GAH-rehth BRIHN
General
Gareth Bryne was Captain-General of the Queen's Guard in Andor and he was Queen Morgase’s First Prince of the Sword. His personal sign consists of three golden stars, each with five rays. The sign of House Bryne is a bull wearing a collar of roses.
Gareth Bryne is a minor nobleman, High Seat of House Bryne and is considered one of the finest generals in the Westlands.
Appearance
Physically, he is bluff faced and stocky. His hair is gray at the temples. He looks as strong and immovable as a rock. He looks like a man in his prime. He sleeps with his sword (TGS, Ch. 40)
Personality
His word was his honor. Once given, he would not take it back unless released, whatever the cost to himself (KoD, Ch. 1).
Condensed Timeline
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- He personally commanded the Guardsmen Morgase sent to bring Thom back in chains (TEotW, Ch. 35).
- He was present when Rand met Morgase (TEotW, Ch. 40).
- Under the influence of Gaebril, Queen Morgase sends Bryne into retirement (TFoH, Ch. 1).
- He follows Siuan to Salidar and is enrolled to build an army for the Aes Sedai.
- He continues to keep Siuan as his laundress, even once she is Aes Sedai again.
- He lets Egwene know his loyalty is to her, not the Hall (ACoS, Ch. 12).
- Siuan bonds him (TGS, Ch. 40).
- He helps Gawyn and Siuan retrieve Egwene when the Seanchan attack (TGS, Ch. 41).
Strengths and Talents
He is known as one of the Five Great Captains (TFoH, Ch. 27).
Relationships with Other Characters
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He was Morgase's lover (TSR, Ch. 39).
Siuan thinks Gareth will make an excellent Warder (TGS, Ch. 43).
He tells Siuan his second demand will be marriage, but not until she has stopped trying to save the world (TGS, Ch. 43).
Dreams and Visions
Min has a vision of an aura and a bull ripping roses from around his neck. She realises it means that if Siuan and Bryne stay close, both will live, but if her gets too far away for too long they will die (ACoS, Ch. 28).
Gareth's Journey
The Eye of the World
- He is present when Rand falls into the Palace Gardens and is brought before Morgase and says that Rand's sword belongs to him. He advises putting Rand in a cell until Elayne and Gawyn are out of the city (TEotW, Ch. 40).
The Great Hunt
There is no relevant reference to Gareth in this book.
The Dragon Reborn
There is no relevant reference to Gareth in this book.
The Shadow Rising
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There is no relevant reference to Gareth in this book.
The Fires of Heaven
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- Under the influence of Gaebril, Queen Morgase sends Bryne into retirement (TFoH, Ch. 1).
- At his family’s manor in Kore Springs, he meets Siuan Sanche, Leane and Min. He sets them punishment for causing damage to his property (TFoH, Ch. 1).
- Caralin, his primary housekeeper, chooses Leane as the one to best suit Gareth Bryne as his bedchamber maid. But it was Siuan's blue eyes that he was chasing to know why she broke her oath(TFoH, Ch. 1).
- He chases them to Lugard. He tells himself that he just wants to know why they broke oath (TFoH, Ch. 12)
- After they run away he pursues them all the way to Salidar and rebel Aes Sedai. He requests Siuan to serve as his "dog robber" to repay her debt (TFoH, Ch. 28).
- Myrelle suggests Leane instead of Siuan. Sheriam offers Siuan as his bodyservant, as well as Leane and Min (TFoH, Ch. 28).
- The Aes Sedai ask him to help build an army. His first condition is that the command is his. They tell him what to do, but he decides how. He gives the orders to his soldiers unless he agrees otherwise first. He assigns, promotes and disciplines his men. Secondly, if he says it can't be done, they will consider what he says. And third, if they begin this, they will stay the course, as he will be "putting the noose" around his and his soldiers' necks. They agree to his conditions although he'd been prepared to give up all but the last(TFoH, Ch. 28).
- When Elayne and Nynaeve arrive, he cuts off Elayne and recruits Uno and the Shienarans (TFoH, Ch. 50).
Lord of Chaos
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- Once he has recruited an army he tells Siuan they need to move (LoC, Ch. 8).
- He takes to waiting outside during meetings of the Hall to remind them he is there (LoC, Ch. 12)
- When Tarna arrives, he sits outside and takes his meal on a wooden box in the middle of the street so anyone looking out would see him (LoC, Ch. 13)
A Crown of Swords
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- Siuan stays on as his bodyservant even after Egwene offered to take her from his service. Siuan refuses(ACoS, Ch. 9).
- He tells Egwene of his plan to take Tar Valon by blocking both harbours (ACoS, Ch. 11)
- He tells Egwene he has been talking with Talmanes and is instructed not to do so any more (ACoS, Ch. 12)
- He tells Egwene that Rand is rumoured to have gone to the White Tower and when she tells him she knows for a fact it isn't so, he tells her the army is hers (ACoS, Ch. 12)
The Path of Daggers
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- He comes to Egwene's tent in the middle of the night to tell her an army lies ahead of them (TPoD, Ch. 15)
- He accompanies Egwene to the meeting with the Andoran and Murandian nobles (TPoD, Ch. 18)
- When Egwene is worried about the Hall's reaction to taking control of the negotiation between the rebels and the nobles, Byrne tells her that whatever happens, she has thirty thousand men behind her (TPoD, Ch. 19)
Winter's Heart
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There is no relevant reference to Gareth in this book.
