Rules do now apply to me.  :D

But, but...:(

You're my Ariekins. :(

Adine couldn't help but show on her face the surprise that she felt.  A Queen?!  Of all the things that she thought the Wolfkin might possibly want from her, this had not even been a dim hope.  She had thought that perhaps they would want her assistance in forming their new territory, in guiding and solidifying a code of conduct, laws if needed.  But then, isn't that what a Queen does?  Adine nodded slowly, letting Owen's words sink in.  Now it made sense.  The secrecy, the quiet skirting of words, the subtle hints.  They wanted to raise Manetheren from its grave.  She looked around the room at the pairs of yellow eyes staring back.  They could do it too.  They had mentioned allies.  She didn't know who those could be, but she trusted these people.  There was something about them that invited her trust.  She nodded again, more to herself at a decision reached.  She had to speak true, and at least one of them was suspicious, at best, of Aes Sedai.  Or just of her?  No matter, she had to convince them of her sincerity.  Gracefully, she went to her knees, palms outstreched as though she held an invisible sword.  Or the Oath Rod again. she thought wryly.  Shoulders back and head held high she spoke formally.  It had to be enough; she prayed silently that it would be enough.

"I swear by the Light and my hope of salvation and rebirth that I will serve the Council of Manetheren and its citizens faithfully and above all others as their Queen until they choose to release me from my vow, death takes me, or the world ends."

-Adine Torfinn

Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah

She stepped out of the arch and shivered as the cold water was poured over her head, mingling with her tears.  “You are washed clean of false pride. You are washed clean of false ambition. You come to us washed clean, in heart and soul.”  She shivered, and it wasn't from being nude and wet.  She had aspired to be a fishmonger?  Faerzyne Sedai pulled her gently by the elbow, guiding her to the next arch.  Dulcinea flinched and pulled away.  The Mistress of Novices' hand came away bloody. 

"Oh, child!  What did you do to hurt yourself so!"  She laid a hand on each of the deep scrapes and another shiver ran through Dulcinea as she was Healed.  Faerzyne Sedai frowned as she examined the unbroken skin.  "It shouldn't have scarred like that."  Dulcinea looked as best she could to see a fine network of white scars criss-crossing each elbow.  She was dumbfounded.

"Is...Is it real then, Aes Sedai?  I hadn't thought it was.  It's too..." She shook her head, unable to find the words for what she wanted to say.

Faerzyne Sedai gently put an arm around Dulcinea, moving her gently toward the final arch.  "Most women who come through the test ask that question, or some version of it."  She thought a moment, "No, I do not believe it is real.  But the danger inside is.  You have already seen that.  However, just because it is not real does not mean that it is easy.  There is a price for the ring, as you have already seen."  They arrived at the final arch, "The third arch is for what will be," Faerzyne Sedai intoned, "The way back will come but once, be steadfast."

Dulcinea stepped into that mocking white glow and she thought she could hear laughter as she was engulfed in the light.

She reached out to steady herself and fell headlong, her hands finding nothing to catch herself.  She sat up shakily and examined her elbows, both were raw and bleeding.  The wool around them was torn to shreds.  Wool?  I have never worn wool in my life!  Except...  She could not think of the exception.  It seemed important, though.  But then, the whole thought was nonsense.  Of course she wore wool.  It wasn't as though she could afford silk on a courier's wages.  She stood up and brushed herself off, looking for what had caused her fall.  She found the culprit soon enough, a rather large exposed tree root.  She frowned down at it, and squeaked when it burst into flame.  She wasn't supposed to do that.  Do what?  She put a hand to her head, this all seemed wrong somehow.  The Rule said that it was fine to channel when no one else was around, just that she couldn't seek to learn anything further.  But she also wasn't supposed to be using it for anything unnecessary.  And burning up a tree root just because it had given her a tumble was certainly unnecessary.  The Rule?  What was...The way back will come but once, be steadfast, A voice murmured in her head.  It wasn't her thought.  But it was.  But...

Dulcinea raised a hand to her temple, all this time out alone was getting to her.  She only had to put in three more years in this life before she could transition again.  Next time she wanted to do a stint in Ebou Dar, and wear the red sash.  Perhaps they would think her ready this time.  They?  This was madness, she was Dulcinea Velasques, a High Lady of Tear, she didn't need anyone's permission for anything  But then, that wasn't true either, was it?  She had been a High Lady, or rather, a daughter of one.  She hadn't made it so far as to speak the words inside the Stone.  Before that had happened, she'd...well, she'd channelled, that was the long and short of it.  And before she could say fish guts she was bundled onto a boat headed for Tar Valon.  But she couldn't make her peace with her new life.  Always getting into trouble and causing it among the other girls.  The Aes Sedai had taught her what discipline and control they could and dumped her unceremoniously outside the gates of the city.  It had been her own fault, really.  She never should have let that boy with the brown eyes tempt her so.  That certainly was never tolerated in the White Tower.  She hated Aes Sedai, with their cold morality and lies that weren't.  But you'd go back in a moment if they'd have you, wouldn't you? a mocking voice whispered.  No, she answered it firmly, Never again.

