Tuon Athaem Kore Paendrag

'Fortuona Athaem Devi Paendrag', formerly known as Tuon Athaem Kore Paendrag' is a fictional character in Robert Jordan's popular Wheel of Time fantasy series. As the heir-designate to the Seanchan empire, she is titled the Daughter of the Nine Moons. Tuon first appears in Winter's Heart, having been mentioned indirectly on several previous occasions.

Appearance

She is 19 years old and described as being ebony (dark-skinned) and petite, with a heart-shaped face and large brown eyes. Tuon is the second and favorite daughter of Empress Radhanan. Her banner is two gold lions harnessed to an ancient war-cart.

Role in the series

Tuon is first mentioned, by title only, in The Great Hunt. Later, in The Shadow Rising, Mat Cauthon visits the realm of the Aelfinn, where he learns he is fated to marry the Daughter of the Nine Moons. Tuon first meets Mat when he barges in on a meeting between her and Queen Tylin of Altara. The sul'dam in the Tarasin Palace called Mat "Toy" in Tuon's presence, and Tuon calls Mat "Toy" throughout the book. Throughout the rest of the novel it seems that she takes great care to be wherever Mat is. Her interest in him is apparently based on a damane's telling of her future; the precise contents of this foretelling were not immediately revealed to readers, but they upset Tuon enough that she lost her temper and ordered the damane punished, and Tuon later discussed it briefly with her Truthspeaker, Anath. (Throughout much of the narrative, she adopts the style of an "ordinary" high noblewoman, to publicly show her humiliation at having lost control.) As Mat is in the process of escaping from Ebou Dar with Amathera and several Aes Sedai imprisoned by the Seanchan, Tuon intercedes and briefly struggles with Mat, until restrained by Noal Charin. She is identified by Egeanin as the Daughter of the Nine Moons, and Mat, shocked, refers to her as his wife three times. Unwilling to either kill her or risk her raising the alarm, Mat kidnaps Tuon, along with her personal servant (and secret bodyguard), Selucia.

For much of Crossroads of Twilight, Tuon remains hidden with Valan Luca's circus, where Mat tries to woo his wife-to-be. When she, Mat and Selucia return from a trip into a nearby town, they learn that Renna, one of several former sul'dam with whom they left Ebou Dar, has stabbed Egeanin and fled. Mat pursues and kills Renna to protect Tuon and the others. When he returns, Tuon announces that the circus, along with everyone travelling with it - excepting only Mat, is under her protection for the time being.

Knife of Dreams finds Tuon still traveling with Mat as he discovers that Moiraine is still alive. The Band of the Red Hand is no longer in Salidar, while Aes Sedai and the Seanchan are searching for Tuon. Tuon revises her opinion of Mat as she watches him organize an effective resistance against her countrymen, feeling she has finally seen him "in his element." She completes the marriage ceremony by proclaiming that Mat is her husband three times in front of witnesses, and she reveals that she knew she would marry Mat because of the future spoken of by her damane. Her actual feelings for him have not been established, but it is clear that she holds him in high regard, and she has said that she may yet grow to love him. She also learns that she is now the Empress of the Seanchan as she is the only surviving heir, due to the deaths of her mother and siblings.

In The Gathering Storm Tuon declares herself the Empress and subsequently changes her name to Fortuona Athaem Devi Paendrag. She does this after meeting with Rand al'Thor where she says that she will not make peace. She also orders sul'dam carried by raken and to'raken to attack the White Tower.

Tuon is briefly seen in Towers of Midnight. She is shown Traveling by a sul'dam and her damane, the former Amyrlin Elaida. She plans to use this new form of traveling to finally leash the Aes Sedai and destroy the White Tower. She is also briefly mentioned in Aviendha's vision of the future as being a woman of honor, implying a willingness to compromise on the damane culture as far as Aiel were concerned, but had been presumably assassinated and usurped by a new Empress who took a more extreme conservative line, subsequently conquering the rest of the WoT world within 3 generations.

Abilities

It has been demonstrated that Tuon is very skilled with the a'dam, "training" collared female channelers until their minds and wills are broken. Her damane, which include a former Aes Sedai, are shown to become particularly childlike and obedient. She is also skilled in hand-to-hand self-defense, despite her stature, as it is shown that all Mat could do in his fight with her is defend, though it should be mentioned Mat was still badly wounded at the time of his escape and conflict with Tuon.

External links

• http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org