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Re: Some small things kHz1000 Send a noteboard - 03/01/2016 09:21:56 PM

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The Vileness covers the illegal gentling and the deaths of many senior sisters (Tamra's hunters)

There is a good bit of detail in the Companion:


Vileness, the. After Gitara Moroso’s death, the Black Ajah heard rumors connecting the death with a Foretelling, one that had the Amyrlin Tamra Ospenya closeted and making secret and hasty plans, mainly with senior—in age and strength—sisters of her former Ajah. Nervous that it might involve the Black Ajah, the then head of the Blacks took a drastic step. She and others kidnapped Tamra and put her to the question, after which she was found dead in her bed. No one was surprised that her Warder also died that same night. From the Amyrlin, they learned of the Dragon Reborn, but she was stubborn, and they did not learn that he was only a newborn. All they discovered was that she had just learned that he had been born. The Black Ajah immediately began a pogrom, an even more intensive search than usual for men who could channel, for males of any age who showed any sign that they might be able to channel. Even a rumor, a hint, was enough. And since being lucky or having a sudden rise to relative prominence were among the signs to look for, it was a bad time for men who were lucky or rose suddenly. All of the Black Ajah was involved, sisters supposedly of every Ajah, to the exclusion of anything else. And since the head of the Red Ajah was Black—both Galina Casban, during the last years of the pogrom, and the woman before her—there was little difficulty bringing many sisters of the Red Ajah into it as well. Those involved did not want to risk the man being brought back to Tar Valon, since if it was discovered that he was the Dragon Reborn, the other Aes Sedai would certainly decide to keep him alive, almost certainly not gentled, but still shielded and a prisoner; the sisters involved in the pogrom believed that the Dragon Reborn had to be disposed of. For that reason, men were gentled on the spot instead of being brought back to Tar Valon. Many were killed, “trying to escape” or the like, especially by Black sisters. Included in the number of dead were men and boys about whom someone had made a remark because of their luck (a miraculous escape from death, perhaps) or skill (“ You’d think he could channel, he shoots an arrow so straight”). When Ishamael discovered what was going on, he was infuriated. He, of course, wanted to Turn the Dragon Reborn and deliver him to the Dark One, not have him killed, which would give no advantage to Ishamael. He put an end to the pogrom immediately, though it took some months to stop the Black Ajah completely. There was an immediate reaction to his discovery. The head triumvirate of the Black Ajah and a number of other high-ranking Black sisters died particularly unpleasant deaths. This harrowing and winnowing of the Black Ajah command structure was the reason that Alviarin became the new head of the Black Ajah. The Red Ajah was ordered to halt as well, but some sisters did not stop, and the pogrom continued for another two years, albeit at a slower pace, until Marith Jaen finally ended it in 985 NE. Sierin Vayu had intended to crush it, but was assassinated in 984 NE. To protect the White Tower, events were covered up and sisters who knew of the pogrom were forbidden to speak of it or to admit what happened, but Marith Jaen still imposed heavy penances on those caught out. She came down hard on those guilty. Covering up for the Tower was one thing; she wasn’t about to allow them to escape without punishment. Few of the Black Ajah, who had halted on Ishamael’s orders, were caught, but large numbers of the Red were, and some others. The three Sitters for the Red all resigned their chairs, took “voluntary” penances and went into “retreats”—exile, in truth—which lasted until they were summoned back by Elaida. The fact that so many of the Red Ajah served fairly harsh penances sparked rumors, but they were quiet rumors, and a good number of sisters from other Ajahs served penances over the next year, too. Few who were not actually part of the pogrom knew what happened, even inside the Red Ajah, and those who did were caught up in the sworn secrecy. Elaida escaped punishment because of minimal involvement. Galina escaped punishment because it was decided to punish only a few at the top and not destroy the whole Ajah; although she was head of the Ajah, no one outside the Ajah knew that. Officially, during this period, seven men who could channel were caught and gentled. The secret records spoke of eight others. The unofficial tally ranged from eight to eighteen additional men, for a grand total of fifteen to twenty-five, but even that number might be too low. The secret Tower records spoke of two thousand men and boys killed between 979 NE and 985 NE, but again, that number was too low by at least a factor of five and maybe more. Thom Merrilin’s nephew Owyn was one of the last men, if not the last man, gentled in this campaign. Elaida was personally involved in only that gentling; she became involved because it was Thom’s nephew, and hoped to use it to break Morgase from Thom’s influence. She was successful in her goal. Related to the killing of men and boys, the Black Ajah killed thirty to fifty senior Aes Sedai who might have known that the Dragon had been reborn.

