Selande Darengil. A Cairhienin minor noblewoman who wore six thin stripes crossing the front of her coat. About 5'3" tall, with dark hair, dark eyes and a pale complexion, she was young and pretty. Colavaere directed her at Rand to try to attach strings to him; Selande was frightened half out of her wits by him. She was one of the young nobles who began to imitate the Aiel Maidens. She wore her hair loose and cut off at the shoulder, and a sword belted over a riding dress. She had stark admiration for the Maidens and stark fear of Rand, although the latter faded after he made it clear she had nothing to fear from him. The leader of her society imitating the Aiel, which, unlike the Aiel societies, contained both men and women, she managed a credible swagger, with a bold tilt to her head and a bold set to her shoulders. She and her society were coopted into the service of Faile and called themselves “Cha Faile,” which was Old Tongue for “the Falcon’s Claw” or “the Falcon’s Talon.” She wanted a scar, like those some Maidens had, which Faile thought was ridiculous, but she was not overly eager about it. Faile thought that Selande was the brightest of Cha Faile, except perhaps for Parelean, and that only Camaille and Arrela were quicker, but Selande had a calmness, as if she had already faced the worst fear in her life and nothing else could ever be as bad. She accompanied Faile to Ghealdan, and was one of those sent into Bethal. After Faile was taken prisoner by the Shaido, she agreed to obey Perrin until Faile was found, and Balwer used her to gather information on Masema. Selande led a group of twenty Cha Faile into Malden via the aqueduct to rescue Faile. When Perrin’s group encountered Whitecloaks, Selande put on a dress and went to spy on them. In the Last Battle, she was with Faile on the mission to deliver the Horn of Valere to Mat; when Vanin was thought to be a Darkfriend, Selande took charge of the scouts. She was hauled into the air by weaves of the One Power after Aravine betrayed them to the Shadow.
Selean. A walled farming town in Cairhien at the other end of the Jangai Pass from Taien. It was once a considerable town, set on the hills, but was burned by Couladin and its inhabitants taken as slaves or impaled on sharp stakes.
Seleisin. A very isolated village or region. Many people used it in expressions to indicate ignorance: someone in Seleisin might not know something, but it should have been obvious to everyone else.
Selene. See Lanfear
Selfar. A roan gelding belonging to Talmanes.
Selindrin. The proprietor of The Garden of Silver Breezes in Tanchico. She was a sleek, dark-haired woman of indeterminate age. She cleverly catered to every faction while earning the enmity of none.
Selorna. A Tairen noble House. See also Edorion Selorna
Selucia. A Seanchan woman who was so’jhin to Tuon. Born in 956 NE, she was about 5'4" tall and slim of build, but was full-breasted enough that men frequently stared at her bosom admiringly. She was beautiful, with golden hair, a creamy complexion, large cool blue eyes and a regal bearing. Selucia’s mother gave her to Tuon when Tuon was in the cradle, to be Tuon’s nursemaid and shadow, a bodyguard no one knew about. Selucia was then twenty-five and had been trained in secret her whole life for the role. As a nursemaid, she, along with Tuon’s Soe’feia, was responsible for disciplining Tuon. At Tuon’s adulthood ceremony at age sixteen, she pardoned Selucia for those punishments, according to tradition, and gave her one hundred gold thrones for each one. At that point, Selucia asked to be Tuon’s chief maid, turning her back on possible power and authority, and continued to function as a shadow. Tuon only had to have Selucia punished twice, and regretted it as much as Selucia. Selucia accompanied Tuon to Ebou Dar aboard the Victory of Kidron. When she discovered Mat holding Tuon prisoner in the stables of the Tarasin Palace, she told him that she would obey Mat if he did not hurt Tuon and that she would kill him if he did. Mat took both along in his escape from Ebou Dar. When Mat took Tuon to a “hell” in Maderin, Selucia went along; when attacked by Darkfriends as they were leaving, Thom and Selucia killed more than half a dozen of them. Thom was impressed. After hearing from Falendre that Anath was Forsaken and had been captured by the Dragon Reborn, Tuon named Selucia her Truthspeaker; Selucia did not welcome the position, but she did her best. During the Last Battle, Selucia stayed near Tuon; she was injured when the Gray Men attacked the command tent, but recovered.
Semalaren. A place in Seanchan where the Imperial army fought a rebel force, each army having four hundred damane, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.
Semaradrid Maravin. A Cairhienin nobleman who was High Seat of House Maravin. He wore slashes of color on his coat to below the waist. He was almost 5'9" tall, with a long face and gaunt cheeks. His hair, showing white streaks at the temples, was shaved at the front like that of common soldiers; his dark eyes could chip stone. He moved stiffly from wounds suffered in his land’s civil war, but his limp came from fighting Tear. His armor was gilded and worked, but it had seen considerable use and showed it. His main reason for cooperating with the Tairens was that they were not Aiel. Semaradrid was part of the Illian invasion army, commanding the Cairhienin. When Rand learned of rebellion in Haddon Mirk, Semaradrid wore his malicious smile for the Tairens quite openly. Semaradrid was also part of the campaign against the Seanchan.
Weiramon and Semaradrid had a touchy relationship; Weiramon pretended to give the Cairhienin equality while slighting him almost unconsciously; Semaradrid was fully aware of the slights, of his weaker position, and hated both.
House Maravin had old alliances with House Riatin.
Semaris, Jeordwyn. See Jeordwyn Semaris
Semirhage. A Forsaken. As an Aes Sedai, her name was Nemene Damendar Boann. Her strength level was 1(+12). She was 6'1½" tall, and beautiful, with skin as dark as one of the Sea Folk. Slender and graceful, with long fingers and delicate hands, she had large dark brown eyes and short, black, wavy hair. She usually had a cool, even cold, and imperious air, but when she gave her sadism free rein, the imperiousness dropped away and she became almost solicitous toward her victim. She was especially ruthless and cruel, and a vicious killer, and truly hated anyone who called herself Aes Sedai. A true sadist, she really gained pleasure by causing pain.
Semirhage was almost as poor at handling weather as Asmodean. She liked to do intricate needlework, beautiful patterns of flowers and the like. She knew how to play sha’rah, no’ri and tcheran, but she was an indifferent player of games that did not involve actual people. During the Age of Legends, she was world-famous as a healer of last resort, able to heal what others had given up on. But she always extracted pain as part of her payment. Her main reason for going over to the Shadow was that the Hall of the Servants had discovered that she gave her sadism free rein and proposed binding her with what would be known in the next Age as the Oath Rod.
Demandred, Semirhage and Mesaana acted as a sort of team, though they would move against one another given a chance. They did not follow Moridin willingly. On orders from the Dark One Semirhage sent the Trollocs and Myrddraal that aided Rand in the Stone against Sammael’s Shadowspawn and Darkfriends; she and Demandred planned between them to increase chaos by bringing Rand and the Seanchan into conflict, trying to focus them on one another. Semirhage posed as Anath Dorje, Seanchan Truthspeaker to Tuon, having disposed of Tuon’s intended Truthspeaker.