The Wheel of Time Companion

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s’Gandin. Birgitte talked of Luca going to fetch Nynaeve from Samara, accompanied by two lads who had shoulders like s’Gandin quarrymen.

s’redit. The Seanchan name for the animals that Luca called boar-horses. Large and gray, with a long nose and tusks, they were from a southern part of the Seanchan Empire; a similar animal with larger ears could be found in Shara. In terms of social standing, morat for non-exotics, such as s’redit, ranked below those for exotics (i.e., those obtained from alternate worlds). In ancient times, s’redit were a very effective battle animal, and maintaining them was a tradition that predated Hawkwing’s invasion but was still linked to the Imperial family, who had a certain favoritism for them by tradition. While s’redit were still used in battle in later times, and their effectiveness strongly defended by their trainers and handlers, they were in fact deployed very carefully because they were not particularly useful except in stampeding untrained horses and as platforms for archers or sul’dam and damane, placing these at a greater height for longer visibility. In this employment, they were well armored and always well screened by infantry and horse because they themselves were very vulnerable. Their primary use was for moving heavy loads such as shunt engines or powering hoists to lift very heavy loads.

Sa souvraya niende misain ye. Old Tongue for “I am lost in my own mind.”

Sa’las Plains. Flatlands located in Seanchan.

sa’angreal. An extremely rare object allowing an individual to channel much more of the One Power than would otherwise be possible or safe. A sa’angreal was like unto, but much, much more powerful than an angreal. The amount of the Power that could be wielded with a sa’angreal compared to the amount of the Power that could be handled with an angreal was analogous to the amount of the Power that could be wielded with the aid of an angreal compared to the amount of the Power that could be handled unaided. Remnants of the Age of Legends, the means of their making was lost by the Third Age. As with angreal, there were male and female sa’angreal.

sa’sara. An indecent Saldaean dance, outlawed by numerous Saldaean queens to no avail. Saldaean history recorded three wars, two rebellions, countless unions and/or feuds between noble Houses and innumerable duels sparked by women dancing the sa’sara. One rebellion was supposedly quelled when a defeated queen danced it for the victorious general; he married her and restored her throne. This tale was not found in any official history and was denied by every queen of Saldaea.

The sa’sara was a dance without any one set form, though it followed general patterns. Ten women dancing the sa’sara might dance without one repeating a movement or expression from any other. It was characterized by fluid and suggestive movements and hip-rolling; movements to suggest self-caressing or being caressed by another; facial expressions and gazes at the onlooker(s) which changed between those variously described as smoky or sultry and those which conveyed startlement. Not infrequently, the dancer performed most of the dance as if unaware that anyone was watching, and the emotions expressed, facially and otherwise, upon “discovering” that she was being watched went from surprised to coy to flirtatious to seductive, and frequently by the suggestion—never the reality—that limbs, or shoulders, or possibly even breasts, might be exposed. The clothing worn by the dancer could be skimpy or not, but nearly always it was arrayed for ease of shifting or removal, though rarely was even one piece actually removed. The shifting of clothing was such that it seemed a caress in itself, and the body part that seemed about to be exposed never was, yet the onlooker was left with the impression that perhaps it was.

The sa’sara was danced only by women, and always by one woman at a time. When the sa’sara was danced in the lower or rougher sort of taverns, or at some private affairs, guards were usually posted to keep patrons from throwing themselves at the dancer. The dancer usually traveled with a bodyguard. A sa’sara dancer who could perform with any facility was usually well paid for her dancing, and often made ten, twenty or even a hundred times as much through the coins tossed to her by watchers.

It was generally said that the sa’sara was danced for an audience of one no matter how many eyes watched. Some said that it was in actual truth danced more often for an audience of one than for more.

saa. Dark flecks that passed across the eyeballs of one who used the True Power from the Dark One. The flecks increased over time the more the True Power was used. Moridin’s eyes were filled with saa.

Saal. A serving woman at The Woman of Tanchico in Tar Valon. She was pretty, with brown eyes. She and Mada—who Mat thought was Saal’s older sister—took care of Thom when he stayed there, and tried to keep him from drinking too much; they did not like it when Mat bought Thom wine, but after Mat convinced Thom to go with him to Caemlyn, they were happy because it was the most alive that they had seen Thom in a long time. Saal gave Mat a silver mark in thanks and told him he had pretty eyes.

Saban. The third month of the year.

Sabeine Ocalin. A Kinswoman who spent twenty years as a peddler. She was at the farm when the Seanchan attacked, and accompanied Elayne to Caemlyn. She had the requisite strength to Travel, and Birgitte put her to work as a scout, sending her with Julanya Fote to villages in northern Andor and having them keep a lookout for the six noble Houses that were uncommitted.

Sabinel. A town in which Mat tried to get Talmanes to help him win over a pair of barmaids.

sad bracelets. Ter’angreal consisting of a finely jointed collar and two bracelets of dull black metal; Moghedien said that the material was a form of cuendillar. The device was similar to the later-developed a’dam, but was meant to control male Aes Sedai gone mad after the sealing of the Bore during the Time of Madness. When the collar was placed on a man who could channel, a woman wearing both bracelets could make him do as she wished. The bracelets could not stop the man from going mad, and there was a flow from the man to the woman; eventually the man would be able to control the woman somewhat. Having different women wear the bracelets at different times limited the exposure, and having two women each wearing one bracelet slowed the seepage considerably; the latter also lessened the women’s control of the man. The devices were considered a failure because of these issues. Semirhage called them Domination Bands.

Saddler. A dirty man in Caemlyn who smelled of a tannery and tried to cheat Mat at a game of Koronko’s Spit.

Saeldain, Coiren. See Coiren Saeldain

Saems, Wilbin. A deceased merchant for whom the cutpurse Samwil Hark claimed to have once worked as a clerk.

Saera Deosin. A Murandian woman who was on Moiraine’s list as a possible mother of the Dragon Reborn. Her husband was Eadwin.

Saeric. A man of the Red Water sept of the Goshien Aiel. Gray-haired and missing his right hand, he taught the Asha’man how to fight while unarmed. He was willing to remain as long as the Goshien were in the vicinity of Caemlyn, but he moved on when his clan did.

Saerin Asnobar. An Altaran Aes Sedai of the Brown Ajah and the loyalist contingent, with a strength level of 14(2), who was born in 781 NE in a village not far from Ebou Dar. Her mother owned an inn and her father a livery stable. She was recruited by the Daughters of Silence in 796 NE; when that group was disbanded in 798 NE, Saerin was taken to the White Tower, where she spent twelve years as a novice and ten years as Accepted. She could have moved faster, but she was watched very closely because of her association with the Daughters. She was raised to the shawl in 820 NE, the only woman associated with the Daughters to be raised. She became a Sitter in the Hall in 960 NE, and held her chair longer than any other Sitter. About 5'6" tall, she had an olive complexion, straight black hair and dark eyes. While not a beauty in any way, she was attractive; a knife scar running along the line of her jaw on the left side was thin and had faded with years to near invisibility. She retained a good bit of the Ebou Dari sense of honor, and while she didn’t wear a marriage knife, she often carried a curved Ebou Dari knife behind her belt, which she sometimes fingered when angry. She could scowl as well as any Warder, aided by her scar, and many sisters, including Seaine, considered her quite fierce. She stood to depose Siuan.

Saerin was one of the half dozen Sitters to whom Elaida gave penances, despite her being the most senior Sitter in age and time holding a chair, or perhaps because of that very fact. In her case, it was Labor, a matter of working in the kitchens with the scullions. Saerin was disconcerted to learn that Laras considered an Aes Sedai working a penance as a scullion to be, in fact, a scullion. That is to say, one was to be worked as hard and called up just as short for slacking. Despite her feelings about the penance, Saerin rather liked Laras for that; it was, she thought, the proper attitude. There was no point, she felt, in serving a penance if it was made easier by others. Her suspicions of Pevara and Seaine’s clandestine meetings led to her becoming a member of the hunt for the Black Ajah.

Saerin was part of the battle in Tel’aran’rhiod against some of the Black Ajah at the White Tower until she and others were taken out of the dream on Amys’ orders. She fought during the Last Battle with Egwene’s army and after the Last Battle was part of the group that pressured Cadsuane to become Amyrlin.

Safer. One of the Ten Nations; its capital was Iman, which later became Katar. Other cities included Miereallen (later Falme) and Shainrahien. King Eawynd was its ruler at the signing of the Compact.

Saferi. Of or from Safer.

Sahera. A family in Kandor. See Avene and Migel Sahera

Sahra Covenry. A novice in the White Tower, sent to Moria Elward’s farm to do penance to prevent her from talking about Min and Gawyn’s meeting in the White Tower; the Black Ajah found and killed her there.

saidar. The female half of the One Power; it was used by female channelers.

saidin. The male half of the One Power; it was used by male channelers.

Saighan, House. A noble House in Cairhien. Its High Seat was Colavaere until her death; she was followed by Bertome. Its banner was a silver diamond on a field checked red and yellow. See Bertome, Colavaere and Dairaine Saighan

Sailmistress. A commander of a Sea Folk ship and crew, equivalent to a ship’s captain. A Sailmistress wore three earrings in each ear; a medallion on the chain to her nose indicated the type of ship she commanded. A vessel was often owned by the Sailmistress who commanded him, though the vessels were always owned by women. Where a vessel sailed, and when, was purely in the hands of the Sailmistress, but what cargo was purchased or taken aboard and when, as well as all other financial matters, were in the hands of the Cargomaster.

Saine Tarasind. Mesaana’s name before becoming Forsaken.

Saishen, Stedding. A stedding located in Saldaea.

Sajius. The author of Commentary on the Dragon, a book studied by Min.

Sakarnen. The name of the sa’angreal used by Demandred in the Last Battle; in the Age of Legends, it was known as D’jedt, or the Scepter. For safety, it had been taken apart and the two pieces hidden separately. Demandred found the rod first; it was the length of his forearm, with the metal splaying out to a disc shape at the end. Demandred found the second part, which looked like a cup, in Rai’lair, the Hearttomb, in Shara. He claimed to have bound Sakarnen to himself so that it could not be used against him.

Sakaru. A Shienaran soldier. He was one of those following Ingtar when he and Perrin pursued the Horn of Valere to Falme. He wintered in the Mountains of Mist with Perrin and Rand; after Rand left and the Shienarans were abandoned to make their own way, he died in an unpleasant manner.

Salaking. A location in Seanchan.

Saldaea. The largest of the Borderland nations; Maradon was its capital, Tenobia its queen. Its sigil was three silver fish, one above the other: the Silver Fish. Its banner was the Silver Fish on a field of dark blue. Many thought that sigil odd for a land with so many cliffs along the sea and such rough seas that it had few fishing villages and no port worth the name. Saldaea, Kandor, Arafel, Shienar and Malkier all were provinces of Hawkwing’s empire, with the borders between them very much as they were at the start of the Last Battle, though not stretching so far south in most cases. With the Blight to contend with, the governors of those provinces (Lord Rylen t’Boriden Rashad for Saldaea, Lord Jarel Soukovni for Kandor, Lady Mahira Svetanya for Arafel, Lady Merean Tihomar for Shienar and Lord Shevar Jamelle for Malkier) met soon after Hawkwing’s death in FY 994 to reaffirm measures for cooperation against the Blight and to make agreements for mutual defense against attack from the south. Before the end of FY 995, when it became clear that the rest of the empire was splintering, each of the governors took the title of King or Queen of his or her former province, now a nation. None of these nations would take part in any of the wider fighting of the War of the Hundred Years, as nations, except for defending themselves against attacks and punishing same, though individuals and groups did sometimes become involved, sometimes for political reasons or family connections or friendships. No major numbers of Saldaean troops were sent to fight in the Aiel War. For one thing, the threat never came anywhere near Saldaea, and for another, the western Blight spawned several periods of high Trolloc activity beginning a few years before the Aiel War and culminating some three years after its end. Some relatively small detachments of troops did take part, rarely numbering more than two to three thousand, but they were attached to Kandori elements and were withdrawn before the Battle of the Shining Walls because of a massive upsurge in activity along the Saldaean Blightborder which began in mid-978 NE and continued well into 979 NE. Some soldiers did remain in the fighting, but not many. One such party fought under Lan Mandragoran at the Blood Snow, along with Kandori and some Domani.

Saldaea had one of the three false Dragons who sprang up after Logain was captured and before Rand proclaimed himself; this was Mazrim Taim, who made considerable headway before being captured.

In Saldaea a wife took her husband’s name but retained her own also, and her family name became a part of his. Thus: Faile (Zarine) si Ghaline Bashere became Faile ni Bashere t’Aybara when she married Perrin Aybara, and he became Perrin t’Bashere Aybara.

A child had the father’s family name and the mother’s. Thus: Zarine, the daughter of Davram t’Ghaline Bashere and Deira ni Ghaline t’Bashere was christened Zarine si Ghaline Bashere. Commoners’ children had the mother’s maiden name as a middle name and the father’s surname as surname, without the “si,” “ni,” or “t’.” Women among commoners keep their maiden name on marriage. Men proposed marriage, and women accepted or declined. A long pursuit was expected, and a woman usually made a man prove he really wanted to catch her before she let him.

In general, Saldaean women wanted a strong husband, one strong enough to stand up to them, because they were a strong lot themselves, and despised weak men. They did not expect to be bullied or browbeaten, though they knew when to make a strategic retreat. A Saldaean woman would be contemptuous of a man who couldn’t stand toe-to-toe with her, meet her shout for shout and occasionally actually make her step back.

Saldaean custom was for wives of nobles to go on campaign with their husbands, except into the Blight, although that prohibition was often flouted. Many officers’ wives also accompanied their husbands, and there were times when a wife led troops into battle in place of a wounded husband.

A Borderman considered the day he was given his sword to be his nameday.

There was a link between the Borderland and Aiel views of shame: by and large, shame was worse than guilt, the worst thing there was, though this view of shame ameliorated as one moved west. Arafellin saw shame as less important than did Shienarans, Kandori less than Arafellin, Saldaeans less than Kandori. In all of the Borderlands, though, shame was given a much heavier weight than in lands to the south.

