A New Life (Open!)

[Jagen Sedai]

Kami tugged at the sleeve of his black coat with a regretful pout. He badly wanted to be back in his own silks again so the rough wool of the jacket was bothering him twice over. But he had modified it somewhat to his own tastes: the coat, usually loose on most men here, was tight on him, especially around the waist, and he wore a blue butterfly on a silver chain over the coat that marked him as a Soldier. Light, but how he wanted to be lounging in his room in Saldaea, reading poetry!

 

At least his pants were silk, but after almost a week of being on the Farm they were starting to get rather dirty, at least around the bottom. Some people gave him odd looks. But he had no qualms about keeping the silk pants on though, because other nobles tried to wear their finery too--at least the newer Soldiers like himself.

Then again it might not have been the pants drawing their attention, if not the tight, obviously altered coat. His hair, grown to his shoulders, was freshly curled and some dark eyeliner brought out his blue eyes. With his lithe frame he looked too decidedly feminine, but that's the beauty Kami liked to achieve.

 

But as my cousin said, I'm supposed to be as I was born. Shayne Miser, the son of Venfer and Lulina Miser. In the week he was here they had already taught him to willingly embrace the Power--something he hated doing, for sure--and to tell the difference between the Five Threads. He felt exhausted, especially since all that work had made him sick and almost bedridden (though his teachers were calling him plain weak).

 

Today it was beautifully sunny out with few clouds and a light breeze. It was the perfect early afternoon to just relax, and that's exactly what Kami was going to do. He sneaked away from the main areas were classes and such were held and sat on a log beside a thin stream, closing his eyes and listening to the water. He sighed softly, placing a hand on his chin in a feminine manner and leaning towards the water.

 

"The Wheel has threaded me a blue thread among black, weaving a deceitful design of sweet promises, only to live this life of malicious misery..."

[Talavin]

OOC: Okay, basic rundown of Ze'el- he's a sociopath (doesn't have any guilt). He's murdered his parents and is generally evil; however, he passes himself off as a meek, hessitant man. His birth name is Kassian Loreen and his fake personality goes by this name. He named himself Ze'el and mentally refers to himself as such.

 

IC: Ze'el was bored. One plus of the Black Tower was that he was bored far less often than he would expect. Between learning weaves and being put to work he was always buisy, but right now it seemed that he had been given a break for the day and had no idea what to do with it. He figured that he had managed to stumble into one of his first classes purely by accident and so he went exploring the Farm. Wandering around suited Ze'el, and he quickly amused himself by counting the leaves in the trees. He wanted to amuse himself a better way, like snatching squirrels off of trees and burning them, but he was afraid he would be seen and presumed insane.

 

He found himself walking along a stream, and whistling absent mindedly. Boredom soon returned and Ze'el found himself praying for something to do. The Light seemed to answer his prayer, because he soon found a woman sitting on a log. Some sort of intrest stirred inside of him; it was not lust, for he was not concerned with sexual activities. Nevertheless, Ze'el found himself making his was over to the woman. As he got closer, he recognised the coat as a Soldier's coat, and wondered why a woman would be wearing one. Eventually he made the deduction that this person was really just a very effeminate man, and couldn't help but find himself curious.

 

Ze'el imagined that other men found themselves disgusted by the soldier in front of him, but Ze'el was only excited by the odd occurance. Normal was so boring, and this he-she had the potential to be very entertaining. Almost on top of him now, Ze'el heard the poetry spoken softly. In Kassian's meek, soft voice, he replied: "B-but surely your life isn't that bad, you sit on pants of silk and speak with the voice of an educated man?" Ze'el's eyes held only an innocance that skillfully masked a calculating gleam and he made his inquiry.

[Jagen Sedai]

ooc: ooo fun! ^_^ I know about sociopaths as for a while I played one at a different site and people reallyyyyy hated him ICly (prolly OOCly too lol). It was great. Well this is going to be interesting!

 

*****

 

Kami nearly jumped at the voice but quickly stilled himself. He rest his hands on his legs, sitting in a manner very much as a noble woman would. He let his gaze wander over the man before him, trying to take in any information he could, but he just looked like anyone else to him.

