The Gathering Storm Read-Through #29: Chapter 26 - A Crack in the Stone

By Linda
Aviendha POV This chapter compares Aes Sedai and Wise Ones on leadership, ranking, graduation, duty, ambition, and self-confidence. Aviendha grudgingly grants that Bashere’s troops are well-trained and efficient. Saldaeans campaign a lot and are modelled on semi-nomadic Central Asian horse people. Aiel are similar to Berber, American First Nations, and Zulu tribes people. Aiel take only soldiers (an error: should be warriors or spears) and Wise Ones (presumably for Healing and negotiating) when they go to war. Aviendha is disgusted at camp followers and also those who shirk work or don’t look after themselves efficiently. It is why she and other Aiel despise servants. Sand-staring sounds like depression or a similar mental illness and is regarded as useless. Aiel society is ruthless in its demands of a person’s best on all occasions, with no whining, because their environment is so harsh and life is precarious. All must contribute to the max. Aviendha herself is not working so she has no honour and is earning toh because she is not helping the Aiel pack. Purposeful vigorous work is honourable. She is now desperate to graduate as a Wise One. Aviendha is ambitious and sees the honour of being a Wise One and wants to help guide the Aiel in the Last Days. The Wise Ones are trying to shame her into fury so she stands up against them. In a way this “punishment” test has similarities to the final Aes Sedai testing of a candidate’s commitment to the Tower and desire to be Aes Sedai. It tests resolve, ambition and self-confidence, but at the end new Wise Ones are accepted as the equal of any other Wise One and expected to stand up for their own opinions, whereas Aes Sedai are ranked according to innate criteria and are expected to obey or defer to those higher-ranked than they. Curiously, Sorilea doesn’t treat any Wise One as her equal, until Amys stands up to her in Lord of Chaos. Cadsuane is more considerate of Aes Sedai below her than any other high-ranked Aes Sedai. Aviendha is so involved in her thoughts that she does not hear Min approach. Another factor is that she doesn’t want people to approach her. Min has not been Healed, even though Nynaeve was in the camp. She says she doesn’t trust any Aes Sedai and nor does Rand; they probably wonder who betrayed them and freed Semirhage. (A Wise One probably set this in motion, see here and here). Aviendha thinks Rand a skilled and lucky warrior who has earned much honour through defeating so many of the Forsaken. Where was she when Semirhage attacked? With the Wise Ones? She felt Rand’s agony when Semirhage collared him but thought it was a nightmare at first. Presumably Rand has had these for her to be fooled in this way. Aviendha is leaving Rand to deal with his problems and face his trials. She won’t join with him unless she is his equal. On the other hand Min supports him regardless and doesn’t worry about her rank, or how others see he,r or whether she has honour or not. Min doesn’t feel that close to Aviendha – not surprisingly since they are from such different backgrounds. She expected Aviendha to want to talk about their relationship with Rand (as Aviendha and Elayne did), or even fight about it. Aviendha finds Min insulting when she mentions Aviendha’s mundane activities, but refuses to consider that she is insulting Min when she patronises her on her relative defencelessness, even though she observed Min’s body language accurately. Aviendha is not averse to sharing Rand with a woman she knows well. Mins’ comments on Aviendha’s odd activity finally make Aviendha lose her temper and storm off to confront the Wise Ones. Yet Aviendha still has no idea of why she is being punished. She knows she can channel better than any Wise One, since Melaine intimated as much in The Gathering Storm, The Death of Adrin, and refuses more punishments from them. However Aviendha nearly backed down when the Wise Ones asked her if she thought she was their equal. They tried to intimidate her one last time and nearly succeeded but Aviendha continued on. She was surprised that their warm welcome showed this was the right thing to do.

"No woman is ready to join us until she has declared herself ready," Amys continued. "She must present herself as our equal." The Gathering Storm, A Crack in the Stone

A Wise One has to believe in her own mind that she has graduated. Becoming a Wise One is not a matter of putting in the time and completing assignments. Sevanna announced she was a Wise One and so they had to accept her as one. They nearly did not. Wise Ones supposedly don’t have rank; but earn honour though through their actions and judgement. Sorilea is high-ranked though. Aviendha could have been a Wise One weeks ago. The Aiel stuck to their ways despite the chaotic end-times, while the Tower hasn’t; they promoted women too fast in the Trolloc Wars and again now. The Aiel are one of the most conservative and insular Wheel of Time societies. Rhuidean has been opened but Bair doesn’t think this is sufficient reason to abandon the old ways. She is described by Sanderson as a small woman, but by Jordan as the usual Aiel size, which is tall. She is thin though. The Wise Ones still insist on a time of contemplation before Rhuidean despite the need for haste. They tell Aviendha they planned for it because they think it is really needed. Amys wants to discuss the changes to Rand with Aviendha when she returns. Time is pressing, but Aviendha did not return before Rand changed again about 19 days later. The Wise Ones’ test also teaches an apprentice much about punishment.

