Shanara blinked her eyes open slowly to torchlight and the patter of feet. An angry-looking young woman in a rather ornate shift stepped over her. Shanara held still until the other girl bent to check on the bloody woman, and then sprang noislessly to her feet. She did not deal well with blood, but she could at least see if there was anything that needed doing. her cheeks burned with embarrasment as she remembered fainting, of all things... what a ridiculous thing to do. She quietly and smoothly slid up behind the other girl, who gracelessly attempted to snatch at saidar as Shanara cast an elementary weave of healing at the bloody woman, whose shallower cuts immediately stopped spurting. She cast it again and it helped the woman a tiny bit more, than slunk back to the back of the crowd, hopefully before anyone caught a glimpse of her face. She only knew the weave because she had watched some of the sisters in the Infirmary, and she did really want to be Blue. Yellow, however, would not be so bad... she would decide when it was time to and no sooner.

"It's got a very small-town mentality- the whole country is basically the city and some outlying villages, because nobody can live in the Drowned Lands, which are just one big nasty swamp... my father is one of the Royal Blacksmiths, who are commissioned by the First, and I was apprenticed to him for a while... I've been to a lot of places but never really settled down. What's Arafel like?" Shanara gasped out, leaning over the pit to salt some of the birds closest to the flames.

"Well, a sister of the Yellow Ajah might be able to do that with her herbs... I'm sure that the Sisters who man the Infirmary here can. There'll probably be one by in a few minutes to check on everything... it was really good to meet you Disendra! Hope you have good luck here at the Tower," Shanara grinned.

"Unfortunately, my studies await... I have some music theory that needs doing and some studying to do for my class on herblore. I hope I'll see you around sometime soon!"

As she exited the Infirmary, Shanara couldn't help but wonder. It really sounded like Disendra, nice as she was, was hiding something. Oh well, Shanara consoled herself, nearly back at her quarters. I'm sure I'll learn of whatever it is eventually... after all there are things that I hide as well.

"Well... it's sort of long, but I started out apprenticed to my father, a blacksmith in Mayene. I left there and began to travel a little over a year and six months ago. I came across an old man trying to defend himself against all odds, and out of some stupid... actually, I don't know why I did it- I jumped on the back of one of the men who were fighting the man, and, er, sort of knocked him out... and then I threw a brick at one of the other ones and it just sort of spiraled down from there... but the last person the old guy... dispatched... stabbed him, and he gave me his sword with his last breath," she paused for a second.

"It sounds very dramatic... and silly, I know, but that's not all. I found out why those men had been attacking the old guy- the sword was heron marked. I had no idea how to use it and almost every day someone would try to steal it. After a while, a really mean one with unfortunately sexy muscles decided to try to hang me. An Aes Sedai was passing through... I owe her my life, of course, but then she tested me and I passed," Shanara said.

"And so I came here. To the Land of Chores and White Dresses. What about you?"

"She's... I've seen her around a few times... she's had some really bad stuff happen to her... her name's Elizabeth. If it were up to me I'd tell you to stay away from her- she does not appear to enjoy being around too many people- and I don't know which way she'd react to you. However, I could be completely wrong and have read her wrong- I'm really not sure. She's a bit of a mystery- we-all are pretty sure she's a Novice, but she lives hre, in the Infirmary," Shanara finished, holding the other woman in a level gaze.

"She truly does not seem to be one who associates easily... give her some time to warm up to you before you start trying to be friendly," she said.

"So... where are you from?" asked Shanara, trying to make small talk.

When Kelleen responded, she replied, "I'm a Mayener by birth, but I've traveled all over," smiling.

Shanara wandered into the Infirmary; she had not even realized where her feet had been taking her, she was so tired.

A new Novice stood imperiously in the centre of the floor, glaring at anything and everything, including the mouse-like Novice Elizabeth, as Shanara had found out the crazy girl was called.

She felt only pity for the poor thing, especially after having heard the girl's story from another Novice that morning.

"Hello there, I'm Shanara... what's your name?" she asked the new girl, smiling in what she hoped was a cheerful and inviting manner.

OOC: Feel free to burn poor Shan... hehe

Shanara had gone down the hall for a drink of water when she heard a shriek from the other end.

"NOOOO! NO! NO! Edwyn! SATY AWAY FROM ME!!!!! NOO! No-one can have me! Not the witches! NOT THE WITCHESSSSS!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Shanara dashed back to her quarters, grabbed the sword from its peg in her wardrobe and rushed back, without a thought as to calling the Tower Guards or Aes Sedai or even an Accepted or the other Novices. A woman with long dark-ish hair that covered most of her from view laid sprawled next to the wall at the other end of the corridor. She ran all the way down and skidded to a stop. The woman was weeping, naked and covered in blood. Blood was everywhere. It looked like when her mother had died...

