From Ship To Shore [attn MoN]

[Hadassah]

“You will follow me, child, and quietly,” Mirelle Aes Sedai said to Kembial as they passed through the gate into the White Tower proper, and their horses were taken away for stabling. She gathered her skirts, and swept off down the hall.

 

“Yes, Mirelle Sedai,” the young Atha'an Miere had replied, meekly. Not as if the woman was really expecting anything else from her, of course.

 

What had the woman expected her to do, Kembial thought as she fell in behind the Aes Sedai – march into the White Tower banging a drum and singing at the top of her lungs? Or, perhaps, run away? To be truly honest, the second had occurred to her, but the look the gray-shawled woman had given her when the thought had crossed her mind had promised very thorough punishment if she'd gone through with it. And that had been strange, because she hadn't said anything out loud, but somehow the Aes Sedai knew. Were they mind readers? Kembial couldn't remember anything concerning that in the legends...

 

Not that there would have been anyplace she could have run, anyway, she mused. Dry land might as well have been a whole new world for Kembial; she'd never needed to know anything about the world off ship besides where the nearest port was. She wouldn't have known the first place to run and hide. And it's not as if she wouldn't be noticed as an outsider half a breath later if she tried!

 

As she walked, she felt the eyes on her, curious ones; she was probably one of the first young ones of her people seen around here in Light knew how long. And she knew they were staring at her clothes. What was wrong with wearing a perfectly servicable blouse and trousers? She tried not to stare back, but she couldn't help it. Mirelle had murmured something about 'getting her into novice whites' and she was seeing that now – gleaming white skirts as far as the eye could see, with an occasional flash of a rainbow-banded one, whatever that meant. But still. Her? In a skirt? She didn't know the first thing about wearing those...useless things!

 

She was startled out of her musing by the sharp staccato rap of Mirelle's knuckles against the wood of a  massive door covered in elaborate carvings.

 

“On your behavior, child,” she murmured, then paused long enough to give the Mistress of Novices time before she opened the door.  "Larindhra Sedai? I do hope you have a moment to spare to get this girl in the novice book." A quick glance behind her summoned Kembial forward, and she pointed towards a heavy oak chair in front of the Mistress of Novices' massive desk.

 

"Sit there, Kembial, and she'll get started." As the Atha'an Miere sank into the chair, Mirelle exchanged polite pleasantries with Larindhra. "I'm sure I'll be given the third degree about where I found this one," the ageless woman went on after a moment. "Perhaps in a day or so, I'll allow you to do that. But now I must report to my sisters, so I'll leave her to you, yes?" The redheaded Aes Sedai adjusted her gray-fringed shawl, nodded to the girl, and turned to leave.

 

"And, my first lesson to you...do relax child. She won't eat you. At least not if you behave as you should," Mirelle Sedai said, almost impishly, as she slipped back out the door.

 

Kembial blinked. "Relax? But..." It was too late, though, Mirelle was gone, and she was left alone with Lar..uhm...the Mistress.

 

 

 

[Elgee]

Larindhra smoothed the skirts of her beautiful new dress over her thighs. For a wonder, she had actually found the time to slip into Tar Valon a few days past. She had taken the opportunity to order herself a complete new wardrobe, from shifts upwards. She wasn’t really a vain creature, but the opportunity did not often present itself, so she had grabbed it with both hands. Well, she hadn’t really needed new jewellery, but the lovely firedrop set had been too gorgeous to resist. Besides, jewellery was a much better investment than money just left in the bank. Quite pleased with her reasoning, she called a cheerful Enter at the knock on her door.

 

“Mirelle! This is a surprise.” Larindhra noticed the girl Mirelle motioned in, and her eyes widened slightly. An Atha'an Miere? Where on earth had Mirelle … well, obviously on the docks, but … “Mirelle, did you test the girl before bringing her here?” Larindhra’s mouth tightened when the girl … well, Aes Sedai now, but her bottom probably still remembered the last switching Larindhra had given it, not so many years ago, casually shook her head. What had she been thinking? The last thing the Tower needed was a furious delegation from the Sea Folk, accusing them of kidnapping one of their girls! And kidnapping it would be, if this girl turned out not to be able to learn. The Tower would look rather silly, sending her back. Mirelle must have realised by the fury in Larindhra’s eyes that she had yet again not thought her actions through quite as well as she should have, as she beat a hasty retreat. She couldn’t very well berate another Aes Sedai in front of the girl, but there would be words, later!

