Avendesora

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A similar entry appears in the Wheel of Time Companion confirming the information available in the main story arc.


AH-vehn-deh-SO-rah

Avendesora, in the Old Tongue, the Tree of Life is an artificial creation, made during the Age of Legends, where they were also known as chora trees (TSR, Ch. 26) that brought a sensation of relaxation and peace to any who rested under it. Streets in the cities were lined with chora trees and it was said that “A city without choras would seem bleak as wilderness”. During the Breaking, nearly all were destroyed, apart from cuttings kept by the Aiel. One of these was planted in Rhuidean where it survived for over three thousand years . It was burnt (TSR, Ch. 58) in the fight between Asmodean and Rand, but survived (TFoH, Ch. 2).

There are many legends associated with the Tree of life, including that of Ghoetam, who supposedly gained wisdom from resting beneath it (TSR, Ch. 24). It is also associated with the Green Man in the popular imagination, who is said to own it (TEotW, Ch. 6), though he states that he had not rested beneath it in two thousands years (TEotW, Ch. 50), which if not an error, suggests he visited it during the Trolloc Wars. The Ogier were also aware of the connection to the Aiel (TEotW, Ch. 36). There were also rumours that while the nation of Almoth lived it had a branch or even a sapling (TGH, Ch. 7). Domani claim descent form the people that made the Trees of Life (TGH, Ch. 7).

The keys to a waygate are three pointed Avendesora leaves, one on the outside and one on the inside, though there is space for two (TEotW, Ch. 44). It is said to make no seed, though several hundred years earlier, the Aiel presented the Cairhienin with a cutting, Avendoraldera