The White Tower had told her they'd given her enough silver for a year, and even offered her a place until her time, but she'd refused, and bought passage to Tear the same day.  She'd expected to be welcomed back home, excited to see all her friends again.  But it hadn't happened.  They knew, everyone knew.  Her father had refused even to see her.  Even little Mariah hadn't come to the gate.  She was able to channel, and in Tear, that meant she was outcast.  If she had actually been Aes Sedai she would have been tolerated, as it was, she was just feared.  She had left the city only a step away from the noose.  The noose!  To even threaten such a thing to the daughter of a High Lord!

She made her way West then, travelling through Illian as quickly as was possible, and into Altara.  She had given birth just a few days after entering the city, assisted by a Wise Woman.  She had named the boy Aran, after his father.  He was her world now.  She had done everything she could to give him a good life.  But she also feared for him, for what he could become.  The way back will come but once...  Dulcinea frowned, that voice again.  She shook her head slightly to clear it.  Three more years of travel and she could be with him again.  Maybe she could find a job in the harbor.  It would be dirty work, but close to home.  Aran would be almost thirteen then, he would need his mother during those years.  Surely they could be made to see that.  She didn't want him to have to be fostered again.

Her horse nickered softly and Dulcinea turned to see what was the matter.  She was not surprised to see a silver arch in the middle of the clearing glowing softly.  It seemed right somehow.  The way back will come but once, be steadfast.  Back?  She didn't want to go back.  Not ever.  But the thought came to her that if she went through that arch she might just have another chance.  Another chance at what?  But she couldn't shake the thought that it was important, the she should go.  She didn't want to.  In three years she would be able to be home with Aran again, she needed that, needed to see his small face.  Though, it wouldn't be so small then.  She must have been away too long already, she couldn't quite remember what he looked like now.  The thought made her eyes sting.  She stepped toward the arch.  Another chance.  Another step.  She met the light and was torn apart.

Dulcinea stumbled as she stepped out onto the bare stone floor and a gentle hand reached out to steady her.  Cool water poured over her.  A clear voice rang out, “You are washed clean of what sin you may have done and of those done against you. You are washed clean of what crime you may have committed, and of those committed against you. You come to us washed clean and pure, in heart and soul.”

Where...Who...  She looked into the eyes of the Mistress of Novices and memory flooded back to her.  She straightened, pulling her arm away.  "I am fine," she said briskly.  It could not have been real.  It could not.  Adanza had never left Tear, much less to go to Tar Valon.  Adanza could not channel.  No, she thought in a wave of embarrassment and shame, you can.  They were not true and that was that.  But it had seemed so real...It was not.  It was not and that was all.  It was not and she had to finish this test.  Two more passes through the rings and it was over.  She steeled herself and stepped into the glow.  The light pulled at her, caressed her, welcomed her.

Shielding.  They had just learned shielding a few weeks ago.  Serge struggled to remember those lessons as the skirmish between this party of Aes Sedai and Asha'man raged on.  They were supposed to subdue these women, not kill, and he couldn't remember the weave.  What made things more difficult was that the Aes Sedai didn't seem to be under the same orders.  He watched in horror as a Soldier fell, eyes staring.  Empty eyes.  There seemed to be only a few of the Aes Sedai remaining, but those few were fierce.  He saw one woman alone, saw her whip her head around and scream something.  He couldn't make out the words, if there were words at all. 

It looked as though she would be finished, an Asha'man was closer than Serge, was reaching out for her.  And quick as lightning she hit him with that slender staff she carried, first on his sword hand, then his jaw.  Serge saw the man's eyes roll up in his head as he crumpled.  Enough of this.  She was killing them, killing [i[us[/i].  His hold on saidin surged and pulsed, and Serge drew out Spirit, weaving it in a dull sheet.  Too much could still, cut a woman off from the One Power forever.  The orders were to subdue.  But he knew this wasn't quite right.  Something was off.  But he didn't need perfection, only time.  Only moments. 

He threw the weave at her, pushed down where he knew her connection with the True Source would be.  He felt something push back, resist his efforts.  The woman's eyes went wide, and the feeling intensified.  But he only needed another step.  Serge reached out and pulled the woman close, did the only thing he could think of.  The orders were to subdue.

"I am sorry, Aes Sedai," he said as the woman struggled in his arms and against his attempts to shield, "I know of no other way."

He kissed her, shifting his weave of Spirit to one he had learned more recently, had just practiced.  Fine threads settled around the Aes Sedai, into her.  And Serge pulled back.  He felt her now, and his eyes widened in surprise.  It was impossible to imagine such a thing, impossible even though his teachers had attempted to describe it.  He had practiced the weave half-heartedly, not thinking he would ever have the need.  But he had practiced it until it had been done right so that he could leave for the evening meal.  If only the Asha'man teaching hadn't been such a hard taskmaster.  Or, perhaps, if only the Asha'man who had taught him to shield had been harder.  He had a woman in his head!  A woman!

He thought he might be ill, and his knees buckled under him.  He turned away from the Aes Sedai just in time as the remains of his breakfast came up onto the blood stained field.

-Serge Karminov

Dedicated of the Black Tower

Eww.

