Perrin Aybara

Perrin Aybara
Biographical Information
Nationality	Andoran
Date of birth	978 NE
Current status	Alive
Physical description
Gender	Male
Height	6' 1½", 187 cm
Weight	235-245 lbs, 106.6-111.1 kg
Hair	Brown
Eyes	Yellow / Gold, previously Dark Brown
Chronological and political information
First appeared	TEOTW Ravens
Last appeared	AMOL Epilogue
Affiliation	Wolfbrother
Occupation	Blacksmith
Title	Wolf King
Rank	Lord of the Two Rivers

For others with the same surname, see Aybara.

Perrin Aybara, also kown as Perrin Goldeneyes and Young Bull, is one of the main protagonists in the series.

He is a strong ta'veren, a wolfbrother, and has exceptional skills in manipulating Tel'aran'rhiod. He is married to Faile Bashere. He held (unofficially) the title of Lord of the Two Rivers and later (officially) Lord Steward of the Dragon in the Two Rivers. He is also likely to become the next Prince Consort of Saldaea as Faile is heir apparent to the now-empty throne.

Appearance and Personality

Perrin is tall (6' 1½" or 187 cm) and heavily built with muscular shoulders and strong arms. He is 235-245 lbs or 106.6-111.1 kg in weight. He has thick and curly brown hair and, from the beginning of The Shadow Rising, a curly beard. His eyes are a startling yellow color that glitters "like burnished gold" and glint in the dark like the eyes of a wolf. Before becoming a Wolfbrother, they were a dark brown.

Perrin has a gentle demeanor and is slow to anger. Due to his naturally great strength, he learned while he was still a young boy to restrain himself so as not to inadvertently harm others. This restraint extends to his mindset as well. He takes great care before speaking, making sure his thoughts are well-formed and complete before opening his mouth, saying only what needs to be said and no more. This carefulness, combined with his bear-like stature, often gives others the impression that he is somewhat slow of wit. His cautious manner of thinking, however, has become an asset as he tends to think out things very logically and completely, rather than act impulsively. This habit also has also proved useful as a military commander.

Although he rarely does so, his physical strength and animalistic wolfbrother impulses make his anger a terrible thing to behold. This internal struggle is Perrin's central theme as a character.

History and Family

Perrin is the eldest of four children born to Con and Joslyn Aybara and born in 978 NE within a week of Rand al'Thor. His sisters were Adora Aybara and Deselle Aybara and his brother was Paetram Aybara. His family were farmers and lived on a sprawling family farm more than half a day beyond Emond’s Field. The remaining nine members of his extended family who lived there were his father's brother, Eward Aybara, Eward's wife Magde Aybara, their three children, an unmarried great-aunt Ealsin, a widowed Aunt Neain, who had been married to his Uncle Carlin, and her two children. He has at least one distant relative, Jaim Aybara, who did not live on the family farm.

At the age of twelve, he was apprenticed as a blacksmith to Haral Luhhan in Emond's Field, after which he had only seen his family on feastdays, the distance being too great for casual travel. He was a shy child.

Prophecies

Perrin is mentioned, briefly, as being in the version of the Prophecies of the Dragon known to the Seanchan:

"When the Wolf King carries the hammer, thus are the final days known."
   — Quoted by Tylee Khirgan, Seanchan Banner-General

Incidentally, Faile calls Perrin her "wolf king" in The Shadow Rising.

He is also mentioned in the Prophecies of the Shadow:

"...the last days of the Fallen Blacksmith’s pride shall come. Yea, and the Broken Wolf, the one whom Death has known, shall fall and be consumed by the Midnight Towers. And his destruction shall bring fear and sorrow to the hearts of men, and shall shake their very will itself.""
   — origin unknown

Brandon Sanderson confirmed that everything in this prophecy came true, if not exactly in the way that many people interpreted. The Broken Wolf is Hopper. The latter part is likely scaremongering by the Shadow.

