Balance was everything, Esthelle soon learnt. The moves that Kynwric was teaching her were not very hard if you thought about it. They were definitely basics, she could recognize that easily. It was just that executing them was as hard as anything she'd ever tried before. "I feel like an idiot," she commented to Kynwric after the gazillionth time that she had hopped around on one foot and nearly fallen over. "Why can't I just keep my balance?"

"It's the weight," Kynwric told her gently. "You just need to get used to it." He gave her pointers how to carry her own weight and how to center herself, which helped a little bit, but not much. Mostly, it was a lesson in frustration. Esthelle had never been a very patient person and she hated it when she could not do something right away.

And this was basic offense, what a joke. All she wanted was to clamp her hands around the staff and start hitting hard, not with dosage as Kynwric was teaching her. Her aggravation was fueling her moves in a way that was not very productive. In the end Kynwric told her to take a little break until they went on to discuss basic defense and taught her how to hold her staff to ward off attacks.

That was hard enough in itself. Esthelle's head was spinning with the thought that she would have to weave all this moves together one day; from defense to offense and back again, one string of fluid motion. And here she was falling over all the time. Figures. "It takes practice," Kynwric reassured her. "All begin is hard."

Now only if she could take that to heart and swallow back her frustration...

Lanfir sat back and merely let the Grays discuss this issue among themselves. After all, they were the experts on their own situation. Lanfir thought it interesting that the Gray Sitter would come to her for advice on Tower popularity, while she herself had made herself vastly impopular with her very first move as Amyrlin, and also how people were trying to lay the blame of Dumais Wells with her, but she kept her peace and listened to the two Grays. Phaedra's voice was laced with passion and sincerity as she gave away the very fact that she was Head of the Gray Ajah. Lanfir wondered if she was even noticing this.

“I wish to lead the Grays as someone who can reason, mediate and judge a situation, send out Grays to do our work in the nations of the world. Instead, I have to fight backdoor gossip and I’m afraid that we are hiding away, rather than fighting back." She paused for a second, taking a moment to reflect and come up with new ideas while she was tackling the problem in a brainstorm-like fashion. It was the way Lanfir preferred to work, as well: thinking as she talked, bouncing off ideas on one another.

“Maybe we should do a public announcement," Phaedra mused, "give a brief explanation of what has passed on in the Gray Ajah and how we dealt with it. Of course, this goes against our Ajah politics, it goes against our feeling of keeping our problems among ourselves. But we do not hide from public opinion.†Phaedra smiled. “we should give our fellow Sisters a chance to hold the truth to their own ideas and see what opinion they from then.â€

Lanfir nodded slowly. "In the end, truth and transparency are the only weapons you can wield against backdoor talking and gossip, Phaedra Sedai. People will have their own opinions anyway. All you can do is show them as obviously as you can who you are, and why you are doing the things you do. You are not responsible for their judgment... there is nothing you can do from that. But you can control your side of the communication. If you communicate what happened and what you plan to do against this and future issues, then you've done all you could. The rest is up to the receivers of your message... and the Light."

Lanfir smiled wanly. "They call it the calm before the storm, usually. One last lull of peace before it's all blasted into oblivion." She looked at the younger woman on the other side of the small table and twirled a wayward strand of white hair around her finger. "I'm usually not that cynical, but I have to admit I've seen it all before. Golden days full of rest and re-charging, before things start happening. I guess it's the Light's way of giving us time to prepare. But judging from this silence, I think that it won't be long before those preparation days are over and we're thrown head-first into madness."

She thought briefly of battle, of hot blood on her katana, of fire and of the Forsaken that she had let slip out of her reach - one that was walking around with a thirst for revenge - she thought of armies, of mud and snow, of a city wall exploding and trolloc guts steaming on the frozen ground. She thought of loss and grief and trying to keep yourself together until the madness is over... and then thought of duty, of the Light, and most importantly of love, life, and Lyanna. "Let us pray that this calm will last for a long time. After all, the battle that's about to come our way will be one to end all. I think we deserve some time to prepare before we lose all."

(OOC: Vivien will be on ice until I got some Lannie stuff sorted out. Sorry!

It seems that some people think I'm getting away with playing two characters. Since this is definitely not the case but I don't want to cause people to think badly of me, I won't play Vivien until Lannie's completely ready to die and all her Main Plotlinish stuff is resolved.)