 

Concealing her emotions very carefully, Larindhra smiled warmly at the child sitting opposite her. “Welcome to the Tower … Kembial, is it? Before I write your details down, there is just a quick little test I would like you to do.” Larindhra embraced the Source, suspending the gem she had fished out of her top drawer between them, and feeding a trickle of Spirit into it. “I would like you to relax and empty all your thoughts. Just sit back and concentrate on the stone.” Larindhra prayed very hard that this girl would test true, otherwise there would be a very unpleasant trip to the Mother very soon. Unpleasant mostly for Mirelle. She allowed herself a small sigh of pure relief when at long last there was a resonating flash in the depths of the gem. “Well done, child! Now, give me your full name, place of birth and age, and then tell me what you know of the White Tower and Aes Sedai in general.”

 

 

Larindhra Reyne

Mistress of Novices

 

[Hadassah]

"Yes, Mistress Sedai." Well, the Aes Sedai seemed pleasant enough. Mirelle had gone into rather great detail about how to behave around this woman. The Mistress of Novices must and will always be obeyed by you in everything, Kembial din Maris, or else the stropping you'll get from her will make any punishment you've ever taken on board your ship! That definitely had given the girl pause, since Mirelle Sedai had seemed rather serious about that. Besides, Aes Sedai couldn't lie.

 

They could certainly exaggerate, though...Kembial studied the woman across the desk, dressed so finely and carrying herself like the nobles she'd seen very briefly on shore trips before. Perhaps she was not as bad as Mirelle made her out to be, but that didn't mean she wasn't obliged to treat the woman with respect. Aes Sedai were still Aes Sedai, and she didn't want to incur any of the woman's wrath. Particularly not in the heart of the Tower itself.

 

 

At Larindhra's request, she nodded and gazed into the depths of the crystal. Empty all your thoughts and concentrate on the stone, Larindhra said. It sounded so simple, but was actually one of the hardest things she was ever asked to do. A slight frown crossed her features. How did one stop thinking?

 

Maybe if I can't do this, she thought, they'll send me home! Just the idea of it was relieving. If she didn't get the crystal to react, she could go home, and she and the Sailmistress would never speak of this again.

 

Unfortunately, that moment of relaxation was all she needed. Flash.And with that, her fate was sealed.

 

"Well, I...uhm...it's Kembial din Maris, of clan Rossaine," she began, looking at the still swinging gem in dismay, and I'm sixteen..."

 

There would no going home for her. She had to stay now. Light! I'll never see my family again - no, *can't* see them again. If I do, I might give them away.

 

The girl trailed off, gave the stone one more last rueful look, then glanced at Larindhra. "I can't really say where I was born except in terms of latitude and longitude, which doubtless means very little to you, Aes Sedai." Her gaze drifted down to her lap, fingers bunching in the thick sailcloth of her trousers. "And I - we -  never studied much of your ways. My people tend to give the Tower a wide berth...no offense meant, Aes Sedai. Honestly. We just have our lives, and you have yours."

 

There. That was true enough.

 

[Elgee]

Larindhra looked a bit helplessly at the bashful girl seated in front of her. Light, the child new virtually nothing about the ways of … the Shorebound, she believed they called anyone not Seafolk. On the plus side, the child seemed very well behaved, but some would not take into account her background if she made some mistake that touched on their dignity.

 

Drawing the novice book towards herself, she carefully entered Kembial’s details. She was slightly stumped about what to write as place of birth, finally settling for The Ocean. “Kembial, you will be assigned a Mentor who will help you … navigate your way in the Tower, though I will also ask the Atha'an Miere Sisters to keep an eye on you. In the mean time, I will just give you a few pointers: novices wear white dresses, Accepted also wear white, but they are banded at hem and the cuffs of the sleeves in the colours of the seven Ajahs. Aes Sedai wear whatever they like, so until you learn the names and faces of all the Sisters in the Tower, just assume that any woman you see who is not clearly wearing a novice or accepted dress or a servant’s uniform is an Aes Sedai.”

