—Lord of Chaos, Chapter 12
The Salidar Six is an informal name given by fans to the six Aes Sedai who orchestrated the core of the Rebel Aes Sedai in the abandoned village of Salidar. Sometimes, this group is referred to as "Sheriam and her circle" or "Sheriam's council," which predates Egwene's council of advisors. Each sister had significant influence in her Ajah in her own right, and together were extremely effective in the shaping of events during the White Tower Schism. These women are:
- Sheriam Bayanar - ostensibly of the Blue Ajah and former Mistress of Novices under Siuan Sanche. Undoubtedly the leader of the group, she was even offered the Amyrlin Seat in exile, and the strongest in the One Power among them. Installed herself as Keeper under Egwene al'Vere, presumably with the intention of being able to steer Egwene according to the will of the Salidar Six, although her motives were later revealed to serve a darker purpose.
- Anaiya - also of the Blue Ajah. It has been speculated that she was First Selector of the Blue Ajah, and though there is no hard evidence for this, she is certainly someone to whom many Blues listen.
- Myrelle Berengari - of the Green Ajah. She is fairly young for an Aes Sedai - only raised to the shawl fifteen years ago - but has risen very far in influence. She is strong in the One Power and became Captain-General in the rebel camp.
- Beonin Marinye - of the Gray Ajah. Although one of the sisters that helped organize the rebels in the first place, she was an undercover agent for Elaida.
- Morvrin - of the Brown Ajah. Morvrin may be on the Brown Ajah Council or even First Chair, as suggested by her appearance before the Hall to put Egwene forward as Amyrlin.
- Carlinya - of the White Ajah. Held as much sway as most Sitters even before the Tower's division.
In true Aes Sedai custom, these women are all very strong in the One Power, at least before the discovery of the main characters. With a strength level of 14(2), Sheriam was one of the strongest sisters in the rebel faction with only Lelaine Akashi and Romanda Cassin being stronger. Anaiya, Carlinya, Morvrin and Myrelle are all at strength 15(3), whereas Beonin is at 16(4). It is likely that they assumed their superior strength would give them dominance over the rebellion. Although Lelaine could have presented a challenge to their authority, Romanda was not expected to have joined the cause. We also see that the only two sisters who can match Sheriam in the rebel faction, Bera Harkin and Kiruna Nachiman, were deftly maneuvered to search for the Dragon Reborn in the Aiel Waste. This does not seem accidental, but rather way to get rid of two potential rivals known to work together. Only a single known rebel sister, Maigan, is as strong as the Anaiya et al.
Activities[]
After the Tower Coup, these six sisters organized the gathering at Salidar and established themselves as the leaders of the rebellion. At this point, they enjoyed considerable authority.
Siuan convinced the six that they must give the rebellion credibility by electing their own Hall of the Tower and their own Amyrlin. The Rebel Hall was elected first: new Sitters to replace those that remained loyal to the Elaida and the White Tower. None of the circle of six became Sitters, presumably to avoid personal liability. The existence of this newly elected Rebel Hall did not hamper the clout of these women in the slightest.
—Lord of Chaos, Chapter 15
After much discussion, the Salidar Six selected Egwene to be their representative for Amyrlin because:
- She was strong in the power.
- She was not in the White Tower at the time of the coup.
- She was someone they thought they could control.
- They did not wish to become sidelined if Lelaine or Romanda became Amyrlin.
In other words, the six could pull the strings of Egwene, the perfect puppet Amyrlin, and increase their power in the matters of the Rebel Hall. Sheriam, Myrelle, and Morvrin were the three Aes Sedai who appeared before the Rebel Hall to put Egwene forward as Amyrlin.
At this time, the Salidar Six also recruited Gareth Bryne to build them an army. It is also these six who tried to learn the secrets of Tel'aran'rhiod and who sent the Rebel Spies to Tar Valon.
In the beginning, the six women dictated all that Egwene should do and agree to in the Rebel Hall, as planned. With the help of Siuan, however, Egwene gradually became free of their influence. Slowly the influence of the Salidar Six among the other sisters began to lessen. Their power was further reduced when Egwene learned of the six women's use of rebel spies placed in the White Tower, unbeknownst to the Rebel Hall. Egwene leveraged an oath of fealty from the six women, sworn in secret, for as long as Egwene was to be Amyrlin.
At Egwene's insistence, each of the six (minus Sheriam as Keeper) were nominated as representatives for each of their respective Ajahs on Egwene's Council. The only person on the council not in the Salidar Six was Nisao Dachen, representing the Yellow Ajah. Their official position was advisers to the Amyrlin. After Egwene's capture, they were left powerless without the Amyrlin present to advise. They were unable to even enter the Rebel Hall once in sitting.
Only three of the original six - Myrelle, Morvrin, and Carlinya - remained among the Rebel until the White Tower was reunited.
- Anaiya was murdered by Aran'gar the night the Rebel Hall voted to ally with the Black Tower.
- Beonin was always Elaida's undercover agent. She defected to the White Tower and betrayed the names of the Salidar spies in the White Tower to Elaida. She also taught Elaida all the newly rediscovered weaves (such as Traveling).
- Sheriam was Black Ajah. She held great influence as one of the Salidar Six (often seen as the leader of the six) and later as Keeper. It's unclear if being Black Ajah landed her into those powerful roles. She confessed to several disturbing crimes. She stole several Sleepweaver ter'angreal. Otherwise, it's unclear what orders she carried out for Mesaana and other Forsaken. Sheriam was stilled and executed along with 50 other Black Sisters in the camp before the rebels returned to the White Tower.