"...And High Lord Sisnera has sent regrets for the hunting party this weekend, but hopes that you will accept the presence of his eldest son instead. Sisnera is an ally, though a shakey one, and the prospects for the House are low. I'd advise accepting the replacement, so as not to be rude, but a marriage proposal from that direction would be most disastrous to the long term plans of Velasques...Lady Dulcinea, are you listening to me?"

Dulcinea looked up with surprise. It was Alain, the House Steward, who had been a close advisor to her family for years. Often they had held conversations just like this one, with him advising her, as she would be taking over the family estates when her Father passed. And she must be ready. Steadfast... Steadfast? Where had that come from? This was wrong somehow. She wasn't the eldest, Adanza was. It was Adanza who always had these conversations. This...she put a hand to her head.

"Why don't you speak with my sister about the planning," she murmurred.

"Lady Mariah? But she won't even be accompanying you. Or do you wish that I add her to the guest list?"

"No, not Mariah, Adanza," she was beginning to become irritated. Of course not Mariah. Mariah was only fourteen. Much too young to be involved in a mixed hunting party.

"Is that some sort of poor joke, my Lady?" Alain asked in a very dry voice. "Adanza cannot give counsel on anything, she ran off to Tar Valon to be trained by those witches. She abandoned her responsibilities to this House for a whim. Adanza will not be High Seat, much less a Lady of Tear, and it is you who must continue to learn the rules of power. Now, do you wish for young Lord Sisnera to join your party three days hence?"

Adanza in Tar Valon? That was madness! Adanza, like most Tairens, held no love for Aes Sedai. This was wrong. The way back will come but once, be steadfast. Where had that thought come from? The way back? The way back where? But it was important for some reason. She tried to remember.

Alain finally looked up from his papers at her, and his voice took on an edge of concern. "Are you well, Lady Dulcinea?"

She waved him away, "I am fine, Alain, go on."

Alain nodded, "As I was saying, my Lady, the time to accept a proposal grows short. Saniago is still upset about the broken engagement between his second son and your sister. Three years and he still does not think our efforts at recociliation enough. It may go well for the House if you were to entertain at least one of his sons. The third son is still unwed. A good deal younger than you, yes, but the situation is most unusual."

"Marrying myself to a third son would be an insult to the family. You know that Alain," Dulcinea snapped. It was true. As heir, a serious proposal would be from an heir of a minor House, or at least the second son from a major House like Saniago.

"Yes, my Lady. But as your family has so recently produced..." He coughed slightly, "There is some concern about any children of the match, and if they would also need to be sent to Tar Valon. And if it were a son..."

A son who could do what her sister could, what an awful thought. She knew what awaited men like that. But as heir, she had to produce heirs of her own. At least two children. An heir and a spare she thought bitterly. She had been the 'spare'. And no wonder the High Lords and Ladies of Tear were reluctant to bind themselves to such a recently disgraced House. They would be able to rebuild, but it would take time. Time she simply did not have in choosing which proposal to accept.

The way back will come but once, be steadfast. The thought was not her own, but it seemed...right, somehow. She looked up and saw Alain frowning down at her. And behind him...Behind was a silver arch, the interior filled with white light.

"Lady Dulcinea," Alain was saying, "You must choose. Your father grows impatient with your indecision and..." He nattered on, but Dulcinea didn't hear him, she could see only the arch, only the arch mattered.

The way back will come but once, be steadfast.

Yes, she must choose. She stood abruptly and took a step toward the arch.

"Where are you going, my Lady?" Alain asked. "You cannot abandon your responsiblities! Sit down this instant and we will finish going over the proposals."

Dulcinea almost turned back. If she left, it would be little Mariah as heir. How could she leave that poor girl in charge of all this? Surely there must be another choice?

Be steadfast.

She had to go. She didn't know why, but she had to go. She took another step toward the arch. And another. Tears began to flow from her eyes. Two daughters leaving. Abandoning the House. Her family would never understand. And the House would likely not recover from this crushing blow for another sixty years. If then. She stepped up to the arch and through and the light consumed her.

It had been six weeks since Dulcinea's refusal to take the test for Accepted. And though she had been promised that there was no shame for it, there had been consequences. She had spent the past six weeks in an escalating tide of the hardest, dirtiest, chores that were available to novices. And some that normally weren't. Usually, the servants emptied the chamber pots. Making things worse, none of the other girls knew why she was having to go through all of this. But some had seen her with the Mistress of Novices a few weeks earlier, and so their guesses all centered around some sort of punishment for...something. The speculation ranged from the idea that she had somehow pranked the Amyrlin Seat, to thinking that she had tried to cause another feud. Well, her punishment for the last feud she had caused had not been nearly this bad. Six weeks. Sixty days. A long time to be cleaning out chamber pots.

And to make things worse, the four other Aes Sedai who had been in there kept having extra tasks for her. And with every one they managed to deliver a lecture, sometimes gently, sometimes scathing, sometimes both at once. The lectures were about the responsibilities of power, about courage in the face of adversity, about any number of things. There was supposed to be no shame, but the Aes Sedai had not let her forget. Red, Yellow, Blue, and White. She never wanted to so much as speak to a sister of the Red, Yellow, Blue, or White again. That was unfair, she knew. But up to her elbows in scrubbing out the chamber pots she had just finished emptying, she felt like being petty. And the Mistress of Novices, a Gray. "Mustn't forget the Gray."