 

"Sir, I'm sure you know what I am talking about," he said in his feminine voice. He talked in it out of habit, really. He straightened up some and brushed a lock of black hair from the side of his face. "If I was at home and not here, then my poetry would be about lighter things!" By his words, Kami figured, this man probably wasn't a noble himself. He supposed he didn't' mind interacting with those of other classes though, especially since here at the Tower it was stressed class didn't matter. "And my silken pants are getting dirtied up, even if I understand how to clean them. I don't want to touch the Power, you know?"

 

He patted a space beside him to invite him to sit down, even giving a small smile. "So, who are you? How did you come to be here? I can't imagine you like it any more than I, yet at the same time others here seem to take.. well, different viewpoints." Some of the men he did not mind here, like those who took interest in building things with the Power. But those who just enjoyed blowing things up scared him.

 

 

[Talavin]

OOC: Oh good, Ze'el much prefers things that are subtle and clean

 

IC: Ze'el fought the urge to raise his brow as the... man spoke. His words were gentle, not in a particularly feminine way, but in an intellectual way that someone of high birth would speak. Ze'el couldn't claim to be of hight birth, but he enjoyed the refreshing break from the brutes of the other Soldier. He didn't care a single whit about nobility or how high your birth is, but he appreciated subtility, and enjoyed surrounding himself far more intellectual things than men blowing eachother up. It was one reason why he kept up the persona of Kassian... it was amusing to constantly have the challenge of changing how he acted and spoke.

 

"I am Kassian Loreen," he said, letting a little more of Ze'el seep into his words than usual. "And the Black Tower is not all that bad. It may be filled with men who want nothing more than to blow up a couple countries, but at least it's not boring. And Saidin can be used for many things that don't include destruction." Ze'el paused for a moment before answering his first question. "I am from Amadacia... I was a dressmaker, I still am I suppose. Anyway I lived happily- I was one of the best- until a darkfriend killed my parents.

 

"I felt the need to spread the Light, so that no one would ever be hurt the way I was by my parents' deaths. I wandered until word got to me about this place. I wanted to learn how to channel so that I could further my goal. After that there isn't much else to say." Ze'el glanced towards the effeminate man, who could quite easily be mistaken for a woman. "So, obviously you are not here by choice. What brought you to the Farm? And if you don't mind me asking, I'm curious as to why you have the... mannerisms... that you have?"

 

OOC: Ze'el killed his parents, btw, the darkfriend is just a cover story.

[Jagen Sedai]

Kami actually let a blush come to his cheeks when the man asked him about his mannerisms. No one knew he was a guy back home because he had worn dresses for so many years. Lady Miser didn't have a son, she had a daughter. Kami let him be a her.

 

"Well, yes..." he began lightly, unsure how to explain. Most men at the Farm just gave him nasty looks and even nastier comments he just wanted to forget. He was grateful to one of his teachers who thankfully taught him a lot of air weaves so he could defend himself if needed. But he still became nautious when he channeled. "Well you see, that's a rather complicated story. But I'm here because I don't want to hurt anyone or anything." Not anymore, he thought ruthfully. "But I didn't know I couldn't just return home once I learned things, you know? Do they really... well, hang deserters? That's horribly mean!"

 

"Oh," he suddenly added getting up quickly. "I'm sorry, I forgot my manners. I'm Kami--ah, well Shayne Miser. Call me as you like." He even curtsied, or tried as best he could without a skirt hem to grab on to. Realizing his own gesture his pale cheeks grew red and he quickly sat down, staring almost wide-eyed ast the water. The men here were going to fry him for this, he knew! No one had prepared him for such hatred, but he saw it all to clearly since coming here to the Farm.

[Talavin]

Ze'el was amused as he watched the man who thought he was a woman. There was no doubt that the other men around the Farm would be disgusted at such a creature, but Ze'el didn't really feel things like normal people felt them. He could fake the feelings of disgust, but at the moment he didn't really care enough. And of course the fake woman was very amusing- in ten minutes with him Ze'el had become more amused than he had in the past few weeks. So he came to the Black Tower because he didn't want to hurt anything? That was slightly discouraging, but if the man stopped amusing him he could simply stop talking to him.

