Can she read lips to some degree?

Most certainly. :)

Gimme a day (I have my yearly review to write, whee) and I'll be back in the swing.

Honestly, I'm just relieved my compromise offer was taken... heh. And Arches - brought to you by Interrupted Bathtime. Yes bathtime - that time you're SUPPOSED stay in the tub... NOT drip water across the carpets dashing to a computer to record thoughts and ideas before they escape. ><

LOL. I've done both that and yelled "Hubby, take notes" from the shower before.

Oh, that was a great end, Milandra.

Congratulations!

Thanks, Mystica!

...now I have Ideas for Fianna's oaths, and she's nowhere near 'em yet.

I'll have to get one or two vetted by the folks in charge, though. (makes notes)

Bennu Abravanel, Sister of the Brown Ajah

Focus of Study: Ter'angreal. Has the Know Ter'Angreal talent.

What Was: Biography

What Might Be: Her Arches

What Is: Her Oaths

One Power Scores

Air 6, Earth 4, Fire 4, Spirit 6, Water 6. Strength 26, Skill 36

I actually used that one on my husband, when I was GMing a game for him.

He was playing a slave that'd fought his way to freedom, and after a horde of adventures was facing his former wealthy slavemaster, with the rest of his party.

All the bodies beneath the dancefloor had (in the original version) been his former friends and acquaintances in the slavequarters. Right beneath the section of floor under the master's seat was the PC's lover, the slavemaster's daughter, who'd helped him flee.

The table was dead silent for a long moment after I described the scene. My husband ever just *looked* at me, hefted his dice, and said "You are an evil GM. I have taught you so well...I'm so PROUD of you."

I've kept that floor in mind ever since then, but the zombie apocalypse was a brand new addition, inspired by the Halloween event going on on my favorite MMO. Glad you liked it!

Three Oaths COMPLETE!

Accepted Quiz COMPLETE.

There was no need to knock at the door to summon Bennu the next morning, as she had remained awake through the night. After she'd eaten the hefty meal that'd been left for her, the remainder had been spent doing her own brand of meditation: cleaning. As she'd swept, dusted, and prepared her room for the next novice to walk its floors, the young woman had thought long and hard about the road ahead of her. She knew what she wanted to do, of course; she'd already been taking steps towards that goal. However, now she'd be able to do it uninterrupted.

A lifetime of study and learning about the world was now hers to arrange as she saw fit.

When the group arrived, the Amyrlin and Keeper were waiting ready for them. When the Amyrlin spoke the ceremony began and Bennu fell in with the response she knew by heart.

"Who comes here?" the Amyrlin asked.

“Accepted Bennu Abravanel,” she said, voice low but proud. The last time I give that title, she thought wistfully.

The Amyrlin continued. "For what reason do you come?"

"To swear the three oaths and thereby claim the shawl of an Aes Sedai."

"By what right do you claim this burden?"

"By right of having made the passage, submitting myself to the will of the White Tower."

"Then enter, if you dare, and bind yourself to the White Tower."

Bennu dared, striding into the chamber containing the Amyrlin, who was seated on a dais in the middle of the ter'angreal. Next to her, the Keeper stood bearing a a soft velvet pillow, upon which rested the Oath Rod.

As she approached, the Amyrlin took the rod from the pillow and held it out to the Tairen. Bennu took it with hands that trembled only slightly. Not from weakness; from anticipation.

Finally, she thought, feeling the delicate fluting of the rod in her grasp. This is the moment. The day I've sweated, cried, and bled for. Now the real work begins.

When Bennu had the oath rod in her grasp she took a steadying breath and began to speak the oaths, every word tying her tighter and tighter to the Tower. With every word, she felt the laws sink into her skin, tightening it.

"Under the Light and by my hope of salvation and rebirth, I vow that I will speak no word that is not true."

"Under the Light and by my hope of salvation and rebirth, I vow that I will make no weapon for one man to kill another."

"Under the Light and by my hope of salvation and rebirth, I vow that I will never use the One Power as a weapon except against Shadowspawn, or in the last extreme of defending my life, or that of my Warder, or another Sister."