OOC: A few notes before this post. First of all, it's technically still pending renewed SG approval - but because it was approved last year already but this RP was postponed due to inactivity, I think we should be fine here. We're on a tight schedule before One Last Stand so I hope it's okay we're starting already.

Secondly: Since some people thought that I might be doing the unforgivable thing in having two characters walking around while Lannie's on her way to death, I'd like to note here that this RP is an important wrap-up before One Last Stand and that I'm keeping my new character Vivien on ice before this all is taken care of. Thank you for ruining the fun, here's the wrap up that is badly needed to make sure the Main Timeline in the WT runs smoothly. -Lannie

An Honest Mistake

My old friend

I swear I never meant for this

I never meant

Don't look at me that way

It was an honest mistake

~ The Bravery, "An Honest Mistake"

It started with a bath, as a lot of things in Lannie's life did. Ever since she had a little girl the most influential woman in this part of the country had been fond of bathing, for it gave her time to relax and think things over in a non-rushed way between sweet-smelling soap bubbles. For some reason it always seemed like Lannie had her best ideas while soaking in scented bathwater. She had reasoned a long time ago that her brain just worked best when her body let go of its tension, and perhaps this truly was the case.

On this particularly early morning it was the weekly free day and there would be no petitions on this morning. There'd be a Hall meeting tonight, but apart from that there would be some time for relaxation and catching up on paperwork. Lyanna was still downstairs in the Yards, going through the forms and getting herself into shape, but Lannie had gone back earlier this morning because she fancied a bath and it was a little too cold outside for her liking, no matter how hard she trained. They had joked about old bones susceptible for cold, of course, but the idea made Lannie a bit uneasy sometimes. What if it were true? She was old. Usually she did not notice all that much if she was busy with work and surrounding herself with the Hall Sitters, who were not quite as old as she are, but far past a normal human lifespan as well - but with her warders around, she keenly felt it sometimes. Especially the girls: Alec and Syl were just so young. It was in the way they moved, how they talked, in the healthy sheen in their skintone, the sparkles in their eyes. There just was an energy to them that Lannie had lost along the way a very long time ago. It ached, sometimes. But then again, she'd had her days, she'd had her own youth. Why yearn for something you have revelled in already? It was not like she had ever missed out or anything. Still, it was an oddly sobering thought.

She floated in warm bathwater while around her the soap bubbles glittered in rays of sunlight that fell through the window on the other side of the room and the winter winds whistled softly around the Tower. It was a little peace on an early morning and Lanfir allowed her consciousness to float around, as well. She followed her bonds to see what her gaidin were up to. Strong, glittering lines of shared feelings, shared goals and respect, were connecting her to three individuals in this Tower. Jerad and Syl were downstairs in the yards - sparring, as far as she could tell. She was glad to note that Jerad, after his first hesitations, had finally started to take to the young woman Lanfir had bonded just before her raising. He was drilling her in the use of other fighting styles than she was used to, because he believed a gaidin should be versatile rather than perfect. Alec, who had mentored Syl herself, had just smiled at this and agreed graciously with Jerad teaching the younger girl. "It shouldn't hurt," she had remarked with a slight shrug, and let them. From Lanfir's position in the bath, Jerad seemed to have the upper hand in their spar, earning Syl a few nasty bruises. She felt determination and concentration from Syl, and sometimes short flashes of embarrassment. Still, it seemed that they were working together and that was something to be thankful for.

Her other bondmate was a little bit closer. Alec was sitting in the room next to Lanfir's bathroom, insisting that there should be at least someone with the Amyrlin always. These were dangerous times, they all knew. The sunlight glinted on the bracelet around Lannie's wrist - a bracelet that was quite a bit more than it seemed to be. The outstanding proof that there was indeed a very real and present danger in the White Tower, and one that represented another bond of a very different sort. It connected her to Ja'varan... or should she say Serashada? Sometimes she was not quite sure whether the Forsaken knew, herself. Two women, one body, and a lot of power and shadows. She just called herself a Chosen and kept it at that.

No wonder that Alec wouldn't leave Lannie alone. It was a shield that wouldn't help her against the full might of the Forsaken's grasp of saidar (as Lannie knew all too well, for she had felt the true brunt of it quite painfully), but it gave her a safe feeling to have at least one of her gaidin around at all times. Jerad and Syl were in Lyanna's vicinity, and that was the way it should be. Lya was very close to Rosheen the Tower Guard these days and was contemplating a bond, but until it got to that point, Lanfir was more than happy to share her gaidin with her lover.