"A punishment is not a true punishment unless you accept it, Aviendha," Bair said, still smiling. “Remember this time you spent and the shame you felt, for it is the shame any da'tsang will know, should you consign them to their fate. And they cannot escape it simply by demanding release." The Gathering Storm, A Crack in the Stone

Which brings us to another woman who has been punished unjustly but accepted it: Shemerin. Romanda POV For all that Romanda thinks of Shemerin as still full Aes Sedai, she refers to her as a “runaway”. She responds to Shemerin’s subservient attitude. This underlines why the Wise Ones won’t graduate subservient candidates.

"A Wise One cannot allow others to step upon her," Amys said. "If she comes into the shade of our sisterhood thinking like an apprentice, then she will never see herself as one of us." "But it is important—vital, even—that each Wise One be willing to defend her own well. If she believes that she is right, she cannot let herself be shoved aside, even by other Wise Ones, no matter how aged or wise." Romanda had rarely seen a woman as determined to punish herself as this poor child. Not a child, Romanda thought. A full Aes Sedai, whatever she says. Burn you, Elaida, for turning one of us into this! Shemerin had been Yellow. Burn it, she was Yellow. The Gathering Storm, A Crack in the Stone

Shemerin is punishing herself for the shame of demotion and for running away. She has no resentment or anger to Elaida, and fully accepts her authority. Romanda agrees Shemerin is too weak a character to be Aes Sedai, but thinks there are other ways of dealing with weak Aes Sedai. Shemerin is traumatised though and embarrassed at having to admit in front of Siuan that she backstabbed Siuan. Siuan wants a map of this little known way into and out of Tar Valon. She gives an order in front of Lelaine and Romanda against the Aes Sedai ranking system and backs down – a little. Romanda didn’t want Siuan as full Aes Sedai again because she is a schemer and Romanda doesn’t like schemers. No wonder, since she came off the worst when the Blues schemed for their second Blue Amyrlin in a row: Tamra. What a contrast between the rebels and the Tower: Elaida demoted Shemerin from Aes Sedai ranks by decree for no reason except to get the Tower used to the idea of judicial demotion without stilling (stilling no longer being permanent, and anyway it is prescribed for specific crimes) and to intimidate others into obeying her. The rebels promoted Aes Sedai by decree, and when stilled Aes Sedai have their channelling abilities restored, their rights and rank are fully restored too. The senior Aes Sedai didn’t believe Egwene about Elaida’s decrees before this. Magla and Lelaine are sceptical that Shemerin was demoted for lack of poise and not disloyalty. Romanda is more savvy:

"I suspect she used poor Shemerin as an example, acclimating the White Tower to the concept of demotion. That will let her use it on those who are actually her enemies." The Gathering Storm, A Crack in the Stone

She really is wise and intelligent. Demotion is a dangerous precedent, if only because the Amyrlin shouldn’t be given that much power according to Romanda. Romanda knows Lelaine is ahead of her in the power game and prays for Egwene’s return. Egwene told them the night before of her imprisonment and forbade rescue. Lelaine is taking advantage of Sheriam being Blue. Sheriam (Keeper, a position normally above Sitters) and Siuan are Lelaine’s attendants. Magla (Sitter) is Romanda’s. This is such a contrast with the Wise Ones’ conferences. Sheriam is withdrawn and agitated; no doubt due to Mesaana’s impending deadline. Because Sheriam is there, the Blacks in theory learn of a secret way into/out of Tar Valon. Just after Romanda said the lump under the floor of her tent is not important, it splits the canvas and huge cockroaches pour through. Siuan physically swatted the first ones. The heroic Black Ajah leader Sheriam jumps on her chair. Siuan is the first to channel to kill them, even though she is the weakest there. Romanda hates to kill things with the Power, fellow Yellow Magla probably does also. The roaches were ones from Shara, so they are ‘out of place’, Wrong. Siuan dismisses the cockroaches believing, rightly, that there will be worse stuff. All that Romanda owns is burned. This really drives home to her that Egwene is right and the Last Battle is coming fast. Along with Shemerin’s demotion it makes her think about the threat of losing even more:

The Tower needed to be whole. Whatever it took. Would she be willing to bow before Elaida to make that happen? Would she put on an Accepted dress again if it would bring unity for the Last Battle? She couldn't decide. And that disturbed her nearly as much as those scuttling roaches had. The Gathering Storm, A Crack in the Stone

Romanda has said previously that the Tower is her life. She knows it is vital the Tower be whole, yet can’t decide if she would acknowledge Elaida as Amyrlin or accept demotion to Accepted if these were required for that unity (and they would be by Elaida). Yet Shemerin did. Romanda is really worried about that – what it means, what other Aes Sedai would do. Whether to put self first or not; that is the main problem of the war against the Shadow. Many people are not committed. Some are prepared to commit any deed, yes, but not to accept any sacrifice.