The Armies of Night was a nickname given by the invading army, under the command of Luthair Paendrag Mondwin, to the native forces of the Seanchan continent during the Conquest. During the initial clashes with the natives, the sight of thousands of enemy troops entering battle accompanied by strange and exotic animals resembling Shadowspawn, led by Aes Sedai using the One Power as an offensive weapon, led some to believe that the Shadow had seized control of the entire land. Garbled communications to this effect made their way back to the Westlands via the messenger network maintained by The Watchers Over the Waves from Falme, and formed the basis of some of the legends which grew up concerning the fate of Luthair's forces after contact was lost during the War of the Hundred Years.