She reached out to the chamomille-scented soap that she generally used to wash her hair with and was just lathering up her long white tresses when the knock on the door came. "Mother, Mother!" a young and urgent voice called. "I'm sorry to interrupt but Mother are you here?"

"I am here, what is up?" Lanfir called back to the novice or accepted outside the door.

"There's a Hall meeting, Mother. They've rescheduled tonight's meeting to twenty minutes from now. Lyanna Sedai said to get you. She's on her way back from the Yards right now."

Oh blood and ashes, so much for my long bath. "That's fine, sweetheart. Thank you for telling, please report I'll be there on time." I'd better hurry.

She quickly rinsed out her hair and towelled off. She was only dressed in bathtowels when Lyanna swept in, obviously having washed and dried herself with saidar, judged from the frizzy and unkempt way her midnight hair was in- and in search of her shawl. "I can't believe that they'd reschedule this abruptly," her sweetling muttered angrily. "And without notifying me!"

"Perhaps they couldn't find you because you were in the Yards, sweetling," Lanfir said gently, while she took off her a'dam bracelet to slip into the bodice of a red-and-white gown. She tossed Lyanna a hairbrush (who caught it deftly) and plaited her own wet curls so they would be out of her way and presentable enough for a Hall meeting.

It was hurried rushing, but they had been working together for so long that they were right on time. "Do you want me to come along, Lanfir?" Alec asked, when they were on their way to leave their shared quarters. "I could stand guard at the Hall, if you want."

"It's okay, Alec. Thanks for offering. We'll be with the Sitters. Just relax a little this morning. Hopefully this thing will be over soon."

"Okay," her gaidin nodded. "Good luck."

Lanfir and Lyanna left their rooms. Neither of them noticed that their wrists were bare, and that the silver bracelet had slid off Lanfir's dresser and underneath the cabinet, without either of them thinking to put it on once more.

It was an honest mistake. And it would soon prove to be a dire one.

"Obviously the first thing about this weapon is it is a bludgoening weapon. It is used for beating someone into submission or death, not for slicing them up as with a edged one. There are advantages to that and disadvantages," Kynwric spoke with the air who knows so much about the subject matter that he had to concentrate to actually explain it to a student. "Most noticble being is that you will be more likely to simply knock an opponent unconscious than kill. That is not always a bad thing though. The other major note is its size. It is a long weapon, there will be times that is an advantage and times it is a disadvantage. What do you think now?"

Esthelle reached out to touch the polished wood and said thoughtfully: "When I feel endangered, my first instinct is to beat upon it instead of stabbing or slicing. So I think I would be most comfortable with bludgeoning as a way of fighting." The wood was smooth under her fingers, almost inviting to her touch. She took the staff and held it firmly, then swung with it a little. "It's heavy, and it seems hard to control, but I suppose I could learn that," she mused.

"A long weapon seems useful... since I can't slice people or things up, it would be good to have a bit of reach, so I can get to them before they get to me. Especially if they have pointy ends and I don't. I'll just have to keep them at a distance." She swung her quarterstaff around experimentally and nearly smashed into the wall with it.

Grinning at her own stupidity, she apologised both to Kynwric and the female smith. "Excuse me, I got a bit carried away... I need to think about my balance, I guess." She then looked over at Kynwric and said: "I think I've chosen my weapon. I'd like to practice with this one..."

~Esthelle

Quarterstaffs ftw! :D

The Aes Sedai talked about fate and gifts, but Vivien scarcely registered what she was saying; she was too busy battling feelings of panic. She felt as if she had walked right into a trap and there was no way of getting out of here without causing a huge scene. And even if she wanted to break out and make a run for it back home; who was she to defy an Aes Sedai? A powerful woman who could channel? Her mind was racing as she went through the possibilities - all the while she was sitting completely still.

"I have requested for an Aes Sedai to come meet you. She will help answer any questions you have, and will begin instructing you in your new gift." Faerzynne continued. She was still smiling pleasantly, as if to reassure. "Now, while we wait for her to arrive, could you kindly tell me some more about yourself Vivien?"

