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Help Information for Cairhien Pronunciation: KEYE-ree-EHN SIGIL: A many-rayed golden rising sun; the Rising Sun BANNER: A many-rayed golden sun rising on a field of blue CAPITAL CITY: Cairhien SYMBOLS: The Sun Throne, the Sun Crown RESOURCES: Farming, Trade, the Great Library, Education HISTORY Cairhien, once known as Al'cair'rahienallen, or the Hill of the Golden Dawn, was founded at the end of the War of the Hundred Years. It was a vast nation, stretching from the River Erinin to Shienar, to the Spine of the World. Now the land covers less than half that area, south of what is known as Kinslayer's Dagger. In 566 NE, the king of Cairhien gave the Aiel what is known as the Water Gift, for water is a precious commodity in the Waste, and usually the Aiel have to fight for what they need. In gratitude for the King's generosity, the Aiel granted Cairhien the exclusive right to travel the Silk Path from the Jangai Pass through the Aiel Waste. At the same time, they gave the king the only known sapling of Avendoraldera, the Tree of Life. The nation prospered from trade with the lands beyond the Waste, until Laman's Sin. LAMAN'S SIN It was a minor part of one of King Laman's plots that caused him to cut down Avendoraldera to make a throne which could never be duplicated. This action started the Aiel War, which changed Cairhien's history forever, and earned Laman the name of "Treekiller" among the Aiel. The black-veiled savages, as they are often referred to in Cairhien, stormed over the Dragonwall and began one of the bloodiest wars in history. Cairhien was sacked and looted, the Aiel taking their 'fifth' of everything. Farmlands were razed, graineries destroyed. The only thing the Aiel left untouched was the Great Library, for they valued knowledge, and saw the destruction of books as great a sin as Laman's killing of the Tree of Life. AFTERMATH After the Aiel War, Cairhien was greatly weakened, and the nation's exclusive rights to the Silk Path were revoked. With the razing of its farmlands, and the destruction of its graineries and other resources, the nation was forced to request aid in feeding its people from neighboring countries such as Andor, with whom Cairhien has fought often. The Aiel continue to remember Laman's Sin even to this day. The once-majestic, sky-reaching towers of Cairhien are now known as the Topless Towers, for they were burned and never rebuilt during the Aiel War. Only the Great Library remains, the nations greatest treasure, though the city has since been rebuilt. THE CITY OF CAIRHIEN The City of Cairhien is the nation's capital, and is today laid out in a precise grid of perfectly straight lines and sharp angles in a square surrounded by high gray walls. The River Alguenya borders one side of the city, allowing for river trade. People travel in closed sedan chairs or in curtained carriages among pedestrians who make a pretense of intently minding their own business. All of the buildings are similarly desgined in precise, square structures with straight lines and sharp angles, and even the hills are carved out into straight lines that look man-made. Recently, Cairhien has become the home of a ground-breaking school in what was once the manor of Lord Barthanes, where inventors, philosophers, and those of scientific thought may work and study and experiment to create new wonders. Between the school and the Great Library, Cairhien has, in fact, become a center for learning and forward thinking since it fell to Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn. See Also: Cairhienin, Aiel, Nations, Rulers, Update, Timeline |
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