got an instant, very heated response.

I guess RJ can rest easy despite my oh so heinous accusations. He still has some faithful fans left who are utterly unshakable in their devotion.
How admirable...

I guess I should be grateful that I am not being sent of to the Questioners to confess my sins...

In any event. It is your right to believe as you wish. Just as it is mine to make whatever comments I want to.

[Karistina]

People should stop thinking that RJ is this great, infallible genius.

He is just an average Joe, whose books became much more popular than he ever imagined. Originally, he probably did not even plan to create the Ashaman, so he did not foresee that male channelers would become so widespread. And back then, Rand was picking off the few remaining male Forsaken like fruit from a tree.

No doubt some will be getting a lynchmob together just because I dared suggest such heresy.

But, protest however much you want to, wishing it wasn't so has never yet changed the truth...

The Wheel of Time world is Robert Jordan's creation. If he wants something to work a particular way, that's the way it works. I don't see Mat's medallion as one of RJ's "mistakes." We were led to believe as much about the medallion as Mat was able to know at the time. If he didn't know that the medallion still left him vulnerable to indirect effects of the One Power, then we didn't know either. It's not like he got an instruction manual with it.

And maybe RJ did change his mind. It doesn't make it a mistake.

I don't know why you feel the need to make a martyr of yourself with this conspiracy theory that everyone's going to attack you for... "heresy." You've grown quite conscending to anyone who dares to disagree with you!

[Jaric Mondoran]

It's simple really. Direct Flows of the Power disolve when they get near the medallion. But if you create a fireball and throw it at Mat, is' going to hit him. RJ is not "pulling a fast one". If you don't like the writing don't read it.

Well, what about when Cyndane is fighting Alivia? She tries to throw a fireball at Alivia, but then the flows simply unravel before the fireball reaches Alivia.

So it seems that even if you throw a fireball at someone, you still need to maintain the flows to keep the fireball burning, otherwise there would have been no flows to unravel.

That seems to suggest that if someone threw a fireball at Mat, the fireball should unravel before it reaches him.

Similarly, with lightning. You could create the conditions for lightning with the Power - clouds etc- but then you would surely have no way of directing it. To actually aim at a spot with lightning I would think that you need to channel flows of the Power directly to the spot you are aiming at.

Else it could strike anywhere in a two mile radius of your target.

And to Kristina, it is not my aim to sound condescending. I was merely trying to make light of something that people seemed to be taking a bit seriously. That was the aim of the whole "heresy" comment. An attempt on my part that obviously ended in dismal failure, since far from introducing a bit of perspective, it only seemed to stir things up even more.

If I sounded condescending to you, I apologize.

[Jaric Mondoran]

Looking at my last post, I suppose that could be construed as being condescending too, so how about I just forget about trying to justify my actions, and simply apologize unreservedly to anyone who has been offended.

Sorry guys. I like you all.

P.S.
That doesn't mean that I always agree with you...

[Byrn]

My, my, that post certainly got an instant, very heated response.

I guess RJ can rest easy despite my oh so heinous accusations. He still has some faithful fans left who are utterly unshakable in their devotion.
How admirable...

I guess I should be grateful that I am not being sent of to the Questioners to confess my sins...

In any event. It is your right to believe as you wish. Just as it is mine to make whatever comments I want to.

My response was not heated. You just want it to be.

"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink"

Oh well, we should just let this die as it is not a constucive debate.

[Jaric Mondoran]

Oh well, we should just let this die as it is not a constucive debate

OK. I didn't mean to cause offense.

Anyway, from now on no more explicit RJ bashing. I get the point...

RJ is cool, I just get very angry with him some times. You know, I spend an awful lot of my time immersed in his world, so little things that don't make sense grow into really irritating things.

But I take back what I said about him being a bad author. He is entitled to his mistakes. He is certainly up there with most of the other big names in fantasy...

[CyberMagic*]

Anyone who can write as fast and as good as he deserves our respect!
Ok,now is is not that great but give him a break!

[feikki]

An attack directed at an idividual is more likely to be guided all the way so it would make sense for it to contain a weave until it hits. Besides, a fireball isn't exactly a natural. Shooting pure fire through air just doesn't work, a fireball lacks mass and thus doesn't move forward very well and should vanish when you let go of the weave. (or maybe the channelers generally do something akin to tying off when they throw fire) Flamethrowers and such natural ways to shoot fire shoot burning liquid. Lightning on the other hand is quite natural and since Rahvin wasn't aiming at anyone he could as easily use power to create natural lightning.

Btw, I agree with the weirdness in WoT, if it is possible to create ter'angreal in world of dreams just by imaging it and not even knowing how it functions, why not create sa'angreal. Loss of such talents as travelling during the breaking is also somewhat silly. You can teach it quickly even if you're not capable of creating a gateway big enough for actually travelling through. Channelers capable of travelling also have a huge survival adventage.

[TimGoldenboots]

I agree that if Rahvin were to use Saidin to create the circumstances for lightning, but the lightning were a natural occurence, then of course Mat would be dead. However I don't think that applies to this situation. First of all, Rahvin had no way to know Mat has protection against the one power. There was no reason for him to go roundabout and create the circumstances for lightning and let it strike naturally than to just weave lightning directly.

This assumes that the "Normal" way a channeler summons lightening is by creating it with Saidin/Saidar. However every occurance I can recall of lightening being created in battle in this series states that the Lightening comes from the sky(Usually on a clear day) and not directly from the channelers hand as balefire does. I would call that the normal way to summon lightening in this series... that is as a byproduct of weather control.

