The Storm is Coming! #12: Crime and Punishment

Crime and Punishment

By Linda


A few days ago I republished the first of two essays on the (copious!) laws and customs of the Aes Sedai Administration. And now it is the turn of the second essay, on the laws and customs pertaining to the whole Aes Sedai society; those regarding novices, Accepted, rank and file Aes Sedai, crime, punishment, war, warders, non-Aes Sedai channellers and information.

This post will focus on one particular aspect of the essay: the breaking of Tower law. Crime and punishment, in other words.

Those who have been accused of committing crimes against Tower law are supposed to be taken to the Tower for trial. All accused criminals. Even the Black sisters captured in Tear were destined for the Tower. Summary justice is not allowed.

Excuses are not accepted in Tower law:

"If anyone could break any rule they chose, do whatever they chose, and escape punishment merely by doing some good to balance it, the world would be chaos."

- Lord of Chaos, To Heal Again

Mitigating circumstances will reduce the penalty by a small amount only (Crossroads of Twilight, Prologue). An Aes Sedai who knows of a law or custom being broken by another sister and aids her, also shares in her punishment (A Crown of Swords, A Morning of Victory).

However, there is also the attitude that for custom at least:

“You must know the rules to the letter and live with them before you can know which rules you may break and when.”
That said right out that sometimes you can break the rules.

- New Spring, Practice

although some seem to interpret this too loosely. It is a sad fact that because the Aes Sedai are forced to follow the Oaths, most of them follow the Oaths to the letter and not the spirit, and have the same self-serving attitude to the law as well, as we shall see.


Interrogation

For both initiates and non-initiates, it is against Tower law to shed blood or break bones in questioning, or to allow others to do so in the Tower’s name (The Path of Daggers, A Quiet Place). Healing must be given before a session starts, and if the questioning started after sunrise, it must end before sundown; if after sunset, then before sunrise. It is illegal to use saidar in questioning an initiate of the Tower but not a non-initiate (The Path of Daggers, A Quiet Place).

Those non-initiates who break Tower law must be handed over to the Tower (New Spring, Business in the City). After their trial, they are subject to similar penalties as Aes Sedai – for example they are executed for treason, as Gareth Bryne is well aware (The Path of Daggers, Stronger Than Written Law).

The Chair of Remorse is regularly used on non-initiates guilty of non-capital crimes in Tar Valon. It is a ter’angreal which shows the criminal carefully selected consequences of their criminal acts until they are broken by their guilt (Winter’s Heart, Prologue).

It is against the law to use the One Power or the Chair of Remorse on initiates of the Tower.


Charges

There must be clear charges before an initiate of the Tower can be tried and punished. For a novice or a non-initiate to accuse a sister, these charges must be strong; unsubstantiated or unprovable charges would result in the novice being beaten by the Mistress of Novices and given a long term of Labour, while a non-initiate would also probably be beaten and forbidden access to the Tower (A Crown of Swords, A Pair of Silverpike).

Not even the Amyrlin Seat can order the arrest of a Sitter without good reason (Knife of Dreams, Call to a Sitting).


Cells

Once charged, the accused is taken to a cell to await trial. The Tower has six grill-walled (‘open’) cells in the first basement for:

men who could channel, as well as initiates of the Tower under close arrest, wilders who claimed to be Aes Sedai, and anyone else who must be both confined and blocked off from the Source.

- The Path of Daggers, Prologue

By custom a woman or man in the open cells is always shielded. These cells have reasonable living conditions (Knife of Dreams, Honey in the Tea). Those to be ‘closely confined’ are placed in small dark substandard cells.

Leane was put in the open cells because she was not recognised, and therefore assumed to be a wilder, or a false Aes Sedai. The Tower Aes Sedai have not gone out of their way to prove Egwene’s assertion that Leane is, in fact, Leane.


Trial

The summons to be tried cannot be ignored (Lord of Chaos, In the Hall of the Sitters). The summoned person is not told of the charges, but is commanded to obey the summons promptly and without questioning why they are summoned (Lord of Chaos, Summoned in Haste).

In the trial, three Aes Sedai judges sit opposite the accused with the Seat of Rebuke (prosecuting Aes Sedai) on the judges’ right and the Seat of Pardon (defending Aes Sedai) to their left (A Crown of Swords, The First Cup). For some charges the Chair of Pardon faces the same penalty as the accused she defends (Knife of Dreams, Prologue). (This may be the case for the charge of falsely claiming to be Amyrlin).


Crime

Some serious crimes are:

• Allegiance to the Shadow: This is a capital offence. Aes Sedai who abandon the ideals of the Tower and the Light to become servants of Shaitan - Satanists - could be considered apostate since they no longer follow the dogma of the Light, and also treasonous since they betray the Tower and the sisterhood to the Shadow. (Plus they usually commit other crimes such as murder.)
  
  Members of both the rebel and the Tower Aes Sedai have let known Darkfriends run loose. While the Black Ajah hunters have good reason to delay public charges of the Black sisters they have exposed (namely not to alert the Black Ajah), and have bound them with the Oath Rod, Egwene, Nynaeve and Elayne did not report Moghedien for a much lesser reason, thinking the a’dam would be sufficient to hold her, and she was set free.
  
  On the other hand, refusing to inform the Hall of an action due to suspicion that one or more Sitters might be Black Ajah would result in severe punishment.



• Assaulting the Amyrlin: The penalty for assaulting the Amyrlin is execution. Cadsuane is rumoured to have done this and Alviarin certainly has.



• Blackmail: A serious crime that at the least results in a non-initiate being refused access to the Tower and a novice being put out of the Tower once she has learned enough to control her channelling (A Crown of Swords, A Pair of Silverpike). Corporal punishment is also likely. We have seen quite a lot of blackmail among Aes Sedai: Nicola and Ariena coercing Myrelle and Nisao for special treatment, and attempting to blackmail Egwene, Egwene blackmailing Sheriam’s group to swear fealty to her, Alviarin blackmailing Elaida to swear obedience, and someone (possibly Lelaine) blackmailing Sheriam to pass on information about Egwene’s plans. Both Romanda and Lelaine threatened Egwene to have the Hall remove even more of her authority unless she named them to speak with the Andoran and Murandian nobles in her place. Lelaine is coercing Siuan and the other Aes Sedai sworn to Egwene to help Lelaine become Amyrlin or she will inform the Hall what they have been up to.



• Collusion: This occurs when Sitters have a secret arrangement among themselves to vote a certain way, or conspire to in order to obtain a particular decision in the Hall. Open political alliances in the Hall are not collusion, merely everyday politics. The Ajah Heads conspiracy – a secret arrangement among themselves to influence selection of Sitters for the Hall – is probably collusion, as is Lelaine’s attempts to get herself elected Amyrlin. Romanda threatened to tell the Hall that Lelaine did a deal with the Grey Sitters wanting to send Merilille to Ebou Dar. The secret sitting of the Hall to depose Siuan and raise Elaida about which only 11 Sitters were informed and the other 10 kept in the dark (rather than just the 3 Sitters of the Amyrlin's former Ajah) is arguably collusion.
  
  Collusion is almost as serious as a charge of treason, and is tried in the Hall, where it requires only the lesser consensus to be passed (The Path of Daggers, Unexpected Absences).



• Compulsion: The use of the Power to force someone to do your bidding has been forbidden since the Tower’s founding (The Path of Daggers, Prologue). Verin did this to the captured members of Elaida’s embassy. The forcible swearing of an oath of obedience on the Oath Rod, as the Black Ajah hunters made the Black sisters and ferrets do, would probably be considered Compulsion (Crossroads of Twilight, Prologue) or close enough to it. However, compelling one’s Warder to a mild degree is not a crime. Lelaine and Maigan suggested that the Asha’man be bonded with a variant of the Warder bond that included control by, and obedience to, the Aes Sedai, which Egwene said smacked of Compulsion. Bonding a man against his will, or passing his Bond to another without his knowledge, is also close to Compulsion (or might be regarded as rape, which is also presumably a serious crime).



• Disobeying the Amyrlin: This is probably not a very serious crime although that might depend on what the Amyrlin ordered. Moiraine expected sisters would be sent to bring anyone guilty of disobeying the Amyrlin for a second time to the Tower for punishment (New Spring, An Arrival). It is not only the rebels who disobeyed Elaida’s command to return to the Tower, as Bera pointed out in A Crown of Swords, Diamonds and Stars, so has Cadsuane and her faction.



• Falsely Claiming to be Aes Sedai: Women who claim to be Aes Sedai but have not been initiated fully, if at all, cannot follow Aes Sedai laws and customs, or dogma. They are thus an heresy, which is why their treatment is so harsh. Elayne, Egwene and Nynaeve did this to be taken seriously. When Siuan gave them their task, she was aware they would have to do so.



• Fomenting Discord: The undermining of Tower unity is a serious charge under Tower law (A Crown of Swords, A Morning of Victory), since it could incite rebellion. Egwene’s comments on the poor leadership in the Tower and mention of past mutinies would probably be regarded as fomenting discord. Siuan’s and Leane’s lies about the Red Ajah setting up Logain as a false Dragon would certainly be regarded as fomenting discord, and so probably would the ferrets’ actions in spreading these lies (even though they believe them to be true) in the White Tower. Sheriam’s six are also guilty of fomenting discord by sending the ferrets to the Tower. Delana’s attempts to drive a wedge between the rebel Ajahs, and between the rebel Sitters and their Ajah Heads, is also fomenting discord. Many of Elaida’s decrees under Alviarin’s coercion are also arguably fomenting discord. After all Alviarin designed them to be.



• Kidnapping: The capture and confinement of Black Sisters without proper charges is still kidnapping, a serious crime (Knife of Dreams, Prologue) as the Black Ajah hunters are aware. Lelaine confined Faolain to interrogate her (Knife of Dreams, When Last Sounds).



• Male Channelling: Channelling is a crime for men due to the danger they pose to others and they are cut off from the One Power – gentled – in the Traitor’s Court. They are effectively regarded as heretical or even apostate and often treated harshly. The Amyrlin must give the order for a man to be gentled. This law may be (eventually) repealed now that saidin is clean.
  
  Gentling a man without bringing him to the Tower for a trial is a serious crime. While it is known that Red Sisters committed such crimes during the reigns of Sierin Vayu and Marith Jaen, none were able to be charged, so the Red Sitters were unchaired and punished as representatives of the guilty Ajah.



• Murder: Murder is among the most serious crimes. Black sisters have committed murders, but some other, supposedly better behaved Aes Sedai, have wished for, or considered, the deaths of people who are inconvenient. Siuan thought Nicola and Ariena should be killed, for instance. Red Sisters murdered Sierin Vayu (according to Chesmal Emry), although none were charged, and the Red Sitters may have been unchaired and punished as representatives of the guilty Ajah for this crime as well as that of illegally gentling men.



• Reading the Amyrlin’s secret correspondence: For anyone other than the Amyrlin, breaking a seal on something labelled ‘Sealed to the Flame’ is as serious as assaulting the Amyrlin's person or committing treason (A Crown of Swords, A Morning of Victory and Sealed to the Flame).



• Rebellion: Rebellion is a split among the Aes Sedai in which Aes Sedai customs and laws, or dogma, are still accepted and followed – just not the leadership. It is thus not an heresy, but a schism. As has been discussed earlier, schisms have occurred in the Catholic Church, and those who sever themselves from the communion of the Church and yet believe the Church’s dogma are sometimes thought of as rebellious (Catholic Encyclopaedia). The penalty for schism in the Catholic Church is excommunication. By Tower law, a schism – rebelling against the Amyrlin - is considered treasonous. Freeing a deposed Amyrlin from the cells – and thus rejecting the leadership of the newly elected Amyrlin - is considered rebellion (Lord of Chaos, Prologue). Laras, Min and Gawyn all helped free Siuan and Leane. Denying an Amyrlin’s authority or command is rebellious, as Elayne pointed out to Merilille in Ebou Dar A Crown of Swords, The First Cup.
  