I don't have a choice, do I? she thought. Her stomach had knotted itself into a tight ball, but the Aes Sedai had asked her a direct question and she knew better than not to obey. "My name is Vivien Senette, Aes Sedai," she said. "I'm with the Tu'athan people that are camped just outside the city at the moment. That's why I said I needed to get back to them." She swallowed as she thought she saw something flicker in Faerzyne's eyes. It looked like disapproval. "I was born while our group was traveling through the Caralain Grass. Next week that will have been sixteen years ago, Aes Sedai," she reported dutifully.

She looked up from her lap, where she had been wringing her hands. Time to quit being scared. Apparently her fear and confusion didn't faze the Mistress of Novices, so it was time to be diplomatic about it. Perhaps that would convince her. "Aes Sedai... I feel very honoured that the White Tower would teach me to learn how to channel, because I didn't know that it could be dangerous and I appreciate the help greatly... but to be very honest I'd much prefer to remain with my family and my friend Bibi. I would miss them terribly if they would travel the roads and I would be forced to remain here, as fated these lessons in the One Power might be..."

~ Vivien

not really cut out to stay at home ;)

"Please child, take a seat," the Aes Sedai said, waving in the general direction of the chair. "My name is Faerzyne Grigory, and I am indeed the Mistress of Novices." She smiled a little and got something out of a drawer that she held hidden in the palm of her hand. Then she walked over and knelt next to Vivien, bringing them suddenly at the same height. Faerzyne smiled a warm smile. “Clear your mind completely, and focus on the stone.†she said.

Vivien did not question but did what she was bid to do, wondering vaguely what kind of test this could be and what under the name of the Light was supposed to come out of this. The gemstone was pretty enough, although not very valuable; Vivien had seen its kind often in her young life, fond of pretty things as she was. This particular one might seem dull, smoky gray as it was. She knew, however that when the light would fall just right, the stone would seem very clear and beautiful to behold. The light was just wrong.

She felt as if she were dreaming and lost all notion of time as she focused on the smokey gemstone in her hands. She did not even notice the Aes Sedai sitting right next to her anymore. Her complete world focus had narrowed down to the gemstone.

All it needs is a little light... she would later recall herself thinking, and she would later remember how in the depth of her concentration she had reached out somehow, and how something inside of her gave in.

And the stone responded.

A tiny spark of light, less than a heartbeat, made the gemstone in Faerzyne Sedai's hand light up. It lasted but an instant before it disappeared again, and it went so fast that Vivien wondered whether she had imagined it.

"Congratulations, dear. You can learn to channel," Faerzyne Sedai smiled. She looked as if she was very pleased with herself.

Vivien blinked, caught completely off-guard. "What does that mean? Do I have to? Channel, I mean? I hardly even know what that is!" Her hands were wringing in her lap as she looked up to the Mistress of Novices. "I... I just came here because the Aes Sedai told me so. I was lost in the city, and... my father must be looking for me, and they'll be worried sick in camp. I need to get back." Her heart was beating in her throat as she fought back panic. I can channel? What under the name of the Light am I supposed to do with the ability to channel the One Power? And what is my father going to think?

~ Vivien

quite shocked

Did you ever feel like you're living in a time without a reason,

a year without a season,

another day cut by the killing joke

If I was on the outside looking at the inside

I would burn this place to the ground

Straight to the ground, now

Matthew Good Band - "Euphony"

Before the Storm

The day the world ended started out pretty much like every other day. Lately, many of Lanfir's days had been this way. It started out in the early morning, untangling herself from the sheets and to start her day with a jog through the Yards and some katana practice while the sun lazily peeked over the horizon and the sky was slowly changing from it's nightly indigo to a hazy blue. She had only slept for a few hours last night, but surprisingly enough she felt rested and ready to take on the world. Perhaps those nightly moonlit talks with Nyssa did give her some rest in her head after all.

Today, it was cold and slightly humid, but it made for a good workout. There weren't all that many people in the Yards yet, so it was mostly up to the birds to whistle and to produce the only sounds around apart from the breeze and her own breath.

She worked up her adrenaline and revelled in the rush it gave her; Light, why had she ever stopped her morning workouts? She must have been mad. By nature, she was not a morning person, but when she had to get up early for a long day, a workout was just what she needed. Her katana felt sure in her hands; strong, sleek, deadly. She wasn't an expert swordswoman like some of the gaidin, but what she did with it, she did bloody well. After all, she'd had centuries to practice her skill with the weapon. After all that years, wielding a katana was as familiar to her as wielding the One Power.

