Choices

[Muirenn]

Shevara ran her hand across the brightly woven band that draped around her neck again and again.  She could not quite direct her hand to be still.  Every time she made the effort, it creeped back up again.  Amyrlin Seat.  She could hardly believe it.  Could not believe it.  She had been summoned, three Aes Sedai in their fringed shawls coming to find her in her rooms.  After she had excused herself, she had expected only a short few minutes before being summoned back.  Instead it had been several hours.

 

As surprised as she was when she was led to the Hall of the Tower, she was even more shocked when most of the Hall stood for her.  For her!  A merchant girl from Malkier!  But as her hand ran across the width of that striped stole again and again, she knew it was true.  There would be no more excursions for her to chase after rumor.  No more long afternoons spent in the company of a man who had lost his will to live even another day.   

 

There had been a few holdouts, of course.  That was only natural considering what the Tower had just gone through.  One Amyrlin stilled, another dead in battle, a third disappeared, and now a fourth killed in a fall from her horse.  All in only a few short years.   

 

She remembered what had come next, when those few remained sitting.  Hastily, one of those who had pledged for her handed over a basin of water and a soft cloth.  She had been instructed to wash the feet of the Sitters, all the Sitters, and to ask humbly to be allowed to serve.  Knowing the alternative if she could not convince them, she knelt and began with one of the Red Sitters. 

 

It had taken well over an hour, and her knees were aching by the time she finished the last foot.  With a whispered, "Please allow me to serve," she stood slowly, brushing back a lock of sweat-soaked hair.  It was all up to them now.  There would be no more suggestions, no more hints.  They would stand, or not.

 

They stood.

 

The Reds stood first, the youngest nearly bounding to her feet.  Shevara smiled softly at her enthusiasm.  And why not?  If this actually happened she would be the first Red Amyrlin since Bonwhin—certainly a noble goal, and quite a reputation to live up to.  Or live down.  Slowly, the other Sitters followed suit.  Only a few at first, two Greens, a Brown, all the Grays, and surprisingly, a Yellow.  Then, one by one, the others stood.  A lone Blue was the last.  Eyeing Shevara sternly, the woman stood.

 

It was done, Shevara Edosian would be the Amyrlin Seat.

 

And now the reason she was now alone in this office, a scant few minutes after being raised to the Seat.  The Hall wanted to foist a Keeper on her from the Blue.  The Blue!  As though she wouldn't have enough problems facing her.  But for them to think that a Red and a Blue would be able to have such a close working relationship as that of Amyrlin and Keeper?  It was laughable.  Even if she could commit to such a thing, the chances of finding a Blue who was willing, and suitable, were slim to none.  Definitely none.  No wonder that lone Blue had stood for her.  Eager, perhaps?

 

Her fingers trailed back and forth across that stole.  Back and forth.

 

She put her hand down firmly onto the oak paneled desk.  Her desk.  She was the Amyrlin Seat, and she would choose her own Keeper.  No doubt the Hall would not like that decision, but obviously none of them had the support necessary to be Amyrlin or she would not have been summoned in the first place.  The last Amyrlin had chosen a Keeper of a different Ajah than her own, had chosen a Green to her Gray.  And it had been disaster.  As had the choice of a Gray for a Green Amyrlin!  The Amyrlin previous to that had chosen a Keeper of her own Ajah, and that partnership had lasted until the death of both.  That seemed to indicate that the choice of a Keeper from her own Ajah would be best.  But Kathana had many Keepers, of many Ajahs.  And her rule had been long.  Who could say what would be best?  She needed advice.

 

If she had a Keeper of her own, she would have known who to ask for that advice.  As it was, that was exactly the crux of the problem.  She needed someone she could trust implicitly, someone she knew would give her an honest answer, without thought to personal gain.  None from the Hall, clearly.  Their goal and hers were not the same.  Hopefully, that would soon change.  But not yet.  Now she had to deal with the problem at hand.  She smiled slightly and pulled a crow quill from a jar and unstoppered the ink pot.  In quick, sharp script she wrote out a summons, her first as Amyrlin.  She stood slowly, and went out into the Hall.  As she had not yet been announced publicly as Amyrlin, pending the decision on a Keeper, there was a knot of Sitters standing outside the door.  Presumably waiting on her decision.

 

Shevara held out the folded parchment, sealed with the hard white wax seal of the Flame of Tar Valon.  "Deliver this to Raslyn Sedai, of the Red Ajah, please."

 

The woman in her Yellow fringed shawl looked indignant at being asked to carry messages, but as the Hall was the reason for all this fuss, there really was no alternative.  She went.

 

Shevara returned to her office and settled herself behind the desk to wait, her hand creeping up again to run fingertips over the seven striped stole.  Back and forth.