Saldaea could have either a king or a queen, advised by the Council of Lords. The husband or wife of a Saldaean ruler was not simply a consort, but an almost co-equal ruler. It was a hereditary monarchy; the eldest child of the reigning monarch normally succeeding. If the child was younger than fifteen, a regent was chosen from the child’s aunts and uncles of the blood, picked by a combination of age and degree of relationship.

If the ruler died without issue, the throne passed to the eldest and nearest relative, chosen by a combination of age and degree of relationship, with the degree of relationship coming first and age second. Thus, a brother or sister would have come before an aunt or uncle, but among aunts and uncles as among brothers and sisters, the eldest would have succeeded.

The heir apparent to Tenobia was Davram Bashere. Since no other close relatives survived, the next in line after Lord Davram was his own heir, his daughter Faile, who became queen after Tenobia’s and Bashere’s deaths in the Last Battle.

Saldaea had no ports, and only a few tiny fishing villages, so the vast bulk of trade traditionally followed one of three routes: 1) down to Arad Doman, through Bandar Eban; 2) down the Manetherendrelle to Illian; and 3) much less important, historically, to Kandor, and through Kandor to Tar Valon and points south.

There was a great trade from Saldaea in timber, finished wood, furs and ice peppers. Ice peppers were a Saldaean monopoly, as they did not grow elsewhere; they were apparently very particular as to both soil and climate. There was a substantial woolen industry, but not much was exported. Saldaea exported large amounts of iron, steel and finished iron- and steel-work. There was considerable mining of diamonds, and considerable mining of silver and the manufacture of silverwork, but very little gold-mining.

Salia Pomfrey. An Andoran widow who gave birth to a boy near Dragonmount close to the time that Rand was born. Her husband was killed on the second day of the Battle of the Shining Walls; half-mad with grief, she returned to her village in Andor.

Salidar. A large village in Altara, a mile east of the River Eldar, near the Amadician border. It was the birthplace of Deane Aryman, and the town where the rebel Aes Sedai set up their organization. Woodland surrounded the village. Trees ran up to thatch-roofed houses made of rounded river stones, and many trees actually stood in narrow little thickets among some of the houses. The streets had a look of newly turned earth, not the hard-packed surface that came from generations of use. Siuan first learned of Salidar being the location of the rebel Aes Sedai from an eyes-and-ears in Lugard. When she, Leane, Min and Logain arrived in Salidar, they caused a stir. They spread the story about Logain having been set up as a false Dragon by the Red Ajah. Gareth Bryne arrived to hold Siuan and company to their oath to work for him, and agreed to head an army against the White Tower. Elayne, Nynaeve, Thom, Juilin, Uno and Shienaran soldiers arrived in Salidar from Samara in Ghealdan. Then Egwene was summoned to Salidar and made Amyrlin. An abandoned inn was used as a meeting place for the Hall and also housed the Amyrlin’s study; it was named the Little Tower. The rebel Aes Sedai stayed in Salidar until the decision was made to move against the White Tower.

Salindi Casolan. An Aes Sedai Sitter who lived at the time of the formation of the White Tower.

Salita Toranes. A Tairen Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah and the rebel contingent, with a strength level of 27(15). Born in 933 NE, she went to the White Tower in 950 NE. After spending nine years as a novice and seven years as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 966 NE. Almost as dark as one of the Sea Folk, she was round-faced, with cool level eyes, and stood about 5'4" tall. Like some other Yellows, she believed the other Ajahs were merely adjuncts to the Yellow, which had the only useful purpose. She had complaints from the Yellows who were conscripted into making cuendillar, who thought Aes Sedai should not be making things for sale. Being a lesser noblewoman, Salita had an income from an estate in Tear and was casual about money and contemptuous of trade; she never stopped to think what her own income derived from. She was a very quick learner, with an eidetic memory. She might well have been allowed to move through novice and Accepted faster had she had a stronger potential. Salita learned Nynaeve’s form of Healing and was raised a Sitter for the Yellow in Salidar in 999 NE. She sometimes supported Egwene in the Hall and sometimes not; she voted yes in the war vote and for the alliance with the Black Tower. After the White Tower reunited, Salita resigned as Sitter.

Sallie Daera. The code name for Salidar used by the rebel Aes Sedai.

Salmarna. The location of a battle where Bukama became a hero.

Salt Flat. A sept of the Nakai Aiel.

salt name. A name added to the end of an Atha’an Miere name, following the family name. It was composed of two words, such as South Star, Running Wave, or White Wing, and given when an apprentice reached a certain age or level of experience.

Salya. From a gleeman’s tale, Lenn’s daughter, who walked among the stars.

Samaha. A town in Altara, east of Willar and the River Boern. Moiraine, Lan, Perrin and Loial passed through while on Rand’s trail, and learned that all the wells in the town had suddenly gone dry, evidence that Rand had been there.

Samalin Naerodan. A Murandian Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah and the rebel contingent, with a strength level of 22(10). Born in 935 NE, she went to the White Tower in 952 NE. After spending six years as a novice and five years as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 963 NE and raised Sitter for the Green in Salidar in 999 NE, although she was young for it. Sharp-faced, she had a surprising sense of humor and a bright, clear laugh. She had one Warder, to whom she was married, though that was not widely known. Samalin stood immediately for Egwene the second time. She was one of those who stood for war against Elaida and for an alliance with the Black Tower.

Samara. A large, prosperous town in Ghealdan on the River Eldar, just over the Amadician border. It had a high stone wall, stone buildings, many three stories high, and more roofs made of slate and tile than thatch. The Prophet settled there for a time, and a huge tent/shanty city grew around the wall. Master Luca went there looking for space to set up his menagerie; Nynaeve spotted Uno, and he took her to see Masema, the Prophet. The latter agreed to get Nynaeve and her companions a ship downriver to Tear, to see the Dragon. Galad followed them, and said he would find them a ship instead. The Whitecloaks seized a smuggling vessel to take Nynaeve and company downriver, which caused riots in the town. The party fought their way across town and departed on the ship. Later, Asne, Chesmal, Eldrith and Temaile followed Moghedien there, but did not connect with her.

Samared, House. Elayne’s fictional House while traveling incognito.

Samel Crawe. A Village Councilman in Emond’s Field. Horse-faced, with a long nose, he was the father of Ban. Samel participated in the defense of Emond’s Field; he and Jon Thane had charge of the area east of The Winespring Inn.

Samitsu Tamagowa. An Arafellin Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah, uncommitted to any contingent. Her strength level was 20(8). Born in 856 NE, she went to the White Tower in 870 NE. After spending nine years as a novice and four years as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 883 NE. Her Warder was Roshan. She was 5'5" tall, and slim, with dark hazel eyes and dark hair in which she wore silver bells. Samitsu had an overbearing, commanding manner and could be somewhat petulant at being balked, as when her Healing of Rand failed. Samitsu had no fear of getting her hands dirty or bloody in dealing with someone who was hurt; she was quite matter-of-fact about it. She had the Talent for Healing so strongly that no one, not even sisters stronger than she in the Power, could do it better. She used traditional flows of Air, Spirit and Water. Cadsuane said that she was the best living—perhaps the best ever—and that no one could perform Healing to compare with her. That buoyed Samitsu’s spirits, though she accepted it as simple truth. Samitsu was with Cadsuane in the Cairhienin rebel camp when Rand came to visit, before the fog incident. She tried Healing Rand after Padan Fain’s attack, and was distraught that she did not succeed fully. She demanded that Flinn tell her everything he could about what he had done to Heal Rand, and at the same time tried to bribe him, even offering to bear his child; she was extremely anxious to know about his way of Healing that did more than hers could. Samitsu was left behind in Cairhien when Cadsuane went to Far Madding. Cadsuane left her in charge, but Sashalle slowly took over Samitsu’s authority in the Sun Palace. Samitsu Healed Dobraine after he had been attacked. Samitsu went with Logain and others when they went to find Rand, but Cadsuane sent her back to watch Sashalle. She welcomed Elayne when Elayne arrived to take the Sun Throne.

Saml al’Seen. A Two Rivers man at the Black Tower with the rank of soldier. He was young—little more than a child—and had dark hair. Saml was guarding the gate of the Black Tower when representatives of the Red Ajah arrived.

Saml Hake. The innkeeper at The Dancing Cartman in Four Kings, Andor. Bony, with long stringy hair, he was the first skinny innkeeper Rand had ever seen. He planned to rob Rand and Mat; the Darkfriend Howal Gode gave Jak, Strom and Hake something to make them sleep while he tried his pitch on Rand.

Samma N’Sei. Old Tongue for “Eyeblinders,” the term was used for red-veiled men, some of whom could channel. Male Aiel channelers or their progeny who went to the Blight to fight Shadowspawn and were Turned by Myrddraal, they inhabited a town (“the Town”) in the Blight. The Eyeblinders were groomed as a surprise weapon in the Last Battle. Some of them had an earlier mission to find and destroy the Eye of the World before the Dragon Reborn could reach it, but that mission failed.

Sammael. One of the Forsaken, also known as the Destroyer of Hope. His name prior to swearing to the Dark One was Tel Janin Aellinsar. His strength level was ++2. About six feet tall, with blue eyes, golden hair and a neat square-trimmed beard, he would perhaps have been above ordinary in looks except for a slanting scar on his left cheek, as if a red-hot poker had been dragged across his face from hairline to jaw. The scar was given him by Lews Therin, whom Sammael both envied and hated; he would not let the scar be restored, keeping it as a badge of hatred and vengeance. He was a lover of power, glory and conquest and a militarist rather than a diplomat. A famous sportsman in the Age of Legends, he was at that time friends with Lews Therin, although how close was not known; at the beginning of the War of Power he became one of Lews Therin’s best generals. In the fourth year of the war, he went over to the Shadow, in part because he thought that the Dark One would win, and in part because of his hatred of Lews Therin. Sammael believed that he was the better general and that he should be in command of the forces of the Light.

When he awoke in the Third Age, he ruled in Illian as Lord Brend, a member of the Council of Nine, and plotted with Lanfear, Graendal and Rahvin to catch Rand. He discovered at least one stasis-box; a gholam was among its contents. He sent Carridin to Ebou Dar to try to find a cache of objects of the One Power, and sent the gholam there to help Carridin against Aes Sedai. As part of manipulating Graendal, he told her that he had reached a personal truce with Rand, but he was lying—he had sent a messenger offering truce to Rand, but Rand refused and the messenger died messily. He tricked Graendal and coopted her into his plans, and made her help him with the Shaido, all by claiming to have the inside track as Nae’blis. Of course, Graendal was using him as well, aiming him like an arrow at Rand. He met with Sevanna and the Shaido Wise Ones as Caddar and gave Sevanna a binder and a cube he called a nar’baha, which was used to scatter the Shaido in an effort to keep Rand off balance. When Rand attacked Illian, Sammael Traveled to Shadar Logoth, where he was killed by Mashadar.

Sammana. A Wise One dreamer whom Bair mentioned. She encountered something in Tel’aran’rhiod that broke her mind; she spent the rest of her days drooling and needing her linens changed.

Sammrie. The cooper in Hinderstap. His sister and her family were the first outsiders caught in Hinderstap.

Samon. A High Lord in Tear who was really Be’lal. He was able to use Compulsion to convince the High Lords that he was a hitherto obscure Lord of the Land who deserved to be raised to High Lord. See also Be’lal

Samwil Hark. A cutpurse in Andor. He was perfectly ordinary-looking in every way, with brown hair and eyes, medium height and build and plain clothes. In short, he was eminently forgettable. Hark was very good at stealing, but he was turned in by a rival. Instead of hanging Hark, Elayne placed a Finder of Spirit on him as a tracking device, and used him to follow Mellar.

San d’ma Shadar, Naath and the. A battle from Mat’s memories.

Sana Ashraf. A man whom Mat fought at the falls of Pena in one of the memories received from the Eelfinn.

Sanaiye Asaheen. A Domani Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah and the loyalist contingent. Part of the group that kidnapped Rand, she escaped Dumai’s Wells with Covarla Baldene.

Sanche, Siuan. See Siuan Sanche

Sand Hills. The foothills of the Mountains of Mist, located just west of the Westwood.

Sandair, Asan. See Asan Sandair

Sandar, Juilin. See Juilin Sandar

Sandip. A lieutenant in the Band of the Red Hand. He was also an accomplished hedge-doctor. Sandip helped rescue the dragons when Trollocs attacked Caemlyn. He was part of Faile’s group that wound up in the Blight while trying to deliver the Horn of Valere to Mat. When large beasts attacked, he helped to fight them off.

Sandomere, Donalo. See Donalo Sandomere

Sanduin. An Aiel man of the Tain Shari society. He had a scar that only made his face more handsome, according to Sorilea, who wondered if Sanduin might have caught Egwene’s interest.

Sanetre. A Guardswoman in Caemlyn whom Birgitte sent to fetch Guybon, after Elayne had been kidnapped by Black sisters.

Sanghir, Karale. See Karale Sanghir

Saniago, Weiramon. See Weiramon Saniago

Sanit. The cow s’redit tended by Cerandin in Valan Luca’s circus. Luca called it a “boar-horse” to deflect from its true identity.

Sanor. A sailor on the crew of Mallia’s ship, the Gray Gull, out of Tar Valon, which transported Mat and Thom to Aringill. He had arms like Perrin’s, and Mallia summoned him and Vasa to throw Mat and Thom off when they jumped onto the ship as it was leaving the dock.

Sanshen, Stedding. A stedding located in the Spine of the World.

Santes. One of Berelain’s thief-catchers from Mayene. About 5'9" tall, with dark hair and dark eyes, he was bland-faced and ordinary-looking and so nondescript that no one would have noticed him, even bumping into him, on the street. He was friendly with Rosene and Nana, Berelain’s maids. Berelain used Gendar and Santes to spy on Masema by having them make friends with his people and taking them wine supposedly stolen from Berelain. Santes found a document signed by Suroth, saying that Masema was under her protection, after picking the lock of Masema’s camp desk under cover of the bustle of setting up camp. Gendar and Santes returned to Masema’s camp with Berelain’s last cask of Tunaighan and were expected to return by an hour after sunset, but did not. They were presumed dead, killed by Masema’s men.

