armsmen: Soldiers who owe allegiance or fealty to a particular lord or lady Asha’man: (1) In the Old Tongue, “Guardian” or “Guardians,” but the word always meant a guardian of justice and truth (2) The name given, both collectively and as a rank, to the men who have come to the Black Tower, near Caemlyn in Andor, in order to learn to channel Their train­ing concentrates largely on the ways in which the One Power can be used as a weapon, and in another departure from the usages of the White Tower, once they learn to seize saidin, the male half of the Power, they are required to perform all chores and labors with the Power When newly enrolled, a man is termed a Soldier, he wears a plain black coat with a high collar, in the Andoran fashion Being raised to Dedi­cated brings the right to wear a silver pin, called the Sword, on the col­lar of his coat Promotion to Asha’man brings the right to wear a Dragon pin, in gold and red enamel, on the collar opposite the Sword Although many women, including wives, flee when they learn that their men actually can channel, a fair number of men at the Black Tower are married, and they use a version of the Warder bond to create a link with their wives This same bond, altered to compel obedience, has recently been used to bond captured Aes Sedai as well.

Balwer, Sebban: Formerly secretary to Pedron Niall (the Lord Captain Commander of the Children of the Light) in public, and secretly Niall’s spymaster After Niall’s death, Balwer aided the escape of Morgase (once Queen of Andor) from the Seanchan in Amador for his own reasons, and now is employed as secretary to Perrin t’Bashere Aybara and Faile m Bashere t’Aybara Perrin is beginning to suspect that there is more to Balwer than at first appeared Band of the Red Hand: see Shen an Calhar Blood, the: Term used by the Seanchan to designate the nobility There are degrees of nobility The High Blood shave the sides of their heads and paint multiple fingernails – the higher the rank, the more nails painted – but a member of the lesser Blood, the low Blood, may have only the nails of the little fingers painted One can be raised to the Blood as well as born to it, and this is frequently a reward for outstand­ing accomplishment or service to the Empire.

calendar: There are 10 days to the week, 28 days to the month, and 13 months to the year Several feastdays are not part of any month, these include Sunday (the longest day of the year), the Feast of Thanksgiving (once every four years at the spring equinox), and the Feast of All Souls Salvation, also called All Souls Day (once every ten years at the autumn equinox) While the months have names – Taisham, Jumara, Saban, Aine, Adar, Saven, Amadame, Tammaz, Maigdhal, Choren, Shaldme, Nesan, and Danu – these are seldom used except in official documents and by officials For most people, using the seasons is good enough.

Captain-General: (1) The military rank of the leader of the Queen’s Guard, in Andor This position is currently held by Lady Birgitte Trahelion (2) The title given to the head of the Green Ajah, though known only to members of the Green This position is currently held by Adelorna Bas-tine in the Tower, and Myrelle Berengan among the rebel Aes Sedai contingent under Egwene al’Vere.

Cha Faile: (1) In the Old Tongue, “the Falcon’s Talon ‘ (2) Name taken by the young Cairhiemn and Tairens, attempted followers of jt’e’toh, who have sworn fealty to Fade m Bashere t’Aybara In secret, they act as her personal scouts and spies Since her capture by the Shaido, they con­tinue their activities under the guidance of Sebban Balwer.

Children of the Light: Society of strict ascetic beliefs, owing allegiance to no nation and dedicated to the defeat of the Dark One and the destruc­tion of all Darkfnends Founded during the War of the Hundred Years by Lothair Mantelar to proselytize against an increase in Darkfnends, they evolved during the war into a completely military society They are extremely rigid m their beliefs, and certain that only they know the truth and the right They consider Aes Sedai and any who support them to be Darkfnends Known disparagingly as Whitecloaks, they were for­merly headquartered in Amador, Amadicia, but were forced out when the Seanchan conquered the city Their sign is a golden sunburst on a field of white See also Questioners.

Companions, the: The elite military formation of Illian, currently com­manded by First Captain Demetre Marcohn The Companions provide a bodyguard for the King of Illian and guard key points around the nation Additionally, the Companions have traditionally been used in battle to assault the enemy’s strongest positions, to exploit weaknesses, and, if necessary, to cover the retreat of the King Unlike most other such elite formations, foreigners (excepting Tairens, Altarans and Murandians) are not only welcome, they can rise even to the highest rank, as can commoners, which also is unusual The uniform of the Com­panions consists of a green coat, a breastplate worked with the Nine Bees of Illian, and a conical helmet with a faceguard of steel bars The First Captain wears four rings of golden braid on the cuffs of his coat, and three thin golden plumes on his helmet The Second Captain wears three rings of golden braid on each cuff, and three golden plumes tipped with green Lieutenants wear two yellow rings on their cuffs, and two thin green plumes, under-lieutenants one yellow ring and a single green plume Bannermen are designated by two broken rings of yellow on the cuffs and a single yellow plume, squadmen by a single broken ring of yellow.

Consolidation, the: When the armies sent by Artur Hawkwing under his son Luthair 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 This conquest, during which the descen­dants of the original armies became Seanchan as much as they con­quered Seanchan, took more than nine hundred years and is called the Consolidation.

Corenne: In the Old Tongue, “the Return “ The name given by the Sean­chan both to the fleet of thousands of ships and to the hundreds of thou­sands of soldiers, craftsmen and others carried by those ships, who will come behind the Forerunners to reclaim the lands stolen from Artur Hawkwing’s descendants See also Hailene.

cuendillar: A supposedly indestructible substance created during the Age of Legends Any known force used in an attempt to break it is absorbed, making cuendillar stronger Although the making of cuendillar has been thought lost forever, rumors of new objects made from it have surfaced It is also known as heartstone.

currency: After many centuries of trade, the standard terms for coins are the same in every land crowns (the largest com in size), marks and pennies Crowns and marks can be minted of gold or silver, while pennies can be silver or copper, the last often called simply a copper In different lands, however, these coins can be of different sizes and weights Even in one nation, coins of different sizes and weights have been minted by different rulers Because of trade, the coins of many nations can be found almost anywhere For that reason, bankers, moneylenders and merchants all use scales to determine the value of any given com Even large numbers of coins are weighed for this reason The only paper currency is “letters-of-rights,” which are issued by bankers, guaranteeing to present a certain amount of gold or silver when the letter-of-nghts is presented Because of the long distances between cities, the length of time needed to travel from one to another, and the difficulties of transactions at long distance, a letter-of-nghts may be accepted at full value in a city near to the bank that issued it, but it may be accepted only at a lower value in a city far­ther away Generally, someone of means intending a long journey will carry one or more letters-of-nghts to exchange for coin when needed Letters-of-nghts are usually accepted only by bankers or merchants, and would never be used in shops.