The Amyrlin responded, "It is half done, and the White Tower graven on your bones. Rise now, Aes Sedai, and choose your Ajah - and all will be done that may be done under the Light."

Bennu bowed in submission to that formidable woman as the Oath Rod was taken from her and replaced on the pillow. She kissed her ring, then turned to face her sisters.

There was never any doubt which Ajah Bennu would choose as she rose and turned to face the semicircle of patiently waiting women. It had been her destined place for a lifetime and more.

Raising her head, Bennu confidently began her walk toward the sisters of the Brown, her smile growing larger and larger as she stepped across the room. She paid no mind to the representatives of the other Ajahs taking their leave. All she saw were her future sisters, and the shawl they held before them in greeting.

No book will ever be closed to me, now, she thought, tears forming as they draped the shawl around her shoulders. Yes. I'm finally home.

There's just one more to do, Bennu. Just one more.

Why that was so important, she didn't know. All she knew was she felt worse than something the cat dragged in. She was really beyond caring that blood was nigh impossible to get out of silk after it set.

Tairen court gowns were not proper garb for strolling anywhere; they were stiff, starchy, and the corseting ensured that the woman in it would prefer to stand around and look like a pretty living doll. Moving in the getup only served to aggravate the many injuries she'd received; particularly the deep cut along one hip and the throbbing scratches that went down her back. The high-heeled shoes didn't help matters either. But she'd found nothing else available in the room she'd discovered herself in, and Bennu certainly had no intention of wandering around naked and barefooted, blood streaming from a hundred cuts.

All she knew was that she had to weave one more time once she got to the start. Just a handful of useless sparks, and she'd be done. She couldn't remember why, but Bennu knew the star was somewhere this way. And so, she was walking.

Despite herself, she remained calm; it was rather important that she stay calm, although she had no idea why. And she must not run. She had to walk at a pace ordered and slow. Which was all one could do, in court garb. She could see the star, which glowed through the dimness high on a wall ahead of her.

Bennu's heels clicked against the floor she couldn't see; she had to simply keep moving and trust that the floor would be there on every step. She lifted her skirt slightly as she stepped out - and suddenly the sun burst through the windows high above her head giving her a clear view of the surroundings.

It was a Tairen dance floor. She'd been twirled by a lad or two around them once or twice before, although dancing was not one of her favorite pursuits. This one, however, was made of glass, which explained the odd ringing sound she heard as she moved. There was only one or two floors like this back in her homeland; relics of the Age of Legends, she'd read, when there was apparently a dance where the music was all made by the dancers' glass shoes. The end of the Age had warped them, it was said, so the sounds were offkilter, making the floors useless. This one, however, gave off a sweet chime as she made her way across.

But there was more to this floor that the burst of sunlight revealed.

Now, in her studies, the Accepted had come across quite a few swear words, imprecations, oaths, and maledictions, many long since gone out of use. NONE of those seemed appropriate for what she was seeing before her. What...under the Light....is this? she thought with horror, fighting to keep that serene mask in place. And fighting to keep walking.

Although her feet didn't stop, her heart certainly did for a moment. Beneath her feet, imbedded three to four inches under the glass, were the bodies of women. Hundreds of them. Some clothed in finery worthy of queens, others in stout woolens that farmers would nod approvingly at...some naked as the day they were born. Women she recognized. There, gazing endlessly at her bejeweled fan, was her mother. Another....light, was that Elin there? – frozen in the midsts of sleep, brow furrowed as if she was deep in thought. A novice she'd taught, her head thrown back and face stretched in a rictus of pain. Blessedly, her eyes were closed. A few feet ahead, another Accepted, looking as if she was about to run. The scenes continued as far as the eye could see, filling the whole space under the floor.

Perfect composure...perfect...composure-- Bennu dragged her gaze away from the scene beneath her and fixed it on the star now shining at the end of the hall. What is weave one hundred? she thought, using it as a distraction, trying to slow her racing heart.

Weave one hundred is -

There was a sharp crack just behind her, as if a branch had broken...followed by an unwelcome metallic jinglejingle...glass, scattered across the floor. The Accepted kept walking. She couldn't look back.

