Age of Legends
From A Wheel of Time Wiki
The Age of Legends, also called the Second Age, is the name given to the time preceding the Time of Madness and the Breaking of the World. During this time, channelers were far more common and Aes Sedai - trained channelers, both male and female - were able to make angreal, sa'angreal, and ter'angreal, and sometimes held important civic positions. One of the most powerful institutions in the world was the Hall of Servants, to which all channelers were accountable. The most powerful Aes Sedai in the Hall was Lews Therin Telamon, also called 'Dragon' by his followers.
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[edit] Social Order
Long ago people had stopped thinking of the ideas of material wealth. Since so much was in abundance no one lacked anything, material wealth was plentiful and easy to acheive. But having status in the eyes of the community as a whole was everything, and could only be gained by service to it. Everyone was born with two names, and only through service to the community could one gain their third name. All were important to this world, from the great to the small. All who wanted to work had work and no one starved or was made over.
[edit] Government
Not much survives in the way of records of the world governments. There were global parliaments and councils that somehow interacted with one another to come to decisions. It is uncertain how much area or population these bodies presided over, although it is thought to be substantial.
[edit] The Role of Aes Sedai
These men and women were able to channel the One Power and were very important in the Age of Legends. They ruled their own membership at the Hall of Servants but did not rule the population as a whole. They could run for local government positions, but being a channeler was not a prerequisite. For their accomplishments they were afforded much respect. Since they comprised only three percent of the population, there were truly not as many as usually perceived. Although their knowledge was extensive, the truly powerful could perform what seemed like miracles. Not all Aes Sedai worked in the use of the One Power; many chose not to, or simply used the One Power to augment their research into more mundane works.
[edit] Da'shain Aiel
Often these people were servants of the Aes Sedai, following the Way of the Leaf; taking an oath to harm no one, not even in defense of their own lives.
[edit] Technology and Research
[edit] Research
While Aes Sedai were at the forefront of many research projects, the One Power was used as a way to a solution, not the solution. In this way Aes Sedai were not expected to maintain machines and just assisted in research using the One Power to makes things go smoother.
[edit] Waste
Since waste could be broken down on the submolecular level the word 'pollution' was unheard of.
[edit] Energy
Energy for vehicles could be transported and received by anyone with the proper equipment, thus no one would ever run out of energy for a vehicle or machine.
[edit] Transportation
The most common form of transportation in the Age of Legends was the simplest, walking. But when distances and burdens did not allow for this, large cars utilizing anti-gravity technology were used. Jo-cars, jumpers and hoverflies had much smaller carrying capacity. Sho-wings were used to cover large distances by flying through the air. These also came in different shapes and sizes though the delta wings was the most common. Some able to transport a few hundred people to small ones for personal use. Aes Sedai and those assisting them often used the One Power for Traveling.
[edit] Entertainment
A bloodless game called swords was popular, which modern Blademasters are thought to gain their named movements from. It was also possible to watch stories in your home, most likely with projection screens. Objects called view walls have been spoken of, which is a wall which displays an image on it.
[edit] Communication
The same technology that is used with the stories is used here, making the person appear in front of you to make conversation. Everyone had a contact sequence that could be used as long as they had a similar machine to call with. A three-dimensional logo was displayed if a person would rather not be seen.
[edit] Common Technology
Just odd known objects or things that anyone had acess to. Fancloth, now used by Warders, created an almost perfect camouflage effect. Streith, a shimmering material that changed color to match the wearer's mood, was used in high-fashion clothing. Glowbulbs created light and never needed recharging, and heat exchangers gave every building a perfect temperature. Stasis boxes, which perfectly preserved what was stored inside of them, were also common. Weather was controlled using several ter'angreal for optimal crop conditions.
[edit] Geography
No maps survive of the world before the Breaking. However, it was clearly a very different place. For example, Shayol Ghul was then an island located in a cool sea which was a tourist destination. The Sand Hills in Andor were then located on the shores of a large sea. What appears to be a seaport city has been sighted in the upper reaches of the Spine of the World.
It is also stated that Lews Therin's cloak of exotic fabric had been brought from "across the World Sea," an ocean which Ishamael states is similar to the Aryth Ocean in size and scope.
It is unknown if the world retained the same geography in the Age of Legends that it had in the First Age (i.e., it still resembled how the world looks today), or if some earlier calamity had altered the geography again between these two ages.
[edit] The Great Cities
Architecture was heavily influenced by the Power. Using the concepts and technologies gained by it, truly breathtaking and beautiful buildings were created. These were evident in the following great cities, ordered by importance and population:
- Paaran Disen
- M'Jinn
- Comelle Adanzan
- Adanza
- Mar Ruois
- V'saine
- Jalanda
- Emar Dal
- Paral
- Halidar
- Kemali
- Tsomo
- Nasalle
- Devaille
- Tzora
