Slowing

Slowing is a phenomenon that occurs through use of the One Power that causes channelers to significantly reduce the rate at which they age. As a general rule, the stronger the channeler, the more slowly they age, with the strongest channelers having a mean life expectancy of 800 years. More exact descriptions of the mechanism of slowing and the rates and limit of slowing generally fall outside of the purview of the in-world characters' knowledge and instead are provided in interviews and the two companion volumes.

Cause and Onset

The rate of slowing is determined by potential, not actual current strength. From the Companion's entry on Vandene Namelle (emphasis added):

“Vandene had a potential strength level of 20(8) but never achieved it because her older sister was weaker; some women who were close did not diverge greatly in strength even if their potentials did. Her lifespan was unaffected by this, being governed by her higher potential.”

— The Wheel of Time Companion, Vandene Namelle

The Companion also mentions that the slowing rate was "somewhat in proportion to strength, though it wasn’t an exact proportion". A dependence on potential would be one reason it might not be exact. Similarly, when Jordan was asked if rate of slowing were dependent on strength in the Power, he responded: "Yes, basically; you age at 1/X your normal rate, with X being dependent up to a point on Power strength". The "up to a point" was not clarified, but would be valid since a mismatch between potential and strength only has relevance in two situations.

The first concerns those rare cases like Vandene, where women never reach their potential. This may also happen in the case where a Wilder has a block, defined as "a mental barrier, probably as a survival mechanism, that makes it difficult for them to reach their full potential". Although the statement can be read using the more general sense of the word "potential" and may not refer literally to strength potential, it seems plausible for those channelers who are completely untaught, indeed usually unconscious of even being able to channel at all.

The second concerns channelers reaching their full rate of slowing before they reach their full potential. Jordan makes several comments on when channelers slow and this invariably occurs some years after the channeler starts to channel and some years before they reach their full potential. This further backs up the idea that slowing rate cannot be based on current strength, but plateaus after a gradual increase. How long it takes to reach this plateau is "dependent on how early they start and how much they channel", but seems to be inevitable. More specific quotes on slowing and potential are given in full in the sections below.

Needless to say, latent channelers cannot slow if they have never touched the True Source. Jordan refers to slowing being "a function of actually channeling" in reference to why sul'dam live normal lifespans. In this case, he means a step function with a binary output. They either slow or they do not.

The slowing of the aging process is not dependent on how much of the One Power a channeler uses in their life or on a regular basis. This is a resaonable assumption because there must inevitably be variation in how much or how little Aes Sedai and other groups use the Power, but this is not reflected in associated differences in lifespans. This is particularly relevant to the Kin, who are forbidden to channel much at all, or for Wilders (like Nynaeve as Wisdom) who channel only subconsciously and infrequently, yet age at the rates expected for their potential/strengths comparable to groups that have no such restrictions. If it were a function of the cumulative amount of the One Power used, it would also raise the question of how using a sa'angreal that allows vast quantities of the Power would affect that calculation.

Those latent channelers who learn to channel much later in life, such as Sharina Melloy or Damer Flinn, will actually begin to become more youthful. These channelers also reach their potential faster, but it's not clear if it's possible for them to attain their potential faster than they begin to slow.

Even towards the end of their lives, channelers do not look older than somewhere in their sixties.

In women

According to Elayne, women start to slow "somwehere in between twenty and twenty-five". Robert Jordan says women "usually slow at twenty, sometimes a little earlier". In comparison, it takes about ten years for a woman to reach her full potential with some taking as long as fifteen and some managing it in seven or eight. The examples below show that slowing happens before this point.

Some notes on specific women:

• Nynaeve: "slowed at twenty", but has current strength of 4(+9) and potential strength of 3(+10). Nynaeve likely has her first channeling event at 15 or 16 years old when there was an outbreak of breakbone fever in Emond's Field.
• Nyein: Slowed at nineteen. Claimed to be 18 when she enrolled and was actually 26.
• Talaan: Nynaeve tells her that she must be at least fifteen to enroll as a Novice, but Talaan is nineteen. Nynaeve does not believe her because she looks too young. Talaan has a current strength of 4(+9), but a potential of 2(+11). Therefore Talaan must have begun channeling very early, possibly twelve or thirteen, to have slowed so early.
• Atha'an Miere in general: "The preferred choice was someone who had already slowed, yet appeared young enough to pass for a wilder of seventeen or eighteen, despite being ten years or more older, though this was not always possible".
• Janina: Looked to be no more than a year or so older than Rand, Perrin and Mat, but was in fact more than thirty years older. So she most likely slowed before twenty.
• Serafelle Tanisloe: Slowed at nineteen, but enrolled in the Novice book at twenty-nine.
• The Companion lists several young Aes Sedai, novices and Accepted in terms of their potential strength, rather than their actual strength, implying that they still have not reached their full potential. These young Aes Sedai are the only ones worded in this way among those who have attained the shawl. They are Marith Riven, Theodrin Dabei, and Valene Sural. All have already slowed. There are some younger Aes Sedai not listed in terms of potential strength which likely have already attained their potential. The table below shows these along with their current age as a comparison with then they started slowing. Theodrin took longer to reach her full potential because she is a Wilder with a block.:

Name	Age	Enrolled	Years Channeling	Strength	Descriptor
Valene Sural	27	16	11	21(9)	Potential
Faolain Orande	30	16	14	17(5)	Strength
Marith Riven	32	16	16	18(6)	Potential
Amico Nagoyin	33	15	18	27(15)	Strength
Beldeine Nyram	34	16	18	16(4)	Strength
Theodrin Dabei	34	15	19	15(3)	Potential
Mayam Colona	37	17	20	21(9)	Strength
Sareitha Tomares	35	15	20	26(14)	Strength
Janine Pavarla	37	15	22	27(15)	Strength

In Aes Sedai

The aging of Aes Sedai does not run according to the expected rules due to the effects of the Oath Rod. Broadly speaking, no Aes Sedai has lived more than three hundred years since they began to take the Three Oaths. This is dealt with in more detail in Slowing in Aes Sedai.

In men

While men do experience the effect of slowing, the existence of the Taint and the Red Ajah in most of the Third Age means that they rarely get to enjoy much benefit. Men slow later than women, not until twenty-five, an usually closer to thirty. Some may slow after thirty.

Some examples on specific men:

• Taim "has slowed and is in his late twenties".
• Logain "was born in 971 NE, began channeling around 992–993 NE, declared himself the Dragon Reborn in 995 NE, and slowed around 998 NE, just prior to being captured". Although dates for his declaration are not correct, it reinforces the general timeline of how many years after first channeling a channeler may slow.

Precise Formulation

Plots

The following plots show the relationship between strength in the one power and life expectancy for saidar and saidin users.

Saidar vs Saidin

Mean life expectancy against by strength in the One Power for saidar and saidin users

Saidar Ranges

The mean life expectancy for each strngth level has been marked along with $\pm$1 S.D. (standard deviations), +2 and +4 S.D. The value of the standard deviation is discussed seperately below in the analysis section.

Life expectancy against by strength in the One Power for saidar users

Saidin Ranges

The mean life expectancy for each strngth level has been marked along with $\pm$1 S.D. (standard deviations), +2 and +4 S.D. The value of the standard deviation is discussed seperately below in the analysis section.

Life expectancy against by strength in the One Power for saidar users

Formulae

${\text{Mean Life Expectancy (saidar)}}={\frac {8900-100\cdot {\text{level}}}{11}}$

${\text{Mean Life Expectancy (saidin)}}={\frac {9}{10}}\cdot {\frac {(8900-100\cdot {\text{level}})}{11}}$

Note: For male levels, the formula is not valid for the ++1 to ++6 levels. This is explained below.

Derivation

As the formula are not directly stated in the Companion, the derivations are supplied here for the interested reader.

The following statements are direct quotes from the Wheel of Time Companion referring to the Strength in the One Power rankings used there.

Statement 1

“Thus the strongest man would be ++1, the 800-year level in aging. Ranks ++2 to ++6 would have an aging range of 720 to 800 years. The strongest woman would be 1(+12), with a life expectancy of around 800 years; a man of the same rough level, which was 7, would have a life expectancy of 720 years.”

— The Wheel of Time Companion, Strength in the One Power

Note: The male equivalent of strength for the strongest female is quoted as being "7" here, but no such known level exists. Using the notation for male strengths, this might be ++7, but there is no other reference to a continuation of this kind.

Statement 2

“All age levels given were approximations, with considerable room for variation among individuals. For example, at the so-called 800-year level, a person could reasonably be expected to live to between roughly 775 and 825 years of age, with some making it to 850, and a very few making it to as much as 900. Strength level 56(44) was the 300-year age level, 67(55) the 200-year age level, and the bottom level, 72(60), approximately the 150-year level for women.”

— The Wheel of Time Companion, Strength in the One Power

Statement 3

“A given strength level did not produce the same degree of longevity for a man as for a woman. At any given level of equality, a woman would live longer. In general, a man at any given strength would have a normal lifespan roughly ten percent less than that of a woman of that strength. The range of longevity was the same, though, with men at their top level having a life expectancy of 800 years or so, within the range of the bell curves.”

— The Wheel of Time Companion, Strength in the One Power

Statement 4

“The male equivalents were approximately the 240-year, 180-year, and 135-year levels for men.”