The woman began to weep even harder.

Shanara tried to push the memory away but only suceeded in intensifying her revulsion; she collapsed to her knees, shivering, about thirty feet away from the bleeding, terrified woman-- no, girl. This was a girl, barely older than she. Her head spun and her vision started to fade; with a little moan of "Oh no... not again..." she toppled over and was unconscious, clutching her sword to her chest as if trying to defend herself.

The Head Cook called Shanara over from where she was chopping tomatoes.

"You do be the roast girl, yes?" asked the Cook, a scowl firmly implanted on her ruddy face.

At Shanara's slightly confused nod of assent, the Head Cook went on.

"We will be serving roast chicken to the esteemed guests of the Amyrlin and the Hall, so be on about it, girl! Spice them and spit them and get another Novice or two to help you turn them all; I din't understand why yeh're the only Novice capable of doin' roastin' prop'rly! Run 'long now," said the woman, thrusting a large, squashy bundle wrapped in butcher paper into Shanara's arms.

Shanara, who was definitely averse to raw meat, gagged, but took the bundle anyway and set off to the area she'd dubbed "the Roast Room," a large depression in the centre of the kitchen where the fires to, well, roast the roasts on were built. She knelt, laying out a large piece of clean butcher paper and an assortment of spices on the nearby preparation table. She busily plucked and gutted and tied and rinsed; roughly three hours later she cleared away the innards and washed her hands at the pump in the corner. She then slid the chickens onto the spits, spiced them, set the ends of the spits in the iron rings on either side of the roasting pit, and lit the kindling she had gathered earlier. A cool breeze wafted in through the opening above the roast pit as the smoke began to circle through it.

She waved a couple of nearby Novices over who didn't appear to be doing anything.

"Hey! Would you mind terribly helping me to turn these?"

At their grudging assent, she handed them fire mitts and set about turning her own spit just slowly enough, not too fast. The Head Cook, who had popped over for a minute with a mixing bowl full of dough, smiled in approval.

"Good girls, keep up the good work and we'll make cooking Aes Sedai out of ye yet!" the Cook said, a large smile gracing her features.

OOC: It's up to you who the esteemed guests are...

Shanara stopped dead in front of her door. There was a bit of parchment sticking out from under it! She unfolded it and grinned.

Seeing as I need to go to the library anyway, this should be fun, she thought.

When she reached the designeatd table, there were already a few girls there. She smiled at them and handed her note to Aithne, who smiled and nodded back.

Shanara then went and grabbed a few books off the shelves at random and joined the little group.

OOC: I hope you don't mind that Shan decided to show up too!

"You can always talk to the Mistress of Novice and of course, I am availble as well. Do you have any questions so far?" Aramina asked.

"Will I be able to keep this?" Sharar asked, holding up her battered sword.

"Also, how long do girls stay Novices? Do we do stuf other than chores? And... um... I think that's it, really," Shanara concluded.

Shanara sighed, suddenly feeling like the wieght of the world had settled on her shoulders.

"Um... excuse me, uh... Faerzyne Sedai? What happens now? I read a little about novices... do I have o start right away on those chores or do I get to, um, you know, sleep first?" she asked, not quite sure how to word the question.

She smiled slighlty to the Mistress of Novice as the young girl followed her in. "I found this one wandering around looking for you." She said in a clear voice. "She was already tested by another Aes Sedai before coming to Tar Valon."

Shanara gulped. She stepped forward into the office, back ramrod straight, hands curled loosely at her sides.

Shanara dismounted from the horse she'd been allowed to use in front of the Gates of the White Tower.

She looked upwards in awe. Surveying what she could from the bottom of the Steps, she was more and more dumbstruck every minute. How in the world did anyone manage to build something that tall? Of course, she'd seen Whitebridge, in Andor, but the width of that simply didn't compare to... the sheer height of this monstrosity of a bone needle. A sudden tap on her shoulder brought Shan out of her reverie. Smoothing her navy divided skirts anxiously, she turned to face an elaborately coiffed Aes Sedai wearing a low-cut, forest colored, full-skirted dress (as was the latest fashion in Tar Valon). The woman had coolly blue eyes and an elaborate coif; Shanara doubted she could replicate it if she tried. She'd never seen that many curls fitted onto a person's head before. The Aes Sedai bore a quirky smile and the Flame of Tar Valon on a grren-fringed shawl.

"Are you Shanara Al'Kaoud?" she asked briskly.

"Yes, uh, Aes Sedai," Shanara replied.

The letters contained vital information on a plot concerning deposing the current Queen of Andor and setting up her second cousin in her place. Shanara didn't want anything to do with Daes Dae'mar (if that's how you spell it) so she was glad to have the packet taken off her hands.

That settle it for ya?