Rhuidean
A city of glass where the past bleeds into the present to forge the future.
Rhuidean rises from the Aiel Waste like a jagged crown of glass, serving as the spiritual anchor of a people exiled for three thousand years. Once a thriving city in the Age of Legends, it now functions as the sacred site where both Aiel men and women walk to become clan chiefs or Wise Ones. The air shimmers with heat and ancient power; two massive black glass columns guard the entrance, housing ter'angreal that force visitors to relive the memories of their ancestors—a terrifying pilgrimage of revelation rather than prayer.
- Location
- Aiel Waste
- Primary Inhabitants
- None (Ghostly echoes only)
- Significance
- Place of Rhuidean for Aiel men and women
- Key Feature
- Two massive ter'angreal columns
- Historical Era Origin
- Age of Legends
Lore & Background
In the Age of Legends, this gleaming metropolis was home to the Da'shain Aiel, a name that predates any Third Age lords. After the Breaking shattered the world and scattered humanity, the city fell silent. Centuries later, the Aiel returned not as conquerors, but as seekers reclaiming their lost identity from the dust. The city is defined by two colossal black glass columns: one compels men to walk through ancestral memories to understand why they became warriors, while the other allows women to witness the history of the Wise Ones.
In Their Own Story
The wind howled across the broken glass, sounding like a thousand voices whispering in a language long forgotten. Rand stepped forward, his boots crunching on the crystalline shards that had once been streets. The heat of the sun was deceptive; the air inside the city felt heavy with centuries of sorrow. As he touched the first black column, the desert vanished. Suddenly, he was not a man of the Waste but a scholar in a city of white towers, holding a child who would one day be his ancestor's enemy. The visions surged, unbidden and violent, showing him the moment the Aiel broke their covenant with the Aes Sedai, forcing him to feel the shame and the fear that had driven his people into the desert for three thousand years.
Reader's Guide
Rhuidean is the most sacred site in the Aiel Waste, a rite of passage for every male seeking to become a clan chief and every female channeler seeking to join the Wise Ones. Unlike shrines offering prayer, Rhuidean demands immersion; its ter'angreal force visitors to inhabit the lives of their direct ancestors, feeling the joys and failures that transformed peaceful Da'shain Aiel into fierce warriors. For Rand al'Thor, this was a turning point. Here he learned the truth: his people were once pacifists who turned to war only after being betrayed by the Aes Sedai. This revelation bridged the gap between his identity as the Dragon Reborn and his heritage with the Aiel. Without walking Rhuidean, an Aiel cannot fully grasp why they fight so fiercely or what they are fighting to preserve.
Did You Know?
- The name 'Rhuidean' and the Da'shain Aiel are not named after Third Age Lord Rhuarc; their origins predate him by thousands of years.
- The glass spires are remnants of technology from the Age of Legends, not natural formations.
- Both men and women enter separate columns to see the history of clan chiefs and Wise Ones respectively.
- Visitors emerge exhausted, having lived lifetimes in hours.