Book Glossary S
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
sa'angreal (SAH-ahn-GREE-ahl): Any one of a number of objects that allow an individual to channel much more of the One Power than would otherwise be possible or safe. A sa'angreal is like into, but much more powerful than an angreal. The amount of the Power that can be wielded with a sa'angreal compares to the amount of the Power that can be wielded with the aid of an angreal does to the amount of the Power that can be handles unaided. Remnants of the Age of Legends, the means of making sa'angreal is no longer known. Only a handful remain, far fewer even than angreal.
saidar (sah-ih-DAHR): See True Source.
saidin (sah-in-DEEN): See True Source.
Saldaea (sahl-DAY-ee-ah): One of the Borderlands.
Sanche, Siuan (SAHN-chay, swahn): The daughter of a Tairen fisherman, she was, according to Tairen law, put on a ship to Tar Valon before the second sunset after it was discovered that she had the potential to channel. An Aes Sedai formerly of the Blue Ajah. Raised to the Amyrlin Seat 985 NE. The Amyrlin Seat if of all Ajahs, and of none. (B5) She was deposed and stilled. Now seeking to avoid the fate she fears.
Sandar, Julin (sahn-DAHR, JUY-lihn): A thief-cathcher from Tear. A man in love with perhaps the very last woman he would ever have thought he could be.
sa'sara (sah-SAHR-rah): An indecent Saldaean dance, outlawed by a number of Saldaean queens, but to no avail. Saldaean history records three wars, two rebellions, and countless unions and/or feuds between noble houses, as well as 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. The tale is not found in any official history and has been denied by every queen of Saldaea.
Sea Folk: More properly, the Atha'an Miere (a-tha-AHN mee-AIR), the People of the Sea. They live most of their lives on their ships and strongly dislike going any distance from the ocean. Relatively little is known of their customs, giving rise to an air of exotic mystery and often to fanciful takes. Most seaborne trade is carried by Sea Folk ships, considered by the inhabitants of port cities to be bargainers who outstrip the more widely known Domani. As survival at sea often depends on strictly to their hierarchy, though there are surprising fluidities at some large and small, each headed by a Wavemistress. Below her are the Sailmistress, the ships' captains of the clan. A Wavemistress has vast authority, yet she is elected to that position by the twelve senior clan Sailmistress, who are referred to as the First Twelve of that clan, and she can be removed by the order of the Mistress of the Ships to the Atha'an Miere. The Mistress of the Ships has a level of authority any shorebound king or queen would envy, yet she also is elected, for life, by unanimous vote of the twelve senior Wavemistresses, who are called the First Twelve of the Atha'an Miere. (The term "the First Twelve" is also used for the twelve senior Wavemistresses or Sailmistresses present in any gathering.) The position of Master of the Blades is held by a man who may or may not be the husband of the Mistress of the Ships. His responsibilities are the defense and the trade of the Sea Folk, and below him are the Swordmasters of Wavemistresses and the Cargomasters of Sailmistresses, who hold like positions and duties; for each of them, any authority outside these areas is held only as delegated by the woman he but since trade and finances are totally in the hands of the Cargomaster (or, at higher levels, of the Swordmaster or the Master of the Blades), a close degree of cooperation is required. Every Sea Folk vessel, however small, and also every Wavemistress, has a Windfinder, a woman who is almost always able to channel and skilled in Weaving the Winds, as the Atha'an Miere call the manipulation of weather. The Windfinder to the Mistress of the Ships has authority over Windfinders to the Wavemistresses, who in turn have authority over Windfinders to the Sailmistresses of their clans. One peculiarity of the Sea Folk is that all must begin at the very lowest rank and work their way up, and that anyone other than the Mistress of the Ships can be demoted by those above, even to the very bottom again in extreme instances.
Seana (see-AHN-ah): A Wise One of the Black Cliffs sept of the Nakai Aiel. A dreamwalker. Seanchan (SHAWN-CHAN): (1) Descendants of the armies Artur Hawkwing sent across the Aryth Ocean, who have returned to reclaim the lands of their forefathers. They believe that any woman who can channel must be controlled for the safety of everyone else, and any man who can channel must be killed for the same reason. (2) The land from which the Seanchan come. See also Hailene; Corenne; Rhyagelle.
Seandar (shawn-DAHR): Capital city of Seanchan, where the Empress sits on the Crystal Throne in the Court of the Nine Moons
Seekers for Truth: A police/spy organization of the Seanchan Imperial Throne. Although most are property of the Imperial family, they have wide powers. Even one of the Blood (a Seanchan noble) can be arrested for failure to answer any questions put by a Seeker, or for failure to cooperate fully with a Seeker, this last defined by the Seekers themselves, subject only to review by the Empress.
sei'mosiev: In the Old tongue, "lowered eyes," or " downcast eye." Among the Seanchan, to say that one has "become sei'mosiev" means that one has "lost face." See also sei'taer.
sei'taer: In the Old Tongue, "straight eyes," or "level eyes." Among the Seanchan, it refers to honor or face, to the ability to meet someone's eyes. It is possible to "be" or "have" sei'taer, meaning that one has honor and face, and also to "gain" or "lose" sei'taer. See also sei'mosiev.
Selene (she-LEEN): A woman met on the journey to Cairhien.
Servants, Hall of the: In the Age of Legends, the great meeting hall of the Aes Sedai.
Sevanna (she-VAHN-nah): A woman of the Domai sept of the Shaido Aiel. Widow of Suladric (soo-LAH-dric), who was clan chief of the Shaido, and thus roofmistress of Comarda Hold until a new chief is chosen.