And then the floor erupted in front of her, and a hand rose. The jagged glass edges ripped away chunks of skin and flesh down to the bone along its arm as it reached for Bennu's ankle. The young woman carefully sidestepped it and kept walking, only to have another hand, nails painted pink, lunging for her heel. That one missed as well but sharp nails raked down the back of her thigh, leaving a trail of red. It wasn't a deep scratch, but it burned like fire.

More explosions of glass occurred to every side, and much to her horror, it wasn't just hands that were emerging now. Whole bodies were clambering up through the floor on all sides of her, the glass ripping them to shreds as they rose to give chase. Some were cut so badly they could barely crawl, but they made good time trying to catch up to her.

Resisting the instinct to sick up, Bennu desperately closed her mind off to what was occurring around her – until her feet touched the spot beneath that star. One hundred.

It'd been one of her favorite weaves, but the Tairen had no time for contemplation of it as she swiftly split her weave, cutting away the more determined members of the shambling horde now clutching at her skirts with razors of air and trying to incinerate others with Fire. All the while juggling that necessary weave.

Hold the weave, hold it, hold it, hold it....THERE.

She slapped the final strand of Spirit in place, a smattering of rainbow sparks erupted from her hands...and blissful silence reigned. Just like that, her assailants were gone, and she was surrounded by shattered glass.

A few moments later, she staggered forth, seeing another star painted on the servants' exit from the hall....

...and she found herself standing back in the room she'd begun in. In an eyeblink, it all came back. All the scenarios. All the pain.

All the blood. She'd never seen herself bleed so much, ever. But she wouldn't faint. No. She would not.

Valeri Sedai said firmly, “It is done. Let no one ever speak of what has passed here. It is for us to share in silence with she who experienced it. It is done.” She clapped her hands softly, but to the Accepted's aching head, it felt like harsh peals of thunder. “Bennu Abravanel, you will spend tonight in prayer and contemplation of the burdens you will take up on the morrow, when you don the shawl of an Aes Sedai. It is done.”

Bennu saw her hands lift one more time. Oh, Light, a third time? Could you not...

Before she could object, Valeri's hands came together, sending waves of pain through the Tairen's skull. For a brief moment, Bennu felt herself toppling over, but thankfully one of the Yellows caught her as she stumbled and gently offered Healing.

--

Just keep weaving, Bennu...just keep weaving... she chanted over and over in her mind as she wove the tangled snarl of all five powers. Just a few more strands. She spun in the Spirit and Air, followed by the Earth and Air combo. Now more Air...

The largish pool of acid that was currently turning the floor and the legs of the kitchen table she stood on into a foul-smelling mush was a great incentive to weave this insane and utterly useless bit of elemental work faster. The table rocked as one leg dissolved a tad quicker than the others; she backed up just an inch to balance out the table and kept going.

The Accepted managed to keep her face iron-calm and refused to look at what it did to the unfortunate housecat that'd wandered in to investigate. The yowls were horrible, though.

–

A brass band? Really? Really? she thought, scorn in her mental voice. Her headache grew with each fanfare that roared in her ears as she walked down a cobblestone path in the town, searching for the next star. It was Bel Tine, and the little town had pulled out all the stops, including a marching band that was currently playing an truly awful rendition of “The Wind That Shakes The Barley”.

She stepped on the stone carrying the star, and began to make the seventeenth weave. Even then they didn't stop, marching up to surround her on all sides.

Just as she began to double the braid of water back on itself and add spirit....That was when she had the unpleasant discovery that their horns were full of angry, hissing centipedes. With wings.

–

Weave thirty-seven. This star was harder to find in the pleasant garden she was wandering through; Bennu felt like she'd been searching forever until she found it inscribed on a lily pad in the middle of a small pool.

She hiked up her skirts and waded into the water, making her way over to the pad and channeling Fire to begin the weave.

It was just then that something leaped up and took a bite out of her elbow.

Oh, this is just grand.

She'd never studied fish. How was she to know that there was a freshwater version of silverpike?

--

Weave sixty-two. This one took her through the streets of some village she couldn't recognize. Her ability to channel was known to all and sundry, and the people had taken it upon themselves to cast her out. Rocks, rotten fruit, and some things she couldn't bear to identify were flung at her as she made her way towards the star gleaming softly next to the local well.

