Saidin
The male half of the One Power, tainted by the Dark One at the end of the Age of Legends.
Saidin is the male half of the One Power; its counterpart is the female half, saidar. In the Age of Legends both sexes could channel, but when Lews Therin Telamon and his companions imprisoned the Forsaken with their master, the Dark One tainted saidin at the moment of victory, driving male channelers insane. Lews killed his friends and family and then himself.
Lore & Background
Because the few men born able to channel ultimately go mad, the Red Ajah of the Aes Sedai hunt male channelers and gentle them, cutting them off from the One Power permanently. In Winter's Heart Rand al'Thor and Nynaeve al'Meara use the Choedan Kal, two giant sa'angreal, to cleanse saidin of the Dark One's influence at Shadar Logoth, and in A Memory of Light Rand weaves saidin, saidar and the True Power together to remake the Dark One's prison.
More in The One Power & Artifacts
Elsewhere in The Wheel of Time
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