  Rebellion has occurred more than once in the history of the Tower or it would not be a crime. Many (most?) of the Tower’s rebellions were in the distant past, since Elaida thinks of ‘ancient rebellions’.
  
  Captured rebels are confined and placed on a diet of bread and water until they are returned to the Tower for trial (A Crown of Swords, A Touch on the Cheek). The leaders of rebellions are likely to be stilled and possibly executed and any woman claiming to be Amyrlin Seat on the losing side (falsely claiming to be Amyrlin) must be stilled. The minimum penalty in law for rebellion is to be birched in the Grand Hall before the assembled sisters, followed by at least a year and a day in public penance (A Crown of Swords, Prologue). Novices and Accepted caught up in the losing side of a rebellion are likely to be set to unpleasant labour such as mucking out stalls (A Crown of Swords, The Triumph of Logic).



• Running Away: This is a serious crime for a novice (or Accepted) and the penalty is a birching and to be strictly disciplined for at least a year (Winter’s Heart, Sea Folk and Kin). If an exiled Aes Sedai runs away she is hunted as a renegade (Winter’s Heart, Prologue). Shemerin, a demoted Aes Sedai ran away. There are runaways among the Kin.



• Theft: The appropriation of someone’s property by stealth or force – even property the Tower regards as belonging to the Tower such as ter‘angreal in private hands - attracts a fairly harsh penance for the guilty Aes Sedai (Knife of Dreams, A Short Path). However, hypocritically, the ter’angreal might not be returned to its original owner. Joline seemed tempted to swipe Mat’s medallion. Ter’angreal that Aes Sedai obtain and don’t turn in to the Hall are also stolen property, since all ter’angreal, no matter where they are, are regarded as property of the Hall. Cadsuane and Verin are guilty of this.



• Treason: Those judged guilty of treason – betraying the Tower or its leadership – are executed, whether initiates or non-initiates of the Tower. Countermanding an order from the Amyrlin, aiding a deposed and jailed Amyrlin’s escape, allying with the Dragon Reborn, commanding the Hall’s army and concealing the existence of, or making arrangements with, a rival army without the Hall’s knowledge or permission (The Path of Daggers, Stronger Than Written Law), or being the oathsworn general of an army for the losing side in a Tower rebellion are all considered treason. Even remaining silent too long when instructed by the Amyrlin to report could be seen as treason (A Crown of Swords, The Triumph of Logic). Alviarin has countermanded Elaida’s orders, Gawyn, Laras and Min helped Siuan and Leane escape and two groups of Aes Sedai have sworn fealty to the Dragon Reborn. The rebel leadership has warned Gareth Bryne that some of his arrangements, such as with Talmanes, have been of questionable legality. Teslyn refused to report to Elaida due to resentment over her demotion. Really, the laws against treason are more honoured in the breach than the observance.
  
  It is also treason to reveal the existence of the Thirteenth Depository, any of its contents or the law regarding it. Siuan only told Egwene about the Thirteenth Depository when Egwene was Amyrlin, therefore Siuan did not commit treason because Egwene was entitled to know of it. However, Egwene’s revelation of the existence of the depository, its law and some of its contents to the rank-and-file Aes Sedai is treason. It doesn't matter if Egwene is considered a novice or an Amyrlin or anything in between; she has committed treason.

It’s a wonder the reader hasn’t been deafened by the noise of the amount of laws being broken.

Punishment

A Sitter guilty of a crime is unchaired prior to her punishment.

• Labour, Deprivation, Mortification of the Flesh (beating), and Mortification of the Spirit: These punishments are penances to atone for misdemeanours and breaking rules. An Aes Sedai can be set such a penance for violating customs of courtesy and the Tower hierarchy, allowing a woman to falsely claim to be Aes Sedai (A Crown of Swords, The Triumph of Logic) or helping an Accepted cheat in the test for the shawl (New Spring, Shreds of Serenity).
  
  Offered a choice of penances, an Aes Sedai is under a dilemma: labouring to rake garden paths for a month is time-consuming and humiliating, but a strapping from the Mistress of Novice, while over quickly, is very painful (The Path of Daggers, An Unwelcome Return).
  
  No Aes Sedai, even one in the cells, can be set a penance or ordered punished by another sister purely because she annoyed her – she must have violated a custom in her behaviour to the sister or the sister must be in an official position of authority (Knife of Dreams, Honey in the Tea) to set her a penance. By custom, the penance for not deferring as required is set by the offended sister and is usually stiff – at least a month or two of Labour or Deprivation, possibly Mortification of the Spirit or Mortification of the Flesh.
  
  Novices and Accepted are usually given extra chores (Labour) or corporal punishment (Mortification of the Flesh) by the Mistress of Novices for their minor misdemeanours. Novices and Accepted who refuse every order are likely to be confined to a cell (deprivation) (Knife of Dreams, Honey in the Tea). The second last penalty for intractable novices and Accepted is exile to hard labour on an isolated farm and the final punishment is being put out of the Tower (New Spring, The Itch).



• Birching: Birching involves the person being stripped, stretched tight on a triangle – in the New Spring graphic novel #5 this is shown to be a pyramid - and then flogged while the initiates of the Tower watch. As a deterrent to others, a ward may be woven over the area to hold in the punished person’s howls (New Spring, Changes). The Traitor’s Court and the Grand Hall are two places birching takes place. Crimes for which birching may be the punishment include rebellion, running away (for novices and Accepted), gentling and/or killing a male channeller without taking him to Tar Valon for trial, Compulsion and punishing or coercing another with the Power. It often precedes exile.



• Exile: Initiates of the Tower may be exiled to hard labour on an isolated farm for short to long periods. Those who do not accept their exile and run away are hunted as renegades (Winter’s Heart, Prologue). Crimes for which exile is the likely punishment include manipulating and lying to groups of Aes Sedai or the Tower executive (Lord of Chaos, To Heal Again), making decisions without informing the Hall because some might be Darkfriends (The Path of Daggers, Unexpected Absences), using the Chair of Remorse on initiates, gentling and/or killing a male channeller without taking him to Tar Valon for trial, intractability in novices and Accepted, and being a Sitter of an Ajah whose members murdered an Amyrlin they believed was endangering their Ajah or the Tower (The Path of Daggers, The Extra Bit).
  
  Women who might be a source of division in the Tower, such as one who was almost elected Amyrlin Seat and her sponsors, are usually exiled (Lord of Chaos, In the Hall of the Sitters).



• Stilling: Stilling is the judicial cutting of a woman’s ability to channel the One Power; for men it is called gentling. It is effectively a demotion for Aes Sedai and usually takes place in the Traitor’s Court. The Amyrlin must order the stilling/gentling and thirteen Aes Sedai perform it. Comparatively few women have been stilled since:
  
  

  this punishment is rarely executed except for the most extreme crimes against the Tower. As a warning, all novices are required to learn the name and crimes of all women who have suffered stilling within the White Tower’s history. Until recently, no women had been judicially stilled in over one hundred years.
  
  - The World of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time,
  
  

  Crimes for which stilling is the likely penalty include using, perhaps even knowing how to weave, balefire (The Dragon Reborn, Hunters), large scale use of Compulsion (The Path of Daggers, Prologue), channelling if a man, leaving a male channeller to go free, falsely claiming to be the Amyrlin Seat, or leading a rebellion.
  
  Aes Sedai to be executed are usually stilled first for three reasons: the great pain of stilling is an additional punishment, it is a security measure more appealing to Aes Sedai than holding a shield until the axe falls, and most importantly, the condemned does not go to the block as an Aes Sedai.



• Execution: Execution in the form of beheading takes place in the Traitor’s Court under an order from the Amyrlin. Crimes for which execution is the likely penalty include assaulting an Amyrlin, treason, revealing information Sealed to the Flame, being a Darkfriend, falsely claiming to be Amyrlin and probably murder.

The Storm is Coming! #11: Too Many Amyrlins: What a Witches' Brew!

Too Many Amyrlins: What a Witches' Brew!

By Linda

In 2005-6, after some lengthy and productive discussions with Dominic, I decided to compile everything I could find about the laws and customs of the Aes Sedai. Just about everything Aes Sedai do is according to, or influenced by, custom or law, and consequently there are a great many of both; so many that I ended up with two large essays: one on the laws and customs of the Aes Sedai administration and the other on those regarding all initiates of the Tower.

The first of these essays, Aes Sedai Laws and Customs: Administration, is now republished here on the Thirteenth Depository and contains information on the customs and laws of Tar Valon, the Ajahs, the Amyrlin and Keeper, the Hall and Sitters, and the Mistress of Novices, with real world comparisons where appropriate.


In this post I wish to look at some pertinent aspects of the laws regarding the Amyrlin.

Currently the Aes Sedai have an embarrassing abundance of Amyrlins and scheming-Amyrlins-in-waiting. Some are rather better behaved than others, but the fact remains there should only be one of them. (With the wannabes firmly under control.) How do the Aes Sedai legally get rid of unwanted Amyrlins?

Of course, first they have to figure out which one/s they don’t want, and which one they do!

Raising an Amyrlin

Strictly speaking, neither Elaida nor Egwene are legal Amyrlins, since neither had all Ajahs represented when they were elected. However, Elaida can claim that the Blues have since abandoned the Tower. Her decree disbanding the Blue Ajah is probably as much political necessity as a result of her hatred of the Blues, allowing her Hall to pass proposals requiring the greater consensus (and there has been at least one of these, see below).

During the ceremony to raise the Amyrlin, the candidate and her three sponsors mutually pledge heart, soul and life for each other (Lord of Chaos, In the Hall of the Sitters). This implies that unsatisfactory behaviour of one of her sponsors can affect an Amyrlin’s reign (or life) and that of an Amyrlin her sponsors’ careers or lives. Egwene’s sponsors were: Sheriam, Morvrin and Myrelle. We don’t know who Elaida’s were, if she even had any (they seem to have skimped on ceremony a bit due to subterfuge and haste); possibly two of them were the other two Red Sitters, Pevara and Teslyn, but that still leaves one other. It would be most interesting if one (or more!) of Elaida’s sponsors was exposed as Black.

It is expected that a new Amyrlin chooses her Keeper and Mistress of Novices from the Amyrlin’s former Ajah, although there is no law or custom for this. Such favouritism is equivalent to nepotism in the Catholic Church, where in former centuries Popes (the closest real world equivalent of the Amyrlin) would install a nephew as their Cardinal Camerlengo or Private Secretary. Popes unable to do this were weak ones yielding to the most powerful faction in the College of Cardinals, as Elaida installed Alviarin as Keeper to gain the support of the White (and the Black) Ajah in the Hall (The Fires of Heaven, Prologue).

Nepotism is a difficult issue for Amyrlins; on one hand they are expected to appoint officials from their former Ajah and to have an ideology and leadership style consistent with their former Ajah, and on the other, they are considered to be of no Ajah, favouring none.


Authority

The Amyrlin's word is law and has been for over 3000 years (The Great Hunt, Summoned). The Amyrlin can issue any decree she wishes, and we have seen three young Amyrlins each make decrees which contravened laws or customs and yet were accepted. They suffered political difficulties, because there are checks and balances to the Amyrlin’s power in the form of the Hall and perhaps also the Ajah Heads. The Hall seldom dares infringe far on the Amyrlin Seat’s authority, unless it is united against the Amyrlin ( Crossroads of Twilight, A Mark).

