But for their cloaks, the appearance and weaponry of the Gaidin are as diverse as the clothing and characters of Aes Sedai themselves: "No two wore the same kind of armor or carried the same sort of sword ... One and all they wore the color-shifting cloak ... first seen on Lan, the cloak that often seemed to fade into whatever was behind it. It did not make for easy watching..." <TGH: 2, 19, The Welcome>.

Made of fancloth, the Gaidin's fancloaks "... cover the wearer from head to foot ... [for] an almost perfect camouflage." This artificial fabric, used for battle capes by soldiers of the Age of Legends, was "... able to duplicate its surroundings so faithfully as to make the wearer seem invisible." <RJWoT: 3, 36-38, The Age of Legends; also TSR: 26, 433, The Dedicated> Occasionally, however, it makes him conspicuous: "... a shimmering Warder's cloak that made him appear a disembodied head floating above a tall gray gelding that was not entirely there either, where the cloak draped its haunches." <WH: 7, 174, The Streets of Caemlyn>

ACoS suggests that many of the Gaidin favor the "olive green coat" Lan also wears <ACoS: 12, A Morning of Victory>, specifically, a dark green coat <ACoS: 37, A Note from the Palace, 580>. Still, even the cloak is not consistently worn by Gaidin: "Half wore the cloaks ..." <TGH: 9, 145, Leavetakings>; Lan himself does not wear it at all times. The armor Lan occasionally dons, closely matches the Warder's cloak, and may be commonplace among the Gaidin.

While no Warder is mentioned without a sword, and Gaidin training in Tar Valon focusses heavily on it, a Warder's individual preferences, race and background might conceivably lead some to opt for another weapon suitable to close combat. Tar Valon does indeed offer training in other weapons: Mat chooses a quarterstaff from amidst a wider selection of these, and of "... real swords and axes and spears." <TDR: 24, 280, Scouting and Discoveries>

lance tip Some Younglings use "... slender lances, ending in a foot-and-a-half of steel with a cross-guard to prevent the head penetrating too deeply ..." <LoC: 52, Prologue>; these had been brought from Tar Valon, and would have been taught by the Gaidin. In addition to the lances, however, all carried swords <LoC: 52, Prologue>. Younglings further distinguish themselves with ".. green cloaks with Gawyn's White Boar; those who fought against their teachers in Tar Valon wear a small silver tower on their collars." <CoT: Glossary, 699>

Return to A Compendium of Weaponry and Military
Costuming of the Wheel of Time

** Gaidin **

Gaidin