The Wheel of Time Companion Page 12

  Asseil. A Taraboner Accepted in the White Tower. She was slim, with pale hair and brown eyes, a novice when Egwene left the Tower. Jealous of Egwene’s fast rise, Asseil tried to boss her around when she was put back in novice white by Elaida.

  Assemblage. One of the ruling bodies of Illian, the Assemblage was an elected body chosen by the merchants and guilds, including the craft guilds. Ordinary shopkeepers had no vote unless they were members of a guild, nor did the man in the street or a laborer. Historically, the King, the Council of Nine and the Assemblage had engaged in a three-way struggle for real power from the time the nation was founded.

  Assembly, Grand Hall of the. The building where the Assembly of Lords deliberated in Tanchico.

  Assembly of Lords. A ruling body in Tanchico. The Assembly had few real powers, but one which they guarded jealously was that of naming the new Panarch.

  Assid Bakuun. A Seanchan captain with thirty years in the Ever Victorious Army. He had a dog named Nip. He found sul’dam conversing with damane distasteful. He died fighting in Rand’s campaign against the Seanchan.

  Astara. A queen of Andor during the War of the Hundred Years. She reigned from FY 1073 to 1085.

  Astelle al’Seen. A Two Rivers woman. She was the oldest in her family, and poked Perrin with her cane when he visited Jac al’Seen’s farm.

  Astoril Damara. A High Lord of Tear and the father of Medore. Astoril was old but straight-backed, with shoulder-length, thinning white hair and sharp dark eyes. He was born in 935 NE and married at age twenty-five; his wife was twenty. One son, the eldest child of that marriage, died in the Aiel War at age seventeen. Another son died of sickness. Two daughters survived. His first wife died in childbirth in 974 NE and he remarried in 979 NE. Medore was born of that union in 981 NE, and Astoril also had two sons from that marriage. His eldest daughter would inherit the title of High Lady and High Seat.

  Astoril was the leader of the Tairen contingent at the Battle of the Shining Walls. He led twenty-four thousand men there, and was sixth in the consecutive command, not as well regarded as Agelmar Jagad or Pedron Niall, but just below Mattin Stepaneos and perhaps his equal or slightly superior. He joined Darlin Sisnera in the Stone to defend against the rebellion.

  Astrelle. An Aes Sedai of the White Ajah and the loyalist contingent. Plump with a formidable bosom, Astrelle was an arithmetist who applied numbers to logic. Alviarin saw her arguing the cause of food spoilage with Tesan in the halls of the White Ajah.

  Asunawa, Rhadam. See Rhadam Asunawa

  Atal. One of the Seanchan military clerks in Captain Faloun’s office in Almizar. He was charged with cleaning up the mess after Mehtan died vomiting beetles.

  Atal Mishraile. An Asha’man who was given private lessons by Taim. He was handsome and tall, with blue eyes and golden hair falling in waves to his broad shoulders. Mishraile was Dedicated for a very short time, and was raised to full Asha’man soon after being taught by Taim. He became a Darkfriend without being Turned. Taim fractured his skull when he mouthed off in front of the Red sisters. During the Last Battle he was captured in Stedding Sholoon by Androl and his allies, including some elderly Ogier.

  Atha’an Miere. Inhabitants of islands in the Aryth Ocean and the Sea of Storms. They spent little time on those islands, living most of their lives on their ships. An informal name for the Atha’an Miere, translated from the Old Tongue, was “People of the Sea” or “Sea Folk.” They were a secretive people, and relatively little was known of their customs, giving rise to an air of exotic mystery and often to fanciful tales.

  Legend held that at the Breaking of the World the ancestors of the Atha’an Miere fled to the safety of the sea while the land heaved and broke. They knew nothing of the ships they took to flee, but they managed to survive. They did not return to land until the upheaval had ended; they found that much had changed. In the years after that came the Jendai Prophecy, saying that the Atha’an Miere were destined to wander the waters until the Coramoor returned, and that they were required to serve him when he did. The Jendai Prophecy was given great weight by the Sea Folk because it spoke of things that did not exist until after it was first known, sometimes long after.