The Amyrlin can lose authority, especially with the Hall, by going against custom and law (Lord of Chaos, The Amyrlin is Raised) or making unwise decisions. She may find herself forced into taking on a public penance (A Crown of Swords, Prologue), or be unable to get the Hall to accept or act on her decrees, or have her activities restricted (A Crown of Swords, A Pair of Silverpike), or even be deposed or forced to resign. This could happen to either Egwene or Elaida, or both. One advantage the Amyrlin has is that whatever the Hall votes, none of the proposals can be carried forward without a decree from her (The Path of Daggers, Unexpected Absences). If Egwene wasn’t highly skilled in Tel’aran’rhiod and thus able to convene her Hall there, she would have already been deposed due to not being able to fulfill the duties of her office. Lelaine alone would have seen to that.

The Hall’s authority is not far short of the Amyrlin’s and an invitation to the Hall is actually a summons (Crossroads of Twilight, A Chat with Siuan). The Hall can conduct trials, determine failure, lay blame and propose punishment of Aes Sedai and, most importantly for this post, it can depose an Amyrlin, or pressure her to resign.

It is the Hall’s place to negotiate with dissenting groups of Aes Sedai and resolve rebellion ( Crossroads of Twilight, A Mark), or with non-Aes Sedai groups, and also to decide whether to continue using the Oath Rod ( Crossroads of Twilight, What the Oath Rod Can Do). The Halls will shortly have to do all of these things.

There is also much political rivalry between the Amyrlin Seat and the Hall:

While the Amyrlin Seat is by law the absolute power in the White Tower, in fact her power has always depended on how well she could lead, manage or intimidate the Hall, as there are many ways that the Hall can balk any Amyrlin's plans.

- A Crown of Swords Glossary

Tower law provides a way to forestall these shenanigans when the Tower has declared war: the Amyrlin directs the war by decree and the Hall must approve any decree regarding the war with the greater consensus and carry them out as promptly as possible (The Path of Daggers, The Law). Strictly speaking, the rebels are under martial law, and so must obey Egwene regarding the prosecution against Elaida. Of course, arguing over what does and doesn’t comprise orders about the war is a great way to slow things right down…

If the Amyrlin finds the Hall unworkable, she

may call for any Sitter to resign her chair, or indeed for all to, and that call must be heeded. This is seldom done, however, as nothing stops an Ajah from returning the same Sitter or Sitters except a custom that sisters not serve again in the Hall after leaving it. As an indication of how serious such a call for mass resignation would be, it is reliably believed that it has happened exactly four times in the more than three-thousand-year history of the White Tower, and that while two of those resulted in the selection of an entirely, or nearly, new Hall, the other two resulted in the resignation and exile of the Amyrlin involved.

- A Crown of Swords, Glossary

So dismissing the entire Hall is risky and thus only a last resort. Elaida’s belief that the Amyrlin has absolute power may make her foolishly arrogant enough to consider unseating her Hall in this way. Interestingly, mutiny of the rank-and-file Aes Sedai against the Hall and Amyrlin has occurred six times (see below), which is more often than mass resignation.


Resignation of the Amyrlin

Resignation has happened in times of rebellion, or turbulence and stalemate with the Hall and when the rank and file Aes Sedai mutinied against the Hall and Amyrlin, although we have no information on the procedure. In the Catholic Church the resignation of the Pope has been the typical means for ending schisms. In 1417, at the end of the Great Western Schism, one Pope resigned and the other Pope and an antipope were deposed. As I showed in my recent post A Waste of Aes Sedai, the Aes Sedai are under a schism and it may be that one or more of the Amyrlins will resign or be pressured to in order to end it.


Deposing an Amyrlin

This requires the greater consensus in the Hall: a minimum of eleven Sitters with the presence of at least one Sitter from each Ajah except the Amyrlin’s former Ajah (which won’t be informed of the vote until afterwards) and all Sitters standing in favour (A Crown of Swords, Glossary). It is not done without good reasons and the Amyrlin is supposed to be publicly charged and tried first, and given the opportunity to defend herself against the charges (The Fires of Heaven, The Practice of Diffidence). Elaida broke custom, and came very close to breaking law, in the way she had Siuan deposed summarily (The Path of Daggers, Unexpected Absences).

An Amyrlin can expect to be deposed for hiding one of the Forsaken from justice, as Egwene did with Moghedien, and for unsuccessful scheming and large scale failures such as kidnapping the Dragon Reborn (or unsuccessfully attempting to do so) or sending a large, but inadequate, number of sisters to capture male channellers so that they are captured instead (The Path of Daggers, An Unwelcome Return), as Elaida has done. It is considered probably too harsh a penalty for not informing the Hall of the Dragon Reborn and hiding him from the Tower (The Fires of Heaven, The Practice of Diffidence) as Siuan did. Either Egwene or Elaida are at risk of being deposed: Elaida for outrageous and divisive decrees and the failure of her missions, Egwene for being captured and because Lelaine really wants her job badly enough to commit serious crimes, as we will see in my next post in a couple of days’ time.

Deposed Amyrlins are often stilled as well, if they broke serious laws or brought the Tower into disrepute. The Aes Sedai try to ensure that a deposed Amyrlin will not be a rival to any new Amyrlin.


False Amyrlins

The whole matter of being a deposed Amyrlin is really serious during a schism. There have been rebellions which raised their own Amyrlin, an equivalent to schisms in the Catholic church which elected antipopes. A false Amyrlin, by definition the Amyrlin of the losing side, must be stilled and executed by law (Knife of Dreams, Prologue). Such an extreme penalty alone would not encourage any Amyrlin in this situation to concede her position for another.


Convening the Hall

Either the Amyrlin or one or more Sitters may convene the Hall. The minimum number of Sitters for a legal session of the Hall, a quorum, is eleven (Knife of Dreams, Call to a Sitting) and they can commence once the quorum is reached.

For the greater consensus, at least one Sitter from each Ajah is required, with a minimum of eleven Sitters present and every Sitter who is present must stand (A Crown of Swords, Glossary). The greater consensus is required for the Amyrlin’s decrees regarding the war when the Tower has declared war, for raising an Amyrlin, and for the removal of an Amyrlin or Keeper (in which case their former Ajah is not represented).

Of course there might have to be a certain amount of urging for the removal of an Amyrlin to be considered. Both Halls, particularly that of the White Tower, have been disunited, and barely able to make any decisions.

Note that neither Hall has one Sitter from each of the seven Ajahs. Elaida is two Ajahs down, since the Red Sitters are also (or will be) absent from the Tower Hall for a time, but they wouldn’t be called to the Sitting which would consider deposing Elaida. Of course their very absence may give the other Sitters the opportunity to discuss this very issue. However, ideally the next Amyrlin of the united Tower would be freely elected by Sitters of all seven Ajahs.

Elaida managed to achieve the greater consensus and get Keeper Alviarin removed, due to declaring the Blue Ajah disbanded.


Failure

If the Hall and Amyrlin of either side remain locked in turmoil or stalemate, so that inconsistent or ill-advised decisions are made, or even none at all, the sisters can mutiny – rise up and force the Hall and Amyrlin to resign as has happened six times previously in Tower history (A Crown of Swords, A Morning of Victory) according the the secret histories. Neither the Amyrlin nor the Hall is immune to being held accountable.

So if all else fails…

Dragonmount announces Storm Leaders Winners

Jason and Jennifer from Dragonmount finished yesterday the final selection of the Storm Leaders for the upcoming The Gathering Storm book tour, without a doubt the coolest TGS contest around, and have now announced the winners.

These 141 lucky people will get the chance to meet privately Brandon, or even Brandon and Harriet, at the signings.

We wished we could have participated, but geography played against us for this one.

Congratulations to the 141 winners. We sure hope all of you have a great time with this, and that a few among our readers have made the selection, and come to the forums to share with us the experience.

The Storm is Coming! #10: The Borderlands' Who's Who, part 2

On the frontline of Shadow and Light: The Borderlands.
The Borderlands' Who's Who, part 2

by Dominic

Following up on our first recapitulation article about the Borderlands, here's the second and last part of the Borderlands's Who Who, dealing with characters scattered in various storylines.

The list is not exhaustive but includes the players we either found most significant… or easiest to have forgotten about:


A few significant Bordermen in various story lines:

-------------------------

1. Bordermen at the Stone of Tear

Alanna Mosvani: Alanna is a Green sister from Arafel. Since her introduction in The Great Hunt, Alanna has been a character surrounded by some mystery and questionable behaviour. It began with her intense interest in the three ta'veren at Fal Dara and her taking a deep interest in turn in Egwene and Nynaeve, from the same village, whom she questioned about the boys. It's never been resolved whether Alanna's interest in the boys was personal, or if she was tasked to discover as much as she could about them by her Ajah Head or the Green Sitters who theoretically must have chosen her as one of the two Green Ajah representatives in Siuan's escort to Fal Dara. In any case, her too great curiosity resulted in the girls, by then hunting for the Black Ajah, bringing her to Siuan's attention. It is also an unresolved matter how Alanna ended up accompanying Verin to the Two Rivers to look for girls with the potential to channel (the only avowed goal of that expedition...). It can be suspected that Siuan had a hand in it: Verin was another Siuan thought interfered too much.

In the Two Rivers, Alanna's interest in Perrin was rekindled, and sparked a warning about her to Perrin from Verin. It appears that the temptation of bonding Perrin has at least crossed Alanna's mind, which brought her threats from Faile. The most notable action taken by Alanna in the end, however, was to incite the villagers to adopt the Wolfhead as Perrin's banner. Was there another mystery in this? We still don't know. Alanna, in the bordermen fashion, praised wolves for their hatred of the shadow. That may be all there was to it, or possibly Alanna knew more and wanted the villagers to take Perrin's nature from the good side, reacting to the WC accusations already known in the village that he was a darkfriend or shadowspawn.

Years ago, the Red Ajah had attacked one of the warders of Rina Hedfen, Elyas Machera, trying to gentle him because he could talk to wolves. Rina has never betrayed Elyas after his escape, and is masking the bond so Elyas cannot find her. Is she protecting him? We never got a Green Ajah point-of-view on the gentling attempt or what they think or know of wolfbrothers.. It's also not impossible that the Green Ajah have made the connection between wolfbrothers and the Wolf-King mentioned in the Karaethon Cycle. This could explain why Rina Hafden was not forced to locate Elyas, despite the fact he had killed warders in his escape.

In Caemlyn later on, Alanna committed her most dubious action of all when she impulsively bonded Rand without his permission. She ended up swearing fealty to him at Dumai's Wells. Alanna's bond made it possible for Cadsuane to follow Rand to Far Madding and to the inn he hid at, eventually saving him from his captors there before leading his defense forces at the Cleansing. Rand sent Alanna to Tear, to solve the situation with the rebellious Lords who were besieging High Lord Darlin, his steward. Alanna and her chosen group (Rafela - a Tairen Blue, Bera - an Andoran Green and Faeldrin - a Taraboner Green) managed to negotiate an accord, by which the rebels surrendered and submitted to Rand as long as he named High Lord Darlin their King. After a massive childish tantrum against the negotiators that got him a public spanking by Cadsuane, Rand finally accepted the terms. As The Gathering Storm begins, Alanna Mosvani is still presumably in Tear. Rand seems to have left the sisters in charge, now that he ordered Darlin and most of the High Lords to go to Arad Doman, sending the rest of them to the border of Illian and Altara.

Mahiro Shukosa: He is Rafela Cindal's warder. Mahiro is a Kandori Lord.