 

She regarded the simple trousers and blouse the girl was wearing thoughtfully. “Have you ever learned how to curtsy, Kembial? No? Hmmm … come here a minute, child.” She led her over to the little storeroom and, searching quickly, found a set of novice whites she thought might fit the girl. “Put these on, and then I will demonstrate for you.” She went to pour some tea while Kembial dressed in her new clothes. She wasn’t sure what customs the Seafolk had regarding modesty, but best to err on the side of caution. She smiled reassuringly at Kembial when the girl rejoined her. “Now, let me show you how this is done.” Larindhra demonstrated some of the various curtsies she thought the girl most urgently needed to learn, explaining who should receive which ones. “Did you catch all of that, child? Show me what you’ve learned, please.”

 

 

Larindhra Reyne

Mistress of Novices

 

[Hadassah]

"Curtsy...what is that?" At least the blow-by-blow of the color coding in the tower made sense, until you got to the fact that Aes Sedai could wear whatever they wanted.

 

And so, Kembial was introduced to what she would consider a nemesis for the the next few years in the Tower - the Novice dress. She eyed the thing as she would a live snake, or an oncoming storm at sea. There was going to be nothing but trouble with her in one of these things.

 

But when you were in a boat, you had to row or die. "Yes, Mistress," she said softly, and doffed her top; several years of doing so at sea made her less than conscious about nudity from the waist up. The trousers soon followed, but she was slightly more reluctant about those, of course.

 

As she slipped on the scratchy cotton garb, she turned her thoughts to the Mistress' comment that she would have Atha'an Miere Aes Sedai look after her. The thought that there were Sea Folk that were still here of their own will made the girl's head reel. But they were here, and so was she....getting in this usleless thing. How could you get anything proper done in...and the wind blew through your legs! How were women not cold in these silly things? She tied the sash that went round her waist at her side, resisting the instinct to make the knots of rank along its slightly wrinkled length.

 

And then...the curtseying. Light and Sea! Kembial had never felt more self-conscious in her life attempting those curtsies. Putting your feet just so and bobbing like a cork when a simple salute could get to the heart of the matter with more dignity...! And different ones depending on who she was speaking to? Her already dark skin deepened further with a flush, a combination of embarrasment at her lack of ability...and inner laughter at how silly this was.

[Elgee]

A slight frown threatened to crease her forehead as Larindhra watched Kembial attempting to curtsy. The child was obviously not used to wearing skirts, or shoes, nor did she have the vaguest idea how to address people. “You should address me as Aes Sedai or Larindhra Sedai, child,” she somewhat absentmindedly instructed Kembial as she studied the girl and corrected her curtsies. She would have to hand Kembial over to a mentor as soon as possible, before the girl could get herself into a heap of trouble through sheer ignorance, but who?

 

Still pondering the question, she beckoned for Kembial to follow her to the novice quarters. The obvious choice would be one of the handful of Atha'an Miere Sisters in the Tower, but that lot kept so much to themselves, the chances were that it would isolate Kembial even more. No – better it be someone who knew all the customs and rituals from the inside, yet who also had the patience and understanding to impart them to a shy and retiring girl. In fact, someone with the wisdom and empathy to help bring the girl out of her shell. Decision made, Larindhra nodded to herself, then turned her attention to explaining as many of the rules and regulations for novices as she could squeeze in before reaching the room she had brought Kembial to.

 

“I hope you paid attention to the route here, Kembial. I will ask some of your fellow novices to show you where everything is, but if you need any help, you will most likely find me in my office. I am going to assign Jaydena Sedai as your mentor – please listen very carefully to her, and follow her instructions.” She patted Kembial on the shoulder encouragingly, then set off to find Jaydena to request her assistance in the matter.

 

 

Larindhra Reyne

Mistress of Novices

 

[Hadassah]

"Yes, Larindhra Sedai," Kembial responded promptly, and fell in behind her as they moved through the high-arched hallways.