Activities

Wolfbrother

After becoming separated from Moiraine, Perrin and Egwene al'Vere attempt to get to Caemlyn when they meet a man in the woods named Elyas Machera. Elyas is a Wolfbrother, a man who had wolf-like abilities and could speak with them telepathically. He informed Perrin that his wolf companions recognized the latent ability in him as well, and introduced him to the wolf pack, which included Hopper and Dapple. Perrin's wolf name is Young Bull.

Communicating with the wolves changed Perrin somewhat. The irises of his eyes are now gold; he can see, hear and smell better than any man, even to the point of smelling the emotions people are feeling. He can communicate in a form of telepathy with other wolves, summoning them to battle, although this is initially unpleasant for him. He can also enter the World of Dreams easily. On a number of occasions, Perrin seems to accept the wolf within himself, using his axe to kill his enemies in what seems to be a ferocious and instinctual manner. When he accepts this side of himself, he is described as a powerful and frightening warrior.

Perrin with Wolf Companions portrait done by Seamas Gallagher

Rejoining the Dragon Reborn

While following Rand's trail to Tear with Moiraine Damodred, Lan Mandragoran, and the Ogier Loial, he met a man in a small town whose brother was a Wolfbrother. Perrin went to see this man, who had to be locked in a shed and was dangerous to everyone. The man had gone too far with his abilities and forgotten his human side. He acted as if, and believed he was, a wolf. Perrin fears the same fate, although he has so far kept his powers in check. Also on that journey, he met a young Saldaean woman, a Hunter of the Horn, who called herself Faile; in the Old Tongue, this name means "falcon". This bothered Perrin immensely, because of a viewing received by Min Farshaw that he would meet a hawk and falcon, both female, who would 'perch on his shoulders.' He saves Faile in Tel'aran'rhiod when she is caught in a trap set by the Black Ajah that is meant for Moiraine. He finds Faile by entering the Wolf Dream and with the help of Hopper, who was killed in an earlier book by Whitecloaks, and now exists in Tel'aran'rhiod. This also marks the beginning of his romantic relationship with Faile.

Perrin

Back to the Two Rivers

Soon after, Perrin decided to investigate rumors that Whitecloaks had been terrorizing the Two Rivers people as a result of their relationship with him and Rand. With Loial, Faile, and his Aiel friends Gaul, Bain and Chiad, they set out to Emond's Field to find Perrin's family dead, and not only Whitecloaks, but Trollocs in the area. He united the Two Rivers region and repelled both forces. Once he began to influence the people living in the Two Rivers region, they began calling him Lord Perrin Goldeneyes, much to his consternation.

After his wedding to Faile and subsequent honeymoon, he felt the ta'veren pull, raising an army to help Rand in the Battle of Dumai's Wells. His revulsion at having to do battle with his axe did not stop him from doing his duty, but he has regretted the bloodshed ever since.

Under the public pretense of exile, Rand then sent Perrin and his Two Rivers men with Berelain and her Mayeners, the Aiel Wise Ones, Aes Sedai and two Asha'man to find Masema Dagar, the so-called Prophet of the Dragon in Ghealdan and bring him to Rand. The task was harder than expected, given the zealous and unstable nature of the Prophet Masema and his cult-like army of followers, and events turned tragic for Perrin when his party was attacked by the rogue Shaido Aiel, and Faile was taken captive.

The Battle at Malden

His wife kidnapped, Perrin develops a single-mindedness in trying to rescue her that sees him completely neglect his wider responsibilities to Rand and the people that follow him. Assembling an army of Two Rivers folk, Ghealdanin, Mayeners and Aiel, he also forges an alliance with the Seanchan through Tylee Khirgan. Facing a force including 300-400 Shaido Wise Ones, he contaminates Malden's water supply with Forkroot to neutralize the channelers among his enemies and circumvent the possibility of another Dumai's Wells. The resulting battle sees only a handful of casualties on his side, whilst the Shaido are broken and most of their Wise Ones collared for damane. But the battle also reveals the depth of Masema's madness and hatred of Perrin; Aram tries to kill Perrin at Masema's behest, and only luck saves Perrin's life at Aram's expense. Masema escapes the battle with a handful of his followers.

