Eureka! [Bowl of the Winds--Part One]

[claireducky]

Claire fought the urge to pant as she climbed the spiraling steps towards the Amyrlin's quarters.  The exertion paired with carrying the awkward bulkiness of the large book in her arms was putting her in a sour mood.

 

You can refuse to acknowledge the heat all you want but that doesn't change how flaming HOT it is!  I am getting too bloody old for this nonsense.

 

For all that Claire had requested this meeting with Shevara, these stairs alone were making her regret the decision.  At least she could be assured of a place to sit when she got there.  Red Amyrlin or not, Shevara did not seem the kind to make Claire stand to deliver her report.

 

She rounded the last flight of stairs and the ornately carved doors of the Amyrlin's quarters came into view.  Claire took a moment to catch her breath at the landing; she tried to straighten her bun, but it was a futile effort.  Little wisps of greying dark blonde hair escaped her grasp as always. 

 

She pinned the bun back in place with a silver hair pin worked in leaves and let her senses drift towards the chambers ahead of her.  She only felt one female channeler, so Shevara was not with her Keeper or another Aes Sedai, at least.  That was good; this message needed secrecy.

 

Claire shifted the book awkwardly to her left arm and knocked upon the aged wood, then took a step back to wait.  The Amyrlin hurried for no one.

 

 

Claire al'Windischan

Brown Sister

 

 

[Muirenn]

"Come!" Shevara called absently, continuing with the orders she was penning.  She could get up, but then she would likely lose her stream of thought and have to begin over agian.  She was starting to rely on Raslyn too much, she thought ruefully, when she couldn't be bothered even to answer the door properly.  This business of being Amyrlin was bloody inconvenient at times.  Burn Larindhra for forcing her into this mess!  And now she had to be uncertain of even that old friend.  Plots within schemes.  It seemed like her whole world was a tangle of plots within schemes.

 

Looking up, she saw Claire, and felt some of that stress ease.  The elderly Brown was one of the three women that she was certain she could trust.  And she, at least, had a good head on her shoulders.  Shevara gave a genuine smile and waved Claire toward one of the chairs on the opposite side of her desk.  She signed her name with a flourish and pushed the single sheet of parchment aside.  The sealing could be done later.  Swirling the goose quill in an already muddied jar of water, she looked at Claire expectantly.

 

"Well?  What brings you here, daughter?"

[claireducky]

Claire heard the faint "Come!" from through the heavy doors, and she channeled Air to swing them open on their iron hinges.

 

Shevara was sitting at her writing desk, bent over a parchment with a quill.  Claire shut the doors behind her and moved to stand in front of the desk.  The Amyrlin finally looked up, and seeing who it was, she smiled.  Claire couldn't help but smile back, for she truly liked this Amyrlin.

 

Light knows how many I've seen come and go...too many, in truth.  This one has metal hidden beneath the silk, though.  Hopefully it will keep her alive.

 

She bent the knee as much as her old joints would allow, then sat in the chair Shevara had indicated.  After a moment to get settled, the Amyrlin asked, "Well?  What brings you here, daughter?"

 

Claire cleared her throat and shifted the heavy tome on her lap.  "Well, Mother...as you know, the weather has been unnaturally hot as of late.  The sisters who have a Talent with such things say that they feel as if the wrath of winter should have been here months ago, yet this heat wave persists."

 

Shevara nodded impatiently; she knew this already.  Claire moved on to the heart of the matter.

 

"Well, as the Clouddancers have had no luck abating the heat, something tickled my memory about a ter'angreal that was used for just that. It took some hours to find the reference I was looking for; and in fact it was Selene that found the record I needed.  I tell you, she is a born Brown, and it will be my duty to make sure she sees that..." 

 

Claire cut off abruptly as she realized she was off the subject.  "Hrm, well, yes.  Anyway, this record references a ter'angreal that was used to control the weather over regional areas."

 

She leaned forward and set the book upon the writing desk, opening it to the correct page for Shevara.  "Here.  It was supposedly used by the Sea Folk to control the weather in regions of the sea and on land around Tremalking.  It must require channeling, for I cannot see such a powerful object being left in the hands of non-channelers. As you can see in the illustration, it is a large and shallow bowl, almost a span across.  Made of the clearest crystal, it bears patterns of waves and clouds upon it.  The records are confused as to if the images are carved on the bowl or otherwise manifsted."

 

Claire turned to another page and pointed at an entry there. "It shows here that the Bowl was in the inventory of the Tower's objects of power as recently as 400 years ago.  After that, it drops completely out of the records, with no further mention of it anywhere.  I've personally tore the storerooms apart, even the one in the deepest basement where the most dangerous ter'angreal are kept.  It is not here.  Now, perhaps you think this is all a waste of my time...if it's not here, it's not here.  But one thing that made me wonder is that the sister last recorded to have checked out the bowl for study is Tristen Durien.  She was a Green who researched ter'angreal for potential uses in battle.  At around the same time as the bowl disappeared, Tristen was working with a ter'angreal when she was suddenly struck unconscious.  When they found her, she was alive, but severed from the Source.  She had no memory of the incident or which item she was studying, and most researchers since then have been terrified to go anywhere near the ter'angreal that were in her rooms at the time."

 

Claire didn't mention that she was not among those who avoided Tristen's ter'angreal, but she still shuddered, thinking of the chance she took every time she worked with them.  The Amyrlin was wearing a look of patient forbearance, and so Claire knew she needed to be concise. 

 

"You may wonder why I mention Tristen.  Well, when the Green was severed, she quietly disappeared, presumably back to her home town of Ebou Dar.  The bowl was also missing in the inventory that was taken right after she left.  I surmise that she took the bowl with her.  To what end, I do not know, but it is the best lead we have, and surely worth acting on."

