Glade of Remembrance, and new beginnings

[TaiDashan]

D'Ashan walked quietly and thoughtfully to the Glade. He had come a long way in the last two years. He wasn't sure what meant more to him, Being accepted into the Tower Guard or the lifestyle he had lived to be worthy of it. Saline Sedai was helping him finish up his lessons on reading now less frequently, and he had earned honest coin for everything he had since leaving home. He had faced Shadowspawn and the wrath of Aes Sedai. Learned what it was to be strong whilst retaining humanity. He had been instructed to come unarmed and for once the absence of his blades felt right. He made his way silently through the trees, his sharp eyes studying the path ahead. He entered the Glade of Remembrance almost reverently. It was aptly named and the more so for him.

 

As he entered the small, dim clearing he focused on the beam of light that bathed the stone slab and those waiting around it in a soft, diffuse glow. Motes floated through the beam of light, silent as those around the stone, His steps muffled to silence as he approached, his face schooled to stillness. The words he was to speak rang through his head over and over. He stopped for a moment just outside the light. In contrast the remaining portion of the Glade was surprisingly dim. Stepping into the light he knelt humbly at the stone slab, noting Saline in the dimness. So, she had come. He had hoped she would.

 

"I come here unarmed, offering to give myself to the defense of those who serve all." He said. He was proud of the steadiness of his voice.

 

"Who would speak for you?" Thera Intoned.

 

"I would speak for him, he is fit." Edana said. Briefly D'Ashan wondered if she had agreed to stand witness for him as recompense for the comment made not long ago. She had repeatedly attempted to buy him a drink and obviously felt bad about it. The thought faded however as the Ceremony continued.

 

"Who would trust you?" Thera intoned.

 

"I would trust him." Cetaile's voice steady and firm brought a touch of a smile to his lips.

 

"Who would accept you?"

 

"I would." Came Edana's reply.

 

"Who would witness your oath whose word is beyond question?" those words bore heavy portent, none of which was lost on D'Ashan and he felt the weight of them as Cetaile Sedai answered.

 

"I will."

 

"Do you understand that once pledged you are forever bound to a rule of defense? Defense of all Aes Sedai, the defense of the White Tower?" Thera asked.

 

D'Ashan did not hesitate. "Yes."

 

"Do you understand that once pledged you are forever bound to a rule of obedience? Obedience to your officers, obedience to all Aes Sedai"

 

Once again his answer was immediate. "Yes."

 

"Do you understand that once pledged you are forever bound to a rule of commitment? Commitment to serving faithfully, commitment despite any adversity?"

 

"Yes." He imbuded the word with as much conviction as he dared. This was what he had devoted his life to.

 

"Then give your oath now." Thera answered.

 

D'Ashan took a deep breath and had to fight the sudden tears and constricting throat that unexpectedly gave him pause. He had worked so hard, changed so much. He took a calming breath and spoke the words.

 

"I swear by the light and my hope of salvation and rebirth, as a Tower Guard to defend the White Tower and all who call it home. I swear by the light and my hope of salvation and rebirth, as a Tower Guard to serve faithfully for as long as the White Tower requires me. I swear by the light and my hope of salvation and rebirth, as a Tower Guard to fight the shadow and uphold the light until my dying day." Those words would ring in his heart over and over, in times of duress and trial. The truth of them brought tears unbidden to his eyes and for a moment he would have been unable to speak even had he wanted to.

 

"We welcome you to the Tower Guard, you that were known once as D'Ashan Vybran of Arafell." Thera's voice rang out as Cetaile stepped forward and gently placed the crimson cloak of the Tower Guard around his shoulders, fixing it in place gently with her rough hands.

 

"We welcome you as D'Ashan Vybran of the Tower Guard, our brother in arms. Rise and stand as one among many." She continued. D'Ashan rose and Edana moved to meet him. Handing him a long dagger she smiled at him. He did not know about this portion of the ceremony.

 

"You came to us unarmed, and as our mark of trust we place this steel in your hand. May you keep it as a symbol of the trust that has been placed in you, and may it serve you well." Thera stepped close and smiled before going solemn again. "Spare a moment for those who have come before you and to who you have become, as shall those who follow you."