2. Some known Borderlanders with the Rebel Aes Sedai

(Most characters only suspected of being from the Borderlands by their name, like Nisao Dachen (Shienaran?), Lelaine Akashi (Kandori?), have not been included)

Sheriam Bayanar: Sheriam is Egwene's Keeper of the Chronicles, and a fiery Saldaean. Like most Aes Sedai listed here, this character will be reviewed in more depth in upcoming Aes Sedai Who's Who articles.

Beldemaine: An Arafellin Yellow. She appeared only in Lord of Chaos.

Berenicia Morsad: A Shienaran Yellow. Part of the embassy to Rand, she was sent back to Salidar by Kiruna and Bera. Those sisters have indeed reached the rebellion, but Berenicia has not reappeared since Lord of Chaos.

Kwamesa: An Arafellin Gray and the youngest Sitter in the Rebel Hall.

Natasia: A Saldaean Blue. She made an appearance only in New Spring.

Malind Nachenin: A Kandori Green who is one of the too-young Sitters in Salidar.

Nacelle: A Malkieri Green Sister. Introduced only in Knife of Dreams, she discovered a weave to detect the channelling of saidin. Of possible interest about Nacelle and her origins is the fact Myrelle, the Rebel's Captain-General of the Green Ajah, is bonded to Lan and thus able to find him or puzzle out he's travelling the length of the Borderlands.

Reiko: An Arafellin Blue. She is an expert at reading OP residues and was one of the sisters sent to investigate the area of Shadar Logoth after the Cleansing.

Uno Nomesta: Uno Nomesta is a one-eyed foul-mouthed grizzled Shienaran warrior and officer (heavy cavalry) from Fal Dara who was sworn to Lord Ingtar Shinowa and chosen to be part of the expedition that hunted the Horn of Valere all the way to Falme, where following the events there he became Dragonsworn. The highest ranking among the Shienarans, Uno lead them to Jehannah on Moiraine's instructions but never found the woman Moiraine sent him to. Uno and the Shienarans remained in Masema's entourage in Ghealdan after he proclaimed himself The Prophet of the Dragon Reborn, though Uno never became one of his followers. Uno, with Ragan and most of the Shienarans from Fal Dara helped Nynaeve and Elayne escape Samara, and escorted them to Salidar. There, the Shienarans agreed to join Lord Bryne's army and train his cavalry. Uno and the Shienarans are very loyal to Rand and his people, a loyalty which probably extends to Egwene. Uno last appeared in The Path of Daggers, leading the troops that escorted Egwene and the Sitters to their meeting with the Andorans and Murandians. Uno and the Shienarans are still with Bryne's forces in the vicinity of Tar Valon.

Ragan: He is the most prominent Shienaran soldier with Uno. Ragan is in his early thirties. He was last seen in Crossroads of Twilight, bringing a message from Lord Bryne to Egwene (which suggests he has gained Bryne's trust).

Masuto, Chaena, Nangu: Three more Shienaran soldiers from the Horn expedition we have a name for. It is unknown whether they followed Uno or have remained with Masema.


3. Some Borderlanders in the White Tower


Adelorna Bastine: A Saldaean Green and Captain-General of the Green Ajah. She is involved in the still mysterious "conspiracy" of the Ajah Heads. A curious mention to Egwene in Knife of Dreams also suggested she might be in contact with Cadsuane. Unlike most, she is certainly aware that Cadsuane is alive.

Bennae Nalsad: A Shienaran Brown Sister. She is the one to whom Egwene revealed the existence of the Thirteenth Depository. Her name is possibly an inside-joke, as it means 'Sesame', the famous password to the treasure in the Ali Baba tale.

Berisha Terakuni: An Arafellin Gray with a reputation for her strict interpretation of the Law. She was one of Egwene's captors at Northharbour.

Pevara Tazanovni: Pevara is a Sitter for the Red Ajah (and Ajah rarely chosen by Bordermen). She is Kandori and the loss of her whole family killed in a darkfriend uprising has marked her deeply. Pevara has joined Seaine Herimon's hunt for Black Sisters in the Tower. She is also one of the Red Sisters ordered by the Ajah Head Tsutama Rath to bond men from the Black Tower. She was last seen in the audience of the Red Ajah envoys with Taim in the epilogue of Knife of Dreams. It is still uncertain whether this trip has already taken place as The Gathering Storm begins, or if it happens further down the timeline.

Pritalle Nerbaijan: A Saldaean Yellow. She participated in Egwene's capture at Northharbour.

Velina: A Saldaean White sister and a Sitter in the Tower Hall. Velina is one of the eleven who have raised Elaida. She is often suspected of being one of the additional undiscovered Black Ajah Sitters in the Tower Hall.

Yukiri: An Arafellin or at least Borderlands-born going by her name, she is one of the Gray Sitters who stood to raise Elaida and is now one of the Black Ajah hunters.


4. A few of the Bordermen in Andor

Falion Bhoda: A Kandori Black Sister from the White Ajah. She was part of Liandrin's group who went to Tear then Tanchico. She was tasked by Moghedien to find the cache of One Power objects in Ebou Dar. By a ta'veren twist of fate that made all the hunters arrive at the same time to the cache, Falion and her fellow Black Sister Ispan bumped into Nynaeve. Ispan was captured but Falion managed to escape, but not for long. Moridin tracked her down, shielded her and gave her to the darkfriend Mili Skane (Lady Shiaine) as servant. Falion was captured by Elayne in Knife of Dreams and is now in the palace's dungeon, refusing to talk.

Asne Zeramene: A Saldaean Black Sister from the Green Ajah. She was part of Liandrin's group. She accompanied Moghedien in her hunt for Nynaeve in Samara. After Moghedien's disappearance, Asne was one of the Black Sisters who made their way to Caemlyn. Their timely visit to Lady Shiaine's house in Knife of Dreams resulted in Elayne's capture. Asne was then killed by the Windfinders during Elayne's rescue.

Mazrim Taim: The infamous False Dragon from Saldaea, now the no less infamous self-proclaimed M'Hael of the Black Tower. Confirmed at last in Knife of Dreams as a traitor and an agent of the Shadow, Mazrim Taim is however still shrouded in much mystery. He's been presented in fan theories over the years to be variously Be'lal, Sammael and Moridin in disguise, after the famous Taimandred theory has been debunked in Winter's Heart and by Robert Jordan in Q&A. Others, like yours truly, go even as far as believing the man is actually… just Mazrim Taim (shocking!) and… just a darkfriend (gasp!). He was last seen in the epilogue of Knife of Dreams, twisting Rand's orders by allowing Red Sisters from the Tower attempt to bond Asha'man, and having a laugh about it

Sarainya Vostovan: A Kinswoman and an Arafellin noble. She followed Elayne to Caemlyn. She has not reappeared since The Path of Daggers.

Zarya Alkaese (Garenia Rosoinde): A Kinswoman and a Saldaean. Zarya was actually a runaway and was put back in white by Vandene when she found out who she was. Zarya was involved in the investigation of Adeleas's murder. She was last seen in Knife of Dreams with Vandene, when she reported to Elayne the murders of the kinswomen (by Careane).


5. Borderlanders in and around Rand's group

Ayako Norsoni: Aes Sedai of the White Ajah, on Elaida's side. By her name, she is Kandori. She is not Black Ajah, as Alviarin made sure none sent to the Black Tower with Toveine was. Ayako has been captured and bonded by Asha'man Donaldo Sandomere from Logain's faction. She was last seen in Knife of Dreams, in the scene of Semirhage's capture.

Beldeine Nyram: A recently raised Saldaean Green Sister from Elaida's faction. She was captured at Dumai's Wells and made da'tsang. She was compelled by Verin into finding a reason to swear fealty to Rand, which she eventually did. Beldeine has been at Rand's side since Far Madding, and was last seen in the scene of Semirhage's capture. She had been considering bonding an Asha'man as her first warder after the cleansing, and finally chose Karldin Manfor in Knife of Dreams.

Lord Davram Bashere: Marshall-General of Saldaea and dragonsworn, he is one of Rand's best military commanders with Rhuarc. Min had a viewing of something dark laying in his future. See the Arad Doman Who's Who for a more complete entry about Lord Davram.

Jahar Narishma: A young Asha'man from Arafel who has been part of Rand's inner circle since the aftermath of Dumai's Wells. He has agreed to be bound by Merise, a Green from Cadsuane's group. Jahar is the one who retrieved Callandor for Rand, but the debate is still opened whether the prophecy concerning this has been fulfilled or not (was the one retrieving Callandor supposed to be a follower of Rand, or does it mean the one who retrieved Callandor will follow after Rand in some fashion? Read and Find Out!). Narishma was Rand's emissary to Egwene's Hall in Knife of Dreams. TGS (prologue) spoiler - click to expand

He has since rejoined Rand and is among the Asha'man with him at Lord Tellean's manor in Arad Doman.

Welyn Kajima: A former clerk from Arafel, now a Dedicated Asha'man. He is from Logain's faction and has captured and bonded the Red sister Jenare, from Toveine's expedition, with whom he now goes along well. Kajima followed Logain to reunite with Rand in Tear and was last seen during the capture of Semirhage. We do not yet know if Kajima is part of the group in Arad Doman or the one sent to Illian.

Nesune Bihara: A Kandori Brown affiliated with the Tower. Jesse Bilal, the First Chair of the Brown Council, forced her to be part of Elaida's embassy to Rand. She was compelled by Verin into finding a reason to swear fealty to Rand, which she did. She was last seen in Crossroads of Twilight, in Rand's inner circle at Lord Pendaloan's manor in Tear.

Kumira: A Shienaran Brown who followed Cadsuane. She was killed at the Cleansing.

Samitsu Tamagowa: A Yellow with an outstanding Healing talent in Cadsuane's group, who contributed to saving Rand after the bubble of evil in Cairhien, and who saved Lord Dobraine's life after darkfriends nearly killed him. Cadsuane left her in charge of keeping an eye on Sashalle and Sorilea and matters in Cairhien, though Shashalle, a Red sworn to Rand, has in fact taken over. Samitsu followed Logain when he went to Rand at the manor in Tear, but after her report, Cadsuane sent her back to Cairhien.


6. Borderlands with Perrin

Faile Bashere: Perrin's Saldaean wife, recently rescued from the Shaido at Malden. Faile is the daughter of Deira and Davram Bashere, and second-in-line after her father to inherit the Broken Crown when Tenobia dies. TGS (prologue) spoiler - click to expand

Faile's most recent fait d'armes is to have killed Masema and intending to keep this secret from Perrin, a new plot twist certain to spice things up again in Perrin's storyline.

Masuri Sokawa: An Arafellin Brown Sister, expert on Darkhounds. Part of the rebel Embassy to Rand, she swore fealty at Dumai's Wells. She was picked to accompany Perrin to Ghealdan.

TGS (prologue) spoiler - click to expand

Masema Dagar: A Shienaran soldier under Lord Ingtar Shinowa who was part of the expedition to retrieve the Horn of Valere. After Falme, Masema began to have "visions" and went increasingly insane, which eventually led him to proclaim himself the Prophet of the Lord Dragon in Ghealdan and starting a violent fanatical movement that sunk that nation into chaos. Rand eventually sent Perrin secretly to bring Masema back to him. After Faile's kidnapping, Masema eventually turned Aram against Perrin, convincing him Perrin was shadowspawn. Aram tried to kill Perrin during the battle of Malden and died for it. Most of Masema's group was destroyed in that battle. In What The Storm Means, Faile tracked down Masema after he had escaped Perrin's group, and drove a dagger through his heart to make him pay for his good deeds at Malden. Thus ended the Prophet. This first and last POV from Masema confirmed that he wasn't a darkfriend. His ties to Suroth remain a mystery. Another remaining mystery are his visions, notably that latest one of Rand in white telling him to kill Perrin Aybara. Theories already abound, and personally I see the style of Lanfear/Cyndane in this, not only in driving Masema madder through his dreams (he was always a bit nuts) and building an army of fanatics to follow Rand, but also the more recent order through dreams to kill Perrin. Those are tactics reminiscent of the allusions about the way Lanfear used tel'aran'rhiod in the War of Shadow (especially the seeming mass madness that Masema have created in Ghealdan; I suspect Lanfear "helped him" to get that ball rolling using mass dreams). Lanfear's also the only Forsaken who could conceivably have wanted Rand to get an army of fanatics around the time of The Dragon Reborn.

