The Wheel of Time Companion

by Robert Jordan

  She tried other things. She worked as a tavern maid for about a month; but she didn’t like wearing dresses, and she didn’t like being pinched. She tried being a weaver’s apprentice, but she disliked being inside all day, doing the repetitive motions, and did a stint as a dyer’s apprentice, which she hated because the dyes stank and she could never get clean of them completely. She found being an assistant in a shop selling cloth not bad, but she had to wear dresses again; she had the same problem as an assistant in a cutlery shop.

  Min sometimes saw auras and images around people, and could tell some things about the person’s future from the aura. Her ability to see images began manifesting when she was about twelve, at the onset of puberty. It took a year or so for it to grow fully, and another six months before she began realizing that what she saw would really happen. Her aunts had thought she was just having the kinds of fancies that girls sometimes did at that age. Her time of actually telling people about predictions only lasted another year and a half, until she was fifteen.

  It didn’t take long for her to realize that she couldn’t change what would happen; once she saw a man lying in the street dead with a broken neck and knew it was meant for that afternoon. She convinced him not to go up on his roof to check for loose slates, so he went off to a tavern instead, mainly to please the little girl and partly because he’d rather go have some ale anyway; a chimney pot toppled over him and killed him an hour later. Min said a man on the next street was going to marry a woman she saw him with, but he was already married. When he ran off with the other woman, his wife took a mob to Min’s aunts’ house claiming that Min was responsible for her husband leaving. The aunts told her a way to get out of it, and she took it. She told them all she had learned about the woman’s husband and the barmaid by snooping. That was how she had learned everything she had told anybody. The Baerlon folk hadn’t really wanted to be a mob, and probably most were looking for an excuse not to hurt her, so they believed and went away, most telling her aunts they ought to keep a closer rein on her or beat her for snooping so. That was the end of her career as a fortune-teller.

  Min was about eighteen when some Aes Sedai came through. Someone told them the old stories of the girl claiming she could see things about people, and they sought Min out because it might be a manifestation of the One Power. They quickly found out she couldn’t channel and couldn’t be taught, but she was so awed by Aes Sedai that she betrayed her ability. They tried to find out some way for it to be associated with the Power, but concluded it was not. One of the Aes Sedai told Moiraine about Min.

  Min was about 5'5" tall, except when she wore her boots with the three-inch heels, which put her at about 5'8". Dark ringlets hung to her shoulders. Her dark eyes were even bigger than Egwene’s. She had a low, but definitely womanly voice. She often wore a boy’s coat and breeches, with flowers embroidered on the lapels and running up the sides of snug pant legs that were tucked into those boots. Min was capable of a wry, sometimes mysterious, grin, and she grinned a good deal around Rand, sometimes on the point of laughing. She could give a smart remark with the best of them; she could also shake a fist, and stamp a foot. She first met Rand in Baerlon, where she was working at the inn where he and Moiraine’s group stayed after leaving Two Rivers. She was summoned to the White Tower, and there became friends with Elayne, Nynaeve and Egwene. When Liandrin tricked the others into going to Falme, Min went along. She bit Elbar, Suroth’s man, and he wanted to kill her, but Egwene promised to cooperate with the sul’dam who held her if they let Min live. Min was allowed a fair amount of freedom in Falme, although she was forced to wear a dress. She visited Egwene, met up with Elayne and Nynaeve and plotted to free Egwene with them. After Rand was injured fighting Ishamael, she found him; Lanfear went to her and told her that Rand belonged to her. Min wintered in Rand’s camp in the Mountains of Mist. After he set out alone, Moiraine sent her to the White Tower with a report for Siuan. When she arrived, she saw auras that indicated that many Aes Sedai would be injured or killed. Siuan persuaded her to stay in the Tower, pretending to be a foolish young woman who could not decide between two suitors, using her full name, which few people knew. Laras, the Mistress of the Kitchens, took Min under her wing. After Siuan and Leane were deposed and stilled, Laras helped Min free them. As they escaped, Logain joined them.