 

Ze'el nearly laughed out loud when the man tried to curtsy- not only did he look like a woman, he acted like one too! That striked a spark in his mind, perhaps this man truely tried to pass himself off for a woman. After all if it hadn't been for the soldier's coat he would not have guessed that he was a man. "Well, Kami," Ze'el said, "it is good to meet you." He knew that the man would probably be more comfortable with Kami. Not that he cared about the man's comfort, Ze'el just wanted to see where this would go to.

 

"I suppose it is mean to hang deserters, but if you think about it the prime place that people would desert to is the Shadow. After all, this is the only place in the world that a male channeler can be accepted. Shayol Ghul is the only other place in the world that accepts us." Ze'el saw that his words had an affect on the strange man, and so he smiled disarmingly. "But let us talk of kinder subjects. You never did tell me where you hail from. For that matter I know hardly anything about you- all I know is that you don't want to hurt people and that you act like a woman." He smiled to take the bite out of the words.

[Jagen Sedai]

Kami smiled apologetically, agreeing wholly to talk of lighter things. "Ah, I'm sorry. I'm from Saldaea, of House Miser. We're in the southern part of the country. Very nice this time of year. I don't know what else to say about myself, really!" He let his smile grow, acting a bit more like a woman every second. Really, he was a woman as far as he was concerned! Okay, maybe not... but he much prefered acting like one over acting like a man. Kami felt he was much more classy this way.

 

"I just sew and sing, and I play a lute... I love horses. I'm sorry if I'm so boring." He waved his hands in apology and stood up again. "Mind if we walk?" He really didn't feel like sitting anymore, especially being so excited at having someone he could finally talk to!

 

"So what do you want to do with the Power? I mean, when we're not fighting, will you use it for crafting? Oh, and I'd love to see your dresses! I could only bring a few with me, and would love some more tailored to my fit." He shifted his weight on one foot so his hip stuck out a little. "This coat and pants really don't compliment my form!"

[Talavin]

Ze'el noted that the more comfortable the man got, the more he seemed to act like a woman. It was certainly a little disconcerting, but he was kept amused by the novelty of such a man. He had never met any man who tried to pass themselves off as a woman, and he had to admit that curiousity kept him talking to the man. However, it was saying something that he even willingly spoke to anyone; he wasn't really a fan of talking to the fools around the Farm. Ze'el nodded in the appropriate places while observing the man-woman.

 

It was interesting to see a man act so much like a woman- it had never even occured to Ze'el that a man could act so much like a woman. Still, he listened attentively and filed the information away in case it needed to be used later on. Liked sewing and singing, played lute, liked horses. Ze'el smiled an assent at the offer to go walking, and began answer the fellow (if strange) Soldier. "Oh, there are many things you can do with the Power. You can Heal and you can help build. Earth is good for making foundations and bricks, and Air is good for moving them. The One Power has far more uses than just battle weaves, but the Farm teaches very few. I suppose with enough creativity you could weave something into your clothes to make them more comfortable. I hope that I can use Spirit somehow to make my dresses lighter, or silkier... I'm not quite sure yet."

 

His eyes narrowed as he examined the Soldier's clothes. He had practiced eyes from his many years of making dresses. He excelled more in the actual designing and sewing, but he had had to have at least some skill in measuring else he would never make the right size dresses. "Hmm, no I suppose that those clothes aren't quite the best for you. I'm ashamed to say that I could not make anything too fitting for you. I make dresses, and have very little experience with other types of clothing. I suppose if you wanted a dress..." Ze'el shrugged. He genuinely enjoyed making dresses, just because it was the sort of task that required a lot of focus. Also, there was a limitless amount of patterns he could make, and he enjoyed imagining new ones.

[Jagen Sedai]

Kami walked beside sir Kassian with his attention fixed on what he was saying about the Power. It certainly helped ease the knot in his stomach whenever he thought about channeling. Of course he saw men doing menial chores with it around the Farm, but all in all everyone was there to learn how to fight with the Power. Even him, as much as he just wanted to run away.

