Healing the Masses

[Kathleen]

Seheria  picked absentmindedly at strings hanging loose in her dress as she stared into the flames rising and falling in the small fireplace in her rooms in the Yellow ajah. She could feel the cabin fever setting in around her. It seemed as the walls of the room that should have been her sanctuary were closing in on her. Though this room had never truly given her much comfort, save for the first night she slept in it when she was truly accepted as a sister of the Yellow Ajah. But that was years ago now, and she couldn't remember the last time she truly felt thrilled to hold that title. The more she saw the world for what it was, the more her horizons opened up to her, the less she connected with this pitiful tower and the feuding ajahs within.

 

"My place was never within these walls." she told herself. It was a hard truth to accept and saying it now shocked her more than she thought it would. She had always seen herself rising through the tower. She dreamed of the day she would be named the Amrilyn Seat, but she had always believed that should fall short of that she would never fall short of making Sitter at the very least. But that position had come and gone, and her ajah made it clear that she was not going to achieve that. She worked her fingers to the bones to prove she deserved that and she had failed to win the coveted role. 

 

But in losing out on that opportunity she had found something so much more, something so much better. She had found her true calling in life and it had opened a whole world to her which gave me so much more opportunity to reach an even higher potential that even the Amyrlin could ever hope to have.

 

"Burn me, but I've got to get out of this place! I've spent far too long cooped up here away from all I set up."

 

She was pulled out of her thoughts at the sound of a knock coming to her door. She rose and gathered herself as she made her way to the door. The accepted on the other side looked nervous as she handed the Yellow a letter which had just arrived. Seheria didn't bother with pleasantries as she took the note and closed the door without a word. 

 

Returning to her chair in front of her fire Seheria opened the letter, hoping it would be her ticket out of the Tower.

 

Seheria Sedai

Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah

[Kathleen]

Desandra sat in recieving room in her personal quarters as she did every day at this time, in case one of her sisters needed to speak with the Head of the Ajah. It wasn't often that she was disturbed, but she felt it a great responcibility to be there just the same. She took this time to catch up with her own affairs, give some time for her harp or to practice her stitching. 

 

She was sitting today with her needle and thread when Seheria Sedai came through her door. She had heard a knock and hadn't had time to call out the invitation to enter when the yellow sister bustled through, waving a letter before her. 

 

"I have had news from an old acquaintance, and it demands immediate attention." the woman started, with no pause for a welcome or any question of if she had time.

 

Desandre fought off a glare at the other woman, but she her set jaw and let a deep frown show through her aes sedai mask. She was the head of the ajah and she should receive much more respect than this, but Seheria had said it was in need of immediate attention, perhaps she had reason to forgo the pleasantries.

 

"I'll take a look at the letter then, immediately" Desandra reached a hand out to accept the letter, cutting off the other woman before she could retell the whole story. It was the letter that needed attention; it would be the letter that got it. She would not let this other woman walk all over her. She was the Head now and whether the other's accepted Camiqwen's appointment of Desandre or not did not matter. The last Head had made her Head before she went, and as far it mattered to anyone, that made it law. This woman clearly accepted it, else she wouldn't be in here showing her the letter.

 

Seheria stopped short at the Head's words, not trying to hide her grunt of displeasure at having been cut off in that way. She scowled for a moment, but reigned it in within a blink. Des was head after all and Seherai needed to win this mission. She handed over the letter as told, but continued to talk as Desendra read it. "As I said, an old aquantance has contacted me. She informed me that her village is in a dire situation, over run with an illness she cannot seem to cure. She has asked for my immediate responce in hopes that there is something I can do to help the people of her village. I am willing to ride out immediately, take stock of the situation to see what the trouble is and do something about it."

 

Des read the letter through and though there were more details to be found within, she had no reason to hold this woman back from going. She just wished it hadn't been brought to her so. She had a mind to thank her sister for the notice and send a team of other Yellows in this rude one's place, but she didn't have reason to go to the trouble of bothering other sisters, and the woman who sent the letter was clearly expecting to see Seheria. I'm too new to the Head to be burning bridges, even if I'm not the one setting the fire. she told herself.

 

She folded the paper back along the marks it already had and set it on her table as she addressed the sister before her, "You may go, but do take care. If this illness is contagious -- well, I'm sure you'll take every precaution. Send a message back when you get there, and an initial thought on the problem. Should you find it far spreading, or if you could do with a few more sisters to quicken the healing process send word and we will come. In fact, if you would like, I'm sure I could arrange to send a small party with you now so you have more hands available to do what needs to be done when you arrive?".

 

The conversation continued, with points given to send people along with her for her travels, but ultimately Seheria won out the discussion and it was agreed she would travel alone. She could move faster if she didn't have others to wait for, and there was no need to disrupt the lives of her sisters when there was a good chance she could handle the girl's so called 'outbreak' on her own, and as the head said if she needed back up she could send for it.

 

Just as quickly as the woman had burst into Desendra's room she had bustled back out of it again as soon as the agreement was made. The Yellow head sighed and leaned back in her chair. So far she had not had much in the way of finding the perks of being Head, but at least she had yet to truly feel the squeeze of the downsides to them. This every day business was settling in as normal. As she lifted the letter to add it to the pile of others she had gathered she smiled. There was one perk to being head, she always knew where the rest of her ajah was and she always knew what they were up to. 

 

 

Desandre Sedai

Head of the Yellow Ajah

[Kathleen]

Seheria left the Head's rooms and strode confidently back to her own rooms. She walked with purpose and intent. Any one who saw her would know she was doing something important. 

 

In her rooms she found her traveling bags and began going through the familliar motions of packing. She was looking forward to getting out of this place. It had long since stopped feeling like home and she could only be herself alone, and out there. A smiled cracked her Aes Sedai mask as she finished her packing and took one last look around her rooms. So many years she had lived to return to these rooms, and now it was bittersweet to stand in them. 

 

She was a good yellow. And she would show them all just who they had passed over. She would solve this outbreak alone and come home the hero, just as she had on the last mission they sent her on. Never mind that she had a bigger role in starting that last mission, and thus an unfair advantage in figuring out its end. This would be different in that she had no clue as to what was effecting the town, but this time she would really get to show them her worth! 

 

She closed her door as she left, turning back as she reached for the sweet embrace of the one power to set her locks and wards. Just because she didn't want to be there didn't mean she wanted anyone else to be there. Especially now that she had something to hide. It was that thought that made her think twice about leaving.

 

I've informed Desendra, but should I inform the others? I can't share too much with them, and do I really wish to risk it all letting them know I've gone? She puzzled it out as she made her way through the Yellow halls, concluding that she was going on Yellow Ajah business and since she would be keeping in contact with the Tower and returning shortly, there wasn't any need to inform anyone else. If they really wanted to know they could ask after her in the Yellow halls, surely she'd be the talk of the Ajah.

 

With that decided, all that was left was to pack a day's ride of food from the kitchen and have her horse readied for the ride. It wasn't long before she was mounted and ready to leave.

 

Seheria Mori

Sister of the Yellow Ajah