Santhra. Author of a book on the Forsaken, found in Adeleas and Vandene’s home in Tifan’s Well, Arafel. Vandene thought it a nasty piece of work.

Sar. A Shienaran soldier. He was one of those following Ingtar when he and Perrin pursued the Horn of Valere to Falme. He wintered in the Mountains of Mist with Perrin and Rand; after Rand left and the Shienarans were abandoned to make their own way, he fell off a cliff in the Mountains of Mist and died.

sar-light. An illuminating device from the Age of Legends mentioned by Sammael.

Sara. The cook at The Stag and Lion in Baerlon. She was plump and had a cat named Cirri. Master Fitch went to her because guests were complaining about dead rats, and he thought Cirri had killed them; Rand witnessed her vehement reaction that Cirri had not. Sara threatened to leave, and Master Fitch quickly made amends.

Sara. The subject of the song “Darling Sara.”

Sarainya Vostovan. An Arafellin Kinswoman who was born of a noble House. Her strength level was 46(34); she was not strong enough to have been allowed to test for Aes Sedai, and not strong enough to make a gateway of any size whatsoever. She was not nearly old enough to stand very high among the Kin. She was born in 924 NE, went to the White Tower in 940 NE and was ten years a novice (940–950 NE). She was raised Accepted in 950 NE for political reasons, and then sent away. She went to the Tower when Kirin Melway was Amyrlin and was put out after Noane Masadim was raised Amyrlin. She had a husky, forceful voice and was strikingly handsome. She kept the form of every rule exactly, but she was stubborn and did things her own way. A proud woman, she didn’t like wearing the red belt and working or living among the poor. Sarainya traveled to Caemlyn with Elayne; when Garenia and Kirstian were identified as runaways and put back in white, she and Asra attempted a revolt, but Reanne and Alise put a stop to it. She was ordered to cut a switch for punishment from Alise later that day.

Saralin. A Da’shain Aiel after the Breaking. Her husband was Marind; they had a son, Lewin, and a daughter, Maigran. Marind was killed when bandits raided the Aiel, and Saralin raised the children with the help of her father-in-law, Adan. Maigran and another girl were kidnapped by bandits; Saralin was prepared to accept it and go on, as required by the Way of the Leaf. Lewin and his friends decided to rescue the girls and in doing so killed the bandits. When Saralin learned what he had done, she disowned him; Adan exiled all the young men involved.

Saraline Amerano. An Aes Sedai who lived at the time of the formation of the White Tower.

Saralman, Feragaine. See Feragaine Saralman

Saranche, Agardo. The innkeeper of The Dragon in Tear. He was lean, balding, fair-complected and dark-eyed.

Sarand, House. A noble House in Caemlyn. Its High Seat was Jarid; its sign two Golden Boars. See Elenia and Jarid Sarand

Saranov, Halima. See Halima Saranov

Sarasia. A Kinswoman who accompanied Elayne to her Cairhienin coronation. She was plump, with a grandmotherly air.

Sarat, Surlivan. See Surlivan Sarat

Sareitha Tomares. A Tairen Aes Sedai of the Brown Ajah and the rebel contingent, with a strength level of 26(14). Born in 965 NE, she went to the White Tower in 980 NE. After spending ten years as a novice and eight years as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 998 NE. A dark, stocky woman with inquisitive eyes and a square face, she looked a little older than Nynaeve. She did not yet have the ageless face, which she sometimes plainly wished for. Her Warder was Ned Yarman. Sareitha was sent to the court of Queen Tylin in Ebou Dar with Merilille Ceandevin and Careane Fransi. She served as the Seat of Rebuke at Elayne’s abortive trial over approaching the Knitting Circle. She went with Elayne to Caemlyn and was killed by Chesmal Emry at the house on Full Moon Street in the New City while trying to capture members of the Black Ajah; Ned was killed as well.

Sarek. A Seanchan nobleman who looked above his station and had designs on the regions of Tuel and Serengada Dai, which put him in opposition to Lady Morsa and drew attention from Jalindin, a Seeker for Truth. Rand and Aviendha heard of him when they Traveled to Seanchan.

Saren, Einor. See Einor Saren

Sarena, Lady. A powerful Altaran noblewoman visiting Salidar who listened to Logain’s story about the Red Ajah making him a false Dragon. Hard-eyed and stocky, she had a scar on her face and graying hair.

Sarendhra. A Shaido Maiden of the Spear with blue eyes. She accompanied Rand to the Stone of Tear when he met with Darlin about the Tairen rebels.

Sarene Nemdahl. A Taraboner Aes Sedai of the White Ajah and the loyalist contingent, with a strength level of 18(6). Born in 955 NE, she went to the White Tower in 970 NE. After spending six years as a novice and five years as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 981 NE. Her Warder was Vitalien, though it was unusual for a White to have a Warder. About 5'4" tall, and slender, she wore her dark hair in beaded Taraboner braids. Some of her Taraboner accent remained. Her face was extremely beautiful, enough to make any man stare, but she was not aware of it. She had a temper, which she usually kept bottled up, but she could snap one’s nose off in a flash if crossed; she would admit she was wrong, though if her temper was involved, her admission would be made only after it had cooled. Her secret vice was poetry, which she hid and felt slightly ashamed of because poetry was emotional and illogical. One of her verses compared her Warder to a leopard. A part of the loyalist embassy to Rand in Cairhien, she was captured at Dumai’s Wells. As a result of Verin’s Compulsion, Sarene was one of the first five of the captive Aes Sedai to swear fealty to the Dragon Reborn. Sarene traveled with Cadsuane to Far Madding and to Shadar Logoth; during the cleansing of the taint she worked with Corele Hovian and Damer Flinn. They encountered Demandred, but managed to drive him off. With the Last Battle approaching, Sarene engaged in a tempestuous affair with Vitalien. They fought for the armies at Shayol Ghul. Sarene was Compelled by Graendal/Hessalam and used until her eyes were vacant. Vitalien was killed.

Sari Ayellin. A Two Rivers woman. After her father died, Sari tried to capture the interest of the man her mother intended to marry. She finally settled down after her mother was married and she found her own husband. Nynaeve thought of her when Elayne was making calf’s eyes at Thom.

Sarien. An Aiel warrior who was with Gaul searching for He Who Comes With the Dawn; the wind was blowing in the wrong direction and they were surprised by Orban and Gann and their retainers. Gaul was captured, and Sarien killed.

Sarin Hoigan. Nisao Dachen’s Warder. Bald-headed, with a black beard, he was about 5'9" tall, and wide enough to make him seem shorter. When Siuan said that the Hall might require Nisao and Myrelle to pass their Warders’ bonds to someone else in punishment for their dealings with Lan, Sarin realized through the bond that Nisao was upset and started toward her.

Sarinde. A Wise One of the Codarra Aiel from Red Springs Hold. She served as Wise One for Indirian, the clan chief.

Sarna, Egeanin. See Egeanin Sarna

Saroiya Farseen. A Domani Aes Sedai of the White Ajah and the rebel contingent, with a strength level of 24(12). Born in 857 NE, she went to the White Tower in 873 NE. After spending thirteen years as a novice and eleven as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 897 NE. Brown-haired and brown-eyed, she was about 5'4" tall, and stocky. She tugged at her ear when deep in thought. As a novice, Myrelle introduced trout into Saroiya’s bath; the result, according to Siuan, taught Myrelle to mind herself for half a year. Saroiya was a very good, if strict, teacher. She also displayed very good organizational and managerial abilities, as well as being considered among the sharpest logicians of her Ajah. For those reasons she was chosen a Sitter for the White in 987 NE, although she was younger than usual. In 999 NE the head of the White Ajah ordered her to join the rebellion to control and defuse events. Saroiya was apparently very tightly under Romanda’s thumb, and in fact, given Romanda’s forceful personality, this was not far from the truth. Saroiya tried to influence the rebel Hall toward the belief that the Seanchan were too important and too dangerous to ignore until matters with Elaida were resolved. Because of Romanda, she had to do this carefully. Saroiya was against any alliance with the Black Tower and worked to delay an embassy to it; she also opposed bonding Asha’man. She was part of the group, with Magla, Faiselle, Takima and Varilin, who negotiated with the White Tower to try to end the split. After the Tower was reunited, she kept her seat as a Sitter.

Sashalle Anderly. An Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah and the loyalist contingent, with a strength level of 14(2). Born in 816 NE, she went to the White Tower in 832 NE. After spending nine years as a novice and six years as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 847 NE. She wore her hair in ringlets to her shoulders and had blue eyes and a stubborn jaw. Sashalle was part of the follow-on party to the embassy sent to Rand in Cairhien by Elaida. She was one of three sisters stilled by Rand during his escape at Dumai’s Wells. Although they were captured, those three were not treated as da’tsang like the others, but Verin did use her version of Compulsion on them, and they also swore oath to Rand. Sashalle was Healed by Damer Flinn to full strength, but was no longer held by the Three Oaths and appeared prettier as her ageless look faded. She wrote a letter to the Red Ajah saying that she was sworn to Rand.

Although Cadsuane had left Samitsu in charge in Cairhien, Sashalle took over by force of personality. Sorilea and the Aiel respected her, and even the servants at the Sun Palace deferred to her as if she were in charge. Sashelle greeted Elayne when she arrived to be crowned Queen of Cairhien.

She fought at Shayol Ghul in the Last Battle and was captured and used up by Graendal/Hessalam.

Satare. A wine from the Age of Legends remembered by Graendal.

Satarov, Nedare. See Nedare Satarov

Satelle. One of the places in the Age of Legends that Sammael, the Destroyer of Hope, devastated, earning him that name.

Satina. A plump serving woman at the Little Tower in Salidar. She was able to do what was necessary even when frightened enough to tremble, but she had her limits. She shared a room with Mulinda, Emara and Ronelle in the same house where Elayne and Nynaeve stayed. She helped Nynaeve unwind her roommates from their sheets after the bubble of evil hit.

Savara. A female officer who led a squadron unit of the Seanchan cavalry in the Last Battle.

Saven. The sixth month of the year.

Savion Amhara. One of the three most famous First Counsels in Far Madding history. A statue of her stood in Amhara Market in Far Madding, pointing to the Tear Gate.

Sawchin. A rendering of “Seanchan” in Tairen gossip.

sawleaf. A weed that Perrin noticed on the burned al’Thor farm.

Sawyn Maculhene. A supporter of Amalasan who tried to free Amalasan from the White Tower. He and Elinde Motheneos managed to capture at least two of the Alindrelle Erinin bridges and reach the White Tower before being turned back. Maculhene died in the fighting, and his troopers were harried mercilessly.

Sayer. A friend of Androl who died of the fevers during a silverpike run out of Mayene.

scarlet puffer. A snake that looked like a red adder but was not poisonous.

scatterhead. A plant whose head burst into little white feathers when disturbed. Nynaeve smacked one while traveling with Luca’s circus near Samara.

School of Cairhien, the. An institution founded by Rand in Barthanes Damodred’s manor; its headmistress was Idrien Tarsin. Pupils came to learn, but for the most part Rand wanted to gather knowledge in one place so that if he broke the world again, there would be repositories of preserved knowledge.

Scouter. Bulen’s packhorse when he rode with Lan for Tarwin’s Gap.

Scratch. The cat at The Winespring Inn in Emond’s Field. He was a yellow tomcat with six toes on each foot.

Sea Folk. See Atha’an Miere

Sea Folk, Isles of. Islands in the Aryth Ocean and the Sea of Storms that were the homeport of the Sea Folk. Many of the islands were unknown to outsiders and visitation was not allowed.

Sea of Jeren. A body of water in the Age of Legends.

Sea of L’Heye. A body of water off the coast of Seanchan.

Sea of Storms. A body of water that bordered the main continent on the south; it lay east of the Aryth Ocean.

Sea Wall. The name used by Saldaeans for the Banikhan Mountains.

Seaghan. A Cairhienin man who ran an entertainment hall. He wanted to have players pretend to be characters in The Great Hunt of the Horn. Thom thought it a lack-witted idea.

Seahawk. Bayle Domon’s ship when he was in Tanchico. He and Egeanin sailed it from Tanchico to Cantorin. They were attempting to get rid of the male a’dam when they were hailed and boarded by another Seanchan ship.

Seaine Herimon. A Murandian Aes Sedai of the White Ajah and the loyalist contingent, with a strength level of 17(5). Born in 841 NE, she went to the White Tower in 856 NE after talking her father into buying passage for her and her mother to Tar Valon—passage for two upriver, but only one down. After spending six years as a novice and four years as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 866 NE and raised a Sitter for the Whites in 986 NE. Seaine and Pevara were novice and Accepted together, and they were friends—pillow friends, in fact. As novices, they often played pranks together. Pevara said that Seaine could never decide that it was logical to be afraid until it was already too late for that. One of the things they did was dust Serancha’s shift with itch oak; they thought Serancha was a prig then, and their opinion didn’t change. They drifted apart, in part because the Red actively and strongly discouraged women having friends outside their Ajah.

Seaine was 5'6" tall, and had blue eyes and thick black eyebrows. After many years, a touch of Lugard still clung to her voice. When she sat thinking, she pressed her fists beneath her chin in the way her furniture-maker father did. Many considered her a highly logical woman, almost a prototypical White. She reasoned out highly complex puzzles and riddles for relaxation. She had a very small ability with Earth, little better than Pevara. She always had a fondness for cats, and she kept carved figures of them, many in amusing poses. Strong-willed and confident, she was frequently as blind to the world around her as any Brown; Whites were often like that, all logic and no judgment.

