What is an aes sedia?

Answer 1

A woman Aes Sedia is a powerful being who was either born with or trained in the one power. But first they must go through a series of trials and training to reach that level. They start as novices and learn about many things and how to control the one power and also given chores and jobs to do to give them discipline. Then they go through a test which they can accept risking their lives in the process or they can Dennie the trial and keep being a novice until prepared or drop out of the white tower (the home and training grounds of the women Aes Sedia) and return home or travel the world. They can never come back once leaving unless on a job or holiday. After the test (if they pass) they become accepted and start to choose their own studies in what they want to do with the one power. Once they have learned a lot and someone (revealed in the book) thinks they are ready they will become full Aes Sedia and they will pick their coloured ajahs (which you will find more about in the book). If women Aes Sedia do a bad deed that needs extreme punishing they will be 'stilled' and most likely kill themselves in despair for loosing something that made them feel so good and powerful.

A male Aes Sedia is possibly an even stronger being who was born with the one power as well. It is a different case then the women though as most men go mad with the power because it is tainted by the dark one (kind of like the devil in our world). I will not reveal more about this situation as it may ruin the book. Men can not be trained because there are no male Aes Sedia that have lived long enough and that know how to train them and that can withstand the powerful taint the dark one put on the one power. If a male is discovered that could use the one power then they will be 'gentled' (the male version of stilling) by the women Aes Sedia.

The one power is split into two halves. One is the female side of it- the pure side. And the other half is the males side- the tainted side. This is the reason female Aes Sedia can't teach male Aes Sedia how to control it because their power is different.

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