Ironic Decisions (attn: MoN)

[Matalina]

Kate wasn't sure if this was the right decision.  She'd left home to come to Tar Valon.  She'd left home in search of herself, much like her mother had left Tar Valon to find home.  It was a search Kate undertook by herself.  Her mother had trained her in many things, and Kate wondered if those things were going to get her by, or if they were all she needed to know.

 

Kate knew how to user her quarterstaff to protect herself, she knew what plants to eat and what plants could kill.  Kate relished that fact, the poisons were nearly better than the healing components, she smiled at her knowledge and wondered if she'd ever get to use any of it in service of the Great Lord.

 

The past six years had been hard, they'd made the three kids grow up too fast.  Aiden and Taylor were off doing their own thing, she missed them dearly, but neither of them wanted to be anywhere near where their mother died.  The place that she hated and loved at the same time.  Kate wasn't as impractial as they were.  Tar Valon was a hub of civilization, it was the home of the most powerful women in the world, and the greatest warriors ever to be known.  Why would they not want to be here.  But Aiden had taken a different direction, he sought training in the evil arts along the blight.  Taylor had other responsibilities now that he was the only living Rashad left.  He was alone, at least Kate and Aiden had the rest of their brothers and sisters.  Jeffery Kincaid was off in the Black Tower, and Fawne was in the White Tower, she doubted she'd see her sister, but you never knew what would happen.

 

Kate walked up to the White Tower and knew that she was here to make a choice, to make her life go in a direction her mother would have supported, but one that she would not have liked.  If Kate failed at being able to channel she would train with the Warders, she knew that they would take her, she was already well on her way and could probably best some of the trainees there.  Kate smiled.  She knew she could, she had been trained since she was able to walk.  Her mother insured it.

 

Kate walked up the grand stairs that lead into the White Tower itself.  She wasn't sure where to go from there.  She looked around taking in the whole site.  She saw a girl in accepted clothes, white and strips at the hem.  Maybe she could help her.

 

"Excuse me, Miss.  I'm looking for the Mistress of Novices.  I wish to enroll.  Might you be able to show me the way?  or point me in the right direction?"

 

Kate

[Amadine]

Amadine groaned inwardly. Petitioner's duty. It was not that she didn't enjoy meeting the people of the wider world that came to the Tower for guidance, quite the contary, but she wished that she could be practising her Healing weaves out in the yards with the trainees.

 

Ama had spent half the morning directing Novices with messages to various Aes Sedai. She had escorted a young woman to the Mistress of Novices and then back out again after she failed to pass the test for whether she could learn to channel or not. She had decided to stay and Ama had taken her to meet the Mistress of the Kitchens, she would do nicely as a replacement for Cadwella. *Fool girl* Amadine thought, *Deliberately getting with child to try to keep a man.*

 

As Amadine returned to the Entry Hall she noticed a girl just entering the Hall, Amadine only noticed because it was not often she saw a young woman carrying a quarter staff. As Amadine approached her the girl looked at her and said, "Excuse me, Miss.  I'm looking for the Mistress of Novices.  I wish to enroll.  Might you be able to show me the way?  or point me in the right direction?"

 

Amadine smiled at her, "Of course. Welcome to the White Tower, my name is Amadine and if you would follow me, I will take you to meet Pia Sedai, the Mistress of Novices."

 

Amadine motioned for the young woman to follow her and started to head towards Pia Sedai's study.

 

Amadine al'Varine

[Matalina]

Kate returned the smile and fell in step behind the young woman.  Her mother didn't talk much about her time in the Tower.  Kate had always wondered why she never talked about it, but then she didn't talk much about herself to anyone anyway.  Kate made a mental map in her head, there was no reason to not be prepared.  Kate was sure the Great Lord already had full plays of the White Tower if he were to attack today, but Kate had no idea where she was going so she paid close attention to the tapestries that hung on the wall, the corridors she passed.  If she'd thought the girl wouldn't mind Kate would have asked a lot more questions about was down each corridor, but she would find out soon enough she was sure.  Either way she was staying in Tar Valon and the White Tower.

 

Kate kept quiet most of the way, she didn't want to get the Accepted in trouble.  She had finally remembered the name of the second rank with in the White Tower.  Kate was to be a Novice, then an Accepted and finally an Aes Sedai.  But before then she had to choose an Ajah.  Kate was still getting very far ahead of herself, first she had to be able to channel.  That was the first question and the first battle to win.  She closed her eyes and thought really hard on that, she'd have prayed if she'd thought it'd help but the Great Lord doesn't listen to prayers as the creator does.

 

Kate wasn't sure how far or how long they had walked she didn't really care, but it was conversation.  "My this place is large, and so empty."  It didn't escape her that the hallways were nearly sparse of people.  Maybe it was just the way they were going.

[Amadine]

Amadine lead the way through halls and corridors towards the Mistress of Novice's study. Usually the new girls were just so nervous they were unable to talk so Amadine generally chose not to make them uncomfortable with small talk, so it was with surprise she heard the girl following her speak, "My this place is large, and so empty."

