History Characters / TheWheelOfTimeTaveren

* DropTheHammer: Perrin's ''other'' calling card is a forge hammer he picks up in the third book, which he is able to use in combat. Robert Jordan milks this symbolism -- axe vs hammer, creation vs destruction, Perrin the man vs Lord Goldeneyes the leader -- for all it's worth. [[spoiler:After going through several hammers, he ends up constructing ''[[HotBlade Mah'alleinir]]'', a Power-wrought hammer that is warm to the touch, but burns Shadowspawn it hits. This is his final weapon.]]

* FirstGirlWins: Faile

* WeaponsOfTheirTrade: TheBlacksmith-turned-Lord Perrin Aybara fights with both a [[DropTheHammer forging hammer]] and an axe. His conflict over the choice of weapon is an ongoing theme; he throws the axe away when he realizes he's become too comfortable with killing, has a minor crisis when reminded that he's killed a lot of people with the hammer as well, but settles on the hammer as a weapon because it has the ability to create as well as destroy.

* RealityWarper: By the end of ''A Memory of Light'', Perrin's ability to manipulate the "Wolf Dream" is second to none, including Egwene, Amys, Slayer, and any of the Forsaken. In fact, he is so [[OverpoweredTropes Overpowered]] there that he becomes one of the most powerful characters in general, particularly once he learns to leverage "shifting" to jump himself around in the waking world as well. In fact, by this point in the story, he is a SuperWeight at the least.

* KissingCousins: He becomes worried at one point that he might be related to [[spoiler:Elayne]], and it turns out that they are, albeit very distantly. However, [[spoiler:both he and Elayne ''do'' share a mutual half-brother, Galad, who is Rand's maternal and Elayne's paternal half-brother. Rand knows this by Book 5, but it's unclear if Elayne ever learns it during the series proper. Galad definitely doesn't until he and Gawyn learn it in Book 14.]]

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: All male channelers are condemned to go mad ''by'' their ability to channel. [[spoiler:He cleanses the taint from ''saidin'' in Book 9, and solves his own madness in Book 12.]]

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: All that stuff in the WhatTheHellHero entry and elsewhere about all the horrible things Rand has done? Over the course of the series he has received two wounds from [[ArtifactOfDoom Artifacts of Doom]], lacerations that have not healed in years and as far as we know never will. He has some degree of memory of his previous life, a figure reviled worldwide for killing his own family and causing ApocalypseHow. Plus dozens of implanted memories from ancestors given as a sort of [[NeuralInterface magical]] [[GeneticMemory history lesson]], and himself in alternate realities, all of which had rough lives in war-torn worlds. Rand developed severe claustrophobia from being locked in a box for weeks, and after that he was imprisoned in ''another'' jail cell which happened to be pretty small. Later, his hand was blown off by a fireball, and he might be going blind. All this happened to a guy with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He's killed thousands himself (mostly in battles, but not entirely), and endangered the lives of the world, is not only prophesied to cause much more damage than he already has, but also to die in the rapidly approaching final battle... and considering what he's been through, can you blame him? He actually gets pushed to the edge of this trope at the end of book 12, after [[spoiler:almost killing his own father]] and having a DespairEventHorizon because HisStoryRepeatsItself and he feels all of reality is nothing but an endless series of suffering, death, and destruction. [[PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery So he should end it all]]. Luckily, he doesn't.

* HurtingHero: He's a DestructiveSavior. He's the Dragon Reborn in a world where the Dragon's Fang is a symbol for evil. He's fully aware that his magic is tainted and will drive him mad. [[spoiler:Fain sends Trollocs to ravage his hometown just to hurt him. People who should really be on his side lock him in a box, taking him out only to beat him. Semirhage nearly forces him to kill his lover.]]
** Going along with the DestructiveSavior motif, Rand is kind of a Lucifer figure, in certain respects. In much the same way that Rand al'Thor sounds vaguely reminiscent of Arthur, Lews Therin Telamon (AKA The Dragon, Rand's last incarnation) sounds like Lucifer. Add to this that one of Lews Therin's apellations was Lord of the Morning ("Lucifer" = "[[BilingualBonus morning star]]"), that Rand himself is known as He Who Comes with the Dawn among the Aiel, and the manner in which the Dragon is regarded in Rand's era, and there you go. Not a 100% match, obviously, but still, it's there.