 

But they think everyone who runs goes to the Shadow. I don't think that is true. I would never do it myself, and I bet there are others of similar thought. We just want our lives back. His attention was on Kassian again as he mentioned dresses.

 

Kami let a smile split his face. "Well yes, of course! What else would I want? I'm sure you have disserned, good sir, I do not wish to wear a man's clothes! This is my first time wearing them for so long in years. And I must add, I'm very pleased to have met you. It's a relief to me that there is a soul here who is ot only kind, but offering me dresses!" he laughed, much in the charming manner of noble lady would, even politely covering his mouth with his hand in a demure fashion. "Let me tell you I have good coin to pay for fine garments, as well. If I may see some of your work, mayhaps we can make a deal. I hope to become friends with you, Kassian Loreen."

[Talavin]

OOC; hey I'm sorry for the lateness of this rely as well as the shortness :-\

 

IC: Ze'el studied Kami out of the corner of his eye. The woman (man, he corrected himself) was amusing and worth the time, but he was showing too much of himself and not enough of Kassian. He was already on shaky ground with the Attack leader, and he couldn't afford acting too out of character. "Well... I sold all of my dresses on my way here. I didn't have much left, after the darkfriend burned down my house." Ze'el cast his eyes downwards, as if he was greiving and in sorrow because of the memory. After a few moments, Ze'el looked upwards and put a strained smile on his face, as if he were forcing it.

 

"But... as I was saying, I don't have any dresses left. If you give me time, and I can get enough free time to complete the task, I can create a few and you can look at them." Ze'el smiled kindly at the wo-man beside him. "I'm confident that I can make something that you would fancy, but if you don't..." Ze'el shrugged, "I enjoy making dresses anyway so it would be no loss." Ze'el found that they were wandering closer and closer to the main part of the Farm. He was surprised for he had not realized that they had gotten so far in their wanderings.

[Jagen Sedai]

ooc: 'tis good ^_^

 

****

 

Kami was trying his best to keep his hands folded at his waist as they walked. Back in Saldaea, where he was known as a woman, he could go to any tavern and hang on a man's arm, pretending to fawn over him while he told stories of battling Trollocs near the Blight, or some such things, or maybe he really would be fawning. He could even show sympathy for losses by leaning onto their shoulder, but no such thing could be done here. As Kassian got lost in his sorrow for a moment Kami almost reached out to pat his shoulder--but at last minute decided against it. The man may have been friendly, but it was best not to press too far.

 

He was delighted though when sir Kassian changed the subject back to dressmaking. Kami let his gaze wander over the Farm as they got closer to buildings once again as he spoke, "I'm sure the ladies around here know of shops to supply you with cloth, and when you take my measurements, I'll tell you what I like. He necks, and skirts that aren't big. Lots of lace. I'll draw some up for you, when the time comes."

 

He smiled and stopped, turning his body to face the taller Kassian. "I think it would be healthy to keep up your occupation, or you really may go mad, Power or no." Now such a thing was not easily talked of and Kami did not like the idea himself at all. As a matter of fact it made him rather sick to his stomach. However, the focus was not on him and at the moment he was acting more of his lady self. As far as he would have liked to be concerned just then the Power was not part of him...

 

But alas, it was very much a big part of him, as if the Creator wanted to remind him he was born a male and not only that, one of the most dangerous men who could be born. The black coats around him along with the new, wooden buildings reminded him of that all too much. Not to mention the split trees, torn up ground and any number of objects being floated around by the tainted half of the Source. He nearly shuddered.

"So where do you bunk, if I may be so bold to inquire? I could use a strong arm around me, I admit."

[Talavin]

Ze'el pondered what the man was requesting for his dress. He could dream up a mental picture in his mind, but suddenly a realization hit him. Surely the man couldn't want a dress that fit too well... there were certain... mainly parts... that stood out. Ze'el quickly banished that particular mental image and paid better attention to what Kami was saying. He thought that his occupation was a safe one? Well, he was more concerned with excitement than safety, but he noted the concern for him in the words. Ze'el didn't feel any touching emotions or anything of the sort, but a man that was concerned about him was not an enemy.

