A Chance Encounter {attn. Mystica}

[Asfaloth]

  The White Tower in Tar Valon stood as a beacon of light and hope to the world.  Ogier-built, its walls were white as its name, gleaming even brighter when the sun's rays caught them.  It was a massive and imposing structure, yet graceful and beautiful as well.  Truly, one of the most impressive displays of architecture the Ogier had left their mark upon.  Surrounding the Tower were walls and battlements, where stood the proud and elite Tower Guard, their red cloaks flapping in the breeze.

  Of course, the Tower was not the only structure contained within those massive walls.  Next to the Tower was a coolection of smaller structures and a large square collectively known as the Warders Yard.  This was where men and women from all corners of the world came to train with the hopes of proving themselves worthy of joining the illustrious Guard, or even being bonded as a Warder to one of the Aes Sedai who called the Tower home.

  As the first rays of dawn stretched across the horizon the Yard was already filling with Guards, Warders, and trainees.  Some were heading to an early breakfast but most were starting their day with a workout before making their way to the mess hall.  At the furthest end of the Yard from the Tower itself were two buildings, built there to keep their sounds and smells as far from the Tower's esteemed inhabitants as possible and still be within the walls.

  The stable was one of the largest anywhere, housing horses for the denizens of both Yard and Tower as well as wagons and beasts of burden.  Next to the stable was the armory, containing an arsenal whose size and variety would be near impossible to beat.  At the back of the armory was the smithy where three master smiths, six Journeymen, and over a dozen apprentices built and repaired the armor and weapons used by Guard and Warder alike.  Built into the side of the smithy facing the stable was a small storage room that now housed one of those three mast smiths, a man who also wore the red cloak when not working in the forge.

  But the man was not in his room.  No, to find him one would have to follow the path between the two buildings into the woods where it meandered around to the other side of the Tower and became part of the famous Ogier garden.  In the center of that garden was a lake, and the only thing disturbing the peaceful surface of its waters at this early hour was the Tower Guard and Master Smith Anwashawn Ellasser as he went through his morning exercises.

  His weapons and most of his clothes were left on shore, freeing him to swim lap after lap in just a pair of tight black breeches.  His belt containing his katana and wakizashi hung from a tree branch, near the shore and easily accesible should he need them in a hurry.  Below that branch was a stump holding a neatly folded pile of red cloak, bright blue vest and the armbands he wore around each bicep containing a handful of knives each, and the dagger he kept tucked into his belt.

  Shawn was at the far end of the lake and turning back to finish his last lap when he noticed a woman approach his pile of clothes and arms.  He could not tell who it was from that distance but guessed it not to be a Novice or Accepted as they were easy to spot from their white or banded dresses.  He guessed it to be an Aes Sedai and thanked the Light he had finished his workout before her arrival or likely wouldn't have been given the chance to complete it.

  Completing his lap he climbed onto the shore and looked to see which Aes Sedai would be out wondering in the woods at this time of morning.

[Mystica]

She pased her room back and forth, pondering over the note she just received from one of her eyes and ears in Andor. The room felt like it was closing her in, despite the open window. As Head of the Brown Ajah her rooms were grander than those of the other sisters and yet, she never really felt as good inside as she did wandering around the country side. A good walk, that's what she needed. Snatching her cloak from the peg on the wall, she stepped outside the room, weaving the ward against entering without thinking and set off at a brisk walk. The hallways were silent this time of morning, just as she liked it. She was not in the mood to stumble into bobbing novices and scurrying accepted. Something about that note just rattled at her. People could be so unnecessaringly mean! Not at all like animals. Animals were brutal sometimes, but never mean.

 

Carina al'Tara, First Chair of the Browns, strode down the halls of the White Tower with an air of regal distance. Servants that went about their morning routines lept out of her way, sensing the sister's urgency. Her dark blue eyes seeing, filing away all that they registered but not letting it travel to her mind which was occupied with that note. She wasn't very tall, only 5'6. Her face, ageless as all sisters who worked with the One Power for several years, was oval shaped. She wasn't beautiful, if you disregarded what she was. Not in the way some other sisters were that had the men look over their shoulder to get a second look. Though she was not plain either. People, men and women alike, would look again but for another reason than just for her being a beautiful woman. Carina had a mystery about her that made people take notice. No, she was not beautiful, though those that spent any length of time with her would swear she was. She had a way of putting people at ease, just by being there. Odd that, for an Aes Sedai. And yet, she also instilled an almost instant feel of respect in people, though she never understood how she managed that. To her mind she was just who she was. Nothing extraordinary. Not like some other sisters, most notably Mother. Her hair was still pitch black, without a streak of grey in it. That too was unusual for one her age. For usually around the mark of 200 at least some grey would start to show itself. Some of the sisters teased her about that, saying she was too young still, but she just smiled at them. It never made sense to her that people would put greater weight to the words of one with grey hair than one with black. What counted was the knowledge that supported the words, not the years of the woman speaking them. Of course, those years were important. For nothing gives experience, insight and understanding as much as life itself. But still.

