Description
Mat has a wiry body, brown hair and brown eyes. He is about 5'10" (178 cm) and about 165 pounds (as described by Robert Jordan). After the events of The Shadow Rising, Mat has a prominent scar around his neck which he conceals with a scarf, a wide brimmed hat, and a silver foxhead medallion that has the power to protect him from the One Power. During Towers of Midnight, Mat's left eye is ripped out, sacrificing 'half the light of the world, to save the world'.
Mat is known to be a troublemaker. Whenever he and childhood friends Rand al'Thor and Perrin Aybara were caught out of line, Mat was frequently the impetus behind it (and his sisters Bodewhin and Eldrin frequently the ones snitching on him). He is fond of drinking, gambling and women, though he can handle people in authority with the same easy charm. Mat constantly claims he never wants to be married (or in a serious relationship at all) yet at the end of the eleventh book he is wed to The Daughter of the Nine Moons, Tuon. From his upbringing in the Two Rivers he acquired a farmer's outlook on life, and skill with a quarterstaff; from his father, Abell Cauthon, he inherited a keen eye for horses. From ancient memories of previous lives, he is a brilliant general. He has a talent for separating fools from their money and an interest in affluence and fine living, though he has very little patience with the aristocracy and (like Perrin) continually refutes those who would call him a lord. A running theme in the books is Mat constantly trying to think of himself first and saying he's no hero yet finding himself doing whatever is possible to help others despite the dangers. Though he rather dislikes many of the Aes Sedai he's dealt with, Mat seems to find himself the "rescue man" more than once. He ends up rescuing Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Elayne Trakand, Teslyn Baradon, Joline Maza, and Edesina Azzedin. At the end of Knife of Dreams, he finds himself bound to a promise to rescue Moiraine Damodred from the Aelfinn and Eelfinn, as well. Despite his flippant ways, Mat is a person of honor; when he gives his word, he keeps it.
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