—Faile Bashere's musing about her husband
[[Category:Andoran (people)]]
Perrin Aybara is a young man from the Two Rivers district of Andor. He has broad shoulders and somewhat shaggy hair, and is very well built from his work as a blacksmith's apprentice. He begins to grow a beard after Faile tells him he would look good with one.
Youth
Perrin is a broad-shouldered, shaggy-haired man who was training to be a blacksmith before being forced to leave Emond's Field with Moiraine Damodred and his friends. When they became separated from the group, Perrin and Egwene al'Vere were attempting to get to Caemlyn when they met a man in the woods named Elyas Machera. Elyas was a Wolfbrother, a man who had wolf-like abilities and could speak with them telepathically. He recognized the latent ability in Perrin as well, and introduced him to a pack of wolves, which included Hopper and Dapple. Perrin's wolf name is Young Bull.
Wolfbrother
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. He can also enter the World of Dreams easily. On top of this, he is ta'veren, like his childhood friends Rand al'Thor and Matrim Cauthon.
While following Rand's trail to Tear with Moiraine Sedai, 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 of choice meant "falcon". This bothered Perrin immensely, due to a viewing 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 that is meant to be for Moiraine by the Black Ajah. He finds Faile by entering the Wolf Dream and with the help of Hopper. He also meets Berelain for the first time in Tear, and after saying no to her orders she takes an interest in him. This interest is also heighted by Faile becoming jealous and saying that Perrin belongs to her.
Back to the Two Rivers
Soon after Perrin decided to investigate rumors that Whitecloaks had been terrorizing the Two Rivers. 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; for this, he became known as Lord Perrin Goldeneyes, much to his consternation.
After his honeymoon, he felt ta'veren's pull and raised an army and led them to help Rand, taking part in the battle of Dumai's Wells. Again, 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.
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 taken captive.
Current Events
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, former spymaster of Pedron Niall, to his ranks has aided his situational awareness and decision-making greatly.
He is the first one of the three men to be married (though Faile remains childless), but, on the whole, he has changed little from the day he left Emond's Field. Aside from leading his childhood friends to their deaths and keeping Rand sane and humane, his greatest challenge is in fending off Berelain sur Paendrag Paeron, the 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, 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.
The Axe and the Hammer
The night Perrin left the Two Rivers, he received his signature weapon: a moon-bladed hand axe Master Luhhan had crafted for a Merchant Guard who then would not pay for it. He has acquitted himself well with it, using muscles well-accustomed to swinging ten pounds of steel. In Tear, however, just before Rand took the Stone, Perrin stopped for an unplanned night's work at a Tairen forge, and in payment (and gratitude) the blacksmith gave him the hammer he had used. These signature implements perfectly encapsulate Perrin Aybara, a man of peace forced to lead his people to war.
Perrin prefers the hammer; he prefers the creative, constructive aspects of blacksmithing, and hates the axe's capacity for bloodshed. Not long after meeting Elyas Machera, he asked if he should throw the axe away, but Elyas told him only to do so once he found himself enjoying its use. Perrin never has; when he eventually discarded it, just before meeting with the Seanchan, it was because he was disgusted with himself for what he was willing to do with it (chopping off the Shaido's hand and threatening to do the same every hour). Without the axe, it appears that finally Perrin is fulfilling a part of the Karaethon Cycle though he doubts that it refers to him, it names him as the Wolf King.
Viewings
A wolf. Refers to Perrin being able to talk to wolves A broken crown. Trees flowering all around him. An Aielman in a cage. Refers ro Perrin freeing Gual 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
References
Perrin appears to be mostly based on the Slavic god Perun.
- Perun is associated with weapons of stone and metal. Perrin is a blacksmith.
- Perun was often accompanied by wolves, and sometimes sent them to do battle for him. Perrin can speak to wolves, and has asked them to join him in battle.
- Perun was a god for the common man. Perrin, a common man if ever there was one, became a leader and lord only because his people made him one.
- Perun's weapons were the axe, the hammer, and the arrow. Perrin's weapon is his half-moon axe, he was a blacksmith at one time (thus he used a hammer), and, like most people in the Two Rivers, he is skilled with a longbow.
- Perun is associated with the bellow of the bull. Perrin's wolf name is Young Bull.
- Perun's name, in Christianized versions of the slavic mythology, is usually replaced with St. Elias. Elyas Machera, like Perrin, can speak with wolves.
- Perun's eye was the sun. Perrin's eyes, like the sun, are yellow.
Perrin is also largely based on the Norse god Thor.
- Thor is a god of justice favored by the common man, unlike the aristocraticly inclined war god Odin. Perrin is elevated to lordship despite constant protests that he is merely a blacksmith.
- Thor wielded a hammer and forged lightning. Like Thor, Perrin uses a hammer both in battle and in craftsmanship.
- Thor played a small role in the adventure that resulted in Odin's eight-legged horse Sleipnir. Perrin has two favorite horses (for a total of eight legs) named Stayer and Stepper.
Other Notes
It is interesting to note that Perrin was a main character in the beginning of the series, but dropped off the radar completely for The Fires of Heaven (later, each of the three ta'veren would do so: Mat in The Path of Daggers and Rand in most of Crossroads of Twilight).