The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan has over 3000 characters. This is pretty epic, but it also means there are so many fascinating characters we never get to know a lot about. I decided to make a list of my top 5 characters that are my favorite, but not exactly in the top tier of page time. I think four of these people could many would agree with, but one some may think is more than just a secondary character. Ah well. With so many characters it’s not so clear cut who is a primary, secondary, etc. This goes without saying, but I will say it anyways "SPOILERS AHEAD"!!
#5: Herid Fel was a wise historian and philosopher that Rand al’Thor depended on. He was on the older side and joins Rand’s school in Cairhien. Herid helped Rand try to decipher prophecies and learn more about the nature of Saidin, etc. Thanks to his knowledge this played an intricate role in helping Rand figure out how to cleanse Saidin. On top of that, even with Herid’s assassination, he managed to leave enough clues so that Min understood the seals had to be broken before Rand could fight the Dark One. The man was a genius that was targeted for termination for so thoroughly helping guide Rand intellectually. Poor Herid also thought Min was the hottest woman he's ever seen and was distracted greatly when she was around. I mean Min is pretty awesome. Anyway, Imagine if he got to spill even more thoughts and knowledge to "we" the readers about this world. It was like a pathway to Robert Jordan’s expertise of this great series.
#4: Jahar Narishma and Damer Flinn are both favorites of mine, but Jahar gets the node here as my favorite secondary Asha’man. Jahar is only slightly less powerful in the One power than Logain which means he is probably one of the most powerful characters in the series! He is a young Arafellin described as having long dark braids with silver bells. That look alone seems pretty awesome combined with his combat abilities.
After helping save Rand from his box incident Jahar is enlisted as one of Rand’s bodyguards. We never get to know him too well, but despite Rand’s mental instability stays loyal and is even trusted with having Callandor. He becomes bonded to Merise Haindehl as her Warder and constantly challenges Lan to duels even though he always loses. It shows his constant push to get better. Jahar is probably best remembered for his impassioned speech to the Salidar Aes Sedai Hall. He along with Merise make quite a powerful duo in the one power during the Last Battle. Overall, he just has a good heart and is extremely trustworthy to do what’s right.
#3: Semirhage might feel odd to be listed here, but to me she is widely underused in the series. Some may disagree with me, but it’s my list. In essence she is terrifying, sadistic, and the most terrifying of the Forsaken in my opinion. She thrives on learning how to cause pain and then causing it, expertly. Semirhage gets off on torturing people and is said to be a masochist that would welcome being tortured herself. She is a character completely devoid of empathy and has no sympathy for anyone or anything. I would say she is clearly a psychopath.
Semirhage single handedly destroyed Seanchan by murdering the Empress and entire Imperial court. The land plunged into chaos without its rulers and Tuon away with a large force of the military invading the mainland Kingdoms the empire was taken down just like that. Semirhage not only blew off Rand’s left hand, she would have killed Min and enslaved Rand for good if the Dark One did not interfere in the process. Semirhage is just a great villain and someone I would never want to encounter.
#2: Talmanes Delovinde is a Cairhienin Noble who throws his lot in with Mat after Mat saves him from walking into a Shaido ambush. This then leads to the Band of the Red Hand with Talmanes a Senior officer. First of all, his name is cool, it rolls off the tongue beautifully. Then there is the fact he helps balance Mat out perfectly. Mat has a chaotic nature, while Talmanes is a more laid back, thoughtful kind of person. He also displays a dry sense of humor and wit to deal with Mats craziness with ease. Their interactions can get a chuckle out of me.
Talmanes proves to not just be an experienced battlefield commander and important #2 in the Band of the Red Hand, but he is also a capable fighter. He never hesitates to lead in battle or get dirty despite his noble upbringing. The man is a fearless take charge kind of guy no matter how injured he is. In fact, without Nynaeve the man would have died from his wounds from a Thakan'dar blade, even a Myrddraal doesnt make the man hesitate to jumping into the fray. By surviving it, he helps Aludra with decimating Trollocs with cannons during the Last Battle. The man is a legend among Wheel of Time fans, and I cannot imagine him being left off anyone’s list.
#1: Aludra Nendenhald is my favorite secondary character. In my opinion she doesn’t get enough page time with how much of an impact she has by the end of the series and for the 4th age. In roughly her late 30s she is already well learned, confident, intelligent, and can bandy words with the likes of Mat Cauthon no problem. An all-round cool personality for the main characters to interact with which doesn’t happen enough.
In the books she starts out as an illuminator whose career was accidently destroyed by Rand al’Thor. She then pops up in Mat’s early story, the circus arc with Nynaeve and Elayne, and then gets linked back to Mat and the Band of the Red Hand. Aludra’s main drive is to get revenge on the Seanchan for Tarabon. She’s essentially the scientist and engineer for Mat’s army. We are talking about the dawn of the age of cannons and guns. Her cannons aka “Drgaons” blew apart many Trollocs in the Last Battle. Plus, Elayne & Andor will have a brief military upper hand going into the 4th age thanks to her. I mean overall who doesn’t love an independent genius woman who can blow you up?
So that is my list. Obviously everyone will have different lists based on what characters, cultures, personalities, etc. they enjoy more. There is no right answer here, these are just some of the non main characters that stuck out to me and I enjoyed alot when they showed up in the books. I would give some honorable mentions, but even thinking about all the other characters I like It may cause me to sit here and think for hours on end about all of them. Anyways, maybe in the future I will write about my favorite overall characters.