[Almira]

I'm going to clear this up. With quotes. Yes, quotes!

It stops saidin/saidar, One/True Power, as well as anything created or altered by the Power.

"Well, I want a way to be free of Aes Sedai and the Power."
He didn't specify which Power (One or True) nor did he specify saidin or saidar. So there's no reason it wouldn't absorb all.

"He danced a short time with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life [Halima], a slim yet buxom armful who wanted to know all about Mat Cauthon... It should have been nothing, but before he had gone ten paces the foxhead went icy cold on his chest. He spun around, looking furiously for anything at all. What he saw was Halima staring at him in the firelight. Only for an instant before she seized a tall Warder's arm and whirled back into the dance, but he was sure he had seen shock on that beautiful face." (later in the book.) "She [Moghedien] stared at the woman who had called herself Aran'gar, recognizing her now. Halima, she thought; secretary to one of the Sitters, she believed. But a woman certainly, if one who looked as though she had been designed by a man. A woman. But that ball of light had to be saidin!"
Halima is a resurrected male Foresaken, but despite his new female body, he uses saidin, as well as the True Power, so that's evidence right there that his medallion not only blocks saidin, but also the True Power.

As for Rahvin. The lightning was lightning, not created by the Power, otherwise it wouldn't have looked exactly like lightning (everything created by the Power looks a little different) and Jordan would have said it was created by the Power. I think it struck right beside him, because otherwise wouldn't he have been burnt to a crisp, or been burnt at all? Instead he was just smoking. So that's my take on what happened.

Another thing about Mat's medallion is it grows cold when there's channeling going on around him, even if it's not at him. It grows chilly when it's around him; it grows ice-cold when it's at him.

"Obviously Nynaeve was no longer shielded, and if the chilly silver foxhead sliding around Mat's chest as he fought was not enough indication that she and the Black sisters were in some sort of struggle, the way they glared at her and she at them, ignoring the battle around them, shoted the fact."
There's more tiny references to the foxhead growing chilly throughout the series, even before he knew what it's purpose was.

"Egwene could only agree. She had simply meant to wrap him up in Air where he stood, just a gentle reminder of who he was trying to manhandle, but the flows touched him, and melted." [Lord of Chaos.] "For an instant, Egwene thought she saw a glow around the other woman at the other end of her bed. Then the air seemed to thicken; nothing changed that Egwene could see, but she could surely feel it. She tried to lift her arm; it did not budge any more than if she were buried to her neck in thick jelly. Nothing could move except her head." [The Great Hunt.] "They all three turned to look at him, and he made a strangled sound as the air seemed to turn to thick jelly around him. He lifted into the air, until his boots dangled a good pace above the floor." [The Dragon Reborn]
Those quotes are to prove Jaric's statement that, considering what happened with Alivia and Cyndane, the same should happen for Mat. The fireball should unravel, if it was created with the Power. Egwene tried to hold him still (maybe even lift him, to humiliate him) and it blocked the flows, right? Well, the quotes I gave prove that in order to "wrap" somebody up with Air, you only channel the air, not the person, and yet Mat's medallion blocked it. What I'm getting at is that, because the air was touched with the Power, it didn't affect him. So by all means, the same should happen for fire, earth, and water.

"The sole purpose of the medallion, in the first place, was to protect Mat against channelers. In other words, to give him an even chance in a fight against someone who can use the Power. So, if all you need to do is construct lightning and aim it at Mat, well then the medallion is not much protection, is it?"
Anything not created by the Power, even if it is being directed by the Power, can touch Mat. So if you use the Power to pick something up and throw it at him, it will affect him. That is a fair fight; it's no different than a person picking something up with their hands and throwing it at him. I don't think that anything created by the Power can touch him, whether it's spiritual (compulsion, healing) or physical (fire, water, air, earth.) Like said, it's made of weaves, and weaves can't touch him.

Granted, we've never had that situation arise, and I don't know if Jordan is going to remember that far back to the second book =] Like you said, he may just decide to change his mind (after all, he changed his mind about Mat having four sisters, and made him have two) and have it so that anything physical, Power-wrought or not, can still touch him. Which is why I firmly believe Mat is going to have a battle with one of the Foresaken (a male, I think, because a female will be utterly helpless, unless she knows how to use a knife even a tiny bit) as a way to show the exact limits of the medallion. I also would like to know why the foxes gave him the ashanderai, for that matter. It wasn't part of the bargain, and surely they didn't give it to him just to say "Thus is our treaty written..." otherwise they could have tattood it on him or something. But that's another matter ;)

[Matrim Cauthon]

The medallion only melts WEAVES not the result if a channeler (male or female) channeld and made water it would still get him wet. but if they tried healing him.... directly touching weaves then they melt. lighting is made from weaves but arent weaves by the way it is still lighting

[blight.master]

if some channeler uses the power to knock over a large tree, there's no way in heck the medallion could stop it. if a channeler makes fire and lets it burn, the fire is real fire. if mat touched it, he would get burnt. any actual flows of the power will be dissolved by the medallion. but a channeler could still use flows of fire to heat up the air around mat and roast him to death.

[Dragon Lord]

I have to say yes it will stop saidin. If you think about that girl harlim or whatever in saldar who dance with him used saidin on him and failed. She is really a dead male forsaken brought back as a girl still using saidin