Those Aiel that remained continued to keep the Covenant, and to protect the relics, but they could not protect their own children and families against the lawless hordes that roamed the broken world. Children were stolen, women raped, men killed, and they could not defend against or avenge these wrongs without betraying their code. At some point, however, some of the younger men found the Way unbearable in the face of such losses. One by one they decided to fight back. This resulted in the first kill of an Aiel, and the casting out of that Aiel, and all after him, for betraying their beliefs. At this time it was understood that it was the Covenant and the Way of the Leaf that made someone Aiel. When the first young man turned to his family for support, he was reputed to have been told to "hide your face...Ihad a son, once, with a face like that. I do not wish to see it on a stranger." This is the lefendary origin of the Aiel face-veiling before a kill.

None of these disowned youn men were willing to abandon the wagons entirely, and instead followed in their wake. They still thought of themselves as Aiel and kept the name, refusing to accept the idea that a willingness to defend their families could completely eradicate their heritage. They lived in tents and survived off the land, providing protection for those who would not protect themselves, despite the latters insistance that they did not exist.

Over time, the group of Aiel that broke the Covenent grew very large, and was soon much bigger than they who lived by the Way of the Leaf. They were savage and great fighters. They are now known as Aiel.