Oath Rod

The Oath Rod comes into view in A Crown of Swords, though the oaths it seals are part of Aes Sedai lore from the beginning. It is a ter'angreal, an object of the One Power made in the Age of Legends, where such rods were called Binders: a smooth cylinder like ivory, about a foot long, cool and glassy to the touch, with flowing script cut into one end. Its property is simple and absolute. An oath sworn while channeling into the rod binds the swearer bodily; a woman so sworn cannot break her word any more than she can will her own heart to stop. It works only on those who can channel, and on no one else. The White Tower keeps one among the most closely guarded of its treasures, and every Accepted raised to the shawl swears the Three Oaths upon it, which is why the nations can deal with Aes Sedai at all.