Lanfir worked worked through her forms in the russet sunlight of the morning and then had gone back upstairs for a quick bath and a breakfast before she and Lyanna had to face the world and attempt to keep it together until Tarmon Gai'don.

Walking the many stairs up to her quarters, Lanfir contemplated for a moment that she did have an unique position as Amyrlin at the moment; all her predecessors had just ruled and gone through their days while they were at the top of the Tower. It had been more of a day-to-day business as usual for them and while they had dealt with crises, it had always been passing. Her own term as Amyrlin was much more precarious. Her task was to keep the Tower and the world together until Tarmon Gai'don while around her the world was going crazy and pressure was in all she did. It was playing for keeps and she felt more like a crisis manager than an Amyrlin, most of the time.

She had heard people blaming her for the rift in the Hall, blaming her for Dumais Wells - but that was just shortsighted. The only thing she could be blamed for was the fact that she'd let Serashada get away... but Lanfir wondered if anyone else would have handled that situation any better. The easy times were over. It was improvise, patch up and move on and hope things would keep until the Last Battle. All she needed was determination to hold out until then. The problem was that nobody knew how long it would exactly take. Lanfir was guessing a year, but it could very easily be longer or shorter.

On one hand she felt herself thinking sometimes that the Last Battle should start, that the wait was wearing her thin and that the world as it was couldn't get any more prepared for the good fight... and then the next moment she felt panicky and thought that there was still so much that had to be done, still so much preparing to do... but then again, could you ever be done preparing for battle? Lanfir didn't think so. She had been a Green for so long; she was supposed to be as ready as she was. All she could do was go with the moment and give it what she'd got. And now, as Amyrlin, she was supposed to let the Tower give it what it'd got, as well.

After her bath and a bite from her scrambled eggs with peppers, Lanfir bound her hair back in a hasty loose knot and dressed in her representative garb. My work garb, she thought, looking in the silver full-sized mirror at the very feminine clothes. It's my style, my sort of taste, but it's still work garb. It was an ensemble of dark skirts, slashed with white and trimmed with white lace. Her top was equally black and trimmed with white lace and left most of her shoulders bare. Because of the fluffy lace, her hair looked as if it was meant to be this way: lacy and frizzy. She quickly powdered her lashes, put on her white slippers and decided that she looked good enough for the day.

When she entered her study she found Lyanna, fresh-looking and awake, sitting at her desk and ready to tackle another day. “Petition morning, isn't it?†Lanfir cheerfully greeted her friend. She laid her arm around Lyanna's shoulder and pressed a kiss in her dark hair. “What horrors must we face today?â€

A typical morning on a typical day. They worked through the petitioners, scheduled appointments with nobles, Aes Sedai and commoners alike, and then it was already lunchtime and petitioning was over for the day. Lyanna ordered a lunch and the two of them sat down together with news reports from all over the world. They had finally been able to create a reliable Eyes and Ears network that offered them a peek into how the rest of the world outside of Tar Valon was faring.

Most of it had been Lyanna's doing and Lannie took a moment to admire how far their network had come since they had taken over the tatters of Arette Nenatiar's network. They had eyes pretty much everywhere these days and although sometimes Lanfir wished that it was not so because it caused her to lose a lot of sleep sometimes, they were up to date on the happenings in the world.

Lanfir told her friend so. "You've done marvelously with this all, Lya," she spoke up suddenly, gesturing vaguely at the reports that were lying before them on Lanfir's coffeetable. "I know that sometimes the shawl of the Keeper is chafing you but I wouldn't know about anyone else more capable to stand next to me." Lanfir grinned. "Sometimes I think that I'd have burned this place to the ground in frustration if you wouldn't have been there to create some semblance of order in the chaos with me. Thank you for everything, Lya," she ended. She smiled at her love and felt grateful that at least she had Lyanna with her, in whatever would be there to come. "I wouldn't know what to do without you."

Neither did I, until the moment I wrote the character. ;) You're not out of the loop or anything, hun. I'm as surprised as you are. :D

OOC: My new character; Lannie is now officially a TPC now her KIA status is announced publically. :)

Meet Vivien! :D

A Fate Sealed...

