The Ageless Look....?

[battousai]

Ok this has been bugging me for some time now. Maybe its been mentioned before, so sorry if I'm repeating the question.

 

The ageless look that Aes Sedai get, does it only affect their face? Clearly their hair turn gray, but what about the rest of their bodies? My guess is that everything stops aging otherwise half the Aes Sedai should be on crutches. But still I dont think I fully understand this agelessness of Aes Sedai. :?

[Beckon]

Channeling cause you to age more slowly, than others.

 

How much of the books have you read? I don't want to spoil anything for you by going any deeper into the ageless look.

[El Dude]

Yea. I'm sure it affects the whole body. Great name reference Battousai.

[battousai]

How much of the books have you read? I don't want to spoil anything for you by going any deeper into the ageless look.

 

I'm on CoT, so anything up until CoT I'm familiar with (Though ive forgotten a lot of things from the previous novels). Why is the answer given in a previous book?

 

Great name reference Battousai.

 

Thanks :D

[Beckon]

There is a difference between the slowing caused by channeling and the agelessness of Aes Sedai. All who can channel age more slowly overall than those who don't. The ageless look is caused by swearing more than one oath on the Oath Rod. It's in the books but it's not readily obvious IMO. I didn't want to spoil anything because until we meet Windfinders and Wise Ones we think channeling = ageless.

[Vemynal]

true the conclusion, it isn't obvious, but i think ALOT of people noticed it, and i assume left to their own opinions people will develop that idea over time.

 

Read the whole series 5 times now^^ took me till book 7ish to come to that conclusion my second time through^^

[Silver]

how is the conclusion not obvious? :P

 

channelers and oaths = ageless look

channelers and no oaths = looks normal

 

pretty basic :P

[battousai]

Wow thanks for the info. I dont think I wouldve been able to read WOT more than once, so good thing I found out now! :D

 

Another question. Since channeling slows down aging, I'm guessing this is also true for males as well?

[Vemynal]

we can assume so, which brings up *ALOT* of questions about Taim^^

 

the math for females is slow at latest by 25. from then on its every 1 year to a normal persons 10.

 

if he had the spark he would have started at latest by 20. which means hes slow at latest by around 30. since he's approx 35 (appearance) this should make him approx 80 years old if he was born with the spark.

 

thats 60 years of channeling wihtout going insane...

 

Or if he didn't have the spark then who taught him?

[Tommar]

Remember that males do not start channeling until later then females. It is mentioned in the books that they can be in their mid 20's before starting to channel. Even Rand was 2 years older then Egwene and they started nearly at the same time in the plot. This would mean they would be somewhat older before they started slowing, although we have no proof to how slowing affects males.

 

 

As well Taim most likely has certain protections against the taint.

[Luckers]

RJ has stated that Taim is in his late 20's.

 

The agelessness is caused by the swearing of more then one oath on a binder. I believe it was akin to being put on the sex-offender registry but we dont know for sure. In any case the agelessness is purerly ascetic, like a face-lift. The life-halving effects happen even after only one oath, and are not connected to the agelessness.

 

Channelers do not grow decrepit in their later years, nor lose their mental facilities, the way some non-channelers do. But that is a function of slowing.

[icspots]

Ok this has been bugging me for some time now. Maybe its been mentioned before' date=' so sorry if I'm repeating the question.

 

The ageless look that Aes Sedai get, does it only affect their face? Clearly their hair turn gray, but what about the rest of their bodies? My guess is that everything stops aging otherwise half the Aes Sedai should be on crutches. But still I dont think I fully understand this agelessness of Aes Sedai. :?[/quote']

 

As others have said the slowed aging isn't the "agelessness", it's the effect of slowing. People slow after they begin channeling (i.e.- an old person who can learn would never slow until they actually began channeling.

 

Now assume instead that you asked about slowing and not agelessness. Yes the slowing extends to the rest of the body. There's a referrence to Amys (or another Wise One) having a very young body that didn't show the effects of having had children and nursed them. thinking about it that may be in Winter's Heart, but I'm not positive.

[Paradox]

While on the topic, how do we know that it takes more then one oath to receive the ageless lock?

 

Edit:

Look not lock. And yeah thats what I always thought Joiya

[Joiya]

While on the topic, how do we know that it takes more then one oath to receive the ageless lock?

 

As far as I know, it doesn't. I don't have my books at hand to give the exact quote, but I believe that in the Semhirage pov in LoC when she is recounting her history she makes a reference to being bound never to know her pleasures again, and that that would mean she'd have her crime marked on her face for all to see and she'd be able to see the end of life approaching. I had always assumed that the "mark" she refers to was the agelessness, and that it was the result of any oath on the oath rod.

