Shivan the Hunter

Appearance

He rides with a black mask.

Activities

He appears when Matrim Cauthon blows the Horn of Valere near Falme. Later, Mat remembers seeing him when he is talking with Birgitte Silverbow.

Notes

She and her brother were reborn prior to the Last Battle. It is not clear if they are twins, however, as there is enough time for a woman to have given birth twice between the end of The Great Hunt and A Memory of Light when the horn is sounded for the second time (approx. 2 years). The Companion and books simply refer to them as brother and sister.

Parallels

Shivan the Hunter is a parallel to Shiva the Destroyer in Hindu Mythlogy. Shiva is known as "the destroyer" or "transformer." the name also translating roughly as "auspicious one." This reflects the words that Jordan uses to describe Shivan, the destruction of what had been and the birth of what was to be. Some stories describe Shiva appearing as a tribal hunter to challenge and test protagonists as in the case with Arjuna. Shiva, like some other Hindu gods, appears in incarnations called avatars in which a being descends from a higher plane to a lower one for a specific purpose. This is remarkably similar to how the Pattern incorporates the Heroes of the Horn into its weaving.

Notes