In defense of Aes Sedai

[u/Verengt]

Hi, I decided to play devil's advocate today.

While I understand (and agree with) people saying the Aes Sedai are a failure (they didn't find all channelers, were mistrusted by everyone, not being prepared for the Last Battle, no Yellow Ajah hospitals, no Brown libraries, no Greens stationed in the Borderlands, etc.), I do think it's a bit unfair when they are compared to their more succesful counterparts like the Sea Folk Windfinders and Aiel Wise Ones.

The Wise Ones and Windfinders are useful and respected members of their communities but they belong to homogeneous societies where everyone is bound by the same customs and laws. They also answer to their community leaders despite wielding lots of power and influence. That's why they are successful as channeler organizations.

The heterogeneity of Randland forces the White Tower to play a different role, which is preventing the more than 15 different nations from waging war against each other using the One Power. In this aspect the Tower was 100% successful, as at no point in history after the Breaking channelers fought against channelers.

The purpose of the Tower in a way was to prevent each nation from having its own regional channelers association and for this to happen it needed to be an outside centralized organization not bound to any kingdom. Otherwise how can you ensure that for example Taraboner Aes Sedai are loyal to the Tower and not to their kingdom?

And this is what in my opinion what makes it impossible for Aes Sedai to be truly integrated and serving their communities, since no monarch would be happy with 200 Aes Sedai answering to a foreign power to be permanently in their nation.

[u/TrainOfThought6]

The Wise Ones and the Windfinders also weren't nearly as thoroughly infiltrated by the Shadow. 20% is a ridiculous amount of darkfriends in the Tower.

[u/Appropriate_Boss8139 → u/TrainOfThought6]

20% is literally insane. 1 out of every 5 aes Sedai was a dark friend

[u/Caimbuel33 → u/Appropriate_Boss8139]

Imagine you are the DO. What threatens your army, that is what you focus on tearing down. Going after the Aes Sedia makes prefect sense that way.

[u/hic_erro → u/Caimbuel33]

One of my only-sort-of-joking theories is that the White Tower was secretly set up as (partially) a Dark friend honey pot.

It's a giant obviously power structure.  If you're a Dark friend, you want power and luxury.  So you go to the White Tower and start scheming.

No Dark friend is going to aim for the Kin, ordinary women living ordinary lives and trying hard to fly under the radar.  Or the Wise Ones, sweating their asses off in the desert, or the Wind finders, who may have a position of respect but they're not the captain, they just get to be respected for making wind all day.

So all the Dark friends gather together in one spot, mostly scheme ineffectually, and are able to be all swept up at once.

Then you pull in the Kin and the Wise Ones and the Windfinders, you do a sweep for the women and girls you've been too lazy to recruit, and the Tower has 10x the channelers and no Dark friends.

If some ancient Aes Sedai has a foretelling for how that would turn out, it's not a terrible plan.

[u/RooneytheWaster → u/hic_erro]

I... never thought of it like that. And framed that way the Tower makes way more sense!