 

Amadine turned and smiled at her, "It does appear so doesn't it. Truly though this area of the Tower is generally used as guesting quarters and rooms for various Aes Sedai to meet with petioners. The is much more activity in other areas of the Tower."

 

They continued down the hallway a short distance further until Amadine came to a halt before a large wood paneled door. Upon the door there was a plaque reading "Mistress of Novices". "Here we are" Amadine told the girl before rapping sharply on the large door with her knuckles.

[Matalina]

Kate smiled.  She was glad to know that things were a little better in other parts of the tower, but she was nervous now, here she stood in front of the Mistress of Novices door.  It was do or die time, so to speak.  Kate tried not to let her smile slip.  Kate grasped the void and the calmness of it permeated her body, she almost sided with contentment.

 

The flame and void was something she used regularly and learned since she'd started to be able to walk.  Her mother insisted she be able to use it in the worse of situations.  And it helped greatly get through the last six years, other wise the three of them would have killed each other by now.  Kate's smile brightened.  She knew that her mother would be proud of them, all of them.  They remembered their training even in her absence and no one was there to tell them to remember.  It was second nature now.

 

Kate waited patiently but it felt like hours.  Patience was not one of Kate's strong suits.  But soon a voice called to out and the girl opened the door and Kate walked inside to the room.  She wasn't sure if should be impressed or if she should be scared, so Kate choose neutral.  Kate dropped a curtsy and spoke clearly through the void.  "I have come to see if I can channel.  Will you test me to see if I may stay and learn here in the White Tower?"

[Lavinya]

Having beckoned the girl into her office, Pia gazed on Kate with a kind smile, motioning to her to rise from her curtsey and take a seat before the large mahogany desk that dominated the space in her office. "Of course child, but before I do, please be aware that few are found with the ability. I do not want you to get your hopes high prematurely." From inside a drawer Pia withdrew a smoky crystal, rounded and smoothed into an oval that rested neatly in her palm. "The testing is a simple process," she said as she rounded the desk to kneel by Kate's chair. "Don't fret and simply do as I say and we shall soon see, hmm?"

 

Holding the small gem aloft, Pia instructed Kate to look at it. "That is all I need you to do. Concentrate on the stone. Forget about everything, empty your thoughts and focus on the stone." Her voice continued to drone, steady and soft, while her eyes watched closely for even the briefest flicker of light, her senses attuned to the flow of saidar. She did not have to wait long, as a bright light illuminated the gem from the inside, causing Pia to blink in surprise. It came so quick, so easy, that Pia was forced to wonder if the girl had inadvertently channeled before this moment.

 

In silence she rose and returned the gem to her desk. "I have no doubt at all that you can channel, child." Pia studied Kate closely, a hint of a smile ghosting her lips, and reached for the giant tome that was the book of Novices. "Yes, you will stay and learn. Your name, age, and place of birth, if you don't mind." Pen poised to write, Pia waited for the girl to dictate, her mind already pondering the puzzle the girl had presented. A wilder, perhaps? It was not all too uncommon, but that presented problems in itself. No doubt the girl had also created for herself a block, too. Ahh, but that was an obstacle to jump if it presented itself, not yet.

 

 

Pia Tovisen,

Mistress of Novices

[Matalina]

Kate did as she was instructed she stared at the crystal sending all her concentration into it.  She tried not to grasp the void, as it was very similar in tactics to do, but she managed to get a good reply from the Mistress of Novices.  Kate smiled to hear that she could channel, she wasn't sure she really wanted to be hardened like her mother had been.

 

But the next question that followed was a lot more complicated.  Kate new the story but how did you tell a stranger things that they didn't need to know really.  Kate thought about what to say, she knew she was taking too long to reply to a simple question.  "Well, that's complicated, Aes Sedai."  Kate said to stall.  What was she to tell them.  And all of a sudden the vision that danced around all Aes Sedai, every one she'd seen around the White Tower was distracting, she closed her eyes and started to speak but it came out in a squeak.  Kate embraced the void and her voice was cool and adrift in it, she knew the words would come out well.  Her eyes still closed she answered the question.  "My name is Kate al'Ker.  My mother traveled a lot before I was born so where I was born is not anywhere near where I was conceived nor where I was raised.  My mother, Cari Namere,..." as soon as it came out Kate's eyes flipped open to see what was going on.  She knew she shouldn't have said that, just knew it it.  This was where her mother had died, where her mother had killed trainees and Tower Guards and many others in the process of finding a mark.  But Kate continued after her minute pause.  "stopped in Arad Doman to have me and my brother, we then went to Cairhein to live until now.  But my father was not Cairhein, he was born here in Tar Valon, my mother was born in Cairhein but raised in Tar Valon."  She hopped that her blathering on would make anyone not hear the mistake she'd said.  She prayed to the Great Lord that the Mistress of Novices did not hear what she said.

