Red Ajah of Dragonmount

The Red Ajah is full of man haters, power hungry dominatrixes, who fill their lives hunting men and looking for ways to dominate others. They are the worst type of feminists possible.

That is one way to summarise the many misconceptions that exist about the book Red Ajah, its occupants and their purpose. As a result, and quite logically, this line of thinking is often carried through to any people that would link themselves to the Red Ajah in an online community such as Dragonmount. Many wonder ‘why would anyone wish to link themselves to such a negative image?’. A brave and honest question once asked by an Accepted of the White Tower at Dragonmount.com, named Quisalas.

The Red Ajah from Dragonmount presents this answer.
An answer that hopes to shed a new light and understanding behind the question ‘why’ the Reds are who they are. Both in the books and on DM. We recommend you get comfortable, get something to drink and take your time reading.

Join me on a journey into the past. The time is right after the first breaking. The world has gone from safe uforia to hell on earth and no one was equipped to handle the outbreak of evil that suddenly errupted. People who had, till then, been looked at for safety, protection, aid and comfort now suddenly were the cause of all hurts. Most of them without even wanting to cause those hurts and suffering themselves gravely from the curse laid on them by the Dark One. Meet our poor male Aes Sedai, now suffering from an all controling madness forcing them to hurt not only others but themselves as well. Forcing them to do the exact opposit of what they have lived for all their lives. Imagine the horror you would go through if you were suddenly forced by an unstoppable command to hurt your family, your friends, your loved ones. From ‘Servant to all’ they have gone to ‘Bane of all’ overnight. (or practically overnight, considering the timespan usually needed to turn an entire civilisation into a new direction of principles, beliefs, convictions, etc). That was the fate our Aes Sedai brothers faced back then. That was the fate that destroyed Lews Therin. That is the fate the Reds set out to fight. For the good of those men, the good of the people and the survival of the world. As it turns out, it would be at an extreme cost to those Reds, who weren’t ‘Red’ at the time let’s not forget, but just Aes Sedai setting out to ‘serve’ those ill fated men and the world at large. Not in some distant future at the Last Battle, but in every day life. Right here, right now.

Fast forward to present day Randland. 3000 years have passed. 3 Millenia. To compare, that’s 1000 years ‘before’ Christ in our world. 2000 years ‘before’ our ‘Dark Ages’. (just to give ya’ a sence of how long it’s been since the breaking). For 3 millenia, the Reds have fought towards that goal. Steadily, but surely, they have become feared and hated, not only by the men they hunted to save them from themselves, but by everyone else as well, including the other Ajahs. Still, they persisted. Continued on their task of protecting those that would cast them on the fire pire in a blink of an eye. No human, Aes Sedai or otherwise, however is capable of withstanding the bite of rejection. We all need a sense of belonging and our nature is such that a self defence mechanism will kick in when needed. And so over the course of 3000 years the Reds withdrew into themselves, closed the doors to their hearts and learned to be hard to stand against a worldwide attack on their sensitivities. Their need for warmth, understanding, acceptance, friendship. They didn’t get it anywhere, except within the ranks of their own Ajah. But they never once gave up their fight against the evil of the Dark One. The evil that caused such suffering, not in the least to those men that would gradually go insane for no other reason than to be able to touch the Source. A blessing turned into a curse. And for their trouble, the Reds are shunned, hated, despised, rejected, turned away. So where would they go to find some measure of warmth? Something everyone needs, regardless how ‘tough’ they are? They were left with little other choice than to turn to themselves. Keep in mind the lifespan of Aes Sedai. It would be exceedingly difficult to deal with that kind of isolation in a normal human’s life time. How much more difficult then would it be if that life time was doubled, or trippled?

