Snert. The innkeeper of The Grand Hike in Caemlyn. He was missing several teeth, one eye and most of his hair, but Birgitte said he had nice chest hair.
Snow Goose. The two-masted riverboat owned by Jaim Adarra. Sweeps (oars) were used at the dock. Moiraine, Lan, Perrin, Loial and Faile traveled aboard it from Remen to Illian.
snowberry. A tree that grew on riverbanks and produced tiny white blossoms in the spring. Egwene saw some while sailing on the River Erinin.
snowcap. Cadsuane used an image of this flower on a piece of embroidery.
snowdrops. Flowers embroidered on a dress worn by Nynaeve in Fal Dara.
snowflowers. Plants having tiny white flowers; they were embroidered on the lapels of one of Min’s jackets.
snowghosts. A term used by Birgitte; she said her few women friends had had tempers like snowghosts.
Snowy Dawn. A wolf with whom Perrin communicated outside of Malden. He was an irascible old male who once killed a leopard by himself. Snowy Dawn’s pack gave the signal that was supposed to let Faile know that Perrin was coming; since Galina had not passed that information to Faile, it didn’t work as it was supposed to.
So Eban. A town in Altara on the Amadician border. While Nynaeve, Elayne, Thom and Juilin were pondering how to escape from Sienda without Galad stopping them (Galad wanted to take them back to Caemlyn), Thom mentioned that King Ailron had laid claim to a strip of border villages in Altara including So Eban; this was so that Pedron Niall, who controlled Ailron, could choke river traffic to Ebou Dar and thereby take over Altara.
So Habor. A town in Altara that had lost its ability to function normally after the appearance of dead people in their midst; the townspeople behaved abnormally, and their grain stores were infested with pests. Perrin and his party Traveled to So Habor to buy grain for the troops while trying to save Faile. Masema told Perrin that So Habor’s grain storehouses were full, and that it would be a good place to buy provisions. Balwer said that he knew a cutler in the town, and he took some of Faile’s followers with him. Perrin’s group obtained grain from the town, but it had to be sifted for pests. The ghosts in the town intrigued some in Perrin’s party. When Balwer returned from So Habor, he brought Tallanvor with him.
So Tehar. A village in Altara a day from Ebou Dar, visited by Mat, Nynaeve, Elayne and others in their party on the way to Ebou Dar. In Mat’s opinion, it was a scruffy village of white-plastered bricks and flies. So Tehar was where the women who could channel discovered they could still put Mat in his place, despite the foxhead medallion, by using saidar to pelt him with horse manure.
so’jhin. A particular class of da’covale, so’jhin were hereditary upper servants of the Blood. So’jhin had considerable status and could in some circumstances give orders to and have authority over free people. The Seanchan Imperial bureaucracy was almost entirely so’jhin. Many free people would not object to becoming so’jhin, regarding it as a step up. Voices of the Blood were so’jhin, and theirs was a coveted position. They could own property, unlike ordinary da’covale, and they were never sold except perhaps as punishment for a crime. With permission of their owners, they could arrange their own marriages; permission was rarely withheld. A family line of so’jhin would always belong to the same family of the Blood. Ordinary folk did not own so’jhin.
Soalen, Reed. A Two Rivers man with Perrin. Reed guarded Perrin after Aram’s death. When Rand visited Perrin at the Field of Merrilor, Reed was acting as a sentry.
soarer. The second-smallest class of Sea Folk ship. Soarers were two-masted and usually 100 feet long, but could be as long as 150 feet, with the beam being in similar proportion to a raker. Although smaller than rakers or skimmers, they were often quite fast and agile in handling—faster and more agile than ships of similar size built by other peoples. Their masts were sometimes raked. A soarer could cover up to 350 miles in a twenty-four-hour period, although 300 miles was more typical.
Soaring Gull, Uren din Jubai. A Sea Folk scholar who developed the Farede Calendar.
Soe’feia. Old tongue for “Truthspeaker,” it referred to a person attached to members of the Seanchan royal family. Soe’feia were required to speak the truth to their royal charges, and make sure they were heard, without danger of punishment; they also levied penance when requested. A Soe’feia was neither so’jhin nor da’covale; he or she was always a free person, allowed to come and go as he or she pleased. A Soe’feia was not required to accept any orders from the one served, or to accept any checks on behavior. He or she not only could say anything at all to the one they served without fear of reprisal; he or she was expected and required to. An appointment was for life, among the Imperial family. Needless to say, great care was taken in choosing a Soe’feia. The Speaker told the one served the truth no matter what, including when what the one served did or planned to do was wrong. The Imperial family member wasn’t compelled in any way to follow what the Speaker said, but the Speaker’s purpose was to make the served one think, to help decide how to restore balance, which was a very important element in Seanchan life. When the one served was a child, the Speaker acted as a sort of supplementary nanny, and like a nanny was expected to discipline the charge. When the child reached age sixteen, the Speaker no longer directed, but was expected to do whatever was necessary to make sure the new adult actually heard what was said. A famous (among the Blood, infamous) Speaker of Truth to the last Emperor slapped the Emperor while he sat on the Crystal Throne. Since a Soe’feia was appointed while one was a child, at least in the Imperial family, one would almost certainly outlive him or her. He or she was expected to begin helping find a replacement, whom the Soe’feia would train, beginning as the Soe’feia’s Left Hand. This replacement would be someone approximately one’s own age, and would act as a sort of personal assistant to the Soe’feia, without any of the rights and responsibilities, until the Soe’feia’s death.
soetam. A great rat found in the Drowned Lands. A soetam could grow to as much as fifteen pounds. Living in small packs that generally numbered no more than eight or ten animals, they were normally scavengers but would attack anything perceived as injured or weakened.
sofar. A vehicle from the Age of Legends that used steering planes. Semirhage referred to Sammael as a hot sofar with warped steering planes, which meant that his actions were difficult to predict.
Soferra. An Ogier woman who was the mother of Ala and the grandmother of Damelle, the last of whom wrote about the Ways.
Soffi Moraton. A woman with Perrin’s army who tore her tent during a stream crossing and had no trouble getting it repaired.
Sohadra. A place in history where Sammael had caused great sorrow and escaped justice.
Sohima. The seventh-largest city in Seanchan. It had a Great Fire, in which the doll that Tuon gave Karede was destroyed.