Aes Sedai
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[edit] History
[edit] Age of Legends
- Main article: Aes Sedai (Age of Legends)
In the Old Tongue Aes Sedai means "servants of all", and the Aes Sedai of the Age of Legends lived up to this definition. They aided mankind as scientists, healers and philosophers. Women used saidar and men saidin, as today, although it is believed that channelers in the Age of Legends were much stronger, or at least more knowledgeable in the Power than their modern equivalents; it is believed that they could fly, and things that would seem miraculous today were supposedly commonplace to them. Some of their lost Talents, such as Traveling and Dreaming, have only just been rediscovered. One thing is clear, however; the greatest works were wrought by male and female channelers working together.
[edit] The Collapse
It was an Aes Sedai research team at the Collam Daan that ripped open the Dark One's Prison. The researchers, headed by Mierin Eronaile, thought they had found a power that both men and women could wield. They were not entirely mistaken(see the True Power). What followed was a general collapse of civilization over the course of several hundred years, preceeded by the War of Power. In the end, the Dragon, with the help of the Hundred Companions, sealed the Dark One and the Forsaken in his prison at Shayol Ghul, and the Dark One's final counterattack tainted saidin itself, eventually driving all male channelers mad. The female Aes Sedai could not control them, and the men rampaged across the known world, boiling oceans, raising mountains where there were none, killing countless innocents. This was the Breaking of the World. While some of the men managed to find refuge in Ogier stedding (where they could not touch the Power, and therefore could harm no one and were protected from the effects of the taint), after a time they left the stedding hoping that the taint on saidin had disappeared. It had not, and they went insane, prolonging the breaking of the world according to some. Others hold to the view that this was not as disastrous as if all the men had gone insane all at once.
[edit] After the Breaking
The female Aes Sedai organized themselves on the island of Tar Valon and built the White Tower, which the city of Tar Valon grew around. Their policies have changed since the Breaking. Though still 'servants of all', the Aes Sedai keep their own agenda. They still provide aid to any who ask, but it is said that any gift from an Aes Sedai has a price, and often one you never see coming. The Amyrlin Seat, the woman chosen to govern the Aes Sedai, became as powerful as any king, queen or legislative body. Aes Sedai divide themselves into seven Ajah sub-societies. Red Ajah sisters have traditionally taken on the role of ensuring that any man with the ability to channel would be severed ("gentled") from the Power, although any sister who comes across a male channeler may act immediately.
[edit] Achieving the Shawl
To become Aes Sedai is a long process. Girls with the spark or who can learn to channel are taken to the White Tower at a young age, usually in their teens. They start out as novices, and wear a white dress, belt, shoes, and cloak. They attend classes taught by sisters and Accepted concerning the One Power. They have hardly any time for themselves, because when they are not training they are usually doing chores. They live a spartan existence, living in small rooms with hardly any material possessions. They are governed by the Mistress of Novices, who is appointed by the Amyrlin. When Aes Sedai feel that a novice has proven herself worthy and respectful, she is summoned to a ceremony which will raise her to Accepted. She has the right to refuse the ceremony twice, but on the third time if she refuses she will be put out of the Tower. The ceremony consists of the novice walking naked through three archways, and once she starts she cannot stop, or she will be put out of the Tower. The Archways are a ter'angreal. When the novice walks through the first, she is faced with a fear from her past. She is usually bewildered and does not know how she got there, remembering nothing. When she comes out, she walks through the second archway, where she is presented with a fear from the present. The third archway is for a fear that is to come. No one knows if the fears come true, or if the world they are transported to is real. When they are in these dimensions, novices do not remember anything from their lives, and so do not always remember that the way out will only come once; this is the challenge of the ter'angreal, and some women never come back. If they channel while within the arches, the novice may burn herself out and permanently lose the ability to channel. Novices are also not allowed to speak of what they saw or did in the archways.
Once Accepted, the women have more privileges and are not usually forced to do chores. They can also wear the Great serpent ring of the Aes Sedai, but only on the ring finger of their left hand. They train harder and also teach courses to novices. They usually spend several years more as Accepted, and when they are deemed ready to become full Aes Sedai they are summoned for another testing ceremony. The Accepted is brought to a chamber where sisters cause another ter'angreal to activate. The Accepted steps in, seeks out a symbol on the ground and weaves a hundred very complex threads while retaining perfect composure. The sisters simulate distractions to try to throw her off.