"Mustn't forget the Gray what?"

Dulcinea whipped around to see the Faerzyne Sedai in her Gray-fringed shawl looking down at her. She thought quickly, and came up with, "The gray one, over there," she pointed to the row of chamber pots, one of them a dull pewter. The Mistress of Novices raised an eyebrow, but let it pass. "Follow me," was all she said.

Dulcinea scrambled to do so, wiping her hands on a length of toweling. They followed nearly the same route as before, descending into the Tower basements. Only this time, Dulcinea wasn't afraid, she was furious. Faerzyne Sedai led her into the room, and the ritual began again.

“Two things that no woman hears until she enters this room. Once you begin, you must continue to the end. Refuse to go on, no matter your potential and you will be very kindly put out of the Tower with enough silver to support you a year, and you will never be allowed back. Second. To seek, to strive, is to know danger. You will know danger here. Some women have entered, and never come out. When the ter’angreal was allowed to grow quiet, they – were – not – there. And they were never seen again. If you will survive, you must be steadfast. Faltering leads to a failure.”

Dulcinea nodded angrily. She knew. In the past six weeks she had looked up the name of every woman who had not come back from her Arches. Fortunately, it was a short list. She would do this thing. If she did not, she would spend the remainder of her life scrubbing chamber pots, it seemed. And death might be preferable.

“This is your last chance, child. You may turn back now, and you will have two marks against you. Once more will you be allowed to come here, and only at the third refusal will you be put out of the Tower. It is no shame to refuse. Some cannot do it even their second time here. Now you may speak.”

"I will take your test, Aes Sedai," Dulcinea said bitterly. Faerzyne Sedai only nodded and the Red sister beside the table spoke.

The sister beside the table intones: “Whom do you bring with you, Sister?”

“One who comes as a candidate for Acceptance, Sister.”

“Is she ready?”

“She is ready to leave behind what she was, and, passing through her fears, gain Acceptance.”

“Does she know her fears?”

“She has never faced them, but now is willing.”

“Then let her face what she fears.”

The Mistress of Novices asked her to undress, and she did so, never having been so happy to remove a dress in her life. She simply didn't want to smell the thing a moment longer. The stone floor was cool against the soles of her feet. It felt wonderful after so many days of hard labor.

Faerzyne Sedai spoke quietly, "The first time is for what was. The way back will come but once. Be steadfast."

Dulcinea nodded, and glided through the first arch, the Light welcomed her.

Dulcinea arrived a few minutes early for her first lesson in Creativity and Skill with the One Power. She was simply exhausted from the chores she had been assigned this morning. Having a banded hem apparently did not mean that she would be let off on light duty. She folded her arms on the desk in front of her and lay her head down, just for a moment while she waited for the others to arrive.

She was awakened suddenly, and quite forcefully, by a sharp flick against her ear. She slapped her hand up, and heard an amused voice thanking her for joining this class. She could feel the color rising to her cheeks. She looked around sheepishly, noting that the rest of the students, and the teacher, had indeed arrived after she'd dozed off. She sat straighter in her chair, determined to not let such a thing happen again.

At her turn, Dulcinea stood smoothly, pulling on all those generations of genteel breeding and said in a voice that still bore a trace of Tear, "I am Dulcinea Velasques, of Tear." By now, she knew better than to claim the titles her nobility bestowed. She had tried to do so for some years as a novice, but that had quickly and firmly been stopped. "I enjoy riding, and once as a girl I convinced a visiting Saldaean soldier to show me some of the easier tricks they know from saddleback," she said briskly. That should be interesting enough... "I have only just made the passage through the Arches, and do not know enough about the Ajahs to choose one." The words seemed to satisfy the Aes Sedai, who nodded and moved on to the next girl.

When Muirenn Sedai told them that the lesson would be on working with one's weakest element, Dulcinea was intrigued. Rarely did she get to do much work with Earth, her weakest by a hair. Perhaps now that she was Accepted, she would be given more lattitude. Perhaps. The exercise looked simple enough, but was much more difficult that it appeared. She started with two thick yellow strands of Air, unable to make them as thin as Muirenn's. She twisted them slightly, and they promptly curled around one another into one fat strand. Dulcinea sighed and let them dissapate, then tried again. This time, knowing what to expect, she was able to make the two strands spin gently around one another. Pretty, she thought, and let them go, moving on to Spirit. She was able to make these spin as easily as the first, and then Fire and Water also with little difficulty. Earth was a bit more of a challenge, but not by much. She had always been close in ability with the five Powers.

