The Wheel of Time

by Robert Jordan

  fist: The basic military unit of the Trollocs, varying in number; always more than one hundred, but never more than two hundred. A fist is usually, but not always, commanded by a Myrddraal.

  Five Powers, the: There are threads to the One Power, and each person who can channel the One Power can usually grasp some threads better than others. These threads are named according to the sorts of things that can be done under them—Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit—and are called the Five Powers. Any wielder of the One Power will have a greater degree of strength with one, or possibly two, of these, and lesser strength in the others. Some few may have great strength with three, but since the Age of Legends no one has had great strength with all five. Even then this was extremely rare. The degree of strength can vary greatly between individuals, so that some who can channel are much stronger than others. Performing certain acts with the One Power requires ability in one or more of the Five Powers. For example, starting or controlling a fire requires Fire, and affecting the weather requires Air and Water, while Healing requires Water and Spirit. While Spirit was found equally in men and in women, great ability with Earth and/or Fire was found much more often among men, with Water and/or Air among women. There were exceptions, but it was so often so that Earth and Fire came to be regarded as male Powers, Air and Water as female. Generally, no ability is considered stronger than any other, though there is a saying among Aes Sedai: “There is no rock so strong that water and wind cannot wear it away, no fire so fierce that water cannot quench it or wind snuff it out.” It should be noted this saying came into use long after the last male Aes Sedai was dead. Any equivalent saying among male Aes Sedai is long lost.

  Flame of Tar Valon: The symbol of Tar Valon and the Aes Sedai. A stylized representation of a flame; a white teardrop with the point upward.

  Forsaken, the: Name given to thirteen of the most powerful Aes Sedai ever known, who went over to the Dark One during the War of the Shadow in return for the promise of immortality. According to both legend and fragmentary records, they were imprisoned along with the Dark One when his prison was reseated. Their names are still used to frighten children.

  Galad (gah-LAHD): See Damodred, Lord Galadedrid.

  Gawyn (GAH-wihn): Queen Morgase’s son, Elayne’s brother, who will be First Prince of the Sword when Elayne ascends the throne. His sign is a white boar.

  gentling: The act, performed by Aes Sedai, of shutting off a male who can channel from the One Power. This is necessary because any man who learns to channel will go insane from the taint upon saidin and will almost certainly do horrible things with the Power in his madness. A man who has been gentled can still sense the True Source, but he cannot touch it. Whatever madness has come before gentling is arrested by the act of gentling, but not cured by it, and if it is done soon enough death can be averted.

  gleeman: A traveling storyteller, musician, juggler, tumbler and all-around entertainer. Known by their trademark cloaks of many-colored patches, they perform mainly in the villages and smaller towns, since larger towns and cities have other entertainments available.

  Great Blight, the: A region in the far north, entirely corrupted by the Dark One. A haunt of Trollocs, Myrddraal, and other creatures of the Dark One.

  Great Hunt of the Horn, the: A cycle of stories concerning the legendary search for the Horn of Valere, in the years between the end of the Trolloc Wars and the beginning of the War of the Hundred Years. If told in their entirety, the cycle would take many days.

  Great Lord of the Dark: The name by which Darkfriends refer to the Dark One, claiming that to use his true name would be blasphemous.

  Great Pattern: The Wheel of Time weaves the Patterns of the Ages into the Great Pattern, which is the whole of existence and reality, past, present and future. Also known as the Lace of Ages. See also Pattern of an Age; Wheel of Time.

  Great Serpent: A symbol for time and eternity, ancient before the Age of Legends began, consisting of a serpent eating its own tail.

  Halfman: See Myrddraal.

  Hawkwing, Artur: A legendary king who united all the lands west of the Spine of the World, as well as some lands beyond the Aiel Waste. He even sent armies across the Aryth Ocean, but all contact with these was lost at his death, which set off the War of the Hundred Years. His sign was a golden hawk in flight. See also War of the Hundred Years.

  Heartfang; Heartsbane: See Dark One.

  heartstone: An indestructible substance created during the Age of Legends. Any known force used in an attempt to break it is absorbed, making heartstone stronger.

  Horn of Valere (vah-LEER): The legendary object of the Great Hunt of the Horn. The Horn supposedly can call back dead heroes from the grave to fight against the Shadow.

  Hundred Companions, the: One hundred male Aes Sedai, among the most powerful of the Age of Legends, who, led by Lews Therin Telamon, launched the final stroke that ended the War of the Shadow by sealing the Dark One back into his prison. The Dark One’s counterstroke tainted saidin; the Hundred Companions went mad and began the Breaking of the World.