[edit] The Oath Rod
If an Accepted passes the test, she is brought to another ceremony with the Amyrlin and representatives of all seven Ajahs present. The Oath Rod, a ter'angreal which is capable of binding a person to whatever oath she swears on it while channeling into it, is given to her. The Accepted then swears the Three Oaths. The Oaths were not always a part of Aes Sedai tradition, and some sisters wish it still wasn't. The Rod was first used sometime between the Trolloc Wars and the War of the Hundred Years. While sisters are bound to their Ajahs, they need a common set of goals and principles to bind sisters of every Ajah together. The candidate swears to never speak a word that is not true, never make a weapon for one man to kill another, and never to use the One Power as a weapon except against Shadowspawn, unless her life is in danger, or her Warder's, or the life of another sister. Sisters cannot break these oaths, though they can be circumvented (for instance, an Aes Sedai may deliberately put herself in danger to remove the constraint on using the Power as a weapon; likewise, she can make a statement that is misleading but technically true). Once she has sworn the oaths, the Accepted is now an Aes Sedai and chooses her Ajah.
[edit] The Hall of the Tower
The Hall of the Tower is the deliberative body of the White Tower. It is comprised of 21 Sitters, three from each Ajah. The Amyrlin Seat and her Keeper of the Chronicles are also usually present. The Hall authorizes all official policy for Tar Valon and the Aes Sedai, although some actions originate with the Amyrlin Seat. This functions as a system of Checks and balances for the White Tower.
[edit] The Keeper of the Chronicles
The Amyrlin's second-in-command, the Keeper's duties include being secretary to the Amyrlin and overseeing the offical business of the Tower. The Amyrlin chooses her upon being raised, and the appointment is for life. Traditionally, the Keeper comes from the same Ajah as the Amyrlin, but there have been exceptions. Recently, both Elaida a'Roihan (of the Tower) and Egwene al'Vere (of the Salidar rebels) have chosen Keepers from Ajahs other than their own. Unlike the Amyrlin, the Keeper does not officially shed her Ajah affiliation. Siuan Sanche's Keeper was Leane Sharif (both of the Blue); Elaida's was Alviarin Freidhein (of the White, and also Black) but is now Tarna Feir (of the Red), and Egwene's is Sheriam Bayanar (of the Blue, and possibly Black), Siuan's former Mistress of Novices. The Keeper wears a stole in the color of the Ajah she was raised from.
[edit] Sitters in the Hall of the Tower
Sitters are highly esteemed sisters who have been chosen within their Ajah to represent them and their interests in the Hall of the Tower. Their function in the tower is similar to that of senators. The Sitters in the Hall also select among the sisterhood when electing a new Amyrlin. In that function, they are similar to the College of Cardinals in the Vatican which elects the new Pope. Typically the seven secret Ajah Heads are not themselves Sitters, although the sisters from outside a particuar Ajah may belive that particular Ajah's leader to be among the Sitters.
[edit] Punishments
Aes Sedai have a few ways of punishing initiates.
- Mortification of the Flesh
- Mortification of the Spirit
- Depriviation
- Labour
[edit] Recent events
While the Aes Sedai overcame great crises such as the Trolloc Wars, the War of the Hundred Years, the Aiel War, and even a few corrupt Amyrlins, an event in 999 NE broke the Tower's unity. Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan, an ambitious sister of the Red Ajah, overthrew Siuan Sanche, the ruling Amyrlin and formerly of the Blue Ajah, and assumed the Amyrlin Seat herself; in response, the Aes Sedai split into two camps, one in support of Elaida and one in rebellion. There has historically been strife between Reds and Blues, and now the rift seems too great to be healed: there are no Blues at the White Tower supporting Elaida, and no Reds with the rebels. The other Ajahs are split between three groups: one with the rebels, one with Elaida, and one waiting to see what will happen and which side will win. The rebels made their home base in Salidar (the birthplace of one of the Blues' most celebrated Amyrlins) and gathered strength there temporarily; they have since raised Egwene al'Vere as their Amyrlin and are besieging Tar Valon in an attempt to retake the city and depose Elaida.