During this time Perrin finally discards his axe and enters the battle armed with his hammer. After the Maidens with him take some Shaido prisoners they are put to the Question. Perrin wants nothing to do with this and attempts to merely question them instead. He is mocked for this and realizes he will get no answers. In response, and utterly level-headed about it, he shears off one of the Shaido's hands and threatens to remove all their hands and feet and leave them as beggars in a village unless they talk. Not waiting to find out what happens, he leaves and walks off into the forest where he hurls his axe into a tree. Elyas Machera questions whether Perrin did this because he liked what he had done to the Shaido, but Perrin tells him it's because of his fears. He feels alive in battle and is terrified that he may come to feel the same about using the axe in other situations, something he cannot allow.

After the battle at Malden, Perrin realizes how he has failed the people following him. He starts to enter the wolf dream more often in an attempt to learn what he needs. He reaches out to Hopper to help teach him, but Hopper refuses until Perrin starts to think first before leaping.

Lord Perrin in a cover of the Japanese edition

Whitecloaks and Slayer

Following Faile's rescue, Perrin's army begins to make its way through Ghealdan. There they come across an area all infected by the Blight. Perrin orders the Wise Ones to burn it. He then holds a meeting to decide what to do with all the refugees. He sends a group to Cairhien to look for Rand. He also tells Wil to burn all the wolfhead banners and gets in trouble with Morgase Trakand when he tries to marry her to Martyn Tallanvor. He then encounters the Children of the Light, led by Galad Damodred. The Whitecloaks demand a battle, due to Perrin's murder of two Children two years prior and the accusation of being a Shadowspawn. Perrin wishes to avoid battle and convinces Galad to give him a fair trial, judged by Queen Morgase, who he finds out has being posing as Maighdin. At the trial, which is solely judging Perrin's guilt of the deaths of those two Children, Morgase deems him innocent of murder, but guilty of killing illegally, as the Whitecloaks were acting as a mercenary group in Andor, illegally. The sentence is given to Galad to decide, but Galad holds off on announcing it, agreeing to let Perrin fight at Tarmon Gaiden before accepting it.

Meanwhile, Perrin had been training with Hopper in the Wolf Dream, which he finds out is actually the world of dreams for everyone. During this time, Perrin learns to control the dream while also finding the balance between himself and the wolf inside of him. In one training session, Perrin leads a group of wolves on the hunt of a white stag. As Perrin goes in for the kill he is knocked away by Hopper, who informs him that if he kills it here, it will die the last death. During another training session, Hopper takes Perrin to Caemlyn in the wolf dream. There he shows Perrin the nightmares of the humans who dream in that place and how Perrin can use these as a tactic to use against Slayer. Then they both shift to Dragonmount where all the other wolves have gathered. Perrin continues to travel to the pinnacle where he finds Rand struggling against the Dark Ones influence. He witnesses a dark essence just about to take over Rand before he has his epiphany and breaks free, creating a gap in the gathered storm clouds above. Perrin and Hopper discover that Slayer has created a large, purple dome around Perrin's camp, visible only in the dream world, which is preventing them from Traveling in the real world. Perrin confronts Slayer and finds the device creating the barrier - a Dreamspike ter'angreal. Perrin takes the spike and begins fleeing with, removing the barrier from around the camp and letting his army Travel again. With Slayer in close pursuit of Perrin, he takes the confrontation to Tar Valon.

It is here where Perrin and Slayer engage in an intense game of cat-and-mouse. Slayer manages to seize the Dreamspike from Perrin. Perrin accidentally stumbles on the battle between Egwene and her allies and the Black Ajah inside Tel'aran'riod. Egwene tries, and fails, to bind Perrin in chains for his own safety. He breaks through with ease, noting the difference in strength between them in the World of Dreams. Perrin then saves Egwene from a balefire attack, much to her bewilderment, and resumes the fight with Slayer.

Slayer shoots Hopper with an arrow, dealing a killing blow. Enraged, Perrin knocks Slayer into a nightmare coming from the White Tower, where Perrin is more skilled due to his training with Hopper. Perrin manages to steal the Dreamspike back, stabbing Slayer, and throwing the ter'angreal into a rift of lava, destroying the item for good. Perrin then flees after a painful final parting with Hopper.