For the next challenge, Dulcinea stared at the items on the table glumly. She was never very good at being creative. While sorting through them, however, she did manage to find a small, rough, blue rock that she thought might be an uncut sapphire. Now that was certainly interesting. She first used a weave of Earth to probe fro any internal flaws in the stone, and was disappointed right away when she found there were several large ones, making this completely unsuitable for the large brooch she had thought of for it. She immediately split the stone down those fault lines, and ended up with five much smaller pieces afterward. She then changed her weave, and began to Polish and Shape the first stone alternately, until she had a small sapphire sphere. And it was actually recognizeable as a gemstone. She was inordinately pleased with herself. It was highly unlikely that she would be able to cut proper faces into it, but there were likely some gemcutters in the city who could. She wondered if Muirenn would let her keep it. Doubtful. It was probably valuable. Now. So much for her efforts.

The next exercise was much more interesting. She had never before tried to split her flows. Dulcinea knew that it would be one of the things she was to learn as an Accepted, but she hadn't thought it would come so soon. She lit both her candles, but hard as she tried, she was unable to do both at once. She came close, once, when she lit one only a hair behind the other. She did even more abysmally when trying to use two seperate elements, and didn't even manage to replicate her marginal success. She felt like an untrained novice again, and was glad when Muirenn called an end to the futility dismissing the class. She had been assigned the task of practicing more this evening until she could get it right. Small chance of that, she thought, irritated, as she carried the pair of candlesticks with her to her next lesson. There was simply not time to return to her room to put them away. She hoped she would not be punished for toting them around, apparently for no reason. But she knew she was sure to be if she didn't arrive on time for her next lesson.

-Dulcinea Velasques

Accepted

Almost finished...

Muirenn watched as the gateway slowly spiraled closed, too slowly. The two Aes Sedai in front of her were doing an admirable job keeping the swarm of black coats from the Gateway. But it was not enough. There were simply too many to hold back. And all her strength was being used to close the Gateway and obliterate all residues. Seconds stretched thin, seeming to last for minutes. Minutes stretched to hours. It could not have been more than three or four minutes since the Gateway had been opened. Not more than one since she had made her way through and begun to close it again.

She saw Maegan, weaving Air to keep the men off them. And a White, whose name she could not remember. The woman was young, young and frightened to the point of hysteria. Surely she had not expected to see anything like this in choosing the White Ajah. This is what Muirenn was supposed to be protecting them against. She touched her belt pouch again. Keep the Watch. And today she had not.

She had been assured that patrols did not extend more than a few hundred meteres outside the grounds of this so-called Black Tower. Whoever had made that rash assertion had most certainly been mistaken. And the others had arrived so quickly. She had know the Asha'man possessed this knowledge of Travelling, but to see it in use...

Thought fled as the Gate thinned to a single silvery line and winked out. She had just time to see an onrush of light, brighter even than the morning sun. She pulled forcing saidar to obey, snapping from one weave to another. She let out a primal scream at the pain that burst in her head as she did so. Too much, it was too much. Her shield of Air and Spirit went up as she saw the White in front of her consumed by flames. The aftershock of the weave caused her mount to rear and dance, tossing her violently to the ground. When she looked up, Maegan was nowhere to be seen. She put a hand to her temple; it came away sticky with blood.

Saidin hit her shield like a hammer striking glass and it shattered into a thousand needles, all seeming to pierce into her skull. Pain. Light. Breaking. Release. She had been handling too much of the One Power. Too much to wield unaided. And as the needles dulled, there was nothing. Nothing. Saidar was gone. So were her bonds, her ties to the Dark One.

Raven waves of hair spilled over her shoulders as she buried her face in her hands and wept. She was unsure if they were tears of sorrow, or of joy, or perhaps of madness.

-Muirenn Lina Alianin

A Woman Alone

Wonderful idea Covai! I can't wait to see how it turns out. :D

First sister ceremony! First sister ceremony! :D

Congrats you two. :D

Muirenn was adjusting a vase of flowers on her desk when the first student entered the room. She gave the girl a brief smile, and returned to arranging the flowers. The girl gave her a quizzical look in return, especially since it wasn’t the season for lilacs.

As the rest of the students filtered in, she stopped and began her lecture. “I hope that you all have, so far, enjoyed this class. We have several things to learn today, although I do not think that you will find it as challenging as the last class,” she paused and smiled at the relieved looks on the faces of many of the girls. “We are going to learn some weaves today that have some very practical applications. As you know, not all Aes Sedai have the same strength in the One Power. So a weave that is easy for one woman can be much more difficult, or even impossible, for another. However, there are many simple tricks that Aes Sedai use which do not take much strength. For instance, when was the last time you saw an Aes Sedai who had to continually brush her hair back from her face?” A few of the Accepted laughed at the thought of a dignified Aes Sedai with hair hanging in her eyes. “It wouldn’t do to lose your composure during an important negotiation by trying to fix your hair, would it? So, we Aes Sedai have a trick to keeping our hair back. And nonchannelers are none the wiser.” Muirenn embraced saidar and turned to look in the mirror on her desk. She wove a small flow of Air and wrapped it around her hair. When she turned around, she had a nice, simple ponytail. “And best of all, it will not fall out. Much more elaborate styles may be done with practice. Some even that would be the envy of the Cairhienin.” She told the girls to each practice that weave using the mirrors on the back table. (OOC: Air: 1, Skill: 10)

