Born in Stedding Shangtai, Loial was the son of Elder Arent, a leader of the Ogier and
Covril, a famous speaker known throughout their society and beyond.
A long lived and highly rational people who rarely left their homeland, the Ogier were
slow and thorough, carefully studying their options before reaching a decision, with Speakers
sometimes summoned to a Great Stump where important issues were debated.
For this reason, Loial stood out among the Ogier, as he was considered irresponsibly
hasty, with some Elders remarking that he acted an hour before he thought.
A gifted treesinger, able to encourage and manipulate the growth of plant life, his father
pressured him to take this talent seriously, and dedicate himself entirely to this pursuit,
but Loial preferred to explore other interests as well, most especially his love of reading
and writing.
At the age of 90, considered young by Ogier standards, Loial feared the loss of his freedom,
as his mother was preparing to marry him off.
Although females were free to decline a marriage proposal, males took the more passive role
in relationships, and thus while single were force to abide by the decisions of their mothers,
and once married, were subject to the desires of their wives.
However Loial wished to travel and see the wider world before settling down, and so left
the stedding without permission, embarking upon a journey into human lands, where he
met and befriended Rand al’thor, a farmer’s son on his own unique adventure which ultimately
saw him named the Dragon Reborn, a prophesied hero destined to lead the fight against the
wicked armies of shadowspawn in the Last Battle.
Deciding to join Rand and his companions throughout their travels, Loial became a valueable member
of the company with a reputation for loyalty, bravery and heroism in the face of increasing
dangers.
Much to his surprise, Loial found himself involved in events of unimaginable importance,
as his new friends found themselves at the center of a great and widespread conflict,
that included a terrible blight spreading across the westlands, while the Forsaken gathered
monstrous armies in the name of their god, the Dark One Shaitan (Shayi-tan).
Using his knowledge of The Ways, secret passages used to travel between Steddings, originally
gifted to the Ogier by Male Aes Sedai during the age of legends, Loial helped his companions
move about quickly and quietly throughout the westlands, all the while documenting their
adventures in the hopws of authoring a book about all he’d seen and experienced.
Throughout this great journey, Loial met a Nym named Someshta, aka the Green Man, a famous
creature among the Ogier who died while destroying the Forsaken Balthamel.
Deeply moved after witnessing this noble sacrifice, Loial sang of a song of enchantment which
created a magical barrier around the Green Man’s remains to protect it from the Blight
fast approaching.
Though Loial was in many ways a rebel within Ogier society, he did share some traits in
common with his people, including his love of forests and plant life, as well as his
gentle demeanour and abhorrence for violence.
Yet as he travelled with his companions, the dangers around them were too great to ignore,
and so Loial found himself fighting alongside his allies in the Battle of Emond’s Field,
defending their homeland from a Trolloc invasion, and the Battle of Dumai’s Wells, where they
rescued Rand Al’thor from enemy female Aes Sedai.
When Shadowspawn started using the Ways to travel quickly throughout the lands, Loial
underwent a mission to visit every Stedding he could, informing the Ogier of the approaching
danger, leading many to start guarding these passages, while others chose to ignore his
warnings.
Eventually, Loial’s activities and growing reputation, reached the ears of his mother
Covril, who believed him a silly child partaking in nonsense.
Therefore she left Stedding Shangtai and tracked him down in order to force his marriage to
a female named Erith.
Though Loial was apprehensive about the arrangement, in truth he always had feeling for Erith,
and so quickly came to enjoy being her husband.
During the reunion with his mother, Loial learned that their people were gathering at
the Great Stump to discuss the war being waged against the Dark One.
Where, much to his disappointment, his own mother was arguing against participation,
in favour of opening the book of translation, which meant abandoning humanity to their fate.
Though the Ogier lived in these lands for thousands of years, they were originally from
another world, having used the book of translation to transport their people.
Therefore, some believed the time had come for the Ogier to once again open the book
and relocate to save themselves from the threat of this monumental war.
Although Loial was not a gifted speaker like his mother, preferring to write his thoughts,
his new wife encouraged him to bring his arguments to the Great Stump, where he spoke against
opening the book, so they might instead take up arms and fight the darkness alongside the
armies of light.
To the surprise of many, his simple eloquence was enough to sway the Ogier, who then fought
in the last battle of Tarmon Gaidon, helping the forces of his friend Rand al’Thor, now
widely recognized as the Dragon Reborn, to defeat the Shadowspawn and banish the dark
one.
Surviving the war, Loial became a scholar and released his book the Dragon Reborn, as
an account of all he witnessed.