Oh, thanks for this. I think pretty much all the points in that were touched on in the books, but interesting nonetheless. I think the only direct mention in the books of the Vileness is Caddy asking if Merana and Annoura were part of it.

I suppose Cadsuane might have played a role in revealing the plot to the Amyrlin, even if she had no proof of the Black sister's involvement. Actually, it might have been the deaths of the Black leaders that allowed them to escape her investigation and saved the BA from being rooted out.

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Is there confirmation of who sent the 100,000 trollocs? *NM* - 03/01/2016 08:03:24 PM 792 Views
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Re: Is there confirmation of who sent the 100,000 trollocs? EDIT - 04/01/2016 11:10:54 AM 1330 Views
true - 05/01/2016 04:44:26 PM 1101 Views
Re: true - 09/01/2016 10:15:07 PM 1244 Views
Could she have sent the Trollocs without Moridin knowing though? - 09/01/2016 10:49:44 PM 1184 Views
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I'm going with pretty damn crazy - 05/01/2016 04:47:19 PM 1313 Views
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Something about pillow friends - 09/01/2016 07:53:48 PM 1184 Views
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Where's the racism and homophobia in WOT? - 09/01/2016 08:07:06 PM 1170 Views
Re: Where's the racism and homophobia in WOT? - 09/01/2016 10:21:16 PM 1283 Views
Agreed - 09/01/2016 11:07:13 PM 933 Views
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Exactly - 09/01/2016 11:42:14 PM 927 Views
Re: Where's the racism and homophobia in WOT? - 09/01/2016 11:13:22 PM 847 Views
Re: Where's the racism and homophobia in WOT? - 09/01/2016 11:33:54 PM 1156 Views
Re: Where's the racism and homophobia in WOT? - 10/01/2016 12:12:01 AM 1059 Views
Re: Where's the racism and homophobia in WOT? - 10/01/2016 09:23:46 PM 930 Views
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Re: Where's the racism and homophobia in WOT? - 11/01/2016 06:04:00 AM 1292 Views
Re: Where's the racism and homophobia in WOT? - 10/01/2016 02:25:21 PM 1578 Views
What Logain quote are you referencing? *NM* - 11/01/2016 06:07:57 PM 517 Views
Logain stated that Rand is stronger than him because he makes larger Gateways *NM* - 11/01/2016 06:24:34 PM 535 Views
Oh I thought he was referencing a homophobic comment! *NM* - 11/01/2016 06:43:48 PM 588 Views
Re: Where's the racism and homophobia in WOT? - 16/01/2016 02:44:01 AM 1359 Views
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That sounds about right - 15/02/2016 11:21:42 AM 1000 Views
Perhaps, but perhaps not - 16/02/2016 01:26:46 AM 986 Views
A non-deity Creator is a distinction without a difference - 16/02/2016 03:52:24 AM 1160 Views
I don't think I'm making my point clear - 17/02/2016 02:36:51 AM 856 Views
Re: That is a big logical leap, and dodges rather than answering the question - 14/02/2016 09:31:21 AM 1296 Views
Not disputing any of that - 15/02/2016 11:52:45 AM 976 Views
How did Narg learn the common tongue? Is he just smart? *NM* - 11/01/2016 11:30:49 PM 474 Views
He was one of the smarter Trollocs, yeah - 11/01/2016 11:45:54 PM 976 Views

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