  Rank was not hereditary among the Sea Folk. As survival at sea often depended on instant obedience, it should be no surprise that the Atha’an Miere stuck strictly to their hierarchy, though there were surprising fluidities at some points. The Atha’an Miere were divided into numerous clans, both large and small, each headed by a Wavemistress. Below her were the Sailmistresses, the ships’ captains of the clan. A Wavemistress had vast authority, yet she was elected to that position by the twelve senior clan Sailmistresses, who were referred to as the First Twelve of that clan, and she could be removed by the order of the Mistress of the Ships to the Atha’an Miere.

  The Mistress of the Ships had a level of authority any shorebound king or queen would envy, yet she was also elected, for life, by unanimous vote of the twelve senior Wavemistresses, who were called the First Twelve of the Atha’an Miere. The term “the First Twelve” was also used for the twelve senior Wavemistresses or Sailmistresses present in any gathering.

  The position of Master of the Blades was held by a man who might or might not be the husband of the Mistress of the Ships. His responsibilities were the defense and the trade of the Sea Folk, and below him were the Swordmasters of Wavemistresses and the Cargomasters of Sailmistresses, who held like positions and duties; for each of them, any authority outside these areas was held only as delegated by the woman he served. Where any vessel sailed, and when, was always up to the Sailmistress, but since trade and finances were totally in the hands of the Cargomaster (or, at higher levels, the Swordmaster or the Master of the Blades), a close degree of cooperation was required.

  Every Sea Folk vessel, however small, and every Wavemistress, had a Windfinder, a woman who was almost always able to channel and skilled in Weaving the Winds, as the Atha’an Miere called the manipulation of weather. The Windfinder to the Mistress of the Ships had authority over the Windfinders to the Wavemistresses, who in turn had authority over Windfinders to the Sailmistresses of their clans.

  One peculiarity of the Sea Folk was that all had to begin at the very lowest rank and work their way up, and that anyone other than the Mistress of the Ships could be demoted, even all the way down to deckhand, for malfeasance, cowardice or other crimes. Also, the Windfinder to a Wavemistress or Mistress of the Ships who died would have to serve a lower-ranking woman, and her own rank thus decreased to the lowest level, equivalent to one who was first raised from apprentice to Windfinder on the day she herself put off her higher honors. The Atha’an Miere, who long kept their distance from Aes Sedai by various means and diversions, were aware that women who could channel had much longer lifespans than other people, though life at sea was dangerous enough that they seldom lived out their entire lifespan, and thus they knew that a Windfinder might rise to a height and fall to the depths to begin again many times before she died.

  An Atha’an Miere’s first name was given at birth. The second name was the family name, with “din” signifying “of the family.” Girls took the family name of their mother, while boys took the surname of their father. In young adulthood, usually within the first ten years after achieving majority, men and women were given a “salt name” which typified them as to character or referred to some great event or deed of which they were part. These were short, usually only one or two words. A salt name such as “Wild Winds” might refer to a temper or to having ridden out a storm which should have sunk the vessel.

  To seal a bargain, each party kissed the fingertips of the right hand and pressed them to the lips of the other. Variations of this were used for lesser agreements than actual bargains as well. Simply kissing one’s own fingertips, or pressing them to one’s lips, bestowed emphasis.

  Traditionally, the Sea Folk did not sell passage on their ships. One asked for the favor of passage and then made a gift, which just happened to have a value
equal to the passage. If the gift offered was not sufficient, it turned out, regrettably, that there simply was no room, or some other excuse. If a more suitable gift was offered, then it was discovered that a mistake had been made and there was room after all. No one except Aes Sedai could be refused passage outright, not unless the gift offered in return was too small, of course. For the Amayar, the gift of passage truly was a gift, with no gift expected in return, but until just before the Last Battle, no Amayar had asked this in living memory.