Crossroads of Twilight
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- He presses Egwene to start the assault, or to use gateways to move small groups of people (CoT, Ch. 19)
Knife of Dreams
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- Despite making Siuan work off her debt, he blackens his own boots, even after she has done it (KoD, Ch. 1)
The Gathering Storm
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- Bryne has turned down a laundry service as he is satisfied with Siuan (TGS, Ch. 8)
- Bryne asks Siuan again why she fled and calls he an oathbreaker She says she intended to return but he calls it an excuse. She tells him of the fortelling announcing the rebirth of the Dragon Reborn and how the Amyrlin was killed by the Black Ajah She says she swore to do whatever necessary to prepare and that oath took precedence. He agrees she couldn't tell him (TGS, Ch. 8).
- He says he'd still have hunted her down if she'd known she was Aes Sedai (TGS, Ch. 8)
- As she leaves, he tells her to give her regards to Egwene (TGS, Ch. 8)
- Bryne insists on taking Shemerin to see the sisters in the camp (TGS, Ch. 23)
- Siuan says they should rescue Egwene. Gareth refuses. He follows her rather than returning to his guard post (TGS, Ch. 40)
- Gareth agrees to go with her on condition that she bond him and another condition that he doesn't reveal (TGS, Ch. 40)
- Siuan bonds Gareth. He fetches Bela (TGS, Ch. 40)
- Gareth supplies Tower Guard uniforms for his men(TGS, Ch. 41)
- Gareth sees Egwene through his spyglass, defending the Tower(TGS, Ch. 41)
- A bloodknife attacks Siuan but Gareth kills him. Siuan heals him because of Min's vision that they would need to stay close to each other (TGS, Ch. 41)
- The day after the raid, Gareth is suspicious that he can't see any Tower guard(TGS, Ch. 43)
- He tells Egwene that an attack that day makes sense (TGS, Ch. 43)
Towers of Midnight
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- Bryne does not want to be High Captain, as he will be needed as a field general in the Last Battle. (ToM, Ch. 3)
- Bryne is with Siuan in the Hall when Egwene meets with Rand. Bryne is to follow Rand to make sure he leaves. (ToM, Ch. 3)
- Bryne is preparing for war when Gawyn visits to ask for advice about Egwene. (ToM, Ch. 22)
A Memory of Light
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- He signs the Peace of the Dragon (AMoL, Ch. 6)
- Together with the other Great Captains, he studies the map of the Westlands and plans where to send the forces of the Light (AMoL, Ch. 7).
- He is assigned command of the battle in Kandor as that is where the Aes Sedai are to be sent (AMoL, Ch. 7)
- He tells Elayne he is proud of the leadership she showed (AMoL, Ch. 7)
- He insists the Illianer Companions join the Tower forces as they need an elite group (AMoL, Ch. 9). They also have the Dragonsworn (AMoL, Ch. 11).
- He quickly takes advantage of the viewing gateways developed by Yukiri (AMoL, Ch. 11)
- His initial plans for the battle do not include the Aes Sedai, but he does make alternate plans in case the Aes Sedai are willing (AMoL, Ch. 11)
- He improvise a new half spear half halberd line (AMoL, Ch. 18)
- They are beating the Shadowspawn, but the Sharans arrive (AMoL, Ch. 20)
- He escapes with Siuan and Yukiri and a handful of others when the Sharans arrive (AMoL, Ch. 21)
- He realizes he made a mistake not questioning the Trolloc retreate (AMoL, Ch. 21)
- He sends Min to the Seanchan to request cavalry (AMoL, Ch. 27)
- He leaves the left flank unprotected when he sends cavalry to relieve Egwene and the Sharans slam into it (AMoL, Ch. 29)
- Mat arrives and uses his forces to fill in the gaps Bryne has left. He realizes Bryne is trying to lose (AMoL, Ch. 29)
- Min tells Egwene that Mat thinks Bryne is a Darkfriend, but Egwene thinks she knows better than everyone else and refuses to listen (AMoL, Ch. 31)
- When they learn of what happened to Bashere, Egwene realizes that Bryne is under compulsion and has the Hall remove him from command (AMoL, Ch. 31)
- When they learn Gawyn has gone, Egwene sends Bryne and Yukiri to try and retrieve him (AMoL, Ch. 37)
- When Siuan is killed, he rides screaming into the enemy lines and is killed (AMoL, Ch. 37).
Miscellaneous
During the Aiel War, Aranvor Naldwinn was Captain-General of the Queen's Guard. He was killed on the final day of the seige of Tar Valon. It may be that Gareth became Captain-General after this though Gawyn says that he had "served three Queens and been Captain-General, and First Prince Regent, for two", which seems inconsistent as Morgase was already Queen by this time.
He taught Elayne to ride (TPoD, Ch. 6)
He and Henre Haslin taught Galad to alternate which hand was uppermost on the hilt when holding a sword (TGS, Prologue)
Quotes
"Gareth Bryne’s word was his honor. Once given, he would not take it back unless released, whatever the cost to himself" (Knife of Dreams, Chapter 1) (Siuan))
"Speaking of the army marching, what have you heard while grovelling to the Aes Sedai and kissing their feet?" (To Suian, Lord of Chaos, Chapter 8)
“Elaida can't be allowed to pull this world down with her” (The Gathering Storm, Chapter 30)
"Once you've committed your reserves, there's no use holding back your scouts" (Towers of Midnight, Chapter 43)