 

Ze'el nearly rose an eyebrow when the other Soldier asked where he slept, but barked a laugh at his reasoning. "Light! A strong arm? I'm about as far as you can possibly get from that! I'm useless with any sort of weapon," except for the dagger, "and I'm weaker than most men here in the Farm. I wouldn't be much use as a strong arm. In fact, I wouldn't be very surprised to find that you yourself was stronger than me in the One Power. But here they train us to defend ourselves, so I doubt that you would be having too many problems with that." Ze'el smiled at Kami. His mind was quickly calculating the worths of having the man around. It was no lie that he was weak in the One Power, and even if this man didn't want to be a warrior, he could potentially be an asset. Not to mention with his feminine features, if there was ever need for an infiltration outside of the Farm...

 

Ze'el mentally shook his head. Plots and plans were good, but they had a bad habit of lasting only until the first move was made. "Nevertheless, if you want to know where I sleep... It's in the barracks on the far side, I am in the room on the very end, on the side facing the Inn*. I don't spend very much time in my rooms, however. In fact, I'm usually only in there to sleep." Ze'el shot a faux sheeping grin at the other Soldier.

 

OOC: * = completely randomly made up directions

[Jagen Sedai]

"Oh, do you like to go out a lot then?" Kami asked, clapping his hands together. In truth he wanted a companion so other Asha'man would leave him alone. Not that he had had too much trouble so far, but he wondered if it was only a matter of time...

 

Yet, thinking back on the subject at hand. "Do you like taverns then? Me and my cousin Helina love singing and putting on little performances. I play the lute, and harp, and she sings. I understand it's a bit below my rank, but I love entertaining a crowd. Actually, if I dress up, would you like to go out tonight, off the farm? We can go to Caemlyn! I mean, we're allowed to if we're not wearing our black coats, right?"

 

He was getting rather excited at the idea of going out again with his cousin and having some fun in a tavern. When he first came here he and Helina had put on a performance for the men, but since it was found out that Kami was a he and not she, that's when all the trouble started, and Arath signed him up in their books the next day. Without an apology for slamming him into a wall too, for that matter. Tactless, but he forgave him for it. That had been a week ago now. But to avoid more trouble and to have a happy crowd, he'd have to go to Caemlyn. "It'd be nice to get away from all this stuffiness don't you think? We can have some fun, you go out and get drunk!"

[Talavin]

Ze'el laughed at the tirade of words. Obviously this Soldier was very new, because leaving the Farm at all without authorization was highly against the rules. Another thing that Ze'el found interesting was that the man seemed to genuinely forget that he was not a woman. In fact, Ze'el almost forgot at times, if it weren't for the black coat he was wearing Ze'el would have forgotten. If he dressed up in a dress, it was very likely that no one would ever suspect he was a man. That was an interesting fact, and so Ze'el tucked it away for future reference.

 

"Actually," Ze'el said bemused, "I believe that it's hightly against the rules to leave the Farm at all. The M'Hael can give authorization for Asha'man to leave the Farm, but while we're Soldiers we're stuck here for a while. After all, they can't afford to let a bunch of unstable men who can channel out into the world. As long as we're bottled up here on our little Farm, we're safe, but if we start expanding, then the White Tower and other nations will feel threatened by us. We probably have the numbers and the prowess to come out alright, but if we anger enough people we'd be plucked off little by little. Then who would be there to stand with the Dragon Reborn when the last battle comes?"

 

Ze'el pondered the question for a bit. "However, there is and Inn, and I doubt that you are known well enough yet that all of the men would know you. If you really wanted to you could probably give one last preformance in the Inn before word of your... true nature gets out." Ze'el chuckled a little. It would definately be amusing to see the looks on people's faces when they realized that the woman they had been drooling over for the whole night was a man. "There would be reprocussions, of course, but if you think it's worth it..." Ze'el shrugged.