With the exception of the Sitter who was killed in the fighting, Seaine was the only Sitter excluded from the gathering of the Hall where Siuan Sanche was deposed who did not flee the Tower and join the rebels. She remained because she believed in the law and its forms. She would not have stood to depose Siuan—she had, after all, proposed Siuan for Amyrlin in the first place—but once it was done, with however small a nod to the law, she felt she had no choice but to remain. Elaida went to Seaine to have her get evidence that Alviarin was a traitor; Seaine misunderstood and thought that Elaida was charging her to find the Black Ajah. Elaida chose Seaine for the primary reason that no one would suspect Elaida of going to her because she had proposed Siuan for Amyrlin, and also because of her logical and deductive skills. Seaine went to Pevara to ask for help, which was given. Together they discovered the ferrets sent from Salidar and bound them to help in the search. Other Sitters—Yukiri, Saerin, Doesine and Talene—noticed them sneaking about and also became part of the search. Their first discovery was Talene, who helped them find other members of the Black. Seaine and Talene Minly had been friends despite Talene standing to depose Siuan; she accepted Talene’s reasons, though she didn’t agree with them. After Talene was revealed as Black Ajah, Seaine felt as though Talene being a Darkfriend meant their friendship was a lie and a betrayal; she knew that did not really make sense, but she could not shake the feeling. Seaine’s nose was a little out of joint over the new arrangements in the Black Ajah hunting group, though she told herself she was being illogical. She and Pevara had acted as co-equals, ignoring the strength difference between them because they were friends. With the advent of the others, though, the formal strictures of hierarchy took over. Saerin assumed leadership, and Pevara and the others accepted this, but Seaine couldn’t help thinking that it was she who was chosen for this task originally, and now she was outranked by just about everybody except the fifth column and their prisoner, Talene. Seaine and the rest continued their search until Verin’s notebook made it unnecessary; then she helped Egwene learn more about the Forsaken.

She was part of the battle in Tel’aran’rhiod against some of the Black Ajah at the White Tower until she and others were taken out of the dream on Amys’ orders.

After Taim was forced out of the Black Tower, Seaine went there to bond an Asha’man Warder.

Sealbreaker. The name Gabrelle gave Logain, because he broke the seals on the Dark One’s prison during the Last Battle.

Sealdre. An Aiel Wise One and dreamwalker at the time of the building of Rhuidean. She was married to Mandein and encouraged him to go to the Jenn Aiel in Rhuidean. She had long golden hair.

Sealed to the Flame. A term referring to information that was kept secret from everyone but the Amyrlin and those with whom she chose to share it.

Sealed to the Tower. A term referring to information that was kept secret from anyone outside the White Tower.

Seana. A Wise One of the Black Cliff sept of the Nakai Aiel. She had gray-streaked dark hair and bluish-gray eyes. A dreamwalker who could not channel, she was killed by a Draghkar in the attack on Cold Rocks Hold.

Seanchan. A land lying three thousand leagues west of the main continent, and its people. Its capital was Seandar, where the Court of the Nine Moons held the seat of the Empress or Emperor, the Crystal Throne. Its Imperial sigil was a golden hawk in flight, clutching three lightning bolts in its talons. The Imperial banner was white, bordered in royal blue, with the sigil in its center. If the Empress or Emperor was present, it was fringed in gold; if the heir to the throne was present, it was fringed in blue.

In FY 992, Artur Hawkwing sent his son Luthair and another son across the Aryth Ocean with about two thousand ships and three hundred thousand soldiers and settlers. When they landed in Seanchan, they discovered a shifting quilt of nations often at war with one another, where Aes Sedai often reigned. Without any equivalent of the White Tower, Aes Sedai worked for their own individual goals, using the Power. Forming small groups, they schemed against one another constantly. In large part it was this constant scheming for personal advantage and the resulting wars among the myriad nations that allowed the armies from east of the Aryth Ocean to begin the conquest of an entire continent, and for their descendants to complete it. During this conquest, the descendants of the original armies became Seanchan as much as they conquered Seanchan.

After Luthair received word of his father’s death and then nothing further, he planned to gather the might of his conquered nation and return to the mainland and reclaim his father’s empire. While it took more than eleven hundred years, in 998 NE, a force of Seanchan arrived with five hundred ships at Falme. They called themselves the Hailene, or the Forerunners; they planned to retake the continent if necessary for the Corenne, or the Return. Though they lost a battle at Falme, High Lady Suroth gathered the Hailene and took Tanchico and Ebou Dar; the Corenne, a fleet of thousands of ships and hundreds of thousands of soldiers, craftsmen and others, soon followed.

Luthair was helped in his conquest of Seanchan also by the invention of the a’dam. Invented by Deain, one of the Aes Sedai, to curry favor with Luthair, it was used to subjugate and control the Aes Sedai, although it required sul’dam, women with the ability to learn to channel, to be used. That the sul’dam could learn to channel was suppressed and eventually forgotten. In time, all young women came to be tested for the ability to become damane or sul’dam; if she was the former, she was immediately collared and written out of family records and citizen rolls. If she was the latter, she gained prestige and honor.

Damane were used in many facets of Seanchan life, including construction, warfare, the finding of ores, and even entertainment; they could produce a display called Sky Lights, which resembled a fireworks display, but which were thought by Seanchan to be superior. A man who could channel was immediately executed and his name removed from all records.

From the time of Luthair’s conquest, the Seanchan were ruled by an emperor or empress. The throne on which the ruler sat, the Crystal Throne, was a ter’angreal causing anyone approaching to feel great awe and wonder; only the reigning monarch was ever allowed to sit on it. The Emperor or Empress encouraged potential heirs to contend for the throne, and would choose the child felt to be the strongest. Those contests were not limited to simply bettering one’s rivals at court; assassination was common. Empress Radhanan favored her daughter Tuon to succeed her; Tuon accompanied the Return. Semirhage killed the entire royal family remaining in Seanchan; Tuon became empress, taking the name Fortuona.

The Empress or Emperor ruled with the help of a number of groups. The most honored were the Deathwatch Guards, who were the personal bodyguards of the Imperial family. Some Deathwatch Guards were human, and da’covale; the remainder were Ogier and were not owned. The Seekers for Truth were a police and spy organization; Seekers were property, but they held wide powers and could arrest anyone who did not answer their questions or cooperate with them. They held their prisoners in the Tower of Ravens. Listeners were secret spies for the Empress of Seanchan. They were always hidden, and had no authority whatsoever. Their duty was to report everything they saw, heard, or learned.

The Seanchan symbol of justice was a slant-edged headsman’s axe, the haft of which was bound with intricate knots in a white silk rope. The axe itself was a method of execution for various high crimes, at least for commoners; for nobles guilty of certain crimes, the cord was used to strangle them. It was usually covered or carried in a black velvet bag; when the cord was exposed, justice was being dealt, or might be dealt. The bag itself was also a weighty symbol of justice within the Imperial family, within which justice for all others was contained. The method of execution for a member of the Imperial family was to be sealed within the bag and left to die.

No one was allowed to go armed into the presence of a member of the Imperial family, or a High Lord or Lady, excepting only the Deathwatch Guard. By Seanchan law, no one’s hand might slay or shed the blood of one in whose veins flowed the blood of Artur Hawkwing. This did not refer to the Blood in general; only to those who were descended from Hawkwing.

Neither a damane nor a da’covale (other than a so’jhin) could give evidence, by law. As a practical matter, no charge or accusation made by a da’covale (other than a so’jhin) or a damane would be believed. So’jhin could give evidence and bring charges, as was necessary, since most of the bureaucracy of Seanchan was composed of so’jhin belonging to the Imperial Throne. The nobles of Seanchan, known as the Blood, were originally limited to those who were descendants of Luthair himself or members of his armies; over time it became possible for a commoner to be raised to the Blood. There were High Blood and low Blood; the top rank were the High Lords and High Ladies, who lacquered the first two fingernails of each hand. The next lower rank were simply called Lords or Ladies, though they were of the High Blood, and they lacquered just the nail of the forefinger on each hand. The third and fourth levels were also called Lords or Ladies, but the third level lacquered the last two fingernails of each hand, while the fourth and lowest lacquered only the nails of the little fingers. They were of the low Blood. The term “lesser Blood” was also used, and could be used by those who were High Lords or Ladies referring even to the second rank. Patience was a necessity for the Blood. Those who lacked it were likely to end in the Tower of Ravens. Like the children of the monarch, members of the Blood contested for honor, renown and riches.

When Luthair arrived in Seanchan, he found a culture that bought and sold people as property. If he or his descendants ever tried to wipe out the practice, they did not succeed. The slaves were known as da’covale, Old Tongue for “those who are property,” or covale, “property.” A particular class of da’covale, so’jhin, were hereditary upper servants of the Blood. So’jhin had considerable status and in some positions could give orders to and have authority over free people.

The Seanchan were very superstitious, by and large, believing in lucky amulets and that wearing certain stones and such things could give benefits. They believed in omens, that seeing certain things or certain things happening indicated good or bad luck coming, or perhaps a death or some other event. They also believed that damane could tell fortunes, which they called telling a fortune, or reading, or foretelling. This was a hold-over of the knowledge about Foretelling, which in fact did crop up in damane sometimes.

When Luthair arrived in Seanchan, he found the natives using strange beasts that he and his forces believed at first to be Shadowspawn, but the animals had originally been brought to Seanchan from parallel worlds via Portal Stones. Corlm, grolm, lopar, raken, to’raken and torm were used by the armies that Luthair faced; as he conquered, he began using them as well. The animals each had handlers, called morat; a senior morat could become der’morat.

See also a’dam, Corenne, corlm, da’covale, damane, Deathwatch Guards, grolm, Hailene, lopar, raken, so’jhin, to’raken and torm

Seandar. The capital city of Seanchan. It was the largest city in the Empire.

Sebban Balwer. An Amadician who was once publicly secretary to Pedron Niall and truly the spymaster of the Children of the Light. He was a dry little stick of a man, only about 5'6" tall, even without stooping; it seemed impossible that he could move without making dry, rustling noises, but in fact he moved very quietly in bird-like hopping motions. He was purse-mouthed. His face was narrow and pinched, and he had knobby shoulders and spindly legs that looked as if they might have snapped under his desiccated weight. He had bony fingers and narrow eyes; he tapped his lips in thought. Balwer had punctilious manners and mannerisms, folding his hands fussily, and dry-washing them when he thought he’d been insulted or underrated. Everything with him was dry and precise, even his smile. Niall thought that he believed in nothing—except possibly looking over other men’s shoulders—not even in the Dark One, and he certainly did not really believe that Aes Sedai were Darkfriend witches—but on the other hand, his information was never stained by what he knew had to be true and certainly not by what he wanted to be true. Balwer did not at all mind that Omerna was publicly believed to be the spymaster—he believed that a spymaster who was known was useless—but he disliked Niall getting communications from agents that did not go through him, and he disliked not knowing what was in them. Niall was quite right in believing that Balwer would serve anyone at all, but Balwer had an instinct for loyalty to his employer. He was suspicious of Niall’s death, and he aided the escape of Morgase and her companions mainly to deprive Valda of them, though he did think he might find some other way of using them to strike back at Valda and Asunawa.

He became secretary (and de facto head of intelligence) to Faile and Perrin after meeting up with them, and was very helpful to Perrin, who knew that Balwer learned surprising things on his solitary forays. Balwer latched on to Faile and Perrin for very real reasons. Perrin was plainly a personal representative of the Dragon Reborn, and that connection was one worth cultivating. To Balwer, this was a new position where he could use his skills, though he revealed them cautiously. He was quite capable of offering as faithful a service to Perrin and Faile as he did to Niall.

Perrin lent Balwer’s services to Rand, gathering intelligence on different groups, particularly Elayne’s people, prior to the meeting at the Field of Merrilor.

Second. An hour denomination in the Tower, an hour or so after noonday.

Second Covenant. See Compact of the Ten Nations

Second-mother. See Aiel kinship

second-sister. See Aiel kinship

Sedar Cut. A place mentioned by Caldin, an Aiel; the attack on Rand by Whitecloaks reminded him of a time near Sedar Cut.

Sedore Dajenna. A Tairen Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah publicly and of the Black Ajah in truth. She had a strength level of 19(7). Born in 813 NE, she went to the White Tower in 829 NE. After spending nine years as a novice and seven years as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 845 NE. About 5'5" tall, and plump but elegant, she had a pretty round face, dark eyes and long dark hair. She carried a frosty arrogance about her; in fact, in Elaida’s opinion, she was one of the most arrogant of all among the sisters. She was raised Sitter for the Yellow in 961 NE and stood to depose Siuan Sanche, one of only eleven needed to give the greater consensus under the circumstances. She sat on the Supreme Council of the Black Ajah, but did not know that Alviarin was Black Ajah. The mention of forkroot unsettled her enough to make her swallow, and Elaida also made her very nervous. She served as a Sitter until she fled the Tower when members of the Black Ajah were revealed by Verin.

She was killed in Tel’aran’rhiod by Egwene.

Sedrin. A highwalker in Valan Luca’s circus. He got drunk and died in a fall.

Sedrin. An infant born near Dragonmount, the son of Lady Meri do Ahlan a’Conlin of Murandy. She intended to frame his bounty from the White Tower so that he would know that he had been honored by Aes Sedai.

Seed. An object necessary for creating an angreal.

seed singing. A technique used by a team of Ogier, Nym and Da’shain Aiel in cultivating crops during the Age of Legends to ensure perfect growth. It employed the One Power. Aiel boys could take part when their voices were deep enough, around the age of sixteen. Aiel men and Ogier surrounded a field and commenced singing, and female Aiel clapped as their menfolk sang; then a Nym would appear, surrounded by butterflies, plants such as zemai sprouting in his footsteps. He danced and wove the song into the soil and around the seeds, causing them to sprout. Seed-sung plants grew very high and were untouched by blight and insects.

Seeker. The term used for the leader of a Tuatha’an caravan; in the Old Tongue the word was “Mahdi.”