 

-Shevara Edosian

The Watcher of the Seals

The Flame of Tar Valon

The Amyrlin Seat

[Kara_J]

Raslyn returned to the peace of her rooms after the meeting in the Hall had finished. She closed the door quietly behind her and sank gratefully into her favourite chair with a deep sigh of relief. It was done!

 

Shevara, her former mentor no less, was now the Amyrlin Seat, the Flame of Tar Valon, Watcher of the Seals. When Larindhra and Viviana had approached her with the suggestion of Shevara for the position of the Amyrlin Seat, it had not taken Raslyn long to realise that Shevara would be the perfect candidate. It had taken months of preparation and subtle suggestions all behind her former mentor's back, but that was necessary, Raslyn had recognised that need from the first instance.

 

Getting up again she went over to her tea tray and Channelled to heat herself a pot of tea, pouring herself a cup before returning to her seat and to her thoughts on the previous few hours. She had really thought that the last Blue was going to be the one that scuppered all their carefully laid plans. Mind you, Lestinia had always been a stubborn woman, slow to make up her mind, but still...I thought that my heart would stop if she hadn't had stood up when she did. Raslyn mused wryly Maybe it would be best if I dropped a word in Shevara's ear about her...Light! Not Shevara any more, I'll have to get used to calling her Mother.

 

Raslyn's musings were interrupted by a sharp rap on her door. A Yellow entered on her call and stiffly handed over a note with a curt "From the Amyrlin Seat". Accepting the note with a smooth face and a polite nod of thanks, Raslyn waited for the Yellow to leave, both amused and irritated at the Yellow sister's bristling attitude, before breaking the seal and reading the contents.

 

In short order she had straightened her hair, smoothed her dress and was on the way to the Amyrlin's office. Her face was kept as smooth as all her years of Aes Sedai could muster, but her mind was working furiously. Has Shev...Mother...figured out what my Sisters and I have done? Pushing that thought firmly to the back of her mind she entered the Keeper's office, walked past a knot of Sitters and knocked on the Amyrlin's door. As she waited for a response from within she wondered idly who Mother would choose as her Keeper.

[Muirenn]

Shevara let her hand drop and a warm smile came across her face when Raslyn entered.  The woman looked nervous for some reason.  Well, no matter, likely it was just nerves on being summoned to see the Amyrlin.  Light knew that was never easy.  Her lips quirked slightly at the thought that at least she would never again be on the receiving end of one of those summons.

 

She stood and walked around to the front of her desk. "Raslyn, daughter, I am glad to see you.  I am in need of your most excellent mind."  Truly, the woman was a wonder.  She felt lucky to have secured her for the Red Ajah when she could have fit in quite easily with the White or the Brown given her intellect.  She motioned to a pair of chairs that sat in front of the Amyrlin's desk, clearly meant to be used by petitioner's.  She took one and waited as Raslyn took the other.

 

"I apologize for not having anything to offer as refreshment," she began, "But there has simply been no time.  I'm sure you are aware of the situation the Hall is trying to place me in?"  Of course Raslyn would know, being a Sitter herself.  It was impolite at best to speak so plainly, but she had been Amyrlin only a few hours, and Raslyn had been a Sitter of her own Ajah only yesterday.  It was a risk worth taking.  Her lips firmed as she continued, "A Keeper from the Blue.  You must see how impossible that is.  Anyone I chose would be only a puppet of the Hall, and could not be trusted with the usual duties of the Keeper.  I don't know how the Hall came up with my name, but if they want me as Amyrlin, I will be Amyrlin, Raslyn."  She sat back, and smiled again, "So, put that mind of yours to good use.  What say you as to this situation?"

 

-Shevara Edosian

The Watcher of the Seals

The Flame of Tar Valon

The Amyrlin Seat

[Kara_J]

Raslyn curtsied as Shevara greeted her and took the offered seat, waving away the apology for the lack of refreshments and listening intently to Shevara's view on the Halls request for a Keeper from the Blue Ajah. She smiled and nodded as Shevara asked her what she thought. Well we have certainly made the right choice if Shevara has picked up on that already. Thank the Light that she hasn't pressed on how the Hall came up with her name though!

 

"Your assessment of the situation is quite correct, Mother. A Blue, at least in their eyes, would be a way of keeping tabs on you and your decisions, but then anyone the Hall suggests, regardless of Ajah, would be the same. Your best choice, for you personally, would be to choose someone who you could trust implicitly, although that would mean that you start off your tenure as Amyrlin at odds with the Hall." Raslyn paused to muse a little, her sharp analytical mind searching for the best solution all around.