After he awakens, Perrin's army Travels away from the proximity of the Whitecloak army. In order to ease his own mind and distract him, Perrin begins working in the forge. Neald keeps the metal hot with saidin while he works, and Perrin comes to realize that he has the responsibility to lead these people, whether he ever wanted to or not. When he's done forging, he finds that he's created a large battle hammer and that Neald had used saidin to align the matrix, creating the first power-wrought weapon in centuries, which Perrin names Mah'alleinir. This fulfills the Prophecy of the Wolf King.

Perrin realizes that the barrier created by Slayer was a trap to make his army vulnerable to a Trolloc attack, which is about to let loose on Galad's Whitecloaks. Perrin Travels his forces back to the Whiteclock camp just in time to help them confront the Shadowspawn army. Despite many of the Childrens' suspicions that his rescue was a setup, the two armies work together to defeat the Trollocs. Galad realizes that he'd been misled about Perrin and announces his sentence. Perrin must pay 500 crowns to the families of the two Children he killed and has to fight with all of his might at the Last Battle. Immediately following this proclamation, Perrin is almost killed by Child Byar, who would have struck him down from behind. He is intercepted by Dain Bornhald, who kills Byar instead. Following the battle, Perrin allies with the Whitecloaks and they Travel to Andor, first marrying Morgase to Tallanvor.

Faile and Perrin then make their way to the palace in Caemlyn to confront Elayne Trakand about their Lordship of the Two Rivers. They are able to convince Elayne that it is in her best interest to allow them to be nobles of the Two Rivers. Elayne declares that Perrin will be the Steward of the Dragon for the Two Rivers so they will have an excuse for the political advantage they will have.

After being months apart, Perrin finally catches up with Mat and Thom again in The Happy Throng in Caemlyn. There they discuss the feats they have carried out and the respective wives they have married. Mat tells Perrin about possible assassination attempts and to try not to sleep in the same tent every night. Mat then discusses his plan to rescue Moiraine from the Tower of Ghenjei. Perrin sees Mat off on his quest before finally preparing for the Last Battle. With the Children of the Light, the Queen Alliandre's Ghealdaners, Berelain's Mayeners, the Two Rivers forces, and all others that he has gathered, Perrin marches them to the Field of Merrilor.

Hopper's last sending to Perrin before he died was to seek out Boundless. Perrin finally decides to seek him out in the wolf dream and finds that he has always known him. As it turns out, Noam did in fact live after being set free and he became the wolf known as Boundless in the wolf dream. Noam sends him images of his life all containing a great deal of pain and suffering. However, as a wolf, Boundless was indeed more free, no longer having to live with the hardships of the life he left behind. Realizing that this is Noam's balance and that Perrin has worked out his own balance to the wolf inside him, he can finally let go of the fear of losing himself to the wolf.

The Last Battle

The Dragon's Peace

After being months apart, Perrin and Rand finally catch up with each other at the Field of Merrilor. Perrin lends Balwer to Rand, and they go visit him. Balwer reports that all the monarchs of the world will be present at Rand's meeting on the morrow. At the Field of Merrilor, after the Aiel demand to be included in the The Dragon's Peace, he suggests to Rand that the Aiel are like tools that need to be useful. He tells Rand that they can be charged with settling disputes between nations after he's gone, giving them a purpose after they meet their toh. Rand has Perrin sign the document as well, just in case he raises to a position of leadership.

The Horn of Valere

Perrin is part of the initial war-council led by Elayne. It is decided that the army will be split into four fronts, led by the four great captains. Perrin's army will be part of the force that will try to defeat the Trollocs in Andor. Elayne tries to get Perrin to run the supply shipments for the Last Battle, but he refuses, suggesting that his wife can handle the job. Elayne confesses that the true nature of his command will be to deliver the Horn to Mat under the guise of delivering supplies. He still refuses, and Faile is charged with keeping the Horn safe. Perrin fights under Elayne's command to fight the Trolloc army in Andor. He sets up his army in Braem Wood in anticipation of ambushing the Trollocs, once they have been flushed out of Caemlyn. Perrin then leads a hit and run force out, to try and bait the Trollocs away from Caemlyn's walls and follow them into Braem Wood.

