Mat Cauthon

Matrim Cauthon, usually called just Mat, is one of the main protagonists in the series. 
He, together with Perrin Aybara and Rand al'Thor, is a powerful ta'veren, although not as powerful as Rand. He is married to Tuon Athaem Kore Paendrag and holds the noble title of Prince of Ravens. 
==Appearance and Personality ==
Mat is 5'11" or 180 cm tall and weighs 170 lb or 77 kg. He is described as long-limbed and wiry. He has brown eyes, which often twinkle with mischief, and brown hair that is long enough to reach his coat collar.
Mat's appearance varies throughout the series as his sense of fashion changes. He wears clothes typical of the Two Rivers for the first few books, but gradually dresses more flamboyantly as the series progresses. After his encounter with the Eelfinn in Rhuidean, he gains a hanging scar, which he hides by use of a kerchief. Shortly afterwards, he starts wearing his signature wide-brimmed black hat which he obtains from Hadnan Kadere. In Ebou Dar, he finds many of his clothes replaced on the orders of Queen Tylin with outfits suitable for a "pretty". Although he chafes at being dressed up like a fancy Lord, he also becomes accustomed to it and develops a taste for wearing "a little lace". Later, after his last encounter with the Finn, he is disfigured by the removal of his left eye.
Mat is often described as lazy, immature, tactless, roguish, and brazen. Though he matures somewhat over the course of the story, Mat's core personality remains largely intact throughout his trials and challenges.At the beginning of the series, he's known to try whatever he can to shirk responsibility and work. For example, when he first discovered his ta'veren nature, he attempts to avoid his role in the Pattern, and only reluctantly accepts what he needs to do. He is all the while steadfast and loyal, and has learned over time not to shirk from his duties, no matter how much he might grumble about it. 
He is not afraid to flout any and all authority figures around him and is extremely derisive of nobles or anyone with a "high-born" heritage, believing that, as a general rule, they all lack common sense.
He enjoys gambling and drinking, as well as pursuing women, though he is careful never to pursue one who isn't open to his attentions. This love of gambling extends to a love of tactics, as Mat views battles as being the ultimate gamble. He is also extremely pragmatic, shirking possessions or clothing that is not practical or useful. 
By the time the Last Battle ends, he is still fond of virtually everything he was fond of when he first set out into the world (though, as a married man, he has reluctantly conceded to giving up his hobby of pursuing women). The only thing that appreciably changes about him is his attitude towards work and duty; he is still not fond of either, but will now typically accept both with a resigned attitude, particularly when it comes to commanding armies.
==Family and Background==
Mat is the only son and eldest child of Abell (born ) and Natti Cauthon (born ). He has two younger sisters, Bodewhin Cauthon (born ) and Eldrin Cauthon (born ).
At one point, Mat refers to having "four sisters" willing to tattle on him when he was up to any mischief. This can be regarded as an error, however, as he also refers only two sisters, Eldrin and Bodewhin, in the same context in the next book. Furthermore, no other sisters are ever mentioned in the series, even when other members of his family are kidnapped by Whitecloaks and the book Glossary and The Wheel of Time Companion seem consistent in this fact in the relevant entries.
== Relationships ==
Mat grew up together with Perrin Aybara and Rand al'Thor in Emond's Field where they got into trouble quite a bit, Mat generally being the force behind it. He also knows Egwene al'Vere and Nynaeve al'Meara since he was young and has a close relationship with them. During the events of the story, he meets his Two Rivers friends on various occasions.
After leaving the Two Rivers with him, and encountering him several times on travels, Mat befriends the old gleeman Thom Merrilin, who spends much of the story by Mat's side.
As the Marshal-General to the Band of the Red Hand, he befriends and trust some of his closest members, especially Talmanes Delovinde, Nalesean Aldiaya, Chel Vanin, and Daerid Ondin whom he promotes to Lieutenant-General. At one point, Mat takes in a young orphan boy named Olver, who several members of the Band quickly take a liking to and teach him questionable manners, much to Mat's exasperation. In Ebou Dar an old and well-traveled man named Noal Charin saves Mat's life and ends up spending time in his company, eventually also accompanying him to the Tower of Ghenjei.
Mat has some colorful relationships with women, including but not limited to Tylin Quintara Mitsobar, the Queen of Altara, who takes a great liking to Mat and much to his chagrin begins treating him as her plaything, and the Illuminator Aludra Nendenhald, with whom he shares a physically intimate relationship while in Ebou Dar.
