Includes SPOILERS for The Wheel of Time season 3, episode 5.
The Wheel of Timeseason 3, episode 5, hasintroduced TV viewers to a new culture in the show’s enormous fantasy world, and the Sea Folk are worth exploring further. The world of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time is immense, rivaling the likes ofThe Lord of the Rings,Malazan, andA Song of Ice & Firein its meticulous attention to detailed, life-like cultures. Prime Video’s TV adaptation has already introduced cultures like the Aiel and the Seanchan and organizations like the Aes Sedai and the Children of the Light. Now, it’s introduced the Sea Folk.
The Wheel of Time’sseason 3 storyis based onThe Shadow Rising, book four of Robert Jordan’s extensive epic. Notably, this novel is highly regarded for transforming Jordan’s story from a more straightforward hero’s journey into a widespread story across an entire world, incorporating numerous civilizations, cultures, and factions. If the TV series hopes to accomplish the immensity of the Last Battle as the novels did, it can’t shy away from introducing audiences to a plethora of different regions and groups, and the incorporation of the Sea Folk is the next step in that journey.
The Sea Folk Live On Ships In The Wheel Of Time’s World
Season 3, Episode 5, Shows Our Heroes On A Sea Folk Vessel
The Wheel of Timeseason 3 sees Nynaeve, Elayne, Mat, and Min travel to Tanchico, coming from Tar Valon. To reach the coastal city on the western shore of the continent, they travel by boat, andepisode 5 reveals that their vessel is being piloted by one of the Sea Folk, using the One Power to increase their speed. The Sea Folk, also known as Atha’an Miere, are maritime people who live on ships, archipelago regions, and islands in the Aryth Ocean and the Sea of Storms, west and south of the continent the show takes place on.
The Sea Folk, also known as Atha’an Miere, are maritime people who live on ships, archipelago regions, and islands in the Aryth Ocean and the Sea of Storms
In the Aryth Ocean and the Sea of Storms, there are multiple island groups controlled entirely by the Sea Folk, and they typically only venture to the mainland of the Westlands for economic purposes. They’re especially known by mainlanders for their porcelain products, which are sold at a high value due to their talented artistry and craft. Similarly, the cost to ride on a Sea Folk vessel is typically high due to the One Power assistance demonstrated in season 3, episode 5. The Sea Folk are not to be confused with the Seanchan, who are from a separate continent entirely.
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The Sea Folk are led by their Mistress of Ships, a woman who holds a similar cultural prestige as a queen, such asAndor’s Queen Morgase. Not too dissimilar to the organization of the Aes Sedai, Sea Folk women can become clan leaders known as Wavemistresses, and they have male equivalents who are known as Swordmasters. Earrings on the ears and nose are symbols of status in Sea Folk society, with a greater quantity of earrings representing a higher rank.
The Sea Folk Use The One Power For Increased Sea Travel Speed
Image via Prime Video
Just like on the mainland, women among the Sea Folk are allowed to channel, while men born with access to the One Power are significantly less fortunate.The Wheel of Timeseason 3, episode 5, showed a female channeler, anexample of a Windfinder, who uses the ability of Weaving the Winds to navigate the seas at a more rapid pace. This involves using the One Power to change the weather in their favor, as well as using Air and Water to increase speed, using those particular elements in ways Aes Sedai may not attempt.
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Importantly,the Aes Sedaimight take interest in the Windfinders, given that they can channel, and would want to take them to the White Tower to become part of their order. This is why the Sea Folk requested that Elayne and the others stay below the deck so as not to reveal the nature of their swift travel speed. TheSea Folk would typically take measures to avoid being noticed by Aes Sedai, attempting to hide their uses of the One Power in front of devoted sisters by creating the perception that they aren’t skilled channelers.
In Sea Folk culture, men who can channel are given two options: either walk off of a ship into the ocean with a stone tied to their legs or be left deserted on an island without food or water.
Men who can channel on the mainland are typically gentled or killed, aside fromRand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn. This is because the Dark One tainted the male side of the One Power, saidin, a long time ago. In Sea Folk culture, men who can channel are given two options: either walk off of a ship into the ocean with a stone tied to their legs or be left deserted on an island without food or water. The latter gives some opportunity for survival but is considered the less honorable method.
The Wheel of Timeseason 3’s Aiel plotline shows how different cultures around the world have their own prophecies aside from the Dragon Reborn or the Karaethon Cycle. Though the Aiel are regarded as the People of the Dragon, they won’t accept Rand al’Thor unless he proves himself to be Car’a’carn. Likewise,the Sea Folk have their own version of the Prophecies of the Dragon, referred to as the Jendai Prophecy. The Dragon Reborn himself is known by the Sea Folk as Coramoor.
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The Sea Folk’s belief inCoramoor, who will supposedly lead them to glory and control over the oceans of the world, makes them integral to the ongoing story ofThe Wheel of Time. As mentioned before, this isn’t a direct hero’s journey; it’s a sprawling narrative across cultures all around the world. Rand al’Thor doesn’t know about the Sea Folk yet in the TV show, and he doesn’t interact with them very much, but they do play an integral role in the developing world surrounding the Dragon’s return.
Rand al’Thor proclaimed himself as the Dragon Reborn in front of the world at Falme at the end ofThe Wheel of Timeseason 2. Now, his quest is to fulfill the words of the Karaethon Cycle, obtaining followers in preparation for the Last Battle. The strength ofThe Wheel of Timeis that every culture and faction in every corner of the world has a say in such a conclusive confrontation between good and evil, and that includes the Sea Folk.