In The Flesh

Perrin asks Edarra how to enter the Wolf Dream in the flesh. He knows that Rand needs his help and fears that Slayer may try to stop the Dragon in the Wolf Dream. Edarra refuses to answer his request, stating that it is evil. Perrin can feel that Rand needs him now and proclaims that Tam is now a lord in the Two Rivers. Perrin must go and so he relinquishes his command to Tam. He asks Neald to make him a gateway to the Black Tower, but the weaves fail. Perrin fears the Black Tower is caught in the same trap that he experienced and fears that Slayer may be guarding the Dreamspike, trapping the Asha'man. Instead Perrin asks him to make a gateway to Rand. As he is about to step through Bornhald approaches him. He tells Perrin that it wasn't actually Trollocs that killed his family but rather Fain, calling himself Ordeith at the time. Perrin refuses to buried by grief again and pulls himself together, swearing that Fain will pay for his crimes. Gaul also approaches and tells him that he is coming with Perrin. They Travel to Shayol Ghul where Rand is. Perrin asks Rand to create a gateway for him into tel'aran'rhiod where he will enter in the flesh. Rand warns him that it is evil but complies. The two say a final farewell to each other and embrace. Perrin asks for a gateway to be opened at the Field of Merrilor once a day at dawn and then steps through with Gaul into the wolf dream.

Perrin then travels to the Black tower to locate and take over the Dreamspike placed there. As he investigates it, he comes across two Asha'man there in the flesh. Moonhunter (Lanfear) appears and tells him that they have been Turned to the Shadow. The two Asha'man fall down and Cyndane tells Perrin that she laced their wine with Forkroot. Perrin finds the Dreamspike and Cyndane shows him how to operate it. Cyndane explains why she joined the Shadow and tells Perrin she is trying to free herself from the Dark One and Moridin. Perrin shuts off the Dreamspike, allowing Traveling to occur to and from the Black Tower again. Perrin then waits for Slayer to show up again and wonders if he can trust Cyndane.

Perrin and Gaul continue to search for Slayer. As he travels through the wolf dream, passing wolves ask him when he will lead the Last Hunt. Perrin is unsure what they are referring to. Then Steps tells him that Heartseeker has been spotted nearby. Perrin is uncertain who Heartseeker is and tracks her down to Rodel Ituralde's tent. There she is trying to read his messages that are nearby. She then leaves the tent and flies off into the sky. Perrin closely follows and watches her as she reaches into a pinprick of light. Heartseeker pauses, which causes Perrin to spook out and drop back to the ground where Gaul is. Heartseeker then attacks Perrin and when she fully recognizes him, shoots balefire at him. Perrin imagines it bending around him, and it does. The two continue to fight, but Perrin can't bring himself to hurt her. Perrin imagines forkroot in Heartseekers mouth. Heartseeker manages to create a gateway in the middle of a massive Trolloc army and jumps through. Cyndane appears and chides Perrin for not killing Heartseeker, who she confirms was Graendal but is now Hessalam. Cyndane is impressed with Perrin's ability in Tel'aran'rhiod and would accept him as a substitute to Lews Therin Telamon. Perrin asks if he could channel here but she tells him there are limits to what the mind can actually do. He asks if she can create a gateway for him and Gaul to leave through, but she tells him he must do it himself. As Cyndane leaves, she tells Perrin that the dream Hessalam was invading was Davram Bashere's.

