Tam al'Thor

The al'Thor farm sits at the edge of the Westwood, well out along the Quarry Road from Emond's Field, farther from the village than most Two Rivers folk care to live. It is a modest holding, but it produces something the village prizes: apple brandy and cider, which Tam brings in by cart each year for Bel Tine. In a place where a man's worth is measured by his steadiness and his work, Tam's standing is quiet and unquestioned, and when the Village Council gathers at the Winespring Inn, he sits among men like Bran al'Vere and Cenn Buie as a matter of course.

He has raised Rand alone on that farm, and the raising shows in more than fieldwork. Tam has passed on a discipline of his own, a way of stilling the mind that he calls the flame and the void, feeding every fear and distraction into an imagined flame until nothing remains but calm. It is an odd thing for a Two Rivers farmer to know, and he teaches it without much explanation, the way he does most things.

The village would call him sturdy and steadfast, and mean every word. Even in a hard winter, with an unseasonal frost lingering over the fields and worry running through Emond's Field like a draft under a door, Tam keeps his composure. He watches, he weighs, and he looks after the people near him. Whatever the weather or the talk on the Green, he goes on being exactly what he seems to be: a good farmer and a good father.