Tower Law & Customs

[Jagen Sedai]

Tower Law & Customs

 

All of these laws and customs are cannon from the books. Among Aes Sedai, some customs and traditions are as strong as laws.

 

Novices & Accepted

 

Rules Regarding Novices

 

• Novices may not leave the Tower grounds unless in the company of an Aes Sedai.

• Novices must wear all-white dresses, belt pouches, stockings, and, when out-of-doors, cloaks.

• Novices may not speak to Aes Sedai unless they are told to.

• Novices must curtsy every time they pass an Aes Sedai.

• Novices may not touch or use the One Power unless with an Accepted who is teaching classes or an Aes Sedai is present.

• Novices may never attempt the weave of Healing.

 

Rules Regarding Accepted

 

• An Accepted's uniform consists of her Great Serpent ring, which she is to wear on the third finger of her left hand, and a dress different only from a novice's in that it is banded with the seven Ajah colors on the hem. A more formal version has the bands of color on the cuffs as well (which is the main dress we see in the books).

• Accepted may wear non-white accessories (belt, slippers) and jewelry.

• Accepted have their own rooms, and may even be given apartments.

• Accepted are not allowed to bond Warders under any circumstances.

• Accepted may not leave Tar Valon except on official business.

• Accepted may not be seen to be hurrying unless necessary.

• Accepted are responsible for arranging their own classes with Aes Sedai.

• Accepted, when teaching other Accepted or novices, has the teacher status of Aes Sedai so long as the lesson lasts.

• Accepted are responsible for deciding in which direction to take their studies.

• Accepted are never to speak of what they experienced on their test for Accepted.

 

 

Tower Matters

 

Testing for Accepted:

• The Test: The test requires a novice to pass through a ter’angreal composed of three arches of silvery metal. Three chances are offered to walk through the arches. The offer might be refused twice, but if it was refused the third time, the woman is put out of the Tower. Once the test begins, it must be completed by passing through each arch, to face one’s fears of what was, what is and what will be. A woman who refuses to complete her three journeys is to be put out of the Tower even if it is the first time she has a chance at the test.

• Recommendation: Normally, a novice was recommended for testing by the Mistress of Novices. This recommendation had to be approved by the Amyrlin Seat, by a Sitter, or by three sisters. An approval by three sisters or one Sitter could be rejected by the Amyrlin, and she could only be overruled by the lesser consensus of the Hall. Even if the Mistress of Novices did not make such a recommendation, the testing could be ordered by the Amyrlin acting in conjunction with at least two Sitters, or by three Sitters, or by six sisters. A recommendation in this manner could be rejected by the Amyrlin or in various other ways. Thus, a recommendation by six sisters could be rejected by three Sitters, and a recommendation by three Sitters could be rejected if three others felt it unsafe or unwise. If the Amyrlin herself ordered the testing, she could be overruled by six Sitters.

 

Testing for Aes Sedai: The conditions for becoming and being Aes Sedai are written in Tower law. However, as the Amyrlin can decree almost anything, it was accepted (very reluctantly) when one Amyrlin decreed four Accepted to be raised Aes Sedai due to special circumstances. However, all Aes Sedai must be bound by the Three Oaths.

 

Bonding: Anyone below an Aes Sedai may not bond a Warder; it is not quite a stilling offense, but close to it. One Accepted who bonded a Warder was denied her testing, forced to pass the bond, and worked in the Tower kitchens for three years; upon her raising, the Amyrlin chose her Warder for her.

 

Letters:

• Letters that are "Sealed to the Flame" are only to be opened by the Amyrlin Seat. For anyone else to open them is accounted a crime as strong as assaulting the Amyrlin herself.

• Letters and decrees that are "Sealed to the Hall" are only to be opened or known by Sitters of the Hall of the Tower.

• Letters and decrees that are "Sealed to the Ring" can be opened or known by any full Aes Sedai.

• Any letter that is not sealed can be known by any Tower initiate, even the newest novice.

 

Trial & Punishment Matters:

• An Amyrlin can decree any penance for any sister, including Sitters, short of stilling, right up to the most serious punishment of a public birching and/or exile.

