Sigil
A rampant white lion; the White Lion.Banner
A white lion rampant on a file of red.Capital City
Caemlyn.
Symbols include the Lion Throne and the Rose Crown of Andor.
"Forward the White Lion of Andor!"
--Battle cry of the Queens Guard
The largest nation of the land, Andor is also one of the oldest. Its sovereignty dates from Artur Hawkwing's death, at the onset of the War of the Hundred Years, before which it was a province under Hawkwing's governor Endara Casalain. The Royal Line can actually trace its rule of the area to a time before Hawkwing, for Endara was the daughter of Joal Ramedar, the last King of Aldeshar before Hawkwing's conquest. Upon the death of the High King, the governor's daughter Ishara joined with his greatest general, Souran Maravaile, to take control of the province from her mother and make it a nation. Ishara became the first Queen of Andor, and the blood of her line has been decisive in determining all subsequent successions.
Many traditions of Andor were established during Ishara's reign. Unlike most other rulers who emerged at the time of the High King's death, Ishara was wise enough to know that no one ruler would be able to take and hold the entire empire. Instead she set her sights on taking no larger a piece than she could actually defend. As a result the original boundaries of Andor included only the provincial capital of Caemlyn and a few surrounding villages. It took her five years to expand her control to the River Erinin, but the land she held was unquestionably hers; other rulers of the time were so greedy for new conquests that they seldom kept the lands they took. This tradition of cautious expansion continues throughout the reigns of all the Queens who followed.
Ishara knew that to survive as a nation Andor would need a strong military presence as well as powerful allies. Many historians believe that it was these needs that motivated her to marry Souran Maravaile, for he was Hawkwing's finest general and a brilliant military strategist. Others believe that love must have played at least a small role since, for all his abilities, Souran was only a commoner while she was of royal blood. They argue that she would have had to love him to marry so far beneath her station. Souran was commanding the siege of Tar Valon at the time of Hawkwing's death and for almost a year after. Many believe that he had to love Ishara to be willing to break the siege at her request after having held it so long. Whether or not love was involved, Ishara knew she needed both Maravailes's army and the White Tower's goodwill. Marrying Souran gave her the first; sending her eldest daughter to study in the Tower gained her the second as well as an Aes Sedai advisor named Ballair. She was the first ruler to have an Aes Sedai advisor.
The most widely known tradition of Andor is that only a queen may sit upon the Lion Throne and wear the Rose Crown, never a king. (This initially arose when none of the royal sons survived the War of the Hundred Years, but eventually became law.) The eldest daughter is named Daughter-Heir. By law she is the first sent to the Tower to study then ascends the throne upon her mother's death or retirement. Her eldest brother, styled First Prince of the Sword, is sworn to protect and defend his sister with his life. The First Prince is trained from childhood to command the Queen's armies in her times of war and to be her military advisor. If the Queen has no surviving brother, she appoints her First Prince.
When there is no surviving daughter, the throne is given to the nearest female blood relative. Succession is based not just on close relations to the former Queen, but on the degree of blood in matrilineal descent from Ishara. Such matters of lineage have become quite complex, since all the Great Houses are related after years of intermarriage, and the question of succession has led to bloodshed when the Houses do not agree. These conflicts are known outside of Andor as the Andoran Wars of Succession. Andorans simply refer to them as "disturbances," refusing to acknowledge that their system of selecting an heir could possibly lead to war. There have been three wars for succession in Andor. The last of these "disturbances" occurred after the disappearance of Daughter-Heir Tigraine ad the death of Queen Mordrellen caused a power struggle in which Morgase of House Trakand emerged victorious. Recently Morgase vanished and is believed dead.
Andor is a large and wealthy realm reaching from the Mountains of Mist to the River Erinin, though the decrease in population has prevented her Queens from exercising their control of lands west of the River Manetherendrelle for several generations. Exports such as wool, precious metals and iron work, tabac, and grain give Andor a healthy economy; the Andoran mark is more highly valued and has more weight in gold than "equivalent" coins of other nations.
Andor's success is also due in large part to the strength of her army, made up primarily of the Queen's Guard. For the last three reigns the heart and soul of the Guard has been on man, Captain-General Gareth Bryne, now retired. His leadership was largely responsible for keeping Andor strong despite continued pressure from outside forces. Andor has always been subject to pressure from the Children of the Light, possibly due to Andor's relationship with the White Tower, and Andor and Cairhien have been at war more times than any two nations except Tear and Illian. Ironically, since the Aiel War Andor has also provided Cairhien with nearly as much grain as Tear, despite the animosity.
When Andor goes to war, the Guard and the army are commanded by the First Prince of the Sword, but the Queen often rides with them as well. There are many stories told of such courageous rulers as Queen Mordrellen, who alone and unarmed, carried the Lion Banner into the Midst of the Tairen army to rally her troops. In peacetime the guard is responsible for upholding the Queen's law and keeping the peace. In areas far distant from the capital, members of the local militia assume the livery and duties of the Queen's Guard, though they lack the polish of the guardsmen, and their uniforms are often threadbare.
