Warning: Spoilers for The Wheel of Time season 2, episode 6
Though the One Power is the backbone of The Wheel of Time’s story, there are several amazing abilities in both the book and the show that actually have nothing to do with channeling. Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time world is expansive, and Prime Video’s adaptation of it has barely scratched the surface of his deeply rich lore. There are plenty of intriguing details of Jordan’s world-building that should be making their way into The Wheel of Time over the next couple of seasons.
Abilities unconnected to the One Power constitute one of the most interesting parts of Jordan’s Wheel of Time books that have not been fully fleshed out yet in the show. The Wheel of Time has introduced a couple of these concepts already, but it has not fully explained them yet. There are also several other abilities from the books that have not been mentioned in any form thus far in The Wheel of Time. A few non-One Power abilities should be making an appearance in the show at some point soon, whereas others already have at this point.
8 Treesinging
Treesinging in The Wheel of Time is one of the many abilities found in the franchise’s world. This ability made its debut in Prime Video’s adaptation during The Wheel of Time season 2, episode 6 when Loial is forced to demonstrate the ability for his Seanchan captor, High Lady Suroth. Treesinging allows the user to manipulate the growth of any living plant by singing to it. In the Age of Legends, one who can Treesing is said to have the Voice. Treesinging was used during that age to produce virtually unlimited crops, eliminating hunger from the world.
In the Third Age, which The Wheel of Time takes place in, only a few Ogier have this ability. However, in the books, Rand eventually relearns the ability after merging his consciousness with Lews Therin’s. Rand uses the Voice to incredible effect, producing an entire forest at one point and even using it to trick the Seanchan’s Daughter of the Nine Moons into thinking he can channel while shielded from the One Power.
7 Aura Reading
Aura Reading is the ability possessed by Min Farshaw, which allows the user to see shapes or auras around a person’s head that provide some glimpse of their future. In The Wheel of Time season 2, Min has a “viewing,” as the auras are often referred to, of Mat stabbing Rand. This ability is slightly different between the books and the show, however. Min’s power in The Wheel of Time show allows her to literally see a future event. In the books, her viewings are more symbolic and cannot always be interpreted. They often take the form of a single shape, like a crown or a flame.
6 Wolfbrother Ability
In The Wheel of Time, Perrin is what is known as a wolfbrother. Perrin’s wolf powers allow him to telepathically communicate with wolves, as well as giving him heightened senses of smell, sight, and hearing. Being a wolfbrother also allows the person to enter Tel’aran’rhiod, which they typically refer to as the Wolf Dream. Another wolfbrother from the books, season 2’s Elyas Machera has been set up to teach Perrin how to control these abilities and avoid losing himself to his wolf-like nature. The suspicion that the Aes Sedai hold toward wolfbrothers – as noted by Elyas – speaks to the scarcity of their kind and how rare it is to find someone with unique powers that isn’t a channeler.
5 Dreaming
Dreaming is another ability from The Wheel of Time that does not require use of the One Power, although the characters with this ability often have the ability to channel as well. Dreaming is a form of prophecy, in which the affected person has a dream of a future occurrence. These dreams are often heavily symbolic and require some interpreting, but the person who dreamed it often knows instinctively what the vision means. Egwene al’Vere is the most notable Wheel of Time character with this ability, but she’s not the only one. Some of the Aiel’s Wise Ones are also Dreamers.
4 Dreamwalking
Established as a separate ability from Dreaming, Dreamwalking in The Wheel of Time is the ability to enter Tel’aran’rhiod at will. Similar to her status as a Dreamer, Egwene is also the most prominent example of a Dreamwalker from the books, though The Wheel of Time‘s Lanfear also seems to be a Dreamwalker. One does not have to be a Dreamwalker to enter Tel’aran’rhiod, any channeler can enter the World of Dreams using the proper ter’angreal. That said, Dreamwalkers seem to be the most powerful people within Tel’aran’rhiod. This is a powerful ability to have because Dreamwalkers are capable of entering other people’s dreams and manipulating them subconsciously.
3 Seeing “The Glow”
Interestingly, it doesn’t always take the One Power for a person to identify a ta’veren. ta’veren are individuals whom the Pattern centers around. Rand, Mat, and Perrin are all Ta’veren, and consequently, strange occurrences often happen around them. Those who are capable of seeing ta’veren see an eerie “glow” around the person in question. The ability was seemingly brought into the canon of the TV series in season 1 when Logain was shown laughing at Rand. Later on, season 2 clarified that Logain – like his book counterpart – had seen a “glow” around Rand. Logain had been gentled at this point, meaning that he couldn’t have been using the One Power and in turn, must possess this ability.
However, it looks like the series has made a big change to what this ability actually is. In the books, “the glow” relates to people who are ta’veren, whereas the TV version of Logain says that the glow is given off by men who can channel. Since Logain didn’t see a glow around Mat but did with Rand, it seems this power has been altered significantly for the show.
2 Pattern Reading
Pattern Reading is an ability similar to Aura Reading in The Wheel of Time. Pattern Reading allows an individual to gain a glimpse of the Pattern of the Age. The Forsaken, Lanfear, has this ability, which is notable because it was her sensing of a thinness in the Pattern that led to a bore being drilled into the Dark One’s prison during the Age of Legends. It’s difficult to say for certain that her ability to sense a thinness in the Pattern was related to her ability to read the Pattern, but it seems to be the most likely explanation for how she was able to do this.
1 Sniffing
Sniffing is a fascinating ability from The Wheel of Time books that has not yet appeared in Prime Video’s adaptation of the series. Sniffing allows the gifted person to smell violence. During the second Wheel of Time book, The Great Hunt, Rand and the others follow the trail smelled by a Shienaran Sniffer named Hurin. Hurin uses his ability to track the Trollocs and Padan Fain after they steal the Horn of Valere from Fal Dara. It’s possible that The Wheel of Time show will be merging this power with the wolfbrother ability since Elyas was called a “Sniffer” in the TV series, but it still has a chance to appear in later seasons as a separate concept.