The Reds never set out as man haters, and indeed that isn’t the core of who they are, even in the books. Facing millenia of rejection and missunderstandings in combination with a constant increase of importance of ‘power’ in the societies that formed after the breaking (not only in the Aes Sedai, mind. But in all people, proof of which are all the wars that errupted for land controle and dominance. One only has to look at how the Sanchean turned out to be to see that the corruption of power wasn’t limited to the White Tower. Or the Children, for that matter. Or the schemes and plots of the Cairhienen, etc), it is not so difficult to understand how and why these Sisters turned out the way they’ve become present day Randland time. Is it an excuse for their current arrogance and indeed the way they seem to loath men? No. Is it a normal development of the path they have chosen? Unfortunately, yes. And lets not forget that in the books, we only focuss on a few Reds. And most of those showing the worst of the Ajah to boot. The book Reds never developed diplomatic skills, because they were too busy saving the world from the insanity of channeling men. Can you imagine the anguish a sister would have to go through each and every time they had to still a man and see him wither and die? To see their attempt to save them fail each time and knowing that they have no choice? Can you imagine the pain these sisters must have gone through every single time they were faced with that choice? The doubt they must have had in the course of their self imposed duty? How does one protect himself from that constant onslaught on their heart, their feelings, their very soul? What determination and strength is there needed to keep doing it, knowing it to be the ONLY sollution and knowing full well the pain it will bring and still set out to do the duty?

The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills and the Wheel didn’t will it for there to be another Dragon for 3000 years. How much chance would the Greens have to stand at the Last Battle, if the Reds hadn’t prevented the destruction of the world time and again in the meantime? How much chance would the Blues have had to find the Dragon if the Reds hadn’t stood strong against all that hatred and isolation for 3000 years?

All Aes Sedai have forgotten their primary reason for existance, which is to serve. They’ve all become arrogant beyond belief and sure of their supremecy over others, demanding full and immediate obedience. This is not something limited to the Reds. The Reds, however, have also faced isolation in the one place Aes Sedai call ‘home’. And so they were left with no other choice but to form a home ‘inside’ their home: their Ajah. Each sister is convinced that their Ajah represents the top importance of their existence. Or they wouldn’t have joined that Ajah. The isolation the book Reds have faced for at least 2000 years (using 1000 years of the beginning as a transition period) from even the other Ajahs have made it all but impossible for them to interact, form friendships, connect and bond with the members of those other Ajahs. More often than not they are rejected on the color of their Shawl and the prejudice that occurs even within the WT. How is a person to defend against that without falling to despair? You close yourself up, build up your wall, and keep to those that accept you and understand you. And even in today’s Randland time, there are interajah friendships between a Red and one of another Ajah, but we mainly get to read about those troublesome ones with little to no attention to all the others.

Do I like the book Reds? Hell no! Except maybe for Pevara, I’d like to see them all taken by the Wise Ones and be put in Apprentice robes for a decade or 5. But what links the book Reds to the DM Reds is their thrive, their determination, their absolute dedication to do what must be done, regardless the odds or the level of difficulty. Not for their own sake, but for the sake of all those that can’t stand for themselves. The Reds do not stand ready, they àre ready. Every day, of every year, at any time, against anything.

To answer Quisalas’ question, I do not know what the original Reds at Dragonmount.com had in mind but I do know this now. The DM Reds do not wish to link themselves to a negative image. We do not wish to link ourselves to any image. We don’t claim the book Red’s image as our own, as that would undermine our own identity as individuals. What we do relate to heavily is that determination, the passion, the strength and the resolve to stand against what must be opposed, no matter the odds. To do what must be done, regardless the cost to ourselves. To not let peer pressure force us into a box we don’t want to be in. We stand for total equality, for a person’s right to be whoever they want to be, for an individual’s right to independence and their opinions. But unlike the book Reds, we DM Reds haven’t face 3 millenia of hatred and despise and so we haven’t had the need to build up our defences to cope with that. Which leaves an awfull lot of freedom to form friendships and relationships with others.

Yours under the Light,
Mystica Ari’Yena
Former Highest of the Red Ajah at Dragonmount.com