Traveling

From A Wheel of Time Wiki

Traveling is the art of using the One Power to transport oneself over vast distances nearly instantaneously. Traveling is also related to Skimming. Traveling was an unknown skill since the Breaking, and has been only recently rediscovered by both the Asha'man and Aes Sedai.

[edit] Gateways

Traveling is done through the use of gateways. A gateway appears as a thin vertical line in the air, then expands into a rectangular portal. The weave holding the gateway can then be tied off, and used by anybody in the area. If the weaves are left to dissipate, the gateway will begin closing back into the single vertical line, but it is possible to block open using the One Power. Asmodean claims that of the original Aes Sedai, only Demandred, Semirhage and Lews Therin Telamon could block a closing gateway open.

Male channelers describe the forming of a gateway with saidin as "boring a hole in the Pattern" to the channeler's destination. Forming a gateway with saidar is done by creating a similarity in the Pattern, then stepping through the gateway to the channeler's destination.

Opening a gateway inside an object is possible, but the edges of a gateway will slice through objects cleanly. In this respect, it can be used as a weapon, but it would likely be difficult to target a gateway to open directly into a person.

Shadowspawn cannot survive Travel through a gateway, and are killed upon passing through one. In Knife of Dreams, this fact was used by Lews Therin when he seized control of the One Power from Rand when he was channeling. Lews Therin used a weave he called Deathgates--moving gateways which open and close rapidly, trapping Shadowspawn.