Shayol Ghul

Perrin notices that Rand has entered the Pit of Doom. He shifts into the pit to see Rand and Moridin motionless facing each other as well as Nynaeve and Moiraine. Slayer is there as well and is aiming an arrow right at Rand. Perrin manages to shift in the way and capture the arrow. Slayer shifts away and Perrin follows, appearing right in the middle of a group Samma N'Sei. The red-veiled men attack Perrin and Gaul. One of the men is a channeler and begins tearing up the ground at Gaul's feet. Slayer then also joins the fight. Perrin quickly shifts both him and Gaul away before they are incinerated by one of the men. Perrin charges all the nearby wolves to guard the entrance to the Pit of Doom. Perrin spots Slayer and they continue their fight. Slayer realizes that Perrin is present in the flesh. As Perrin is about to crush Slayer's head with his hammer, Slayer completely vanishes. Perrin smells burning fur and shifts back to the pit entrance to find that two red-veiled men had arrived and had killed two wolves. Perrin wills them to be idiots, which they become. Lanfear arrives and tells Perrin to kill them as they have been Turned to the Shadow. Perrin tries to will them to turn back to the Light, but is met with a vast nothingness. Gaul volunteers and slits their throats. Lanfear then Heals both Perrin and Gaul from wounds they took in battle. Perrin then shifts back into the pit and tries to communicate with Nynaeve. He sets up the dreamspike inside the cave so no-one can now shift or Travel in. He then tells the wolves to guard this entrance, as it is the only way to Rand now. Then he sets off with Gaul to continue finding out what Graendal was doing.

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After being nearly killed by Slayer in the Wolf Dream, Perrin escaped from the Wolf Dream and fell on the Field of Merrilor. He was saved by Master Luhhan and brought to the healing camp at Berelain's palace at Mayene. He missed the battle at the Fields of Merrilor, because he was too strained from being in the wolf dream too long and from his wounds he received from Slayer. When he woke up, he insisted of his fatigue to be washed away, but no Aes Sedai would do it, except Masuri. She washed away his fatigue and he entered the wolf dream once again to hunt Slayer, but not before he had a heart to heart with Master Luhhan who told Perrin to let all his anger out and don't hold back. Upon finding Slayer in the wolf dream, at Shayol Ghul, he started the fight strong, and continued that way throughout the fight. Slayer escaped to the waking world, but did not anticipated Perrin to be able to do the same. After a rather short fight, Perrin was able to kill Slayer.

After killing Slayer he saw that the fight at Shayol Ghul was going poorly and decided to guard the way up to the Pit of Doom with a handful of Aiel. Upon arriving there, he and the defenses were soon cornered by Darkhounds. That's when he heard the sound of the Horn being blown, which did not only resurrect the Heroes, but also the wolf Heroes on the battlefield. After killing several Darkhounds, with his newly power-wrought hammer Mah'alleinir, Mat joined his side, whom gave him the warning that Padan Fain was on the battlefield and somehow brought the mist of Mashadar with him, after Mat said this, Mat was taken by the mist, which was a trap for Fain, for Mat, who already had been in touch with Mashadar could not be killed by it.

Perrin Aybara, Portrait by Seamus Gallagher

Perrin shifts to the wolf dream to find Gaul, who was wounded by Slayer, to bring him back to the Aes Sedai at the Field of Merrilor. He returns to Shayol Ghul again, to protect Rand in his fight in the Pit of Doom. Upon arriving at the Pit, he comes across Lanfear and both of them go into the Pit to where Rand, Nynaeve, Moiraine and Moridin are. Lanfear then gives Perrin the order to kill Moiraine, as she had woven a weave of Compulsion over him when they first met in the wolf dream. Even though he was under Compulsion, he could not do it, since killing Moiraine would end the battle with the Dark One and that would mean Faile would be killed. His love for Faile canceled out the Compulsion and he then killed Lanfear by snapping her neck.

Faile

Once the battle ends, he begins searching for Faile in the wolf dream, jumping from place to place, looking for clues. He hears, then sees a small falcon that is injured, and when he jumps out of the dream, he finds Faile under a dead Trolloc. She is barely clinging to life but he grabs her and again shifts into the wolf dream, taking Faile with him back to Merrilor for healing, where she recovers. It is unknown if Perrin is aware his wife is now the new Queen of Saldea, following the death of Tenobia and her father, Davram Bashere.

Character development

File:Perrin by Ariel Burgess, Official Wheel of Time Artist.jpg

Perrin Aybara by Ariel Burgess, Official Wheel of Time Artist

Perrin, like Rand and Mat, has found himself in ever-increasing positions of authority. In the Two Rivers, he stepped up because he simply knew what to do; but his people wanted a leader, and he became it. His obvious favor with the Lord Dragon and stout-hearted common sense have since won the respect of many. The addition of Sebban Balwer, Pedron Niall's former spymaster, to the ranks of his servants, has aided his situational awareness and decision-making greatly.

