9 rods of dominion

[Denver Steve]

Is the oath rod one of the nine rods of dominion?

 

i vaguely remember at least one other rod.. 

 

Just a random thought i had.

[2RiversFan]

Rods of Dominion - Tar Valon Library

library.tarvalon.net › title=Rods_of_Dominion

 

1.  

May 7, 2016 - The Nine Rods of Dominion were symbols of office (December 19th, 2005) during the Age of Legends. None of the Forsaken were among the Nine Rods of Dominion. Today, the Rods are largely forgotten and some historians, although not all, believe that the Oath Rod of the Aes Sedai may be one of the Nine Rods of Dominion.

 

https://library.tarvalon.net/index.php?title=Rods_of_Dominion

 

I'm not sure if there is anything in the Companion or the Encyclopedia; I don't own either of them

[Effete]

The Oath Rod in the White Tower was said to be engraved with the number "3", which some believed represented the Three Oaths. But the rod that Samael gives to Sevanna was engraved with, IIRC, an "11."

(Or was it "111"? Something else entirely??)

 

At any rate, it was higher than nine. Not sure what that suggests, but it seems to rule out Sevanna's rod being one of the nine.

[mistborn82]

The Binders were used on channeling criminals in the Age of Legends and have nothing to do with the Rods of Dominion. My guess is the rods were like imperial scepters given to continental governors since there was a world government.

[Effete]

On 4/26/2020 at 2:41 PM, mistborn82 said:

The Binders were used on channeling criminals in the Age of Legends and have nothing to do with the Rods of Dominion. My guess is the rods were like imperial scepters given to continental governors since there was a world government.

 

This makes sense.

 

As an aside, the "Rods of Dominion" sounds quite ominous. I'm fairly certain "dominion" is meant to refer to the extent of one's governance (i.e., lines on a map), but it kinda sounds like the Age of Legends was a dystopian dictatorship, with whoever holds a Rod commanding obeisance from the plebs.

 

Ohh, the power of words... 

[mistborn82]

We really know next to nothing about the AOL except a very, very few major events.

[Effete]

On 4/28/2020 at 11:04 AM, mistborn82 said:

We really know next to nothing about the AOL except a very, very few major events.

 

True. But I think the general vibe was it was pretty much a utopia. Weather control made the seasons predictable, with little or no natural disasters; Chora trees everywhere spread peace and contentment (opiate for the masses?); and pretty much everyone's needs were met.

[mistborn82]

It probably was peaceful on the surface but we don't know how deep it went. All our knowledge is basically from when the equivalent of when pandora's box was open. I haven't read either of the guides so I don't know if or how much info they give from before the bore.

[Harldin]

@mistborn82 i’ve read the Wheel of Time Companion and it is written as a history book late in the 3rd Age using scraps of whatever information is available, while it is definitely worth getting hold of and reading, it doesn’t really go into life before the Bore is open, just major events from then on till late in the 3rd Age. 
There is no real information on what life was like for the average person, other than there was supposedly little to no crime, war or starvation, but how much freedom or say the non Aes Sedai had it doesn’t say.
Were the Aes Sedai a elite Dictatorship? You certainly are not going to get a yay or nay out of Tar Valon on that, even if it is in the secret archives.

The problem any Scholars in the late 3rd Age, early 4th Age are going to strike is that most of the information is going to be buried deep inside Tar Valon.

[johnnysd]

I always thought the Nine Rods was sort of an overt reference to LOTR, and were rods that the 9 main rulers of the world had and that they were in part created or summoned by Lews Therin. Also I thought the AOL was not quote the Utopia it was said to be with a definite class society and maggots in the gruel so to speak.

[Harldin]

9 minutes ago, johnnysd said:

I always thought the Nine Rods was sort of an overt reference to LOTR, and were rods that the 9 main rulers of the world had and that they were in part created or summoned by Lews Therin. Also I thought the AOL was not quote the Utopia it was said to be with a definite class society and maggots in the gruel so to speak.

It could mean any number of things, especially with Jordans writing style. It could be as you say, be 9 rods held by 9 members of a ruling Council, may or may not be Angreal or Ter’Angreal. Rod may just be what the Councillors were called, with memory of the reason lost to the winds of time, now just legend or even myth. 

[wotfan4472]

The nine rods are more like the members that represent the nations of the General Assembly of the United Nations, or the Governor Generals of the British Empire representing each colony. Essentially titles is my interpretation of the use of that name.

They are all political leaders in the similar idea as the two examples. Lews Therin worked more as an expert that had great influence on decisions they made when they met, due to his capacity as leader of the Aes Sedai, which would be top experts in many fields, and could give the information the Aes Sedai had, and the world might need at any given situation.

 

It is a different idea of input than having a political head of the entire world, where the nine rods would be given instructions to carry out when they had meetings with him.

 

Lews Therin clearly, however had more direct control of the rest of the Aes Sedai, but only in the use of the One Power, since he would be involved in any decisions that chose specific Aes Sedai for specific tasks, or the far more important investigation and possible punishment for deliberate or accidental misuse of the One Power that caused harm, which is an important function.

Edited May 11, 2020 by wotfan4472