 

During her pondering her feet had taken her outside, around the Warder's Yard and into the forrest surrounding the back of the White Tower. She suddenly heard a splashing sound. 'Who in the Light would be swimming at this time of day?' She wondered. Her curiosity got the better of her and she walked in the direction of the sound, towards the lake in the middle of the forrest. A young man was swimming laps in the lake, his cloths and gear neatly arrayed on the lake shore. 'One of the Tower Guard, no doubt.' She thought as she moved to inspect the clothing and gear. The young man now swam towards her and rose from the water. For a moment she understood the Greens a little better. Again. This had happened to her a few times in her life, though it always faded again soon enough. Just because you liked a painting didn't mean you wanted to become a painter. The man walked up to her with hair glistening in the morning light. She knew this man. Anwasham Ellasser, one of the Tower Guards that was also a Master Smith. Rare and odd combination that. One that Carina found quite amusing. Skill with practicality. Amused she may be at it, but also appreciative.

 

A thought occurred to her. She couldn't leave that poor fellow to his faith in Andor. Not without at least trying to help him. And maybe she might actually learn something of this strange fenomena in the process. She looked at Anwashawn, her face unreadable. 'Yes,' she thought. 'He would do nicely. I've seen his skill with the blade in the practice yard. He'll do.'

 

"Good morning, Anwashawn" She said, as the man drew to a halt before her.

[Asfaloth]

  Shawn looked up to meet the eyes of the Aes Sedai who'd found him and immediately bowed to show respect even as she greeted him.  He Wracked his brain to remember her name, knowing that they had met before.  He had seen her a few times over the weeks since his return and had even talked to her on occasion.  He remembered her to be of the Brown Ajah, but what was her name?  It would not do to display his ignorance when they had already met and she had taken the time and thought to remember his name.  In but a second, though it seemed as several minutes to him, his mind grabbed hold of a name that he prayed to the Light was correct.

  "And a good morning to you too, Carina Sedai."  He hoped his breathlessness from his workout would cover his delay in speaking and continued on in a bit of a rush.  "What brings you out here at this time of morning?  Better yet, how may I be of assistance to you?"

[Mystica]

  He sounded out of breath. That exercise must have been quite extensive. Still, she was pleased to see he remembered her name. That boded well. His voice was strong and though it showed respect, it held none of the awelike deference some of the Guard showed a sister. That was good too. She grew exceedingly tired with that type of reaction to her wearing the shawl. Yes, yes, the dignity of a sister must be upheld, but there were limits to how deep a person should abase themselves. Sometimes it was needed to push them down, but that should not be the general way of things. They were all the Creator's children, after all. She allowed a small smile to cross her face as she answered the young man's question.

  "I had need of a good walk and I find the forrest to be my favorit of all the Tower grounds." She hesitated then, wondering how he would respond to her next reply. "I will be leaving the Tower soon to travel to Northeast Andor and I have need of a companion that knows his way with the sword. Over the last couple of weeks I have seen you practice and you are quite skilled. Would you be willing to accompany me?"

[Asfaloth]

  Well, that as unexpected.  His morning had started just as any other, but now an opportunity had presented itself that could potentially alter his plans for some time yet to come.  He had been serving as a Tower Guard for three years now and had faithfully served as a guardian for the Aes Sedai who resided in the Tower.  But this would be his first opportunity to serve as a guardian and escort to one traveling outside the Tower grounds.  And who knew, perhaps if he served well it might lead to becoming a Warder.  Back when he thought he was going to marry Dene he had given up his dream of becoming a Warder to thoughts of settling down and raising a family; one could do that as a Guard.  But that dream was still alive inside him and this mission with Carina Sedai would be a wonderful chance to prove himself.  Not that he expected, or even particularly desired, to be bonded to Carina, after all he barely knew her, and besides it was rumored that she was one of the oldest of the Sisters and they tended not to seek out new Warders after reaching a certain age.  But, if she thought him worthy she might recommend him to one of the newly raised Aes Sedai that were in the Yards actively seeking a Warder.