Perrin prides himself on always thinking carefully about difficult situations, attempting to see them from multiple angles in order to seek out possible solutions. This means that he takes longer to make important decisions than the other characters, but he is usually better-off for it. Perrin is under the erroneous impression that his quiet and careful thinking causes people to believe he is slow of wits, when in fact the opposite is true. Both Rand and Mat believe that Perrin is more intelligent than they are, especially with women, and often will mentally compare themselves to him (Perrin in turn does the same with both of them). Faile also finds it nearly impossible to keep secrets from him, as he constantly thinks everything she says, thoroughly, and can usually tell when she is lying directly.

Perrin's upbringing in the Two Rivers imparts him a certain view of the world. For example, like Rand and Mat, he believes that all women should be treated gently and politely. This becomes challenging in his relationship with Faile, and the attempts of Berelain to seduce him. Faile is used to Saldaean couples frequently yelling at each other, and ignoring those they wish to scorn. This causes her to be infuriated when Perrin refuses to get angry with her, and rages against Berelain for her attempted seductions. Perrin is utterly confused by these cultural differences, and it takes advice from Elyas to convince him to alter his behavior with Faile so that they might be more like a Saldaean couple.

He is the first one of the three men to be married (though Faile remains childless), but, on the whole, he is the one who has changed the least: he still maintained a strong connection with the Two Rivers and still considers himself a blacksmith at heart. Toward the beginning of the series, Perrin believed that Faile could not possibly love him because he was both half wolf and, maybe worse, half blacksmith. Aside from leading some of his childhood friends to their deaths and keeping Rand sane and humane, one of his greatest challenges is fending off Berelain sur Paendrag Paeron, the seductive leader of the city-state of Mayene who has set her sights on him. She is forward enough to embarrass him, he is too polite to simply turn her down effectively, and Faile looks on with jealousy and frustration at her husband's apparent humoring of this interloper. Rand, oblivious to this, persists in flinging the three together on various assignments.

Shortly before the Last Battle begins, Perrin finally realizes his responsibility as a leader, and that no matter how much he rejects his position, people will follow him. Continuing to deny his role would do nothing but make his followers weaker, rather than driving them away, and so Perrin accepts them.

The Axe and the Hammer

Perrin is associated with these two objects throughout the series, and they are central Perrin's choice between being a man of peace or a man of violence. The axe was made in 996 NE by Haral Luhhan after being commissioned by a wool-buyer's guard who subsequently refused to pay for it. It was described as "no common woodsman's tool" with a "broad half-moon blade on one side of the head and a curved spike on the other". It is described as around four or five pounds in weight, although this is very heavy for the average one-handed battle axe. See weights and measures for more discussion on this.

File:Battle-axe real.jpg

An example of a real-life axe similar to the one wielded by Perrin.

Luhhan had given it to Perrin some time in the past when he had caught Perrin practicing with the weapon and thought Perrin may as well have it than it sitting around useless. Mat makes fun of Perrin for this, but Perrin suggests that it is useful to have some practice with a weapon. Little did they know that it would be needed in the future. Perrin takes it with him when he leaves the Two Rivers and it draws eyes from the Tuatha'an when he encounters them, starting a long-standing deep unease about the weapon. Even before this, he had thought of the axe as being "wicked". Elyas Machera, a man wise in the philosophy of weaponry, has this to say to Perrin:

"You'll use [the axe], boy, and as long as you hate using it, you will use it more wisely than most men would. Wait. If ever you don't hate it any longer, then will be the time to throw it as far as you can and run the other way."

Perrin first kills men with the axe when he and Egwene encounter the Children of the Light somewhere east of Shadar Logoth. Previously, he had doubted that he could ever attain the calmness of the Void that Rand and Lan talked about when wielding the sword and he is conscious that his play practice was nothing like having to wield it for real.

