The smiling bearded man is a ter'angreal recovered from the Kin's Store Room in Ebou Dar.[1] It is also referred to as the "library ter'angreal".[2]
Appearance[]
The statue is heavy and apparently made of age-darkened bronze and is about two feet tall. It depicts a stout man with a beard holding a book. The man bears a merry smile.
Use[]
This ter'angreal holds records of thousands of books from the Age of Legends. Channeling fire and earth into the figure causes the words "Ansoen" and "Imsoen" to appear above it, Old Tongue for "fiction" and "non-fiction".[3] The bearded man was later used by the White Tower to research the seals, prison and Dark One, but books contained in it were all written before the Bore was opened.[2]
It is not known if this works for both male and female channelers.
Trivia[]
Jordan intended for this to be a cameo of himself in the books, calling it his "Alfred Hitchcock" moment.[4][5]