During the 130 days that Nynaeve and Egwene were in the White Tower, there were only three freedays. There was no set schedule for these the Mistress of Novices declared them at discretion. Novices are strictly confined to the Tower grounds, and there are no days off, except for occasional freedays where there were no lessons or chores, except possibly chores given as punishment. The idea is that the hard work builds character, though it is likely that there is a desire to keep them too busy, and too tired, to start playing around and experimenting with the One Power. Novices are not permitted to channel except when supervised by an Accepted or Aes Sedai (though many do so anyway in secret), and must do all their chores by hand. However, most of her day will be taken up with such chores and duties as laboring in the kitchens, scrubbing floors, doing errands for Aes Sedai, and working in the gardens. Novices also have classes on the history of Aes Sedai, about channeling in general and classes on uses of the power such as angreal, sa'angreal and ter'angreal. She will have lessons and classes some on learning to channel but just as many on the history, the Old Tongue, geography, politics and philosophy - to all of which she must pay strict attention or face punishment. Meals are taken in silence and are extremely brief, so the novice must eat quickly or go hungry. Her room is tiny, the bed uncomfortable and hard, and she must wake every day before dawn to scrub the floor and sweep the room. When a girl becomes a novice, she is required to burn the clothes that she arrived in, in order to symbolize a break with her past ties and build dependence on the Tower. Novice life is deliberately harsh, in order to prepare them for the difficult life of an Aes Sedai.
By the time they were trained enough to be safe, they were usually set on the path to becoming an Aes Sedai that few thought of leaving. The Aes Sedai used this life to hold on to any girl who could channel, as it would not be safe to let them loose without proper training. Once a woman was tested and was found to be able to learn to channel, she would continue to touch the Source even without training.
This is causing consternation among some traditional sisters, but most are happy that the number of Tower initiates has ceased dwindling and also because the potential of new older novices as Sharina is really stunning. Recently among the rebel Aes Sedai in Salidar the age restrictions have been lifted, and there are novices of all ages, even some as old as grandmothers. Some novices have lied about their age to enroll. If a girl born with the spark starts to channel before being 16 years old, she is brought to the Tower and enrolled earlier for her safety. Traditionally the White Tower only accepts girls for training who are between sixteen and eighteen years old, as anyone above this age is thought to be too old to adapt to the discipline.
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