Mat Cauthon - Daughter of The Nine Moons

Daughter of The Nine Moons

Mat traveled to Ebou Dar with Elayne, Nynaeve and Aviendha. There, the consummate ladies' man had the tables turned on him by Queen Tylin Mitsobar, who began to pursue him in earnest—and succeeded in catching him, for that matter, despite his attempts to make his lack of interest known. Despite the awkwardness of his status as (temporary) queen-consort, his confession of the matter to Elayne did manage to smooth over some of the more frosty contretemps that had gone on between them previously. He was then responsible for saving her from an attack by a gholam, deepening the gratitude between them.

Though Mat was unable to flee Ebou Dar before Seanchan conquered it, he was able to sneak out after, along with Thom, Egeanin, Bayle Domon and several Seanchan prisoners. During his escape, the Seanchan High Lady Tuon attempted to stop him. Upon restraining her, he found out that Tuon was, in fact, the Daughter of the Nine Moons, the woman he is fated to marry. After learning this he declares, in his surprise at finally meeting his destined bride, that she is his wife, thus unknowingly initiating the Seanchan marriage ceremony (which only required Tuon to also publicly declare herself his wife 3 times to be complete.) He then decides to kidnap Tuon and take her with them, determined not to let his mysterious future wife out of his sight, and, eventually, to keep her safe from the Seanchan forces trying to kill her. Mat and his coterie escape Seanchan territory by means of Valan Luca's Travelling Menagerie, and during their journey Mat begins to court Tuon in earnest, seeming to finally accept his fate. Her responses are never less than opaque, though, and when she finally does complete the marriage ceremony in Knife of Dreams, just before her return to Ebou Dar to reassert control over the Seanchan, it is entirely for political reasons, though Tuon expresses interest in the idea of affection growing between them. As the prince-consort of the heir to the Crystal Throne of Seanchan, Mat is now known amongst the Seanchan as the Prince of the Ravens, his title matching the ravens engraved on his ashandarei.