• Penance. A practice imposed on Aes Sedai as needed. While penance supposedly is in no way a punishment, it can be imposed on a sister as one just the same, by the Amyrlin, by the Hall, or by one’s own Ajah (and, in rare circumstances, another Ajah). Penance is divided into four sorts: Labor, Deprivation, Mortification of the Flesh and Mortification of the Spirit. For sisters, the last is much more likely to come in a self-imposed penance than one imposed by another agency. The belief among Aes Sedai, by and large, is that they have to maintain a proper and fitting balance between pride and humility. The purpose of penance, officially at least, was not so much to punish as it is to remind the sister of the proper balance and help her to restore it. The Hall usually imposes one of the first three. However, Mortification of the Flesh is prescribed under Tower law for certain offenses even by sisters. In most cases it is chosen when the penance has to be over quickly for some reason and it is seldom publicized.

• Traitor's Court: The Traitor’s Court is used for only three purposes: executions, the stilling of an Aes Sedai, or the gentling of a man who could channel. All three take an order from the Amyrlin Seat.

  • It is custom that every Aes Sedai, Accepted, novice, and even the servants gather in the Traitor’s Court to watch the will of Tar Valon made fact. Warders ring the courtyard.

  • A channeled ward forms a shimmering gray dome over the Court for Tower privacy. It holds in sound.

• Claiming to be Aes Sedai: A woman claiming to be Aes Sedai when one is not violates a Tower law that is enforced strictly, even against women who are not initiates of the Tower.

• Gentling. It is Tower law that a man must be brought to Tar Valon and have a trial before he is gentled.

• Stilling. The act, performed by Aes Sedai, of shutting off a woman who can channel from the One Power. In the Tower, stilling is the result of trial and sentence for a crime. Treason to the Tower is one example of a crime in which stilling would be the sentence.

• Using the Chair of Remorse: A ter’angreal in the White Tower used for punishment and confession, this is used against thieves and other criminals caught in Tar Valon. The use of the chair on any initiate of the Tower is absolutely forbidden by law. It can, however, be used on a servant caught stealing, for example.

• "Tower law was intricate, and sorting out the proper punishments and interpretations could be complicated." (tGS38)

• If the Amyrlin names someone a Darkfriend without proof carries a maximum punishment of formal censure from the Hall and penance for a month. It is assumed this punishment is the same for any sister who accuses another.

• A High Court: It is "no thing of minutes or even hours", and implies a long trial.

• The Hall can choose when to sit for a matter, but it is not known if there is a time limit or window in which they must.

• Before calling a witness forward, the following is intoned: "You have been called before the Hall of the Tower to relate what you have seen. I charge you to speak of these things without the evasion or holding back and to answer each question in complete fullness leaving out nothing. Say now that you will do so. Under the light and by your hope of the rebirth and salvation or suffer the consequences." The witness gives assurance and can begin giving her account.Witnesses are to address the Amyrlin seat when speaking.

• Chair of Pardon: A title for the person who is defending the one on trial. In some instances, the Chair of Pardon faces the same penalty as the one she defended. It is stated that the Amyrlin (or maybe this was just Elaida) could name people to the Chair of Pardon.

 

 

The Hall of the Tower & Legislation

The highest council of Aes Sedai, serves as the legislature of the White Tower and the governing body of all Aes Sedai. It consists of three representatives, called Sitters, from each Ajah. An Ajah head may or may not also be a Sitter, but none outside her Ajah will know this. Most sisters wear the shawl for at least seventy years before becoming a Sitter, if chosen to do so.

 

A Sitting of the Hall: The Hall can convene both formally and informally in a meeting known as a Sitting, during which the Hall may vote, discuss important information, or question people summoned to the Hall. There are special rules governing such a meeting:

• Calling a Sitting

  • A formal sitting of the Hall is called by three Sitters who have the same question. This question must be addressed before any other during the sitting.

  • More than half (eleven) of the Sitters are needed for a formal sitting of the hall to commence. When an Amyrlin is raised it is agreed that all Sitters should to be present for a formal sitting.

  • By tradition, the two oldest Sitters reserve the right to sit in position closest to the Amyrlin's Seat. After that, seating is on a first come basis.

  • The three Sitters of each Ajah sit together, so it is the responsibility of the sister who arrives first to select a good position for her Ajah. Typically, the seats closest to the Amyrlin's are the best.

  • The youngest sitter speaks the phrases that open a formal sitting, though another sitter may override this privilege.

  • Every Sitter and the Amyrlin Seat have to be notified of a Sitting before it happens.

  • The Amyrlin can call for proceedings to be Sealed to the Flame, but if she gains no support in the move from the Hall, then the sitting will be open to all sisters.

• Decorum During a Sitting

  • There is a prohibition on speeches.