Perfect composure, Bennu. Perfect composure... the Accepted thought, shutting out the blows and screams. Weave sixty-two.

And then she saw the men coming towards her with barbed whips, clearly not happy that the outcast was nearing their only source of water for miles.

--

Weave eighty-six: what the....?!?!

Bennu's blush could have guided Sea Folk rakers into port as she carefully walked across the bordello, the thick air heavily scented with a mix of musk and sandalwood that made her giddier with every breath. All around her on daybeds lounged rather attractive young men; some naked, some so close to unclothed they might as well have been. The scandalously thin fabric of the Domani dress she'd found herself wearing was no defense against their lecherous gazes, and a few made gestures that she would have slapped them for, had she had the time or inclination.

This weave was a stretched braid of water, with a twisted skein of air and fire within; performed incorrectly, it would scald your hands.

The scalding would have been less red than the flush that flooded Bennu's face anew when one of the men started...dancing, just as she began to weave. If you could call it that. And then more joined in. Oh, Light save me...

Quiet amusement on her face, Bennu dipped her pen in her inkwell and jotted down another note on the paper she was reading. I'll have to have a talk with this girl, the Accepted thought, shaking her head at the utterly daft conclusions her student was drawing in her essay on diplomacy. I may not ever totally understand the Great Game myself, but surely --

There was a knock on the door. The Tairen blinked, setting her pen on the sponge before she rose to answer the door. “Come, please,” she called, her voice unsure. Who could it be this early in the morning? As an afterthought she channeled a tad more Fire into her light globes, so she could see better, before she opened the door.

I can only hope it's my student, so we can get the uncomfortable part of our talk over...oh.

It was Valeri Sedai, fist raised in mid-knock. Her shawl was spilling over her shoulders, the fringes swaying in the light breeze of the door's opening. For a long moment the two stared at each other before Bennu remembered her manners and curtsied.

“I'm sorry, Valeri Sedai,” she said. “It's so very early; how can I -?”

“Bennu Abravanel,” The Mistress of Novices said softly, “you are summoned to be tested for the shawl of an Aes Sedai. The Light keep you whole and see you safe.”

It was amazing how nauseous one small sentence could make a person.

-----

It's like it was just yesterday, Bennu thought as she trailed behind Valeri into the depths of the Tower once more. The raising to Accepted, that is.

Again, like before, she remained silent; it wasn't her place to speak at all until the trial was done. Light, even when she'd asked for a moment to douse her light globes and secure her writing utensils she'd gotten a very sharp glare – as much for daring to hesitate (which she hadn't been!) as well as speaking out of turn.

So, she just spent that silent time taking in the path through the Tower. Yet again, it was a section she'd never been to herself; after her time in the Accepted arches, she'd never even considered coming down here to poke around. The route for the most part was familiar from the last time she'd walked here behind the Mistress of Novices...and then it changed. Rather than the left turn at the rather ugly wall sconce she remembered vividly from her previous trip, the older woman now chose the right corridor this time. The path ended in a massive set of double doors.

The glow of saidar appeared around Valeri Sedai. She raised a hand as if to push the doors open, but the doors swung inward at her gesture without so much as a squeak.

The two stepped forward into a blaze of light and patiently waiting sisters, but Bennu saw nothing but the massive oval ter'angreal sitting in the center of the room. Rather, it floated amidst the ring of Aes Sedai around it, reflecting the lamplight like a large prism.

Valeri Sedai raised her head high. “Attend,” she called in a voice as clear as crystal, and as if on strings, a sister from each Ajah walked over to encircle the two. Their faces were all schooled to complete serenity.

After a beat, Valeri spoke the words Bennu had been hearing in her sleep for what seemed like years.

“You come in ignorance, Bennu Abravanel. How would you depart?”

“In knowledge of myself,” Bennu responded, a breath later.

“For what reason have you been summoned here?”

“To be tried.” Just speaking the words was almost meditative. She could feel her heartbeat slowing from the triphammer it'd been going at earlier. Finally, the day was here.

“For what reason should you be tried?”

“So that I may learn whether I am worthy.” I am worthy. I know this. I have to be.

