Agelmar Jagad

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A similar entry appears in the Wheel of Time Companion confirming the information available in the main story arc.

Author: Val a' Shain

AGH-el-mar JAH-gad

General

Agelmar is the High Seat of the House Jagad and lord of Fal Dara, one of the Shienaran fortifications closest to the Blight. He has a face as hard as Lan's and the typical Shienaran warrior's topknot. His hair is all white and he has lines at the corners of his eyes (TEotW, Ch. 46).

One of Shienar's most influential nobles, he is considered one of the Great Captains and a good administrator (This passage needs a reference).

He carries many weapons when he is in the field and is considered a very dangerous man (TPoD, Prologue).

Timeline

• Agelmar welcomes Lan, Moiraine and the Two Rivers folk to Fal Dara in the spring of 998 NE. He assumes they have come to help with the upcoming battle against the Trollocs massing north of the Blight border. He is concerned they may not be able to stop them at Tarwin's Gap and is having Fal Dara evacuated. Moiraine tells him their real mission. Agelmar pleads to at least send some lances with them because Rand, Mat, and Perrin look inexperienced to him. Moiraine refuses and though Agelmar doesn't like it, he has no choice but to accept (TEotW, Ch. 46).

• Agelmar allows Moiraine to interrogate Fain when he arrives in Fal Dara shortly after them (TEotW, Ch. 46).

• Agelmar tells the Two River folk Lan's story while they wait for Moiraine to come back (TEotW, Ch. 47).

• After Moiraine tells them what Fain revealed to her, Agelmar begins to suspect the Two River lads can channel. Moiraine doesn't deny or confirm this (TEotW, Ch. 47).

• Agelmar sends Ingtar and a hundred lances with Rand's company to escort them to the Blight border. He then rides to Tarwin's Gap to turn back the Trollocs (TEotW, Ch. 47).

• Agelmar wins the battle at Tarwin's Gap with Rand's help. The company returns from the Blight and Moiraine tells Agelmar part of what happened. Agelmar is surprised when they show him the Horn of Valere. He is tempted to use it to strike at Shayol Ghul right away (TEotW, Ch. 53).

• Agelmar welcomes the Amyrlin Seat to Fal Dara shortly after the battle at Tarwin's Gap (TGH, Ch. 2).

• Agelmar wants to hand the Horn of Valere to the Amyrlin, eager to be rid of it (TGH, Ch. 4).

• Agelmar decides to send Ingtar with twenty lancers and a sniffer after Fain, when he disappears during the fighting in Fal Dara, along with the Horn of Valere (TGH, Ch. 7).

• Agelmar warns Rand not to let the Horn seize him (TGH, Ch. 8).

• Agelmar says goodbye to Rand's party leaving to pursue Fain, and to the Amyrlin Seat and her entourage, who are returning to Tar Valon. He tries to convince the Amyrlin to stay longer, but even an attempt on her life (or such is the official explanation; Rand is convinced they were aiming at him) doesn't stop her (TGH, Ch. 9).

• Agelmar joins his king and the Borderland coalition on their expedition south in 1000 NE (TPoD, Prologue).

• Together with the other Great Captains, he studies the map of the Westlands and plans where to send the forces of the Light (AMoL, Ch. 7)
• He suggests trying to destroy the Waygate in Caemlyn from the inside, but is told that is not possible (AMoL, Ch. 7).
• He suggests sending the bulk of the Light's forces to Kandor to save it, but is told by Antol that it is too late (AMoL, Ch. 7)
• He is assigned command of the battle at Tarwin's Gap (AMoL, Ch. 7)
• He tells Lan that they will eventually have to retreat and when Lan says he won't abandon Malkier again, Agelmar calls him selfish (AMoL, Ch. 9)
• After a week of battle, his forces are forced out of the gap (AMoL, Ch. 13)
• Dreadlords are sent to the Gap to support the Trolloc army, and Lan agrees to retreat (AMoL, Ch. 10).
• Probably under the influence of Graendal's Compulsion, he makes a mistake that leads to the loss of Lord Kayen Yokata's two cavalry squadrans (AMoL, Ch. 18).
• Baldhere tells Lan that he is worried that Agelmar is making bad decisions (AMoL, Ch. 18).
• He sends two companies of men to plug the same hole, exposing the flanks. He also pulls the Saldaean cavalry from the eastern flank. He also sends orders to remove the archers, but Lan belays them (AMoL, Ch. 29)
• A second Shadowspawn army arrives from the east, surprising Agelmar as he was expecting scouts to warn them (AMoL, Ch. 29)
• He realizes he has been giving orders that made no sense. Lan realizes Agelmar has been under compulsion (AMoL, Ch. 29)

Relationships

Agelmar is nephew to King Easar of Shienar (TGH, Ch. 5).

Agelmar has a sister named Amalisa (TGH, Ch. 2).

Lan and Moiraine have met Agelmar before their visit with Rand and company to Fal Dara (TEotW, Ch. 46).

Agelmar's view of Rand changes a bit from a country boy when he first met to more of an equal after the battle at Tarwin's Gap.

Agelmar deeply respects Moiraine and Lan.

Miscellaneous

• Agelmar Jagad was in charge of the Shienaran army at the Battle of the Shining Walls and in overall command of the Grand Alliance forces during the first day of the battle in 978 NE (TWoRJTWoT, Ch. 14).

• Agelmar is considered one of the Great Captains of his time, only equalled by Gareth Bryne of Andor, Pedron Niall of the Whitecloaks, Davram Bashere of Saldaea, and Rodel Ituralde of Arad Doman (TFoH, Ch. 27).

• Agelmar is considered a good host (TEotW, Ch. 46).

• Agelmar's sigil is the Three Foxes (TEotW, Ch. 46).

Quotes

"Kandor, Arafel, Saldaea -- the Trollocs raided them all straight through the winter. Nothing like that has happened since the Trolloc Wars; the raids have never been so fierce, or so large, or pressed home so hard. Every king and council is sure a great thrust is coming out of the Blight, and every one of the Borderlands believes it is coming at them. None of their scouts, and none of the Warders, report Trolloc massing above their borders, as we have here, but they believe, and each is afraid to send fighting men elsewhere. People whisper that the world is ending, that the Dark one is loose again. Shienar will ride to Tarwin's Gap alone, and we will be outnumbered at least ten to one. At least. It may be the last gathering of the Lances." (Agelmar describing the situation in Shienar before the battle at Tarwin's Gap; The Eye of the World, Chapter 46)

"From the cradle they taught him all they knew. He learned weapons as other children learn toys, and the Blight as other children their mother's garden. The oath sworn over his cradle is graven in his mind. There is nothing left to defend, but he can avenge. He denies his titles, yet in the Borderlands he is called the Uncrowned, and if ever he raised the Golden Crane of Malkier, an army would come to follow. But he will not lead men to their deaths. In the Blight he courts death as a suitor courts a maiden, but he will not lead others to it." (Agelmar about Lan; The Eye of the World, Chapter 46)

"Do not let the Horn seize you, Rand," Agelmar said. "It can take hold of a man -- I know how it can -- and that is not the way. A man must seek duty, not glory. What will happen, will happen. If the Horn of Valere is meant to be sounded for the Light, then it will be." (The Great Hunt, Chapter 8)

"You came to throw your life away for Malkier. That, in itself, is noble. However, with the Last Battle upon us, it’s also stupid. We need you. Men will die because of your stubbornness" (To Lan, A Memory of Light, Chapter 9)