Harmony Through Service : Wheel of Time Discussion

[Christine]

 

 

 

 

Welcome, everyone to the Wheel of Time Discussion for the Harmony Through Service Blue/Gray Event!

 

 

 

We often call ourselves Aes Sedai here. And, as Aes Sedai, we fit into our Ajahs with a purpose. It is pointed out, occasionally, what Aes Sedai means in the old tongue : Servant of All. The questions I lay before all of you, with those words in mind, are these:

 

 

 

Do the Aes Sedai in the books uphold this concept?

Have they always upheld this idea of being a Servant of all?

If they are not servants of all, then what could they do differently, to be these servants?

Are some Ajahs more likely to be servants than others?

 

 

/discuss

[Christine]

I would say that the Aes Sedai in the Age of Legends fit this much better than the present Aes Sedai. Back then, their goal was to help others. It seems like, the closer that Tarmon Gaidan come, the more that the Aes Sedai worry about their own problems and their own goals.

 

On the note of the Ajahs, some Ajahs are more inclined than others to help visibly. The yellow Ajah heals, and the Grays prevent warfare. The Greens help to protect those around the Blight. Other Ajahs help, but are likely not recognized as much. The Brown Ajah preserves history, and the Whites contimplate the great arguments. The Blues seek out justice. All of these are great things, but are not an immediate help to the average farmer. As for the Red Ajah, they do protect the world from Male Channelers, but they are only serving the general population, not those that are the channelers (as gentling them leads to their death).

 

And, while the Ajah perogatives are good in theory, they are not always carried out properly.

[Ryrin]

I think the present Aes Sedai are focused on saving the world from the shadow and doing this with as little damage to the world as possible. Perhaps, this has been their greatest mission yet? Each Aes Sedai will approach the coming battle in the way they see best and that may lead us to believe that they are meeting their own interests/squabbling, rather than desperately trying to fight on the side of the light in the way they see best. Surely, Tamra, Siuan and Moiraine have given up much for this cause as well as others who have paid with their lives.

 

I don't think the purpose of the Aes Sedai is to provide direct help to all of those in the world that need it, such as the farmer (other than healing.) They operate on a macro level for society and sometimes make mistakes, as they are still just human beings with special gifts and training.

[Mashiara Sedai]

I agree; the current Aes Sedai do have their focus on the Last Battle. But, in the Age of Legends, Aes Sedai gained their third name by community service and their helping capabilities. I feel the Aes Sedai of the present would balk at doing menial talks like controlling the weather, etc. I think the Kin will be the new group that will help the common man, since Aes Sedai consider themselves higher, or better, than everone around them.

[Ryrin]

I agree; the current Aes Sedai do have their focus on the Last Battle. But, in the Age of Legends, Aes Sedai gained their third name by community service and their helping capabilities. I feel the Aes Sedai of the present would balk at doing menial talks like controlling the weather, etc. I think the Kin will be the new group that will help the common man, since Aes Sedai consider themselves higher, or better, than everone around them.

 

What an excellent was to utilize the Kin's channeling ability!

[lolguy26]

I hate to annoy anybody, but alot of times AS seem to have grown used to power and control (something close to being spoiled), i mean the WT has been around for atleast 2000-3000, and in all that time all they did was try to gain influence from every nation.

 

And i have a hard accepting that the REDS would be servants.

 

They need a lesson in humility. (not all of them)

[Elgee]

It could be that the Aes Sedai in the Age of Legends acted more true to their name, but we have very sketchy information on that. That being said, very few of the current ones are doing what they should. Let's look at them per group:

 

Blues: Siuan and Moiraine are dedicated to finding the Dragon Reborn and getting him to save the world. Other than them, what are the other ones up to? Who are they bringing justice to?

 

Browns: Gathering and preserving knowledge. A wonderful thing to do, but what are they then using it for? Are they in turn passing this knowledge on for the betterment of the world? Starting schools? Training teachers?

 

Grays: Mediate and deliver justice. We hear of a few who have done this, but could they not be more active in the justice department, for instance? The nobility seemed to get away with murder (literally) before Rand put a stop to it.

 

Greens: The warriors. One would certainly expect them to be up there at the Blight Border, but we never hear of any of them do this, nor are they there when the Shadowspawn strike. Probably the group who failed most miserably.

