#aludra nendenhald

[sixth-light]

thinking about Aludra and how unusual she actually is as a character (a woman in her late 30s/early 40s who is a politically savvy survivor of dangerous situations* and a highly competent technical expert, and whose main plot function is to BE a technical expert/inventor, but who also gets to casually hook up with a much younger man on her terms) -> thinking about how Mat is the only PoV male character who consistently hooks up with/finds older women** hot -> wondering why that is -> slightly awkward realisation about the whole 'Mat is RJ's self-insert character'/'RJ married an older woman when she was in her early 40s' thing

*seriously though coming back to Aludra, it is fascinating to me that she is written not just as smart and creative in a our-world 'masculine' field, but that she is EXTREMELY thoughtful and savvy about the consequences of her work and who she wants to have control of it. Mat gets all the credit for gunpowder warfare but he has nothing without Aludra! underrated characters of all time! and in general the fact that women get to be ENGINEERS in this series is super-underrated, how often does that even happen in fiction

**excluding Morgase, Siuan, and Leane on the grounds of the whole 'channelers don't age and they look 20 actually' thing

[iviarellereads]

The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 40 - A Hero in the Night

(THIS PROJECT IS SPOILER FREE! No spoilers past the chapter you click on. Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For the link index and a primer on The Wheel of Time, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

(White lion icon) In which we've seen that name before.

PERSPECTIVE: Mat watches the town of Aringill grow closer from the rail of the ship. Things are pretty somber, with Cairhienin refugees all over. Mat's luck hasn't been quite as good or as bad as that first night, but it's been good enough. He opened the letter from Elayne with a hot knife under the wax seal, but it didn't tell him anything except that she'd put him in the soup kettle instead of herself, and he figures the letter is why the men came after him.(2)

Mat taunts the captain as they leave the ship, because he's eaten through all the stores the captain thought would last them until Tear. Fortunately, the intense hunger left him a couple of days ago. Thom says he shouldn’t taunt the man so, but Mat says Mallia earned it, being such a jerk. He didn’t even stop to help that ship that hit the mud flat yesterday.(3) Mat makes big talk about how he'll help anyone who can pay, only fools do anything for free, but he presses some of his coins into the hands of a few of the refugees he passes by.(4) Thom gives him a funny look, and Mat says coin comes easily enough when he has someone to dice with, shut up.

When Mat asks a soldier if there's an inn with beds and anyone selling horses to ride, the soldier says people are sleeping in hedges and any horse that hasn't been slaughtered for cooking probably isn't for sale. Also, orders have come down that tomorrow they stop anyone crossing the river into Andor. Mat and Thom move along, and Thom says that doesn't sound like Morgase, stopping crossings and sending people back. Mat says it must be her, who else could it be? He spots an inn and moves through the crowd toward it. The innkeeper says it's four to a bed, he couldn't find a room for his own mother if she showed up now. Mat drags Thom out to another inn, he doesn't want a bed in a stable.

Four inns later, Mat finally gives in and asks about space in stables. This innkeeper says the stable's just for horses, he doesn't want them disturbed. Mat offers a significant amount of coin and the innkeeper gives in. Mat offers to dice for the innkeeper's two horses, and of course he wins.

The stable is at least dry and warm, as thunder crashes and rain falls heavily outside, when a woman drags a cart in, then closes the door like she's hiding. Mat is about to announce their presence when the door opens again, and a man enters, with three others. He is Tammuz, and she is Aludra, the two Illuminators that were on duty the night Rand fucked up in Cairhien. Tammuz used the events of that night to have Aludra expelled from the guild, it seems, and he's heard that she's using the secrets she learned from them to make her own way.

Mat jumps out of the hayloft and knocks all four men out. Aludra says this is like something out of a story, being rescued by a gleeman and a young hero. The Illuminators Guild all but blames her for Galldrian's death, as if that one nightflower killed him personally. Thom grimaces at this.(5)

Aludra says she must thank them, but she has no money, only her craft. She takes a bundle out of her cart, and unwraps some fireworks. She explains how to use them, what each size will do, and to NEVER put them close to fire, or open them, as they can explode without fire if exposed to air. She says she's going to head to Lugard, knowing the men will expect her to go to Caemlyn. Mat offers her some coin, saying he has plenty, and can win more. Aludra smiles at Thom and says that [Mat] is young yet, huh? Thom asks how she lit the lantern so quickly, and she says it's her own invention, and when she can make it work properly, sticks will make her fortune, as she leaves.(6)

The men start to stir, and Thom suggests they leave, too, before the men awaken fully. At least they have the horses. Mat says if he ever acts the hero again, Thom should kick him. Thom asks what he'd have done differently, and Mat scowls as they gallop into the rainy night.