[Tenshin_Xo]

Along those lines its possible that its a progressive thing, the more oaths you take toe sooner or more pronounced you acheive the ageless look, but thats pure speculation.

[Beckon]

While on the topic' date=' how do we know that it takes more then one oath to receive the ageless lock?

 

Edit:

Look not lock. And yeah thats what I always thought Joiya[/quote']

 

There is a quote from Sammael, in LoC I think it is. He is thinking that he recognizes the ageless look from having seen it on repeat offenders in the AoL who were bound with a "binder", which is the use the Oath Rod was originally put to. The Oath Rod was one of many binders used to prevent violent criminals from repeating their crimes. I believe he also indicates that the other chosen couldn't be expected to know that because repeat offenders were rare. I think he's gloating to himself about the fact that Graendal hadn't recognized the look.

[sombrastewart]

Along those lines its possible that its a progressive thing' date=' the more oaths you take toe sooner or more pronounced you acheive the ageless look, but thats pure speculation.[/quote']

 

We'll have to see if Pevara ends up looking different.

[Telcar]

women start slowing five years after they start channeling, men star slowing ten years after.

 

Vemynal said:

 

the math for females is slow at latest by 25. from then on its every 1 year to a normal persons 10.

 

is it 1 year for every 10? so you are saying that the average age of people in Randland is 60? Quite possible, had never really thought about that. but how do you know that for channelers it's 1 year for every 10 years a normal person has?

[Beckon]

No it's not that finite. It's different depending on strength. Elayne explains this in Ebou Dar right after they meet the Kin the first time. For example Nynaeve is only 26, but she began slowing a bit early and because of her strength she's already shaved a good 5-6 years off her appearance. Setalle Anan guesses her to be 21 at most. Morgase on the other hand, whom RJ has confirmed to have slowed, only looks a few years younger than she actually is because she can barely channel at all. Morgase is in her early 40s and has been channeling for maybe 25 years but only looks to be in her mid 30s. It's stated at some point that she doesn't look old enough to have children Elayne and Gawyn's ages. At that rate she wouldn't look any older than Elayne.

 

Kirstian is around 300 years old and looks about 30. If she started channeling at 20 (just for the sake of round numbers) that's 280 years of channeling. If she appeared to age 1 year for every 10 actual years she should have aged 28 years and would look to be almost 50.

[Paradox]

Beckon:

There is a quote from Sammael, in LoC I think it is. He is thinking that he recognizes the ageless look from having seen it on repeat offenders in the AoL who were bound with a "binder", which is the use the Oath Rod was originally put to. The Oath Rod was one of many binders used to prevent violent criminals from repeating their crimes. I believe he also indicates that the other chosen couldn't be expected to know that because repeat offenders were rare. I think he's gloating to himself about the fact that Graendal hadn't recognized the look.

 

I remember the situation but I fail to see how that supports the theory that it takes more then one oath to achieve the agelessness. There are nothing, that I can see, that suggests that repeat offenders where made to swear more then one oath.

 

And, as Joiya pointed out, Semhirage where afraid that she would be made to swear (one assumes) one oath on the binder and thus be marked.

[Beckon]

He's only ever seen the ageless look on someone who's been forced to swear on a binder more than once. He doesn't fault Graendal for not knowing because it was rare for people in their time to commit a single crime let alone more. RJ has also confirmed this.

[Paradox]

I'm guessing that it's this passage you was thinking about?

Do they bind themselves like criminals?”…Plainly she had not reasoned it out; there was no reason she should. Few people in their time had ever committed one violent crime, let alone more.

 

This doesn't exactly specifies the number of oath.

 

But i guess it's a moot point if it is as you say (which I don't doubt) that RJ has confirmed that it takes multiple oaths to get that cool botox effect.

[Beckon]

That's exactly the quote. He thinks to himself that there was no reason Graendal should have seen it because it was exceedingly rare to encounter someone who'd committed more than one crime. It's obvious that that's what clued him in that they were using a binder.

[Paradox]

Well I was thinking since (as far as I know) we don't know how the penal system worked in the AoL, that maybe it took multiple offenses to be condemned to swear on the rod. I mean a simple "I swear to always obey the law" should do the trick . I don't see the reason for multiple oath.

 

But since it has been confirmed by RJ... all I em saying is that I didn't see any definitive proof in the books.

[Vemynal]

sometimes we are put in situations where it might be best for the gov, econ, etc not to obey a certain law (though the morals of this are in question) and so to have a broad binding like that could be harmful.

 

Also, who says whoever is making the laws is good? i mean we know they are as the reader but would u swear to follow george Bush blindly?