  "I humbly thank you for the compliments Aes Sedai, I do work hard and while I do not do it to be recognized it is nice to feel it is appreciated.  I would be most willing to accompany you on your journey.  May I ask when you plan to leave and how long we might be gone.  I would like to make the preparations myself so I can be assured that all is ready and we do not lack on our journey."

[Mystica]

 "I would like to be on our way by late afternoon, Anwashawn. I fear if we delay any longer we may arrive too late. Our mission is to go rescue a boy from a mob of angry villagers." She hesitated then. How much would she tell him? He did not strike her as the gossiping type, but who really could tell with men? Her Fredrik had been a pillar of strength, with more sense in him than most men and had surprised her in keeping the secrets she did not wish revealed, even under great distress. Dead now for over a hundred years, yet she still felt the pang of his loss. Dulled by time, but always a part of her. She regarded the young men in front of her. Deciding to wait and see what kind of a man he was during their journey, she resolved to tell him the bare necessities. For now.

 "We need to travel light, so only bring what's absolutely necessary. I require neither comfort nore luxury on my journeys and we must travel with great speed. If you do not yet possess a horse that is well trained and fast, talk to the stablemaster and one will be provided to you." She turned towards the forrest but then halted and half turned back.

 "Oh and Anwashawn, I would appreciate it if you could drop the Sedai and bowing as much as possible. It is a necessity that I accept but do not particularly like all that much. So long as you remember I am in charge you do not need to prove this knowledge to me at every turn. The Light knows the Pattern gives us enough challenges without us adding to them with these types of foolishness. I will meet you at the stables before Fourth" She gave him one of her rare smiles and walked into the Forrest, towards the Tower. There was quite a bit she had to see to before they left as well.

[Asfaloth]

OOC: I'm assuming Fourth is equal to about 4:00 but I really don't know.  If it is not I can always edit this later, but I'll write it under that assumption.

 

IC:  Well, it was as he'd expected.  This day would turn out very different from others, and lead to a wonderful break in the monotony of his days for some time.  He gathered his things and walked back to the Yards, mind racing with preparations that were to be made.  The first thing to do would be to speak to the Commander.  He took a different route back to the Yards, heading toward the Commander's office instead of his room.  As he walked he slipped his vest on and loosely tied the strings to hold it in place.  Exiting the forest, he belted on his swords, their familiar weight settling comfortably upon his hips.  He slipped the dagger into the back of his belt as passed the mess hall and entered the officers' wing of the barracks.  By the time he reached the Commander's door he had strapped his knives back into place on his biceps, finally freeing his hands.

  He knocked on the door, praying that the Commander was already awake.  After a minute he tried again.  After the third attempt he decided the Commander must be at breakfast.  Still needing to eat himself, he headed there to find him.  The Commander had always been a very approachable officer, more so even than some of his underlings.  So when Shawn saw him sitting at a table with plenty of open seats nearby he got his own food and sat across from him.  Of course, as a Tower Guard, he needed no permission if a Sister requested an escort, but he did feel it best to inform those in command of his departure.

  After his breakfast he went to the smithy.  This early in the morning no one was there but a few of the apprentices building up the fires and sweeping the floors.  Shawn sat down and spent the next hour or so sharpening and polishing his swords and knives.  He would be prepared for anything.  He spent the rest of the morning finishing up some projects he'd been working on at the forge that really shouldn't wait, then got washed up and went to lunch.

  The afternoon was spent gathering supplies and packing them for the journey.  He packed twice as many spare throwing knives as the number he wore, unsure how many of those he used he would be able to retrieve.  He assumed that Carina would only think to pack clothes and books, though he hoped from her talk of loving the forest that she would know to pack more.  But, in case she was relying on him to pack her camp supplies, he found a small tent she could use and packed it with his stuff.  Preferring to have nothing interfere with his awareness of his surroundings, he himself would sleep in a hammock or on the ground if there were no trees.

  Once everything was packed, including extra clothes and a nondescript green cloak to replace his uniform red if she wanted to hide who they were, he prepared himself for the journey.  He wanted to make the best impression possible on Carina Sedai.  He wet his head from a basin of water and shaved his head smooth, removing the stubble from the past two days since he shaved it last.  He also trimmed his goatee to a nice uniform length and washed his body free of the dirt and grime of the forge.  His black pants were tailored to fit well yet provide plenty of give for movement through the forms, and his blue vest fit tightly to his chest even when only loosely tied.  His cloak was secured loosely over his shoulders.

