The Wheel of Time audition tape confirms major new Aiel character coming in season 3

The Wheel of Time season 2 wrapped up a few weeks back on Prime Video. Since then there have been a lot of exciting updates about what’s coming in season 3. We’ll see the tropical city of Tanchico, the abandoned Aiel city of Rhuidean, get a bigger focus on Perrin (Marcus Aybara) and Rand (Josha Stradowski), and more.

In season 3, we’ll come to know a lot more about the Aiel, a desert-dwelling warrior culture. We met Aiel in season 2: Aviendha (Ayoola Smart), Bain (Ragga Ragnars) and Chiad (Maja Simonsen), the trio of women who travel with Perrin to Falme. Season 3 is based on Robert Jordan’s book The Shadow Rising, which features a journey out into the Aiel Waste, where the Aiel live.

WoTSeries has uncovered a season 3 audition tape featuring a conversation between some new Aiel characters. The tape seems to confirm that Couladin, one of the main antagonists of The Shadow Rising, will appear in season 3.

Beware SPOILERS for The Shadow Rising ahead!

Here is the dialogue from the audition tape:

"Couladin: You would have us declare our allegiance to a wetlander.Aiel: It is a prophecy foretold…Couladin (interrupts): A prophecy, three thousand years old, translated from a dead language, passed down generations, from mouth to mouth, twisted, misinterpreted to fit around this imposter. Only you were fool enough to believe him.But I know the truth. I have entered Rhiudean; I have seen our people’s past and our future.Aiel: You’ve disobeyed the Wise Ones by entering Rhuidean without permission.Couladin: Yes, without! Why not? He Who Comes with the Dawn brings change, does he not?Aiel: you call yourself He Who Comes with the Dawn, then tell me, what did you see there?Couladin: I will speak of it with no one. Not even you. But what I saw was holy. I am holy. I know the glory of our people’s past. The glory that I will bring back to us. I am Couladin of the Domai sept of the Shaido Aiel. I am He Who Comes with the Dawn. Now, bow before me."

Couladin will appear in The Wheel of Time season 3

During The Shadow Rising, Rand al’Thor goes on a journey into the Aiel Waste to gain the allegiance of the Aiel, who have prophecies about the Dragon Reborn. He faces opposition from Couladin, an Aiel warrior from the Shaido clan. Both Couladin and Rand make separate trips to Rhuidean, a magical proving ground for prospective Aiel chiefs. The audition scene references this journey; Couladin claims he went to Rhuidean without permission but refuses to share what he saw there. This lines up with The Shadow Rising, where he stays tight-lipped about his trip and tries to claim that he himself is the Dragon Reborn. The Aiel call the Dragon the Car’a’carn, or Chief of Chiefs, or He Who Comes with the Dawn. The Dragon has a lot of names.

This audition script also seems to confirm that we’ll see Wise Ones in The Wheel of Time season 3. The Wise Ones are a group of women who hold a large amount of sway over the Aiel. Some (but not all) Wise Ones can channel, so in many ways they are the Aiel version of the Aes Sedai.

WoTSeries notes that some of the proper names in this script were placeholders; they did their best to crack the code, but there’s still some room for error. Hopefully we’ll get more clues about this scene with Couladin and the Aiel while we wait for season 3.

The Wheel of Time season 2 is streaming now on Prime Video. Season 3 is currently filming. We expect to see it hit Prime Video sometime in 2025.

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