Tower Guard

Author: Atarah al'Norahn

General

The Tower Guard are the soldiers who protect Tar Valon and the White Tower. During the Aiel War, Azil Mareed was the High Captain of the Tower Guard (NS, Ch. 2). Currently, the High Captain is Jimar Chubain (ACoS, Prologue), though Elaida plans to replace him with Gareth Bryne, and to assimilate Bryne’s army into the Tower Guard, once she has defeated the rebels (KoD, Ch. 2).

The Tower Guards wear nearly black coats and cloaks, with the Flame of Tar Valon on both cloak and chest. They also wear steel breastplates and helmets with face-bars. Bannermen and officers wear seven-striped tabards over their breastplates. Under-lieutenants have short white plumes on their helmets (NS, Ch. 4; TSR, Ch. 47).

The Tower Guards will obey any Aes Sedai (TDR, Ch. 11; TDR, Ch. 14), but march on the command of the Amyrlin Seat (TDR, Ch. 14).

The guards come from all around the world. One that Mat speaks with is from Illian (TDR, Ch. 24), and Azil Mareed was from Arad Doman (TWoRJTWoT, Ch. 14).

Posts

The Guardsmen keep watch atop the gate towers of Tar Valon (NS, Ch. 4), as well as on the bridges and throughout the city (TDR, Ch. 24; TDR, Ch. 30). No gate to the Tower grounds is ever unguarded (TSR, Ch. 47).

One of the guardhouses that stands just within one of the side gates to the Tower’s grounds is shaped like a six pointed star that is lying on its side. It is made of gray stone (TDR, Ch. 11).

There is a guardroom in the basements of the White Tower, where criminals are kept. Although only one man is left to guard Siuan and Leane after they have been stilled, Siuan claims that more would have been left to guard even a cutpurse (TSR, Ch. 47).

The Barracks

The barracks of the Tower Guard are near the White Tower, across a flagstoned yard. It is a long, low building made of gray stone. Mat thinks to himself that it looks "almost like a huge boulder among the few trees growing out of rimmed holes in the flagstones close by" (TDR, Ch. 24).

There are often men sitting outside of the barracks, tending their weapons, armor and harness (TDR, Ch. 24).

Most Warders keep rooms in the Guards’ barracks (NS, Ch. 7).

Members

• High Captain Azil Mareed
• High Captain Jimar Chubain
• Bannerman Steler

Timeline

• Azil Mareed, the High Captain of the Tower Guard, advises Marya Somares, an Aes Sedai who sits on the council who negotiates the defence of Tar Valon during the Aiel War (TWoRJTWoT, Ch. 14).

• The Tower Guard fights in the Battle of the Shining Walls during the Aiel War (TWoRJTWoT, Ch. 14). Azil Mareed sends regular reports to Tamra Ospenya about the fighting (NS, Ch. 2).

• Members of the Tower Guard escort the Accepted who take the names of children born during the last days of the Aiel War (NS, Ch. 3).

• Seven of the Tower Guard are murdered when Liandrin and others of the Black Ajah flee the Tower (TDR, Ch. 13).

• The Tower Guards are given orders not to let Mat leave the city (TDR, Ch. 24). Leane tells Mat that if he tries to leave the city, it will only upset the guards (TDR, Ch. 30).

• The Guardsmen participate in the fighting when the Tower splits. They fight on Elaida’s side. One of them guards Siuan and Leane in the cells after they have been stilled, but Min and Laras knock him out when they rescue the two (TSR, Ch. 47).

• Two hundred of the Tower Guards accompany the sisters who are sent to take out the Black Tower (ACoS, Prologue). Aemlyn Carand, Arathelle Renshar and Pelivar Coelan confront Egwene with rumors of Aes Sedai and Tower Guards sneaking into Andor. They fear that there will be a battle between Aes Sedai on Andoran soil (TPoD, Ch. 17), not knowing what the true purpose of the sisters and guards is. It is unknown whether or not the guards are killed or scattered when the sisters are captured (TPoD, Ch. 26).

• Alviarin commands Elaida to have the Tower Guard increased (ACoS, Ch. 32).

• Alviarin commands Elaida to increase the Tower Guards again (TPoD, Ch. 25). It is rumoured elsewhere that the Tower Guard is being increased to fifty thousand men (TPoD, Ch. 15).

• Men are flocking to enlist under High Captain Chubain (CoT, Ch. 16).

• Chubain has men keeping an eye on the harbor to make sure that Gareth Bryne does not manage to slip any of his men into the city. There are supposedly more Tower Guards on the harbor than anywhere else except in the bridge towers (CoT, Ch. 16).

• Gareth Bryne warns Egwene that if the harbors remain open, more men will continue to join the Tower Guard and the eventual battle between the Tower and the rebels will be very bloody (CoT, Ch. 16). She and Leane eventually turn the harbor chains to cuendillar, and although Leane is captured before she gets more than half of the southharbor chain changed, it still puts a stop to the traffic (CoT, Ch. 30).

• Because the Tower Guard is now so busy patrolling the tower bridges and harbors due to the siege, they no longer patrol the streets of Tar Valon and crime has been rising (CoT, Ch. 18).

• Elaida orders Toveine to have the Tower Guards drag men out of their houses, if need be, to have the streets of Tar Valon cleaned (KoD, Ch. 2).

• Mattin Stepaneos thinks that the Tower Guards have been given orders not to speak to him (KoD, Ch. 24).

Miscellaneous

• Tower Guards rarely have a reason to speak to Accepted, and know better than to smile at them (NS, Ch. 4).

• A Warder can make the Tower Guards look like "half-asleep lapdogs compared to a hunting leopard" (NS, Ch. 5).

• A man named Ries Gorthanes dresses up as a Tower Guard in an attempt to get information on Moiraine’s business affairs from her banker. He carries with him a forged order from the Amyrlin Seat. However, the banker, Ilain Dormaile, knows the Amyrlin’s signature well and calls for real Tower Guards to arrest him (NS, Ch. 13).

• When Siuan gives Egwene, Elayne and Nynaeve letters that will let them act in her name, Nynaeve says that with that order, she can order the guards to march (TDR, Ch. 14).

• Min has a viewing that one of the novices will marry one of the guards (TSR, Ch. 17).