“For what would you be found worthy?”

Bennu's voice brooked no objections. “To wear the shawl.”

Nerveless fingers went to the buttons on her dress. Like her Arches so long ago, this trial was done completely Lightclad. Calm. Must keep calm. Serenity is my only defense, here.

As she disrobed in complete silence, eyes narrowed in utmost concentration, Valeri Sedai continued.

“Therefore I will instruct you. You will see this sign upon the ground.” The Aes Sedai wove, and a six-pointed star flickered into being in front of Bennu's eyes.

She sensed another sister embracing saidar, and then felt the weave brushing across the back of her skull. Bennu was startled, but refused to even blink. I wonder what that was? she thought. Did someone weave in error? Clearly, it wasn't part of the ritual, else they would have been taught about that. A quick glance around the room showed that no one was troubled by what had just happened, so clearly it wasn't about to throw a wrench in things. Or if it did, none were speaking up.

“Remember what must be remembered,” the sister said, softly.

“When you see that sign,” The Mistress of Novices went on, “you will go to it immediately, at a steady pace, neither hurrying nor hanging back, and only then may you embrace the Power. The weaving required must begin immediately, and you may not leave that sign until it is completed.”

“Remember what must be remembered,” the sister intoned, again. Unfortunately, Bennu couldn't turn around to see just who that was. That would probably break ritual...

“When the weave is complete, “ Valeri Sedai said, “you will see that sign again, marking the way you must go, again at a steady pace, without hesitation.”

“Remember what must be remembered.” The sister's voice was like an annoying fly; the Accepted wanted to brush it away. I am trying to remember what Valeri is saying, you don't have to remind me!

“One hundred times will you weave, in the order you have been given and in perfect composure.”

“Remember what must be remembered.” Little more than a whisper. Bennu felt the weave – whatever it was – settle into her bones. Strange that she couldn't determine what it was, though...

The third recital of that phrase, it appeared, was a dismissal; suddenly the circle of sisters broke up , moving in a businesslike way to surround the ter'angreal once more. As if they practiced this drill every day, they knelt as one and embraced saidar.

With the Mistress of Novices at her side, Bennu watched in fascination as the group wove one of the most complex weaves she'd ever seen. The weave channeled through the ter'angreal and it reacted, throwing a pattern of color that dazzled the eyes. The Accepted wasn't sure how the sisters sitting so near weren't blinded, as they had to stare directly at the thing to get it done. The complexity ensured that not a head turned in her direction, though.

That's actually not a bad thing, she thought as she continued disrobing, dress puddling on the floor as she stepped out of it. Even if we are all women here, the stares during the Arches were rather uncomfortable. The Accepted picked up her dress, folded it neatly, then added her stockings and undergarments to the pile. The very last thing she placed on top was her Serpent ring; she was suddenly very loath to remove that last symbol of who she was. After all, it hadn't left her finger for...Light, how long had it been? Nearly a decade.

The room seemed to breathe for a moment; Bennu's attention was drawn back to the ter'angreal once more. The rainbow effect that had filled the oval and spilled into the room suddenly faded, leaving the ring's center completely stark white. And then it started revolving in perfect silence.

That's the sign, she thought, remembering the lectures that seemed so long ago. It's time.

With a faint nod to Valeri Sedai, she walked to the arch.

Either I come back alive, and Aes Sedai – or not at all. Light help me.

Open RP requirement COMPLETE!

Could I have a copy of the Accepted Quiz, please?

“I see...” Bennu said, musing over that. Well, perhaps the world wasn’t as bad as all that for Aes Sedai. Probably after several decades she’d be ready, and she could start traveling the world for study. After she completed her obligations to Elin, of course. Tear first, then wherever else her feet took her.

Her homeland was not outright hostile to Aes Sedai, but they certainly never felt welcome. Sisters were stared at and gingerly avoided by citizens as though they were made, head to foot, out of poisonous snakes. Even her father, as openminded as he was, was extremely guarded around the Aes Sedai that’d visted the library from time to time, and forbade her from even being around them until she was much older.

