Raken

Overview

A raken has gray leathery skin, powerful wings, a long neck and horny snout, and a thin-looking tail used for control in flight. It is awkward on the ground but maneuverable in the air. The indexed guide account describes an omnivore that can live on plant food and lays eggs one at a time. These features provide a practical animal behind its striking dragon-like outline; the comparison does not grant it a fire breath or magical speech.

Pairs of small riders can operate a raken using reins and leg pressure, making the animal a messenger and reconnaissance platform. The novels repeatedly use that role to explain how Seanchan forces locate troops and communicate across a campaign. Segani's near-disaster at an exploding gateway is one individual flight incident, not a universal resistance to explosions. The later White Tower raid includes both raken and to'raken, whose differing speed and carrying capacity matter to the operation. The two names are thus separate trained animals with overlapping use, not singular and plural forms of one word.

First appearances & development

The Great Hunt (1990) depicts Seanchan flyers at Falme; The Fires of Heaven supplies a further visible creature account in chapter 32. The 1997 guide develops handling and anatomy. Later raids belong to the completed literary cycle, with Sanderson co-authoring The Gathering Storm rather than every early novel.

Canon & continuity

Encyclopaedia WoT locates scouting, Segani and the White Tower operation by chapter. The public Raken revision describes the guide-derived body and controls. Their actual creature entries are reference-mediated, while the primary novels are specifically named. Raken are not classified as Shadowspawn or as proof that the empire has literal fire-breathing dragons.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   The Great Hunt

   Robert Jordan · 1990

   Chapters 44 and 47: scouting and army flyers around Falme.

2. 02

   The Fires of Heaven

   Robert Jordan · 1993

   Chapter 32: Rand and Aviendha's Seanchan sighting.

3. 03

   The Path of Daggers

   Robert Jordan · 1998

   Chapter 6: Segani at the exploding farm gateway.

4. 04

   The Gathering Storm

   Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson · 2009

   Chapters 36 and 40–41: the combined White Tower aerial raid.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. ReferenceEncyclopaedia WoT - RakenResearch access: 2026-10-05
2. ReferenceA Wheel of Time Wiki - RakenResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.