=====

(1) Here, not so much for the Trakand family, more because they've reached Andor. (2) I think it's safe to say we know better, but Mat has no context for Gray Men. (3) Huh, that's funny, we just read about a ship that-- Yeah, they all left the same day, it wouldn't be such a surprise to find that the Wondergirls' first ship, that hit the previously-sunken ship thinking it was a mudflat, could be the same one Mat's ship wouldn't help. Missed connections, anyone? (4) Remember the unreliable narrator thing? Nobody in this story whose head we slip into is a perfectly reliable narrator, but Mat and Nynaeve have a competition for whose narration can say the thing that is most opposite what they really feel. A lot of people find it endearing that Mat's such a good guy even though he puts up such a front. I've never been able to un-focus on what a jerk he seems to want to come off as, so godspeed Mat lovers, but it couldn't be me. (5) Yes, Thom, your actions had some pretty large consequences, no matter how righteous your justifications. (6) Not flint and steel… what else could she have? Well, isn't it funny that this is a world with fireworks, but no matches? (For that matter, no cannons or guns that we've heard a whisper of, either.) Also, if you couldn't tell, Aludra's a bit of a fan favourite. A moderately older woman, with a generous dash of competence porn? Please!

[flo-n-flon]

And the last part of the WoTtober prompts:

Fire - Aludra Nendenhald

Ambition - Mili Skane

Palace - Shalon din Togara Morning Tide and Ailil Riatin

Well - Mazrim Taim

Fan - Hurin

Curiosity - Seaine Herimon

Counsel - Aleis Barsalla

Bonus: Key - Siuan Sanche

I hope you enjoyed this challenge with me

[alectology-archive]

You're telling me an illuminator invents a dragon that is not a dragon to kill dragons that are not called dragons.

[daughter-heir-moved]

Watching Tam use matches in ep 1

[incorrectwot]

Aludra: Mat, when Katy Perry said you're a firework she didn't mean it literally

Mat with a burned arm: Really?

[spectrum-color]

Of course RJ had to add insult to injury by following the Tuon introduction chapter with a chapter featuring Mat and Aludra, a love interest who is NOT a proud slaveholder and ruler of a hierarchy obsessed, openly imperialist evil empire who tries to purchase him like livestock when they first meet. Can’t let him have that!

Though tbh a part of me has always wished he was paired off with Elayne…

[rena-sedai]

Talmanes: I heard Mat is no longer allowed to take the trash out at night.

Aludra: Why?

Setalle: Because I’ve caught him trying to train raccoons to fight five times in a row.

Mat, with his arms crossed: You’ll be thanking me when the third raccoon battalion saves your ass.

[luckhissoul]

CHARACTER SHEET

BASICS

NAME: mat cauthon

NICKNAME: : idk ? son of battles? lmao

ALIAS(S): n/a he’d have so much fun much making one up though.

GENDER: male

SIZE: 6′

AGE:   canonically ranging from 19 to 23

ZODIAC:  it doesn’t exist here bros lolol

SPOKEN LANGUAGES: the old tongue and i guess english?

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

HAIR COLOR: brown

EYE COLOR: brown ( let me jsut ignore barney harris’ green eyes for right now )

SKIN TONE: idk skin tones. light ish? 

BODY TYPE: slender

VOICE: lower ? i d k 

DOMINANT HAND: right

POSTURE: not the greatest. slightly slouched. 

SCARS: a lot of them from battles and such. most prominently the one he hides on his neck.

TATTOOS: none.

BIRTHMARKS: -  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

CHILDHOOD

PLACE OF BIRTH: emond’s field , the two rivers. 

HOMETOWN: emond’s field , the two rivers

SIBLINGS: two younger sisters - bodewhin and eldrin

PARENTS: abell and natti cauthon

ADULT LIFE

OCCUPATION: general of the band of the red hand

CURRENT RESIDENCE(S): he’s always just traveling  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

CLOSE FRIENDS: rand al’thor / perrin aybara / elayne trakand / birgitte silverbow / nynaeve al’meara  / thom merrilin / talmanes delovinde / aludra nendenhald /  i almost put olver except thats basically his son but he deserves a mention 

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: (verse dependent) but married to tuon paendrag, empress of the seanchan empire. she’s a tiny and slightly scary

FINANCIAL STATUS: wealthy now.

DRIVER’S LICENSE: these don’t exist lmao but he would. 

CRIMINAL RECORD none. but he was always in some kind of trouble growing up. 

VICES:  gambling, sleeping around, drinking, can i include knife fights? lmao

SEX AND ROMANCE

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: straight

PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE: would rather ignore an emotional role and be a good time or the reluctant but reliable helping hand lmao 

PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE:  giver. 

