The Three Oaths are taken by the Aes Sedai in The Wheel of Time. The oaths are bound by the One Power and are unbreakable.[1]
Overview[]
The Aes Sedai began taking the Three Oaths to end Artur Hawkwing's siege on the White Tower of Tar Valon. The Three Oaths are well-known and common people are aware of them; for instance, although Egwene doesn't know the exact wording, she knows generally what they include.[1]
The oaths are:[1]
- To speak no word that is not true.
- To make no weapon with which one person may kill another.
- Never to use the One Power as a weapon, except in the last extreme defense of her own life, or the life of her Warder, or another Aes Sedai.
Although it was believed until recently that all Aes Sedai were bound to the Three Oaths, members of the Black Ajah are no longer bound to them. Liandrin confirms as much to Nynaeve in the Ways when asked about attacking her and her friends with such force that it would ordinarily violate the third oath.[2]
Quotes[]
- Moiraine
- — Moiraine explaining the oaths to Egwene in 1.02 Shadow's Waiting
These oaths are bound by the One Power itself. It's not that we do not break them, it's that we cannot break them.
Changes from the book series[]
The Three Oaths are an adaptation of the oaths of the same name (book spoilers!) from The Wheel of Time book series.
The oaths have some slight differences:
- Person - In the books, the second oath is "one man" rather than "one person".
- Shadowspawn - In the books, the Third Oath includes the exception that Aes Sedai may use the one power against Darkfriends and Shadowspawn. However, Robert Jordan did not explicitly mention this prevision in the earlier books, either.
In the books, the Aes Sedai had already begun taking the Three Oaths by the time Artur Hawking laid siege to the White Tower.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Wheel of Time, season 1 episode 2: Shadow's Waiting.
- ↑ The Wheel of Time, season 2 episode 5: Damane.