  Illian (IHL-lee-ahn): A great port on the Sea of Storms, capital city of the nation of the same name. The sign of Illian is nine golden bees on a field of dark green.

  Ingtar; Lord Ingtar of House Shinowa (IHNG-tahr; shih-NOH-wah): A Shienaran warrior met at Fal Dara.

  Kandor (KANH-dohr): One of the Borderlands. The sign of Kandor is a rearing red horse on a field of pale green.

  Kinch, Hyam (KIHNCH, HY-ahm): A farmer met on the Caemlyn Road.

  Ko’bal (KOH-bahl): See Trollocs.

  Lace of Ages: See Great Pattern, the.

  Lan; al’Lan Mandragoran (AHL-LAN man-DRAG-or-an): A warrior from the north; Moiraine’s companion.

  Leafblighter: See Dark One.

  league: A measure of distance equal to four miles. See also mile.

  Luc; Lord Luc of House Mantear (LUKE; MAN-tee-ahr): Tigraine’s brother, who would have been her First Prince of the Sword when she ascended the throne. His disappearance in the Great Blight is believed to be in some way connected to Tigraine’s later disappearance. His sign was an acorn.

  Lurk (LUHRK): See Myrddraal.

  Machera, Elyas (mah-CHEER-ah, ee-LY-ahs): A man encountered by Perrin and Egwene in the forest.

  Mahdi (MAH-dee): In the Old Tongue, “Seeker.” Title of the leader of a Tuatha’an carvan.

  Malkier (mahl-KEER): A nation, once one of the Borderlands, now consumed by the Blight. The sign of Malkier was a golden crane in flight.

  Mandarb (MAHN-dahrb): In the Old Tongue, “Blade.”

  Manetheren (mahn-EHTH-ehr-ehn): One of the Ten Nations that made the Second Covenant, and also the capital city of that nation. Both city and nation were utterly destroyed in the Trolloc Wars.

  Maradon (MAH-rah-don): The capital city of Saldaea.

  Merrilin, Thom (MER-rih-lihn, TOM): A gleeman who comes to Emond’s Field to perform at Bel Tine.

  mile: A measure of distance equal to one thousand spans. Four miles make one league. See also span.

  Min (MIN): A young woman encountered at the Stag and Lion in Baerlon.

  Moiraine (mwah-RAIN): A visitor to Emond’s Field who arrives just before Winternight.

  Morgase (moor-GAYZ): By the Grace of the Light, Queen of Andor, High Seat of House Trakand (TRAHK-ahnd). Her sign is three golden keys. The sign of House Trakand is a silver keystone.

  Myrddraal (MUHRD-draal): Creatures of the Dark One, commanders of the Trollocs. Twisted offspring of Trollocs in which the human stock used to create the Trollocs has resurfaced, but tainted by the evil that made the Trollocs. Physically they are like men except that they have no eyes, but can see like eagles in light or dark. They have certain powers stemming from the Dark One, including the ability to cause paralyzing fear with a look and the ability to vanish wherever there are shadows. One of their few known weaknesses is that they are reluctant to cross running water. In different lands they are known by many names, among them Halfmen, the Eyeless, Shadow
men, Lurk, and Fade.

  One Power, the: The power drawn from the True Source. The vast majority of people are completely unable to learn to channel the One Power. A very small number can be taught to channel, and an even tinier number have the ability inborn. For these few there is no need to be taught; they will touch the True Source and channel the Power whether they want to or not, perhaps without even realizing what they are doing. This inborn ability usually manifests itself in late adolescence or early adulthood. If control is not taught, or self-learned (extremely difficult, with a success rate of only one in four), death is certain. Since the time of Madness, no man has been able to channel the Power without eventually going completely, horribly mad; and then, even if he has learned some control, dying from a wasting sickness which causes the sufferer to rot alive—a sickness caused, as is the madness, by the Dark One’s taint on saidin. For a woman the death that comes without control of the Power is less horrible, but it is death just the same. Aes Sedai search for girls with the inborn ability as much to save their lives as to increase Aes Sedai numbers, and for men with it in order to stop the terrible things they inevitably do with the Power in their madness. See also channel; Time of Madness; True Source.

  Pattern of an Age: The Wheel of Time weaves the threads of human lives into the Pattern of an Age, which forms the substance of reality for that Age; also known as Age Lace. See also ta’veren.

