Warder (Wheel of Time)
Encyclopedia
A Warder in the world of Robert Jordan
's Wheel of Time
series is a person (traditionally a man) bonded by an Aes Sedai
through the use of saidar
to become her bodyguard as she travels.
Warders are traditionally trained at the White Tower so that, once their training has been completed, they may serve the Aes Sedai as bodyguards. In their training, they are brought to a pinnacle of swordplay; man for man, Warders are historically considered to be the finest fighters in the land. They are highly recognizable for their "color-shifting" cloaks, which are made of fancloth created by a ter'angreal recovered from the Age of Legends, and provide chameleon
ic camouflage for their wearers.
The Warder bond has distinct benefits for both parties. The bonded party (the Warder) gains greater stamina and physical prowess, a greater capacity to resist evil, and greater resistance to injury. The Aes Sedai, for her part, gains a bodyguard, confidant and ally-in-schemes who is intrinsically linked to her and whose behavior can be controlled (to some extent) through the bond. She is also able to draw on the warder's strength if needed. Both parties are able to sense the other's general location, physical well-being and, to some extent, emotional state. Of course, this in itself can cause problems, should one party or the other become intoxicated
or involved in romantic liaisons
. Death
is also a major occupational hazard; if one member of the bond is killed, the other suffers extreme emotional trauma, to the point that most orphaned Warders lose all will to live, and often throw away their lives in a berserker rage.
Whether by custom or law, all Warders are male; the only (known) woman Warder is Birgitte Silverbow Trahelion, bonded to Elayne Trakand
, who bonded her because doing so was the only way to save Birgitte's life. Female-female bonding is more empathic than male-female bonding: Birgitte finds Elayne's emotional state contagious, and vice versa. Aes Sedai are capable of bonding several Warders at once, though only the Green Ajah make a habit of it; generally, men are bonded one at a time, as opposed to several through the same bond, and it is unknown if Warders bonded this way have any extrasensory awareness of each other. Three women (Elayne Trakand, Elmindreda Farshaw
and Aviendha
of the Nine Valleys sept of the Tardaad Aiel
) have recently bonded a single, communal Warder (their mutual lover, Rand al'Thor
); all three women hold the bond and are connected to him, though not to each other. It is not known if the converse, a single bond used to hold multiple Warders, is possible. Women who cannot channel (Min Farshaw) can hold Warder bonds, though still she required her channeler friends to create it. It is possible for two separate women to bond the same man as Warder on separate occasions, without interfering with each other's bonds: al'Thor, at the time of his bonding to his three loves, had already been bonded (against his will) by Alanna Mosvani in a fruitless attempt to control him. Finally, Warder bonds can only be dissolved by the holding Aes Sedai; the Warder himself can be kept against his will.
As of the later books in the series, Asha'man
have discovered their own form of the Warder bond using saidin
and have begun bonding women as Warders. In the beginning, married men bonded their wives, primarily for the benefit of being able to stay in contact with them through the bond, but recently Asha'man have also bonded a small number of captured Aes Sedai, much to the consternation of the White Tower. This form of the bond permits the use of Compulsion to control the captive Aes Sedai. In addition, three Asha'man (Damer Flinn, Jahar Narishma, and Eben Hopwill) have been bonded as Warders by Aes Sedai, and in Knife of Dreams
, Mazrim Taim
grants permission to Aes Sedai to bond his Asha'man. The fact that both parties can channel has had no (known) effect on the Warder bond, but there has been speculation that male channelers universally cannot be controlled the way normal Warders can.
Robert Jordan
Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr. , under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.-Biography:Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina...
's Wheel of Time
Wheel of time
The Wheel of time or wheel of history is a concept found in several religious traditions and philosophies, notably religions of Indian origin such as Hinduism and Buddhism, which regard time as cyclical and consisting of repeating ages...
series is a person (traditionally a man) bonded by an Aes Sedai
Aes Sedai
The Aes Sedai are a special society in the fictional universe of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time book series. Aes Sedai means "Servant to All" in the Old Tongue. They are the wielders of the One Power...
through the use of saidar
One Power
In The Wheel of Time fantasy series by Robert Jordan, the One Power is the force that maintains the continuous motion of the Wheel of Time. It comes from the True Source, and it is separated into two halves: saidin , the male half, and saidar , the female half. It is used in the series by people...
to become her bodyguard as she travels.
Warders are traditionally trained at the White Tower so that, once their training has been completed, they may serve the Aes Sedai as bodyguards. In their training, they are brought to a pinnacle of swordplay; man for man, Warders are historically considered to be the finest fighters in the land. They are highly recognizable for their "color-shifting" cloaks, which are made of fancloth created by a ter'angreal recovered from the Age of Legends, and provide chameleon
Chameleon
Chameleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a...
ic camouflage for their wearers.
