The Dragon's Peace
Overview:
The Dragon's Peace is a pivotal treaty between the nations of the Westlands. This treaty marks a significant turning point in the political landscape, bringing an end to centuries of conflict and war among the various nations and factions.
Key Elements:
Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity: The nations and factions that sign the Dragon's Peace agree to respect each other's sovereignty and territorial boundaries, meaning they will not engage in aggressive actions, invasions, or attempts to annex each other's lands.
Demilitarization: A provision for reducing military forces, dismantling fortifications near borders, and limiting military spending to reduce the likelihood of future conflicts.
Neutrality of the White Tower: The Aes Sedai, who are powerful magic-users, are required to maintain neutrality in political conflicts and wars. They are not allowed to take sides or use their magic in support of any nation or faction.
Trade and Travel: The treaty likely encourages the reopening of trade routes and the free movement of goods and people among the signatory nations to promote economic prosperity and cooperation.
Dispute Resolution: A mechanism for resolving disputes and conflicts among the signatory nations peacefully, through negotiation and diplomacy rather than warfare. Before national disputes go to the Mahdi'sheen, all signatories agree to make earnest effort, as determined by all other signatories, to resolve the issue(s) peacefully.
Non-Aggression: The signatory nations are prohibited from engaging in acts of aggression, such as assassinations, sabotage, or espionage, against each other.
Enforcement: The Dragon’s Peace is enforced by the Aiel through formalized roles agreed upon by the Aiel clan chiefs. Four main orders of Aiel adjudicate, judge, and enforce the Dragon’s Peace from “collective holds” scattered around the wetlands. To facilitate the Aiel’s peacekeeping role, the rulers of each nation allowed (in some cases, with very strong… encouragement from the Aiel) very small parts of their country to be annexed by the Aiel. There are several of these holds in each nation where the Aiel are accountable only to their own laws, and wetlanders can visit, trade, and seek redress from the Aiel peacekeepers. The Dragon’s Peace is hard – the Aiel see it as the ultimate toh they owe the car’a’carn. It is enforced ruthlessly and fairly.
The four main roles are:
The Mahdi’sheen – “Seekers of the Law”, act as arbiters, hearing grievances outside the scope of the local or national laws that have to do with trade or other disagreements between individuals or nobles of different nations. They are Wise Ones who make rulings completely unbiased and solely based off the word and spirit of the treaty.
The Runyat’sheen – The “Weight of the Law”, enforce penalties decided by the Mahdi’sheen. These are typically groups of algai’d’siswai who – if needed – forcibly take property declared as forfeit, or take someone into custody who then serves as a kind of modified gai’shain during the time they serve their ‘sentence’. The Aiel do not believe in traditional jails, where a prisoner is given free shelter and food as a reward for being a law breaker.
The Aethan’sheen – The “Shield of the Law”, act as a formal military who are stationed around the wetlands in the various ‘holds’ given to the Aiel in each nation, and present the constant threat of military action should any nation not respect the borders of its neighbors.
The Siswai’sheen – The “Spear of the Law”, act as a kind of fugitive task force, where individual algai’d’siswai are given leave to hunt down those who evade the judgement of the Runyat’sheen. The penalty for not honoring the verdict of the Mahdi’sheen is death.
The rulings are carried by a "Ji'Lanen", a messenger wearing a 7 colored veil, to the appropriate parties. However, any act against one of these Ji'Lanen is paramount to an act against a nation's ruler. Not so with the enforcers of the laws. It is a hazardous job who's main pay is simply honor. More than any parties involved, though, the ones people most fear are undoubtedly the "Siswai'sheen". These individuals are immediately, intentionally, recognized. They are characterized by their mandatory veil and tie; The front of the veil is black. The sides have a raised spear on one side, and an olive branch on the other. The back is a beautifully intricate tied series of 7 knots representing the original 7 signatories of the dragon's peace. They are arranged in a way that they looks like 7 rings locked together, to represent unity. They are greatly feared and respected.
Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity: The nations and factions that sign the Dragon's Peace agree to respect each other's sovereignty and territorial boundaries, meaning they will not engage in aggressive actions, invasions, or attempts to annex each other's lands.
Demilitarization: A provision for reducing military forces, dismantling fortifications near borders, and limiting military spending to reduce the likelihood of future conflicts.
Neutrality of the White Tower: The Aes Sedai, who are powerful magic-users, are required to maintain neutrality in political conflicts and wars. They are not allowed to take sides or use their magic in support of any nation or faction.
Trade and Travel: The treaty likely encourages the reopening of trade routes and the free movement of goods and people among the signatory nations to promote economic prosperity and cooperation.
Dispute Resolution: A mechanism for resolving disputes and conflicts among the signatory nations peacefully, through negotiation and diplomacy rather than warfare. Before national disputes go to the Mahdi'sheen, all signatories agree to make earnest effort, as determined by all other signatories, to resolve the issue(s) peacefully.
Non-Aggression: The signatory nations are prohibited from engaging in acts of aggression, such as assassinations, sabotage, or espionage, against each other.
Enforcement: The Dragon’s Peace is enforced by the Aiel through formalized roles agreed upon by the Aiel clan chiefs. Four main orders of Aiel adjudicate, judge, and enforce the Dragon’s Peace from “collective holds” scattered around the wetlands. To facilitate the Aiel’s peacekeeping role, the rulers of each nation allowed (in some cases, with very strong… encouragement from the Aiel) very small parts of their country to be annexed by the Aiel. There are several of these holds in each nation where the Aiel are accountable only to their own laws, and wetlanders can visit, trade, and seek redress from the Aiel peacekeepers. The Dragon’s Peace is hard – the Aiel see it as the ultimate toh they owe the car’a’carn. It is enforced ruthlessly and fairly.
The four main roles are:
The Mahdi’sheen – “Seekers of the Law”, act as arbiters, hearing grievances outside the scope of the local or national laws that have to do with trade or other disagreements between individuals or nobles of different nations. They are Wise Ones who make rulings completely unbiased and solely based off the word and spirit of the treaty.
The Runyat’sheen – The “Weight of the Law”, enforce penalties decided by the Mahdi’sheen. These are typically groups of algai’d’siswai who – if needed – forcibly take property declared as forfeit, or take someone into custody who then serves as a kind of modified gai’shain during the time they serve their ‘sentence’. The Aiel do not believe in traditional jails, where a prisoner is given free shelter and food as a reward for being a law breaker.
The Aethan’sheen – The “Shield of the Law”, act as a formal military who are stationed around the wetlands in the various ‘holds’ given to the Aiel in each nation, and present the constant threat of military action should any nation not respect the borders of its neighbors.
The Siswai’sheen – The “Spear of the Law”, act as a kind of fugitive task force, where individual algai’d’siswai are given leave to hunt down those who evade the judgement of the Runyat’sheen. The penalty for not honoring the verdict of the Mahdi’sheen is death.
The rulings are carried by a "Ji'Lanen", a messenger wearing a 7 colored veil, to the appropriate parties. However, any act against one of these Ji'Lanen is paramount to an act against a nation's ruler. Not so with the enforcers of the laws. It is a hazardous job who's main pay is simply honor. More than any parties involved, though, the ones people most fear are undoubtedly the "Siswai'sheen". These individuals are immediately, intentionally, recognized. They are characterized by their mandatory veil and tie; The front of the veil is black. The sides have a raised spear on one side, and an olive branch on the other. The back is a beautifully intricate tied series of 7 knots representing the original 7 signatories of the dragon's peace. They are arranged in a way that they looks like 7 rings locked together, to represent unity. They are greatly feared and respected.
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