 

The Mistress of Novices was no doubt telling her important things, but Kembial found it difficult to concentrate on both her words and where she was going. Light! It's like a maze! An overly decorated one, but still a maze, the girl thought as she gazed about, so used to leagues of nothing but sea and sky. How was she ever going to learn her way through this? The art and decorations pretty much blended one into the other as far as the Atha'an Miere was concerned. However, she followed the older woman gamely, plucking at her skirt as she went, as it tended to whip around her legs uncomfortably.

 

In no time they were at the novice quarters, and the girl peered inside her room. She smiled in relief at the nicely attired, but simple room. She could handle that, yes. If she'd been surrounded by fine tapestries, paintings, and glass, she would have twitched to death in a week. "You said Jaydena Sedai?" she asked, and curtsied, a little better this time. Maybe she was getting the hang of it - a hint of the storied Sea Folk grace raised its head in her movements. "I will remember."

 

With that, she sighed, and turned to her room, wondering what the rest of the day would bring.

[Jaydena]

Jaydena panted as she ran around the woods inside the Warders Yard, this was what happened when you ate one to many honeycakes at tea, she thought. She was working out the same as normal but the pounds just didn't seem to stay off like they had when she wasn't tipping the age bracket at 200. Running carefully she considered adding another mile to her run and then decided against it. She had to many things to do these days, which was probably why she wasn't exercising as she should. With a smile she headed over to the yard and began practicing her sword forms, moving her body in a pattern that her body understood well, she had been doing this since she was an Accepted and that was more years than most of the gaidin had been alive and most of their parents and their grandparents had been alive. She chuckled at the thought and then put the practice lathe she had been using back in the barrel. There were papers waiting on her desk and plans to make for her Ajah. The warders yard really was lovely to look at this time of year and she would have loved to check out the possibilities for gaidin but she needed to go take a bath and get ready for her day ahead. Walking quickly out of the yard, she jogged down the path and took a quick glance around before entering the secret entrance to the Green Quarters. The steps were old and worn from the many feet that had graced them and she couldn't help but think about the ancient sisters that had walked these steps and considered the same things as her. How to make sure that all her ajah members were safe, how to deal with the shadow, and how to keep the Dark One from ruling the land.

 

At the top of the stairs she pushed a button that led her into the back of her own ajah quarters, that of the ajah head. She hadn't wanted to move to them until she had learned from Sirayn of the many secret benefits of being the Ajah Head and it hadn't been that hard to redecorate this suite of rooms and move her things over. That is what Novices and Accepted are for, she thought. The corner of her mouth lifted up as she walked back towards the rooms she occupied. She didn't miss the days of Novices or Accepted to be sure, but sometimes she could live with the duties of being a Sister. Sighing softly she headed back to her bathroom and ran a bath, filling the tub with bath salts she had made herself and some different herbs. She slide her long legs into the bath tub and began to prepare for the day. When she was clean and sweet smelling she stepped from the bath and dryed her body off, she began to dry her hair with a towel and then wrapped it into a towel on her head. She slipped her undergarments on and then pulled a mint green dress with embroidered swirls of a dark green on over them. Just as she was getting ready to remove the towel from her head a knock came at her door. She embraced the source and dried it using a quick weave, she would have liked to have dried it with the towel, as there was something soothing about it, but she didn't have time. Green slippers lay on the ground and she slid her feet into them before walking to the door.

 

Jade opened the door and tilted her head to view the woman standing in her doorway. "Larindhra, how nice to see you. Is there something I can assist you with or did you just come for a cup of tea?" The woman smiled in her usual manner and then spoke, "Jaydena, I have assigned you a new mentee, can you take another one on?" Considering it for a moment she nodded and followed Larindhra out the door. She set the wards around her room and they headed down towards the Novice quarters, she parted ways with the other sister near her office, the Mistress of Novices letting her know what room to go to before she left. Jade reached the room quickly and tapped on the door with a smile on her face. When the girl answered, she was momentarily taken back. She hadn't expected a Seafolk girl and Larindhra hadn't mentioned it. This girl was far more powerful than any Seafolk they had had in the past and it shocked her for a moment. She stepped into the room and smiled at the girl. "Hello there my child, my name is Jaydena Sedai, what is your name?"

 

Jaydena Mckanthur

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