  Questioners, the: An order within the Children of the Light. Their avowed purposes are discovering the truth in disputations and uncovering Darkfriends. In the search for truth and the Light, as they see it, they are even more zealous than the Children of the Light as a whole. Their normal method of inquiry is by torture; their normal attitude that they know the truth already and must only make their victim confess to it. The Questioners refer to themselves as the Hand of the Light, and at times act as if they were entirely separate from the Children and the Council of the Anointed, which commands the Children. The head of the Questioners is the High Inquisitor, who sits on the Council of the Anointed.

  Red Ajah: See Ajah.

  sa’angreal (SAH-ahn-GREE-ahl): An extremely rare object which allows an individual to channel much more of the One Power than would otherwise be possible or safe. A sa’angreal is like unto, but much, much more powerful than, an angreal. Remnants of the Age of Legends, the means of their making is no longer known.

  saidar; saidin (sah-ih-DAHR; sah-ih-DEEN): See True Source.

  Saldaea (sahl-DAY-ee-ah): One of the Borderlands. The sign of Saldaea is three silver fish on a field of dark blue.

  Sea Folk: Inhabitants of islands in the Aryth (AH-rihth) Ocean and the Sea of Storms, they spend little time on those islands, living most of their lives on their ships. Most sea-borne trade is carried by the Sea Folk’s ships.

  Second Covenant: See Covenant of the Ten Nations.

  Shadar Logoth (SHAH-dahr LOH-goth): In the Old Tongue, “the Place Where the Shadow Waits.” A city abandoned and shunned since the Trolloc Wars. Also called “Shadow’s Waiting.”

  Shadowman: See Myrddraal.

  Shai’tan (SHAY-ih-TAN): See Dark One.

  Shayol Ghul (SHAY-ol GHOOL): A mountain in the Blasted Lands, the site of the Dark One’s prison.

  Shepherd of the Night: See Dark One.

  Sheriam (SHEER-ee-ahm): An Aes Sedai, of the Blue Ajah.

  Shienar (shy-NAHR): One of the Borderlands. The sign of Shienar is a stooping black hawk.

  shoufa (SHOO-fah): A garment of the Aiel, a cloth, usually the color of sand or rock, that wraps around the head and neck, leaving only the face bare.

  Sightburner: See Dark One.

  span: A measure of distance equal to two paces. A thousand spans make a mile.

  Spine of the World, the: A towering mountain range, with only a few passes, which separates the Aiel Waste from the lands to the west.

  stedding (STEHD-ding): An Ogier (OH-geer) homeland. Many stedding have been abandoned since the Breaking of the World. They are portrayed in story and legend as havens, and with reason. They are shielded in some way, no longer understood, so that within them no Aes Sedai can channel the One Power, nor even sense that the True Source exists. Attempts to wield the One Power from outside a stedding have no effect inside a stedding boundary. No Trolloc will enter a stedding unless driven, and even a Myrddraal will do so only at the greatest need and then with the greatest reluctance and distaste. Even Darkfriends, if truly dedicated, feel uncomfortable within a stedding.

  Stone of Tear: The fortress guarding the city of Tear. Said to be the earliest fortress built after the Time of Madness, and said by some to have been built during the Time of Madness. See also Tear.

  Sunday: A feastday and festival in midsummer, widely celebrated.

  tabac (tah-BAHK): A weed, widely cultivated. The leaves of it, when dried and cured, are burned in wooden holders called pipes, the fumes being inhaled.

  Tallanvor, Martyn (TAHL-ahn-vohr, mahr-TEEN): Guardsman-Lieutenant of the Queen’s Guard; met in Caemlyn.

  ta’maral’ailen (tah-MAHR-ahl-EYE-lehn): In the Old Tongue, “Web of Destiny.”

  Tanreall, Artur Paendrag (tahn-REE-ahl, AHR-tuhr PAY-ehn-DRAG): See Hawkwing, Artur.

  Tar Valon (TAHR VAH-lon): A city on an island in the River Erinin. The center of Aes Sedai power, and location of the Amyrlin Seat.

  ta’veren (tah-VEER-ehn): A person around whom the Wheel of Time weaves all surrounding life-threads, perhaps all life-threads, to form a Web of Destiny. See also Pattern of an Age.

  Tear (TEER): A great seaport on the Sea of Storms. The sign of Tear is three white crescents on a field of red and gold.

