Everything we know of Lewis Therin implies he was not a follower of the way of the leaf.

Which brings up an interesting question: Since we know that Aiel were tested for the ability to channel during the War of the Shadow, did they have to give up the Way in order to become Aes Sedai? It would seem logical to assume that all of the Aes Sedai's efforts were directed toward the war. What role could the Dai'shain play in this, if they still had to hold to the Way?

As to hair color, are the Tua'thaan all light-haired? I don't recall that being the case. And I'm also recalling some modern Aiel being mentioned as unusually dark, but I'm not sure.

If Lews Therin had no connection to the Aiel, then would Rand's response to the left-overs of ancient Dai'shain practices be coming through his Aiel blood, separate from his status as the rebirth of Lews Therin?

--Shannon

First, since I'm brand-new here, I should say that I searched before I posted. But nothing came up... which probably says more about my lack of familiarity with this board's software than anything else.

Still, the discussions I've read here, regarding the Song, and Rand's trip through the past, and hints regarding his response to Loial's treesinging, all lead me to this question:

Was Lews Therin Telamon a Dai'shain Aiel?

The only other hint is the thought of one of Rand's Dai'shain ancestors, in the scene of the crop singing, where he thinks that he is glad that he was spared being tested for a soldier. But we know that the Tua'thaan send their girls who can channel to the White Tower, and the Aiel not only find every girl with the spark, but send their channeling men to the Great Blight to die.

So clearly, the ability existed in the Dai'shain.

If the signature ability of the Dai'shain was the Song, and Rand responds to whatever remnants of it remain in the world, and if Rand is Lews Therin reborn, is it silly to think that perhaps Lews Telamon (I get that the middle name was added later, correct?) was chosen for Aes Sedai from among the Dai'shain Aiel, and when the world was collapsing around them, and so many that they had followed had turned to evil, that the Aiel followed the one who was not only the champion of the Light, but had been born among them?

--Shannon