** Odin is also the FourStarBadass of the Norse Pantheon, and has a magic BladeOnAStick. Mat is often seen as TheStrategist due to his GhostMemory of combat from the Eelfinn, and his ''[[BladeOnAStick ashanderei]]'' is his weapon since acquiring it in Book 4. [[spoiler:As shown in Book 13, the "magic" aspect is also in check, as the ''ashanderei'' is also a way out of the Tower of Ghenjei.]] Speaking of the ''ashanderei'', [[spoiler:one of the (in this case untrue) rumours about Mat noted in book 13 is that his weapon supposedly never misses, which was an aspect of Odin's spear.]]
** Odin has two ravens named Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory) who he sends out and brings back to learn about the world. Mat's BladeOnAStick has an inscription that includes both the terms "Thought" and "Memory", and his title among the Seanchan is Prince of the Ravens, his sigil being a pair of ravens.

* BadassNormal: Well, for varying values of "normal." Rand is a PhysicalGod and one of the most powerful magic-users ''in the history of fiction'', at one point taking on an army of a hundred thousand by himself without breaking a sweat. Mat is BornLucky, has an AntiMagic artifact, a BladeOnAStick, and his Eelfin PastLifeMemories. That's it... but part of the fun Robert Jordan has in the series is PlayingWith PowerLevels without actually marking them up. Mat is Rand's equal in physical combat, can use his luck to his advantage, can NoSell magic in a way Rand cannot, and is unquestionably a better tactician, at one point winning a battle for Rand by ''trying to run away from it''. (See "YouCantFightFate" below for more details.)

* BladeOnAStick: His weapon is some sort of curve-bladed spear, called an "''ashandarei''," which he uses as a quarterstaff. Prior to this he subscribed to the ArcherArchetype and staff schools of thought. He also has a [[BladeEnthusiast ton of knives]], primarily for throwing. [[spoiler:The spear turns out to be a ChekhovsGun that can open portals between the Finn's world and Randland]].
* BlaseBoast: When he wants to impress a woman.

* BadassInCharge: [[spoiler: Of the forces of the Light in The Last Battle, after the Great Captains are taken out.]]

* BadassInCharge: The ChosenOne, a leader of all who opposes the Dark One (at least in spirit), the strongest male chaneller of Light, and the MasterSwordsman.

* WeaponsOfTheirTrade: TheBlacksmith-turned-Lord Perrin Aybara fights with both a [[DropTheHammer forging hammer]] and {{an axe|ToGrind}}. His conflict over the choice of weapon is an ongoing theme; he throws the axe away when he realizes he's become too comfortable with killing, has a minor crisis when reminded that he's killed a lot of people with the hammer as well, but settles on the hammer as a weapon because it has the ability to create as well as destroy.

* AnAxeToGrind: Perrin's signature weapon is a half-moon axe. He hates it and all that it represents. ([[spoiler:He finally throws it away after [[ColdBloodedTorture chopping off a man's hand]] with it before the Battle of Malden]]).

* BladeOnAStick: His WeaponOfChoice is some sort of curve-bladed spear, called an "''ashandarei''," which he uses as a quarterstaff. Prior to this he subscribed to the ArcherArchetype and staff schools of thought. He also has a [[BladeEnthusiast ton of knives]], primarily for throwing. [[spoiler:The spear turns out to be a ChekhovsGun that can open portals between the Finn's world and Randland]].

