Damane

A damane (Leashed One) is a character class from fantasy author Robert Jordan's best-selling Wheel of Time book series.

Damane are women (for only women can be collared, although a male collar was later described in the book) born with the spark or ability to channel. As the Seanchan believe that these women can cause great damage with the One Power, they are leashed by a controller, known as a sul'dam (Holder Of The Leash) who utilise a collar-like tool known as the a'dam. A woman who can channel and who has not been collared is known as marath'damane (Those Who Must Be Leashed), and is seen as an abomination. Seanchan consider any Aes Sedai not collared to be marath'damane.

When Hawkwing's son first came to Seanchan, he found a vast land that was a seething cauldron of alliances and betrayals and power grabs. Among them were those who called themselves Aes Sedai, though they bore little resemblance to the Aes Sedai of the White Tower. They used the Power in battle, and turned on each other as readily as they did anyone else. It is not known how women were trained in such chaos, possibly by individual apprenticeship.

In the course of conquering this new land Luthair was handed his greatest weapon, the a'dam, made for him by an Aes Sedai who sought to ingratiate herself. It is made of silvery metal, has a collar part (worn by the damane) and a bracelet part (worn by her controller, the sul'dam). They are linked by a leash a few feet in length, though it is later found out that the leash part isn't strictly necessary, and the collar and bracelet will work without it. Either the Seanchan have never realised this (unlikely, in all the centuries of making a'dam) or they prefer not to permit their damane too much freedom.

The a'dam has different effects depending on which part you wear. A woman wearing the collar cannot channel more than a thread without becoming violently sick; she cannot move the bracelet more than a foot; she cannot touch anything she considers to be a weapon, and she cannot open her own - or another - collar. The wearer of the bracelet (who must at least be able to learn to channel, or it won't react to her) can feel the emotional state of the woman wearing the collar, can cause her pain or pleasure just by willing it, and can completely control her access to the Source. A person who cannot channel will be unaffected by either part. If a man who can channel, or has the potential to learn, puts on the bracelet, both he and the damane suffer pain. If contact is maintained, both die in horrible agony. This is because when men and women link, the woman must initiate it, and it is the bracelet, not the collar, which is the controller of that particular link. It breaks a law of channeling.

Luthair's dislike for channelers has translated itself to the culture he built, and nowadays damane have the lowest status of any channeler in the Wheel of Time universe. All damane become property, slaves, as soon as they are found to be able to channel, and even those who work closely with them consider them to be little more than useful and intelligent animals. Among common Seanchan they and the Power are considered as evils which must be tolerated. It would be expected that such a life would make damane incredibly frustrated and rebellious, eager to be free, but in fact the opposite is true. Raised in the Seanchan culture, they honestly believe they need to be collared for the safety of everyone else. A female channeler unwilling to become damane (usually, a woman who was not brought up in the Seanchan culture) has her will broken in a long process involving both physical pain and emotional humiliation. As evidenced by the Aes Sedai victimized by Tuon, the effects of this torture can lead to a sort of Stockholm Syndrome. Tuon's damane became childlike, obedient and eager to please.

Since the start of The Return, several channelers from the Westlands (including several Aes Sedai) have been collared. Although some have successfully escaped from this captivity, a few have been effectively broken by the a'dam.

The main use of damane is in battle, as fearsome weapons. Of all the channeler groups, they are among the most deadly in battle, with a vast knowledge of destructive and dangerous weaves. Specially trained damane are able to put on an impressive pyrotechnics show known as the Sky Lights, and they are the only culture known where the Talent for making ter'angreal is still found. The full range of Talents found in these particular channelers is not known, but there are damane who can Heal - although few Seanchan would welcome the help - and some of them have a version of the Foretelling, allowing them to tell 'fortunes'. In many cases this could be pure charlatanry, tying in with a very superstitious culture, but we have seen at least one fortune, detailed and specific, come true. As Sea Folk windfinders have almost certainly been collared over the years, it makes sense that damane are skilled in weather control as well. The range and usefulness of these abilities have made the Seanchan Empire very powerful.