Article on Voluntary Demotions

Author: Rhed al'Tere, April 2008

Many new members come to TarValon.net full of excitement and hope. Some of them want to be in a particular ajah and some of them want to avoid a particular ajah. Some find their place with a company or ajah as a citizen while others take twice the amount of time at each level just so they can put off choosing an ajah or company.

I had been a novice for a year when, at the second anniversary party in Tennessee, Mother was asking for volunteers for the slave auction. She came around to the group of people I was sitting with and skipped right over asking me, saying, “I know my Browns.” At that point I wasn’t even Accepted. But I said, “I’m thinking Yellow or Red.” The look of surprise on her face was priceless: “Red?”

And we all see how that turned out. I’m now Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

That’s not saying I didn’t have problems. After all, Mother’s always right, right? Was I really Brown? Was I denying my true ajah? What would happen if I decided I was really Brown? Or, what if I wasn’t Brown at all, but Blue? Or Green?

And we all see how that turned out. I am Red to my bones. Hell, people even call me “Red” in real life. Being Red Ajah helped me grow into the person I am today (no longer the quiet girl who sits in the corner and merely observes...I insist on being center of attention).

Many times I did question my ajah choice, though. Was this right for me? Did I really belong? Every time I considered these questions, the answer was yes.

For some senior members, though, the answer is different. Some may give a “maybe,” then a few days later after some deliberation, a “yes.” Some give a “maybe” then change it to a “no.” What are the options left to the Aes Sedai and Gaidin who find themselves no longer belonging? It’s hard to feel like a stranger in a group you were once a part of. What options do the people who feel out of place have?

For several years at TarValon.net, they didn’t have options. The first choice was the only choice. And for the vast majority, that worked. However, for a minority, it didn’t. Luckily, TarValon.net is a growing, changing community, and the policy changed in 2005 to allow voluntary demotion. At first, the administration had to offer this option, but now senior members who feel they don’t fit with the concept of the ajah may apply for demotion.

In 2005, Micah Junfir and Arisaema Draconis were the first two senior members to be offered demotion. Arisaema Sedai of the Green Ajah says that though at first she had no intention of changing ajahs, “I believe that certain basic changes had occurred in my personal life and Tower experience that caused me to disassociate with the [Blue] Ajah and its members.” She felt, she says, like she had been living away from home and had “forsaken her family.”

Four of the five women I interviewed said their first ajah choice was, at the time, the right choice. Neisa Alibrylla, formerly Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah and now Aspiring to the Blue Ajah, says, “I felt wholly that it was the ajah for me.” Elanda Tonil, formerly of the Gray Ajah and now Accepted of the Tower, had three major reasons for joining Gray. First, the ajahs at that point had tasks to accomplish to help the Tower. The Gray Ajah’s task was to edit the Constitution and answer questions about it. Elanda says, “I very much enjoyed that purpose because it felt like I was useful to the Tower.” The second reason she joined was because she loved the people. Thirdly, she joined Gray because it was small. “When I chose the ajah,” she says, “it was by far the most perfect place for me. It was exactly what I needed at that time in my life. There was no doubt in my mind that it was my home.”

Ubahsur Kindellaer, formerly of the Yellow Ajah and now Accepted of the Tower, says, “I never chose my ajah.” She goes on to explain, “I remember thinking after I had been ‘claimed’ that I was disappointed because I had wanted to explore all the ajahs and talk to lots of people before settling. I felt it would have been rude to do anything other than what everyone expected of me.” Is Ubah’s situation unique? Has anyone else felt like they must join one ajah or another? I can’t say. But the system of voluntary demotion seems specially designed for those who feel, whether from the outset or at a later date, that the ajah they first joined is not quite right for them.

What about those on the outside, those who may not understand why a senior member would choose to go back to Accepted to change ajahs? Ubah says, “The overall mix was positive and supportive.” Elanda says her friends have been equally supportive, and that the members of the Gray Ajah “have been nothing but supremely supportive.”

Neisa admits she had worries; “I was very worried about how Red would accept me,” she says. Both Neisa and Arisaema made the switch before the present guesting system was implemented. As Neisa says, “This all happened right before the guesting process, so it was a lot more stressful...not many people left ajahs, much less demoted themselves.” Arisaema’s experience was a little rockier; she says, “My friends outside of my original ajah were relieved to learn that options had become available for me. My friends within the ajah felt betrayed, disappointed and fearful. Many of those friends solicited me to remain.”

Hopefully, the new(ish) guesting system will prevent feelings of betrayal and disappointment. Many people had problems with the system when it was implemented; some Accepted felt they were being kicked out of an ajah where they’d made their home. Those I interviewed have mixed feelings. Neisa says, “I initially disliked the program intensely, but that was due to my own shortsightedness. I feel it's a great way to make 100% sure you are in your own place.”

The guesting system allows people to explore as many ajahs or companies as they feel necessary before deciding on one. Before, novices or recruits had to explore the ajahs before being raised to Accepted or Soldier because at the middle rank, they had to choose a group. One of the bonuses to the new system is that the stigma on Accepted changing ajahs has lessoned. Elanda says, “I think it has also been great at reducing the drama of an Accepted changing ajahs, which I feel was a tremendous problem.” Now, an Accepted/Soldier can be in two ajahs/companies at once, and there’s no issue with them leaving an ajah/company. Ubah has observed a lessoning of the stigma that comes with changing ajahs, “at least with what I am seeing—which is limited. I think the guesting process is helping lessen that sting.”

We need to remember, as a community, that deciding to leave an ajah or company one has been a member of for years in some cases is a very difficult decision. It’s not one made lightly or overnight. The decision comes about because of a rift of some kind. Maybe the ajah/company has grown and developed in a different direction from a member. Whatever reason(s) a member has for leaving an ajah/company, we need to lend our support on their new journey.

Who’s to know? Maybe I’ll be Brown in another decade or so.