 

Reds: Apart from having the largest amount of Black Ajah amongst them, they have actually done the best at their "job". They have hunted down men who can channel, and prevented them from wreaking havoc and breaking the world again.

 

Whites: The seekers after truth and logic. Whoopdiedoo. Another Ajah who doesn's DO anything with what they've found/gained/gathered.

 

Yellows: The Healers. Ok so here and there they stumble across someone and Heal them. Where are the hospitals and health centres? Why aren't there Yellows stationed all over Randland? I put them 2nd behind the Greens for failing at their mission.

[michellem]

Basically, everything Elgee and Mashi said!

[Ryrin]

While Aes Sedia are important characters but they are not the main characters.

 

Blue: focus is on finding the Dragon. Other Aes Sedai serve as emissaries and advisors to Kings/Queens. In this way, they can engineer justice and causes. It was said that many sisters were in and out of the Tower, so it can be assumed they were working towards their purposes. They also have an elaborate network of eyes and ears.

 

Browns: If we don't know history, we are bound to make the same mistakes again. It was a Brown who discovered the network/names of the Black Ajah.

 

Grays: They have been responsible for ending many wars and conflicts over the last 3,000 years.

 

Greens: As Moiraine said, she did not want Lan to waste his life dying a lonely death in the blight. There will be plenty of opportunities for war in the LB. Greens are described assisting in battles in New Spring. At one point, there were only two Aes Sedai in the Tower during the Aiel war. Greens have been present in every war and were with the armies. It is a Green who discovered how to make or duplicate angreal.

 

Reds: While fulfilling their duty towards men who can channel, they were one of the most corrupt in the Tower and susceptible to the shadow.

 

Whites: They are the smallest Ajah. Twelve were sent to Cairhein to the Dragon and one to the Black Tower.

 

Yellows: Healers. I do not think there are enough Yellows to populate the world and heal. Yellows were very active in healing in the wars. It was a Yellow who discovered the way to heal stilling and madness in men who can channel.

 

Just my take.

[Christine]

While I do agree that the Reds did their job, didn't they also encourage male channelers to claim they were the Dragon Reborn? So, kind of a flop, really.

[michellem]

But Chrissy, that was mostly BlackReds, wasn't it?

[Christine]

Was it? I could have sworn Elaida was involved.

 

And speaking of Red Amyrlins, they don't exactly have the best track records.

[Christine]

ILU Elgee! <3

[michellem]

Well, Elaida was pretty messed in the head right from the start, I think. Some serious cases of personality disorders in that woman. And then being exposed to Padan Fain on top of that... She was a lost cause from the beginning!

[Leala Sedai]

Do the Aes Sedai in the books uphold this concept?

 

Individually, not always. There are some Aes Sedai that are out for themselves in the books, in my opinion.

 

 

Sheriam maintained that she became a Black, for example, because she wanted to advance in Tower politics. On the other hand, you have Verin who infiltrated the Blacks to help the others. I also consider Lelaine to be all out for herself. But I digress.

 

 

As a whole, I believe that they do uphold this philosophy. They treat their power like it's a privilege, something to be respected. and when they work as a group, they pull together the best that they can to get the job done. There are conflicting ideas and protocols all the time, but the White Tower has been an institution for three thousand years. Policies have and most likely will change some more. Some policies and traditions work against the philosophy, like the more powerful the sister, the more authority she holds. Each Aes Sedai has a different idea of how things should be done, but I think that for the most part, at their core, they want to be Servants of all.

 

Have they always upheld this idea of being a Servant of all?

 

No, not always.

Kidnapping Rand being a good example of that...

But Aes Sedai are humans. Humans have flaws.

 

If they are not servants of all, then what could they do differently, to be these servants?

 

I would think Egwene has the right idea. They need to re-examine their policies and traditions to figure out the best way to uphold their titles. As a group, I might add.

 

Are some Ajahs more likely to be servants than others?

