There's an easy solution to lodge novices anyway... - Edit 1
Before modification by DomA at 08/06/2010 03:29:37 AM
Aes Sedai really need to go back to living among the general population. They need to have children, especially if they increase their efforts to recruit among those who can learn.
The organization really needs to shift toward service rather than playing politics too. It needs to take its distance from the political life of the nations. The "meddling" of the Tower has become the one major factor of ressent against channellers. Eliminate the whole "AS advisors" philosophy, turn the Amyrlin and Hall into those in charge of determining OP policies and administrating the "guild" instead of pretending to be a monarch above the monarchs, eliminate the political role of the Ajahs, and a lot of problems would fade away.
Lodging thousands of novices, both male and female, isn't necessarily a problem. You just have to kick out of the Tower most of the sisters, transform parts of the Ajah quarters into departements, and the rest turns to lodging. Those who don't, or administrate the Tower and its affairs, or who don't have any other valid reason to live in the Tower shouldn't. AS at large really have no reason anymore to spend their life in the Tower, not even in Tar Valon itself. With the rediscovery of Travelling, Tar Valon is just a minute away, wherever an Aes Sedai chooses to live. Even those who have to teach classes could perfectly live in a tiny village in Falme, Travel for their class and return to their community afterward. Same thing for the researchers, engineers etc. There's really no reason why channellers should live together, and plenty of disadvantages to do it (and this will only get worse if the men join them). Right now, most Aes Sedai provide only a tiny fraction of the services they could provide, if they lived in the community. Even those who did, like Adeleas and Vandene, pretty much restrained themselves to pretending to be Wisdoms, healing the villagers' animals. What a waste, considering all they could have done for their village if they lived there openly as AS, from helping with crops, getting rid of pests, healing people. By and large, it's not because AS don't want to help (and many miss their communities, their nation and their people - and Leane for instance would sure enjoy working in the family business, and she could!), it just wasn't an option. AS had to come back together post breaking, to rebuild something, and for their own safety as the world ressented them too much. And later on, when it was safe for them again to live pretty much anywayre, scattering to the winds, many weeks from the Tower, essentially meant the end of the Tower. Not anymore, not with Travelling.
The Tower otherwise is already built with two of everything (two novice wings, two Accepted wings, two kitchens etc.). It has been built all along in the hope that one day a solution would be found and the male channellers would return.
It just needs to be turned into an administrative, educational and research centre, instead of the place Aes Sedai live. It's already big enough to lodge several thousand channellers in training, and scholars, and administators.
The organization really needs to shift toward service rather than playing politics too. It needs to take its distance from the political life of the nations. The "meddling" of the Tower has become the one major factor of ressent against channellers. Eliminate the whole "AS advisors" philosophy, turn the Amyrlin and Hall into those in charge of determining OP policies and administrating the "guild" instead of pretending to be a monarch above the monarchs, eliminate the political role of the Ajahs, and a lot of problems would fade away.
Lodging thousands of novices, both male and female, isn't necessarily a problem. You just have to kick out of the Tower most of the sisters, transform parts of the Ajah quarters into departements, and the rest turns to lodging. Those who don't, or administrate the Tower and its affairs, or who don't have any other valid reason to live in the Tower shouldn't. AS at large really have no reason anymore to spend their life in the Tower, not even in Tar Valon itself. With the rediscovery of Travelling, Tar Valon is just a minute away, wherever an Aes Sedai chooses to live. Even those who have to teach classes could perfectly live in a tiny village in Falme, Travel for their class and return to their community afterward. Same thing for the researchers, engineers etc. There's really no reason why channellers should live together, and plenty of disadvantages to do it (and this will only get worse if the men join them). Right now, most Aes Sedai provide only a tiny fraction of the services they could provide, if they lived in the community. Even those who did, like Adeleas and Vandene, pretty much restrained themselves to pretending to be Wisdoms, healing the villagers' animals. What a waste, considering all they could have done for their village if they lived there openly as AS, from helping with crops, getting rid of pests, healing people. By and large, it's not because AS don't want to help (and many miss their communities, their nation and their people - and Leane for instance would sure enjoy working in the family business, and she could!), it just wasn't an option. AS had to come back together post breaking, to rebuild something, and for their own safety as the world ressented them too much. And later on, when it was safe for them again to live pretty much anywayre, scattering to the winds, many weeks from the Tower, essentially meant the end of the Tower. Not anymore, not with Travelling.
The Tower otherwise is already built with two of everything (two novice wings, two Accepted wings, two kitchens etc.). It has been built all along in the hope that one day a solution would be found and the male channellers would return.
It just needs to be turned into an administrative, educational and research centre, instead of the place Aes Sedai live. It's already big enough to lodge several thousand channellers in training, and scholars, and administators.