The Wheel Of Time‘s third season has taken off swimmingly and has been full of riveting action and intrigue. From an open Aes Sedai revolt within the tower, the entry into Aiel territory, right to the rising of fighting spirits in the Two Rivers, the season is rich with new and exciting directions for the heroes and villains. With the heroes diverging paths once again and trying to find new ways to evade and defeat the dark forces, they are also exposed to newer ways people channel powers from the weave.
Up to this point, it only seemed like some major organizations, both good and evil, could train and attain these powers for their own agendas. The Aes Sedai with their righteously-positioned center and the Seanchan’s oppressive and militaristic use of channeling, seemed to be the main ways a person could hone their skills. Despite this established and often ritualistic learning, some new magic-users have surfaced to potentially stir the pot of what the heroes know and have learned, and with the trauma of training under these organizations being all too recent, they are ready to mix things up.
The Sea Folk Channel The One Power on the High Seas
In The Wheel Of Time books, the Sea Folk are known as the Atha’an Miere, which in the Old Tongue translates to “People of the Sea”. The captain of a Sea Folk vessel is known as a Sailmistress.
In The Wheel of Time‘s season 3’s fifth episode, Nynaeve, Mat, Elayne, and Min set course for Tanchino via a Sea Folk vessel. Although they are initially not permitted to go above deck while the ship is in the waters, they eventually break the rule and realize that the Sea Folk channel the winds to fill their sails and tame the surrounding waters. To newer acolytes of the Aes Sedai like Nynaeve and Elayne, this wild-looking style of channeling seems unwieldy. Luckily, the captain of the ship warms to their on-deck presence after a promise of secrecy and decides to reveal their channeling style to the more up-tight Aes-Sedai-trained heroes. What Nynaeve and Elayne notice changes their perspective on channeling significantly.
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The Sea Folk seem to be quite a mysterious and exotic people to those on the mainland and most of what is known and commonly told about them is more rumor than truth. Nynaeve and Elayne were both under the impression that the Sea Folk’s knowledge of channeling the winds was a paltry form of magic, but what they witness on deck is much more significant, especially how they harness it. Nynaeve and Elayne have both been exposed to the training of the Aes Sedai, which is mainly based on taming and manipulating the weave, whereas these sea folk decide to “go with the flow” and embrace the natural chaos to use its naturally flowing powers. Since the heroes are so deeply attuned to the weave in ways that are currently unbendable, this more natural and embracing approach may be exactly what they need to improve their understanding and put up a fight against the darkness.
Most Magic-users Are Part of Ambitious Organizations
The Aes Sedai Are Only One of the Groups Who Use the One Power
It is refreshing to see yet another rogue style of channeling and mysticism outside the forces of villainy being introduced in the series. Of course, the Aiel have also shown their profound skills in divination and dream-walking this season as well, with likely much more exposure to their powers in the future. Yet this kind of arid desert mysticism has come to be expected in most fantasy and sci-fi storytelling, and the Aiel are still a significantly large culmination of peoples. This comes to the point that most magic-using factions of The Wheel of Time that have been shown seem to be monoliths. Whether they are the forces of darkness operating in the shadows and among the elite, or monolithic empires and academies, users of the weave’s powers are often gilded in the pomp and decadence of political ambition and conquest.
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The oppressive Seanchan enslaved channellers with collars and bracers, using them as proxies of power for military exploitation. The Aes Sedai are trained and taught that they are the true protectors of the weave and work hard to bend channeling to their righteous will, using the history of their protective powers as a justification to validate their power. Although there are good and well-meaning people within the organization of the Aes Sedai, it’s clear that their internal politics and hubris constantly result in brutal internal crises, as seen when the Reds tried to overthrow the Amerlin seat in episode one. These disastrous monoliths of power have no longer become stable places for the heroes to learn from or be protected by, and therefore the likes of Rand, Nynaeve, and Perrin require different tutelage styles to harness their powers.
Rebel Users Are Just What Rand and His Friends Need
The Atha’an Miere try to live as much of their lives on their boats upon the Seas as they can, only coming to land for trade if they can help it.
The hardened but mystical Aiel, the chaos-embracing Sea Folk, and the elusive Wolfbrothers all seem to have quite a bit in common when it comes to the establishments in The Wheel Of Time; they work counter to it. Although not perfect, these people and factions all seem to be grossly underestimated and waved off by those deemed powerful. Yet as the show progresses and reveals them, it’s become all-too-clear that they are much more powerful and significant than anyone gives them credit for, which is their greatest strength.
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With the intense need to work covertly, much like the forces of darkness, the heroes have been in a constant state of fleeing, only facing off with the forces of evil when their lives depended on it. Hopefully, through the help of these underestimated yet powerful factions, they will finally get the training and hidden preparation needed to emerge and gain the offensive. Of course, there is still a lot pitted against them, but as they edge closer to discovering their abilities and how to naturally hone them, the closer they come to realize their true potential and inspire those around them to join forces.
