This is my first theory here on theoryland, and in fact, my first theory ever. I always read the books with enjoyment and just take what happens and await for the next book. I've been reading this for years, not really knowing anyone who had read the wheel of time and loved it. Of course, when I found this place, I just had to be a part of it. Reading theories upon theories, I've come to see that there's even more to the Wheel of Time than I thought, so thanks to everyone's theories for that: you've inspired me to come up with theories of my own or take sides on certain trains of thoughts already offered by others. <p> </p> WARNING: CONTAINS SCENES FROM TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT! If you haven't read the book, please visit this theory another time. </p> <p> Ok, to the theory. So even though we have very little information regarding this topic, I have a strong feeling regarding these "red-veiled aiel." Many people have suggested different ideas on who these people are and where they came from, so I would like to say what I believe in and why. </p> <p> Some of you guys have suggested that these are Aiel dreadlords--- darkfriend Aiel who can channel. Others have simply suggested they are darkfriend Aiel. Still others say they are not Aiel at all. Some have suggested these are Darkfriends or dreadlords that Demandred has recruited from the Land of Madmen. Others have suggested Sea Folk. And other have suggested Shara. Personally, I don't think they are Aiel. I think they are from Shara. </p> <p> Before I go into why I think they are from Shara, I want to refresh your memory of the scene where we meet these "red-veiled Aiel." It's the only scene we have of them, and what a cliffhanger this is. This is all we have to go with. </p> <p> <blockquote> "They were men, wearing red veils over their faces. They walked at a crouch, scanning the terrain, short spears worn on their backs." </blockquote> </p> <p> So at first glance, you might think apart from the red-veils, these are definitely Aiel. They are sneaky, like the Aiel, weary of their surroundings, scanning the terrain, like the Aiel. And to top it all off, they have spears on their backs. Woah! Ok, so here's the thing. The Aiels' veils were red, for one. Also, the one specific Aiel described had "dark eyes [that] were glassy and hard." So automatically we know (as has been discussed before), Aiel don't have dark eyes! This is wrong! Also, I'm inclined to believe that even if they were Darkfriend Aiel, it would be hard to break the habit of killing without veiling themselves. And as we see here, "the Aiel man undid his veil." Then we see "the man's teeth had been filed to points." This is probably one of the most ridiculous and mysterious parts of the description what kind of human being would have filed teeth? As has been said, Aelfinn and Eelfinn do, but it's unlikely that it's them. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. After unveiling his face, the "Aiel" man killed Barriga. So just out of the common knowledge that habits are hard to break, I find it hard to believe that an Aiel could intentionally remove his veil just before killing Barriga. Very odd. </p> <p> Then we get the final description that they were "something terrible." So of course the descriptions are screaming that these are no friendly people and almost definitely darkfriends. </p> <p> Now then, why are they NOT Aiel? Well, apart from that whole habit thing and the weird filed teeth thing going on, I think this is a strategical decision. A genius one if I may say so myself. First of all, let me put to you the classic example: in war and battle if army A dresses itself with the uniforms of the opposing army B, at first sight, army B would be inclined to think they are friendly people. This could be a deadly mistake if the army A got close to army B and army B didn't realize that army A was a hostile until army A was too close. By then it would be too late and army B would most likely be at a great disadvantage. It's a sort of element of surprise thing going on. To prove the effectiveness of this, Barriga himself at first sight thought himself safe and that's why he "let his guard down" so to speak and let them approach so easily. </p> <p> Towers of Midnight, chapter "And After" page 839. <blockquote> "'Light be praised,' he whispered. 'Aiel.'" And a bit later, "'I'm safe!'" He realized his mistake too late, when these red veiled Aiel were far too close for any chance of escape and all that whole deal. So you can see in terms of a force, these Aiel-like uniforms could prove deadly against the forces of the Light/Dragon. I think that the outfits these people are willing are most likely a deliberate strategy used to misdirect and confuse the forces of the Light. I expect we will see a whole army of them in the next book. </blockquote> </p> <p> Something else about the veils. As far as I can remember, there is only one group of people who actually use veils strictly. These are of course, Sharans. <p> The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time. The World of the Wheel. page 153. "Sharan merchants are unwilling even to allow the truth of their appearance to be known, walking among outsiders only when cloaked and veiled." </p> <p> Hmmm... ok so why is it that they don't want their appearance known? Perhaps because they have dark glassy eyes and file-pointed teeth? And of course I shouldn't need to spell it out for you that they are always veiled, much like these red-veiled Aiel. We've met people from every land except the Land of Madmen and Shara. This I'm a bit unsure of because I don't quite remember the details, but I believe I read somewhere that the Sea Folk give a choice to men who can channel. They can either jump off the ship and drown themselves, or (the more shameful option) to be deposited in a desolate island. Ok, so this could possibly mean that many of the Land of Madmen contains male sea folk channelers. And then from the little the Sea Folk themselves know, this Land of Madmen contains uncivilized groups of male and females, most of whom can channel. So, since we aren't given weird descriptions by the Sea Folk who saw them, and apart from being primitive, they seem to be human since they don't hide their appearance, the only people we really haven't met are Sharans. Sharans hide their appearance as stated before. And frankly, I doubt RJ would add a random army/group of people we haven't even heard of at the end of the book. That's really cheese and I really don't think RJ would do that, although that's just my opinion and belief. It'd be like it's the end of the book, we haven't heard of teletubbies at all but randomly RJ has them there in the last book. I find this very unlikely. It's much more likely that this group (Sharans) of people who have been a complete enigma- whom we have heard of but know so little about- will play a bigger role in the upcoming book, even if not in the actual Shara land. RJ said that no scenes would be in Seanchan or Shara. But as with the Seanchan although we haven't seen their mainland, we've seen plenty of the Seanchan and they play quite a big role. So why not Shara? </p> <p> Conclusion: these red-veiled "Aiel" will be found in higher numbers and are really from Shara. Most possibly they are Darkfriends somehow recruited from there. Could very well be Demandred or maybe Moridin. It's really the only piece of the civilization/human puzzle left that will fit. Anything else would have to be a completely new creation, and like I said, I strongly doubt we will be introduced a completely new army of new beings. Thanks for reading! </p>