The Tower was built to house three thousand Aes Sedai all the time, and far more at need if they were all called in, plus hundreds of girls in training.
The Library, standing apart from the White Tower, was made of pale stone heavily streaked with blue, looking like crashing waves frozen at their climax, and contained as many rooms as a palace.
The front of the Tower faced a great public square, emphasizing the deep broad steps and massive doors of the main entrance. A stone wall, punctuated with columns and rails, enclosed the perimeter of the grounds.
The square was bordered by public buildings, many of which were Ogier-designed and Ogier-built.
The practice field for Warders and students was a large expanse of beaten earth, fifty by a hundred paces; it was converted to the construction site for Elaida’s palace.
White Tower, The. An inn under construction in Ravinda, Kandor. Its owner, Avene Sahera, was on Moiraine’s list of women who had given birth near Tar Valon at the end of the Aiel War. Avene used the bounty she received from the White Tower to build the inn. Moiraine warned her that Aes Sedai might find the name objectionable.
Whitebridge. A town on the River Arinelle on the Caemlyn Road in Andor, halfway between Baerlon and Caemlyn. Whitebridge was named after its spectacular bridge built in the Age of Legends, which was made of an unknown, superstrong material. The bridge arched high over the river, and from end to end it gleamed milky white in the sunlight, looking like glass. Spidery piers of the same stuff appeared too frail to support the weight and width of the bridge. Looking all of one piece, it had an airy grace, and dwarfed the walled town that sprawled about its foot on the east bank, with houses of stone and brick as tall as those in Taren Ferry and wooden docks like thin fingers sticking out into the river.
Whitebridge was as big as Baerlon, but not as crowded. Shops of every description lined the streets, and many of the tradesmen worked in front of their establishments. Where the bridge came down in the center of the town lay a big square, paved with worn stones, flanked by inns, shops and tall, redbrick houses. Thom, Rand and Mat arrived there on Domon’s boat after being chased by Trollocs. They inquired after Moiraine and the others at a local inn and found that a man and a Fade had both been asking about them. As they were leaving town, a Fade came at them. Thom attacked it while Mat and Rand fled, at his urging. Moiraine, Lan and Nynaeve arrived to find half a dozen buildings burned down on the square, and discovered that the boys had been there but had left.
Perrin’s army and the Whitecloaks camped near there on the way back from Altara, and Perrin’s Power-wrought sword was forged in the camp. Refugees were sent to Whitebridge before and during the Last Battle.
Whitecap. A Sea Folk ship that took food to Bandar Eban. Its Sailmistress was Milis din Shalada Three Stars. The food was thought to be spoiled—every bag opened was—but when Rand visited the ship, each bag opened was good.
Whitecloak War. A conflict, called the Troubles by the Whitecloaks, which started in NE 957, when the Whitecloaks tried to push their borders from Amadicia into Altara. Pedron Niall led the Whitecloak army in the war. A coalition of Altarans, Murandians and Illianers forced the Whitecloaks to cease their expansionist activities.
Whitecloaks. See Children of the Light
whitefennel. A medicinal herb used to ease childbirth.
whitestar bush. Plants growing in the gardens of the Royal Palace in Caemlyn.
whiteworm. A pest in western Andor that attacked cabbages in the field.
Widow al’Thone. A woman of Emond’s Field. Tam thought that a sound swat on the behind and a week carrying water for her might make Perrin act more reasonably, after he had named Tam a lord and steward of the Two Rivers.
Widow Aynal. The annual sheep shearing in Emond’s Field took place in a space called “Widow Aynal’s meadow,” even though no one remembered who she was.
Widow Jorath. A woman in Jarra, Ghealdan, who dragged old Banas through the wedding arches after Rand passed through the town.
Widow Teran. A woman in Mardecin, Amadicia. Noy Torvald scraped out a living by doing odd jobs for her.
Wil. 1) A man in a rooster joke that Rand told to Aiel Maidens. 2) Perrin’s cousin. When they were young, he dropped a bucket of wet feathers on Perrin.
Wil al’Caar. A Two Rivers boy who was the son of Paet and Nela. His leg was broken during the Winternight attack on Emond’s Field, and Moiraine Healed him.
Wil al’Seen. A young Deven Ride man known to have women chase him. A year older than Perrin, he was good-looking and had big eyes. He was Ban’s cousin and Jac’s nephew. Wil was one of the original band hunting Trollocs with Perrin; he led ten or so of the group. He survived the ambush. At first Wil was unwilling to carry Perrin’s banner, but by the final attack of the Trollocs he was proud to do so. Sharmad Zeffar and Rhea Avin went to Faile, hoping that she would tell them which was entitled to Wil; she sent them to the Women’s Circle for a decision.
Wil went with Perrin to Caemlyn; when Perrin Traveled with Rand to Cairhien, he followed with the rest of the men and fought at Dumai’s Wells. Wil accompanied Perrin to Ghealdan and fought at Malden. Perrin ordered him to burn every wolfhead banner; when he regretted the decision, he learned that Wil had kept one and so had him raise it.
Wilbin Saems. A deceased merchant whom the cutpurse Samwil Hark claimed to have worked for once as a clerk.
Wild Boar, The. An inn found in an Andoran village where Elayne, accompanied by the Kin, stayed on her way to claim Andor’s throne. Elayne studied a ter’angreal there—a crimson rod that felt hot, in a way—and thought of fire. The next thing she knew, it was the next day and no one would tell her what had happened. She knew it had been something significant based on the expressions of relief and hilarity on the faces of her companions.
Wild Hunt. A legend in which the Dark One, known in this context as Old Grim, rode with the Darkhounds during the night to hunt down his enemies. Seeing the Wild Hunt meant misfortune to come; meeting it meant death, either for oneself or for someone close. The hounds were associated with lanes, footpaths, bridges, crossroads, gateways, tollgates and other points of transition. These were considered weak spots in the fabric that divided the mortal world from unearthly realms. Rain stopped the Darkhounds in their pursuit temporarily, but the pursued needed to face and defeat the hounds or die.
wilder. A typically derogatory term used for women who learned to channel on their own, and used the Power outside the aegis of the White Tower. Only one in four survived without Aes Sedai training; most survivors denied recognition of such ability by creating a barrier to channeling within themselves.
Wilders who did not go to the White Tower, and who knew what they were doing, usually tried to limit the amount of channeling they did, largely in order not to draw attention to themselves. They believed, as did the Kin, that Aes Sedai lived as long as they did and achieved the ageless look from frequent use of the Power; and that they themselves did not achieve the ageless look because they did not use the Power enough, a fact for which they were universally grateful, feeling that gaining an ageless face would inevitably have led to a charge of pretending to be Aes Sedai.
Most wilders did not live their entire lives in one place because of the slow aging. It could take years for people to realize that a woman wasn’t aging, but by the time that happened, the wilder had usually moved on before she was killed or driven out, finding a new place. Women like this often did not find a place to remain until they were old; the lack of aging was less noticeable then, and if anyone remarked that so-and-so seemed to be living an awfully long time, well, everybody knew that sort of thing wasn’t real, so it was usually put down to sour grapes unless Whitecloaks took a hand in the matter.