Aes Sedai
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—Tam al'Thor
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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, 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 and War of Power
- Main article: Collapse
- Main article: War of Power
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), but it allowed the Dark One to manipulate the darkest desires of those that lived in the Age of Legends. What followed was a general collapse of civilization over the course of 100-110 years, concluding in the War of Power. It is said that, during this time, almost half of all Aes Sedai went over to the Shadow.
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.
[edit] The Breaking
- Main article: Breaking of the World
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.
[edit] Seanchan
Before the arrival of Luthair Paendrag Mondwin, the Seanchan Continent was a place ruled by shifting alliances of dictators, and the worst among them were the women who called themselves Aes Sedai. They bore little resemblance to the Aes Sedai of the White Tower; they used the One Power in battle, enslaved the people of the continent, and killed each other for power.
One of these Aes Sedai, Deain, sought an alliance with Luthair, and gave him the knowledge to create a ter'angreal she had invented, the a'dam. She was the first victim of the device, and Luthair used the invention to create a fighting force of female channelers. Eventually, all the Seanchan Aes Sedai were captured, and made into Damane.
[edit] Westlands
Forty-seven years after the Breaking, the ajahs (then loose associations of Aes Sedai) established a seat in Tar Valon. They consolidated their power, punishing those "pretending" to be Aes Sedai. The Guide suggests that many of those punished may actually have been Aes Sedai who did not submit to the authority of the Tower. Eventually, the current hierarchy and seven Ajahs developed.
[edit] Hierarchy Among Aes Sedai
Aes Sedai rank themselves according to a strict hierarchy. Holders of certain positions rank at the top.
[edit] The Amyrlin Seat
- Main article: Amyrlin Seat
This is the leader of the Aes Sedai. She is more powerful than any monarch in the land. Theoretically, the power of the Amyrlin is absolute, but this is not the case in reality because she has to deal with the machinations of the Hall of the Tower.
[edit] The Keeper of the Chronicles
- Main article: 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. Traditionally, the Keeper comes from the same Ajah as the Amyrlin, but there have been exceptions. Two relatively recent Amyrlins, Sierin Vayu and Elaida a'Roihan, have chosen Keepers from Ajahs other than their own. Sierin, a Gray "with a touch of Red", chose a Red Keeper. Elaida had little choice but to raise a White, Alviarin, because of her help in deposing Siuan. Unlike the Amyrlin, the Keeper does not officially shed her Ajah affiliation. The Keeper wears a stole in the color of the Ajah she was raised from.
[edit] The Hall of the Tower
- Main article: Hall of the Tower
The Hall of the Tower is the deliberative body of the White Tower. It comprises 21 Sitters, three from each Ajah. The Amyrlin Seat presides over meetings of the Hall. 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. The Hall is also responsible for selecting a new Amyrlin when the office falls vacant, and can remove an Amyrlin or Keeper. In that function, they are similar to the College of Cardinals in the Vatican, which elects the new Pope.
Sitters are highly esteemed sisters who have been by their Ajahs to represent their interests in the Hall of the Tower. Each Ajah has its own method for selecting new Sitters, but the Ajah Heads generally have a significant role.
[edit] Ajah Heads
- Main article: Ajah Heads
The Ajah Heads have varying degrees of authority among their own Ajah, and no extra authority outside their Ajah.
[edit] Other Aes Sedai
Although Aes Sedai enjoy almost unrestricted power among the wider world, they have their own strict hierarchy that allows little room for deviation. The hierarchy is a custom as strong as law, and failure to defer to a higher ranking can lead to the offended sister setting the other a penance. The hierarchy is based on four factors:
- Granted authority: Where the Amyrlin sets one sister to lead a group, all in the group defer to that sister. In the Blue Ajah, and presumably most others, the Ajah Head can set a sister above others within the Ajah in the same way.
- 'Strength in the One Power Aes Sedai defer to those that are stronger in the One Power than themselves. If there is a large gap in strength, that deferral becomes obedience.
- Training Time: Where there is little difference in strength, a woman is deemed higher up in the Aes Sedai hierarchy if she spent less time as novice and Accepted than another. This may be a way of measuring pure ability among Aes Sedai, since training in the Tower involves both skill in the One Power and knowledge of non-Power information such as law, history, and the Old Tongue. Nevertheless, there is still a bias towards those who are stronger in the Power.
- Age: Lastly, where women have roughly the same strength in the One Power and the same training time, the place on the hierarchy is based on age. Older Aes Sedai are higher up in the hierarchy.
[edit] Becoming Aes Sedai
All women found by Aes Sedai who were born with the spark and all other women of appropriate age who can channel and wish to learn how are entered in the novice book to begin training. The Mistress of Novices is in charge of the training, care, and punishment of all trainees, and she has the last word regarding them. There are two levels of training: novice and Accepted.
[edit] Novices
- Main article: Novices
Novices attend classes taught by sisters and Accepted concerning the One Power. They are treated as children because they could easily harm themselves with the Power and lack the knowledge to protect themselves. They have hardly any time for themselves, because when they are not training they are usually doing chores.
Novices who have little potential in the Power or who are otherwise unsuitable to eventually become Aes Sedai are taught just enough to keep them from hurting themselves. For the others, when the Mistress of Novices determines she is ready, she is summoned to a ceremony to be raised 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. Once she starts she cannot stop, or she will be put out of the Tower.
The ceremony consists of the novice stepping unclothed through a special three-arched ter'angreal that forces her to face her fears to test her dedication to the White Tower.
[edit] Accepted
- Main article: Accepted
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 with a specialized ter'angreal. The Accepted steps in, seeks out a symbol on the ground and weaves a hundred very complex weaves while retaining perfect composure, seeking the symbol after each one. Sisters use the ter'angreal to attempt to distract; some of the distractions can be rather personal.
If an Accepted passes the test, she spends one last night in the Accepted quarters in quiet contemplation. The next day, she is brought to another ceremony with the Amyrlin and representatives of all seven Ajahs present. The Accepted then swears the Three Oaths on the Oath Rod. Once she has sworn the oaths, the Accepted is now an Aes Sedai and chooses her Ajah.
[edit] Factions Among Aes Sedai
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, a Sitter of the Red Ajah, overthrew the Amyrlin Siuan Sanche, formerly of the Blue Ajah, and was elected to the Amyrlin Seat herself;
This action created several notable factions among the Aes Sedai. These are:
- Elaida's White Tower- Those that chose to remain in the White Tower after the coup led by Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan.
- Rebel Aes Sedai- That rejected Elaida's coup and decided to support an organised resistance to her as Amyrlin.
- Unaligned Sisters- Those that do not appear to have picked either side in this conflict.
- Black Ajah- Those that secretly have allegiances to the Shadow and hence are a faction on their own with its own agenda.
There are also some sisters who are of unknown affiliation in that they have usually only been mentioned before the events of the White Tower Schism.
[edit] Parallels
The name Aes Sedai and their magical nature comes from Irish myth, specifically from the Aes Sidhi, a magical people of immense power, who commanded abilities that rivaled the gods. Jordan also used this source as part of his inspiration for the Aelfinn and Eelfinn.
Also see:
