Ilyena Therin Moerelle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ilyena Moerelle Dalisar, later Ilyena Therin Moerelle by marriage, is a fictional character in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time book series.

Very little is known about her other than that she was Lews Therin Telamon's wife during the Age of Legends and had golden-red hair, earning her the name "Sunhair". She was later killed along with all of her children by Lews Therin when he went mad, earning him the name Kinslayer. Although her ability to channel (or lack thereof) is unknown, her third name suggests that she had done something important besides being married to a world leader.

Because of her relationship with the Lews Therin Telamon, the Forsaken Lanfear, (who loved (and was loved by) Lews Therin before he and Ilyena met) was insanely jealous of her, as is shown many times throughout the series.

[edit] Reincarnation

Elayne Trakand bears significant resemblance in both name and appearance to Ilyena; this is significant since she is romantically involved with Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, who is a reincarnation of Lews Therin. The theory that Elayne is Ilyena reborn has not been confirmed, but it does offer a possible resolution for Lews Therin's extreme guilt over her murder.

Ileyna is only mentioned in the prologue of the first book in the series, The Wheel of Time, and during the ravings Lews Therin has after he is installed within Rand's head. In these ravings, Ileyna is mentioned quite frequently, which leads the reader to the conclusion that Lews Therin raves many times throughout the portion of the series in which he is present.

Another interesting point about this is a viewing Min has of Rand, which says that to win the Last Battle he will need a dead woman. This could be Ilyena possible reincarnation as Elayne. A more likely explanation of this viewing, however, is that the dead woman is Moiraine Damodred who was thought to be dead but revealed to be a prisoner in the Tower of Ghenji at the end of Knife of Dreams.