Some Wheel of Time Lore/Funfacts for incoming Fic Authors (One Power Edition)

No spoilers, just a few things that might be helpful for new fic writers to know. Everything that’s on this list it can reasonably be assumed based on what the show has done so far, has not been changed.

For right now, mostly focusing on the One Power and Aes Sedai:

• Though visible to us (the audience), the flow of the One Power (that wispy white energy) is not visible to those who can not channel, or those who can but have not worked very long with the One Power. Similarly, women can not see men’s channeling or their flow, and men can not see women’s. The effects are visible however: such as the blast of light from Nynaeve, or the darkness being sucked out of Mat.
• The amount of the One Power that can be drawn by a single individual is limited and exhausts them the more they draw, though this limits varies from person to person. (This is the ‘strength’ that is generally being referred to. Nynaeve is impressive because she can draw a staggering amount of the One Power, more then any sister in recent memory). Full Aes Sedai tend to rank themselves based on strength, Sisters who can draw less defering to sisters who can draw more, unless the sister in question has been set above her by her Ajah or the Tower. (The leader of an embassy for example always commands the absolute deference of those under her, even if she is the weakest sister present).
• Drawing to much of the On Power can lead to a channeler being burned out, which could mean death, or having the ability to channel destroyed in them. The amount of the power they can draw can be augmented by an angreal, a usually small object which allows them to draw more of the power by channeling through it, or a sa’greeal, generally a larger object that allows the same but on a much larger scale. Both are extremely rare.
• Another way to increase the amount of the One Power you can draw on is Linking (sometimes called forming a circle) where two or more channelers combine their powers. One person leads, directing the flow, and the others act as conduits, lending their strength to the leader. Only women can begin Links/Circles, but they can not take the circle beyond thirteen without adding men to it.
• The two ‘halves’ of the One Power are called saidin which is drawn on by men and saidar, which is drawn on by women. Saidin was tainted by the Dark One, leading to the Breaking of the World. Any man who channels the One Power eventually goes mad, but the rate and speed of that madness varies wildly. Sometimes it’s two days latter, sometimes twenty years with nothing more then nightmares. The Taint also manifests differently in each man. Some see things that aren’t there, become paranoid and mistrustful, or hear voices in their head. Others decay mentally into a state like of a child, or become so consumed by the pure need to destroy that lash out randomly.
• Saidin is associated with the black ‘yin’ symbol, called the Dragon’s Fang. It is drawn on pepole’s houses or doors to accuse them of evil. Saidar is represented by the white ‘yang’ symbol, and is called the Flame of Tar Valon. It is one of the symbols of the Aes Sedai. The two joined together where once the symbol of all Aes Sedai.
• Though saidin is tainted, the taint is like an oil spill over the surface. The power is still pure, but to get to it, you have to expose yourself to the taint, each time risking the chance of going a little more mad.
• Their are two types of people who can channel, those born with ‘the spark’ in them which manifests into their late teens/early twenties (or slightly later for men who tend to repress it more) which will make them channel sooner or later no matter what, and those who can be taught to channel, but wont do so unless they seek it out on their own.
• Those who use the Power but are not Aes Sedai are generally called Wilders, which is seen as a somewhat degrading term in the White Tower.
• The seven Ajahs are orders of Aes Sedai, each of which serves a different purpose. The quick and dirty rundown:

1. Blue: Seekers after causes, who fight for justice. In the modern world this often translates into politics and adventuring,  but they also serve as the spy masters for the Tower, gathering intel and guarding against threats. They are one of the smaller Ajahs, but hold a great deal of influence inside in the Tower. More Amylrins have been elected from the Blue then any other Ajah.
2. Red: Magical law enforcement. They seek to stop all misuse of the One Power. Their primary duty is hunting down men who channel and seeing them Gentled (cut off from the One Power). They have a reputation for hating men as a result. They are the largest Ajah, by a slim margin, but have only had two Amyrlin’s elected from their number since the Tower was founded. Both where deposed and Stilled, a fact which still frustrates them. Red’s don’t bond Warders since their seen as a libality in a fight against another channeler.
3. Green: The Battle Ajah. They are warriors, generals and fighters, who prepare for the Last Battle, when they will be the front line defense against the Dark One. They are known for their pride, and for being experts at wielding the One Power in Battle. They are the second largest Ajah, and have more Borderlanders in their number then any other Ajah. They are the only Ajah to bond more then a single Warder, and have a long standing alliance with the Blue.
4. Grey: The defenders of the peace. Diplomats, mediators and seekers of truth. They serve as advisors to nobles and the rulers for the most part, but others act as judges or lawyers, and some even seek to solve murders and hunt down mundane criminals. After the Blue they have the most influence in the Tower, and the highest number of Amyrlin Seats. They also have an ancient alliance with the Red due to their overlap in purpose. They are third largest Ajah.
5. Brown: The keepers of knowledge. The Brown sisters are dedicated to preserving knowledge, history, and literature in all forms, to arm the future. They have a reputation for being vague and spacey, tending to live in their own worlds, and ramble on about various topics of interest, but many use that dreaminess as a shield to hide their true intentions. They are the Tower’s librarians, and 4th largest Ajah.
6. Yellow Ajah: Healers. They see the true calling of the Power being to mend the world of ills, and have perfected this talent over generations. They are even more proud then the Greens, and generally see things entirely in relation to how it might be used to heal. They are also staunch traditionalists, who dislike experimentation with Healing since it can go so easily wrong. They 5th largest.
7. White Ajah: Philosophers and reasoners, who believe cool logic should guide all things. They are the smallest Ajah, and often accused of not partaking enough in the world, and instead ignoring it in favor of their philosophical debating.  The White is the smallest Ajah, and the most neutral in internal conflicts.

• The Tower primarily assigns Aes Sedai missions and tasks, choosing Sisters from each Ajah that suit the purpose of the mission. Reds and Greens where chosen to bring down Logain because it involved fighting an army and a man who could channel. A plague in a distant kingdom might have Yellows and Grey dispatched to it, or a brewing war might have Blues, Greys, and Whites sent to defuse to the situation.
• Each Ajah has it’s own internal structure. It’s Sitters (the women who are seen in the Hall) generally wield a great deal of power, but the Ajahs also have an internal leader whom is kept secret from outsiders.
• A girl becomes a Aes Sedai by arriving int he Tower and asking to join. She is first made a Novice and taught the basics kept to an extremely hard discipline, then she is made an Accepted and given a degree of freedom to pursue her own studies. Finally she is made a full Sister after a grueling test. Both Novices and Accepted are considered children regardless of age, the Novices young girls, the Accepted young women not fully grown yet. Most women do not become Aes Sedai without at least ten years of training (five as a Novice, five as Accepted).
• Their are rumors of a hidden Black Ajah, dedicated to serving the Dark One, but this is considered slander against the Tower, and mentioning it generally makes Aes Sedai very angry.
• The Amyrlin Seat is roughly the equivalent of a medieval Pope, wielding an extreme amount of cultural and spiritual power over the rest of the world, despite presiding over a single city in fact. As noted in the show, the farther you get away from that Tower, the less heavily that power tends to run, though only two nations (Tear and Amadicia) are openly hostile to Aes Sedai. The Amyrlin’s power is such that she could summon even her most hated enemy, the Lord Captain Commander of the Children of the Light, and he would come to The Tower, though he might spend the entire time plotting to kill her when he arrived.
• Aes Sedai command a great deal of respect in most nations, and fear in those in which they are outlawed. Most nobles defer to Aes Sedai without issue, and must Kings and Queens will welcome one into their court as a guest, especially if they already have an Aes Sedai advisor.
• Those who wield the One Power tend have extended life spans, depending on their strength living usually to be around 200-250. A Aes Sedai of 300 is considered extremely old, and of 40 to be young. The One Power causes them to ‘slow’ usually in their late twenties or early thirties.

people who argue over whos the better (gay) fictional wizard, gandalf or dumbledore, are BOTH wrong. its merlin from the sword in the stone (1963).

man y’all remember when the avengers movie came out and everyone headcanoned that all the avengers would live together in the tower and had all these cute posts about various fun ways they could interact and then the movies literally never had any of them even be friends

honestly my favorite thing about hardison is that he has no real tragic backstory, he's just like "i am very smart and therefore i should be allowed to do crime" and he's entirely correct