The mysterious horseman in Wheel of Time is known as a Fade (and as an Eyeless) in the fantasy world created by Robert Jordan. The menacing, eyeless monster leading the Trolloc army with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth was spotted a number of times in Wheel of Time’s first three episodes. The creature was presented as one of the minions of the show’s main villain, the Dark One.
The forces of the Dark One are without a doubt the greatest threat to Wheel of Time’s main characters. Like Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) and Lan (Daniel Henney), the allies of the Dark One are clearly aware of the Dragon Reborn prophecy and the presence of the Dragon’s reincarnated form in the Two Rivers village. As a result, Moraine and the others will have to overcome quite a few obstacles in their efforts to take the Dragon Reborn to the White Tower in Tar Valon. Among the enemies that have already been revealed include the monstrous Trollocs, the Riders of Fade, and the Darkfriends (humans who have pledged their lives in service to the Dark One).
The characters haven’t fought a Fade yet, but their depiction in the books promises that they’ll make for challenging adversaries in the episodes to come. Described as “Trolloc offspring” by Lan in The Eye of the World, Fades are the creatures put in charge of the Dark One’s Trolloc armies. In the Wheel of Time books, they’re interchangeably referred to by the characters as Myrddraal, Halfmen, Fades, and the Eyeless. True to their frightening appearances, they can paralyze people with fear just with a look. Also, they can disappear at will whenever they’re under a shadow. Both of these powers have been granted to them by the Dark One. And as Moiraine says in the episode, the Trollocs will follow nearly any command issued to it by a Fade.
Fades have exceptional vision, contrary to what their lack of eyes might suggest about them. This helps them hunt their prey. They’re also quite formidable and elusive opponents, which makes killing them hard to pull off for Wheel of Time’s characters. Making this task even more difficult is the fact that they’re rarely found without their Trolloc minions. As for how powerful they actually are, Fades can typically kill large numbers of soldiers with relative ease, but can be beaten by a single, capable Aes Sedai.
Defeating Fades is instrumental to winning battles with Trollocs. It was confirmed in The Eye of the World that killing a Fade results in the abrupt and total collapse of the Trolloc army he controls. A chance to kill one may come sooner than later, considering that the Darkfriend in episode 3 mentioned that she had already sent one after Rand (Josha Stradowksi) and Mat (Barney Harris). Regardless of what happens with this particular Fade, the horsemen in Wheel of Time are sure to pose problems for Moiraine’s group throughout their long journey.