What does Jordan say?
A Warder is “a warrior bonded to an Aes Sedai. The bonding is a thing of the One Power: by it he gains such gifts as quick healing, the ability to go long periods without food, water, or rest, and the ability to sense the taint of the Dark One at a distance.
Warder and Aes Sedai gain certain physical and emotional knowledge of one another through the bond. So long as a Warder lives, the Aes Sedai to whom he is bonded knows he is alive however far away he is, and when he dies she will know the moment and manner of his death.
While most Ajahs believe an Aes Sedai may have one Warder bonded to her at a time, the Red Ajah refuses to bond any Warders at all, and the Green Ajah believes an Aes Sedai may bond as many as she wishes (though all examples show no more than four).
Ethically the Warder must accede to the bonding voluntarily, but it has been known to happen against the Warder”s will. What the Aes Sedai gain from the bonding is a closely held secret. By all known historical records, Warders have always been men, but recently a woman has been bonded, revealing certain differences in the effects.” — aCoS by Robert Jordan (page 878-879 pb).
General Info on Bonding
ATTENTION! Bonds are NOT entered into lightly! If you bond someone it will NOT be easy to cancel the bond! There are three ways to do this.
The first: If your bondmate goes inactive for three months, you have the option of canceling your bond.
The second: If both you and your warder agree to the annulment, you will need to contact the White Tower Group Leader, and your bondee will have to contact the Warders’ Group Leader……… MAKE SURE you have a good excuse. Bonds will NOT be annulled for a simple “We don’t feel like it anymore.”
The third: One of the characters is killed. Then the Bond is automatically snapped.
-These rules are ONLY negotiable by an Admin, and in many cases they are NON-negotiable. You are free to discuss them with the proper Admin, currently Taymist. Contact information is located on this site.
Rules for Bonding
-Only full Aes Sedai may bond.
-A Warder Yard character with a Weapon Score of 7, or any other fighter character with a Weapons Score of 8 or more may become a Warder, with the following exceptions: Wolfkin, Ogier, Seanchan, Sea Folk, Aiel.
– Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah may have up to 3 Warders. All other Ajahs may have one Warder. Red Ajah members may only bond a BT member.
– Aes Sedai of any Ajah may now bond other Channelers.
-No permission is required for an Aes Sedai (so long as the above conditions are met) but in order for the bond to become official you must send an email of notification to the Group Leader with your handle and your warder’s name. This is for the purpose of record keeping and record keeping alone.
-Please note that your Warder needs to contact his/her RGL as well for this bond to be official.
Becoming Promised – Finding a Gaidin
Being promised means that your characters intend to Bond when the female channeler becomes a full Aes Sedai and the fighter has attained a WS of 7(WY only) or 8 (non WY character).
Only Accepted and Aes Sedai are allowed to become promised ICly; a.k.a. actually ask the other person in roleplay that will he become your warder when he reaches the rank of a Tower Guard.
You can become promised OOCly even when you are still novice but to avoid confusion, only people who have become actually promised to each others in a roleplay may advertise this in their signature pictures.
-Remember the realism. Even if you have been promised OOCly for months, it will take a while RPing your characters meeting and becoming good enough friends to want to become promised.