TURN ONS: loyalty, honesty, sense of humor, strong will, beauty, complicated ( hey he likes a challenge okay ) lmao

TURN OFFS: disloyal, betrayal, overbearing, uncaring

LOVE LANGUAGE: gift giving / acts of service / physical touch

RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES: unsure of how to respond or initiate the emotional aspects of it he’ll over compensate with gifts, physical things, compliments, or acts of service. always looking for validation. he’ll risk his life for someone before telling them he actually loves them. lmao but he’ll get there eventually. he’s just mad that he’s squishy. but relationships can be tough to get into since he does like his freedom. 

MISCELLANEOUS

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG: jak o’the shadows because i have to 

MENTAL ILLNESSES: ptsd

PHOBIAS: nothing to be classified as like PHOBIA. there’s fears obviously but nothing on that scale? 

SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL: the most confident insecure person you’ll meet

Tagged by : @caracarnn​

Tagging: @agoldenlily​ x @ofimaginarybeings​ x @ycllowhaired​​ x @iithildim​ x @windtold​

[iviarellereads]

The Great Hunt, Chapter 27 - The Shadow in the Night

(THIS PROJECT IS SPOILER FREE! No spoilers past the chapter you click on. Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For the link index and a primer on The Wheel of Time, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

(Trolloc icon) In which Chekov's puppets go off.

PERSPECTIVE: Rand is talking to Loial, as they head back to the city gate, about how the Ogier had been winning the dice game, and then Dena came and won all his winnings back from him. You don't suppose she cheated?(1)

One of the Trolloc puppets makes its way toward them. Rand is caught up in his thoughts, he shouldn't have expected Thom to drop everything to go with him, he has to take the Horn and go, Fain will get here sooner than later. Loial is just saying he doesn't think that's a puppet, and Rand's instincts get the better of him, he's in a sword position before he can think. The men carrying the "puppet" poles drop them, and the Trolloc staggers back from Rand’s attack with a bubbling snarl. The men turn and run.

They have to get back to the inn, Hurin's alone, and-- Rand's cut off as another Trolloc lifts him up by the neck. Loial can't wrestle the thing off him, and Rand can't stab it without hitting Loial. He reaches for the Power, but finds nothing. Finally, Loial wrenches the thing off Rand and throws it into a wall, killing it instantly. He shudders as he says he's never killed anything before. Rand says he'd have killed it if Loial hadn't. Loial understands, but he doesn't have to like it. He points to another Trolloc masquerading as a puppet in the street.

Rand realizes that Fain knows he's here, and is trying to draw him out. They try to escape down roads and alleys but end up near the edge of a wide field. Trollocs won't hold back if they notice them out there. Fortunately, Selene appears at just this moment.

Rand stared: Selene stepped around the corner they had just rounded, her white dress bright in the dimness. “How did you get here? What are you doing here? You have to leave immediately. Run! There are Trollocs after us.” “So I saw.” Her voice was dry, yet cool and composed. “I came to find you, and I find you allowing Trollocs to herd you like sheep. Can the man who possesses the Horn of Valere let himself be treated so?” “I don’t have it with me,” he snapped, “and I don’t know how it could help if I did. The dead heroes are not supposed to come back to save me from Trollocs.(2) Selene, you have to get away. Now!” He peered around the corner.

Rand wraps her in his cloak, since her white dress stands out in the moonlight, and says they're going to have to sneak into a building in the field, the Illuminators' chapter house. The Trollocs are definitely following them, but Loial uses his night vision and leads Rand and Selene up to the outer wall of the building. Selene points to a door that neither of the men noticed a moment before, and they enter, despite Loial's protests that Illuminators kill intruders to keep their secrets.

They overhead two Illuminators, Tammus and Aludra, confirming that a display is ready to go.(3) They move on to another area, and Rand gestures to his companions. He wants to get as far from the unbarred door as possible.

At one point, Loial brushes against a rack containing ten sticks, smoldering gently. One of the sticks touches one of the fuses of a firework nearby, which bursts into flame and races toward a tube. Rand whispershouts to get behind the wall. The firework goes off, and as they hear feet approach, Selene says, unworried, that sometimes if you're quiet and still enough, no-one will see you at all.(4) Aludra and Tammuz investigate, Aludra blaming Tammuz for leaving the sticks to fall over, and they both leave again, Aludra trying to figure out how to smooth this over with Galldrian. Rand whispers that they've surely used up all their luck for the night.

