Talents
Talents and traits are special abilities that Wheel of Time characters possess. Talents are more common than Traits, and are also more commonly possessed by channeling characters.
Except in special circumstances, Talents and Traits are declared upon raising to Accepted. Generally, two Talents and/or Traits are chosen (any special or rare Talents/Traits require permission from Jeremy and Taryn) although three are acceptable. If three Talents/Traits are chosen, one must be either Healing or Illusion.
Talents
Talents are special abilities that channelers have, usually related to their use of the One Power. Most Talents will not surface in channelers until they have used saidar or saidin for several years, and they are recognized by a channeler’s affinity to certain types of weaves. Other Talents are inborn, and will surface without training. These Talents are not related to the channeler’s strength in the One Power, but to their innate strengths and elemental affinities.
Some Talents—usually the simpler, common ones—can be learned after years of practice, though those with learned Talents do not have the same strength as those who had them from the beginning of their training.
Since the Age of Legends, many Talents have been lost as the ability to channel waned from the population. However, due to the recent growth in the channeling population and the Pattern’s proximity to Tarmon Gai’don, some Talents have resurfaced in the Pattern, such as Dreaming, the making of ter’angreal and cuendillar.
Talents Related to the One Power
| Talent | Elemental Base(s) | Rarity | Description |
| Aligning the Matrix | Earth & Spirit | Common | Strengthening rocks and metals. |
| Cloud Dancing | Water, Air & Spirit | Common | Controlling weather and weather patterns. |
| Concealment | Fire & Air | Common | Making objects disappear. |
| Cuendillar Making | Earth, Fire & Air | Special | Converting objects into cuendillar. |
| Delving | Earth | Special | Discovering and removing ores in the earth. |
| Earth Singing | Earth | Common | Controlling the movements of the earth. |
| Foretelling | N/A | Rare | The ability to tell the future. |
| Healing | All | Common | The ability to heal injuries and wounds. |
| Illusion | Air & Fire | Common | Making something appear otherwise. |
| Spinning Earthfire | Fire & Earth | Common | Controlling molten earth. |
| Ter’angreal Making | Fire & Earth | Special | Making objects into ter’angreal. |
| Tracing | None | Special | Reading weave residues. |
Traits
Traits are very similar to Talents, but are not necessarily related to the One Power. They are special abilities that a person has, which usually surface around the same time as one would begin to channel but may not be linked to the ability to channel.
| Talent | Rarity | Description |
| Dreaming | Rare | Dreaming prophetical dreams. |
| Dreamwalking | Special | The ability to enter Tel’aran’rhiod at will. |
| Listening to the Wind | Special | Forecasting the weather and events. |
| Sniffing | Special | The ability to smell violence. |
| Spotting Ta’veren | Special | Being able to see ta’veren. |
| Ter’angreal Reading | Rare | Sensing the purpose of ter’angreal. |
| Viewing | Rare | Reading auras and glimpsing visions concerning people. |
| The Voice | Special | Helping plants to grow. |