  Sea Folk wedding ceremonies reflected the hierarchical nature of ships at sea. There was a matriarchal element to Sea Folk culture, with ships owned and commanded by women and clans always headed by a woman, as well as the Atha’an Miere themselves, by the Mistress of the Ships. Since husband and wife both served on the same ship, often one would outrank the other, and despite the matriarchal elements, it was not always the woman. Thus, in a Sea Folk ceremony, there were pledges of obedience, but conditional. If husband and wife were of equal rank on the ship, then the wife took the lead between them, but if either had a public position where they could give orders to the other, then in private the situation was reversed. There were situations where a marriage was made with the clear certainty that one—usually the wife—would always command in public, as when a Sailmistress or Wavemistress married, so there was a ceremony for that, as well. Women did not take their husbands’ surnames, or vice versa, nor did they take on any form of them, as in Saldaea.

  The Sea Folk did not like going any farther from salt water than they could help. Spotting one in Tar Valon, for instance, or Caemlyn, say, would normally be a very rare event. They made every effort to see that their children were born on the water, even if it was only in a small boat put off from the shore, and that they themselves died on the water. Sea Folk burials inevitably took place at sea; to die on land was considered bad, and to be buried on land even worse.

  The Atha’an Miere were marked with tattoos on their hands, indicating a number of things. The left hand showed clan and line. A Windfinder had a three-pointed star on the back of her right hand. A six-pointed star tattooed between thumb and forefinger of the right hand was a symbol of the covenant with the Coramoor; some believed it made one less likely to drown. Some of the other tattoos on the right hand were, in effect, the individual’s official record, showing what ships had been served on and what posts and positions had been held.

  From the first days of sailing, only Aes Sedai could be refused among those asking passage, and they almost always were. Many Sea Folk considered Aes Sedai bad luck on board in any case. They sent a very few young women to the White Tower in order to lull the Aes Sedai and make them think that there weren’t very many candidates among the Atha’an Miere. Most of these young women were deliberately chosen from among women the Windfinders knew would not have sufficient strength to be raised Aes Sedai. Occasionally they chose one who could be raised because they believed that if every woman sent was too weak it might attract attention, but they were never very strong. The few women who went in this manner, expecting to be raised Aes Sedai, had always been, in effect, exiled; they were told to avoid the sea and the Atha’an Miere, even after they reached an age to retire, because the Windfinders always feared that contact between them and these Atha’an Miere Aes Sedai might lead to suspicions on the part of the White Tower. They were a knowing sacrifice. The women chosen to go, whether or not strong enough to be raised, were always chosen from among those who were thought able to keep the necessary secrets. The preferred choice was someone who had already slowed, yet appeared young enough to pass for a wilder of seventeen or eighteen, despite being ten years or more older, though this was not always possible. They tried not to send anyone who was too young (never anyone younger than seventeen), so that she would have some maturity to help her through what the Windfinders saw as, at best, several years of exile from the sea. Those who were strong enough to be raised Aes Sedai were always seen as making the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the Atha’an Miere. As a result, historically there were very few Aes Sedai from among the Sea Folk. At the time of the Tower split, there were only three. They were all Brown Ajah; all of the Sea Folk sisters in the history of the Tower were Brown, which, perhaps not coincidentally, happened to be the one Ajah aside from the White which allowed the least contact with others. There were other similarities among Aes Sedai from the Atha’an Miere. Sea Folk women who were raised Aes Sedai always took a new name, one which was not of the Atha’an Miere, symbolizing their break with their former lives. Inevitably they made few friends even within their own Ajah, living largely solitary lives, and they almost never allowed themselves to become entangled in any sort of alliances or the schemes of others. None would speak of Sea Folk customs or life, a secrecy in which they were aided by Aes Sedai customs against prying, as well as the belief that whatever was before had been left behind and was in no way nearly as important as the White Tower. Most often they dressed very soberly even for Browns, seldom if ever wearing anything like the brilliant colors of the Atha’an Miere. They put off their honor chains and medallions along with any earrings they had the right to wear, and wore none, nor did they often wear necklaces of any kind, but most adopted, often in profusion, the finger rings and bracelets shunned by Sea Folk women. They avoided salt water, never traveling by sea and never even going near the coast if they could avoid it.