[Jagen Sedai]

ooc: oo, very interesting it would be to take Kami along if Ze'el wanted to trick him into doing something to Ze'el's advantage ^_^

 

****

 

"It's very tempting," Kami agreed, biting his lips as he thought about performing again. "Repercussions... no, I think I will be okay--you and Helina will be there with me. Come with me Kassian, I'll introduce you to my cousin!" He grabbed his hand without thinking and started leading him along. His cousin was still sleeping in the inn where Kami's dresses were kept. It asn't far but Kami let Kassian's hand go. He walked in and said, "Come on up."

 

He went up the stairs and walked down the hall to his cousin's room. Knocking on the door, he called, "It's Kami!" He opened it up as Helina jumped up from her bed. "I'm so bored Kami, you need to come visit mor--oh, who's this?"

 

"This is Kassian Loreen, a fellow soldier. He makes dresses."

"Oh really? That's wonderful! It's nice to meet you!" A bit shorter than Kami, Helina was a little plump, but not overly so. Her eyes were small and her lips big, and she had long curly hair like Kami, as raven black. She wore a dress of soft yellow and looked like an innocent young lass. Kami opened up the small travel chest he had and pulled out a gray dress with black lace. It was high necked with long semi-loose sleeves.

"I think we can go performing tonight Helina. At an inn Kassian knows of."

"Oh Kami, are you sure? After last time? It could be dangerous!"

"Oh it won't be! Right, Kassian?" He smiled. "Well I already have my dress out, so if you agree, go downstairs so we can get ready!"

[Talavin]

OOC: Actually I was talking about the Inn that our characters are in right now ;)

 

IC: Ze'el started a bit as he was taken by the hand and pulled behind Kami. He resisted the desire to roughly pull his hand away, and ignored the flash of irritation that followed. He found that while other people had guilt and fear of consequences to hold them back, he would murder at the slightest bit of anger. Carefully repressing the desire, Ze'el allowed himself to be dragged by the strange man back over to the Inn. He waited patiently as the door opened, for all purposes looking as if he was a sagely, kind young man.

 

Ze'el smiled at Helina as he was introduced, but did not get a chance to speak to her because the storm that was Kami swept around the room. He observed the dress that the Soldier pulled out and couldn't help but feel impressed. The material was of good quality and the make of the dress near flawless. Of course, he could do better, but it was nevertheless a good dress. Someone had put a lot of work into that- pitty that no woman would wear it. He rolled his eyes slightly as his thoughts were becoming more cruel than they were before. The novelty of Kami was wearing off, and Ze'el was starting to think of the man like everyone else.

 

He realized that he was beginning to think of the man as a woman, and resolved to think of him as a man. If Ze'el thought of Kami as a man, it would take much longer for the strangeness to wear off. Realizing that it was his turn to speak, Ze'el said: "If you're ready to head downstairs, we can go whenever you would like. What songs were you thinking of singing?" Ze'el wondered if his voice would be low, like a man's, or high like a woman's.

[Jagen Sedai]

"I'm not sure yet," Kami replied, looking to Helina as he began to dig out some make up. "But please go downstairs so I can get dressed, we'll meet you down there."

"Order yourself a drink!" Helina told him with a big smile. She then rushed him out the door, promising to be down soon.

 

Giggles followed as Kami began to talk of another exciting night performing. He quickly got into the dress, gladly freeing himself of that constricting coat. Well really the dress was tighter, especially around the middle, but he felt it was more mentally liberating than the black coat that marked him as a 'warrior for the Dragon', something he certainly did not wish to be.

 

A bit of dark lipstick and some very light blush, with some dark eyeshadow transformed him into his 'normal' self. A flower pin of dark purple with some of his hair pulled back completed his look. Lucky to have small feet, he slipped them into a pair of silken slippers he kept in his pack until now and grabbed his harp and flute. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and smiled.

"Oh Kami, stop admiring yourself. Really, you're so narcissistic!"

Kami laughed. "Come on Helina."

 

They descended the stairs slowly, Helina first and then Kami following. Perhaps some men recognized him but he did not care. The two barely allowed the small crowd of people in there to process anything before Kami started playing his flute, and Helina started singing. The men and innkeep were accustomed to Helina singing and playing at night, but this as the first time Kami joined her. He sat beside her on top of a corner table, turning his bright eyes up to Kassian and smiling before he continued to play.

