In the fictional world of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, the Aiel Waste is an almost waterless desert that had no inhabited cities until Rand al'Thor opened Rhuidean to all. The Aiel also call the Waste the Three-Fold Land.
The Aiel Waste is a vast, arid land east of Cairhien and Tear, separated from them by mountains range known as the Spine of the World. During the Trolloc wars, the Trollocs gave it the name Djevik K'Shar, or "The Dying Ground," due to the immense ferocity and fighting prowess of the Aiel.
The Aiel Waste is bordered by the Spine of the World, or the Dragonwall to the west, the chasms and precipices of Shara to the east, the Blight in the north, and the Sea of Storms in the south. These four borders, and the hot, dry, roadless terrain keep the Waste an isolated land, as does the Aiel's harsh treatment of foreigners. Blistering temperatures ravage the land by day and glacial ones freeze it at night. It is a land of mountains and valleys dotted by numerous rock formations, including many spires. It has almost no vegetation and what there is, is small and virtually useless. Not many animals live in the Waste, but the ones that do are usually as treacherous as the land itself.
Despite the daunting environment, the Aiel people make the Waste their home. The majority of Aiel live in and among the rock formations. These holds, as they are called, are approximately the size of villages. The Aiel have their own name for the Waste, the Three-Fold Land: First, because it is a shaping stone to make them; second, it is a testing ground to prove their worth; third, it is a punishment for their sin against Aes Sedai. The Aiel have absolute control of the land and only allow peddlers, gleemen and Tinkers to enter it. At one time, Cairhienin merchants were permitted to enter, but lost that privilege due to Laman's Sin, which was King Laman's cutting down of a sacred Chora tree.
There is only one city in the Waste. The ancient city of Rhuidean has just recently been inhabited again. Located deep in the Waste, it lies in a valley beneath the mountain Chaendar, and sits above a large newly formed lake sustained by an enormous underground ocean of fresh water. The lake feeds a river that brings water to areas in the Waste that have not had water in living memory. The only known Chora tree, Avendesora, also known as the Tree of Life, resides in Rhuidean's central square. This square is where Mat Cauthon was nearly hanged and got the silver medallion and ashandarei.
It is a city located in the Aiel Waste that was built by the Jenn Aiel. Smaller in size than either Tear or Caemlyn, it is still considered a great city. It is filled with many buildings that are all said to be majestic palaces, although many of these remain unfinished. Found in the center of the city is a plaza filled with items wrought with the One Power and Avendesora, the Tree of Life, which is growing at the very center.
Before the city was reopened to all by Rand al'Thor, the city was magically protected and few who went in returned. The Aiel sent men to Rhuidean to see if they were deemed worthy enough to become clan chiefs, and Wise Ones sent their apprentices to see if they were strong enough to become Wise Ones themselves. Men were allowed to enter only once, while women went twice. Aiel who entered were tested by using a ter'angreal which would show the history of the Aiel through the eyes of their ancestors from earlier eras, as far back as the Age of Legends. This revealed the truth of the Aiel's past, that they were originally a group of pacifists charged with serving the Aes Sedai, a task at which most Aiel failed, only the Jenn completing their mission. Female Aiel, on their first trip to Rhuidean, also enter a ter'angreal which shows possible futures, many of which as memories blend together or are forgotten very quickly, leaving the most dire possibilities remembered.
Until recently, the city was abandoned and protected by a thick fog presumably generated by the One Power. It was also warded in some way to make it inaccessible in Tel'aran'rhiod. During his battle with Asmodean there, Rand al'Thor inadvertently dispelled the protective wardings and revealed a nearby lake. After also causing the fountains of the city to flow again, he left it to be repopulated.
Recently discovered about the ter'angreal where wise ones and clan chiefs are tested, is that when passed through a second time, but in the opposite direction, the current path of the future is shown to the user. This event was stumbled upon by Aviendha when she went through the ter'angreal to become a wise one and then triggered the process again as she tried to determine what type of ter'angreal it was.
A hold is the Aiel equivalent of a town, though the Aiel have no concept of towns and cities other than Rhuidean. They are usually natural landforms that have been built upon to accommodate Aiel septs. The only hold seen in the story is Cold Rocks Hold, a natural canyon named for the rocks at the far end that are never touched by the sun.
Stands are much smaller than holds, and are usually built near a source of water. They generally consist of few buildings—Imre Stand has only one—and are often used for grazing purposes.
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