 

"The best choice all round would be to choose someone from the Hall, someone that you have good relations with and trust. You need to be sure though that their loyalty to you will supersede their loyalty to the Hall, though of course anyone chosen from the Hall will be replaced. If they had good connections in the Hall though it may help you with decisions and votes in the future." She paused again, considering how to word her next sentence. "You should choose someone with a good understanding of the political currents in the Tower and a good network. I don't wish to tell you who best to choose, though if you desire I could come up with a list of names that may be suitable?"

Raslyn Altearin

 

Slightly relieved that Mother hasn't figured it out

[Muirenn]

Shevara drummed her fingers against her knee in thought.  Oh yes, she had been right to call for Raslyn, the woman had seen to the heart of the matter straight off.  She had always been a very clever girl.  Shevara herself was not a woman of a political mind.  A holdover from her childhood in Malkier, she was sure.  With the Shadow at your doorstep you had little luxury for the games others played.  And a commoner much less so.  Her father had been a seed merchant and gardener.  He created beauty out out of bleakness, making the thousand gardens of Malkier bloom.  Well, his daughter knew how to make the best of a bad situation as well.

 

She nodded, "Good advice, Raslyn.  It cannot be a Blue, that much is certainly clear.  The Yellow and the White bear me small love, I think.  I have been in the Hall only a short few months myself.  Not long enough to make any enemies, that I am aware of, in any case.  But not long enough to form close alliances either."  She threw up her hands, "Light's truth, Raslyn, this political manuevering ill suits me!  I am a woman of straightforward passions, as you well know, and I will have a Keeper chosen today.  Your recommendation of a Keeper from among the Hall is a good one.  But who?"

 

She lapsed into silence once more, her fingers starting their litany again.  It couldn't be someone very much older than her.  Too much used to having precedence over her.  That would never do in a Keeper.  Nor so much younger that she would be walked on by the rest of the Hall.  A woman who could be a trusted advisor, and a companion when needed.  Shevara smiled as she realized who she was describing.  Of course.  "It will have to be you, Raslyn." 

 

Her smile widened at the woman's obvious surprise.  The choice made sense if the woman would take a moment to see it.  She just needed to stop thinking of her former protege as a new Aes Sedai that needed her protection and guidance, and realize that she had grown into quite the accomplished Sitter in her own right.  Shevara had been out of the Tower in such long stretches that she had not noticed when their relationship had shifted.  She already trusted Raslyn implicitly, that Shevara had called her first was proof of that.  She would make an excellent Keeper.

 

"Now, how to tell the rest of those schemers?" she nodded toward the door.  "Do I make a pretense of holding other interviews?  Surely a screaming match with a Blue Sitter will convince them, and make them glad in the choice," she shared a mischievous smile, "Do you think I could bait a White into shouts?  Likely not, she would only become indignant about my 'irrationality' and flounce out, I think."  She tilted her head as she imagined just such a scene, "That would be just as good, I think.  Well, either way, I will have you announced by sundown," Shevara nodded firmly, Raslyn's acceptance of the proposal a foregone conclusion.  There were some privileges to being Amyrlin, after all.

 

-Shevara Edosian

The Amyrlin Seat

[Kara_J]

Raslyn sat stunned, her head was in a whirl. Her usually quick, analytical and intelligent mind was completely thrown off centre. One moment she'd been contemplating suitable Keepers for her former mentor only to find herself placed firmly in the position with no option for refusal or room to wriggle out of it.

 

"I'm sure there are some people more suited to the job than I" she managed eventually, her voice sounding a little strained and her brain racing to think of someone, anyone, that may fit the criteria. I cannot be Keeper! I cannot! I'm too used to doing my own thing and going my own way. I'll have no time to continue the projects I've been working on, or have any opportunity to take up new ones, all my time will be spent manoeuvring between the political wrangles of the Hall and the Amyrlin Seat, not to mention fending off silly requests and demands from other Sisters!

 

She eyed Shevara and saw that her mind was set. Mind you..I suppose that's something, I know my former mentor well enough to know her mindset and moods most of the time, that'll make the job slightly easier. Raslyn mused thoughtfully. Aloud she sighed resignedly and said, "Very well, I'll accept the position." Adding a small smile at her words and the look on Shevara's face. They both knew full well that she had no option but to accept. Raslyn continued, "It may be wise to do as you suggest and interview a few of the other Ajahs though it may not be advisable to pick a fight with any of them. As a new Amyrlin you'll be walking a very fine line for a good while. In fact, my advice is that you interview one from each Ajah and maybe call a few back for a 'second interview' before announcing me...that is if you're still set on me as your Keeper. That way the Hall will see that you've at least tried to fall in with their wishes before going your own way. They may not buy into it completely, but at the very least it will be a token of your willingness to work with the Hall not against it."

 

She paused and stood, "Is there anything I can do for you in the mean time, before you announce the position filled?"