It was all bound up in that Stone of Tear not falling legend. But, given the Dragon Reborn would be the one to make it fall, not sisters from the Tower, why wouldn’t you want Aes Sedai around? That hadn’t made sense to Bennu then, and it certainly didn’t now. It’s not like they’d be helping the insane man, now would they? She certainly wasn’t planning on contributing to her home city’s destruction! And neither would any sister worth the shawl.

So…maybe Cairhien, after she was done with that. The young woman felt a thrill of excitement as she considered that. She’d wanted to work in the library there, and now she’d be able to see it for herself, on her own terms after she became Aes Sedai herself.

Light. So much she wanted to do. But...what if that wasn't what the Tower needed? “How do you decide what you want to do?” she asked, a note of frustration in her voice. “There’s so much that needs to be done. And doesn’t the Amyrlin have a say in that? Or is that mostly left to the Ajahs?”

Bennu had grown fond of Carina's sense of style in her private rooms. It was filled with the souvenirs of a long life, but they were arranged and stored so well that it would never be seen as cluttered. The young woman would even go so far as to call it 'homey', reminding her a little of her mother's recieving room back home in Tear. Just as she would back there, the Accepted was mindful of her skirts as she followed the Aes Sedai to their seats; one brush might send something tumbling to the floor that she was ill-equipped to replace!

She waited for the Brown to take a seat before sitting down herself and arranging her skirts. As she smoothed out a pleat that just wouldn’t settle, Bennu eyed the table before them. She said I’d see a ter’angreal today she thought, then firmly squelched her excitement. Report, then perhaps after that...

“Most of the information I gathered was double and triple checked by sisters that came after,” she told Carina. “It’s pretty much the same as what we went over. I did want to know what they discovered about ter’angreal design. From what I saw, very few items that the Tower knows the purpose of have any relationship to their purpose that sisters have seen.”

The Tairen tapped a finger against her lips in thought. “So I put a note in the report that maybe an item’s design refers to stories or sayings that no longer exist, or are so obscure that no one thinks to look in that direction. I think a few sisters looked in that direction, but I’m not sure. ” She hoped to look into that further. She could understand in a way why a small glass carving of a butterfly could help a sister weave Air over a farther distance (it had wings) but she couldn’t fathom what a bear swatting away a bee had to do with summoning weaves to make rain.

“I did find it interesting that some of them tried to *make* ter’angreal, and pretty much to a sister they all failed. Some of the most fascinating reading was a couple of excerpts from a series of letters between a sister of the Blue and a Brown from about five hundred or so years ago. They were making parallel attempts to create ter’angreal and it was obvious that they were combining their research sharing some of their notes on the process with each other.”

The Accepted’s brow furrowed. It hadn’t seemed that Asmin Sedai and Davindra Sedai trusted each other too much, judging from the reading she’d done, but that wasn’t for her to say.

She sighed, shrugging. “None of what they shared was in the texts I read, though…but they failed too. For the life of them they couldn’t figure out what they were missing in the creation.” And neither can I, she thought to herself. But to be honest, if the tower was up to its eyeballs in ter’angreal anyway, wouldn’t it be better to catalogue those first rather than making more?

Bennu Abravanel: Action Scholar! Traversing the world, finding items of power, and keeping them safely out of the ravenous clutches of the evil Black Ajah! While she might spend her first fifty years or so in the Tower studying, Elin'll get her out of there and she'll realize...dang. Adventure is *exciting*. I'm gonna do more of this, man.

Fianna Bashalde: however, is much more complex. There's no *way* you can remain true to the Leaf and be Aes Sedai. So as much as I hate to do it, she's going to end up Lost. Fi's gonna have to follow the spirit of the philosophy since she can't follow the letter, and take one for the home team for the sake of her people. As a form of balancing the scales, she'll practice healing and go into the Yellow, and sow peace by means of example. Maybe by this sacrifice she'll make a way for the Tuatha'an to find the song.

(Thank you, Dalai Lama and your forbears in Tibet, for writing a *lot* on how and when violence towards others is justified.)

Next!

-Chikara

Sorry for the lateness on the post! Hope you can work with that!

It's our group's RP day so I'll be off pretending to be a samurai and rolling dice for the majority of the day, and then I'll be seeing a friend who's in town for an anime club meeting.