  Siuan tried to find where the rest of the Blue Ajah was gathering, so that they could join them. Along the way, the group spent the night in a barn, unbeknownst to its owners. When the owner discovered them, a lantern was dropped and the barn, and the milkcows it contained, burned. The three women were caught and tried by Gareth Bryne. Each swore an oath to work for Bryne until the price of the barn and the cows was paid off, but on their way to Bryne’s estate Logain freed them and they made their way to Salidar, where Aes Sedai opposed to Elaida had gathered. The rebels sent an embassy to Rand, and Min went with them. She and Rand became close.

  Min was kidnapped by the Tower Aes Sedai along with Rand. On discovering that she was in the camp, he was enraged and killed two of Erian’s Warders. After the battle at Dumai’s Wells, she went with him back to Cairhien. She became one of Rand’s consorts, and, with Aviendha and Elayne, bonded him. She started reading books of philosophy intently, especially Herid Fel’s books, which eventually helped answer the question of how Rand was to deal with the Dark One. She spent most of her time as Rand’s companion, helping to keep him human as being the Dragon Reborn put increasingly greater strains on him. Her unique position with Rand made her a person of interest to Cadsuane, especially after Rand banished Cadsuane from his company, and she used Min to keep tabs on Rand and try to guide him. Dobraine began calling Min “My Lady Ta’veren.”

  Min was with Rand when Semirhage destroyed his hand, and later when Semirhage put a Dominion Band on him demanding he strangle Min, an act avoided after Rand gained access to the True Power and balefired the Forsaken. Min accompanied Rand to the Field of Merrilor, but he would not let her go with him to Shayol Ghul in the Last Battle, sending her instead to Egwene’s battlefront to watch over events for him there. She served as a clerk in Egwene’s army, and then was sent by Bryne to deliver a message to the Seanchan, requesting cavalry. Tuon was saved from an assassination attempt by Min’s foretelling, and Tuon made her her new Truthspeaker. Mat sent her back to Egwene’s army, to warn Egwene that Bryne was acting the Darkfriend and was about to lead her army to destruction. Returning to Tuon’s court, Min saved Tuon’s life again when Gray Men and the Sharans destroyed her command post at Dashar Knob. She stayed with the Seanchan until the end of the Last Battle, and attended Rand’s funeral at Shayol Ghul.

  Minde. A town in Murandy whose inhabitants boasted of their bad tempers. The two noblemen who were about to beat Olver before Mat saved him were from Minde.

  Minds. What Ituralde’s troops called wolf-headed Trollocs, who were often among the most intelligent. See also Narg

  mindtrap. A device, cage-like in appearance, applied in the Pit of Doom to one out of favor with the Dark One, which enslaved one totally to whomever held the mindtrap. It was possible to be released from a mindtrap, but the device was feared by the Forsaken. It was called cour’souvra in Old Tongue.

  Miners’ Rest, The. A rough tavern in Baerlon where Min worked for a short time in her early days.

  Minly, Talene. See Talene Minly

  Mintai, Stedding. A stedding located in the mountains north of the River Dhagon.

  Miraj, Kennar. See Kennar Miraj

  Mirala. The daughter of Thulin, the blacksmith in Oak Water, a Borderlands village. Her mother was Gallanha. When Thulin packed up and headed north, Mirala went with him.

  Mirane Larinen. A Kinswoman who traveled with Elayne to Caemlyn. When she first went to the White Tower, she hid a beloved doll outside because she had heard that everything she owned would be burned. After she was put out of the Tower, she retrieved it, and always took it with her when she moved, although she would always hide it. Mirane vanished and was believe
d to have run away until Derys found her doll hidden behind a cupboard; she was actually killed by Careane Fransi.

  Mire, the. A swamp at the far end of the Waterwood in the Two Rivers.

  Miren. One of Min’s aunts. She never married, but while all three of her aunts gave advice about men, along with everything else, Miren definitely seemed to know what she was talking about with respect to men. When Min got in trouble with neighbors because of talking about her viewings, Miren promised to spank her for spreading tales, but did not do it since she knew the truth.

  Miri. A tall, pale-haired damane killed during Semirhage’s attempted capture of Rand. Tanera, the sul’dam with whom she was paired, was killed as well.