  Weapons secured in the usual positions he grabbed his composite bow, two quivers of arrows, and his packed saddlebags and headed to the stables.  Leaving his things outside Blaze's stall he first went to the kitchen and grabbed a couple bags of travel rations in case hunting and foraging went poorly.  Solidly black except for a blaze of white on his nose that gave him his name, Blaze was a magnificent beast, bred for both speed and endurance.  After grooming and saddling Blaze and loading the bags, he slid his unstrung bow through the girth strap and secured the quivers of arrows on hooks on each side made for that purpose.

  Seeing that he was early yet he asked the stable boys which horse belonged to Carina Sedai and groomed and saddled it as well.  He led the two horses out of the stable and waited for her to arrive.

 

OOC: Guessing that she has a horse of her own but I can change that to a Tower-owned horse if needed.  I'll let you decide what the horse looks like though :)

[Mystica]

 Carina gave a few last instructions to her Sitters, well two of them since she was the third, who would be running the Ajah in her absence and then bidded the woman goodbye. They would take care of things. She went into her bedroom, already dressed into her travelling outfit. Her divided skirts were of a greenish brown with a top in the same color, making the whole look like a dress when she walked. Her cloak was of the same material and she knew that in the woods she would blend in nicely with her surroundings should she need to. A bag held several changes of shifts and two other outfits. One gown for the unlikely event they would need to attend some noble and a spare travelling outfit in case her current one got destroyed beyond repair for some reason. Travelling in rags back to Tar Valon once was enough in any woman's life, no matter how long ago that happened. She checked her purses as well. There wasn't much that could not be bought along the way if needed, so she made sure she had enough to cover for any eventuality. It had taken some time to get used to the shere amounts of coins she received each year and she never was one to squander much, so she had a rather large savings with one of the money handlers in Tar Valon. There were also several letters of bills in the pocket on the inside of her top which could be traded against quite a substantial amount of whatever coins in any of the larger cities.

 Anwashawn would undoubtedly be preparing for all the practical stuff. She had learned it would be his first journey escorting an Aes Sedai and, as a rule, the men always overdid it when they set out on that first trip. Not wanting to lose face or appear inadequate. Yes, he'd probably have things like extra tents and whatnots all bundled up in sacks and bags. Carina chuckled slightly. It had been too long since she had a travelling companion. She was looking forward to sharing her experience again. The boy would learn and she had no intention of robbing him of his enthusiasm. She hoped secretely he may never lose it, though knew life had a way of toughening people up in ways they usually did not expect. Yes, he'd learn. But hopefully he wouldn't lose his joy of life in the process.

 She had a light meal in her rooms and then spent the remaining time studying the notes she had found on this strange thing though there weren't many. The Reds had once tried to gentle such a man, but there wasn't anything to gentle it seems. Carina shook her head at the foolishness of the Red sisters. Honestly, those women would try to gentle a fish if it were male.

 When the time came to be off, she summoned one of the servants to carry her bag and made her way to the stables. Sorei would be happy to be out again, it had been a while since they had gone riding and the stallion didn't like much being cooped up in the stables too long, no matter how many times the stable boys let him out on the pastures on the Tower grounds. There really was no comparing to going full speed in the openness of a field that stretched to the horizon, or zigzagging through a forrest. Carina had named him Sorei, which meant Runner in the Old Language, for obvious reasons. The dark brown stallion was not tall, but there was a regality about him that none could miss. People called him hers but she knew better. Sorei had chosen to be with her and Carina had accepted. Theirs was a relationship of mutual friendship and understanding. An understanding she lacked with other humans most of the time.

 As she arrived at the stables, sure enough there was Anwashawn, awaiting her arrival and Sorei already ready and saddled. The servant handed her bag to the stable boy, who immediately attached it to the stallion's back and Carina couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight of the bags handing from both sides from the black beauty the Guard was apparently to ride. She approved of the horse, though. It was a very fine animal and would serve him well. Sorei nuzzled her hand as she approached and slightly bent his elegantly arched neck.

 "let us be off" she said and before Anwashawn or the groom could offer her help to mount, her leg swung over the stallion's back and she was leading it out the stableyard at a slow walk.

 

 

OOC: yes, I figured it would be something like fourth or so. lol No idea really, but I noticed they don't really measure time the same as we do (if im not mistaken). There was some mention about some bells ringing at different times at the Tower, for breakfast, tea, classes, etc. So figured couldn't hurt. lol

 

[Asfaloth]

Continued on South Boards: Searcbing and Journeying