  • Displays of anger are forbidden in the Hall.

  • Excepting exactly prescribed functions, channeling is forbidden inside the Hall.

  • By Ajah law, voting in the Hall may not be influenced by the Highest [of the Red Ajah]. Unknown if this applies in other Ajahs.

• Amyrlin Seat

  • Inside the Hall, the Amyrlin is a little more than the first among equals, the Sitters holding more power there than outside the Hall. The balance must be just right; assuming complete equality, or assuming too much power, both can cause an Amyrlin to fail.

  • The Amyrlin does not need to be present at the start of the meeting, but when she arrives, The Keeper of the Chronicles must announce the Amyrlin before her entrance into the Hall of the Tower by declaring, "She comes! She comes! The Flame of Tar Valon, the Amyrlin Seat."

  • The Amyrlin can also leave during the meeting, but again, her exit must be ceremonially announced.

• Keeper of the Chronicles

  • The Keeper of the Chronicles may not participate in discussions in the Hall.

  • She must stand during the sitting.

  • She may not enter the Hall without the Amyrlin Seat nor may the Amyrlin Seat enter without her.

 

Greater Consensus: A unanimous vote of the Hall of the Tower. Generally this demands that every Sitter present has to stand, and that a minimum of eleven Sitters needs to be present; the presence of at least one Sitter from each Ajah is also required. If the removal of the Amyrlin or Keeper is at stake, the Ajah from which she was raised is not informed of the vote until after it is taken. It is also practice in the Hall for the Greater Consensus to be asked for after the Lesser Consensus has been achieved, for the sake of unity.

 

Lesser Consensus: A vote that requires a quorum of eleven Sitters, but only two-thirds of those present need to stand for an item to pass. There was no requirement for all Ajahs to be represented in the lesser consensus except in the case of a declaration of war by the White Tower (One of several matters left to the lesser consensus which many might think would require the greater.)

 

Decrees: While an Amyrlin's decrees have the force of law, many of her decrees can be overturned by the greater consensus. The Hall can overturn an Amyrlin’s decree, not merely let it die through lack of action. This requires the greater consensus. In most important cases she needs the Hall’s approval.

If anything an Amyrlin decrees requires money to be carried out, the Hall has to vote the funds to finance it; this means the Hall can balk an Amyrlin.

 

Declaring War: The Law of War is a Tower law stating that a question of war cannot be shelved; it must be answered before any question called after it. While the Amyrlin Seat can declare the Tower at war by decree, most ask that the Hall declare war. The lesser consensus is much easier to achieve than the greater, though either may work for a declaration of war. There is also a provision for the Hall taking up prosecution of war, though it requires the Amyrlin's assent.

 

Unchairing: An Amyrlin has the authority to unchair any Sitter or all of them, but a wise Amyrlin does so extremely sparingly. An Ajah, in turn, can choose the same Sitter again as a rebuke to the Amyrlin. An Amyrlin who unchairs the entire Hall and has the same women all chosen again, or even a significant number of them, very likely will find that her real power as Amyrlin is at an end.

 

Aes Sedai Trial Procedure: A court consisting of five Aes Sedai: three acting as judges, one acting as prosecutor sitting in the Seat of Rebuke, and one acting as defender sitting in the Seat of Pardon, all facing the accused.

 

Tower Bank: Tower law requires equal representation of every Ajah in the Tower’s bank.

 

Appointing & Deposing an Amyrlin: The leader of the Aes Sedai, the Amyrlin Seat is elected for life by the Hall of the Tower. The Amyrlin is, by law, the absolute power in the White Tower. In reality, however, her power always depends on how well she can lead, manage or intimidate the Hall. With almost supreme authority among the Aes Sedai, she is ranked socially as the equal of a king or queen.

• Appointing: Most of the women suggested for Amyrlin Seat are put forward by Sitters, alone or in coalition, but it is possible for any six sisters to propose a candidate. Any candidate can only be voted upon formally three times; if, after three votes, she had not gained the greater consensus, she is out of the running until the next vote for Amyrlin arises. Any candidate who has the backing of three Sitters, or any six other sisters, can in effect demand that a vote be taken. When a candidate is proposed by non-Sitters, this in itself constitutes such a demand. However, if she fails on the third vote, she and her proposers are to be exiled to separate places for terms that could run from a few years to life, for such demands are considered disruptive and a source of contention.

  • An Amyrlin is supposed to grant indulgences and relief from penances on the day she assumes the stole and the staff.