Seekers for Truth. A Seanchan police and spy organization charged with Imperial security. They hunted out Darkfriends, acted as secret police and rooted out treasonous behavior, often using torture. Most were da’covale and property of the Imperial throne; as such, most were marked on either shoulder with a raven and a tower. Their headquarters was the Tower of Ravens. Seekers were subject to few limits, even with the Blood, since they reported to the Empress. As identification, they carried an ivory plaque, worked with the Raven and the Tower. Seekers developed informants wherever they operated, which disturbed the bureaucracy controlling the Listeners, as they wanted to be the Seekers’ sole source for that sort of data. The Seekers, on the other hand, wanted actual control of the Listener bureaucracy. Anyone and everyone was required to cooperate with a Seeker who identified himself, and this cooperation was carried to complete obedience. For instance, if a Seeker told one to wait while he went for rope to bind the person, failing to do so would be a crime, and most Seanchan would indeed wait. For that matter, if the Seeker told one to go somewhere and bring the rope for one’s binding, the person would be expected to do that, too, and just as few Seanchan would disobey.

The penalty for a Seeker using his or her powers in any personal way or for any personal advantage whatsoever was death, and a very unpleasant one. Their services belonged to the Empress, not to themselves.

Sefela. An Aiel woman of Far Dareis Mai who went to the Stone of Tear. Aviendha told Egwene that Sefela could take her to Rhuidean.

segade. A spiny, fat, leafless leathery plant with large white blossoms found in the Waste. Its flower was used in Aiel bridal wreaths to signify the bride’s prickly nature and intention to stay that way.

Segan do Avharin a’Roos. A Murandian noblewoman. She had full lips and dark eyes; she was slender and had long dark hair. Segan was one of the nobles of northern Murandy who made common cause with the intruding Andorans against the rebel Aes Sedai and later came to further agreements with the Andorans.

Segani. The raken Chulein was flying over the Kin’s farm when Elayne’s gateway exploded.

Sehar. A town in Altara near the River Eldar. When Morgase, Tallanvor, Lini, Basel Gill, Lamgwin and Breane were traveling west, trying to raise an army to retake Caemlyn, a man in Sehar told them that they would be able to get a ferry in Cormaed.

Sei’cair. Old Tongue for “golden eyes.” The Aiel used it as a title for Perrin.

sei’mosiev. Old Tongue for “lowered or downcast eyes,” a phrase used by the Seanchan. It indicated a loss of face or honor. One could become sei’mosiev either by one’s own actions or inactions, or by the actions or inactions of others. What happened to one’s blood relations and/or allies could also affect one. For example, having one’s son or daughter, brother or sister, or any relation declared covale (property) resulted in a loss of face. A rather nasty trick sometimes played, although considered a cliché, was to introduce a female covale into a man’s house as his asa (concubine), asa not being covale; when one or more children were born, and had been acknowledged as was customary, the situation was revealed. The asa/covale reverted to her owner, of course, and because condition followed the female line, so did the children.

sei’taer. Old Tongue for “straight eyes,” a phrase used among the Seanchan. It meant having face or honor, referring to the ability to look anyone in the eye.

Seia Doon. Old Tongue for “Black Eyes.” The name was used for an Aiel warrior society.

Seiera. The mouse-colored mare that Min rode from Dumai’s Wells to Cairhien; Min liked her, so Rand bought the horse for her. The word was the Old Tongue name of a flower known in Baerlon as blue-eye.

Seirin. A calm man of the Shorara sept of the Tomanelle Aiel. About Rand’s age, he acted as a messenger between Han and Rand in the battle for Cairhien.

Sela. An elderly woman who worked as a chambermaid at Gareth Bryne’s manor in Kore Springs, Andor. She was getting old to be running up and down stairs at night.

Selame. Egwene’s maid in Salidar who, along with Meri and Chesa, helped dress and undress her, and attended her during the day. A refugee with dark coloring typical of Tear, she was rail-thin and carried her long nose high, as if sniffing something or recoiling from a bad smell. She was haughty and arrogant with other servants, yet full of silly chatter, with a great deal of concern for what people thought. Only her betters counted as people, in her book. She was provided by Lelaine, for whom she was spying. On the journey north from Salidar, she and Meri were murdered by Halima, who didn’t want spies watching Egwene because they might have seen or overheard something that would have endangered her own safety. Chesa survived simply because she wasn’t a spy for anyone, just a maid.

Selame Necoine. An Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah who served as Amyrlin Seat from approximately FY 1084 to approximately 5 NE. An Amyrlin of average strength, she was unable to carry out what Deane had begun: to unite the nobles behind the White Tower.

Selande Darengil. A Cairhienin minor noblewoman who wore six thin stripes crossing the front of her coat. About 5'3" tall, with dark hair, dark eyes and a pale complexion, she was young and pretty. Colavaere directed her at Rand to try to attach strings to him; Selande was frightened half out of her wits by him. She was one of the young nobles who began to imitate the Aiel Maidens. She wore her hair loose and cut off at the shoulder, and a sword belted over a riding dress. She had stark admiration for the Maidens and stark fear of Rand, although the latter faded after he made it clear she had nothing to fear from him. The leader of her society imitating the Aiel, which, unlike the Aiel societies, contained both men and women, she managed a credible swagger, with a bold tilt to her head and a bold set to her shoulders. She and her society were coopted into the service of Faile and called themselves “Cha Faile,” which was Old Tongue for “the Falcon’s Claw” or “the Falcon’s Talon.” She wanted a scar, like those some Maidens had, which Faile thought was ridiculous, but she was not overly eager about it. Faile thought that Selande was the brightest of Cha Faile, except perhaps for Parelean, and that only Camaille and Arrela were quicker, but Selande had a calmness, as if she had already faced the worst fear in her life and nothing else could ever be as bad. She accompanied Faile to Ghealdan, and was one of those sent into Bethal. After Faile was taken prisoner by the Shaido, she agreed to obey Perrin until Faile was found, and Balwer used her to gather information on Masema. Selande led a group of twenty Cha Faile into Malden via the aqueduct to rescue Faile. When Perrin’s group encountered Whitecloaks, Selande put on a dress and went to spy on them. In the Last Battle, she was with Faile on the mission to deliver the Horn of Valere to Mat; when Vanin was thought to be a Darkfriend, Selande took charge of the scouts. She was hauled into the air by weaves of the One Power after Aravine betrayed them to the Shadow.

Selean. A walled farming town in Cairhien at the other end of the Jangai Pass from Taien. It was once a considerable town, set on the hills, but was burned by Couladin and its inhabitants taken as slaves or impaled on sharp stakes.

Seleisin. A very isolated village or region. Many people used it in expressions to indicate ignorance: someone in Seleisin might not know something, but it should have been obvious to everyone else.

Selene. See Lanfear

Selfar. A roan gelding belonging to Talmanes.

Selindrin. The proprietor of The Garden of Silver Breezes in Tanchico. She was a sleek, dark-haired woman of indeterminate age. She cleverly catered to every faction while earning the enmity of none.

Selorna. A Tairen noble House. See also Edorion Selorna

Selucia. A Seanchan woman who was so’jhin to Tuon. Born in 956 NE, she was about 5'4" tall and slim of build, but was full-breasted enough that men frequently stared at her bosom admiringly. She was beautiful, with golden hair, a creamy complexion, large cool blue eyes and a regal bearing. Selucia’s mother gave her to Tuon when Tuon was in the cradle, to be Tuon’s nursemaid and shadow, a bodyguard no one knew about. Selucia was then twenty-five and had been trained in secret her whole life for the role. As a nursemaid, she, along with Tuon’s Soe’feia, was responsible for disciplining Tuon. At Tuon’s adulthood ceremony at age sixteen, she pardoned Selucia for those punishments, according to tradition, and gave her one hundred gold thrones for each one. At that point, Selucia asked to be Tuon’s chief maid, turning her back on possible power and authority, and continued to function as a shadow. Tuon only had to have Selucia punished twice, and regretted it as much as Selucia. Selucia accompanied Tuon to Ebou Dar aboard the Victory of Kidron. When she discovered Mat holding Tuon prisoner in the stables of the Tarasin Palace, she told him that she would obey Mat if he did not hurt Tuon and that she would kill him if he did. Mat took both along in his escape from Ebou Dar. When Mat took Tuon to a “hell” in Maderin, Selucia went along; when attacked by Darkfriends as they were leaving, Thom and Selucia killed more than half a dozen of them. Thom was impressed. After hearing from Falendre that Anath was Forsaken and had been captured by the Dragon Reborn, Tuon named Selucia her Truthspeaker; Selucia did not welcome the position, but she did her best. During the Last Battle, Selucia stayed near Tuon; she was injured when the Gray Men attacked the command tent, but recovered.

Semalaren. A place in Seanchan where the Imperial army fought a rebel force, each army having four hundred damane, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.

Semaradrid Maravin. A Cairhienin nobleman who was High Seat of House Maravin. He wore slashes of color on his coat to below the waist. He was almost 5'9" tall, with a long face and gaunt cheeks. His hair, showing white streaks at the temples, was shaved at the front like that of common soldiers; his dark eyes could chip stone. He moved stiffly from wounds suffered in his land’s civil war, but his limp came from fighting Tear. His armor was gilded and worked, but it had seen considerable use and showed it. His main reason for cooperating with the Tairens was that they were not Aiel. Semaradrid was part of the Illian invasion army, commanding the Cairhienin. When Rand learned of rebellion in Haddon Mirk, Semaradrid wore his malicious smile for the Tairens quite openly. Semaradrid was also part of the campaign against the Seanchan.

Weiramon and Semaradrid had a touchy relationship; Weiramon pretended to give the Cairhienin equality while slighting him almost unconsciously; Semaradrid was fully aware of the slights, of his weaker position, and hated both.

House Maravin had old alliances with House Riatin.

Semaris, Jeordwyn. See Jeordwyn Semaris

Semirhage. A Forsaken. As an Aes Sedai, her name was Nemene Damendar Boann. Her strength level was 1(+12). She was 6'1½" tall, and beautiful, with skin as dark as one of the Sea Folk. Slender and graceful, with long fingers and delicate hands, she had large dark brown eyes and short, black, wavy hair. She usually had a cool, even cold, and imperious air, but when she gave her sadism free rein, the imperiousness dropped away and she became almost solicitous toward her victim. She was especially ruthless and cruel, and a vicious killer, and truly hated anyone who called herself Aes Sedai. A true sadist, she really gained pleasure by causing pain.

Semirhage was almost as poor at handling weather as Asmodean. She liked to do intricate needlework, beautiful patterns of flowers and the like. She knew how to play sha’rah, no’ri and tcheran, but she was an indifferent player of games that did not involve actual people. During the Age of Legends, she was world-famous as a healer of last resort, able to heal what others had given up on. But she always extracted pain as part of her payment. Her main reason for going over to the Shadow was that the Hall of the Servants had discovered that she gave her sadism free rein and proposed binding her with what would be known in the next Age as the Oath Rod.

Demandred, Semirhage and Mesaana acted as a sort of team, though they would move against one another given a chance. They did not follow Moridin willingly. On orders from the Dark One Semirhage sent the Trollocs and Myrddraal that aided Rand in the Stone against Sammael’s Shadowspawn and Darkfriends; she and Demandred planned between them to increase chaos by bringing Rand and the Seanchan into conflict, trying to focus them on one another. Semirhage posed as Anath Dorje, Seanchan Truthspeaker to Tuon, having disposed of Tuon’s intended Truthspeaker.

After Mat kidnapped Tuon, Semirhage went back to Seanchan and killed the Empress and the royal family. Semirhage posed as Tuon to meet Rand in an attempt to kidnap him, but her plan was thwarted; she was captured, but not before taking off Rand’s hand.

She was humiliated when Cadsuane spanked her, but she was set free by Shaidar Haran, who gave her the Domination Band. With it, Semirhage and Elza captured Rand and almost forced him to kill Min. Rand used the True Power to break free and balefired his two captors.

Sen T’jore. A wild region of Seanchan. Great spotted cats as large as ponies and trap-worms could be found there.

Senar. An Ogier who was father of Malan father of Aran, the last being the author of a manuscript telling of sightings of Ishamael after the Bore had been sealed.

Sendara. A woman of the Iron Mountain sept of the Taardad Aiel and Far Dareis Mai. Her name was on Rand’s list of women who had died for him.

Sene sovya caba’donde ain dovienya. Old Tongue for “Luck is a horse to ride like any other.”

Senhold, Aeman. A nobleman who was leader of the Amadician contingent at the Battle of the Shining Walls.

Senican, Aliane. See Aliane Senican

Senine din Ryal. A Sea Folk Windfinder with a strength level of 19(7). More than five hundred years old, she had weathered, creased cheeks and thickly graying hair. She was among the lower ranking and wore six earrings, but the marks in her ears indicated that she at one time had worn many more earrings and fatter ones. She had been Windfinder to a Wavemistress more than once, and had been Windfinder to Nesta’s predecessor. The rule for the Windfinder to a Wavemistress was that if no Wavemistress needed her services, she was required to move down to the lowest level on a new vessel and work back up. Senine became Windfinder to the Sailmistress of a soarer, and not the largest even of those. She observed the use of the Bowl of the Winds because she was one of the strongest available among the remaining Windfinders in Ebou Dar. Despite being of low rank, she was consulted.

She accompanied Elayne to Caemlyn, and was one of the Windfinders to stay in Caemlyn after Zaida left. She was part of the circle that made a gateway so that soldiers could rescue Elayne from the Black Ajah.

Senior Standardbearer. A Seanchan rank equivalent to Senior Bannerman. A Senior Standardbearer had a small crest like a steel arrowhead at the front of the helmet.

Senje no-room. An obscure reference by Birgitte, intimating that the keeper of this is not embarrassed easily.

Seonid Traighan. A Cairhienin Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah and the rebel contingent, with a strength level of 17(5). Born in 928 NE, she went to the White Tower in 946 NE. After spending thirteen years as a novice and twelve years as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 971 NE. Seonid was 5'1" tall and had a pale complexion, dark hair that fell in waves to her shoulders and big, dark, bottomless eyes. While she was not particularly slender, neither was she stocky or stout. Seonid sometimes wore a kesiera, a white fingernail-sized stone on her forehead. She was atypical for a Green in that she was very cool and reserved, with an air of dignity and authority. Sometimes she had a determined smile.

