I do not think that the Oath Rod gives the "Aes Sedai agelessness." Remember, when Egwene is asked who the oldest Accepted she saw at the White Tower was, she said a name and said also that she looked about twenty. But the "girl" was, in fact, eighty-some-odd years. This says that it is the One Power, not the Oath Rod, which causes the slowing. But the idea of the Black Ajah, though, has merit.
wotmania says: Has any channeler other than the current Aes Sedai ever been referred to as ageless-looking? I cannot recall an instance where one of the Forsaken or Lews Therin was described with that ageless appearance. What about the Wise Ones, or the Kin, or the Windfinders? I cannot recall them being described as having that ageless appearance, but it might just be too late at night for me to think coherently.
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I believe that the ageless looks of Aes Sedai are only in women who can channel saidar. If you notice, Lews Therin, Rand, Logain, Taim and every other male channeler is never described as having ageless looks. The fact that only Aes Sedai have the ageless look can be explained by the fact that they use the One Power more frequently than other female channelers
Upon meeting the Wise Ones before Rand entered Rhuidean for the first time, it seemed to me that they had some semblance of agelessness about them. There is no doubt that besides their snow-white hair, they have youthful appearances, even Amys, Bair, and Sorilea. Amys has survived several husbands, and unless her marriages were exceedingly short, that would make her pretty aged. But woe is me, I cannot remember which ones can channel. I think it was Bair and Melaine. So maybe it is just the Aiel way of life that preserves them so well, like mummies are in the desert sands.
In the name of love,
Arien
Arien
nobody said it was easy/nobody said it would be this hard
There is a huge difference between having the ageless look and having the appearance of your real age be deceiving due to "the Slowing".
Nynaeve, because of her early wilder experience with the Power, has begun to slow. Yet she keeps getting frustrated with folks who won't believe she's really Aes Sedai because she doesn't have the ageless look.
The Accepted that Elayne refers to, the oldest accepted in the Tower, who looks in her twenties but has a younger sister in her forties, does not look ageless.
There is a Wavemistress/Windfinder pair of sisters, where the windfinder is older yet looks much younger. Not ageless.
The Kin don't look ageless, but they surely don't look their true age.
The ageless look IS MOST CERTAINLY an effect of the Oath Rod. It's the only difference between Aes Sedai and other channelers. It's nothing to do with amount of use of the Power. Nynaeve and Elayne actually have that conversation. Elayne berates Nyn for not paying attention to classes, that it's nothing to do with use of the Power that causes the ageless look.
Call_me_Tim
Call me Tim
Just look at the female Forsaken.
They have been channeling for atleast 300 years, and they do not have the ageless look. You cant say that they have been channeling LESS than the Aes Sedai of today
Alivia, the Damane who has been channeling for 400 years, she doesnt have the ageless look, and you can bet that she has been channeling every day since becoming Damane
I read a proof onceon the ageless appearance. It referred to when Rand whent into the Ter'angreal in Rhuidean. It talks about seeing an Aei Sedai without the Ageless face, yet much older then 100 years. Then, after the breaking, after the use of the oathrod was required, she is seen with the ageless face. The Wise ones are described as having faces which do not reflect their age, yet Aei Sedai have Destinct Ageless faces. It had many quotes on how RJ states the descriptions. Too bad I dont have it for you now. But the oath rod is in fact what gives Aei Sedai their ageless face. It may or may not shorten their actual life. It may just be the fact that Aei Sedai put themselves in situations that get them killed and so their average life span is short compared to that of a Wise One or one of the Kin, both of whom avoid conflict.
I'm not sure, but I think Moiraine described a feel of a tightening of the skin on her face in New Spring. She had recently taken the oaths. The two sisters who are hunting the black Ajah mentioned something similar. They had released themselves from one of the oaths and sworn again. If im correct this would account for the smooth ageless face
Amys looks like she is in her twenties, but she has been a wise one before she married Rhuarc, and Rhuarc is the same age as Amys. But Rhuarc is in his late fifties-early sixties.
When you use the power you get a longer life and the ageing is proportional to the age you can achieve.
But one of the drawbacks on using the oathrod is that it shortens your life considerably. This is quite clear after Reading CoT. and it is also from the oathrod that you get your agelessness.. as someone above stated, there is a difference between slow ageing and agelessness...
blood and bloody keyboard
- i did spell it right, but my keyboard didn't..
I am of the opinion that the oath rod is the reason for the agelessness.
We see that when siuan and leanne are stilled they are released from their oaths and hense revert back to a face of youngishness, not ageless.
it seems more than a coincidence to me!
keeping the first secret always means keeping ten more...
Gandalv the Gray 
Aes Sedai of the Age of Legends 
Faithful servant of the Creator 
Bringer-back of Moiraine 
Decapitator of Myrddraal and their Kin 
Kaoslord
Putting the 'K' back in Kaos
Aes Sedai agelessness