After being sure that they each had that weave down, she moved on to the next topic, “Another thing you never see Aes Sedai doing is cleaning. Now, as Accepted, you must not use the Power to complete your chores. An over reliance on saidar can be deadly.” She made sure that each of the girls understood this concept before continuing, “However, there are ways that Aes Sedai keep their rooms clean with the Power. One thing you will never see is an Aes Sedai with a dusty room.” She drew their attention to a shelf that had a fairly large layer of dust. “Now, I’ve left this shelf to sit for a few weeks, for the purposes of demonstration. Watch, please.” She formed a thin sheet of Air and slid it along the shelf. When the dust had been gathered at the end, she used a bit of Water and Air to clump together the dust and toss it out the window. By the looks on her student’s faces, she could tell they had enjoyed that trick. (OOC: Air: 2, Water: 1, Skill: 9)

She walked back to the front of the room where her desk was. Picking up the vase of lilacs, she continued, “Now, I suppose you must be wondering what these lilacs are doing here so far out of season. This is the next weave I will show you. In intermediate saidar, you each learned how to help a seed to grow and blossom. In this class we will take it a step further and show you how to keep those flowers from decay.” She wove a thin net of Spirit over the blossoms and after letting it settle, tightened it and tied it off. “These flowers will remain fresh for as long as the net remains. I would like you to each practice causing a flower to bloom, and then weaving a Keeping over it.” (Spirit: 2 Air: 1, Water: 1, Earth: 1, Fire: 1, Skill: 13)

“My final lesson for the day is more of a practice than anything else.” She held her hand in a cupped position, with her fingers slightly spread apart. Three glowing balls of white light danced from one finger to another. “As you can see, these are woven of Fire, Air, and Spirit. The amount of Fire controls the brightness, the Air gives it fuel, and the Spirit holds it all together. By adding or taking away a bit of Spirit, you can also change the color.” She demonstrated this last part by making the three balls change rapidly through the spectrum, beginning with red and settling on violet. “For this next part of the demonstration, I will need a volunteer,” she chose a girl in the front row. “Often, it is neccessary to work together with someone to accomplish a common goal. I would like you to make a single ball of light, like mine.” She waited as the girl complied, “Now, we are going to pass the two lights to one another. You maintain my weave when I release it, and I, in turn, will take control of yours. On the first attempt, the ball the Accepted was supposed to catch vanished. The second attempt proved better, and the weave flickered, but stayed intact. Muirenn turned back to the class, “I would like you to practice first by yourself, until you get comfortable with the different variations and then with a partner for the second half of the exercise. When you are ready, come to me and show me a ball of light that is red, one blue, and one green. Then, with your partner, demonstrate passing two balls of light back and forth.” (OOC: Air: 1, Fire: 1, Spirit: 1, Skill: holding: 8, passing: 16)

Homework: Just RP the lesson, and be sure to show me the balls of light.

Next Lesson: Wards

-Muirenn Lina Alianin

Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah

OOC: I will be not be grading on whether or not you can do the tasks set forth, but by how well you RP them. I expect most of you to have some trouble with these things, unless you are already fully Aes Sedai, and even then, not all sisters have a high skill level. The tasks are meant to be ICly challenging for you. I will also be posting the required elemental and skill levels neccessary to do each lesson. I think that you will each enjoy this class, and I hope that you can have some fun with it.

IC:

Muirenn adjusted the red-fringed shawl on her shoulders before walking into the first day of her Creativity with the One Power class. While it was certainly not the first time she had taught a class, each session she had a new group of students to impress. She opened herself to the warmth of saidar and used a slight tendril of Earth to undo the latching mechanism on the door and a gust of Air to blow it open. She walked into the classroom and over to her desk, where she used a small blade of Fire to warm her tea, apparantly she had waited a bit too long in the hall; it was cold. Looking around the room at the Accepted, she noticed one who had apparantly decided that sleep was a more interesting pasttime than this class, and had laid her head down on the desk. Muirenn smiled as she flicked the girl’s ear with Spirit and Air. “Thank you for joining us today,” she said, as the girl colored in embarrassment.

Turning to the rest of the class she said, “I am Muirenn Sedai, of the Red Ajah. Some of you I recognize from my Ethics class, but there are quite a few unfamiliar faces here today. I would like for each of you to stand up and introduce yourself to me and the rest of the class. Tell me your name, where you are from, and something interesting about yourself. I would also like to know to which Ajah you are aspiring, if you know.” She waited for each girl to answer before going on, “This is the Creativity and Skill with the One Power class. Everything you saw me do as I came in is within the ability of each of you. They are simple tricks that come with long working with saidar. You don’t have to be strong in any of the Five Powers to accomplish anything we do in this class. In fact, today’s lesson is going to be on improving your skill with your weakest element.