Bartu and Nengar: Two Shienaran soldiers who have fallen under the spell of Masema and remained with him when Uno left for Salidar. Their fates are unknown, though they are probably dead.

7. Bordermen currently missing in action


Lady Deira ni Ghaline t'Bashere and her ladies: The powerful wife of Lord Davram and the mother of Faile. Lady Deira was wounded in Crossroads of Twilight by darkfriends who infiltrated the camp to steal the Seal left by Rand in Davram's care. Deira did not accompany Lord Davram to Tear when he went to join Rand with Logain. It is unknown whether Bashere left the Saldaean women behind when Rand sent him to Arad Doman. By Saldaean customs, it is somewhat unlikely. If Rand had his way, that's far from unlikely.

Saldaean women are known for taking matters in their own hands and solving in their backs whatever problems they believe their husband's aren't addressing to their taste - whatever the risks involved. Saldaean ladies are also their Houses' spy mistresses. If Deira and her ladies were left behind in Andor, it's certainly possible that Deira decides to take advantage of the fact Davram is away and Queen Tenobia is close to go to her and attempt to clear the air between her and her husband, while also trying to learn what the four rulers are really about – in case it's something Davram should really know about. Deira is also notoriously displeased with the fact Mazrim Taim runs free, and she's never hid much her disagreement that Davram has joined Rand, nor her dislike of Rand.

Delana Mosalaine: A Shienaran Black sister from the Gray Ajah. One of the too-young Sitters in the Rebel Hall, she was also Aran'gar's pawn in the Hall. Exposed as Black by Romanda in Knife of Dreams, she managed to escape to an unknown location with Aran'gar.

Rianna Andomeran: Rianna is a Kandori Black Sister from the White Ajah. She was part of Liandrin's group. She is easily recognizable from her unique streak of white hair. Rianna was sent on a mission by Moghedien in The Fire of Heavens which has remained a mystery. She has not been seen since.

Ten Predictions for TGS challenge

As we did for the Prologue, you're all invited to share with us your predictions for what will happen in The Gathering Storm in a little challenge.

Here are the rules:

You can enter up to 10 predictions in the challenge. The more you have, the most chances you get to score points. You need to post them in our "Listen to the Wind" sub-forum by starting a thread there. If you don't use material from ch. 1 & 2 or the prologue in your predictions, indicate it in your thread title by (NO TGS Spoilers). If you don't use the released material, you get a 5 bonus point for increased difficulty. Of course, only threads with the mention NO TGS Spoilers are safe to read in that sub-forum for those who chose not to read the advanced material.

Your predictions can be about anything: characters, events, POVs, titles of chapters etc. Anything goes. They can be general or precise. Precise ones are more risky, but score higher.

The challenge closes on October 23rd. Until then, you have the freedom to complete your prediction list or edit it as you wish.

Here's how we calculate points:

Everyone who participated in the Prologue challenge has a bonus five points, plus the points they scored (the results are announced at the bottom of this post).

Everyone who enters the new challenge also gets a bonus five points.

5 points will be awarded for each generally accurate prediction, but one point will then be removed for each inaccurate element in an accurate prediction:

eg: Prediction: Two Wise Ones will die in Arad Doman in the first half of TGS

- If only one WO die, but in Caemlyn in the first half of the book, you will be awarded 5 basic points - 1 for the missing second death - 1 for the wrong location + 2 points for the right timing
Total: 5 points

The more details in a prediction, the more chances to score bonus points. 2 will be awared for each detail that is correct:

eg: Prediction: Two Wise Ones will die in Arad Doman in the first half of TGS

- If two WO die in Arad Doman by mid book you will be awarded 5 points, plus two bonus points for each additional detail that increased difficulty, in this case:

In this case:
5 points +2 for the right number of WO +2 for the right location +2 for the right timing in the book.
Total: 11 points

Everyone reaching 50 points will be given a Wisdom title in the forums for the year. Everyone reaching 25 points will given the Wisdom Apprentice title.

Should anyone reach 75 points, you will be deemed a Foreteller, and impress us very much :)

Good luck to everyone, and thanks to all who've participated so far. The first batch of readers' predictions will be posted on the Blog's main page soon, then updated at the end of each week.

-------------------------------

Prologue Challenge's results:

Now, here are the results (forcibly, this part contains prologue spoilers)

TGS Prologue spoilers - click to expand

Linda and Dominic aren't officially participating, but we didn't do so well anyway ;)

- Linda got one fully accurate prediction (an Aran'gar or Graendal POV), so 10 points
- Dom got nothing at all in his "official three", so 5 points.

And now our readers:

Agent Orange scored highest with two fully accurate predictions out of three, one easy (Ituralde POV) and one quite a bit more difficult (a Masema POV): 15 points. Congrats!

Deadsy and Dan scored nine points, respectively for her prediction of an Ituralde POV (minus 1 point for wrongly predicting something about the Aiel on the plain) and his prediction of a Seanchan POV (minus 1 point for getting wrong that plans for the WT would be discussed).

BobH, Truth Panda, Tim and Reptile all got the 5 points for participation. Like Dominic's, it sounds like your Listening to the Wind Talent might need some fine tuning :P I don't know about you, but for myself I'm considering cheating a bit and using observations of ants and birds too for my 10 predictions list. :)

The Storm is Coming! #9: Chosen Remnants

Chosen Remnants

By Linda

This week I'm turning my gaze from the Aes Sedai to the Forsaken. They too are a remnant of a remnant: in the Age of Legends about half the Servants went over to the Shadow and became Forsaken, either out of conviction of the Shadow’s cause, or from determination to be on the winning side. The lucky thirteen we know were the ones gathered at Shayol Ghul when Lews Therin and his Companions made the Strike to seal the Bore. The rest were done in by their more ruthless colleagues, or their paranoid overlord, or they perished in the general apocalypse of the Breaking (TOR Question of the Week). Of the thirteen Forsaken made forever infamous for being Sealed in the Bore, only eight are now still alive. What follows is a synopsis of their most recent activities and plans.

Trio number one: the boss and his two side-kicks

Ishamael/Moridin

As Naeblis, Moridin called a meeting in Knife of Dreams to make sure all Forsaken know what the policy is. He played mind games with them while he was at it: arranging eleven chairs in the room to keep the Forsaken guessing how many of them are still alive, and how many Moridin thinks are still alive; and declaring the Time of Return is near, yet apparently not being unduly worried about the Seals still in Rand's possession. His zomaran secretly read the thoughts of all the Forsaken at the meeting. Moridin made it obvious even to someone as unobservant as Aran’gar that he holds the mindtraps of Cyndane and Moghedien and that Mesaana has been punished.

His current orders are that no Forsaken is to follow their own plans or send Trollocs or Myrddraal out of the Blight. They must report immediately to him if they see any. The Forsaken are not to harm Rand in any way, but Mat and Perrin must be killed (Knife of Dreams, At the Gardens) now that the world is in the Last Days.

Ishamael is the only one to use Shai’tan’s name. He believes the end of time will bring him enormous power (The Eye of the World, The Stag and Lion) and that he knows the ‘paths to greater power’ (The Great Hunt, Kinslayer). It is unclear if this power is that of being Naeblis and ruling the world in the Dark One’s name or his belief that when the Dark One kills time (breaks the Wheel of Time) Ishamael will be freed of the Wheel and the cycle of reincarnation and able to ascend to godhood, a belief of eastern religion. This would explain his nihilism. Buddhists, Jains and Hindus believe that people can liberate themselves from the endless cycle of reincarnation by meditation, virtue and distancing themselves from the material world, not in the violent manner Ishamael prefers or expects. Ishamael alone among the Forsaken has not blinded himself to the Dark One’s intent to end time and the world; in fact he has embraced it.

Current Status: Moridin has been linked to Rand since their balefires crossed at Shadar Logoth, with increasing awareness between the two of them. He feels nausea when Rand seizes saidin and Rand feels nausea when Moridin channels (Knife of Dreams, Within the Stone). This is why Moridin was unable to attend the Cleansing of saidin himself while Rand was channelling huge amounts of the Power. Moridin may have had to step outside the Pattern (as he did after watching Sammael disperse the Shaido in A Crown of Swords, Patterns Within Patterns) while the Cleansing was on.


Lanfear/Cyndane and Moghedien

Apart from being mindtrapped as punishment for their failure and for promoting their own plans above those of the Shadow, these two also have in common considerable skill in Tel'aran'rhiod. Not that they appear to have been using this recently. Their current whereabouts and activities are unknown.

Cyndane tells Moridin everything, according to him. She still wants to get her vengeful hands on Rand.

Moghedien followed Moridin's orders to attend the Cleansing of saidin but did nothing except watch. She was raped by Shaidar Haran, but shows fewer after effects than Mesaana. Moghedien also expressed determination to break free of her mindtrap.


The second unholy trio

Demandred

His location is currently unknown. All that is known of his current plans are that he has been looking for the last three Seals (Knife of Dreams, At the Gardens) and that he is probably using proxies to sow chaos and/or amass forces for the Shadow.


Mesaana

She is pale and wan after her punishment by Shaidar Haran for not attending the Cleansing or Forsaken meetings and not following Moridin’s orders (Knife of Dreams, At the Gardens). Her plans revolve around tying up the Aes Sedai in useless internal conflict and therefore she was furious Egwene was captured because she assumed the rebellion would then fall apart ( Knife of Dreams, At the Gardens). After being assured otherwise by Aran'gar, she suggested Aran'gar sow dissension among the rebels.


Semirhage

After destroying the entire Imperial Family in Seanchan, Semirhage urged Suroth to kill Tuon and take her place as Empress, because a Darkfriend Empress would make things somewhat easier for Semirhage (Knife of Dreams, Prologue). She finally knows who Mat is (Knife of Dreams, At the Gardens).

Semirhage attempted to capture Rand but was herself captured instead. She burned Rand’s hand off and damaged his eyesight in contradiction of Moridin’s orders not to harm Rand (Knife of Dreams, A Plain Wooden Box).


The sexually dynamic duo

Balthamel/Aran'gar

While Aran'gar has previously disguised herself as other Forsaken, she didn’t send Shadowspawn after Rand at Algarin's manor in Tear while disguised as Sammael. At the Forsaken meeting in Knife of Dreams, she realised Cyndane and Moghedien are mindtrapped and held by Moridin, but does not know whether Osan'gar is dead. She is mildly interested in killing Mat or Perrin, but is planning to kill Rand, contrary to Moridin's orders, and to kill Moridin himself as well.

Aran'gar demanded Mesaana tell her where Egwene is held, since Egwene is her main tool and she wanted to rescue her, but nothing doing. It's all academic anyway: Aran'gar fled the rebel Aes Sedai with Delana just prior to being exposed by Romanda, and her whereabouts are unknown. Perhaps she visited Graendal. She toyed with Graendal, proposing an alliance between them while planning to use Graendal’s Darkfriend contacts and then kill Graendal when she is no longer useful (Knife of Dreams, At the Gardens).


Graendal

Probably in Arad Doman, she has a wide range of Darkfriend contacts according to Aran’gar. Graendal told Aran’gar that Cyndane was not Lanfear because she is weaker in the Power than Lanfear was (Knife of Dreams, At the Gardens), but Graendal may have figured out more than she told Aran'gar.