Seonid was a lesbian; she did not hate men, she just did not want to bed them. She chose Green because it was the Battle Ajah. Her Warders were Teryl Wynter and Furen Alharra. Seonid’s attitude toward her Warders was very businesslike, brisk, practical and methodical. That was, in fact, her general attitude.

She was part of the rebel embassy to Rand and was one of the first three to approach Rand in Caemlyn; she was also one of those who confronted him with the Mask of Mirrors. She was among the group that followed after Rand when he fled them in Caemlyn and was forced to swear fealty to him after Dumai’s Wells. She was then treated like an apprentice by the Wise Ones, and considered an apprentice. Seonid and Masuri were sent to Ghealdan with Perrin to deal with Masema, under orders to obey Perrin as she would Rand, something that left room for interpretation, as she, Masuri and Perrin were all aware. Seonid considered the Dragonsworn all to be in the nature of mad dogs. She had sworn to serve the Dragon Reborn, and one of the best ways she could see to do that was to suppress in whatever way possible the Dragonsworn, and so put an end to the depredations she thought they caused.

She considered Rand as arrogant as any king, and had a typical Cairhienin attitude toward Aiel.

Sephanie Pelden. A young Andoran woman. She and her sister Naris sought work at the Royal Palace; Essande chose them to train as Elayne’s maids because they were unlikely to be spies. Sephanie was very happy to be a lady’s maid rather than cleaning the halls. Square-faced and shy, she was as much in awe of Essande as of Elayne.

Sera. A Seanchan damane belonging to Tuon. She had a dark complexion, large, liquid black eyes, tightly curled black hair and fine smile lines at the corners of her eyes. She was the strongest of Tuon’s six damane and was part of Karede’s group that searched for Tuon when she was missing.

Serafelle Tanisloe. A Murandian Aes Sedai of the Brown Ajah and the loyalist contingent, with a strength level of 23(11). Born in 862 NE, she went to the White Tower in 891 NE. After spending ten years as a novice and four years as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 905 NE. She was 5'4" tall, and pretty in a plump fashion, with brown hair and large hazel eyes. Sometimes, especially when thinking, she had the physical mannerisms of a spoiled noblewoman, which she was. Serafelle was a wilder who slowed at age nineteen. She was married, but lost her husband and three children to a fever; she herself barely escaped death. Of the middle nobility, she was a pampered, self-indulgent woman, but after the deaths, she reassessed her life and decided to become Aes Sedai. At age twenty-nine, she lied about her age, claiming to be eighteen, in order to be allowed into the Tower. Two years passed before sisters discovered the truth, and by that time, she had to be allowed to continue. That lie, though, was possibly the reason she was not allowed to test for Accepted for ten years; she believed that, with some justification. She was a quick study and a fast learner—very observant, very intelligent and quick-witted. She would have become Yellow except that she possessed a minimal Talent for Healing. She accompanied Siuan to Fal Dara, and was part of the circle that Healed Mat of his connection to the Shadar Logoth dagger.

Serailla. A Kandori noblewoman who served Ethenielle as First Councilor to the Throne of the Clouds. About 5'5" tall, she was stout, with a round, placid face. She was more graceful than she appeared, both in dancing and in the saddle. Though she looked like a farmwife stuffed into a noblewoman’s dress, her mind was as sharp as any Aes Sedai’s. She was completely unflappable and settled in to see what must be done. She accompanied Ethenielle in the Last Battle.

Seralin. A Wise One of the Shaido Aiel. One of Sevanna’s inner circle of plotters, she took part in, or at least was present at, the murder of Desaine. At Dumai’s Wells, she was with Therava.

Serana. A sizable village in Tarabon located halfway between Elmora and the Amadician border. It lay in a flat grassy valley among forested hills, with at least a mile to the trees in three directions; in the other direction was a small, reed-fringed lake, considerably wider than the village, fed by two wide streams. It was a stopping point for merchant trains heading east, with over a dozen inns and nearly as many streets. The rooftops of Serana were all tile, red or green or blue, but the buildings themselves were wooden. Serana became one of the Seanchan garrisons in Tarabon and was one of many raided by Rodel Ituralde.

Serancha Colvine. An Aes Sedai of the Gray Ajah and the loyalist contingent. Born in 835 NE, she went to the White Tower in 850 NE. After spending seven years as a novice and six years as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 863 NE. She served as a Sitter from 974 to 990 NE and was named Head Clerk of the Gray Ajah in 990 NE. She had a pinched mouth and a pinched nose that constantly seemed to be detecting a bad smell. Even her pale blue eyes seemed pinched with disapproval. She might well have been pretty otherwise. Seaine and Pevara once dusted her cloak with powdered itch oak; they thought that she was a prig.

As head of her Ajah, Serancha picked Andaya Forae as a Sitter for the Gray after the White Tower split. She taught Egwene lessons after Egwene was captured by the White Tower, and met with other Ajah heads and agreed to raise Egwene Amyrlin after the Seanchan attack.

Seranda Palace. The home of the ruler of Amadicia in Amador.

Serden. The son of Kolom son of Radlin, an Ogier author from about 400 NE who developed a theory about the Ways.

Sereille Bagand. An Aes Sedai of the White Ajah with a strength level of 21(9). Born in Far Madding in 586 NE, she went to the White Tower in 601 NE. After spending thirteen years as a novice and eleven years as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 625 NE. The long periods Sereille spent as novice and Accepted had more to do with her being a discipline problem than with any difficulties in learning; she was remembered vividly by Reanne Corly of the Kin, who was a novice with her, as breaking more rules and playing more pranks than any three other novices.

It was considered an attribute of women from Far Madding that they were strong-willed, and it was not considered all that unusual for one to do even dangerous things on a dare, at least while young, but Sereille once left the Tower grounds without permission, visited the guards at each bridge, in her novice white, told them her name, then returned to the Tower, managing to sneak in despite the fact that the first report of a runaway had already come in. She did it on a dare, despite knowing the punishment; in fact, it is recorded that when she was found, it was in the Mistress of Novices’ study, waiting to begin that punishment.

In 738 NE Sereille was chosen for the Hall of the Tower as a Sitter for the White, serving under the ineffectual Feragaine and then Myriam Copan, who was also a weak Amyrlin, if not a puppet, in her early years. Sereille had shown no indications that she was extraordinary until she entered the Hall; as a Sitter, she blossomed, some might say virulently. She became more and more forceful, openly asserting her strong-willed personality. She could use logic like a knife in argument, gutting her opponents and filleting them or cutting them into paper-thin slices as she chose. With weak Amyrlins and all real power residing in the Hall—a situation that historically led to vicious infighting and a hothouse atmosphere in the Hall, indeed in the entire Tower—she had plenty of opportunity. She was particularly strong in opposing, successfully, measures that would have increased the power of the individual Ajahs at the expense of the Tower’s control over them, as well as any attempts at self-aggrandizement by Sitters.

In 759 NE, she was named Mistress of Novices under Myriam Copan. Some said she was appointed Mistress to get her out of the Hall. This occurred just after “Beauty” Copan went on her retreat that changed her priorities and turned her into a strong Amyrlin. It was not then known (although a few suspected) that Cadsuane was involved in this retreat in any way. Cadsuane, then age fifty-eight, and twenty-eight years an Aes Sedai—very junior in everything except her strength, which put her at the very top of the social hierarchy—did not get on with Sereille, and the dislike was returned. Reportedly, Cadsuane was the only sister who Sereille could never make jump through hoops.

Sereille served as Mistress of Novices for an unprecedented 107 years under Myriam, Zeranda Tyrim and Parenia Demalle. Traditionally, of course, a new Amyrlin might ask the Mistress of Novices to step down so as to put her own woman in the post, but some say that Sereille remained so long in the position because the Hall thought to keep her out of their hair, at least in the beginning. Later it was said that no one had the nerve to ask her to step down.

During her tenure, she was in many ways a tyrant, and most novices and Accepted squeaked when she looked at them; if she looked twice, their teeth often chattered. Her punishments were not arbitrary—she did not play favorites or single out girls she did not like—but her standards were high, and her punishments for falling short were fierce, to say the least. In truth, given that the Mistress of Novices often played such a large part in penances served by sisters, she also quite literally put her mark on a large number of women who already were Aes Sedai during this period.

In 866 NE, she was raised Amyrlin; some reports suggest that by this time, the Hall of the Tower was afraid not to stand for her. What can be certain, though, is that once her name was suggested, all others were withdrawn. She achieved the greater consensus on the very first call, which was all but unprecedented.

As Amyrlin, she ran the Tower in many ways as if she still were the Mistress of Novices, and every sister were a novice, or at best Accepted. She expected obedience and no arguments, and she got obedience and no arguments; those who argued soon came to regret it, with the possible exception of Cadsuane Melaidhrin. Claims that even Sitters flinched when she looked at them and broke into tears when she frowned cannot be confirmed, but the fact remains that during her reign, the Hall of the Tower was firmly in her grasp.

When the Hall first tried balking her, she unchaired the entire Hall. The Ajahs then returned the same Sitters, only to have her unchair them immediately. This continued for nearly half a year before the Ajahs realized that for all that time Sereille had been ruling solely by decree and would continue to do so. A full year passed before Sereille allowed a Hall to sit, and by that time the Ajahs had, in desperation, begun choosing women they believed Sereille would accept. By the time she allowed a Hall to sit, every single Sitter was a woman Sereille would accept; in effect, she had chosen her own Hall, and she never had trouble with them again. After Sereille’s death, the Hall passed a law saying that if the entire Hall was unchaired, the new Hall had to sit for ten days before it could be unchaired again.

A plotted rebellion against her was uncovered by Cadsuane and crushed by her single-handedly.

Sereille’s reign coincided with another expansion of Aes Sedai influence, an increase in the power of the White Tower. She did not try for the return to any former days of glory, but for that period, she came very close to achieving it, by diplomacy, by manipulation and plots, and by the force of her will. When Sereille died in 890 NE, the Hall began to reassert itself within the Tower; whether or not this was the reason, the Tower’s power and influence in the world promptly began another slow decline.

Sereine dar Shamelle Motara. The author of Commentaries on the Karaethon Cycle. She was Counsel-Sister to Comaelle, High Queen of Jaramide, circa 325 AB, the Third Age.

Serendahar. The site of a battle between Sammael and Lews Therin Telamon during the Age of Legends, where Sammael tried to bait Lews Therin into attacking him. Rand related the story to Asmodean.

Serengada Dai. A region of Seanchan that Sarek, one of the Blood with high ambitions, had designs on, as learned by Rand and Aviendha when they Traveled to Seanchan.

Serenia Latar. An Aes Sedai of the Gray Ajah who served as Amyrlin from 276 to 306 NE. Serenia was a strong Amyrlin, a skillful negotiator who greatly increased the Tower’s influence and prestige, ending many wars and effecting many treaties. In 306 NE, Serenia died in Altara after negotiating an end to a civil war. Her corpse was seized by the Whitecloaks; they hanged it despite the fact that she was already dead. She was the only Amyrlin ever hanged by the Children of the Light.

Serenla. The name used by Min after escaping the Tower with Siuan and Leane; it was Old Tongue for “stubborn daughter.”

Sergase Gilbearn. An Andoran noblewoman of a minor House. Small and slim with dark hair touched with white, she had opposed Gaebril and was loyal to Elayne; Sergase brought all twenty of her armsmen to support her.

Seri. A Seanchan damane who belonged to Lady Morsa. Rand and Aviendha encountered her when they Traveled to Seanchan. She was pale-faced and appeared to be a teenager. She was taken into custody by the Seeker, along with everyone else in the party. When Aviendha tried to remove her collar, Seri screamed to her mistress to save her.

Serile. A Sea Folk Windfinder to Turane; the Seanchan ship that they had captured was the meeting place for the First Twelve of the Atha’an Miere in Illian.

Serinia. An Aes Sedai assisting in creating gateways for refugees from Caemlyn at the beginning of the Last Battle.

Seroku, Alin. See Alin Seroku

Serpent, Great. See Great Serpent

Serrisa. A well-trained, responsive damane that Egeanin had owned and left behind in Cantorin. She would gorge herself on honeyed nuts, if allowed, but she never got seasick or the sulks, the way some did.

Servants, Hall of the. See Hall of the Servants

Servants of the Light. A term which originated during the Age of Legends to mean Aes Sedai. After the Breaking, it was a formal name still used by the Ogier for Aes Sedai east of the Aryth Ocean. The term was used when Loial introduced himself to Moiraine. Distinct from this usage, however, Red Ajah associated the term with male channelers.

Seta Zarbey. A Seanchan sul’dam. About 5'6" tall, with shoulder-length yellow hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion, she was one of the two sul’dam that Nynaeve and the others captured and left leashed on a’dam when they escaped at Falme. Her damane punched out Seta and ran away despite attempts to calm her, the implication being that Seta was not so pleasant. She and Renna were found by Alwhin and released. Because she was found being held by an a’dam, Seta was never again allowed to be complete, though the facts were covered up and she remained in Suroth’s employ. Egeanin learned of this from Bethamin and used it to blackmail Renna, Seta and Bethamin into helping rescue Teslyn, Joline and Edesina. The three sul’dam fled with Mat and Valan Luca’s show; Seta fled because she knew she could not return safely. After Bethamin began channeling, Seta refused to even look while Bethamin was taking lessons, but after a time she asked to be included. The Aes Sedai refused because she had not begun channeling yet and was too old for the novice book, whereupon she did channel, forcing their hands. She continued with Mat and the Band of the Red Hand until she went to the White Tower with the group that included Teslyn, Joline and Edesina.

Setagana. Anaiya’s Warder. He was tall, lean and beautiful. He and Anaiya were murdered with the use of saidin.