[Tigara]

Ikki slumped down in the chair, panting heavily. This whole Tower was determined to make him fit. The way to do it? Running. Every day, as long as he had "free time" and it was still light out, they had him running laps. They wouldn't admit that he wasn't made for this. He was making absolutely no progress and by night, he would always collapse in the inn and drink for a good hour. What had his life become?

 

He brightened up as Helina came down the stairs. He always enjoyed her singing, but this time she had someone else with her. Another rather pretty girl with similar hair and shape and everything! Maybe she had a sister! The new girl played a harp and a flute while Helina sang. It was beautiful really. But something wasn't right.

 

He didn't know what it was, but that girl was just vaguely familiar. He couldn't place her, but she looked familiar. Something tickled at the back of his head and he hated that feeling. he was always tense when he had that funny feeling.

 

 

Ikkiliad sur Paendrag

Dedicated

[Kura]

Sereth lightly fingered the dragon pin on his collar, his thumb stroking it lovingly. I'm a full Asha'mon now... Maybe I can go now! He'd have to ask the M'Hael for his particular destination, but things had gone well in negotiations, so he didn't see much of a problem. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he only noticed that he had arrived at the inn when his foot stubbed against the door. Laughing to himself, he looked down at his boots and thanked them for being so heavy as to repel the mean door in its malicious attacks against his toes.

 

That done, he stepped into the inn, and heard a wonderful sound. A woman's voice filled the room, accompanied by a flute! He stood at the entrance, listening. When they finished a song, he clapped enthusiastically yelling "Bravo!” before finding a table and looking around.

 

He saw two rather interesting characters, one an obviously winded and run down Dedicated, the other a Soldier. He knew he should go to the Soldier, get to know the guy, maybe help him out as he seemed a bit new. Instead though, he went to the Dedicated and sat down. "Hello there, I'm Sereth." He examined the man a bit more closely, "You are the one I always see doing laps, right?" How tense the man was wasn't lost upon the Asha'mon, but he chose to ignore it, maybe settle the guy a bit. After all, he knew full well how tough the Tower could be on Dedicated, even if his stay in that rank had been a short one.

[Arath Faringal]

OOC:  Just a friendly reminder, Asha'man can NOT sense the ability to channel in another man.  The only way they can tell is if the man is actually holding Saidin.

[Tigara]

OOC: Fixed! ;D

 

IC:

 

Ikki jumped as someone sat down beside him. He was tense! It was an Asha'man! He didn't remember seeing this one before, but the man was quick enough to introduce himself. Friendly people were always the best kind!

 

"You are the one I always see doing laps, right?"

Ikki blushed and scratched his neck as the comment. "Yeah, that's me. The dumb thing is that it hasn't helped me a bit. I'm Ikkiliad, but please, call me Ikki." Ikkiliad was his old self. The boy who sat indoors all day in his parent's manor house reading books on history, never bothering to go outside as long as he had something to read. Ikkiliad was no more. "Tell me, Asha'man Sereth. Does the girl playing flute seem…odd to you? She looks almost familiar, but I don't think I've seen her before." A thought struck him. Light, he can't be going mad yet, can he?

 

Ikkiliad sur Paendrag

Not crazy yet

 

[Kura]

Sereth smiled, letting out a chuckle. "Nice to meet you Ikki and I don't know about those laps doing nothing. At the very least physical exertion tires you out both mentally and physically, and in such a way that doesn't lead to the eventual loss of your sanity and the rotting of your body while you still occupy it." His tone was light as he spoke of this, the dark fate of all of his brethren. He had accepted it; he accepted it the first day he got here. He would die a horrible, horrible death, but the knowledge he had gained along the way was worth it in his eyes.

 

His attention then shifted to the girl playing the lute. His perceptive eyes giving her the thrice over. He noticed things that were... slightly out of the ordinary, but nothing he could really pin down and come up with a conclusive hypothesis about. "Nothing really, she looks like a rather pretty, if flat, girl. Though I suppose there are slight oddities, but nothing to really put you on edge. I mean she doesn't exactly have an ageless face, and hell, even if she could channel there is no way she could do any real damage in a room full of men who can."