At the Forsaken meeting in Knife of Dreams, she allowed Aran’gar to toy with her, when Graendal never lets herself be the lesser of any pair, although she will flirt with someone she intends to kill or who intends to kill her (A Crown of Swords, Patterns within Patterns). It looks like Graendal has Aran’gar sussed out.


Chosen Dead Ducks:

Aginor/Osan’gar

He was burnt by Elza, Merise and Narishma near Shadow Logoth at the Cleansing, and apparently did not survive and was not reincarnated a second time.


Asmodean

Asmodean was killed, probably with balefire, in Caemlyn.


Be’lal

Moiraine balefired Be'lal in Tear.


Rahvin

Rahvin was balefired by Rand in Caemlyn.


Sammael

He was killed by Mashadar in Shadar Logoth and apparently not reincarnated.

This post is based on an article on all the known past and present deeds and plans of each Forsaken I wrote for Wotmania in October 2007, and which is now republished here. It also looks at the motivations behind each Forsaken and the order in which they joined up.

The Wheel turns : Happy Birthday Linda

I'm very happy to wish happy birthday (a tad late, on Aussie time) to my friend and fellow manager of The Thirteenth Depository Linda.

We've furthered this passion for the Wheel of Time together for many years now, and it's a terrific experience to work with her as a fellow maniac of Jordan and to exchange with her as her friend.

I include two fairly off-topic pictures from my outdoor activities of this week-end, just to remind her in case she needs it that middle-years and all that can be a marvelous thing, for people like for nature. ;)


Onward, and for many more years.

The Storm is Coming! #8: On the frontline between Shadow and Light - the Borderlands

On the frontline of Shadow and Light: The Borderlands, part 1

by Dominic

1. About the map of the Borderlands:

The Borderlands span over 600 leagues from West to East, from World's End in Saldaea to the Eastern Marches of Shienar and Tarwin's Gap, north east of Shienar, in the territory that was once Malkier. Their geography is extremely varied, from mountainous regions to sweeping plains to densely wooded areas. Not a great deal of details are known about the geography of these nations, that Robert Jordan seems to have kept for his finale. We have only briefly visited World End's in Saldaea; New Spring brought us to the area of Chachin and a few towns and villages to the south in Kandor (such as Canluum); the Great Hunt brought us briefly to Tiffan's Wells, a small village at an unknown location in the plains of Arafel (thus likely to the south) where the Namelle sisters had retired. The most that is known concerns Shienar. The map and article devoted to it can be found here. Several location names in Saldaea are known, including: Asnelle, Bashere, Gahaur, Ganai, Kunwar, Shahayni,
Sidona, Tyr. They are known from Lords whose fiefs these are. It is unknown whether they are cities or areas, or even just estates. Mehar is a town at an unknown location, while Irinjavar is the unlocated site where Mazrim Taim and Lord Bashere fought during the events at Falme, which saw Taim unhorsed and captured as the vision of Rand appeared in the sky.




The rest of this article deals with a recapitulation of facts and events from the two main Borderlands story lines: Lan's Golden Crane "crusade" and the expedition of the four rulers of the Borderlands to the South, to find the Dragon Reborn, completed with a Who's Who of the characters. A second article will deal with the main Borderlands men and women involved in various other story lines.


2. The Golden Crane "crusade"


Lan (al'Lan) Mandragoran: Uncrowned King of lost Malkier, Lord of the Seven Towers, now ruins swallowed by the Blight. As Malkier fell in 953 NE when he was still an infant, Lan's parents King al'Akir and Queen el'Leana had him invested as heir and had an oath to avenge the fall of Malkier taken in his name, before he was sent in the care of some of the best Malkieri warriors, who cut him a path to safety to Shienar, most of them dying the process. Lan was raised and trained in Shienar by one of the last of them, Bukama. He spent his youth in fighting expeditions to the Blight, before serving in the Aiel War with Bukama. From 980 NE, he became Moiraine Damodred's warder following the affair with the Black Ajah in Kandor (New Spring) and her ally in her quest to find the Dragon Reborn.

Understanding that Lan's value shouldn't be wasted in a suicidal quest to avenge her or Malkier, Moiraine had arranged in his back for his bond to pass to Myrelle Berengari should she die, something forbidden by custom and not done in hundreds of years. Aware he had fallen in love with Nynaeve, Moiraine intended for the bond to pass to her after she obtained the shawl and seemingly sent additional instructions to Myrelle about it (the passing of bond seemingly occurred shortly before The Eye of the World began and Moiraine left Tar Valon for the Two Rivers), something only Myrelle, Siuan, Moiraine, Nisao Dachen and Egwene and Siuan are presently aware of.

When Moiraine was "lost" in the realms of the Eelfinn and Aelfinn following her fight with Lanfear (TFOH) and her bond to Lan cut, Lan made his way to Myrelle in Salidar and when Egwene discovered his presence there she sent Lan to protect Nynaeve in Ebou Dar, where he rescued her from drowning after Moghedien balefired her boat. Lan and Nynaeve married, and she treats him as her de facto warder, though they are not bonded. Nynaeve even displays the uncanny ability to sense Lan's presence around her (as she does, for everyone she's Healed). Lan hasn't left Nynaeve's side since, accompanying her to Andor with Elayne, then joining Rand's side as he asked Nynaeve to help him cleanse saidin. With the Shadow's attack at the Algarin manor in Tear however, Lan was shaken and highly disgruntled with Rand's plans to deal with the Seanchan, while doing nothing about the Borderlands rulers being out of place and Tarmon Gai'don coming, fearing an attack could come any day now from Tarwin's Gap, as it did many times during the Trolloc Wars and a few years back when Moiraine's party sought the Eye of the World.

Nynaeve surprised him, hiding her fears and deep misgivings, and offered to take him to the Borderlands, in exchange for his formal Oath that he would ride to Fal Moran in Shienar first, and agree to let every man who wished to ride with him follow him. His oath given, Nyaneve then tricked Lan and left him not south in Shienar as he expected but at World's End, the westernmost region of the Borderlands - so his crusade wouldn't be a suicidal and lonely pointless venture, and an army would have the time to grow around him and follow the Golden Crane.

In one of the most beautiful and gripping scenes of the series, Nynaeve ti al'Meara Mandragoran then Travelled to the town of Kayacun near the Banikhan Mountains (the Saldean Sea Wall) and had a Malkieri precious stones trader and pigeon owner pledge to send to all the merchants in contact with him the message about Tarmon Gai'don coming and the Uncrowned King of Malkier riding to it. Showing them the ring with the Golden Crane in flight of Malkieri Kings that Lan gave her in The Great Hunt, promising her she could get help from anyone in the Borderlands if she showed it, Nynaeve gained Lan his first three followers, and moved on to visit other towns before returning to Rand in Tear.



TGS (ch1, 2 or prologue) spoiler - click to expand

Several weeks later, at least in Rand's storyline, Lan is probably now in the heart of Saldaea, probably witness like others in the Borderlands of the unnatural storm gathering over the Blight. His wife is back with Rand, now with him in eastern Arad Doman, facing what is perhaps her greatest challenge yet with their prisoner Semirhage.

Weilin Aldragoran: He is the Saldaean (Malkieri-born) dealer in precious stones in Kayacun who agreed to send Nynaeve's message to merchants all the way to Shienar before pledging himself to her to ride with the Uncrowned King. A traditionalist wearing the hadori, he is roughly of an age with Lan himself, being not an infant like him but a toddler when Malkier fell. The man is suspicious of Aes Sedai, and like most Malkieri has turned his back on the White Tower after their failure to come to Malkier's help. He has a Saldaean wife, Alida, who could ride with him according to Saldaean custom.

Managan and Gorenellin: Two other Saldaean traders of Malkieri descent, though not traditionalists. Weilin Aldragoran has convinced them to join Lan's crusade.



TGS (ch1, 2 or prologue) spoiler - click to expand

Thulin: The smith in Oak's River, in the Borderlands. He is of Shienaran descent, seemingly living in another Borderland nation (it's unclear). The unnatural storm some forty leagues (160 miles) up north convinced Thulin he must head north with all his family (his wife Gallanha and his children, including his youthful daughter Mirala) for Tarmon Gai'don. Thulin expects an army to gather in the north and to need smiths – fairly transparent foreshadowing he will end up joining Lan's "army of the people", whether we ever see him again or not. This episode in the prologue suggests Lan's followers could be far more numerous than even Nynaeve hoped., if perhaps desperate and poorly armed and inexperienced.


Renald Fanwar: an old prosperous farmer near the village of Oak's Riverin the Borderlands (nation unknown – the scene in What The Storm Means leaves up in the air whether it's Renald or his friend Thulin, a Shienaran, who is a native of the area. The first names of the characters might suggest Saldaea, but it's not very conclusive.). Renald was convinced by the village's smith Thulin to head north for Tarmon Gai'don, with his wife Auaine and his farmhands Merk, Favidan, Rinnin, Veshir and Adamad.

The bets are now open whether Robert Jordan introduced all these characters as one time witnesses of Lan's journey or of the "gathering storm" from the Blight or if he (or Brandon) intended to re use them further down the line in the book, or the next ones, to show us developments of the situation in the Borderlands and with the Golden Crane expedition.


3. Where is Lan Mandragoran now?


Assuming he is not joined along the way by Aes Sedai/Asha'man who can travel, Lan has a very long distance to go to join Fal Moran, and then Tarwin's Gap: over a 500 leagues, or 2000 miles. But that's assuming Nynaeve left him near the Sea Wall, not at the very tip of World's End. In the second case, an additional 100 leagues has to be added.

His speed of travel is highly speculative. The Band of the Red Hand, travelling from Cairhien to Tear, managed to make 35 miles/day.

Lan could do more, at least on short travels, but riding Mandarb all the time, it's not very likely. Lan will have to spare his horse. An other open question is how Lan intends to honour his oath to his wife. Letting anyone who wants to join his ride is not the same as waiting for everyone who wishes to follow him to get ready, not is it the same as advancing at a sedate pace so the slowest parts of this army he doesn't really want to lead can follow. Lan could advance faster, with a vanguard of "companions" on good horses, while a more and more massive armies trails days behind. In any case it's safe to say that in the present conditions, Lan is anywhere from 2 months to 4 months away from Tarwin's Gap. If his story line is synchronized with Rand's, he should be in the heart of Saldaea as The Gathering Storm starts. Where exactly very much depends on his exact departure point and the speed he could make while getting out of the mountainous area of World's End. Another important point is that spring is arriving in northern Arad Doman and Andor, but may not have reached the coldest parts of the Borderlands yet. Snowed roads and mud could considerably slow down Lan's progress, as it did the Bordermen travelling the country roads north of Caemlyn. We do not know Lan's exact departure point, but it's possibly not far from Kayacun, in the Banakhian Mountains, where Nynaeve went find the first merchant. It is not inland, in any case, because Lan was left on a cliff from which the Aryth Ocean could be seen. A last big unknown is how much opposition Lan might meet on his way to Tarwin's Gap, not only from local Lords who may not want to see their soldiers follow Lan, and from the Shadow itself, darkfriends or shadowspawn. The city of Maradon is named after Marathon, site of a famous battle. Arafel is more ominous. An Hebrew word often translated as "Cloud-Darkness", the word is associated to Armaggedon. Frank Herbert in Dune used it as one of the names he gave to his armageddon: the Blacks Winds of Arafel, the could-darkness at the end of the universe.