  Telamon, Lews Therin (TEHL-ah-mon, LOOZ THEH-rihn): See also Dragon, the.

  Thakan’dar (thah-kahn-DAHR): An eternally fog-shrouded valley below the slopes of Shayol Ghul.

  Tigraine (tee-GRAIN): As Daughter-heir of Andor, she married Taringail Damodred and bore his son Galadedrid. Her disappearance in 972 NE, shortly after her brother Luc vanished in the Blight, led to the struggle in Andor called the Succession, and caused the events in Cairhien which eventually brought on the Aiel War. Her sign was a woman’s hand gripping a thorny rose-stem with a white blossom.

  Time of Madness: See Breaking of the World, the.

  Tinkers: See Tuatha’an.

  Traveling People: See Tuatha’an.

  Trolloc Wars: A series of wars, beginning about 1000 AB and lasting more than three hundred years, during which Trolloc armies ravaged the world. Eventually the Trollocs were slain or driven back into the Great Blight, but some nations ceased to exist, while others were almost depopulated. All records of the time are fragmentary. See also Covenant of the Ten Nations.

  Trollocs (TRAHL-lohks): Creatures of the Dark One, created during the War of the Shadow. Huge in stature, vicious in the extreme, they are a twisted blend of animal and human stock, and kill for the pure pleasure of killing. Sly, deceitful and treacherous, they can be trusted only by those they fear. They are omnivorous and will eat any kind of meat, including human flesh and the flesh of other Trollocs. Largely of human origin, they are able to interbreed with humankind, but the offspring are usually stillborn, and those which are not often fail to survive. They are divided into tribe-like bands, chief among them being the Ahf’frait, Al’ghol, Bhan’sheen, Dha’vol, Dhai’mon, Dhjin’nen, Ghar’ghael, Ghob’hlin, Gho’hlem, Ghraem’lan, Ko’bal, and the Kno’mon.

  True Source: The driving force of the universe, which turns the Wheel of Time. It is divided into a male half (saidin) and a female half (saidar), which work at the same time with and against each other. Only a man can draw on saidin, only a woman on saidar. Since the beginning of the Time of Madness, saidin has been tainted by the Dark One’s touch. See also One Power.

  Tuatha’an (too-AH-thah-AHN): A wandering folk, also known as the Tinkers and as the Traveling People, who live in brightly painted wagons and follow a totally pacifist philosophy called the Way of the Leaf. Things mended by Tinkers are often better tha
n new, but the Tuatha’an are shunned by many villages because of stories that they steal children and try to convert young people to their beliefs.

  Village Council: In most villages a group of men, elected by the townsmen and headed by a Mayor, who are responsible for making decisions which affect the village as a whole and for negotiating with the Councils of other villages over matters which affect the villages jointly. They are at odds with the Women’s Circle in so many villages that this conflict is seen as almost traditional. See also Women’s Circle.

  War of the Hundred Years: A series of overlapping wars among constantly shifting alliances, precipitated by the death of Artur Hawkwing and the resulting struggle for his empire. It lasted from FY 994 to FY 1117. The war depopulated large parts of the lands between the Aryth Ocean and the Aiel Waste, from the Sea of Storms to the Great Blight. So great was the destruction that only fragmentary records of the time remain. The empire of Artur Hawkwing was pulled apart, and the nations of the present day were formed.

  War of the Shadow: Also known as the War of Power, it ended the Age of Legends. It began shortly after the attempt to free the Dark One, and soon involved the whole world. In a world where even the memory of war had been forgotten, every facet of war was rediscovered, often twisted by the Dark One’s touch on the World, and the One Power was used as a weapon. The war was ended by the resealing of the Dark One into his prison.

  Warder: A warrior bonded to an Aes Sedai. The bonding is a thing of the One Power, and by it he gains such gifts as quick healing, the ability to go long periods without food, water or rest, and the ability to sense the taint of the Dark One at a distance. So long as a Warder lives, the Aes Sedai to whom he is bonded knows he is alive however far away he is, and when he dies she will know the moment and manner of his death. While most Ajahs believe an Aes Sedai may have one Warder bonded to her at a time, the Red Ajah refuses to bond any Warders at all, while the Green Ajah believes an Aes Sedai may bond as many Warders as she wishes. Ethically the Warder must accede to the bonding, but it has been known to be done involuntarily. What the Aes Sedai gain from the bonding is a closely-held secret. See also Aes Sedai.