— The Wheel of Time Companion, Strength in the One Power

Note: Based on Statement 3, this is a typo and should read "270-year".

Analysis

Using the formula above, the first three data points in Statement 2 can be shown to work out exactly:

• Level 1: ${\frac {8900-100}{11}}={\frac {8800}{11}}=800$ (strongest female)
• Level 56: ${\frac {8900-5600}{11}}={\frac {3300}{11}}=300$
• Level 67: ${\frac {8900-6700}{11}}={\frac {2200}{11}}=200$

The fourth one works out exactly for a value of 72.5:

• Level "72.5": ${\frac {8900-7250}{11}}={\frac {1650}{11}}=150$

That this number works out exactly seems too much like coincidence. It is therefore interpreted as the lowest strength a channeler can be. There is evidence that One Power strength is a continuous variable and each numbered level refers to a range of strengths. When Merana Ambrey compares her strength with Verin Mathwin, she "let herself sense the other woman's strength in the Power again, though of course she knew what she would find. No way to tell which of them was stronger". Both are level 17, but Merana does not question that it's possible that one of them may be slightly stronger, she just cannot detect the difference. We therefore can define level X as ranging between X-0.5 and X+0.5. For the strongest channeler, we either have the option of extending it up to 0.5 or having 1 as the hard cap.

Male Strengths

If we adapt the formula to extend to the male levels by multiplying by 0.9, as per Statement 3, the top level does not reach the expected 800 year level. The top male strength of ++1 is six levels above the strongest female of level 1. Translating this into the same notation, we would get a level of -5 for men. Calculated, this gives:

• Level ++1 (converted to -5): ${\frac {9}{10}}\cdot {\Bigg (}{\frac {8900-(-500)}{11}}{\Bigg )}={\frac {9}{10}}\cdot {\Bigg (}{\frac {9400}{11}}{\Bigg )}\approx 769$

Which falls short of the supposed 800 year equivalency for the male and female levels.

The simple explanation for this is that the levels 1-72 only exist for women and Jordan did not develop an extended system for men. There are only ten male character strengths listed in the Companion and the weakest of those is at ++4, far stronger than the strongest women.

This can be remedied by mapping the extra levels on a slightly different scale. Each male level is 44/27 = 1.63 female levels. It must be concluded that Robert Jordan simply added 6 levels on as an ad-hoc manner. If we attempt to extrapolate the male levels there is approxmately, but not exactly, 52 male levels with this increased spacing from the weakest channeler to the strongest. We have some clue that a different system may have existed. According to a WorldCon 2009 report: "Brandon confirmed Jordan developed a similar ranking system for the Asha'man as well, but couldn't recall out of hand how many levels there were for them."

This idea might also agree with why Jordan says both the weakest and strongest levels for male and female are only "roughly" and not "exactly" equivalent.

• From the wording in Statement 1: "a man of the same rough level, which was 7". Why use 7 when it doesn't fit in with any known ranking system?
• "Regarding the levels of male strength, while the weakest man and the weakest woman would be roughly equivalent, you might say that there are several levels of male strength on top of the female levels."

We show the numbers used in the calculation for the plots below, including ++7 from Statement 1 to show equivalency with the strongest female.:

Compatible Extension for Extra Male Levels

Male Level	Approx. Female Level	Mean Life Expectancy
++1	-8.78	800
++2	-7.15	786.7
++3	-5.52	773.3
++4	-3.89	760
++5	-2.26	746.7
++6	-0.63	733.3
++7	1	720

Calculating Distributions

Statement 3 refers to the a "bell curve" i.e. a normal distribution. Making assumptions that Jordan uses the simplest and most comment model we interpret "reasonably be expected to live to between" as "within one standard deviation". This accounts for 68.3% of the population at that strength. Under this assumption, using the example in Statement 1 for the highest strength channelers:

• 825: 15.9% would live to at least this age
• 850: 2.28% would live to at least this age
• 875: 0.13% would live to at least this age. 120 per 100 thousand.
• 900: Only 0.003% would reach this age or older. Only 3 per 100 thousand.

For reference, 0.03% of the present day population is 100 or more years old. Only 0.2% of this number are supercentenarians of 110 years or older. This is a rate of only 0.11 per 100 thousand. By this comparison, those "very few" that live to 900 are equivalent to those that live to just beyond the 100 year mark in the US.

We vary the standard deviation proportionally with mean life expectancy and plot for +/- 1 SD, +2 SD and +4SD.

Previous work

Prior to the release of the Companion, an article on Tor.com^↗ previously calculated a formula of $f(x)=-0.00208023x^{3}+0.264216x^{2}-17.5246x+816.746$. This did not, however, take into account the errors in the Companion that have been corrected to produce a much simpler formula. It's extremely unlikely Robert Jordan calculated ages using such an unwieldy formula!

