Cemaile Sorenthaine

Cemaile Sorenthaine
Biographical Information
Nationality	Unknown nationality
Date of death	705 NE
Current status	Dead
Physical description
Gender	Female
Chronological and political information
First mentioned	ACOS Prologue
Last mentioned	TGS 43
Affiliation	White Tower
Title	Amyrlin Seat
Rank	Aes Sedai
Ajah	Gray Ajah

Cemaile Sorenthaine was an Aes Sedai of the Gray Ajah who was raised to the Amyrlin Seat in the year 681 NE.

History

Cemaile held the staff and stole for twenty-four years until her death in 705 NE. She was Varuna Morrigan's successor and Marasale Jureen's predecessor.

Cemaile was a ruler of moderate strength and influence at the beginning of her reign, but by the end she was reduced to the role of a very weak Amyrlin, one of the weakest. She had great plans to restore the White Tower influence and greatness, but those went badly awry.

It is recorded only in the secret documents that from 686 NE till her dead she was not more than a puppet in the hands of the Hall, and her Keeper was in fact her guardian appointed there by the Sitters. This role of her Keeper was achieved by the Hall taking advantage from a special secret Tower Law about incapacitated Amyrlin and interpreting it quite extensively.

During her reign, the Tairens ceased collecting items of power: the twisted redstone doorway from Mayene (secretly studied by Aes Sedai) was one of the last items added to the Great Holding.

The nation of Hardan collapsed during her reign as its population declined to very low levels, in fact circa 700 NE the Hardan capital city of Harad Dakar was abandoned.

Cemaile's clock

During the beginning of her reign as Amyrlin, Cemaile commissioned a tall case clock. The ornately gilded clock is decorated with small figures of gold, silver and enamel, with Trollocs fleeing an Aes Sedai on one level; a false Dragon fending off an attack by an Aes Sedai on another level; and above the clockface, a king and queen kneel before an Amyrlin Seat. It is a manifestation of Cemaile's dream to return the White Tower to the power it enjoyed before the Trolloc Wars.

But Cemaile became one of the weakest Amyrlins in Tower history, and her reign would have been a complete disaster if the Ajah heads had not stepped in to control her. She eventually lost all authority in the Tower, being only able to influence trivial things such as what dress she wore.

The embarrassing clock was subsequently hidden away in a dusty storage room for three centuries until recently, when Elaida a'Roihan had it recovered and displayed in her rooms, as inspiration to succeed where Cemaile failed.