-A -B -C -D -E -F -G -H -I -J -K -L -M -N -O -P -Q -R -S -T -U -V -W -X-Y-Z-

Daes Dae�mar : The Great Game, also known as the Game of Houses. Name given the scheming, plots, and manipulations for advantage by the noble Houses. Great value is given to subtlety, to aiming at one thing while seeming to aim at another, and to achieving ends with the least visible effort.

daori : A long cord of woven hair. By Malkieri custom, boys wear their hair long, never cutting it. The morning after a young man�s first night with his carneira, she cuts his hair at his shoulders, signifying that he has become a man. The shorn hair is woven into a daori, which the young man presents to his carneira, saying, "In honor of what I owe to you, always and forever."

Dai Shan : A title in the Borderlands, meaning a Diademed Battle Lord.

Darkfriends : Those who follow the Dark One and believe they will gain power and rewards when he is freed from his prison.

Darkhounds : Shadowspawn created from lupine stock corrupted by the Dark One. While they resemble hounds in their basic shape, they are blacker than night and the size of ponies, weighing several hundred pounds each. They usually run in packs of ten or twelve. They make no mark on soft ground, but leave prints in stone, and are frequently accompanied by the smell of burned sulphur. They will not usually venture out into the rain, but once running rain fails to stop them. Once they are on the trail, they must be confronted and defeated or the victim�s death is inevitable. The only exception to this is when the victim can reach the other side of a river or stream, since Darkhounds will not cross running water. Or supposedly not. Their blood and saliva are poison, and if either touches the skin, the victim will die slowly and in great pain. See also Wild Hunt.

Dark One : Most common name, used in every land, for Shai�tan: the source of evil, antithesis of the Creator. Imprisoned by the Creator at the moment of Creation in a prison at Shayol Ghul; an attempt to free him from that prison brought on the War of the Shadow, the tainting of saidin, the Breaking of the World, and the end of the Age of Legends.

Dark One, Naming the : Saying the true name of the Dark One (Shai�tan) draws his attention, inevitably bringing ill fortune at best, disaster at worst. For that reason, many euphemisms are used, among them the Dark One, Father of Lies, Sightblinder, Lord of the Grave, Shepherd of the Night, Heartsbane, Heartfang, Grassburner, and Leafblighter. Someone who seems to be inviting ill fortune is often said to be "naming the Dark One."

Daughter-Heir : Title of the heir to the throne of Andor. The eldest daughter of the Queen succeeds her mother on the throne. Without a surviving daughter, the throne goes to the nearest female blood-relation of the Queen.

Defenders of the Stone, the : The elite military formation of Tear. Only Tairens are accepted into the Defenders, and officers are usually of noble birth, though often from minor Houses or minor branches of strong Houses. The Defenders are tasked to hold the great fortress called the Stone of Tear, in the city of Tear, to defend the city, and to provide police services in place of any City Watch or the like. Except in times of war, their duties seldom take them far from the city. Then, as with other elite formations, they are the core around which the army is formed. The uniform of the Defenders consists of a black coat with padded sleeves striped black-and-gold with black cuffs, a burnishes breastplate, and a rimmed helmet with a faceguard of steel bars. The Captain of the Stone wears three short white plumes on his helmet, and the cuffs of his coat three intertwined golden braids on a white band. Captains wear two white plumes and a single line of gold braid on white cuffs, lieutenants one white plume and a single line of black cord on white cuffs and under-lieutenants one short black plume and plain white cuffs. Bannermen have gold-colored cuffs on their coats, and squadmen have cuffs striped black-and-gold.

Delving : (1) The ability to use the One Power to diagnose physical condition and illness. (2) The ability to find deposits of metal ores with the One Power. That this has long been a lost ability among Aes Sedai may account for the name becoming attached to another ability.

Depository : A division of the Tower Library. There are twelve publicly known Depositories, each having books and records pertaining to a different subject, or related subjects (for example, the smallest of these is the Ninth Depository, given over to texts on various forms of arithmetic). A Thirteenth Depository, known only to Aes Sedai, contains secret documents, records, and histories which may be accessed only by the Amyrlin Seat, the Keeper of the Chronicles, and the Sitters in the Hall of the Tower. And, of course, by the handful of librarians who maintain the Depository.

Draghkar : A creature of the Dark One, originally made by twisting human stock. A Draghkar appears to be a large man with bat-like wings whose skin is too pale and whose eyes are too large. The Draghkar�s song can draw its prey to it, suppressing the victim�s will. There is a saying: "The kiss of the Draghkar is death." It does not bite, but its kiss will consume first the soul of its victim, and then its life.

Dragon, false : Occasionally men claim to be the Dragon Reborn, and sometimes one of them gains following enough to require an army to put it down. Some have begun wars that involved many nations. Over the centuries most men have been unable to channel the One Power, but a few could. All, however, either disappeared, or were captured or killed, without fulfilling any of the Prophecies concerning the Dragon Reborn. These men are called false Dragons. See also Dragon Reborn.

Dragon, Prophecies of the : Little known, and seldom spoken of, the Prophecies, given in The Karaethon Cycle, foretell that the Dark One will be freed again to touch the world, and that Lews Therin Telamon, the Dragon, Breaker of the World, will be reborn to fight Tarmon Gai�don, the Last Battle against the Shadow.

Dragon, the : The name by which Lews Therin Telamon was known during the War of the Shadow. In the madness which overtook all male Aes Sedai, Lews Therin killed every living person who carried any of his blood, as well as everyone he loved, thus earning him the name Kinslayer. A saying is now used, "taken by the Dragon," or "possessed by the Dragon," to indicate that someone is endangering those around him or threatening them, especially if without cause. See also Dragon Reborn.

Dragon Reborn : According to prophecy and legend the Dragon will be born again at mankind�s greatest hour of need to save the world. This is not something people look forward to, both because the prophecies say the Dragon Reborn will bring a new Breaking to the world, and because Lews Therin Kinslayer, the Dragon, is a name to make men shudder, even more than [two] thousand years after his death.

Dragon�s Fang : A stylized mark, usually black, in the shape of a teardrop balanced on its point. Scrawled on a door or a house, it is an accusation of evil against the people inside.

Dreadlords : Those men and women who, able to channel the One Power, went over to the Shadow during the Trolloc Wars, acting as commanders of the Trolloc forces.

Dreamer : See Talents.