Almoth. A nation that rose from the War of the Hundred Years. Its banner was blue for the sky above, black for the earth below, with the spreading Tree of Life to join them.
Almoth Plain. The former site of the nation of Almoth, lying between Tarabon and Arad Doman along the Aryth Ocean. Those two countries fought over it for over four hundred years.
Alms, Fellowship of. The beggars’ guild in Ebou Dar.
Almurat Mor. A Seanchan Seeker for Truth, about 5'10" tall, with yellow hair and blue eyes. He was in his middle years and good-looking, if too slender for Egeanin’s taste. As a Seeker, he had tattoos of a raven, a sign that he was property of the Imperial family, as were most Seekers for Truth and all of the Deathwatch Guards, and a tower, a sign that he was a Seeker, on each shoulder. His position was identified by a small, flat gold-bordered ivory plaque that he carried, engraved with a raven, the sign of the Imperial House, and behind it the Tower of Ravens, a symbol of Imperial justice. He was supposedly checking up on efforts to find and eliminate renegade sul’dam. He was suspicious of Egeanin. He thought that Tuon had been kidnapped in a White Tower operation led by Thom Merrilin. Mor believed in a complicated plot between Suroth and the White Tower involving Egeanin, among others. The disappearance of Egeanin, Bethamin and two other sul’dam, along with two damane who were Aes Sedai, confirmed this in his mind, but he felt that moving too openly might endanger Tuon. Mor also believed there had been some corruption of the levels of Seekers above him. He shared his beliefs with Karede, who bought into the notion provisionally.
Alnora. A Jenn Aiel woman who lived during the Breaking. Her husband was Jonai, and she was mother to Adan and Willim.
Aloisia Nemosni. The oldest member of the Kin. She was nearly six hundred years old and her strength level was at least 17(5) or 18(6). She was working as an oil merchant in Tear when Elayne and Nynaeve learned of the Kin. Elayne wondered if she would fall over dead if made to take the Three Oaths.
Alpert Mull. An Andoran farmer living between Four Kings and Market Sheran. He was a stolid man with a square face and square hands, both worn and grooved from hard work and worry. He wanted someone to talk to, and gave Rand and Mat a ride as well as scarves.
Alqam. A city or region in Seanchan that had pale-eyed inhabitants. While battling Rand’s army, Miraj thought about the named, honored regiments from different parts of Seanchan that were represented among his troops, including Alqam.
Alraed, Desandre. See Desandre Alraed
Alric. Siuan’s Warder. He was killed the day she was deposed.
Alrom. An ancient scholar who wrote of Mesaana’s schools in the War of Power.
Alruddin, Katerine. See Katerine Alruddin
Alsahhan, Sorelana. A scholar in the time of the Trolloc Wars who wrote about Darkhounds.
Alsalam Saeed Almadar. The King of Arad Doman, Lord of Almadar, High Seat of House Almadar. He was elected by the Council of Merchants, which could remove him with a three-quarter vote. His whereabouts became something of a mystery; he was kidnapped by Elaida, and the Shadow used his absence to its favor. Alsalam seemed to issue a stream of contradictory orders to Ituralde and others, but they in fact came from Graendal. He was found by Rand and rejoined Rodel Ituralde, but was killed in the Last Battle.
Alsbet Luhhan. The wife of Haral Luhhan, the blacksmith of Emond’s Field. She was born in 955 NE. Alsbet was a big woman—not as large as her husband, but still as big as most men and almost as strong as her husband, and her temper was worse than his. It was a toss-up whether Alsbet or Daise Congar was the strongest woman in the Two Rivers. She had a round face and a gray braid. She and Haral had no children, but when Haral took on Perrin as an apprentice, he lived with them. Alsbet and Haral were arrested by Whitecloaks. At first it was only Haral the Whitecloaks wanted, but Alsbet made such a fuss, assaulting several Whitecloaks with a blunt instrument, that she was arrested as well. Perrin gathered a group of friends and freed them. She helped organize the defense of Emond’s Field.
Alsera. A Wise One of the Salt Flat sept of the Nakai Aiel. She served as Bruan’s Wise One at Shiagi Hold. Although she was not a dreamwalker, the dreamwalkers spoke to her in the dream.
Alshinn, Ellaine Marise’idin. The translator of The Karaethon Cycle: The Prophecies of the Dragon.
Alstaing, Mistress. A Taraboner lacquerware merchant who played Piri in The White Ring in Maderin, the “hell” to which Mat and Thom brought Tuon and Selucia. Mat diced with the woman and the other gamblers with her, to his own benefit.
Altalin, Lady. A noblewoman of Amadicia who served as a lady-in-waiting to Morgase under the command of Pedron Niall. She had a plump face and made a bad pun about Galad. After Ailron’s Disaster, she became a da’covale, likely in some menial capacity such as a chambermaid or kitchen helper.
Altara. A nation in the south. Little unified it except the name. The people of Altara thought of themselves as inhabitants of a town or village, or as this lord’s or that lady’s people, first, and only second if at all as Altaran. Few nobles paid taxes to the crown or offered more than lip service, if that. Its capital, Ebou Dar, rose on the ground that was once a city called Barashta, in the nation of Eharon, before and during the Trolloc Wars, though the major part of that city lay on land where the Rahad later stood. Altara’s sigil was two golden leopards, one above the other: it was referred to as the Golden Leopards or simply the Leopards. Its banner was the Golden Leopards on a field checked four-by-four in red and blue; red was next to the staff on the topmost row.
The Trolloc Wars did not truly envelop Eharon until late, but not a stone remained in the present that could be linked to Barashta, the city having been destroyed by Trollocs. Altara was founded circa FY 1112 by Lord Maddin Todande, who claimed to be a descendant of the last Queen of Shiota and may actually have been so. Numerous earlier attempts to reestablish Shiota had failed, though one, early in the War of the Hundred Years, lasted for fifty years and three rulers. Maddin saw that the old nations were finished and made his claim to a new nation. His success was no doubt aided by the end of the war only five years after he was crowned. King Maddin and his first three successors were strong and respected rulers over a strong and increasingly wealthy land—at least, increasingly wealthy once the war finally ended. Approximately one hundred years after the war, however, Anarina Todande ascended to the throne, a capricious ruler at best and incompetent at worst. During her reign, Altara sank into the near anarchy which prevailed until the arrival of the Seanchan. In the space of twenty years, Anarina drained the national treasury and impoverished House Todande; she was deposed and murdered, and her House never recovered. No House after Todande held the throne of Altara for more than two generations until Beslan, the son of Tylin, became king, although he ruled only with the permission of the Seanchan.
The Seanchan occupation of the city was not easy at first, but it was relatively benevolent. The Seanchan, in effect, simply overlaid their system on top of the one that was already there. Seanchan soldiers were as subject to law as the people in the conquered territory. There was little interference with local custom; duels were not outlawed, but the Seanchan required that they be witnessed, and combatants were required to pay a fee. Street crime was cleared up, and corrupt magistrates were replaced; looting became minimal, though taxes had been imposed, and there were fines. Some holdings of corrupt officials and nobles involved with them were confiscated, and the owners themselves made property. Tylin, and then Beslan, reached an accommodation. The crown was retained and recognized by the Seanchan, with a pledge to uphold the Empress; in return, looting was stopped, and the present laws were left in effect, though Seanchan law held as well. Part of the taxes went to the crown, more than had been collected before, and the Seanchan recognized the crown as ruler over all of Altara, with nobles who refused acknowledgment and fealty (and by implication the Empress) held to be in rebellion and subject to confiscation and enslavement. This deal left the crown better off than before, with a chance to unify Altara.