 

I think each Ajah brings a good amount of help to their plight. The Reds have a very specific purpose, and with all the changes going on, they'll have to change what they're about. The Blue's main purpose is the Servant of All philosophy in its purest form, in my opinion. Seeking wrongs to right, that's what I think Aes Sedai are about. Yellows have a very specific purpose, as do the Greens, but they both offer a great amount of help. The Browns help preserve the world's knowledge. Knowledge is power. The Whites I would think help int he education of the world and should be an anchor for progress. And the Grays help hold the world together, so to speak.

 

So, yeah. Go Ajahs. ;)

[Ryrin]

I really hope that in MoL, we find out the new purpose of Reds. Egwene spoke very assuringly that Reds are valuable and their contributions would find new channels, so to speak.

[Leala Sedai]

Someone pointed out that they would likely take up the task of making sure people didn't abuse the One Power, which makes sense to me. :)

[Daruya]

Ahhh, so y'all think the Reds could/would become the "law enforcement" Ajah?!

[Christine]

It would be law enforcement, but only against those that are also channelers. While Female Aes Sedai of old are held to the rod, what about the Asha'man?

[Daruya]

I'm not sure they would agree to swear on the Oath Rod and I'm sure Rand would be against it, unless they left off (or modified) the oath not to use the Power as a weapon, etc.

[Leala Sedai]

I agree with that, Dar. Weapons are what the Asha'man are.

[RandA lThor]

My take on this:

 

The goal of the Aes Sedai has always been to help the people around them. However, I think that they have all started to falter somewhat.

 

Blue: Trying to find justice, seeking the Dragon reborn, they thought that they could help everyone by bringing him under the WT, not knowing that that would hurt everyone else.

 

White: Trying to solve problems that appear using cold logic, sometimes forget to factor in emotion, and are often too focused on theoretical ideas.

 

Red: Kind of obvious, they don't like men at all pretty much and tried to bring down the DR even though they thought they would help the world by gentling men.

 

Yellow: Thought they would help the world by healing and so on, but they are getting out less and less and we can see more of them being jealous of people such as Nynaeve and actually being very selfish about their things.

 

Brown: Thought they could preserve knowledge that would help, however, almost no one gets access to that knowledge anyways.

 

Gray: Try to mediate and have treaties, are now, in DR negotiations, tilting them towards WT favor.

 

Green: Thought to fight and save lives by helping in the effort, but however, recently have been very forward in doing things, not as restrictive in going into battle and risking themselves, also bold moves like Alanna bonding Rand.

[lolguy26]

My take on this:

 

The goal of the Aes Sedai has always been to help the people around them. However, I think that they have all started to falter somewhat.

 

Blue: Trying to find justice, seeking the Dragon reborn, they thought that they could help everyone by bringing him under the WT, not knowing that that would hurt everyone else.

 

White: Trying to solve problems that appear using cold logic, sometimes forget to factor in emotion, and are often too focused on theoretical ideas.

 

Red: Kind of obvious, they don't like men at all pretty much and tried to bring down the DR even though they thought they would help the world by gentling men.

 

Yellow: Thought they would help the world by healing and so on, but they are getting out less and less and we can see more of them being jealous of people such as Nynaeve and actually being very selfish about their things.

 

Brown: Thought they could preserve knowledge that would help, however, almost no one gets access to that knowledge anyways.

 

Gray: Try to mediate and have treaties, are now, in DR negotiations, tilting them towards WT favor.

 

Green: Thought to fight and save lives by helping in the effort, but however, recently have been very forward in doing things, not as restrictive in going into battle and risking themselves, also bold moves like Alanna bonding Rand.

 

The AS now, want everything in their favor, i understand the logic behind it, but as RJ said:"The Wheel Weaves As The Wheel Wills".

[michellem]

I think the Reds will become the channeling police force, sort of. If a wilder someone abuses the Power, or someone who isn't yet fully trained run away, or one of the other channeling groups that will be around (the Aiel, the Sea Folk, the Kin) misuse the Power in some way, the Reds will be the one who deals with it. Regardless if the channeler is male or female.

[lolguy26]

I think the Reds will become the channeling police force, sort of. If a wilder someone abuses the Power, or someone who isn't yet fully trained run away, or one of the other channeling groups that will be around (the Aiel, the Sea Folk, the Kin) misuse the Power in some way, the Reds will be the one who deals with it. Regardless if the channeler is male or female.

 

So they are OP PD