** Odin is also the FourStarBadass of the Norse Pantheon, and has a magic BladeOnAStick. Mat is often seen as TheStrategist due to his GhostMemory of combat from the Eelfinn, and his ''[[BladeOnAStick ashanderei]]'' is his WeaponOfChoice since acquiring it in Book 4. [[spoiler:As shown in Book 13, the "magic" aspect is also in check, as the ''ashanderei'' is also a way out of the Tower of Ghenjei.]] Speaking of the ''ashanderei'', [[spoiler:one of the (in this case untrue) rumours about Mat noted in book 13 is that his weapon supposedly never misses, which was an aspect of Odin's spear.]]

** Book 4, when Mat gets the ThreeWishes and much of his signature equipment (foxhead AntiMagic medallion, WeaponOfChoice, InstantExpert memories). However, he doesn't get to ''show off'' that level until Book 5.

* TheBlacksmith: Which aids in the selection of his ''other'' WeaponOfChoice.

* DropTheHammer: Perrin's ''other'' calling card is a forge hammer he picks up in the third book, which he is able to use in combat. Robert Jordan milks this symbolism -- axe vs hammer, creation vs destruction, Perrin the man vs Lord Goldeneyes the leader -- for all it's worth. [[spoiler:After going through several hammers, he ends up constructing ''[[HotBlade Mah'alleinir]]'', a Power-wrought hammer that is warm to the touch, but burns Shadowspawn it hits. This is his final WeaponOfChoice.]]

* WeaponsOfTheirTrade: TheBlacksmith-turned-Lord Perrin Aybara fights with both a [[DropTheHammer forging hammer]] and {{an axe|ToGrind}}. His conflict over the choice of weapon is an ongoing theme; he throws the axe away when he realizes he's become too comfortable with killing, has a minor crisis when reminded that he's killed a lot of people with the hammer as well, but settles on the hammer as a WeaponOfChoice because it has the ability to create as well as destroy.

* MixedAncestry: [[spoiler: He is part-Aiel due to his mother, Tigraine Mantear, GoingNative among Aiel and married one of their chieftains]].

* BadassNormal: Well, for varying values of "normal." Rand is a PhysicalGod and one of the most powerful magic-users ''in the history of fiction'', at one point taking on an army of a hundred thousand by himself without breaking a sweat. Mat is BornLucky, has an AntiMagic artifact, a BladeOnAStick, and his Eelfin memories. That's it... but part of the fun Robert Jordan has in the series is PlayingWith PowerLevels without actually marking them up. Mat is Rand's equal in physical combat, can use his luck to his advantage, can NoSell magic in a way Rand cannot, and is explicitly a better tactician, at one point winning a battle for Rand by ''trying to run away from it''. (See "YouCantFightFate" below for more details.)

* YouCantFightFate: Mat tries to ScrewDestiny on a regular basis, for instance by determinedly saddling his horse in Book 5 and deciding he will not participate in a major battle Rand is trying to win. He ends the day the ''opposite'' of "not participating": [[spoiler: by merely stopping to warn some troops that they are about to walk into an ambush, he ends the day in command of that squad, enlarged it into a personal army, killed the enemy general in single combat, and become by popular acclaim the hero of the day.]] (In comparison, Rand spends his time playing artillery from a tower, which gets knocked over by bad-guy lightning, and accomplishes nothing.)

* TheBlacksmith: Which aids in the selection of his ''other'' WeaponOfChoice...

* TheLancer: Although Perrin has the look of TheBigGuy, in many ways he is more of a Lancer to Rand--calm, methodical, and intelligent where Rand is brash and bold while Mat is thoughtless and passionate. With Mat being the general, Perrin acts more as Rand's NumberTwo, is TheReliableOne as opposed to Mat's carefree roguishness, and has a single steady relationship instead of three or being a HandsomeLech. And interestingly, during Rand's AntiHero phase, Perrin was the one who most acted as a MoralityChain keeping him from SlidingDownTheSlipperySlope...but later, when determined to rescue Faile, it was Perrin who became in danger of being HeWhoFightsMonsters, willing to [[IDidWhatIHadToDo do what he had to do]] by allying with the Seanchan and Masema (and using the latter's [[ColdBloodedTorture methods]]) to stop the Shaido. By the end of the series he has decided his role is to do the things Rand can't or shouldn't have to do, to be TheCowl to Rand's [[TheCape Cape]], and thus let him still be the hero he needs to be. [[spoiler:And so he kills Lanfear, a dark but necessary act Rand could never do and which Perrin himself had strong difficulties with in the past.]]
** Again: PowerLevels. Not a PersonOfMassDestruction like Rand. He and Rand both have experience as a FrontlineGeneral, but it is not their expertise in any way, as it is Mat's. But both as a NatureHero and in the wolf dream, Perrin is completely unbeatable.