[Lavinya]

As Kate began answering Pia's question, the Mistress of Novices' pen flowed elegantly across the page, carefully filling in the name of the tower's newest novice. The pen flowed, that was, until a familiar name made Pia come to a complete halt. Silently she lifted her eyes from the page to study the girl. Cari Namere was not a name to be associated with lightly. Could it be? Pia frowned as the girl barely hesitated and ploughed right on. There was only one woman Pia knew of by that name - the woman who had slain numerous people under the very nose of the Tower, a darkfriend if ever there was one. She had died by her own hand, but knowledge that the woman had a child was disturbing. How could she, as the mistress of novices, allow spawn of that woman into the tower in good conscience? Impossible.

 

With great care, Pia closed the great tome. Her expression was impassive as she gazed at Kate. "I am sorry child. We cannot teach you."

 

 

Pia Tovisen

Mistress of Novices

[Matalina]

Kate blinked.  What? but the words did not stay in the thoughts.  "What?  How can you deny me when I can channel."  Kate's fury burned and the void was no where to be seen.  She didn't even attempt to grab it is continued on with her deluge of words.  "You will not teach me?  Because of my mother I am sure."  Kate tried to remember not to say something that would put Aunt Raeyn at risk.  "My mother was a good woman.  My mother has issues.  My mother probably saved you  more lives than you can understand."  Kate didn't say that left uncheck Tar Valon would have been slaughtered, she'd seen the death around her mother before she had left.  Kate knew what her mother was capable of.  She knew that the Shadow would take advantage of those things.  "Her death only saved her and her family from being hunted down.  And now you presume to think that I am like her?"  Kate's anger was overwhelming her like it had never before.  Kate felt the heat rise in her like nothing she'd ever felt.  She didn't give it a second thought. 

 

But just as Kate was about to continue yelling at the Mistress of Novice the can of discarded paper that sat near hear chair erupted into a flaming mess.  Kate jumped back.  "And now you try to set me on fire!  I should call the guards here upon you for such actions."

 

Kate 

[Lavinya]

The encounter was rapidly worsening, Pia had to admit to herself. Not that she could have expected anything else, but the furious outburst from Kate was an irritation. A good woman? Cari Namere was a darkfriend and a murderer. Some issues?! The poor chit was clearly brainwashed. Pia maintained her Aes Sedai serenity if barely, her face giving away nothing of what she was thinking behind the calm facade. Preparing to strongly reiterate her words and send the girl from the room, something terrible happened. Pia looked on in dismay as her waste paper basket burst into flames. She didn't care about the basket, what she was disappointed with was the undeniable fact that Kate al'Ker was a wilder and had just that moment channelled saidar without assistance. The girl had to stay, however much Pia disliked the notion.

 

"Hush your ridiculous prattling!" Pia snapped harshly and for a wonder the girl did, as Pia hastily drew on saidar and wove water to douse the leaping flames before they could damage anything else in her pristine office. When at last the fire was out, Pia glared across the table at Kate, hating the position she had been put in. Not that it was really the girl's fault. Nor was the accident of her birth, she supposed. Pia heaved a heavy sigh and her features softened somewhat. "We both know that it was not I who lit that fire," she said gravely. "And it will serve you well to know that lying is not tolerated in the tower." Pia reluctantly reopened the heavy novice book and flipped to the appropriate page, finishing the entry she had begun with her own signature and the date, and a tiny postscript that simply said 'Cari Namere'.

 

"Given the fact that you are a wilder - you have begun channelling on your own - I have little option but to admit you to the tower for training lest you hurt someone in your foolishness. However," Pia raised a finger and pointed it sternly at Kate, "before I will consider you a novice you are to be examined by the sisters of the Yellow Ajah to ensure you are not....well not like your mother. I do not want a half mad wilder running about these halls, understood?" Pia waited for her very reluctant acceptance before hailing a passing Accepted and giving her stern orders to lead the girl to the Yellows and not to dawdle for even a moment. Light, what was she doing, allowing Cari Namere's child into the White Tower? She did not like this, not at all.

 

 

Pia Tovisen, MoN

[Matalina]

Kate only calmed down because she was startled by the fire and when the Mistress of Novices said she could stay then visbly relaxed.  Kate wondered if Fawne was receiving any of the problems she had just received.  Fawne probably didn't make the mistake she did, she was known to be the daughter of Matalina.  Kate sighed, she would have to avoid her half sister at all costs in order to keep her safe from prying eyes, as well as her mother and Aunt Raeyn as well.  It would be hard to keep things under control.  But she was being allowed to stay.  But what really bothered Kate was the fact that she had channeled.  Had she done so before?  She wasn't sure what she could have done, she'd never done anything like that before.

 

Kate rose upon command and followed the Accepted to the yellows who would examine her.  Kate wondered if they'd find anything, she definitely wasn't like her mother, her mind was intact and she was whole.  All of Kate's family knew why her mother was the way she was, it was the White Tower's fault.  Kate's anger almost flared again, but she grasped the void and buried herself in the calm darkness

 

Kate

[Amadine]

*bump*