So I'll be checking posts, but don't expect any responses till late night, if at all :)

“Thank you, Carina Sedai!” Bennu took the slip gingerly as though it was the key to the Stone of Tear, feeling as if she let go it'd vanish in a flare of saidar. Which it did not, thank the Light. “And I will write up an excellent summary, I promise. Just as you ask.”

The Accepted curtsied deeply to the Brown, grateful for the chance she was offering her, and left. She did not run down the hall to the library, although she greatly wished to. No, the Aes Sedai was right. She had other studies to attend to, but she could certainly finish those quickly and get back to the more exciting bits once all was done.

This was, without a doubt, going to be one of the best weeks ever.

–

It was a more composed Bennu Abravanel that reported to Carina's study the next week. Composed as in tired. Better description: exhausted. But she hid it well. Only one of her teachers had wondered about the Accepted's health, but as she turned in all her assigned classwork and only yawned twice during the course that week, she'd let it slide with just a murmured suggestion that perhaps the young woman needed to get to sleep earlier.

But Bennu hadn't had time for that, the closer she got to her next session with Carina. There was too much to read. Her pen was flying over paper far into the nights as she perused tome after tome, gleaning them for the tiniest bit of knowledge she could add to her summary. There was no way she was not going to get to see a ter'angreal at week's end. There just was not. Failure wasn't an option here.

Her first lesson came midweek. There was far too much information to be summarized here. Hundreds of sisters had been working on these objects, for far longer than she'd been alive. The books Carina had assigned to her were only the tip of a mountain of lore. Every page she read referenced yet another sister's body of work; half those Aes Sedai she'd never heard of, much less read anything by them – and none of those books were open to the Accepted's reading yet. That is, if they even existed anymore....

Bennu was roughly reminded how long Aes Sedai tended to live as she eyed the historical reference chain she was building. Oh, Light, she thought to herself as she penned the last few paragraphs of her summary. 'life's work' takes on a whole new meaning in the Tower.

A rather large document was handed to the Brown that day as the Tairen dropped into the nearest chair. “I think I got everything. No, wait, I didn't. There was just too much!” She eyed Carina Sedai with a mixture of horror, grumpiness, and overall tiredness. “Maybe I should have asked what you wanted me to study in particular before I ran out the door.”

Fianna just stared at Miahna, eyes wide with disbelief as the Arafellin continued her tale. “And she's able to sit down after that? I do hope any chairs she uses for the next month are well padded!” Truly, the young girl couldn't comprehend going against Valeri Sedai. It just had never occurred to her. One didn't argue with the caravan leader when she called for the family to get the horses and up stakes; when he said it was time to go, the only thing asked was 'where?' and maybe not even that. To argue with an Aes Sedai – any Aes Sedai was inviting trouble.

“So what did Valeri Sedai do, do you know?” The Tuatha'an shook her head, wondering how she'd missed this. The punishment must have been epic.

A light wind blew through the garden, ruffling hair and bringing the light scent of early-blooming flowers with it. She breathed in happily. Nothing like being outside....

"A nice day to be out and about, isn't it?"

Startled, Fianna turned, and for an instant she thought, staring up at Nanna, Oh, Light, there goes our holiday. But then, a moment later, she took in the banded dress.

Wait, an Accepted? With that face? How...?

Thankfully, the confusion didn't show on her face all that much, but she'd thought no one that old could ever be a student at the Tower. Then again, she was sitting next to Gera, who was perhaps old enough to be her mother. Or one of her younger aunts. Light, she was never saying any of this aloud. EVER.

“Uhm....hi? Ah...yes, it is,” she stammered, indicating the rest of the group. “Are you on freeday as well?”

The Accepted blinked in surprise as she adjusted the proffered blanket and cushions. Only a fourth of the current Aes Sedai were in the Tower? Only a fourth? She'd known sisters went out, but she didn't know that many were gone at a time. Light! Well, Elin wouldn't be alone after gaining the shawl, that was for sure.

And neither would she, truly told. Bennu mused over that, gathering her thoughts once more. She knew full well she wanted to stay in the Tower for a bit after she was raised. The Tairen wasn't entirely sure she would be ready to hit the road after gaining the shawl herself; there was so much more to learn – so much more in the Tower itself to learn. So much she didn't know. So much to discover.

