Thomdril Merrilin
From A Wheel of Time Wiki
“A man who, it was said, could play the Game of Houses in his sleep. It is a shame that such a man calls himself a simple gleeman. But such arrogance to keep the same name.”
— Moiraine Damodred describing Thom
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| Thomdril Merrilin | |
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| Gender | Male |
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| Hair | White |
| Eyes | Blue |
| First Mentioned | TEOTW 1 |
| First Appeared | TEOTW 4 |
Thomdril Merrilin, commonly called Thom, is a gleeman, or bard. He is fairly old, has a gnarled face, shaggy white hair and blue eyes. He is tall, with stooped shoulders, his snowy hair and long mustaches make him appear older than he probably is, given his spryness. He is frequently seen smoking a pipe.
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[edit] Backstory
Not much of his early life is known, although he was Bard to the young Lady Morgase of House Trakand. He helped her ascend to the throne of Andor and became her Court Bard, and was renowned in noble circles in most nations. He thwarted Taringail's plan to kill Morgase and killed him. He and Morgase became lovers. Somewhere during this time, Thom discovered his nephew and only surviving blood kin, Owyn, was being pursued by the Red Ajah for channeling, but he was too busy with his duties to Morgase to seek him out.
The issue of Owyn returned later and Thom disappeared to help him, but he had waited too long: Owyn had been gentled by the Red Ajah and, left alone, had died. When Thom returned, Morgase was angry with him for leaving - a fight ensued, and Thom said she was a spoiled baby and tool of the White Tower. He left, barely dodging the execution block.
[edit] Escape from the Two Rivers
With his talents of Court Bard, he became a gleeman and journeyed across the land, performing in inns and villages. He just so happened to be in Emond's Field on the night when Trollocs attacked and Moiraine Damodred arrived. He went with Rand al'Thor, Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara and Egwene al'Vere, fearing that they would succumb to the same fate Owyn had by following Moiraine, and felt he had to repay the failure he had made to his nephew. When the company was split up, he ended up on Bayle Domon's ship along with Rand and Mat. He seemingly sacrificed his life to protect them from a Myrddraal in Whitebridge, however he did not die, but the encounter did leave him with a permanent limp.
[edit] After Whitebridge
Rand later caught up with Thom in Cairhien after recovering the Horn of Valere. Soon afterward, Thom's girlfriend/apprentice Dena was murdered by men in the employ of King Galldrian. In a suspicious turn of events, King Galldrian Riatin was murdered hours later; Thom may or may not be the killer, as even his own statements on the subject are ambiguous.
Depressed, he left the city and made his way to Tar Valon, where he began drinking heavily. It was here that Mat found him after escaping from the White Tower. They rejoined the company in Tear after the Fall of the Stone. Thom, along with Juilin Sandar, was asked to take care of Nynaeve al'Meara and Elayne Trakand when they journeyed to Tanchico, by Moiraine. She tells him by the Three Oaths that he will survive Tarabon and that they WILL meet again and she will provide him with the names of the Red Sisters who Gentled Owyn and the one who gave the order to have him Gentled on the spot.
After Tanchico he and Juilin rescue the two girls when they are poisoned by Forkroot tea by Ronde Macura. They then join Valan Luca's Travelling circus where Thom becomes a fire-breather and juggler. They followed them on their quest to Salidar and then Ebou Dar, where Thom and Juilin stayed with Mat and helped him escape with Tuon.
Thom is hot headed, but generally kind and considerate, and nurses a hatred of the Red Ajah, following their treatment of his nephew. A great player of Daes Dae'mar, Thom is able to sort out what is important among the information he gathers and which is just lies. He is supposedly attracted to and linked to saving Moiraine.
[edit] Recent events
It was recently revealed that Thom knows of Moiraine's fate after her battle with Lanfear and that her rescue requires Mat's help. Most of this comes from the letter that Thom received after the Blue Aes Sedai's 'death', in which she details some of what she saw when visiting with the Eelfinn[verify] and the three rings in Rhuidean.
[edit] Viewings
A man not Thom, juggling fire and the White Tower.