  • A new Amyrlin chooses her own Keeper, and can choose a new Mistress of Novices if she wishes.

• Deposing: Other than death or resigning the Amyrlin Seat, the only way an Amyrlin can be removed is to be deposed by the Hall. Choosing an Amyrlin requires the greater consensus. Although this could be done with a unanimous vote of eleven Sitters under the proper circumstances, tradition calls for all Sitters to be present. Deposing an Amyrlin also called for the greater consensus, but a truncated one; Tower law specifically states that the Sitters for the Ajah from which she was raised may not be present when the vote was taken. As well, it should be noted that the law is stated, ‘the Amyrlin Seat as Aes Sedai’—but nowhere is it said that it is necessary to be Aes Sedai to become Amyrlin.

  • When an Amyrlin dies or is deposed, until a new Amyrlin is raised, the Hall of the Tower reigns over the Tower; increasingly strict measures in the law exist to insure they do not dally too long.

 

Appointing a Guardian: This is not knowledge outside of the Hall, and even inside the Hall not all Sitters may be aware of it.

• A guardian is an Aes Sedai chosen to put watch over the Amyrlin Seat and who gives orders to her, originating in the Hall, which must be followed. As a step short of removing an Amyrlin, the greater consensus of the Hall, convened in secret, can in effect remove everything but the title from the offending Amyrlin, and place someone of their choosing and under their authority in what amounts to in loco parentis of the Amyrlin. The appointing of a guardian is done through one of the secret laws of the Tower (even revealing the existence of the law is prohibited) with the greater consensus. This law was created after an Amyrlin became incapacitated during the Trolloc Wars, and the Tower did not want to reveal their troubles to the outside world. Despite—or perhaps because of—the specific reasons the law was created, its wording is broad enough to allow this to be done to not only an Amyrlin who had become mentally or physically incapacitated, but to one who, in the opinion of the Hall is no longer capable of carrying out her duties properly.

 

Appointing a Mistress of Novices:

• The Mistress of Novices usually is appointed by the Amyrlin; there are cases of her being chosen by the Hall and forced on an Amyrlin, but not many. Although named by the Amyrlin, she does not serve at the Amyrlin’s pleasure any more than the Keeper does; she could only be removed by the greater consensus of the Hall except in the case of certain specific misdeeds, in which case only the lesser consensus was required.

• With few exceptions, it requires at least the lesser consensus of the Hall to override the Mistress of Novices regarding almost anything to do with her charges. The authority of the Mistress of Novices over her charges is such, according to the law, that she can in some cases defy the Amyrlin Seat, anything below the lesser consensus of the Hall, or in some cases the greater, regarding them.

 

Aes Sedai Ranking: Tower hierarchies are all the subtle and not-so-subtle distinctions as to who stood where with respect to whom; the ones known are listed below, in rank from top factor to bottom:

• Strength in the Power

• Total time as novice & Accepted.

• Time spent as Accepted

• Time spent as a novice

• Age

Deference: The degree of deference depended in large part on how far there was between the two women.

• If the gap was very small, it amounted to little more than politeness.

• If the gap is larger, the lower of the two was expected to stand when the other entered, etc.

• If the gap is very wide, the lower of the two was expected to do as she was told by the higher; it wasn’t put in terms of obedience, but if a woman sufficiently higher than you asks you to make tea, then you make tea for her. And you don't fix a cup for yourself unless she invites you to one.

 

Positions of Authority: This social hierarchy has no weight with regard to appointments and official duties—usually, at least—and if a woman who is lower is appointed to a position of authority, even those who stand above her socially are expected to obey if they are in the line of command.

 

Sitter Rights

 

• Sitters may use any ter’angreal they wish, with the proper procedures observed.

• Sitters who are the oldest have the right to speak first in the Hall. The length of time one has served in her chair is also accounted for.

 

Summoning to the Hall: The wording is the same for a trial and for a summons to become the Amyrlin Seat. One cannot refuse the summons for raising an Amyrlin. The format is below:

 

1. First Sister: “[Person's Name], you are summoned before the Hall of the Tower.”

2. Second Sister: “Ask not why you are summoned. It is yours to answer, not to question.”

3. Third Sister: “Delay not in your coming. It is yours to obey in haste.”

4. The three then speak in unison: “It is well to fear the summons of the Hall. It is well to obey in haste and humility, unasking. You are summoned to kneel before the Hall of the Tower and accept their judgment.”