4. The Bordermen (presumably) at home:

Here is a list of established Borderlanders, who could in theory cross paths with Lan has he goes across the Borderlands from west to east, even though it's a bit of a long shot for most of them:

Queen Menuki Nachiman: Queen-consort of Arafel.and wife of King Paitar. They are very close to one another. She very likely rules Arafel in his absence.

Lady Jarene: Daughter of Queen Ethenielle and the younger sister of Lord Antol, she is in her early thirties. She has only appeared as a child in New Spring The Novel

Paitar's unnamed favourite grand-daughter: she is married to the son of the Queen of Kandor, presumably Lord Antol, her presumed heir.

Easar's unnamed sons: He has at least three. The third is married to Queen Ethenielle's daughter.

Ethenielle's brother and two sisters: They are married in the Houses of King Easar and King Paitar. One of the two sisters could be Nazelle, married to Lord Ismic, but that is uncertain.

Lord Antol Noramaga: Prince of Kandor, the eldest son and heir of Queen Ethenielle. He is presumably married to a grand-daughter of Paitar of Arafel. Prince Antol is probably the one Queen Ethenielle left in charge of Kandor and its armies in her absence.

Lady Einone: Sister of the Queen of Kandor, she is married to one of the Queen of Saldaea's numerous uncles.

Lady Nazelle: Sister of Ethenielle of Kandor. She is married to one Lord Ismic, her second husband Lord Ismic may be from the House of either Paitar or Easar, or Nazelle could be be a third sister of Ethenielle.

Lord Ismic: Brother-in-law of Queen Ethenielle, he is an old man married to her sister Nazelle. His nationality is unknown.

Lady Amalisa Jagad: Sister of Lord Agelmar, she is the lady of Fal Dara. It is probable that, as he did in The Eye of the World, he left her in charge as he left. Lady Amalisa is probably seconded by Elansu, her brother's shatayan and whoever replaced Ronan, the shambayan who died in the Shadow's attack to free Fain and steal the Horn of Valere. Unless, of course, Agelmar, like his king, brought his shatayan south. Of all the players listed here, she is one of the more likely to make a return.

Maedin Bashere: He is the youngest child of Davram and Deira Bashere, and Faile's brother. He is presumed at home in Saldaea or in Deira's entourage. He must be fairly young, but if he's anything like his sister…

Eran: He is an old soldier Davram Bashere made Faile's footman and who secretly taught her to fight.

Lord Varan Marcasiev: The Lord of the mining city of Canluum, eight days south of Chachin. Lord Varan is possibly dead, but his family most likely still hold Canluum.

Nazar Kurenin: A Malkieri of the second-generation, living in Chachin by the time of New Spring (979 NE). Bukama mentioned that even him would follow Lan should he decide to raise the Golden Crane again.

Lady Kareil: A noblewoman around Canlumm by the time of New Spring. She had recruited an army among her retainers to send to the Aiel War.

Lady Edeyn ti Gemallen Arrel: A Malkieri expatriate of the first generation who lived in Chachin in Kandor by the time of New Spring. She had been Lan's first lover and was plotting to marry him to her daughter Iselle and raise the Golden Crane. Iselle was murdered in New Spring by the Black Ajah. Twenty years ago, Edeyn had a daughter seventeen years old, which suggests she may well be still alive. She is perhaps a likely player to make a return. And interesting detail about her, considering Nynaeve's famous braid, is that in her mourning of Iselle she followed the Malkieri custom and cut her hair short.


5. The Borderland Rulers' expedition to the South:


At the end of 998 NE, the four rulers of the Borderlands secretly left their nations with sizeable forces to reach a pre-arranged meeting (via coded letters to one another) locale near a ter'angreal of ill repute (local legends only, it is actually harmless) in the Black Hills, where they officialized a pact, following an old Borderlands ritual.

These rulers are a fairly close-knit group, bound by their fight against the Shadow as much as by family ties, and their economies – but there are suspicions and swirling currents even among them in these troubled times. In the year after the events of Falme and then the taking of Callandor in Tear, very uncharacteristic social troubles erupted in Shienar and Saldaea. Robert Jordan hinted strongly it has to do with Hurin's return to Shienar and the news he brought. In Saldaea, it is believed to be a combination of many factors, including the war in Arad Doman which has deprived Maradon of a traditional trade route and sparked riots and shook Tenobia's rule; the fact Tenobia eventually left Maradon to hide in the countryside (in appearance/perception only, much the same thing that happened to King Alsalam of Arad Doman, actually not in hiding from the troubles but kidnapped or killed by Graendal), and all the residual troubles caused by Mazrim Taim's ravages and the aftermath of his escape and the fact the Marshall General has gone in pursuit and never returned).

The Borderlands rulers also appear to have been alarmed by events at the Tower and the sudden vanishing, without an explanation, of some of the Aes Sedai advisors (one of those, at least, obeyed Elaida's summons to return to the Tower). Further causes for concern emerged as Elaida (or often Alviarin) began interfering with the rulers and pressuring them, sparking Tenobia and Easar to write to the Tower and ask Elaida to stop meddling in their affairs. Tenobia was sent an advisor (Memara, chosen by Alviarin) who never managed to find her, as Tenobia went in hiding.

As Tenobia finally left Saldaea, successfully evading Memara, she bumped into a party of five Aes Sedai who decided to remain with her. Another group of seven sisters surrounds Coladara Sedai, the advisor of King Paitar of Arafel, who didn't obey Elaida's summons. The seven sisters are presented as her "friends", who were "visiting". It's King Paitar who asked them to follow him, though they needed no convincing. The real allegiances and motives of these sisters are still unknown. Some suspect some of these women may be Black Ajah. Another popular theory is that at least one if not both of these groups are associated with Cadsuane Melaidhrin and that Coladara and her friends followed Paitar to make sure the rulers don't do anything dire to Rand. Yet others believe there may be a secret initiative from the Green Ajah behind this, that would be likely initiated by the Ajah Head Adelorna and kept from Elaida.

These sisters are apparently in contact neither with Elaida's faction nor, as far as has surfaced so far, the Rebels. The group that bumped into Tenobia was in fact quite adamant about secrecy and not warning Memara. The two groups together bring their number to thirteen, a fact the rulers are well aware of, and that they think could be very 'significant'. Their exact influence over the rulers is unknown. All but Paitar are very reserved about Aes Sedai, as are some of their advisors.

An avowed purpose of the rulers' alliance is to meet Rand al'Thor, whom they expected to find in Caemlyn. It is suspected that they came out of their nations because they want to 'do what they have to do' to keep Rand from invading them. The rulers are well aware of all the chaos in the south. Queen Ethenielle, at least, is still undecided whether Rand is the true Dragon Reborn or a False Dragon. Further motives of the rulers are unknown, nor do we know for sure what the Bordermen plan to do when they meet Rand. Ethenielle was very reserved, Paitar spoke of the usefulness of having thirteen Aes Sedai with them and Tenobia is furious about the fact Taim and Bashere follow Rand. One of the advisors, Alesune Chulin, spoke that what they were about to do could put them in history books or get their heads on pikes - by the Tower if not by Rand himself.

As they approached the northern border of Andor, the Bordermen learned that Rand had left and a war of succession was ongoing in Andor. They set camp north of the border, in the vicinity of New Braem (the northernmost on the Tar Valon road). In mid-winter 1000 NE, a meeting with Elayne Trakand (whom they knew to have been with Rand at Falme, confirming that Hurin told a lot to Agelmar and Easar of Shienar) who misled them into thinking Rand was in Murandy. She convinced them to pass through Andor, secretly intending their presence in Andor to bring the Houses behind her, a purpose which Ethenielle immediately puzzled out. The rulers reluctantly agreed, then dithered moving, and finally proceeded with much caution, slowed down further by the states of the country roads in winter. They appear either suspicious of Elayne's true intentions, or feared what the factions she didn't control at the time might do. What the rulers told Elayne Trakand was far more circumspect than what came up in their meeting in the Black Hills, and perhaps deceptive. King Paitar spoke about Rand wasting his time in the South while the real fight will be up north. Queen Tenobia asked Elayne where to find Davram Bashere – and got for answer that he was near Caemlyn, true at the time but he has gone long since – but remained completely silent about Taim or the Black Tower. Ethenielle lied by evasion about Aes Sedai with them, answering Elayne that sisters are everywhere nowadays.

As Knife of Dreams began, the Bordermen armies were finally proceeding slowly through country roads of eastern Andor, about 50 miles north and east of Caemlyn. Elayne's apprisal is that they clearly intend to stay well clear of the city, cross the Aringill road and make their way to Murandy by country roads to the east (coming nowhere close to the main Lugard Road).

Following the timeline of Rand's first scene in The Gathering Storm - weeks later - with the roads finally clearing with spring and the news Elayne now holds the throne eventually reaching them (it will no doubt be proclaimed soon through the nation), the Bordermen could be well be south of Caemlyn by now, unless something happened to delay them...

King Roedran of Murandy, who has managed to mount an army and unite his nobility after a fashion, could find himself squeezed with half the Band of the Red Hand to the North West, the second half with Talmanes to the south west, Perrin's group of 100,000 refugees to the South, and the sizeable Borderlands army approaching to the North East. He could pardonned for feeling... invaded. Of course, nothing guarantees any of these groups won't change path or find opportunities to Travel.

It should be noted that in one of his Blog posts, Robert Jordan has mentioned the fact the Borderlands rulers are out of position among the Shadow's successes. It could, however, be an indirect success rather than the result of schemes by Darkfriends or Forsaken.

6. The Rulers and their inner circle:


Not only the rulers themselves but several people of high standing and importance to their nations and their defenses are part of the expedition to meet Rand:


Saldaea:

Her Illumined Majesty, Shield of the North and Sword of the Blightborder, High Seat of House Kazadi, Lady of Shahayni, Asnelle, Kunwar and Ganai, Queen Tenobia si Bashere Kazadi: By far the youngest, most unpredictable and perhaps even volatile of the four rulers - described as a wildfire in a high wind, Tenobia recalls a bit her cousin Faile. Ethenielle judges that only Bashere was able to reason with Tenobia. She is reputed not to listen to advice except from soldiers. She presently bears a deep grudge against her Marshall General who, sent to kill Mazrim Taim, has rather ended up a Dragonsworn following Rand. Also worrying to Tenobia is the news that Taim follows Rand. Even without the fact that attacking the Black Tower would be suicidal, the Andoran armies still near Caemlyn because of the succession make it unlikely that Tenobia will do more than rage. Tenobia is also of interest because of all the hints that there exist between her and Faile a rivalry not completely dissimilar to that between Faile and Berelain. Tenobia's impossible standards for men (not so dissimilar from Deira's, or Faile's) has left her unmarried. What would she think of the fact her younger cousin Zarine found a man before her? There's also the fact that holding his heir would be an asset for Tenobia to bring Davram Bashere to heel. Perrin's group eventually bumping into the Bordermen coming South would certainly open interesting avenues. Should Tenobia die, Davram Bashere is first in the line of Succession, followed by Faile herself.

Lord Kalyan Ramsin: One of Tenobia's uncles and generals. He is probably the leading officer of the forces Tenobia brought with her in the expedition south and by the end of Knife of Dreams he is almost certainly at her side still, some fifty miles northeast of Caemlyn. His relationship to the Marshall-General Davram Bashere is unknown – kin, friend or rival?


Arafel:

King Paitar Neramovni Nachiman: An old man, King Paitar is reputed a wise and competent ruler, like Ethenielle and Easar. He is the only one of the four to have his Aes Sedai advisor with him, Coladara. Paitar's beloved sister is Kiruna Nachiman, a Green of rebel allegiance who has sworn fealty to Rand after Dumai's Wells. Paitar is to be considered the ruler most positive toward Aes Sedai, a result of his deep love for his sister Kiruna. Paitar is the one who remarked in The Path of Daggers that having thirteen sisters with them could prove useful later.