 

"Now, would you like some tea?" The Asha'man pulled a canteen from his coat, and poured some water from it into the cap, which served quite nicely as a cup. He embraced the source, weaving fire into the water to bring it to a boil, and air around the edges to keep it from splattering, before dropping in his own brew of herbs. "This stuff is great; my old teacher taught me how to make it. I wonder what he is up to now. Meh, probably dead from channeling by now." His tea finished when he was talking. Releasing the source, he pulled the cup to his lips and took a sip. Delicious.

 

[Jagen Sedai]

Kami shifted his slippered feet from the bench to the floor as he slipped off the table after playing the lute. Helina was bowing and thanking the men for listening to her singing, and then she took to cajoling with them. Shaking his head, he knelt to get his harp from his case, glancing up and over at two of the Asha'man in the room. One was drinking something as the oher had his eyes on Kami, so he stood and flashed him a pretty smile as he uncovered his harp. He let the protective cloth fall into the case and moved to sit on the bench once more, playing a few soft notes.

 

He let his gaze wander to Helina. When her eyes met her cousin's he motioned his head slightly. Almost gleefully she went and sat by the Asha'man and the Dedicated as he wanted. He wondered if Ze'el was enjoying himself and smiled at him in a friendly manner.

 

"Good evening gentlemen, I have to thank you for listening to my song." Her tilted eyes held a friendly look about them and she sat across from them and looked back to Kami as he began playing a song on the harp. "A relaxing evening is certainly needed by your boys after a long day's work, I imagine. That's why me and Kami are here, to give you a good time."

The innkeep came over to offer her a drink. She took it gratefully but then slid it over to the Dedicated, since the Asha'man had a drink already. "Please enjoy."

[Tigara]

Ikki shivered as Sereth described going mad from the Taint on saidin. He had wondered wheather such mental illnesses could be Healed, or whether they were just doomed short of turning to the Shadow. Well, he thought they didn't if they did. It was mostly rumors he heard. Maybe running was a good thing....?

 

He observed the tea mixture being made in front of his eyes. It was a good trick. Maybe even a familiar trick. "Who was your teacher?"

 

Before the Asha'man could answer, Helina sat down and gave him the drink the innkeeper had brought her. "Umm, thank you ma'am. Who is your friend with the harp?" he asked motioning to Kami.

 

 

[Kura]

Sereth laughed, "My Master? Oh he was just an insane old man whom I learned could channel on the last day I saw him. He tested me, he wasn't an Asha'man. I doubt you knew him; he was with me with for over ten years. He taught me to love philosophy as well as logic, history, and so much more. He taught me the most valuable thing, to learn is to grow, and to grow is to be stronger, and strength is everything in this world." He sipped his tea as the woman approached.

 

"We appreciate what you’re doing here, it is rather tiring after a long days work. Just be careful, pretty girls like you and your friend, well," he sipped his tea again, "even before Saidin, this place seems to attract the worst kind of men." Looking around the room, anyone could see the truth in his words. Shaggy, unkempt men who held back an obvious temper, as well as those better mannered, sly, womanizers all fitted throughout the crowd. Still, Sereth knew the worst were those whom couldn't be so easily seen. He had known a couple of those in his life.

 

“Anyways ma’am, what brings you to the Black Tower? Are you with one of the hopefully future Asha’man? Or are you just here to ease our worries and fill our hearts with such beautiful music.” He went to sip his tea again, but found it empty. A sigh escaped his lips as he wove fire into the cup, incinerating the remains of the tea leaves and putting the ashes in a special pocket inside his coat. No sense in forcing someone to clean up his mess after all. He sighed again after searching his coat, “Well, it appears that was my last packet of tea. Oh well, it’ll give me something to do in the morning I suppose.” He appeared careless, and in truth he was. His life had become kind of dull these past few weeks; he hadn’t been assigned a mentee. Instead he was left alone to stew, which was fine except for the fact that he had run through the Black Tower’s ‘library’ already, and had no one’s brain to pick apart.

 

Such was the life of a scholar among soldiers.