Robert Jordan's Notes

There are some inconsistencies between what is published in the Companion and how some of the data is recorded elsewhere in Robert Jordan's notes. In Box 57 Folder 2 (Labelled as "Notes on AS, undated") there appears the following list of strength to life expectacy correspondences:

Strength	Notes	Comp.
12(+1)	700	691
18(6)	650+	636
24(12)	600	582
30(18)	550	527
36(24)	500	473
42(30)	450	418
48(36)	400	364
54(42)	350	309
60(48)	300	255
66(54)	250	200

The final column is for comparison with the formula used in the rest of the article. Additionally, the 600+ is included in the notes and is not a typo.

There are 14 entries for Kin age expectancies in this folder which adhere this list, plus three more where he writes "at the --- level", leaving the number blank. This is further extended to Box 57 Folder 1 (labelled as Aes Sedai, Accepted, and Novices), this time with a few dozen Aes Sedai.

The dating of these notes appears to be during or after the writing of Knife of Dreams as Careane Fransi is marked as "DECEASED" and characters from the ten ferrets that never appear are also listed. The formula for the above is ${\frac {(2400-25\cdot level)}{3}}$, which is somewhat neater formula that allows for increments of 25 years every three levels.

However, for whatever reason, the compilers of the Companion decided to go with the details we use in the rest of the article. It's likely they found these elsewhere in the notes and had to pick one option as canon. The list above doesn't match any of the data points from Statement 2 and, extrapolating for levels 1 and 72 gives age expectancies of 792 years and 200 years. Asides from not giving a longest life expectancy of 800 years, the weakest channeler would have a life expectancy of 200 years, which seems slightly high. It's possible that Jordan was thinking of reworking the exact strength to age expectancy relationship at a later date, but we ultimately cannot regard this information as canon as it conflicts with more established and published works.

Jordan's Development of Slowing

Slowing, or rather the increased lifespan of channelers itself, does not seem to have been well-developed in Jordan's earliest writing. Several oddnesses and discrepancies show up in the first couple of books:

• The Eye of the World (early 1990):
  • the first channelers we meet , Moiraine and Elaida, turn out to be well within the lifespan of normal people despite the power (and Power) they wield. Moiraine's age in particular is established in early books, as she details her time as an Accepted during the Aiel War (age ~22). Elaida has her first Foretelling as an Accepted (age 20-23) and attaches herself to Morgase as soon as she can.
  • the Two Rivers is a hotbed of latent channelers, with many Wisdoms able to Listen to the Wind, yet as unbound wilders those who can channel should live as long as any of the Kin, 500 years or more. Despite this, it is never remarked upon in this book that certain Wisdoms live many times a normal person's lifespan. The only one specifically called out is Wisdom Barran who merely "outlived all those who grew up with her", and this detail comes from the much later-written prologue "Ravens" (2001). Barran may have been weak in the One Power, but even at strength 72 she should have been able to live to 150, and most Two Rivers wilders are far from weak.
  • Lews Therin is introduced in the Dragonmount as a man "just into his middle years", which while technically true at 400 (not revealed until A Memory of Light[verify]), it seems odd that his children are described as "broken dolls, play stilled forever", not adults. Why wait so long to have children? A man of 40 could be expected to have children still at play, however. (if he had older adult children, they are not mentioned, but we know he killed all of his kin). Additionally the War of Power is established as only lasting ten years, shorter than many real-life conflicts of much smaller scope.
• the first mentions of older channelers come in The Great Hunt (late 1990):
  • Verin is mentioned as "a touch of gray in her brown hair... her only sign of age, but for an Aes Sedai it meant she was very old indeed." It is not until The Shadow Rising (late 1992) that we learn that she is older than a woman who looks older than her, although she is still prematurely going gray at ~150 (her strength is 17(+5) so she had the potential to live to be ~320 or so).
  • yet Adelees and Vandene's warder Jaem is "equally aged" to the two Sisters he lives with and works for. There is never any indication that Warders share the expanded lifespan of their Aes Sedai, so at this point the two are mundanely "old". It is not until the Companion (2015) that we learn he is actually nearly 200 years younger, and should have been described as "equally aged-looking" at ~78.
• The Dragon Reborn (1991), in progress:
  • in the original printings Amico was only four years older than Egwene (later corrected to fifteen years). RJ seems not to have worked out the length of training at that time (need to verify when the '3+3' record is stated, but I am pretty sure it is later). Thirteenth Depository states that this is the first exact age we are given after Moiraine and Siuan. Joiya is "old enough to be their grandmother", but later established by the Companion to be well over 160!