Ishigari Terasian: He is a councilor to King Paitar.

Lord Kyril Shianri: Another coucilor of the King. Queen Ethenielle considers him "a fool in many ways", though one that is more than he appears at first glance. She comments that Kings of Arafel don't pay much mind to their councilors, relying instead on their Queen (and their Aes Sedai advisor). Lord Shianri is convinced of the rightness of their cause going south. If there are darkfriends influencing the rulers, he may be a suspect.

Kandor:

Her Most Illuminated Majesty, Ethenielle Cosaru Noramaga, By the Blessing of the Light, Queen of Kandor, Protector of the Land, Shield of the North, High Seat of House Noramaga: In her middle-years and Queen of Arafel for over two decades, Ethenielle is widowed since the murders of her consort and her son by the Black sister Merean (in New Spring the novel) - a fact kept secret by Moiraine and Lan.

Lord Baldhere: Swordbearer to the Throne of the Clouds and general of the armies of Kandor. He has accompanied his Queen in the expedition South to find the Dragon Reborn.

Lady Serailla: The unflappable First Councilor to the Throne of the Clouds, the second important player with Ethenielle in the South. She appears to have played a role in convincing Ethenielle she must go south. If the Shadow has been involved, she could be one of the Darkfriends.

Lomas: A scout with the army Queen Ethenielle brought south.

Shienar:

King Easar Togita: King Easar is a strong, hard man. Not a great deal is known about him.

Lord Agelmar Jagad: Lord of the city-fortress of Fal Dara in northern Shienar. He has earned the status of Great Captain, and is with his King in the South. Friend of Moiraine and Lan, he is the only one in the inner circle of the rulers to have met Rand al'Thor. Lord Agelmar has first hand knowledge that the Horn of Valere has been found, and (as far as he knows) that at least one seal on the Dark One's prison is broken - something all the rulers may have been told about. Lord Agelmar, of course, also knows Padan Fain. Lord Agelmar's opinion of Rand may not be too positive at all. When they met, Agelmar found him to be an ignorant country oaf with no manners. Not only that, but of his men (actually Ingtar's liegemen, but he was sworn to Agelmar himself) sent after the Horn, only Hurin ever came back. It is unknown if rumours of a "Shienaran Lord" being the Prophet of the Dragon in Ghealdan ever reached him, as it did for instance Elaida. Knowledge about the Horn and what happened in Falme has been shared with the four other rulers.

Alesune Chulin: Shatayan of the Royal Household of Shienar, a position more akin to that of Mayor of the palace than that of head housekeeper. Ethenielle judges her fiery. Alesune Chulin has misgivings about going South. Where others like Ethenielle talk of leaving behind enough to stop anything short of the Trolloc Wars, Alesune rather talks of leaving the Blight "All but unguarded".

Lord Kayen Yokata: Another general of Shienar and Lord of the city-fortress of Fal Eisen. Lord Kayen is with King Easar and was the one who greeted Elayne on her visit to the Borderlands rulers back in Winter's Heart. The fact two of the city-fortresses' Lords are with the King is not a good sign for the future of Shienar: Easar may have most or all of them with him, possibly leaving his city-fortresses is less capable hands.

Hurin: Lord Agelmar's Sniffer. Hurin has personal knowledge of Rand, Perrin, Mat and Loial with whom he travelled during The Great Hunt, and he was much impressed with "Lord Rand". In the aftermath of the events of Falme, Hurin escorted Verin's party back to Tar Valon. He got to know Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne well. Leaving them to return to his liege in Shienar, he promised the three women they could call for him at any time. We know from an explanation by Robert Jordan in Question of the Week that Hurin is responsible for spreading the news about the Dragon Reborn and Falme, the sounding of the Horn etc. in Shienar, and that we should be able to glean the effect this from the news that came out of the Borderlands from the Dragon Reborn onward (the troubles, the unusual skirmishes and riots the Tower's eyes-and-ears heard of, in Shienar etc.). Hurin is presumably with Lord Agelmar.



TGS (ch1, 2 or prologue) spoiler - click to expand

Apparently, Brandon confirmed that he is, at a Q&A, though we couldn't find a quote.

Before Knife of Dreams, Robert Jordan said in one of the Questions of the Week that Hurin would reappear in that book. He did not, in the end, but it's a good sign we're not done with Hurin. There may be at least a second Sniffer with the Bordermen as King Easar also has one. Their skills would have come in handy to avoid any encounters going south.

The 13 Aes Sedai with the rulers:


Coladara and her seven friends: Coladara is another Aes Sedai of unknown Ajah who is the advisor of King Paitar of Arafel. She, and seven sisters who were visiting her in Shol Arbela, have joined the expedition of the rulers to the South. Coladara is very approximately of an age with Siuan and Moiraine, having been an Accepted with them. Most suspect she is Green Ajah and probably on very good terms with Kiruna Nachiman.

Illeisien + four: Queen Tenobia managed to elude Memara, the Red Ajah envoy sent to her by Elaida (chosen by Alviarin, in truth), remaining for months out of Maradon. As she made her way to the Black Hills, she bumped into Illeisien Sedai, leading four other sisters, at the Saldaean border. They insisted on following her, and keep the expedition secret. Their allegiances are unknown.


7. Others players involved/connected to those story lines:

Nianh Sedai : Aes Sedai of unknown Ajah, she was advisor to the Queen of Kandor. She left Chachin without a warning when she heard of the Tower split. Her wherabouts and allegiance are still unknown. Some made the point that all advisors in the Borderlands are likely to be Green Ajah, but that remains only a guess at the moment.

Aisling Noon: Aisling Noon is a Green Ajah Aes Sedai of Tuatha'an origins, with a fierce temper and fierce eyes, and a language peppered with very coarse Borderlands curses that recall Uno's and make even Lan Mandragoran wince. She was the advisor to King Easar of Shienar before she returned to the Tower without warning when she heard about the split. She recalls the radical changes that occured in Aram when he gave up the Way of the Leaf, though with Aes Sedai training her fires to fight the Shadow are probably far better contained and less self destructive. Aisling is approximately of an age with Siuan and Moiraine and was Accepted with them. Part of those who were sent to the Black Tower in Toveine's party, we thus know she isn't Black Ajah (because Alviarin made sure no Black sister would be involved). Aisling was captured and bonded by Arel Marevin, a Cairhienin Asha'man of unknown rank from Logain's faction. Aisling is part of the group that reached Rand at the Agarin manor in tear, participating in the battle against the Shadowspawn there, and in Semirhage's capture.

TGS (ch1, 2 or prologue) spoiler - click to expand

It is unknown at the moment if Aisling is part of the group with Rand at Lord Tellean's country retreat in Arad Doman or elsewhere. As former advisor of King Easar, Aisling could no doubt be an asset if and when Rand decides to contact the Borderlanders.

Kiruna Nachiman and Bera Harkin: Kiruna is an Arafellin statutesque Green sister who joined the Salidar gathering and was sent with her fellow Green Bera Harkin (from Andor) by Sheriam's circle to the Aiel Waste, in a failed effort to find Rand. Finding their way to Rand in Caemlyn instead, they took control of Merana's embassy, sending some of them to Salidar, and ended up leading the nine sisters who fought on Perrin,s side at Dumai's Well, after which the nine were all brought to swear fealty to Rand al'Thor. Bera and Kiruna have been brought to an extent under Cadsuane's influence and were part of her group at Lady Ailil's palace in Cairhien. Bera Harkin was part of the group Alanna Mosvani brought to Tear to negotiate with the Tairen rebels at Rand's order. Bera was last seen in the Stone of Tear in Knife of Dreams, where she presumably still is with Alanna. Kiruna has not been seen since Winter's Heart, and is presumably still in Cairhien. Kiruna Nachiman is of special interest because she is the beloved sister of King Paitar Nachiman of Arafel. She could be a key player in solving the situation with the Borderlands rulers in Andor - or a big load of trouble, depending on how King Paitar takes the fact she's Dragonsworn and if he thinks she's been coerced. Kiruna has four Warders, and Bera has three.

Isam Mandragoran: Isam is Lan's older cousin. He was a toddler when Malkier fell in 955 NE. He was the son of Breyan, the woman who plotted with the darkfriend Cowin Gemallan and ended up causing the fall of Malkier. She disappeared in the attack, with her son. Who raised Isam and how he was merged with Lord Luc Mantear into the creature the wolves and Perrin call Slayer is one of Jordan's 'RAFOs'. Isam was last seen in Winter's Heart in Far Madding, and shortly before in the same book he was spotted spying as Luc in the reflection of the Caemlyn palace in tel'aran'rhiod. By Winter's Heart Isam was still under orders to find and kill Fain, but was momentarily commissioned by a disguised male channeller he was convinced was a Chosen to make an attempt to kill Rand (it turned out the patron's information was incorrect and the man not Rand). The identity of the patron was not revealed, but

TGS (ch1, 2 or prologue) spoiler - click to expand

After what Demandred said about wanting to kill Rand in the field himself in What the Storm Means, it seems to be down to Aran'gar or Osan'gar, if Slayer was right about the man being a Chosen.

Jain Farstrider Charin: Jain Farstrider is with Mat, under the alias of Noal Charin. A man of many mysteries, once used may years ago by Ishamael as a 'fool' to spread his tales about the Eye of the World to the Ogier. Jain still shows signs of recent Compulsion. His connection to Lan and Malkier comes from the fact that as a young man, he was the one to capture the traitor Cowin Gemallan and bring him to Lan's father's justice. It is unknown if Farstrider is or isn't a Malkieri.

Myrelle Berengari: Myrelle's potential connection to these story lines comes from the fact she still holds Lan Mandragoran's bond. She is the one who can eventually puzzle out that Lan is riding steadily from west to east in the Borderlands. What will Myrelle do with this is anyone's guess, but it is well to remember that Myrelle is the Captain-General of the Green Ajah among the rebels. If anyone decides to bring an army of Aes Sedai to Lan's aid, she may be the one.

Moiraine Damodred: Moiraine was of course Lan's former Aes Sedai, currently held in the realms of the Aelfinn and Eelfinn and likely about to be rescued. Speculation abounds about what Moiraine might do once released. While most believe she will try to join the Dragon Reborn, there are others who wonder if she's not gonna repay Lan's long years of loyalty to her by joining his cause in return, now that Tarmon Gai'don is coming and he's raised the Golden Crane, especially since Nynaeve can't, as she doesn't want to leave Rand's side. Moiraine is a personal friend of Myrelle. Moiraine has knowledge that Isam Mandragoran may be alive from the dark prophecy, information she has kept from Lan. Should she discuss this with Nynaeve, who's seen Isam, she might learn this is information she should share with Lan now.

A second authorized review of The Gathering Storm

It's now the turn of Melissa, from Tarvalon.net, to publish her review of The Gathering Storm.

It's a great but completely spoiler free, without even the general pointers on the plot Jason had. Completely safe to read. It's also thoroughly positive. Check it out.

New Interview with Harriet McDougal & Brandon Sanderson

Tor Boooks' Blog has put up a new video interview with Robert Jordan's widow and editor Harriet and Brandon Sanderson. It's a relatively short one, but it's always great to listen to Harriet (it's the smile)!

The Storm is Coming! #7: More Waste of Aes Sedai

More Waste of Aes Sedai

By Linda

In 2005 BobH compiled a list of all Aes Sedai who are 'out of action' for one reason or another and why, and we republish his Dead, Captured and Missing Aes Sedai article here as part of our recap for The Gathering Storm. It's interesting that since the series began, over 10% of the Aes Sedai have died, been taken prisoner, or are missing.