Now, I’m sure that for many of you, your weakest element is either Fire or Earth, so we will start with those.” As she spoke, she wove two small threads of Fire and caused them to rotate around each other in a double helix. “Now, as you can see, this is a relatively simple exercise. The challenge is not to let the two strands touch. If you lose your concentration, you will not be able to keep them apart.” She allowed her control to falter slightly, and the two red threads immediately combined to one. “See? Now it is almost impossible to separate them again, and you will have to start over.” She demonstrated the technique with each of the Five Powers, finishing with two green strands of Water, which she allowed to continue rotating over her outstreched palm while she spoke. “Now, I would like each of you to practice with this. You may start with the Power in which you are the strongest, to get the feel for the exercise. Then, continue with each until you can perform the trick with your weakest element. I will be walking around the room to monitor your progress. Feel free to ask any questions.” (OOC: Elemental: 1, Skill: 14)

After she was satisfied the all the girls had the basic elemental control needed, she moved on to the next exercise. “Now that you all have a feel for your weakest element, I would like to move on to practical applications. Being able to work with a specific element is all well and good, but you need to be able to apply your knowledge. I would like each of you to find something that you can do with your weakest element.” She gestured to the assortment of candles, rocks, potted plants, quills, paper, and various other objects strewn atop a table. “These are the objects at your disposal. I would like to see what you come up with. And as you are all Accepted now, I expect it to be above a novice’s trick of lighting a candle.” (OOC: you can do just about anything. just make sure that it is within the range of knowledge of the Accepted; Elemental: 1-2, Skill: 14-16)

Satisfied that they could each complete the assignment, she continued her lecture, “Finally, we will work on splitting flows. This is something that takes a great amount of skill to learn, so do not be frustrated if you cannot yet accomplish it. It is much easier to split the flow of one element, rather than attempt to use more than one at a time.” To demonstrate, Muirenn used Fire to light three torches she had left on the back wall for exactly this purpose, and then Water to snuff them out again. She noted that a few of the girls looked as though their eyes were about ready to pop out of their heads and she allowed herself a smile, “Don’t worry, I won’t be asking you to do that just yet. What I did is probably not even within the realm of possibility for most of you. I have never seen an Accepted who could split a flow three ways, and there are even Aes Sedai who cannot.” She saw the girls relax and smiled again, gesturing to the two candles she had placed on each girl’s desk, “I would like you to practice this by lighting both candles at the same time, then causing them to go out at the same time. It is all right if you are not able to on the first try, there is no shame.” She walked around the room as the girls practiced, helping out where she saw need. (Fire: 2, Air: 2, Skill: 22)

After each girl had successfully split her flows at least once, she continued, “Next, and lastly, we will work on using two separate flows at once.” She lit two of the torches and then snuffed those out at the same time she lit the third. She reversed the process by snuffing out the lit torch while lighting the other two. She made sure that each of the girls had seen her using the two separate flows of Fire and Air at the same time. “You may use Water or Air or even Spirit to snuff out your candles,” she explained, “Whichever is easiest for you. Now practice with your candles. Light one, and then douse it while at the same time lighting the second. If you cannot do this at all, it is all right. Just give it your best effort.” (Fire: 2, Air/Water/Spirit: 2, Skill: 26)

Assignment: RP doing the lesson. If you have any questions, IC or OOC, please feel free to ask!

Next lesson: Keep it small

-Muirenn Lina Alianin

Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah

"And how tall should an Aes Sedai be, Master Anton?" Adine quipped. "I am tall enough to do what needs doing, be assured of that. And I am indeed Aes Sedai. You must never have met one of my sisters, for it is the ageless face that is a sure sign. Myself, I am nearly ninety years old, although I know I do not look it. And mark this day well," she continued with a sly smile, "For rare is the occasion when an Aes Sedai will admit to her full years, or speak of them at all. It is considered a great rudeness amongst us. I tell those of you here today so that you may understand some of my history, and how it is that I have come here.

"I was born in Taren Ferry, and grew up the daughter of a blacksmith, whose craft I tried to learn. I was married and widowed by the age of sixteen, and was discovered by Aes Sedai and bundled onto a ship to Tar Valon by seventeen. The past seventy odd years of my life have been spent in the White Tower, or in it's service. Had things been different, I would be amongst the most respected Aes Sedai in the Tower, due to my strength and skill in the One Power. Which to speak directly of is considered another rudeness amongst us. I say it now that you may understand the unease I feel at being without the comfort of the One Power within this Stedding," She smiled softly, "And my unwillingness to be seperated from my Warder, who is as a brother to me. I understand that what we speak of must be done in private, and is for my ears alone. Suffice to say that, for my part, I have made a break with the Tower, and will not be able to return until the current Head of my Ajah is no longer in power. She and I disagree on what it means to Stand Ready.

"For now, I am here, in the Two Rivers. I stay with a many times great-nephew, who does not know me as other than a learned traveller. I hope to form an alliance with those of you here, to our mutual benefit, and hope that you can come to trust me as Owen and John already have." She waited in silence to see how those new to her would take this statement.

-Adine Torfinn

Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah

I should note, the Aes Sedai are arriving about a mile from the BT grounds. I don't think I made that clear in my initial post. Sorry!