Setalle Anan. The innkeeper of The Wandering Woman in Ebou Dar. She was once the Aes Sedai Martine Janata, but was burned out while working with ter’angreal. Her description of the pain of being burned out was that if she gathered the birth pangs she suffered with all of her children together into one moment, that would be the tenth of what she felt. Three days passed before she could stop weeping long enough to go away, but once she did, she fled as if pursued. She felt she was pursued, in a way, by the horror, pity and queasiness she saw in the eyes of her sisters, as well as by her own horror at what had happened to her. She ran as if trying to outrun saidar, as if she felt in her bones that if she ran far enough, fast enough, she could find somewhere she would no longer be able to sense what she could no longer touch.

She arrived in Ebou Dar about half a year after being burned out. She thought that perhaps it was knowledge of the Kin that drew her to Ebou Dar, unconsciously. In her flight she had run out of money, lost her horse and lost everything. When Jasfer Anan found her standing in the rain and brought her home to his mother to take care of, she hadn’t eaten in days; she did not know how many, only that she often fainted and could no longer think straight. Jasfer’s mother was used to her son bringing home strays, though usually dogs or cats; this woman was not about to put up with any nonsense, like letting Setalle starve herself to death. She force-fed her and smacked her bottom until she began eating on her own.

Roughly a half year after meeting Jasfer, Setalle married him. Jasfer and she had eight children, altogether—five daughters and three sons. Marrying and having children were a major part of reviving her interest in life, giving her the realization that she had in effect been given a second chance.

She was about 5'5" tall, and stately, with hazel eyes and dark hair touched with a little gray; she appeared to be in her mid-forties, a slight residual effect of having been able to channel; she would always be taken for younger than her true age. She did not look as she did when she was really in her forties; no one would recognize her if they saw her. The onset of apparent relative youthfulness was not an overnight thing, as with Leane and Siuan. Not until after she was taken in by her Jasfer’s mother did she realize that she looked somewhere in her early twenties. Wondering about that was the first thing to pull her out of despair, listlessness and thoughts of suicide.

Setalle was caught up in Mat’s escape from Ebou Dar, and, after selling her inn, went with him while her family escaped on her husband’s fishing boats, sailing for Illian. She claimed to be happy in her life, happy with her husband and children and business, but the possibility of being able to channel again was a shock to her, a temptation that made her almost hate Nynaeve for offering it. Surprisingly, she claimed to be happy when Healing did not work; if it had, she would have to give up the life she had made for herself.

Setalle was with Faile’s group that went to fetch the Horn of Valere from the White Tower in the Last Battle. A gateway that was supposed to return them to the Field of Merrilor opened just as a bubble of evil struck; the group rushed through the gateway and found themselves in the Blight.

Setares, Tolmeran. See Tolmeran Setares

Setsuko. An Arafellin novice who was in the Tower at the time of the Aiel War. She was too weak to test for Accepted. She was pale-eyed, timid, stocky and shorter than Moiraine. She talked of running away, but a visit to Merean’s study convinced her at least to keep quiet about her intentions if it didn’t convince her to stay until the Aes Sedai decided it was safe for her to go.

Sevanna. A woman of the Jumai sept of the Shaido Aiel. In her late twenties to early thirties, she was about 5'8" tall, with green eyes, golden hair and a greedy mouth. She dressed immodestly and extravagantly for an Aiel. Sevanna was not a coward, nor was she stupid; she was simply very, very ambitious and very, very greedy. From a young age she wanted power, and was sure she had taken the right route to it. She enjoyed the excitement of the battle at Dumai’s Wells, and almost regretted not having chosen the spear, but she had decided early on that the weapons she had been born with were the proper ones for her climb. She pursued her first husband, the Shaido clan chief, and made him think he had chased and won her, and when he died, she did the same to Muradin, who was chosen to go to Rhuidean to replace her dead Suladric. When Muradin failed to return, she transferred her sights to Couladin and took him as easily.

After Couladin’s death, she took over as acting chief of the Shaido; she also began acting as a Wise One, and was accepted as one. She had real power at an age when Wise One’s apprentices were still running to fetch water and Maidens were still jumping when any of a dozen older Maidens murmured jump.

Sevanna was obsessed with possessing Rand. She intended, among other things, to found a dynasty, perhaps matriarchal, insofar as succession of the rulers was possible, to rule the Shaido and much more, using him. This desire for him was both practical—the dynasty and the power achieved simply by having him in her grasp—and personal—he had great power, and she lusted to own and control it. That was an added reason for her to want Faile serving her, once she learned Faile was married to a friend of Rand. Sevanna wanted to know everything about him.

Sevanna led the Shaido to break many customs; instead of taking the fifth, they looted to bare ground, excusing it because the victims were wetlanders. They forced wetlanders to become gai’shain—in effect slaves—though wetlanders did not follow ji’e’toh and this was considered insulting to the Aiel who were gai’shain. Sevanna, using the Wise Ones, decreed that wetlander gai’shain, because they did not follow ji’e’toh, were not to be released in a year and a day but held until they demonstrated that they had come to follow ji’e’toh, the object being to never release them. She also took Wise Ones into battle, although non-Shaido Aiel did so as well. She began decorating her gai’shain with jewelry, increased the jewelry she herself wore, and started wearing finger rings.

Sevanna hated being less than anyone else and not having the power or abilities that others did. That was her main impetus in wanting to break Galina. In the beginning she thought that simply breaking the Aes Sedai to a point where she would promise to do as Sevanna told her would be sufficient. She knew that Aes Sedai supposedly could not lie, but also that they were said to twist words fiercely. She was not certain about the efficacy of the binder rod given her by Caddar/Sammael, but she was willing to use it. Once Galina had been broken far enough to swear on the rod—and Sevanna believed it must take more to break an Aes Sedai than to break other people—then if the rod worked as claimed, she would have the complete and utter obedience of a woman who could channel, and if it did not work, she would still have the complete and utter obedience of a woman who could channel, because Galina would have been broken, and Aes Sedai could not lie.

Therava became Sevanna’s advisor, ostensibly because Sevanna spoke as the clan chief, and she needed a Wise One to advise her as a clan chief would. Sevanna was not best pleased by this. In the eyes of Therava and the other Wise Ones, Sevanna erred seriously in letting the Shaido be scattered at Sammael’s connivance. That was the real reason Therava was appointed to her post. At Malden, Sevanna was taken captive by the Seanchan.

Seve. A seven-year-old boy taken to Salidar as a child of Marigan (Moghedien in disguise); Jaril was his brother. At first, they clung to each other and seemed frightened of everything and everyone and would not speak a word. Later, they laughed and shouted as loud as the other children.

Seven-Striped Lass, The. A tavern in Caemlyn run by Melli Craeb.

Seven Towers. Defining landmarks of Malkier, broken by the Shadowspawn armies.

sevens. A game in which players sat facing one another, drew swords and aimed at each other’s throat, stopping just short of flesh.

severing. An Age of Legends word that meant both gentling and stilling, thus rendering men or women incapable of channeling.

Sevlana Meseau. A historical and legendary Gray sister who Merana thought of as impressive; she thought that when Kiruna and Bera first saw Cadsuane, it must have struck them the same way seeing Sevlana would strike her.

Sh’boan. A woman serving as the absolute monarch of Shara. The monarch ruled for exactly seven years, then died. The rule then passed to the mate of that ruler, the Sh’botay, who ruled for seven years and then died; his (second) mate then ruled as Sh’boan for seven years. This pattern had repeated itself from the time of the Breaking of the World. The Sharans believed that the deaths were the “Will of the Pattern.” A break in the cycle occurred when Graendal kidnapped Chiape, the Sh’boan, and her Sh’botay-to-be Shaofan and made them her pets.

Sh’botay. See Sh’boan

sha’je. A type of duel using left- and right-handed daggers tipped with poison, in which often neither party survived. The left-handed dagger was known as the osan’gar and the right-handed dagger as aran’gar. The duel originated during the Age of Legends after the Dark One’s touch was felt in the world. A sha’je duel at Qal was mentioned by Semirhage.

Sha’mad Conde. Old Tongue for “Thunder Walkers,” it was the name given to an Aiel warrior society.

sha’rah. A game that was ancient when the War of Power began. Moridin, one of nine remaining who knew the game, was a grandmaster. Played on a board with 13 × 13 squares, it had 33 red pieces and 33 green pieces and a central black-and-white piece called the Fisher; the first object was to capture the Fisher.

Shaarad Aiel. An Aiel clan which had Black Rock, Haido and Imran septs; its clan chief was Jheran.

Shadar Logoth. Old Tongue for “the Place Where the Shadow Waits.” The name was given to the city formerly known as Aridhol, capital of one of the Ten Nations. Aridhol used an evil as great as the Shadow to fight the Shadow, corrupting itself, and Shadar Logoth was destroyed circa 1200 AB. The evil that remained there was called Mashadar. The taint on Shadar Logoth was created by humans, who believed they had to do whatever was necessary to defeat the Shadow. Rand experienced resonance when channeling there—the Dark One’s taint reacted to the corruption of Shadar Logoth. One could say that the two taints were diametrically opposed to each other, two opposite magnetic poles that were attracted to each other.

Shadar Nor. The name given to Latra Posae, a famous female Aes Sedai from the time of the Breaking, meaning “Cutter (or Slicer) of the Shadow.” See Latra Posae

shade of my heart. An Aiel term of affection.

Shadoon, Stedding. A stedding located along the Shadow Coast.

Shadow Coast. The mountainous border of Tarabon and Amadicia on the southwestern coast of the continent. An Ogier stedding was located there.

Shadow, Lady of the. A Seanchan expression for death.

Shadow, the. The Dark One and also the power or force of the Dark One, in contrast to the Light of the Creator.

Shadow’s Waiting. See Shadar Logoth

Shadow-forgers. Those who forged Shadowwrought weapons in Thakan’dar, tempered by human blood. It was said that they became fierce when provoked and had skin hard enough to turn aside swords. Aviendha and other channelers hit them with weaves of Fire, which turned them to crumbling stone.

Shadowbrothers. The wolves’ name for Darkhounds.

Shadoweyes. The Aiel term for the Dark One’s animal spies.

Shadowkiller. The wolves’ term for Rand.

Shadowman. See Myrddraal

Shadowrunners. An Aiel term for Darkfriends.

shadowshand mushroom. A mushroom that made rings on fallen logs.

Shadowsouled. The Aiel name for Forsaken.

Shadowspawn. Living constructs created by the Forsaken Aginor, designed to serve the Shadow, during the War of the Shadow/the War of Power, the war that ended the Age of Legends. They included creatures such as Trollocs, Draghkar, gholam, Myrddraal, Darkhounds and Gray Men.

Shadowsworn. Those sworn to serve the Dark One; the term generally referred to those below the rank of Forsaken.

Shadowtwisted. The Aiel name for Trollocs.

Shadowwrought. The Aiel historical term for creatures made by Aginor; it was also Slayer’s name for Trollocs. As a descriptor, it was used to refer to the blades made at Thakan’dar by the Shadow-forgers. See Shadowspawn

Shae’en M’taal. Old Tongue for “Stone Dogs,” it was the name given an Aiel warrior society.

Shaemal. The capital city of Coremanda, one of the Ten Nations after the Breaking.

Shaen. An Aiel of the Stone Dog society who wore the red headband of the siswai’aman. He was part of the scouting mission to Thakan’dar and fought at Shayol Ghul in the Last Battle.

Shaene, Elver. See Elver Shaene

Shaeren, Burin. Lelaine’s Domani Warder. He was copper-skinned and looked like an uprooted stump. He had been with her over twenty years at the time the White Tower split.

Shago. A place from the distant past. Birgitte once said that the arguing Elayne and Nynaeve were “acting like Shago barmaids with winteritch.”

Shagrin, Joni. See Joni Shagrin

Shahal Comanli. A Domani Aes Sedai of the Gray Ajah who was uncommitted to either contingent. She had a strength level of 34(22), and was roughly two hundred years old. She was 5'2" tall and quite stout, with copper skin. Shahal had a flirtatious streak; in fact, when she chose to flirt, men quickly forgot that she was short and stout. She was one of the uncommitted Aes Sedai Rand found in Cairhien after Dumai’s Wells who was following Cadsuane Melaidhrin. Shahal was left behind in Cairhien when Cadsuane went to Far Madding.

Shai’tan. The true name of the Dark One. Saying it was thought to draw his attention, inevitably bringing ill fortune at best, disaster at worst; among his followers, using the name was thought to be blasphemy. For that reason many euphemisms were used.

Shaidar Haran. Old Tongue for “Hand of the Dark,” it was the name given a Myrddraal unlike all others. Its name was in Old Tongue, while all other Myrddraal had names in the Trolloc tongue. Shaidar Haran was head and shoulders taller than all other Halfmen. Arrogant, it commanded the Forsaken, displayed a dark sense of humor and could sense the difference between saidin and saidar. Shaidar Haran carried the authority of the Dark One to the extent that he was permitted to punish Moghedien and Mesaana severely for their failures. Shaidar Haran did not have nearly as much power as the Dark One, but the Dark One was able to project a shadowy form of himself into it. If too long away from Shayol Ghul, Shaidar Haran grew weak.

The Dark One discarded Shaidar Haran when Rand went to the Pit of Doom, leaving a husk on the ground and creating a large void.

Shaido Aiel. One of the Aiel clans. They followed Couladin until his death outside Cairhien while he was leading 160,000 Shaido spears against the city. Sevanna managed to establish herself as both a Wise One and, in effect, chief of the Shaido, though as a woman she could not be a chief any more than a man could be a Wise One; it was all done through the simple expedient that as widow of the last chief and of the one before that, she spoke as the chief until a new one was selected. Given the situation, it was highly unlikely any Shaido would be allowed into Rhuidean, and she meant to see that none was in any case.

Especially under Sevanna, the Shaido began to behave in nontraditional ways for the Aiel, including the use of Wise Ones in battle, beginning at Dumai’s Wells, looting to the ground rather than taking only the fifth, and the taking of wetlanders as gai’shain. The other Aiel began to view the Shaido as different. The Shaido were always regarded as the lowest of the clans, in a way, the least honorable, but the things they did after crossing the Dragonwall added to the differences.

