Tear (spoiler for book 3 and later)

Leira Galene

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I'm currently rereading The Shadow Rising and it occurred to me that it's never fully explained why channeling is outlawed in Tear. They mention that the Tairens are afraid of channeling because of the burden of Callandor, but is that all it is? It seems extreme to outlaw channeling completely, particularly for women since Callandor can only be used by a man. I was thinking that it might have something to do with Artur Hawkwing's hatred of Aes Sedai, but I'm not sure how quickly Tear formed after his death. Does anyone have any ideas? The Callandor thing alone doesn't seem to explain it fully to me.
 
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I think it is fear. They don't want Aes Sedai meddling in their affairs. I found this on wotwiia:

"Tairens of all classes have an avowed fear of anything to do with the One Power. This is due partly to the fact that it is prophesied that the Stone of Tear will never fall until the Dragon has been Reborn. The High Lords like to think that by protecting Callandor, the 'sword that is not a sword' that resides within an inner chamber of the city's ancient fortress, they are protecting the world from the Dragon Reborn."

I think they are just fearful that Aes Sedai may try to take Callandor, so they think that if they keep it and protect it, the Dragon can never be Reborn. Just my thoughts
 

Aran Cherubim

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It seems to me that a fair deal of southern countries in general fear and strongly dislike the Aes Sedai (though I'm not so sure about Altara :scratch ), anyway, yeah, I think probably the Prophecies have a lot to say. The tradition there might closely associate the Aes Sedai with the Dragon Reborn (though we don't have any evidence for that, I think, it's just a possibility), by for example assuming that it is the Aes Sedai who will reveal the true Dragon or something along those lines.
 
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I think there is definite fear of channeling, but it could also be a political move. Tear doesn't want to be a game piece for the Aes Sedai. If they outlaw channeling, it's more difficult for the White Tower to get it's hooks in.
 

Leira Galene

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Hmm Derwyn, that's a good point. Especially since they're very scared of Aes Sedai. It just seems odd to me, since Illian does at the very least not have the same laws against it as Tear. But then again, they don't have Callandor. Aran, I wonder if it has something to do with the countries being so far south? We can definitely see how stories have gotten stretched and Aes Sedai made scary even in the Two Rivers, so maybe since they're so geographically far from Tar Valon the stories are worse there.
 

Tobias Carawin

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Info from the Big White Book (The World Of Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time), The Karaethon Cycle, and my opinion on this:

(Big White Book)Before this series takes place, anyone found possessing a copy of the "Prophecies of the Dragon" was imprisoned. The reason for this may be because Tear's fate was a part of the Prophecy, or long rooted distrust in all things dealing with the Power.

In the Karaethon Cycle it says "The Stone of Tear will never fall, till Callandor is wielded by the Dragon’s hand." and "The Stone of Tear will never fall, till the People of the Dragon come."

So my opinion on the information I provided is as follows;
Tear is living in a state of fear. Once the Dragon comes and fulfills the Prophecy, Tear is now no longer protected by the Prophecy. (The Stone of Tear will never fall, till Callandor is wielded by the Dragon’s hand.) Basically it is saying Tear WILL fall.
"The Stone of Tear will never fall, till the People of the Dragon come." Tear may have misunderstood who "the People of the Dragon" were. Lews Therin had worked side by side with female and male channelers before the Breaking. So I think they thought "the People of the Dragon" were channelers. Those channelers that survived the breaking formed the White Tower.
 

Aran Cherubim

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That's a very good point, Tobias.
 
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Tear is all screwy like that. Commoners are next to nothing in Tear. The Lords of Tear play the Game of Houses to attain status and power. I think they are truly run by fear, hence all the chaos that ensues when Rand gets Callandor. Laws change, commoners can call nobles before the magistrate, WHAT??? They really freaked out over that.
 

Aran Cherubim

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Tear is all screwy like that. Commoners are next to nothing in Tear. The Lords of Tear play the Game of Houses to attain status and power. I think they are truly run by fear, hence all the chaos that ensues when Rand gets Callandor. Laws change, commoners can call nobles before the magistrate, WHAT??? They really freaked out over that.

Not very different from real life.
 
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True, true!
 

Aran Cherubim

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I think that's one of things Rand shows pride of. That's how I choose to recall it anyways. :pleased-1:
 

Tobias Carawin

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Best quotes that describe Tear...

"Fear is the foundation of most governments." -John Adams

“Three great forces rule the world: stupidity, fear and greed.” ― Albert Einstein
 
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I think that's one of things Rand shows pride of. That's how I choose to recall it anyways. :pleased-1:

I totally agree. I think he likes to do that because he was a commoner and it kind of keeps that little part of him there.
 

Leira Galene

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Yeah I agree as well. He definitely thinks about it that way in TSR, where he's sort of delighting in cutting down the high lords to size.
 
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