* UpbringingMakesTheHero: True to some extent for all ''Wheel of Time'' protagonists, but particularly the Two Rivers characters, whose idealic/character-building rural upbringing seems to have prepared them to handle real power with humility and perspective.

* ButtMonkey: His "luck" has more to do with random events favoring him when he desperately needs it than with being fortunate or happy (he is still the luckiest man pertaining fortune, the other facet is just stronger still). If you were to hear described everything that happens to him in the series without luck being mentioned, you wouldn't think he was lucky at all. [[spoiler: Almost as soon as the adventure starts, he catches a HatePlague that nearly kills him on four separate occasions before he's finally cured of it. Then he risks his life to save three young female channelers who use the One Power to treat him terribly when he rescues them. Then he gets hanged and left for dead (possibly even dies) before Rand resuscitates him. As a result of the hanging he gets saddled with thousands of years' worth of unwanted memories of battle, which cause him to become the general of his own army when it's the last thing in the world he wants. Then he has to [[TearJerker kill in self-defense a woman he's slept with when she tries to kill him.]] Then he has to look after two of the three same female channelers from last time, and ends up getting raped by a queen for it. [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale (Others in-universe]] [[UnfortunateImplications think this is]] [[BlackComedyRape very funny.)]] Then he gets caught in the middle of an invasion that leaves him seriously injured and forced to spend more "quality time" with his rapist. ''[[OverlyLongGag Then]]'' [[OverlyLongGag he is]] [[SuperPersistentPredator stalked by an invincible killer,]] [[AccidentalMarriage accidentally gets married,]] and [[EyeScream loses an eye.]]]] And, in general, since this is a WorldOfBadass, his own badass qualities are usually unnoticed and unappreciated by his fellow main characters. Additionally, while both he and Perrin get one book off, Perrin's absence is for his honeymoon, while Mat's is because he was hit with a collapsing building.

* BladeOnAStick: His WeaponOfChoice is some sort of curve-bladed spear, called an "''ashandarei''," which he uses as a quarterstaff. Prior to this he subscribed to the ArcherArchetype and SimpleStaff schools of thought. He also has a [[BladeEnthusiast ton of knives]], primarily for throwing. [[spoiler:The spear turns out to be a ChekhovsGun that can open portals between the Finn's world and Randland]].

* NiceHat: Picks a black, wide brimmed one up on his journey through the Aiel Wastes. He keeps it throughout the rest of the series and invokes this trope by name.
-->'''Mat:''' When Thom puts this all into song, he better remember my hat. It really is a nice hat.

* ShroudedInMyth: By his own men, oddly enough. They think such things as that his NiceHat gives him magical powers.

* DropTheHammer: Perrin's ''other'' calling card is a forge hammer he picks up in the third book, which he is able to use in combat. Robert Jordan milks this symbolism -- axe vs hammer, creation vs destruction, Perrin the man vs Lord Goldeneyes the leader -- for all it's worth. [[spoiler:After going through several hammers, he ends up constructing ''[[HotBlade Mah'alleinir]]'', a Power-wrought hammer that is warm to the touch, but burns Shadowspawn it hits. This is implied to be his final WeaponOfChoice.]]
* TheEveryman: Much of narrative's efforts to sell Perrin as a likeable protagonist center on his humble, unpretentious view of himself.

