Luin-Metsar, Calia - White Tower (Green Aes Sedai)

[Cass]

Name:

Calia
Nee: Calia Luin.
Married (widowed): Calia Luin-Metsar

Age: 118 years

Place of birth:

Four Kings, Andor.

 

Physical Description:

Build: Average  (Height: 165cms Weight: 60kgs).

Complexion: Fair, freckled.

Hair: Light brown/blonde streaked, long, usually worn wound up and out of the way of her collar.

Eyes: Blue.

 

Personality:

At her core, Calia is quick-witted, audacious and pursues her goals vigorously despite any challenges and resistance. A 'debater' type personality, she has always enjoyed brainstorming and questioning the status quo and prevailing modes of thought (her own and others) out loud with others, analysing everything and tackling controversial information, beliefs and topics head-on.

 

There is not a lot she hasn't seen of the world in her 118 years, and it shows in her matter-of-fact approach to most people and events. Fiercely rational rather than idealistic, she is brave and direct in action and speech. She is not uncaring, but she is somewhat hardened to the realities of the ever-changing world, the horrors of most shadowspawn and the Dark One's growing reach. 

 

In her younger years, she had a reputation for her lively personality, playful humour and friendly competitiveness, even after she was raised to the shawl. These days she is, more often than not, quite quiet and serious in manner - traits that truly settled on her some forty-three years ago following the deaths of her twin brothers who had each been her Warders for over fifty years. 

 

A Green sister through and through, she feels most alive and useful when directly fighting against the forces of the Shadow, which she does with fierce determination - traveling wherever the threats arise and seem greatest at any given time. She works well in groups, but is becoming increasingly independent and quite enjoys undertaking missions solo, with and without the support of a Warder or two at her side.

 

Weaknesses: 

Even in her older age, Calia is an 'all-or-nothing' personality, easily bored without some sort of immediate physical and/or mental challenge, prone to impulsively seeking/actively creating 'engaging' situations that are not always to the benefit of herself or others whenever there is even a moderately lengthy lull in activity. 

 

Calia may, or may not, be developing some sort of dementia or suffering from some sort of mild traumatic brain injury. In any case, she suffers from insomnia, occasional headaches and frequently forgets small details/finds there are small holes in her short-term memory.

 

Character History:

Born the eldest daughter and middle child of Mikal and Eleni Luin, Calia was raised at the family inn in Four Kings alongside her brothers Shem and Joesh (twins), and younger sisters Josiane and Thayet. She came to the White Tower and was raised to the Green Ajah a short time after her best friend Kaylan Morin.

 

Her twin brothers (and idols) became her first Warders, and served alongside her for over fifty years before defending her to their deaths at the Stair of Jehaan after the fall of Malkier in 955 NE.

After their deaths, Calia remained in the Borderlands fighting shadowspawn at every opportunity for almost ten years. She returned to the Tower for several years after this and taught the Novices and Accepted, refusing to bond again due to the pain caused by her brothers' deaths.

 

During this time, she met and fell in love with Warder-in-training Aaran Metsar. Ultimately unable to commit to him or her feelings, she all but fled to the Waste in 971 NE on a sanctioned mission to spend time with the Aiel, leaving in 975 NE. On her return to the Tower, Aaran was waiting for her with a proposition for marriage and bonding. She finally accepted and the two of them married, bonded and left for the Borderlands in the same year, taking no part in the Aiel War which broke out less than a year later.

 

Aaran was killed in battle in 983 NE. After a year of mourning and battle rage, Calia returned to the Tower, taught for a year and then began a cycle of travelling/fighting and teaching at the Tower, deciding never to take a Warder for more than two years at a time - something she tells each Warder who agrees to bond.

 

 

Character Reputation

Calia is known at the Tower for her exciting, hands-on teaching methods, and for her peculiar Warder/bonding habits. Outside of the Tower, particularly in certain cities of the Borderlands, she is known for her ruthlessness against shadowspawn, quick wit and brainstorming ability in battle.

Edited January 18 by Cass

[Jagen Sedai]

Great bio, Cass!
I only have one question. Toward the end you write: "...[she decided to] never to take a Warder for more than two years at a time - something she tells each Warder who agrees to bond. "

My understanding, but correct me if I'm wrong, is that Tower custom (law? I think just custom) is that a Warder bonds for life. I am unsure how to feel about a potential change to this canon, but perhaps no one knows about her plan to do that yet?

Edited September 7, 2022 by Jagen Sedai

[Cass]

Hmmm, ta Jagen, I think you're right that it's custom to bond for life... 

 

I was going on a reference from The WoT Wiki that said 'Finally, Warder bonds can be dissolved unilaterally by the Aes Sedai at any time'

 

I had figured Calia used it as a (not entirely logical)  'balance' between serving effectively as a Green in the Borderlands and attempting to avoid attachment, and also a character flaw that caused 'strange bonding habits' to be a part of her reputation.

 

A search showed a quote from RJ saying that it would be incredibly rare/the AS is expected to be in for the whole ride, though. 

 

Spoiler

'By the by, releasing a Warder except for cause (the Aes Sedai's imminent death, his own unsuitability) or because he has asked for release is something that JUST IS NOT DONE! It would gain the sister considerable opprobrium from other sisters. A sister certainly would be looked at askance if she released a Warder who was dying, for example, just to avoid the effects on her of his death. When an Aes Sedai bonds a Warder, she is expected to buy in for the full ride. For that matter, releasing him for unsuitability is considered to reflect on the sister's judgement. She should have known better about him from the start.'

Ultimately it does indicate a level of immaturity/emotional selfishness that probably shouldn't be present in Aes Sedai.

 

I'd imagined that she'd held/released at least one bond in the 14 years since that 'decision', in order to get that reputation etc. 

 

But I am also unsure how to feel about this now, to be honest 🤣 - is it something I erase or play out (hopefully to a 'she's definitely matured or doomed' kind of end)?

 

Happy to go with whatever you approve! 

[Jagen Sedai]

Hm! It's definitely intriguing! We can keep that she did this at least once, earning a not-so-good reputation. I'm sure it might be assumed by other sisters she will not do it again. Though, if she did do it anyway, she could get into serious trouble, if this was something she just decided to do on her own.

 

In that vein, it might be worth considering how hard it is to get rid of years and years of conditioning she had as a novice and Accepted, where "custom is as strong as law." And I imagine Greens probably have all sorts of special Warder rules of their own. But in the end, it really depends on her personality (and if you're opening to her habit to being discovered and the eventual consequences of that!)

 

So in the end I think I will go with what you decide as it could make for potentially interesting RP arcs (or in the least, her interesting reputation!).

Edited October 19, 2022 by Jagen Sedai

[Arie]

WELCOME TO THE ROLEPLAY

This Character is Approved! 

@Cass

You are welcome to start your own

Development thread, Wanted Ad/Request,

and Write to your heart's content!

Edited January 29 by Arie