 

They all filed out of the glade leaving him to himself, alone in the silence. Gently he sat at the base of the stone slab, turning the blade over and over in his hand. He was still a little in awe of what had occurred this day, prepare for it how he had. He was now a tower guard and maybe someday a Gaidin. Oh, he was only 20 namedays old, not nearly enough to expect an Aes Sedai would want his inexperience. But some day…

 

Rising to his feet, he slid the blade behind his belt and made his way slowly to the edge of the Glade. Turning to look one last time at the light illuminated stone, he murmured a prayer for all that might go after him.

 

[U4ea]

Edana adjusted the belt around her hips, cinching it up another notch with a sigh. She'd lost so much in the Blight, but she hadn't considered this. She shook her head at herself and moved out of her room. Silly thing to complain about, she supposed. She was back, whole and safe. If she was not the same woman that left, that was expected. Right?

 

She curled her hands around the dagger she'd been given yesterday to take to this ceremony. Her own dagger was firmly stationed on her right hip. She couldn't stop the memories of that day or the uncertainty she'd felt finding herself in that Glade, either. She hadn't returned since then and it felt odd to do so now.

 

She smiled as she moved through the trees, wondering if D'Ashan would glare when she stepped forth to bestow this on him. She hadn't had a chance to catch him since the day he'd joined into the skirmish between Belig and Vanion. She'd been shipped out not long after. She shook her head. She still owed him that drink and an apology. It wasn't his fault she'd been in a right temper, at the time.

 

She took her place in the ceremony, answering, "I will," when Thera asked who would accept him. She didn't lie, either. She'd seen him here and there since she'd been back and she had no problem placing her acceptance with him. She hoped he could hold on to his smile longer than she had.

 

As the ceremony neared it's conclusion, she stepped forward, holding the dagger in both hands and offering it to him as Thera explained its purpose. She smiled at the expression in his eyes, glad that someone had prepared him... but not too well. Some surprises are nice ones, after all. Once she found out which room he'd chosen, she'd leave an invitation pinned to his door. She nodded as she backed back in place and then moved back into the trees towards the barracks. Today was starting out to be a good one!

 

~Edana

*grins* CONGRATS! :D

[minisamus]

Why are you afraid?

Because my hands are unsteady

and my mind is ill. I can't change . . .

I don't know how.

Just as well. A moment of happiness isn't meaning.

It feels shallow to me. But I don't know any other way

The Way

 

The room she and Rory shared was on the fifth floor, which was pleasantly sunny by day and filled with smells of pines during the evening. Saline could usually be found listening to birdsongs on the balcony overlooking the woods, but to-day she stepped into the glades, a place she had avoided since Nerome's raising. Closing her eyes she could still see Rosheen with her mohawk and 'Rome's proud brothers gathered together, long ago. Her losses weren't limited to Rory alone.

 

"D'Ashan?"

 

Saline asked anyway. She knew the trainee won't be here until later, she just wanted some time alone to think, get re-acquainted. Her eyes opened only to confirm her loneliness, taking in only the trees and moss-covered boulders. How did the old riddle go? Much of what one saw wasn't there, and there was much one did not see. Saline could never figure that out.

 

Speaking of, what under the Light was she doing here? Everybody she knew had gone, why was she here? Clutching to the past was such a petty thing to do. All it did was to bring misery to her and those around who tried to help. Saline knew it, but she continued on the same path. What a fool you are, Saline Wastrel. Why couldn't she give Rory up? If only she could let everything go. She could stop pretending there was hope . . .

 

But how long would she continue on this way? She mused on this conviction for a while until the birdsongs broken off suddenly.

 

Sensing another channeler nearby she saw Cetaile Sedai approaching and jumped behind a large pillar. Thera Gaidar, the Guard Edana who had upset D'Ashan sometime back, and Cetaile Sedai probably realised she was there, but they give no indication. Saline stepped forward from the dim recesses of the glade at one point so D'Ashan would see she was there, and she fancied there was an extra bounce to his prideful steps as he continued through the ceremony intoning his growing ties to the Tower.

 

Picking up her feet Saline followed the quartet with a prayer on her lips to ward evil from everybody she cared for.