* TheReliableOne: if there is one trope the story wants you to think is applicable to Perrin, its this one.

* TookALevelInBadass: Perrin is a tagalong character, lacking a solo campaign, until Book 4. [[spoiler:Over the course of that novel he returns home, defends his people against not only the milieu's ChurchMilitant but TheUsualAdversaries, gets married, and by popular acclaim is elected Lord Perrin Goldeneyes of the Two Rivers. In Book 6 he comes back with an army, ready to take his place on the world stage.]]

* CoolButInefficient: The whole FlamingSword thing. The most powerful channeler ever to live, and this is what he does with it? Invoked by [[PsychoExGirlfriend Lanfear]] in one of her (many) attempts to get him to come to the dark side.

* DisappearedDad: [[spoiler: His father, Janduin, could not get over the loss of his beloved, and went north as a DeathSeeker. He found it at his brother-in-law's hands.]] As of A Memory Of Light [[spoiler:it was quite fortunate that he found it, as we learn that many of the deathseekers were turned to the shadow]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: after he gets healed of the HatePlague (and actually becomes a narrator), he starts showing his true colors. (Not coincidentally, [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap the fandom's opinion of him improved markedly]].)

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: He's the last of the three to take another man's life. It sickens him when he realizes he goes from never having killed anyone to killing three men in one night, but quickly overcomes it due to "Kill or be killed."

* BladeOnAStick: His WeaponOfChoice is some sort of curve-bladed spear, called an "''ashandarei''," which he uses as a quarterstaff. Prior to this he subscribed to the ArcherArchetype and SimpleStaff schools of thought. He also has a [[KnifeNut ton of knives]], primarily for throwing. [[spoiler:The spear turns out to be a ChekhovsGun that can open portals between the Finn's world and Randland]].

The last three Ta'veren of the Third Age in which the ''The Wheel of Time'' books take place.

* IJustWantToBeNormal: He just wants to drink and gamble and chase girls. The Pattern keeps forcing him to deal with [[WitchSpecies Aes Sedai]], nobles, and people trying to kill him.

* TrueLoveIsExceptional: {{Lampshaded}} in one book. His destined love is a [[BlueBlood noble]], [[WitchSpecies can learn to channel]], and is [[ACupAngst boyishly slim]]. His usual type is the exact opposite of that, since he hates nobles, dislikes anything to do with the One Power, and likes his women plump and busty.

* PowerLevels: Rand, being TheChosenOne, is one of the most powerful channelers in the series. Other channelers describe him as being off the charts in every dimension. [[spoiler:And he becomes even more powerful after coming down from Dragonmount in Towers of Midnight. The aforementioned OneManArmy entry has him splitting his flows thousands of times, so much that the Asha'man with him couldn't count them all.]] In fact, only [[TheDragon The Nae'blis]] equals him, and he primarily uses [[TheDarkSide the True Power]] rather than [[TheForce the One Power]].
* PowerTrio: TheKirk, TheHero

* TookALevelInBadass: Starts the first book as a farmboy who barely knows how to wield a sword and can only channel in the most random of circumstances. By the end of the fourth he is [[spoiler: a blademaster, has taken control of one of the strongest nations on the continent, and carries around a magical object that would allow him to melt said continent, and is beginning to control his gift of being one of the two most powerful channelers in the world (Ishammael is said to be as stong as him...)]]. And by the culmination of his power near the end of the series, [[spoiler:he is able to use so much of TheForce and TheDarkSide simultaneously that he can render TheAntiGod an insignificant pest in his grasp]]. He's come a ways from herding sheep.

* AndTheAdventureContinues: [[spoiler:Having accomplished everything he set out to do and left behind his identity as the Dragon Reborn, Rand is last seen riding south to explore the world as himself, not as the Dragon Reborn - just as he'd wanted to do from the start of the series. He is implied to have become so powerfully Ta'varen that he's able to light his pipe just by thinking about it without needing to channel]].