In general, Mat has a strong aversion towards Aes Sedai, as with most things related to the One Power. Despite this, Mat has a cordial relationship with Queen Elayne Trakand of Andor, who mostly seems to think fondly of Mat and forgive the man's impropriety when dealing with royalty and Aes Sedai. Mat and Elayne's Warder, Birgitte Trahelion, are good friends and enjoy drinking together, with Mat being one of the few people to know the secret of Birgitte's true identity due to also having blown the Horn of Valere during the Battle of Falme. Three other Aes Sedai that Mat comes into contact with are Teslyn Baradon, Edesina Azzedin, and Joline Maza, whom he helps escape the clutches of the Seanchan. The three are grateful for this, but according to Mat not grateful enough, given that they often voice complaints about Mat's leadership following the escape from Ebou Dar, which Mat repays by harmlessly pranking their supplies with food dye once they are on their way back to Tar Valon. Regardless, Mat and the sisters develop some respect for each other, and he is very happy to see Teslyn at the Last Battle.
Mat meets the sailor Bayle Domon early in his journey, while fleeing Shadar Logoth with Rand and Thom; during this time, Mat is still under the influence of the ruby-hilted dagger and later admits his memories of this period are spotty, with him barely remembering Domon when he meets him again over a year later in Ebou Dar. Here, he also meets Domon's lover and later wife Egeanin Tamarath, who as a Seanchan dissident is perfect for the party he needs to escape the city. Egeanin is supposed to play the role of Mat's lover as part of their cover story while fleeing Ebou Dar, but the two are generally standoffish with each other, with Egeanin awkwardly torn between her loyalties to her homeland and her desire to do the right thing regarding the flawed damane system. Mat finds Egeanin a cold and incomprehensible person, but much like the Aes Sedai, the two do develop a degree of mutual respect.
During the events in Ebou Dar, Mat meets a Seanchan High Lady by the name of Tuon, who Egeanin calls Daughter of the Nine Moons, the woman Mat knows he is fated to marry. After being confronted by her, Mat reluctantly kidnaps Tuon from the Tarasin Palace and takes her along for his escape from the city alongside her Voice, Selucia. He names Tuon his wife three times, unknowingly completing half of the Seanchan marriage ceremony, in response to which Tuon simply smiles. At first, Tuon calls Mat "Tylin's Toy" or "Toy" for short, which Mat repays by referring to Tuon as "Precious" for a while. During their journey, much to Egeanin's dissatisfaction, Mat begins to court Tuon in earnest, frequently giving her gifts, going on walks with her, and playing stones with her, seeming to finally accept his fate. Tuon's responses are never anything less than opaque, though, and when they finally do marry, it seems almost entirely a political match on her behalf, despite it being clear clear that Mat has sincere feelings for her.
Mat generally thinks of the Seanchan overall as an insane people. He views Selucia as a nuisance in his pursuit of Tuon, referring to her as Tuon's "shadow", although she does later spare his life after initially mistaking him for an intruder and helps him to reach Tuon secretly. As the prince-consort of the Senchan heir and later the Empress, Mat becomes known amongst the Seanchan as the Prince of the Ravens, and after working with them, he develops a grudging respect for some of the Seanchan generals, especially Furyk Karede.
==Abilities ==
===Extreme Luck===
Mat's most obvious non-personality trait is his extraordinarily good luck. His ta'veren nature causes virtually every situation that depends on chance to work out in his favor, from dice to cards to avoiding random assassination attempts by inadvertently moving at the right time. This trait is so formidable that he was able to pick out directions for the seemingly impossible corridors and intersections of the Aelfinn and the Eelfinn realm by tossing dice or spinning in a circle and randomly stopping. 
An additional aspect of this trait is that he seemingly 'senses' the onset of important decisions or events soon to occur. This sense, referred by Mat as "the bloody dice rolling in my head," has frequently helped him to identify important aspects of his life and act accordingly, best demonstrated when attempting to win over his future wife Tuon.
===Fighting Skills ===
thumb|250x250px|Mat vs. Galad and Gawyn by Ariel Burgess|alt=
Over the course of the books we see Mat in many fights and his skill with his quarterstaff is shown as exemplary, though it is rarely commented on. The fact that Mat, while exhausted and weak, simultaneously defeated Galad and Gawyn, both considered exceptional swordsmen, and later Couladin of the Shaido clan (who is considered a fierce fighter, even among the Aiel) in single combat, shows that his skill in combat is above that of even the average blademaster—though he admittedly cannot be called a true blademaster because he does not use a sword. 
The weapons he uses are the quarterstaff and later the ashandarei, the latter weapon being supplemented with knowledge from the Eelfinn memories on how to use it properly. Mat is also a very proficient knife fighter and can throw them with incredible accuracy, being able to fight off numerous assailants armed with swords and other mid-range weapons. A key facet of his fighting style, in addition to his natural luck, are his incredible reflexes, as seen best when he caught a knife thrown by the gholam out of the air.
===Military Expertise===
Mat is a peerless tactician. Aided by memories collected by the Aelfinn and Eelfinn from generals that entered the lands of the Aelfinn and Eelfinn between the Trolloc Wars and the War of a Hundred Years, his tactical acumen is such that no army under his command has ever suffered a defeat, no matter what the odds seem to be. 
