Faile Bashere

Faile Bashere is a character in the Wheel of Time fantasy series by Robert Jordan.

Life as Zarine

Zarine "Faile" ni Bashere t'Aybara is the daughter of Lord Davram Bashere, the Marshal-General to Saldaea and uncle to Queen Tenobia. When Perrin Aybara first met her, she was a Hunter for the Horn of Valere, calling herself Mandarb (blade in the Old Tongue, also the name of Lan's horse). When this failed to impress the Two Rivers blacksmith, she announced that she would call herself Faile, Old Tongue for "falcon" (pronounced "fa-YEEL") instead. This, on the other hand, caused Perrin no small amount of anxiety, as his friend Min Farshaw had prophesied that he would soon find a hawk and a falcon landing on his shoulder. Faile did indeed become the falcon in his life, with Berelain sur Paendrag eventually revealed to be the hawk.

Description

She is tall and slender with black hair and dark tilted eyes. Faile enjoys wearing tight, dark grey dresses, and in the third book Perrin is having difficulties with deciding if she's a beauty or not. She is described as having a bold nose so that when she looks at Perrin she bears striking resemblance to the metaphoric Falcon that Min branded her. This bold nose is a hereditary feature of Saldean nobility, seen on her cousin Queen Tenobia and her parents.

Renamed as Faile

Faile is fiercely independent, as suggested by her chosen name; the name "Zarine' (a great beauty) was given to her by her mother, who wanted a daughter who would recline on a cushion and eat grapes. She left Saldaea in a fit of pique, seeking to prove her independence; she ended up in Illian, where the Great Hunt for the Horn was being launched, and took her vows as a hunter. She joined the party on the trip from Falme to Tear, feeling that an Aes Sedai, her Warder, an Ogier, and a golden-eyed blacksmith were her ticket to finding the Horn (she was disappointed to later find that it had not only already been found, but blown).

Falcon and Wolf

During that time and in Tear with the other main characters, Perrin developed a romantic attachment to her, despite Faile constantly insulting, joking, and humiliating him, and she was a constant fount of helpful advice during the Two Rivers campaign against invading Whitecloaks and Trollocs. After the successful defense of the region, Perrin married her. After fortifying the Two Rivers area against further attacks, she and Perrin raised an army and marched to Cairhien to support Rand al'Thor; unfortunately, this took Perrin into constant contact with Berelain, the ruler of the city-state of Mayene and descendant of Artur Hawkwing. She had expressed an interest in Perrin since they met in Tear, and the two birds of prey have never been happy to see each other. While in Cairhien, Faile also cultivated a new source of information and espionage--she became the patroness of a clutch of Cairhienen youths, who, having seen their nation defeated twice by the Aiel, decided to emulate the ways of the Threefold Land. These Cairhienen became the warrior society Cha Faile, the "Falcon's Talon", and are personally loyal to Faile.

Confronting the Prophet

Perrin, Faile and Berelain were eventually sent into Amadicia (with a small army) to stop Masema Dagar, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the Dragon, from spreading false prophecy about the Dragon. While there, the encampment was attacked by Shaido Aiel, and Faile was captured. Perrin has sworn that he will stop at nothing to get her back, even if it means forsaking old loyalties and friends; he has even made an alliance with the Seanchan in order to try to get her back.

He does rescue her and all the others taken by the Shaido, but in the process kills many of the Mera'din, the Brotherless, Aiel who have left their clan because they don't believe Rand al'Thor is the Car'a'Carn or are unable to fully come to peace with once following the way of the leaf. One of the Mera'din whom Perrin kills, was trying to attract Faile's interest in the Aiel way of making her laugh, and was planning on aiding Faile's escape by taking her with the Mera'din when they left the Shaido. Aram dies in the rescue in a duel with Perrin when he is shot in the back by two Shaido. He attacked Perrin because Masema (The Prophet) had told him Perrin was a Darkfriend because of his yellow eyes. Following the battle, Faile and her followers ambush Masema and his remaining followers. After her archers cut down the Prophet's remaining minions, Faile kills Masema with a dagger to the heart.