The capital, Caemlyn, is one of the most beautiful cities in the land, second only to Tar Valon, though its natives may argue that ranking. Like a gleaming crown upon this gently rolling hills, the city is actually made up of two sections, the New City, build well under two thousand years ago by the hands of man alone, and the ancient Inner City, much of which bears the mark of Ogier stonemasons. A great fifty-foot wall of silver white stone surrounds most of he official perimeter of the city, broken my tall round towers that flank massive arched gates. Outside the wall, buildings cluster thickly like lichen to a log, spreading outward from the glittering mosaic of the city in a gradual dispersion. Within its outer wall the city is laid out in a crazy quilt of streets and byways, with towers and domes gleaming white and gold in the sun. On the highest hills at hits center rest the glittering Inner City, encircled by its own shining white wall and bejeweled with even more beautiful towers and domes. The broad paved streets of the Inner City are carefully designed to follow the natural curves of the hills, spiraling ever upward to the crowning glory of Caemlyn, the Royal Palace.
The Palace is both the seat of government for the nation of Andor, and the architectural rendering of her heart and soul. A shining example of Ogier craftsmanship, the Palace's snowy spires and stonework appear as delicate as lace, yet are as strong as iron. Within the palace ground extensive gardens bloom almost continuously, with many rare flowers and plants.
Caemlyn also has an excellent library, though it must be ranked far below the great repositories of the White Tower library, or the Royal Library in Cairhien.
One of Andor's best known towns is Whitebridge, so named for the huge snow-white bridge that spans the River Arinelle. The town grew up around the large stone-paved square at the great bridge's eastern foot. The bridge is believed to date from the Age of Legends, and looks made of impossibly fragile white glass, yet is so strong even a chisel and hammer will not mar it. Despite its glasslike surface it never becomes slick, even in the hardest rain. The White Bridge is only span crossing the Arinelle south of Maradon in Saldaea. As a result the town flourishes on trade.
Most buildings in the town are made of stone of brick, and the docks of wood. All classes of people are represented in Whitebridge, from merchants in their shiny lacquered carriages and velvet coats to farmers and peasants in rough wool.
Between Whitebridge and Caemlyn along the Caemlyn Road there are many towns and villages of varying sizes, including Four Kings, Market Sheran, and Carysford on the River Cary. Through some claim to be larger than Whitebridge, none can claim its scenery.
Much of Andor's wealth is mined from the depths of the Mountains of Mist, along the far western border. The mountains are name for the thick fog that blankets their peaks all year round. Many believe that it is bad luck to enter the mountains, and that things that live in the mist will strip the flesh off a man's bones before he can cry out. The miners, however, thrive there. The mines produce silver and gold, as well as iron and copper. Most of the ores are refined at the great smelters near the mines. The rest are transported from the mines to the town of Baerlon, where much of the ore, especially iron, is then refined and worked at the Baerlon Ironworks, famous for the quality of its castings.
The nearest Andoran town to Baerlon of any size is Whitebridge, far away on the Arinelle. There is only wilderness between. Because of this Baerlon and its ironworks are portected by a perimeter wall of logs and watchtowers, its City gates only oopen from sunrise to sundown. The buildings within are made of stone and wood, roofed with slate and tile. On its streets powerful Dhurran draft horses can be seen hauling large carts of ore tow and from the ironworks. A large farming community extends to the north of the town though there are few farms to the south.
Baerlon and the mines are located so far from the center of Andoran power that the last several Queens have had some difficulty maintaining their control over the area, saved only because here is no way for the miners to export the metals without going through the rest of Andor. As a result, many of Andor's other outlying communities have been almost completely ignored lest Andor lose the mines so essential to her economic health.
One of these all but forgotten areas is the Two Rivers, so called because its villages lie in a triangle formed by the White River, the River Taren, and the Sand Hills below the greater boundary of the Mountains of Mist. Cut off as well by the Forest of Shadows to the south and the Mire to the east, these villages have little in common with the rest of Andor. In fact, most of the inhabitants of the area do not even know that they are part of a larger kingdom, much less that they are ruled by a Queen. They are content to export their valuable wool, tabac, and apple brandy without interference from or protection by the Queen or her Guard. Independent and stubborn almost to a man, their iron will sets them apart from those outside the area.
There are four villages in the Two Rivers, located along a single north-south road. In the largest of theses, Taren Ferry, the ferry over the Taren provides the only public crossing into or out of the Two Rivers. The most remote village is Deven Ride, at the south end of the Old Road near the banks of the White River. In between are the villages of Watch Hill and Emond's Field.
Emond's Field sits at the juncture of the old Quarry Road, leading from a forgotten quarry somewhere in the mountains, and the North Road. Its is the site of the freshwater spring known as the Winespring.
Most of the small towns and villages in Andor, as in many of the other nations as well, are run by two groups, the Village Council headed by the Mayor, and the Women's Circle headed my the Village Wisdom, although there is some regional variation in these names. The members of the Village Council and the Women's Circle are elected by the townsmen and women respectively to represent them. The Mayor is usually elected by the people or by the Village Council. The Wisdom is chosen by the Women's Circle, for life, and is usually considered the equal of the Mayor. Wisdoms are selected for their knowledge of healing and herbs, their ability to foretell the weather, and their sensibility.
The Village Council rules on matters that affect the town as a whole, as well as negotiating with the councils of other towns and villages over matters of mutual interest. The Women's Circle handles matters that are considered solely women's responsibility, such as when to plant and when to harvest. Though their separate duties as well defined, the Village Council and the Women's Circle of most towns are at odds so often that this ongoing conflict, often just short of open warfare, is believed by most to be not only normal, but a traditional part of the dual council system.