 

Her voice took on a passion as she spoke, much as it used to when she served as a Sitter in the Hall and needed all her passion to persuade others.  "Mother, I request that you send an embassy to Ebou Dar in search of this ter'angreal.  I feel we have ignored the Sea Folk for much too long, and if they had channelers enough to use this bowl long ago, why do we only see the occasional sister from them now?  I think it would be profitable to closely question one of our Atha'an Miere Grays.  There will be Sea Folk in Ebou Dar, and perhaps they can provide us with information about this bowl that we don't have.  If we can learn more about it, and locate it, perhaps it can be used to put the weather to rights."

 

Claire fell silent then, watching as the Amyrlin sat in thought about all she had said. She asked one question almost immediately. "Daughter, what is the name of this fabled ter'angreal?"

 

The Brown rose from her seat and went to the sideboard to prepare some tea.  "Why Mother, I forgot that I didn't even mention its name! How silly of me. It is called the Bowl of the Winds."

 

She returned to the desk with the tea, first serving the Amyrlin, and then herself.  She sat in silence, blowing softly on the dark liquid to cool it. She watched Shevara over the rim of her cup, and wondered what she would decide.

 

 

[Muirenn]

The Bowl of the Winds.  Shevara nodded curtly.  A simple enough name for a ter'angreal that could change the world.  It would be lovely to have the weather behaving again as it should.  Why, it was past the turning of the year and outside it still felt like summer's heat.  If this Bowl worked as expected, it would be a wonderous find indeed.  She tapped her finger on the illustration as she thought. 

 

"Yes, Claire, I believe you are correct.  An embassy is certainly warranted, and your suggestion of a Gray to lead it is a good one.  I believe Ziya would do well.  She is from Ebou Dar.  You bring up some good thoughts on the Sea Folk as well.  I would very much like to know how it is that they created such a ter'angreal and if there are any unsuspected wilders among them.  The blood can grow quiet for a few generations when there is no one to ignite the spark.  And I don't have to remind you how secretive they are, especially with Aes Sedai."  She closed the book and pushed it aside as she plucked a fresh sheet of parchment from the stack at the corner of her desk. 

 

"I would have you take this missive to Ziya, and explain to her as you have to me about the Bowl and the Seafolk.  I want this kept as quiet as possible, no need to let the world know that the Aes Sedai are not certain of what it is we are looking for or its location.  I want her to take enough sisters to use the Bowl, if found, but I want them chosen to blend in.  Young sisters without the ageless look, or those who hail from Ebou Dar.  If there is a sister from the Atha'an Miere that can be sent, all the better."  She blotted the letter quickly and sealed it with the Flame of Tar Valon.

 

"And Claire," she said as she handed the sheet over, "Do be careful when you work with the ter'angreal storerooms, I cannot afford to lose you."

 

-Shevara Edosian

The Amyrlin Seat

[claireducky]

The Amyrlin tapped her finger upon the book in thought.  Claire tried not to wince; she knew the inks used in this ancient text were fragile and might smudge, but one did not chastise the Amyrlin Seat.  Finally, Shevara looked up and announced her decision.

 

"Yes, Claire, I believe you are correct.  An embassy is certainly warranted, and your suggestion of a Gray to lead it is a good one.  I believe Ziya would do well.  She is from Ebou Dar.  You bring up some good thoughts on the Sea Folk as well.  I would very much like to know how it is that they created such a ter'angreal and if there are any unsuspected wilders among them.  The blood can grow quiet for a few generations when there is no one to ignite the spark.  And I don't have to remind you how secretive they are, especially with Aes Sedai."

 

Ziya...yes, she would serve for this.  She will want to run straight to the queen though.  I'd best talk to Viviane and see if I can get her on this embassy.  She will see the right of things.

 

Shevara had begun to write on a parchment, quickly and concisely.  Claire noted with approval the clear hand the orders were written in.  The Amyrlin talked as she wrote. "I would have you take this missive to Ziya, and explain to her as you have to me about the Bowl and the Seafolk.  I want this kept as quiet as possible, no need to let the world know that the Aes Sedai are not certain of what it is we are looking for or its location.  I want her to take enough sisters to use the Bowl, if found, but I want them chosen to blend in.  Young sisters without the ageless look, or those who hail from Ebou Dar.  If there is a sister from the Atha'an Miere that can be sent, all the better." 

 

Claire nodded in agreement.  Sisters that would blend in would be best for this.  She thought there was a young gray Sea Folk sister as well...she would have to ask Ziya.

 

Shevara held out the parchment to Claire.  She held onto it a moment when Claire reached for it, forcing Claire to pause and look at her in surprise.  "And Claire," she said as she handed the sheet over, "Do be careful when you work with the ter'angreal storerooms, I cannot afford to lose you."

 

Well.  That was the truth, she supposed.  With all the danger from the darker elements in the Tower, you couldn't be too careful in who you could trust.  Currently, Claire could only trust Shevara and Maegan, as much as it rankled to have to listen to that Red in anything.

 

"I will be as careful as I can, Mother...in all things.  I sincerely hope you do the same."  Claire said sincerely and quietly.  The positive knowledge that the Tower was NOT in the hands of a Darkfriend was worth more than gold to her.

 

She took her leave of the Amyrlin, collecting the tome and heading back down the flights of stairs.  It would be a long trek across the Tower to the Gray quarters, but she knew she could not waste a minute.

 

Claire

 

OOC:I will start a new thread for Ziya and I as an optional RP if she wishes, as it is not a necessary part of the plot.  Phase Two will begin shortly!