Origin
The son of farmers, Perrin was born and raised in the small town of Emond’s Field in the Two Rivers. A quiet and thoughtful child, he was brought up alongside Rand al’Thor and Mat Cauthon, with whom he remained best friends throughout adolescence. As a young adult he became apprenticed to the town blacksmith. Shortly after Moiraine Damodred and her warder al’Lan Mandragoran arrived in Emond’s Field the town was attacked by Trollocs, who sought to murder Perrin and his two best friends. He fled the town, along with his friends, Moiraine, Lan, Egwene al’Vere, Nynaeve al’Meara, and Thom Merrilin, pursuing their common destiny to save the world.
Creation
Perrin was originally created by Robert Jordan for his book series The Wheel of Time, making his first appearance in the series’ first book, The Eye of the World. His character is closely based on that of the Slavic god Perun. He made his comic first appearance in Robert Jordans’ The Wheel of Time: Dragonmount #0, written by Jordan and Chuck Dixon, and illustrated by Chase Conley.
Major Story Arcs
The Eye of the World
Perrin and his companions are forced to flee the Two Rivers following an attack on the village by Trollocs that was directed against them. Pursued in their flight, they seek refuge in the corrupted city of Shadar Logoth. There, Perrin and Egwene are separated from the rest of the group, and spend a great deal of time wandering in the wilderness. Eventually they encounter Elyas Machera, a man who is capable of talking with wolves, and who insists that Perrin can as well. He begins to guide the pair to the city of Caemlyn, but they encounter a group of Children of the Light, a militant order obsessed with rooting out people who are dedicated to the Shadow. When some of the Whitecloaks kill a wolf Perrin becomes enraged and kills two of them, leading to him being sentenced to death for their murders. He and Egwene are rescued from the camp by the timely intervention of Moiraine, Lan and Nynaeve, with whom they travel to Caemlyn to be reunited with the remainder of the group.
Powers and Abilities
Perrin is ta’veren, meaning that he twists the pattern around himself, generally unintentionally, manipulating probabilities and causing unlikely things to occur. Like Rand, and unlike Mat, his twisting of the pattern has positive results in about equal measure to the negative results. His ta’veren nature tends to draw others to him, and often inspires great loyalty. He is a Wolfbrother, meaning that he is capable of speaking to wolves using a form of telepathy. His connection with the wolves turned his eyes their characteristic yellow colour, and has also caused him to have heightened vision, audition and olfaction. His heightened senses allow him to see in the dark and to smell emotions, among other capabilities. He is capable of entering Tel’aran’rhiod, the Land of Dreams, unaided due to his connection with the wolves, who have a natural affinity for the place. Perrin is a gifted fighter; tending to prefer to wield the axe or the hammer, he is also capable of using the bow. He is a skilled leader and a competent strategist. He is also a gifted blacksmith.
Other Media
Literature
The Wheel of Time
Perrin was originally created for the Wheel of Time series of books. He has appeared in fourteen books in the series.
Games
Perrin appears in numerous game adaptations of the books, both online and offline.