  Mirlene Cornwell. An Andoran Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah and the loyalist contingent, with a strength level of 26(14). Born in 867 NE, she went to the White Tower in 883 NE. After spending eleven years as a novice and seven years as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 901 NE. She was part of the expedition to kidnap Rand, and she and her two Warders were killed at Dumai’s Wells.

  Mirror of Mists, the. See Mask of Mirrors

  Mirrors of the Wheel. A book written before the Breaking about the alternate worlds behind Portal Stones. According to Selene, some of those worlds were like mirrors, especially those without people. Some reflected only great events that occurred in their own world, whereas some had a shadow of the reflection even before the event occurred.

  Mishael. An Atha’an Miere man who was the husband of Shalon. Shalon was afraid that if Mishael found out about her relationship with Ailil, he would declare their marriage vows broken.

  Mishima, Bakayar. See Bakayar Mishima

  Mishraile, Atal. See Atal Mishraile

  Mist. A gray mare that belonged to brigands who captured Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne; after the brigands were killed, Egwene chose her, named her and rode her to Tear. Mist was also her mount on her journey to and from the Waste.

  Mist, Mountains of. A mountain range oriented north-south, found immediately west of Emond’s Field; it separated Arad Doman and Tarabon from Andor and Ghealdan.

  Mistress of Novices. A position in the White Tower. The Mistress of Novices had authority over all novices and Accepted, and over all of their training and studies.

  The Mistress of Novices usually was appointed by the Amyrlin; there were cases of her being chosen by the Hall and forced on an Amyrlin, but not many. Although named by the Amyrlin, she did not serve at the Amyrlin’s pleasure any more than the Keeper did; she could only be removed by the greater consensus of the Hall except in the case of certain specific misdeeds, in which case only the lesser consensus was required.

  With few exceptions, it required at least the lesser consensus of the Hall to override the Mistress of Novices regarding almost anything to do with her charges. Some things were set in the law, including strictures against singling out any girl for either favor or censure without cause, but by and large she could reward or punish as she chose. The manner in which novices were fed, clothed and housed was largely in her control. The manner in which Accepted were fed, clothed and housed was only somewhat less controlled by her. Accepted were given individual rooms, or even apartments, since there were fewer of them, for example, and she could not make them all live in the small cubicles given to novices; an Accepted as well as a novice could still find herself feeding on bread and water, and while Accepted were allowed more jewelry than novices and seldom called down for excessive ornament, at least once they had progressed a little, she could restrict them just as severely as the novices if she chose.

  The authority of the Mistress of Novices over her charges was such, according to the law, that she could in some cases defy the Amyrlin Seat or anything below the lesser consensus of the Hall or in some cases, the greater, regarding them. An Aes Sedai who was instructing novices or Accepted could discipline those she taught herself, but except in this teacher/pupil relationship, punishment was in the hands of the Mistress of Novices. An Aes Sedai could send a novice or Accepted running on any task, or send them to the Mistress of Novices’ study, but it was the Mistress of Novices who decided what punishment to dole out, if any, and the sister who sent the girl had no say. The Mistress of Novices would have been heartily offended had any sister tried to take a hand. By law, not even the Amyrlin Seat could tell the Mistress of Novices what reward or punishment to give any of the novices or Accepted.

  Many Mistresses of Novices said that the girls in their charge were theirs and that the girls belonged to them. This attitude was generally accepted by the sisters. Some Mistresses of Novices used this to be unremittingly harsh on their charges, much harsher than Silviana, but it was also used to protect the girls from sisters, Sitters and even the Amyrlin Seat. All Aes Sedai were goddesses in the eyes of novices, and not much less in the eyes of Accepted, but even the Amyrlin Seat had to go through the Mistress of Novices for almost anything concerning both novices and Accepted.

  Mistress of the Ships. A woman equivalent to a queen among the Sea Folk. The Mistress of the Ships was chosen by the First Twelve of the Atha’an Miere, the twelve ranking Wavemistresses, and she could not be removed except by the unanimous vote of the First Twelve, and a vote to remove that failed meant that each woman who had voted for it had to resign her position as a Wavemistress. The Mistress of the Ships had a degree of absolute authority that would be envied by any shorebound ruler. In certain circumstances, however, such as warfare and/or battle, the Mistress of the Ships was expected to yield to her Master of the Blades. The Mistress of the Ships rated a fringed blue parasol of four tiers, and wore six fat gold earrings in each ear.