The Shaido’s undoing began when Sammael, posing as Caddar and attempting to create more chaos, sent many Shaido septs through gateways all across the world, where they continued to cause atrocities. Although Sevanna retained the Wise Ones who could channel and a sizable number of warriors, she made another error by kidnapping Faile and bringing the wrath of Perrin down upon her.

After the Shaido’s defeat at Malden and Sevanna’s capture, the clan dispersed in many directions; Therava led a large group intending to return to the Three-fold Land.

Shaiel. Old Tongue for “the Woman Who Is Dedicated,” it was the name that Tigraine took when she was adopted into the Chumai sept of the Taardad Aiel.

Shainrahien. An Ogier-built city in Safer, one of the Ten Nations after the Breaking.

Shaisam. A name taken by Padan Fain during the Last Battle.

Shajin, Stedding. A stedding located in the Black Hills.

Shaken Fist, The. An inn in Trustair. Papers with the likeness of Mat and Perrin showed up in the vicinity of Hinderstap, with directions that if one saw either of the men, one could go to The Shaken Fist and earn coin for the information.

Shal, River. A river running southwest from the Hills of Kintara into central Illian, where it met the River Manetherendrelle.

Shaldine. The eleventh month of the year.

Shalon din Togara Morning Tide. Sea Folk Windfinder to Clan Shodein; her Wavemistress, Harine din Togara, was her sister. Her husband was Mishael. Shalon wore four earrings in each ear. Pretty and young-appearing, she was actually twenty-two years older than her sister and was already married when Harine was born. About 5'6" tall, she had very straight black hair, full lips, large dark brown eyes and a dark complexion, though not dark enough to make a comparison to charcoal. Rand found her conferring with the Lady Ailil, as he thought, on the day he was attacked in the Sun Palace and, to get them out of the way, bound and gagged them both, put a shield on Shalon that would dissipate with time and stuffed them under Ailil’s bed. Cadsuane discovered that Ailil and Shalon were actually lovers, and the circumstances were such that neither wanted this known. Cadsuane took both of them pretty firmly in hand, making them supply her with information after being questioned by Verin.

Shalon went with Cadsuane and her party to Far Madding and Shadar Logoth; during the cleansing, Shalon linked with Verin and Kumira. The circle encountered Graendal; though they were able to fight her off, Kumira was killed.

shama. A musical instrument of the Age of Legends.

Shamara. See Shara

shambayan. The term for a head butler in the Borderland nations.

Shamendar, Stedding. A stedding located in the forests north of the River Ivo.

Shana Goridien. An Aes Sedai of the White Ajah and the rebel contingent, with a strength level of 35(23). Born in 882 NE, she went to the White Tower in 898 NE. After spending eleven years as a novice and nine years as Accepted, Shana was raised to the shawl in 918 NE. Pop-eyed, she always looked startled, although she normally maintained a deep reserve.

Shana was one of a group of Aes Sedai who cornered Aviendha upon her arrival in Salidar, intending to have her in novice white if they had to peel her out of her dress and stuff her into it themselves.

Because of her Talent of reading residues, Shana was one of six sisters sent to investigate the large channeling event at Shadar Logoth.

Shanaine. An Ogier-built city in Manetheren, one of the Ten Nations after the Breaking; it later became the site of Jehannah.

Shanal. A novice in the White Tower who assisted Egwene during the Seanchan attack.

Shanan. The sul’dam who captured Moghedien during the Last Battle.

Shandalle. A nation that arose after the Trolloc Wars; Artur Hawkwing was the son of its King Myrdin Paendrag Maregore and Queen Mailinde Paendrag Lyndhal.

Shandare, Tavan. See Tavan Shandare

Shandin. Father of Ledar son of Koimal, Ledar being the Ogier author of A Study of Men, Women and the One Power Among Humans around 700 NE.

Shanelle. An Altaran Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah and the rebel contingent, with a strength level of 32(20). Born not far from Ebou Dar, she was slender, pretty and dark, with pale blue eyes. She sometimes flirted and paid attention to men, but was all business with her Warder. Although she was not particularly strong, Healing was her best Talent by far, and she had a very good ability with it. She witnessed Nynaeve Healing Siuan and Leane.

Shangloon, Stedding. A stedding located in the Mountains of Mist.

Shangtai, Stedding. A stedding located in the Spine of the World. Loial was born there.

Shanjing, Stedding. A stedding located in Arafel.

shanna’har. A yearly celebration of marriage in Saldaea. It was held each year in early summer to mark another year in which neither husband nor wife had fallen to the Trollocs.

Shanni. An Aiel Wise One. Amys suggested asking Shanni and Hayde to encourage the apprentice Wise One Elenar to complete her training so that she could visit Rhuidean.

Shaofan. The future intended Sh’botay of Shara, handsome, with very dark skin. Graendal made him one of her pets before he married Chiape.

Shaogi, Keille. See Keille Shaogi

Shaoman. A feast celebrated on the twelfth day of the month on Shaldine. It was particularly oriented toward children, who were cosseted, made much of and given gifts. In many places groups of children went from house to house, where they sang songs before the door and were rewarded with small gifts or sweets.

Shar Honelle. An Ogier-built city in Aelgar, one of the Ten Nations after the Breaking.

Shara. A nation east of the Aiel Waste. Its other names included Shamara, Co’dansin, Tomaka, Kigali and Shibouya. Shara was the source of silk and ivory, among other trade goods. The land was protected both by inhospitable natural features and by man-made walls. Little was known about it, as its people worked to keep their culture secret.

The Sharans denied that the Trolloc Wars touched them, despite Aiel statements to the contrary, and they denied knowledge of Artur Hawkwing’s attempted invasion, despite the accounts of eyewitnesses from the Sea Folk. The little information that leaked out revealed that the Sharans were ruled by a single absolute monarch, a Sh’boan if a woman and a Sh’botay if a man. That monarch ruled for exactly seven years, then died. The rule then passed to the mate of that ruler, who ruled for seven years and then died. This pattern had repeated itself from the time of the Breaking of the World. The Sharans believed that the deaths were the “Will of the Pattern.”

There were channelers in Shara, known as the Ayyad, who were tattooed on their faces at birth. The women of the Ayyad enforced the Ayyad laws stringently. A sexual relationship between Ayyad and non-Ayyad was punishable by death for the non-Ayyad, and the Ayyad was also executed if force on his or her part could be proven. If a child was born of the union, it was left exposed to the elements, and died.

Male Ayyad were used as breeding stock only. They were not educated in any fashion, not even learning to read or write, and when they reached their twenty-first year or began to channel, whichever came first, they were killed and the body cremated. Supposedly, the Ayyad channeled the One Power only at the command of the Sh’boan or Sh’botay, who was always surrounded by Ayyad women.

Men and women could be owned, just as dogs could be owned. If one owned the man and the woman, one owned the children and the grandchildren. One could sell them or kill them. Killing a human animal was no more serious than killing a dog. Blue, gray or green eyes were signs of being an animal; the only such Jain Farstrider saw were among the animals. Nobles considered even their own commoners little better than half-animals; anyone else was an animal, the only difference being whether they were domesticated or as yet untamed. With the latter, there seemed no doubt that they would be domesticated sooner or later. The nobles were not impatient about this, but they absolutely knew it would happen eventually.

Demandred went to Shara to find the sa’angreal Sakarnen; while there he fulfilled the prophecy of the Wyld, and was able to gather the people of Shara to fight for him in the Last Battle.

Shara Pass. A passage through the Cliffs of Dawn, on the border between the Aiel Waste and Shara. It was mentioned by Thom in a gleeman story he told in Cairhien.

sharadan. After Aviendha helped put out the fire at Lord Tellaen’s manor in Arad Doman, Melaine told her that she looked like a sharadan that had crawled on its belly across three days of sand.

Sharaman. A resident of Shara. A variation of Sharan.

Sharbon. Carridin’s plump bodyservant in Amador. Carridin treated him badly, backhanding him across the face because he was out buying fruit when Shaidar Haran appeared.

Sharia, River. A river running southeast through Amadicia and into the River Eldar.

Sharif, Leane. See Leane Sharif

Sharina Melloy. A Murandian novice with the rebel Aes Sedai. Her potential strength level of 2(+11) was even greater than that of Nynaeve. Born in 938 NE, she was 5'5" tall and had broad hips, a creased face and gray hair worn in a tight bun on the back of her head. In Nynaeve’s Accepted test, she was counselor to Lan as King of Malkier.

Sharina was recruited by the rebels in Murandy after Egwene’s proclamation allowing any woman of any age to apply for entrance to the White Tower. An older woman, she had thought of going to the Tower as a child; she had also always wanted to see the Borderlands, especially Shienar, and most especially Malkier, a land which she held in the highest imaginable regard.

A widow, she ruled her extended family with a strong hand; she was a very strong-willed and forceful woman. She had sons and daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren; her eldest child was born in 958 NE, her youngest in 977 NE. After she was taken on as a novice, most of the Accepted found themselves asking her to do things instead of telling her, and some found themselves doing what she said. She became a leader and a stabilizing influence among the novices. Even some Aes Sedai found themselves being less forceful with her than they normally would be with a novice, and others bore down harder, all because of her own forceful personality and disturbingly direct looks. She organized the novices into “families,” which enhanced group cohesiveness and made handling all the novices easier.

Sharmad Zeffar. A Domani woman. She was one of the refugees who went to the Two Rivers. She and Rhea Avin were both interested in Wil al’Seen and went to Faile to get her decision on which one had the right to him. Faile sent them to Daise Congar, the Wisdom, to sort them out.

Sharom. A huge white sphere, one thousand feet in diameter, used as a scientific research facility. It floated high above the blue and silver domes of the Collam Daan during the Age of Legends. Mierin accidentally blew up the Sharom while experimenting with a new source for the One Power and drilling into the Dark One’s prison.

Sharplyn, Anthelle. An Andoran noblewoman and High Seat of her minor House. She was loyal to Elayne.

shatayan. The term for a head housekeeper in the Borderland nations.

Shayol Ghul. During the Age of Legends, Shayol Ghul was an idyllic island in a cool sea, a favorite escape of those who enjoyed the rustic. After the Breaking, it became a mountain in the Blasted Lands, where the Dark One’s prison was located. More precisely, Shayol Ghul was a sort of focus point, a place where the Dark One’s prison lay close to the world—there was a thinness in the Pattern, allowing the Bore to be detected—so the focus of the Dark One’s strength was there.

shea dancers. Seanchan dancers who wore transparent veils almost identical to those worn by Taraboner women, but little else. They were a favorite topic of discussion among Seanchan soldiers.

Shedren. The clan chief of the Daryne Aiel after the Last Battle, seen in Aviendha’s visions of the future in Rhuidean.

sheepstongue. A root used in tea along with rannel for an energy boost; it had a terrible lingering taste. It was also used to alleviate eye pain and as a punishment for silliness. Nynaeve, mad at Elayne, offered to give her sheeptongue and red daisy tea for a headache that the latter must have gotten from thinking too much, but it was unclear whether she really used it for headache in other cases.

Shefar, Ispan. See Ispan Shefar

Shein Chunla. An Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah who served as Amyrlin from 578 to 601 NE. Shein, the youngest Amyrlin since Deane Aryman, was a weak Amyrlin. She attempted to run the Hall of the Tower autocratically, but failed miserably. She had been the head of the Green Ajah—although this was not known outside the Ajah—and was well respected by other Ajahs. It was not until she was chosen Amyrlin that they saw examples of how she had run the Green. The other Ajahs did not find that way to their liking at all. The Hall made her little more than a figurehead and ceremonial puppet. Although the world at large thought she died in office, in fact she was toppled by a rebellion, and a good part of the Hall that had tolerated her fell with her. Many in the Hall had been willing to deal with and around her, but discontent grew until the Sitters who were no longer willing carried out a coup. Shein actually lived another fifty-one years in a very closely controlled exile until she died in 652 NE. There was some evidence that she was assassinated—smothered in her sleep by her guards—because of a plot to return her to power. The secret Tower records did describe several plots that were aimed at returning her to Tar Valon at the very least. All of these were dealt with strongly, and Shein herself was punished in each instance, though there was no concrete evidence that she knew of all the plots. It was fairly certain that she knew of some.

Sheldyn. Estates, or the location of estates, held by Ellorien Traemane in Andor. In a meeting with other House seats, she announced her intention of returning to Sheldyn after refusing to stand for Elayne, but she said that Traemane would ride behind the Lion of Andor at the Last Battle.

shellback. An animal also called a goerant (singular and plural). Its body was covered in hard shell armor. The shellback grew to as much as twenty-five pounds. It lived in burrows, could dig itself into the ground very quickly and could move beneath the ground by burrowing a tunnel. Aviendha killed and ate one while traveling to Rhuidean.

Shemaen. An Aes Sedai. Adelorna reportedly told Shemaen that Gitara had had a Foretelling that the Last Battle “would come in the lifetimes of sisters now breathing.” Ellid overheard them, and reported it to other novices.

Shemari. An Aes Sedai of the Brown Ajah and the rebel contingent. A librarian, she was square-faced and vigorous, and curtsied to Egwene in a way that seemed like mockery. She and Phaedrine linked were barely able to form a gateway large enough for them to walk through.

Shemerin. A plump Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah and the loyalist contingent, with a strength level of 15(3). Born in 828 NE, she went to the White Tower in 845 NE. After spending fourteen years as a novice and seventeen years as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 876 NE. The length of her training resulted from her unsuitability for testing; except for her potential, she might have been put out of the Tower without being allowed to test for Accepted; as it was, she refused the first two times. Shemerin hid for three days after finally passing, and when she was found she was still shivering. She took all three tries to pass the testing for the shawl, and barely passed the third.

Shemerin had a good talent for Healing and a very high skill in administration and organization, as well as a deft hand in internal White Tower politics, but she never had the outward Aes Sedai calm. Often she seemed slightly anxious, wringing her hands and nearly fainting. She was, in point of fact, a coward and knew it. During her brief time out of the Tower, supposedly looking for a Warder, she actually went no farther from Tar Valon than she could manage.