Thankfully, there seemed there wouldn't be any honor lost in either the staying or the leaving, according to the two sisters – no, wait, three – at the center of their slowly growing group. “Maybe I'll do both then. Study in the tower a few years, then go out and use what I've learned, then come back with more things to study, and then...” A lopsided smile appeared on her face as she nodded to Elin. Certainly it'd take some time, but her fellow Accepted would get her out of the Tower yet.

Turning to the Brown, her smile got even larger. “I'll do just that, Carina Sedai. Just wait and see,” she said. That was definitely a challenge she was willing to meet!

A leaf fluttered down to land on her skirt, and she picked it up, spinning it between her fingers. “Loraine Sedai,” she said after a moment, directing her attention to the Green, “forgive me for asking. I know in Tear Aes Sedai are not tolerated much at all. I was barely allowed to say goodbye to my parents before I was on the boat to Tar Valon. But, that's Tairen law. How are Aes Sedai received in the lands you've been to?” The Accepted fully admitted to herself that she knew very little of this outside of her lessons and her books; before her trip to Tar Valon, she'd never left her home country.

Mmm. Valeri, I don't know what you're putting in this tea, but it's great, the equiv of writing muse Red Bull. :)

Fianna *should* be done with her requirements by the end of the week, but don't quote me on that! :P

That is a *very* good question. I was wondering the same thing last night.

 

Which is why Bennu is going to be 120 years old too, right?

 

I was thinking about that last night too... we planned things together with Elin and Bennu, but I put Elin's age without talking to you.

 

Sorry about that.

No, no, that's *exactly* why I was asking that. Bennu and Elin will be around the same age, yes, but I was wondering where that put us encountering, say, Nanna (who is Salidaran) in the libraries 'way back when'. Do we say that was *another* novice we worked with, or...? Do we know her after we're raised, or....

I now have Doctor Who in my head muttering about 'timey-wimey' things.

Yay, Emily! That was quick!

Hope to be joining you in the banded skirts soon! Your writing is awesome.

Bennu nodded, finger to her lips as she absorbed Carina Sedai's words. That was very true. You didn't give a knife to a blind man and tell him to gut a fish. You'd give it to his sighted son...but not before making sure the lad knew how to gut the fish in the first place – and hope that the boy wasn't about to reverse the blade and stick it in your own guts.

Darkfriends. Despite herself, the Accepted couldn't help but shiver a little. She really didn't understand why anyone would choose the Shadow over the Light, but...unknowingly? Memories of her Arches came back unbidden, and she drifted off into her own thoughts.

Could...could I have actually unknowingly chosen the Dark and intentionally sent that crate off to the Black Ajah? The idea of that appalled. Could it have been that Jenavira have been lying to goad me – could I have put my seal on that crate myself? Light, no. I couldn't have been that stupid, that arrogant...could I?

A moment later, she dismissed that as sheer folly. The arches just give what might be. I wouldn't do that.

Besides. The Black Ajah doesn't exist. Can't exist, what with the Oath Rod guarding against that.

A moment later, she was dragged out of her reverie by Elin's question. She could see her friend's point, but...“But, Elin, remember there were more Aes Sedai then than there are now. And...ah...sometimes the serving harmed more than it helped, some say, so here we are today, with people mistrusting the Tower's good intentions.” The Tairen was really trying to be tactful there; she wasn't going to bring up the history of Bonwhin Sedai, the deposed Amyrlin, if she could help it. That way went debates she'd rather not have on such a pleasant morning.

Wait. The Accepted blinked, as there were now three women on the bench. How long had she not been paying attention, to miss a third Aes Sedai joining the group?

In an effort to hide her confusion, “But then, Carina Sedai, what is the purpose of the Brown Ajah? I'd like to be a Brown when...sorry, if I become Aes Sedai. How do the Browns help the world if they don't go out in it all that much and share the knowledge they have? Do they do this through *other* sisters?” She'd been thinking about that quite a bit lately. Working to change the world through other traveling sisters of the Tower wouldn't be a bad thing, but she'd like to have a personal hand in setting some things to rights herself.