Who are the main characters in The Wheel of Time?
Moiraine, a powerful member of the Aes Sedai, has dedicated herself to tracking down the Dragon Reborn, believing that her guidance will prevent him or her from doing what the previous Dragon did 3,000 years prior—what the story calls “breaking the world,” a devastating apocalypse that ripped what had been an advanced civilization to shreds. Other Aes Sedai want to eliminate all male channelers—either by killing them or “gentling” them, a process by which a man’s connection to the One Power is severed—but Moraine hopes that even if the Dragon Reborn is a man, he will help defeat the Dark Lord rather than succumbing to his evil.
We don’t learn too much about Moiraine’s past, other than that she’s a noblewoman. She’s very reserved; the two most important people in her life are the head of the Aes Sedai, who we’ll discuss more in a later slide, and Lan—her ever-present companion who’s bonded to her by magic, according to the customs of the Aes Sedai. Along the way we learn that Lan, who’s also very reserved, is actually the heir to a kingdom lost decades before when it was overtaken by “the Blight,” an impenetrable forest spawned from the Dark One’s growing powers. He and Nyneave spark romantically, but circumstances eventually mean they have to go their separate ways.