  Mitsobar, House. A noble House in Altara. Its High Seat was Tylin until her death, and then Beslan; its sign the Anchor and Sword. See Tylin Quintara and Beslan Mitsobar

  Mitsora Caal. An Aes Sedai who lived at the time of the formation of the White Tower.

  Miyasi. An Aes Sedai of the White Ajah publicly but of the Black Ajah in truth. Of the loyalist contingent, she was tall and plump with iron-gray hair worn in a bun on top of her head. A stern woman, she brooked no nonsense and saw nonsense everywhere. Her arm was even stronger than Ferane’s, according to Egwene. She only liked walnuts that were whole. She was guarding Leane on one of Egwene’s visits, and she was one who questioned Egwene about the best way to deal with Rand. Her name was on Verin’s list of the Black Ajah.

  Miyora. A woman with a leopard act in Valan Luca’s show. She was plump and wore skirts that glittered with silvery spangles.

  Mizar, Fen. See Fen Mizar

  Moad din Nopara Red Hawk. An Atha’an Miere man who was Swordmaster to Harine din Togara Two Winds, Wavemistress of Clan Shodein. About 5'10" tall, with mostly gray hair and a hard face, he wore five earrings in each ear. He had a sword with an ornate hilt and one matching, curved dagger behind his sash. Harine gave him so much leeway that anyone who didn’t know Harine might have thought they were lovers.

  Modair. A son of Artur Hawkwing and Amaline Paendrag Tagora. He and his twin sister Amira were born in FY 942. Modair was killed in battle in FY 959; Hawkwing composed a poem, “Loss,” about his grief.

  Modarra. A Wise One of the Shaido Aiel (not a Jumai) with the ability to channel and a strength level of 25(13). At 6'2", she was as tall as most Aielmen, and she was lean and pretty. She liked to mother others—anyone within reach. She would, in Sevanna’s opinion, try to settle a dispute between wetlanders, even Treekillers. One of Sevanna’s inner circle of plotters, she accompanied Sevanna to the Aes Sedai camp the day she saw Rand beaten. She took part in or was present at the murder of Desaine. Modarra and Someryn were the Wise Ones most firmly in Sevanna’s grasp, at least, in Sevanna’s opinion. Modarra was with Sevanna at Dumai’s Wells and at the meeting with “Caddar” and “Maisia.” She helped question the Seanchan prisoner in Amadicia, while the Jumai were settled at a captured estate approximately ten days after their arrival. She, Therava and Belinde led a large number of Shaido back toward the Three-fold Land after
the rout at Malden.

  Modrellein. A queen of Andor some seven hundred years before Elayne went to the White Tower. At the Battle of Cuallin Dhen, Queen Modrellein rallied the Andoran army to defeat the Tairen army.

  Moerad, Jalwin. See Jalwin Moerad

  Moerelle, Ilyena Therin. See Ilyena Therin Moerelle

  moghedien. The Old Tongue name for a tiny spider found in the Age of Legends that spun its webs in secret places. Its bite was poisonous enough to kill in heartbeats.

  Moghedien. One of the Forsaken. She was also called the Spider. Her name in the Age of Legends was Lillen Moiral, and her strength level was 4(+9). She had large, dark eyes and dark hair spilling loose to her shoulders, and was about 5'5" tall. She was strong and striking, but not beautiful, appearing to be not yet in her middle years. Her voice was melodious. Before going over to the Shadow, Lillen Moiral was an “advisor for investments,” a profession which no source explained. Whatever the work entailed, it was recorded that she was cautioned a number of times, and even disciplined, for violating the ethics of it and laws surrounding it. Moghedien was always a skulker in shadows, a coward who hung back; she scoffed at those who were fool enough to take open risks but at the same time hated them and envied their achievements, and hated them because she was sure they despised her hanging back.