And it begins!

http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=380182#380182

This is the big ol' battle where you get to bond the appropriate Aes Sedai at the end. Have fun blowing stuff up! There are two NPC Greens with five warders between them and an NPC Blue for y'all to kill. :)

Muirenn concentrated as she wove the gateway, putting all her limited strength into this one weave. It was well within her abilities to weave, but to make it large enough for mounted sisters to ride through taxed her to the limit. She had nothing left to spare. But as she had been the one to 'discover' this weave, the others felt it only proper that she create the Gateway. And besides that, she had precedence, being the eldest Sitter in the Hall. Well, outside her own Ajah anyway. Inside it was different, and of necessity, she must defer to the Highest, as all Reds did. She was, after all, the equal of the Amyrlin Seat. And Maegan Ryanne did well enough. Young for it, but well enough. Of course, it seemed to her that everyone was too young these days. With Karana gone, she was left as the eldest Aes Sedai, and even those she had been novice and Accepted with were gone. And after her nearly two decade retirement, many of the young sisters were completely unknown to her. And then the weave snapped into place, rotating wider and wider and there was no room for idle reminiscing.

The Aes Sedai rode through in a column, with the two Greens and their Warders leading. It was said that you needed little brains to be a Green, only much courage. And those two certainly had that in spades. Going through a Gateway first in an expedition to the Black Tower. Foolish indeed. They should have left it to the Red Ajah. But Muirenn had to stay behind because she was the first to make the weave, and none of the others save Maegan had sufficient precedence to object. And of course, the Highest's...disability...was well known.

It took a few minutes for everyone to go through, and by the time the last few were departing, Muirenn began to hear murmurs, and then a few shouts and screams from the other side. But she had no clear view. She could see nothing in a direct line through the Gateway, and even if there had been something to see, the backside of the horses would have obscured it. She chided everyone through quickly and went herself, determined to see what was going on, and to hold the gateway from the other side while the pack animals went through. Small loss if one of them was cut in half.

On the other side of the Gateway, halfway across the world from Tar Valon was blood and fire. She could leave now, the Gateway was still open. All it would take was a step back through. Only a step to safety. But she was a Red, a Sister of the Crimson Banner. And she would not abandon her fellows to this madness. Perhaps she had a bit of that courage and stupidity herself. The Gateway had to be allowed to close, and before any of the black-coated men reached it. But it would take time to release the weave safely, moments she was not sure they had. She began as she watched the first of the Warders reach the group of black coats and lose half his torso to a blast of fire.

This was madness.

-Muirenn Lina Alianin

Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah

Sitter in the Hall

Head of the Black Ajah

Patrols were definitely one of the worst of the chores assigned.  In Serge's opinion, anyway.  They required so much...effort.  Especially with the bizarre weather recently.  It was much too hot to be tromping about.  Even with that supposed 'trick' to forget about the heat, he could feel a trickle of sweat roll down his ribs.  Wearing wool in this heat.  It was worse than summer in the Perfumed Quarter!  Well, maybe not worse.  Andor didn't have that rather...distinctive...smell of the docks.  But back home no one was as foolish as to wear wool during the dead of summer.  Black wool.

He was brought out of his silent misery by one of the others who had quit moving and put a hand out.  Serge looked up and saw what had made the others stop.  A gateway was spinning open, but Serge didn't feel saidin being channeled.  He scratched at his forearm.  This wool itched too.  Or maybe it was the bugs.  He stared as the gateway opened, and nearly a dozen women on horseback came out.  A dozen women.  Through a gateway.  Aes Sedai.  They must be Aes Sedai.  Or agents of the Shadow?  He had never seen an Aes Sedai before, so he had no idea what they were supposed to look like.  But they had appeared from nowhere.  Wasn't that proof enough? 

He grasped saidin immediately, hearing a buzz of conversation from the others, and it seemed that someone was shouting orders, but he couldn't make them out over the general din.  He felt others grabbing hold of the True Source as well, and then there was something trying to come between him and the source, sharp, cutting.  He lashed out instictively and it shattered.  He heard cries from the others and a fireball streaked outward, impossible to tell from whom, and exploded in the middle of the Aes Sedai group.  A small knot of men with swords detached themselves from the women and ran at the men from the Black Tower.

And then, it was chaos.

-Serge Karminov

Dedicated of the Black Tower

The list is:

Muirenn (Red) - Dalinar (M'Hael)

Maegan (Red) - Serge (Dedicated)

Estel (Blue) - Ged (Dedicated)

Lavinya (Gray) - Rion (Asha'man)

Shaneeve (Brown) - Covai (Asha'man)

Eqwina (Yellow) - Isha (Asha'man)

Faile (Red) - Linten (Dedicated)

Serena (Blue) - Arath (Asha'man)

List of bonded pairs:

Muirenn (Red) - Dalinar (M'Hael)

Maegan (Red) - Serge (Dedicated)

Estel (Blue) - Ged (Dedicated)

Lavinya (Gray) - Rion (Asha'man)

Shaneeve (Brown) - Covai (Asha'man)

Eqwina (Yellow) - Isha (Asha'man)

Faile (Red) - Linten (Dedicated)

Serena (Blue) - Arath (Asha'man)

Maybe:

Kieryn (Blue) - Aslan (Dedicated)

We found you a pretty Aes Sedai to bond. :D

Actually, no, it's Arath. :P Ged is bonding Estel.

Congrats, Nyn! I'm sure you'll do a wonderful job! :D