Ogier

An enigma spanning thousands of years, the Green Man is a symbol of mysterious origin and history.  Permeating various religious faiths and cultures, the Green Man has survived countless transformations and cultural diversities, enduring in the same relative physical form to this day.  Although specifics about his beginnings and his worship are not fully known, due in large part to how far back and to what initial cultures he can be traced to, it is a testament to the widespread reach of his character that he is still remembered and worshipped to this day. 

In truth, the modern notion of a “Green Man” likely represents the merging of two entities associated with the preservation of nature from earlier turnings of the Wheel: Nym and Ogier. Canon states that Nym are entities constructed by Aes Sedai during the Age of Legends. Sentient beings, they appeared quite tree-like, with branches for hair and nuts for eyes. They tended to the farms, agriculture and gardens of the Age of Legends, working alongside Ogier and Da’shain Aiel to promote growth and abundance. Nym were also contributors to “The Song” – a harmony that promoted such growth. None were known to survive the Ages.

Ogier, on the other hand, are essentially aliens to our world. Canon states that they arrived prior to the Age of Legends through use of a ter’angreal-like object known as the Book of Translation. The object carried all Ogier to the planet earth and following the ending of the Age of Illusion, it carried them away again to await such time as their next arrival. Along with the Nym, Ogier also worked with various Singers (Da’Shain Aiel and Aes Sedai gifted with the talent) to create the Song that promoted the preservation and growth of all living plants. Through translation, regions of our planet can “world swap” with the Ogier home world. These translated forests create home-world hubs that allowed the Ogier to distribute evenly across the planet. These hubs, having translated unnaturally from another world, do not allow for the touching of the One Power within their perimeter and later Ages refer to them as Stedding.

An Ogier/Nym-like creature recently translated to our planet at a very precise moment in time. It is unknown whether more arrived simultaneously. However many there are, their primary goal are to locate the Singers of today, channelers with the ability to weave threads of “The Song” and promote growth of all living things. They will use an alliance with the wolves to locate these Singers and bring all together in common purpose. These creatures are not the docile, slow-acting Ogier from the 3rd Age. They are fierce and strong-minded. Atharim will likely assume them to be dangerous and hunt them.