Spark

Those born with the spark, known within the fandom as "sparkers", are people who not only have the ability to channel with experienced guidance but will inevitably begin to channel with or without training. Three out of four women with the spark do not survive this learning process on their own. Most who do not receive formal training (called wilders by Aes Sedai) either die or achieve a rudimentary control, often accompanied by unconscious blocks preventing them from hurting themselves by drawing too much and burning themselves out. In much of the Westlands, a family will readily send a daughter to the White Tower if she shows signs of channeling. This holds true even among those who dislike the Aes Sedai, such as in Tear and Amadicia.
The White Tower would ideally find and train every girl born with the spark in the Westlands both to save the girl from the dangers and to claim her as a part of the tower's dwindling numbers. In practice, the Tower does not succeed in finding very many girls at all - neither those with a spark nor those who have the ability to learn - and many channelers born with the spark become wilders in the Westlands. Nynaeve al'Meara is one such woman; she was born with the spark and began channeling long before the opportunity for training was presented. She and Sharina Melloy are the two most powerful channelers alive as far as Aes Sedai are aware, and the fact that their existence would have eluded the Tower's grasp under normal circumstances speaks to the Tower's failure in finding channelers. Other channelers of notable ability who would not have been found by the Tower under normal circumstances would be Egwene al'Vere, Nicola Treehill and Bodewhin Cauthon; all of these women are more powerful channelers than any Aes Sedai to be seen in years.
==Manifesting the spark==
===Women===
A woman born with the spark will unavoidably begin to manifest her ability, which usually happens in her early teen years. After the first touching of the True Source the channeler will experience a reaction less than ten days later. She will experience violent shivers, headaches, bouts of mania, numbness, dizziness, and many other possible symptoms. The next time she channels saidar, the ill effects will occur sooner after the incident, and subsequent times they affect the person closer to the actual time of touching until it happens almost at the same time. At that point the visible symptoms stop, and control must be learned (likely in the form of a block) or death soon follows. In as short a time as one year or as many as five the channeler will fall to the ground screaming and convulsing. Once this happens not even the One Power can save them. It is also reasonable to assume that all Wilders are born with the spark as the chances of finding a teacher outside of the White Tower to coax the ability out of them is virtually non-existent.
===Men===
Men can also learn to channel on their own, although they usually manifest this trait later than women. Men may not show any sign until their mid-twenties, such as Mazrim Taim. Until recently, the taint has long been an additional difficulty facing those men who do achieve some degree of control. With the cleansing of saidin and the establishing of the Black Tower, the risks have been alleviated somewhat and are more akin to dangers of touching saidar unguided.
==Strength==
Having been born with the inherent spark apparently was not an indicator of strength. There were as many with weak potential who would channel whether they were taught or not as there were with great potential. Although we see several strong channelers like Nynaeve al'Meara, Egwene al'Vere and Elayne Trakand born with the spark, others like Nicola Treehill and Sharina Melloy were not.
==Seanchan==
In Seanchan women who are born with the spark are held by an a'dam and made into damane. They are controlled by sul'dam who collar them and treat them like beasts, not knowing that the sul'dam themselves are women who can be taught to channel.
==List of "Sparkers"==
Those listed in The Wheel of Time Companion as being born with the spark are as follows. Wilders are marked seperately as it is assumed they are also born with the spark:
*Aeldene Stonebridge (Blue Ajah) (Wilder)
*Aisling Noon (Green Ajah)
*Aledrin Malenry (White Ajah)
*Mistress Asher (Wilder)
*Bodewhin Cauthon (Novice from the Two Rivers)
*Cabriana Mecandes (Blue Ajah)
*Darea Candwin (Novice from the Two Rivers)
*Doesine Alwain (Yellow Ajah)
*Egwene al'Vere 
*Elayne Trakand (Green Ajah)
*Elle (Novice from the Two Rivers)
*Jahar Narishma
*Jancy Torfinn (Novice from the Two Rivers)
*Juilaine Madome (Brown Ajah)
*Lemore Genhal 
*Moiraine Damodred (Blue Ajah) (Wilder)
*Nelavaire Demasiellin (Green Ajah)
*Norla (Wilder)
*Nynaeve al'Meara (Yellow Ajah) (Wilder)
*Rand al'Thor (presumably)
*Serafelle Tanisloe (Brown Ajah) (Wilder)
*Tarna Feir (Red Ajah) (Wilder)
*Theodrin Dabei (Brown Ajah) (Wilder)
Add to this all known damane and all male channelers prior to the founding of the Black Tower who learned to channel
es:Chispa
Category:One Power