Seta (SEE-tah): A Seanchan woman; a sul'dam. See also Seanchan; sul'dam.
Shadar Logoth (SHAH-dahr LOH-goth): A city abandoned and shunned since the Trolloc Wars. It is tainted ground, and not a pebble of it is safe. See also Mordeth.
Shai'tan (SHAY-ih-TAN): See Dark One.
Shaogi, Keille (shah-OH-ghe, KEYEL-lee): A peddler traveling the Aiel Waste. A woman with plans even larger than she is.
Shayol Ghul (SHAY-ol GHOOL): A mountain in the Blasted Lands, the site of the Dark One's prison.
Shen an Calhar: In the Old Tongue, "the Band of the Red Hand." (1) A legendary group of heroes who had many exploits, finally dying in the defense of Manetheren when that land was destroyed during the Trolloc Wars. (2) A military formation put together almost by accident by Mat Cauthon and organized along the lines of military forces during what is considered the height of the military arts, the days of Artur Hawkwing and the centuries immediately preceding.
Sheriam (SHEER-ee-ahm): An Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah. The Mistress of Novies in the White Tower.
shoufa (SHOO-fah): A garment of the Aiel, a cloth, usually the color of sand or rock, that wraps around the head and neck, leaving only the face bare.
sister-wife: Aiel kinship term. Aiel women who are near-sisters or first-sisters who discover they love the same man, or who simply do not want a man to come between them, will both marry him, this becoming sister-wives. Women who love the same man will sometimes try to find out whether they can become bear-sisters and adopted first-sisters, a first step to becoming sister-wives. An Aielman faces with this situation has the choice of marrying both women or neither; if he has a wife who decides to take a sister-wife, he finds himself with a second wife.
siswai'aman: In the Old Tongue: "spears of the dragon," with a strong implication of ownership. The name taken by a good many men among the Aiel, but no women. These men do not actually acknowledge the name - nor do any other, in fact - but they wear a strip of red cloth wound around the forehead with a disc, half black and half white, above the brows. Although gai'shain normally are prohibited from wearing anything that would be worn by an algai'd'siswai, a large number of gai'shain have taken to wearing the headband. See also gai'shan.
so'jhin: The closet translation from the Old Tongue would be "a height among lowness," though some translate it as meaning "both sky and valley" among several other possibilities. So'jhin is the term applied by the Seanchan to hereditary upper servants. They are da'covale, property, yet occupy positions of considerable authority and often power. Even the Blood step carefully around so'jhin of the Imperial family, and speak to so'jihn of the Empress herself as to equals. See also Blood, the; da'covale.
Sorilea (soh-rih-LEE-ah): The Wise One of Shende Hold, a Jarra Chareen. Barely able to channel, she is the oldest living Wise One, though not by as much as many think.
Soulless: See Gray Man.
span: See Length, units of.
Spine of the World, the: A towering mountain range, with only a few passes, which separates the Aiel Waste from the lands to the west. Also called the Dragonwall.
stedding (STEHD-ding): An Ogier (OH-geer) homeland. Many stedding have been abandoned since the Breaking of the World. They are shielded in some way, no longer understood, so that within them no Aes Sedai can channel the One Power, nor even sense that the Source exists. Attempts to wield the One Power from the outside a stedding have no effect inside a stedding boundary. No Trolloc will enter a stedding unless driven, and even a Myrddraal will do so only at the greatest need and then with the greatest reluctance and distaste. Even Darkfriends, if truly dedicated, feel uncomfortable within a stedding.
stilling: The act, performed by Aes Sedai, of shutting off a woman who can channel from the One Power. A woman who has been stilled can sense the True Source, but she cannot touch it. So seldom has it been done that novices are required to learn the names and crimes of all who have suffered it. Officially, stilling is the result of trial and sentence for a crime. When it happens accidentally, it is called being burned out. In practice, the term "stilling" is often used for both. Women who have been stilled, however it occurred, seldom survive long; they seem to simply give up and die (B7) unless they find something to replace the emptiness left by the One Power. While it has always been believed that stilling was permanent, lately a method of Healing it has been discovered, though there appear to be limits to this which are yet to be explored.
Stone Dogs: See Aiel warrior societies.
Stone of Tear: A great fortress in the city of Tear, said to have been made soon after the Breaking of the World, and to have been made using the One Power. It has been besieged or attacked countless times, but never successfully. The Stone is mentioned twice in the Prophecies of the Dragon. Once they say the Stone will never fall until the Dragon's hand wields the Sword That Cannot Be Touched, Callandor. Some believe that these Prophecies account for the antipathy of the High Lords to the One Power, and for the Tairen law that forbids channeling. Despite this antipathy, the Stone contains a collection of an'greal and ter'angreal rivaling that of the White Tower, a collection which was gathered, some say, in an attempt to diminish the glare of possessing Callandor. (B7) It fell in a single night to the Dragon reborn and a few hundred Aiel, thus fulfilling two parts of the Prophecies of the Dragon.
sul'dam (SUHL-DAHM): A woman who has passed the tests to show that she can wear the bracelet of an a'dam and thus control a damane. See also: a'dam; damane.
Sunday: A feastday and festival in midsummer, celebrated in many parts of the world.
sung wood: See Treesinger.
Suroth, High Lady (SUE-roth): A Seanchan noblewoman of high degree.
sursa (SUHR-sah): Thin, paired sticks used as eating implements in Arad Doman in place of forks. Some say the difficulty of eating with sursa is the source of the Domani merchants' fabled perseverance; others claim it is the source of the equally fabled Domani temper.
Sword-Captain: See Lance-Captain.