His greatest triumph on the battlefield was his defeat of the armies of the Shadow under Demandred's command during the Last Battle. Despite being almost hopelessly outnumbered by the Shadow and almost hopelessly overpowered by Demandred himself wielding Sakarnen in a full circle of seventy-two, he managed to rout the forces of the Shadow completely through brilliant planning, mental flexibility, and his trademark luck.
== Titles==
*The Fox that makes the Ravens fly
*The Trickster
*Prince of the Ravens
*Raven Lord
*Lord of Luck
*Marshal General
* Son of Battles
* Gambler
*Lord Crimson
*One-Eyed Fool
* Battle Lord
*Horn Sounder (formerly)
*Horn Blower
*Tylin's Toy
==Activities==
For a detailed account of the events concerning Mat, see Mat Cauthon/Chronology. A briefer summary follows.
When Moiraine Damodred arrived in the Two Rivers believing that him or one of his two close friends was the Dragon Reborn, he left with Rand, Perrin and Egwene for the safety of the White Tower. He also learns from Moiraine that he together with Rand and Perrin are all ta'veren. On their journey, they stopped in Shadar Logoth to lose the Trollocs chasing them, where Mat picked up a ruby-hilted dagger which was cursed and made Mat increasingly sick, as well as inflaming his paranoia and hostility.
Later in Fal Dara, Padan Fain stole Mat's dagger and the prized Horn of Valere, so he journeyed with Rand, Perrin, Verin, Loial, and Ingtar to retrieve them. After both artifacts were recovered, Mat traveled to Tar Valon where the Aes Sedai broke the bond between him and the knife. He later left the White Tower and journey to Tear where he helped Egwene, Nynaeve and Elayne escape their imprisonment from the Black Ajah and, in the process, helping Rand take the Stone of Tear.
Mat wandered through the Stone's collection of angreal and ter'angreal, and later decided to enter the Twisted redstone doorframe which Egwene had told him about. The ter'angreal doorway took him to the land of the Aelfinn, snakelike creatures with oracular powers. 
After escaping the land of the Aelfinn, he followed Rand to Rhuidean, in the Aiel Waste, along with Egwene, Moiraine, and Lan. In the city Rhuidean, Mat found another red stone doorway. However, this redstone ter'angreal brought him instead to the land of the Eelfinn, who resemble foxes instead of snakes, where he received the memories of countless historical military leaders, the foxhead medallion and a naginata-like weapon called an ashandarei, which has become his signature weapon.
Mat fought alongside Rand in the Battle of Cairhien against the Shaido, where he personally slew Couladin, the Shaido leader, and helped bring victory for the Dragon Reborn. This victory gained him the allegiance of a number of soldiers that named themselves as the Band of the Red Hand, with Mat as the Marshal-General to the Band as a result of his memories from over a thousand years of cultural and military knowledge. 
After some time with Rand, Mat traveled to Salidar to "save" Egwene and see Elayne safely return to Caemlyn so she could take up the throne of Andor. However, once he arrived, he found Egwene to be the Amrylin Seat of the rebel Aes Sedai, and Elayne adamant about not going to Caemlyn, but instead preparing to travel on a mission to Ebou Dar. Since Mat promised to see her safely to Caemlyn, he had nothing to do but follow her to Ebou Dar and keep her alive. There he aided them in recovering the Bowl of the Winds before they were forced to flee by the invasion of the Seanchan. However, Mat was then injured during the Seanchan incursion badly enough to not be able to travel.
During his escape from Ebou Dar, together with Thom, Egeanin, and Bayle Domon, he meets Tuon, a Seanchan High Lady. When Egeanin names her Daughter of the Nine Moons, the woman he knew he was fated to marry, he could not leave her behind. He named her his wife three times, unknowingly completing half of the Seanchan marriage ceremony. 
After winning the battle with the Seanchan and sending his newlywed wife back to Ebou Dar to solidify her rule, Mat prepares a rescue mission for Moiraine at the Tower of Ghenjei. Mat, Thom, and Noal travel to the Tower's base where they carve the symbol of Snakes and Foxes into the tower, creating an opening, and venture within. Once inside, they begin to walk through the tower and eventually reach the Chamber of Bonds, where they find Moiraine trapped. Thom frees Moiraine and Mat is forced to bargain with the Eelfinn to leave with Moiraine and receive unbarred passage out of the world.
At the Last Battle, Mat is given command of all the Light's forces and organizes a final stand at the Fields of Merrilor, where he defeats Demandred's army made of the combined might of the Shadow and Shara. After the battle, Tuon informs Mat that she is pregnant with his child. Now that she has an heir she could kill Mat if she wants. Mat grins and asks her 'Tell me, do you ever play dice?'.
==Prophecies ==
===Prophecies of the Light===
===Prophecies of the Shadow===
== Parallels==
==In the Television Series==
* In the television series, is played by actor in the first season, and from the second season onward.
es:Mat Cauthon
it:Matrim Cauthon
Category:Two Rivers (people)
Category:Ta'veren
Category:Seanchan (people)
Category:The Blood
Category:Notes needed
Category:POV character
Category:Gamblers