The Warder bond has distinct benefits for both parties. The bonded party (the Warder) gains greater stamina and physical prowess, a greater capacity to resist evil, and greater resistance to injury. The Aes Sedai, for her part, gains a bodyguard, confidant and ally-in-schemes who is intrinsically linked to her and whose behavior can be controlled (to some extent) through the bond. She is also able to draw on the warder's strength if needed. Both parties are able to sense the other's general location, physical well-being and, to some extent, emotional state. Of course, this in itself can cause problems, should one party or the other become intoxicated
Drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
or involved in romantic liaisons
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
. Death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
is also a major occupational hazard; if one member of the bond is killed, the other suffers extreme emotional trauma, to the point that most orphaned Warders lose all will to live, and often throw away their lives in a berserker rage.
Whether by custom or law, all Warders are male; the only (known) woman Warder is Birgitte Silverbow Trahelion, bonded to Elayne Trakand
Elayne Trakand
Elayne Trakand is one of the main characters of the Wheel of Time fantasy series by Robert Jordan. She bears a resemblance both in name and appearance to Ilyena, the doomed wife of Lews Therin Telamon from the Age of Legends.-Description:...
, who bonded her because doing so was the only way to save Birgitte's life. Female-female bonding is more empathic than male-female bonding: Birgitte finds Elayne's emotional state contagious, and vice versa. Aes Sedai are capable of bonding several Warders at once, though only the Green Ajah make a habit of it; generally, men are bonded one at a time, as opposed to several through the same bond, and it is unknown if Warders bonded this way have any extrasensory awareness of each other. Three women (Elayne Trakand, Elmindreda Farshaw
Min Farshaw
Elmindreda "Min" Farshaw is one of the main characters of The Wheel of Time fantasy series by Robert Jordan.- Description :She is slender, a little taller than Moiraine , and has short dark hair that becomes curly when grown long. She has large, dark eyes...
and Aviendha
Aviendha
Aviendha of the Nine Valleys sept of the Taardad Aiel is one of the main characters of the Wheel of Time fantasy series by Robert Jordan.-Description:...
of the Nine Valleys sept of the Tardaad Aiel
Aiel
In Robert Jordan's fantasy series The Wheel of Time, the Aiel are a race of people. They live between the "wetlanders" in the west and the Sharans in the east, in a desert which the Aiel call The Three-fold Land and which everyone else calls the Aiel Waste. They have earned a reputation as skilled...
) have recently bonded a single, communal Warder (their mutual lover, Rand al'Thor
Rand al'Thor
Rand al'Thor, also known as the Dragon Reborn, is the fictional main character and protagonist of The Wheel of Time, a series of fantasy novels by Robert Jordan.Rand al'Thor has many other titles within the series:...
); all three women hold the bond and are connected to him, though not to each other. It is not known if the converse, a single bond used to hold multiple Warders, is possible. Women who cannot channel (Min Farshaw) can hold Warder bonds, though still she required her channeler friends to create it. It is possible for two separate women to bond the same man as Warder on separate occasions, without interfering with each other's bonds: al'Thor, at the time of his bonding to his three loves, had already been bonded (against his will) by Alanna Mosvani in a fruitless attempt to control him. Finally, Warder bonds can only be dissolved by the holding Aes Sedai; the Warder himself can be kept against his will.
As of the later books in the series, Asha'man
Asha'man
The Asha'man are an organization of men who can channel the male part of the One Power, Saidin, in the fictional world of Robert Jordan's fantasy series The Wheel of Time.-Description:...
have discovered their own form of the Warder bond using saidin
One Power
In The Wheel of Time fantasy series by Robert Jordan, the One Power is the force that maintains the continuous motion of the Wheel of Time. It comes from the True Source, and it is separated into two halves: saidin , the male half, and saidar , the female half. It is used in the series by people...
and have begun bonding women as Warders. In the beginning, married men bonded their wives, primarily for the benefit of being able to stay in contact with them through the bond, but recently Asha'man have also bonded a small number of captured Aes Sedai, much to the consternation of the White Tower. This form of the bond permits the use of Compulsion to control the captive Aes Sedai. In addition, three Asha'man (Damer Flinn, Jahar Narishma, and Eben Hopwill) have been bonded as Warders by Aes Sedai, and in Knife of Dreams
Knife of Dreams
Knife of Dreams is the 11th novel in the fantasy series The Wheel of Time by American author Robert Jordan. It was published by Tor Books in the U.S. and Orbit in the UK and released on October 11, 2005...
, Mazrim Taim
Mazrim Taim
Mazrim Taim is a character in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time fantasy series.-Description:Taim is described as having black hair, above average in height with a dark face, tilted eyes, hooked nose and high cheekbones...
grants permission to Aes Sedai to bond his Asha'man. The fact that both parties can channel has had no (known) effect on the Warder bond, but there has been speculation that male channelers universally cannot be controlled the way normal Warders can.