Perrin with hammer, portrait done by Jeremy Saliba

The hammer was given to Perrin by blacksmith Dermid Ajala in gratitude for some work done by Perrin shortly after he arrived in Tear. It is described as being ten pounds in weight, but again there may be some discrepancy in terms of units. It is a one-handed hammer with shaft the same length and thickness as that of the axe. To Perrin, the hammer represented the opposite of the axe. The axe was only made for violence and brought disparaging or fearful looks, whereas the hammer was something that could be used to create and brought the respect of a tradesman. Despite this, Perrin finds with reluctance that the Pattern needs him to use the axe more than the hammer; in the Two Rivers, at Dumai's Wells and against the Shaido. In his mind, although the axe is less than half the weight, it weighs "ten times heavier" on his conscience. His internal struggle is also reflected in Tel'aran'rhiod where the hammer flickers back to the axe before he becomes experienced at controlling his thoughts.

Perrin abandons the axe forever.

Perrin eventually gets rid of the axe after he chops off a Shaido captive's hand. The Aielman had not given in the tortures of Masema's man Hari, but after threating to keep chopping off parts of his and the other Aiel captives' and leaving them as cripples to beg in the streets, they quickly capitulate. Disgusted with the violence he seemed so easily capable of, he throws the axe into a tree and abandons it forever.

Perrin forging Mah'alleinir

This is not the end of his struggle, however, as he now begins to use the hammer as a weapon every bit as deadly as the axe. This is pointed out to him by Hopper. After a great deal of contemplation, Perrin realizes the difference - the axe can only be used for killing while the hammer has the capacity to either kill or create. Finally, Perrin forges the power-wrought hammer Mah'alleinir with Neald and leaves his old hammer behind. He feels sorry to leave behind the blacksmith's hammer, but he knows that he is no longer a blacksmith and that now he wields the hammer of a king. He has now become the Wolf King of the prophecy and the Last Battle is nigh.

Viewings

• A wolf. (Refers to Perrin being able to talk to wolves)
• A broken crown. (Refers to Perrin's new-found association with the ruling family of Saldaea, as the crown of Saldaea is also known as the broken crown)
• Trees flowering all around him. (May refer to the deaths of his family, and their burial in an orchard)
• An Aielman in a cage. (Refers to Perrin freeing Gaul from the cage)
• A Tuatha'an with a sword. (Refers to Aram the Tinker picking up and using a sword)
• A falcon and hawk on each shoulder, both female. (Refers to Faile (falcon) and Berelain (hawk) showing interest in Perrin)
• Perrin will have to be there twice for Rand, or Rand will die. (First time he saves Rand is when he leads a force to the Battle of Dumai's Wells, second time is during Tarmon Gai'don, when he kills Lanfear as she attempts to kill Rand at the Bore.)

Perrin Aybara with three wolves.

Real-World Parallels

Robert Jordan draws on a number of sources from myth and legend to create the backdrop for Perrin's character.

Perun, Thor and Zeus

Perrin's name is almost identical to the name of the Slavic bearded war god Perun. Perun's weapons were the axe, hammer and arrow, parallels to Perrin's half-moon axe, blacksmith's hammer and the Two Rivers bow. He was associated with the sound of a bull and bulls were sacrificed to him, paralleling Perrin's wolf name "Young Bull". In Slavic mythology, he is sometimes seen as the opponent of Veles, a god who could change into a wolf and was known as "Lord of all wolves". The two gods even share the same wife. This may tie into Perrin's internal struggle between his human and animal sides. There is also a connection between Perun and St Elijah/Elias, mirroring the link between Perrin and Elyas in the books. One of Perun's symbols was an eagle, the same as the symbol of Manetheren on the flag flown by the Two Rivers men that follow Perrin.

Perun is often seen as a Slavic incarnation of Thor and Zeus (with whom is associated the eagle, thunder, bull and oak, all also symbols of Perun), but it is the Slavic version which bears the most similarity to Perrin in general. Thor carried the legendary hammer Mjolnir, Perrin's Power-wrought hammer is called Mah'alleinir, athough this name too was adopted in the Perun myths as "molnia".