“Rand?” Loial was peering around the end of the wall away from the lighted building. “I think we need some more luck, Rand.” Rand shifted to look over the Ogier’s shoulder. Beyond open space, in the alleyway that led to the barless door, three Trollocs were peering cautiously out of the shadows toward the lighted windows. One woman was standing at a window; she did not seem to see the Trollocs. “So,” Selene said quietly. “It becomes a trap. These people may kill you if they take you. The Trollocs surely will. But perhaps you can slay the Trollocs too quickly for them to make any outcry. Perhaps you can stop the people from killing you to preserve their little secrets. You may not want greatness, but it will take a great man to do these things.” “You don’t have to sound happy about it,” Rand said.

Selene says that his greatness will make her happy, but perhaps she should leave him to find his own way. If he won't take greatness, maybe he deserves to die. Rand ignores her and tells Loial to take Selene and go to an alley nearby and look for a door out of here. He'll handle the Trollocs. He accidentally sets off more fireworks instead,(5) and runs toward the alley. Loial stands alone next to the door he found, Selene having slipped out of his hands to go back inside.

Rand is clearly torn, but Loial says they can't help her by getting caught themselves, and he tried to stop her. They leave, and go back to the Dragonwall inn, where Cuale has another parchment for him, this one sealed with Selene's mark.

In his room, Hurin asks if everything was alright with the gleeman, which Rand has all but forgotten about by now. He opens the parchment.

When I think I know what you are going to do, you do something else. You are a dangerous man. Perhaps it will not be long before we are together again. Think of the Horn. Think of the glory. And think of me, for you are always mine.

Once again, no signature. Rand asks if all women are crazy,(6) and wishes Ingtar would get here.

=====

(1) What do you think? (2) Rand, I hate to break it to you, but given that you have to fight the Last Battle, against the forces of Actual Evil, that's almost exactly what the Horn is for. (3) So we've firmly established illuminators/fireworks artists in the world now which is super fun and really is one of the highlighting characteristics making this not a European medieval period analog world. (Yes, this is something that sticks in my craw hard about the series.) At least in Europe, fireworks feel firmly in a renaissance sort of period, and the technology and culture level here is certainly getting there. So exciting, seeing a world change in real time. (4) It's pretty clear that Lanfear channeled something like the weave we saw Moiraine and Siuan use earlier to protect against being overheard, possibly with a dollop of light-refraction to avoid being seen, too. That's why she's so calm. (5) Accidentally, or did she provide a distraction? (6) No, just your past-reincarnation's ex-girlfriend.

[daughter-heir-moved]

girlboss aludra #womeninSTEM

[incorrectwot]

Aludra: How are you and Mat doing?

Talmanes: Oh it's definitely a wild ride

Talmanes: I mean literally. He ignores all traffic laws

[daughter-heir-moved]

aludra my beloved arsonist ❤️ my little pyromaniac ❤️ my incendiary ❤️

[incorrectwot]

Mat: *glancing between Aludra and Talmanes with a focused look*

Thom: What in the Light are you doing?

Mat: Making a very important decision, now hush

[incorrectwot]

Talmanes: Whenever I’m about to do something, I think ‘would Mat do that?’

Aludra: And if he would, you do it?

Talmanes: Of course not.

Talmanes: I do the opposite

[sixth-light]

also thinking (because of @asha-mage's tags) about how RJ has a marked and unfortunate pattern of powerful women getting knocked down and giving up their power to be with men, or being forcibly placed under the power of men (I don't need to list names, you know of whom I speak) and when we meet Aludra she's the second most powerful person in her society and also undeniably kind of an asshole, and she loses that power, but then...she sticks to her guns (pun intended) on her own competence and the value of her inventions, in a very "I will show them all!" way, and you know what? she does show them all! she gets grant funding to live her dreams (from another woman)! she teams up with Mat to put her inventions into use, and she does so on her terms and her timeline! it's MAT who tries to use his powers of seduction to win her over. who else gets to do it like her.

thinking about Aludra and how unusual she actually is as a character (a woman in her late 30s/early 40s who is a politically savvy survivor of dangerous situations* and a highly competent technical expert, and whose main plot function is to BE a technical expert/inventor, but who also gets to casually hook up with a much younger man on her terms) -> thinking about how Mat is the only PoV male character who consistently hooks up with/finds older women** hot -> wondering why that is -> slightly awkward realisation about the whole 'Mat is RJ's self-insert character'/'RJ married an older woman when she was in her early 40s' thing

*seriously though coming back to Aludra, it is fascinating to me that she is written not just as smart and creative in a our-world 'masculine' field, but that she is EXTREMELY thoughtful and savvy about the consequences of her work and who she wants to have control of it. Mat gets all the credit for gunpowder warfare but he has nothing without Aludra! underrated characters of all time! and in general the fact that women get to be ENGINEERS in this series is super-underrated, how often does that even happen in fiction

**excluding Morgase, Siuan, and Leane on the grounds of the whole 'channelers don't age and they look 20 actually' thing