  Ocean-borne commerce was dominated by Sea Folk ships, which were faster than any others. The Sea Folk were considered by the inhabitants of port cities to be bargainers who outstripped the more widely known Domani. They would carry cargo for others, but their rates were very high, and they were seldom used except where speed of passage was vital. The vast majority of their cargo was traded for themselves. Sea Folk porcelain was highly priced, though it was in fact produced by the Amayar. The Sea Folk did not sell their ships to any but their own and would destroy one to keep it from falling into anyone else’s hands. Sea Folk clocks were the most accurate of all, and were highly prized, though the Sea Folk did not make a habit of selling them with any regularity. Pearls, which were mainly found by Amayar pearl divers, were considered the finest; the largest, and nearly all pearls of rare color, such as black or blue, came from them. The Sea Folk were also famed for their glass, not merely housewares, but especially for their looking glasses and other optical products. Even before the Aiel War, when the Cairhienin could use the Silk Path, the Sea Folk were the major source of silk and ivory from Shara.

  Atha’an Shadar. The Seanchan name for Darkfriends.

  Athan Chandin. A Two Rivers man with Perrin’s forces in Malden when they saved Faile and others who had been kidnapped by the Shaido. He was a good shot with the bow, but his truckling manner annoyed Perrin.

  Athan Dearn. A fat man from the Two Rivers. He helped to defend Emond’s Field from Trollocs.

  Atuan Larisett. A Taraboner Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah in public, but of the Black Ajah in truth. Atuan was born in 809 NE and went to the White Tower in 825 NE. She wore her dark hair in thin beaded braids that fell to her waist. Atuan had no Warder; she was a member of Talene’s heart, along with Galina and Temaile. Atuan knew none of the Black sisters in the Hall, nor did she know Alviarin. After the Black Ajah hunters captured her, she claimed that she walked in the Light once more and swore an oath of obedience to them.

  Atuan’s Mill. A village on Toman Head. The village was inhabited by frightened villagers following a visit by the Seanchan, who had killed many of them and had left a great charred patch of earth in the middle of the village square that no one wished to talk about. Rand and his party, on the trail of Padan Fain who had stolen back the dagger and Horn of Valere, learned more about the Seanchan invaders and their evil ways there.

  Auaine Fanwar. A Borderland farmwife. She was Renald’s wife, and she encouraged him to follow Thulin’s advice to head north.

  Aubrem Pensenor. Andoran High Seat of House Pensenor. He supported Morgase in the Succession, and later supported Ela
yne. He was lean and craggy and had only a fringe of white hair, but his back was straight and his eyes were clear. He had been among the first to reach Caemlyn to aid Elayne, with near to a hundred men and news that it was Arymilla Marne marching on the city with Elenia and Naean supporting her.

  Aurana. Tuon’s fourteen-year-old sister; Tuon thought her too young to be plotting against her.

  Avar Hachami. One of Myrelle’s Warders, a Saldaean. He was hawk-nosed and square-chinned, with a thick, gray-streaked mustache like down-curved horns. He was saved by Myrelle following the death of the first Aes Sedai to whom he was bonded. Rumor had it that Myrelle was married to her first three Warders: Croi Makin, Nuhel Dromand and Avar Hachami.

  Avarhin, Shiaine. See Shiaine Avarhin

  Avarhin, Willim. A poor Andoran nobleman and father of the real Lady Shiaine, both of whom were murdered by Mili Skane. His sign was the Heart and Hand.

  Avendesora. Aiel word for “the Tree of Life.” Legend said that there was a single Tree of Life, while many would equate the word Avendesora with the chora tree, which in the Third Age had dwindled to a single specimen, found in Rhuidean. It was said that Avendesora made no seed, so it is unclear how the Aiel obtained a sapling from it to give to Cairhien. See also chora tree and Tree of Life

  Avendoraldera. The only chora tree, a sapling of Avendesora, to leave the Aiel Waste in the Third Age. Given to Cairhien as an unprecedented offer of peace, it was cut down by King Laman, starting the Aiel War.

  Avene Sahera. A woman in Ravinda, Kandor, interviewed by Moiraine during the search for the infant Dragon Reborn. Avene used the bounty given her by the Aes Sedai to build an inn, called The White Tower. Her tenth child, Migel, was on Moiraine’s list, but he was born thirty miles from Dragonmount and a week before Gitara’s Foretelling.