IC: Vivien pretty much just let it happen to her and walked meekly after the Aes Sedai. She didn't say anything or asked anything but just followed the woman's steps... onto the stairs, through long winding hallways full of gleaming tiles and intricately carved pillars, marble and tapestries. Even though the tiles on the floor were mostly white, the hallways were still full of vibrant colour.

And there were people everywhere. Women, all of them. Some were accompanied by stony-faced men, others by other women, and a few girls her age and a bit older in white dresses. Vivien's nose wrinkled at the sight of it; they looked so plain, all in white. As if someone had just died. Her own dress, at least, was a festive green-and-yellow, and she was wearing blue tinkly bracelets. She had matching glass beads in her hair, wound around a few choice blond strands. At least she looked cheerful, these young women did not. Some of them had rainbows on the hems of their skirts and that looked a bit better, but the colours were not truly like rainbows and Vivien wondered if this was some sort of dresscode that was required here.

"We're here," the woman in blue velvet announced. "Wait here." She rapped quickly on a polished wooden door and when her knock was answered, she promptly went into the room without even saying anything to Vivien.

Vivien played idly with her bracelets and wondered what this Mistress of Novices was supposed to test her for. Surely not to become an Aes Sedai. Whoever had heard of a Tinker Aes Sedai? She had never heard of one of her folk to go the White Tower, that was for sure! She smiled vaguely at the thought. That was when the door opened and the Aes Sedai came out again. "You are to go in," she brusquely said. "Good luck."

And with that, the Aes Sedai left. Vivien briefly contemplated calling after the Aes Sedai to ask after her name, but she was not sure whether that was inappropriate and she did not want to let this Mistress of Novices wait. Her title sounded intimidating enough as it was, already, and Vivien would rather not irritate someone who was supposed to be a Mistress. She softly knocked on the polished door.

"Come in!" a voice called. Vivien pushed the doorhandle and entered the room. It looked like a study, and a cozy one at that. Behind a desk that looked cluttered in the way that it is when someone is working at it, she found another woman. "You are the Mistress of Novices, I assume?" Vivien asked politely. When the woman nodded, Vivien curtesied. "My name is Vivien Senette. I suppose I am to be tested here."

~ Vivien

Glad you like it James; it seemed kind of fun to play a hippie peaceful type after a battle chick like Lannie ;)

Of course it had been but a show of what she was capable of, but it was quite humbling to hear Suraya completely trash Sterre's quickly assembled ideas. Her feedback was constructive, though: she pointed out why all Sterre's tumbling around would be hard to keep up for a whole performance, and she immediately came with ideas to make the thing work anyway.

She then lit her torches and showed off some of her own moves, sometimes moving a bit too close for Sterre's comfort- but quickly enough Sterre learnt that Suraya had a tight control over both her fire and her movements, and she never even felt the heat coming near. This gave her a bit more incentive to trust the other woman in this thing. “Your turn, and now watch me as I move while you’re taking over the performance. I want you to do something similar while I’m doing my thing.†Sterre watched Suraya closely and knew that it would be easy enough to mimick the other woman. "So, do you think you're going to be able to do that?" Suraya asked, and Sterre nodded. "It's like a mock fight, or a dance. I think I'll be able to work like this," she observed. "As long as you keep those flames under control, that is," she added with a wry grin.

They started out; hesitating at first, anticipating one another's moves, but soon enough Sterre found out that it was easy to trust Suraya to be careful with those flames, and Suraya gave her tips and tricks to preserve energy in her movements. "I guess I have too much excess energy," Sterre commented, slightly panting after another round of twirling and mock-fighting. "I just want to burst it all out."

"Just keep in mind that we have a whole performance to work out," Suraya warned her. "And as for now, another performance since I think we're about to perform now. Come on, it'll have to do for tonight."

It's a good thing that I was never prone to stage-fright, Sterre told herself. Why, then, did she feel so wired up with adrenaline and anxiety?

Vanion had only been back in his room for a short while after his first training session with his mentor, Orion. He still had the black scarf tied around his eyes and was still trying to adjust to the lack of sight. I dont know how he manages, thought Vanion as he stubbed his toe for the third time since putting on the scarf. Swearing rather vigorously, he barely heard the footsteps coming into the room.

"I am rooming with boys?" she blurted out, before she could catch herself. She laughed. "Now that is going to be interesting." She turned to her new roommates and smiled. "Hello, I am Esthelle. I'm going to be your roommate, I guess."

Vanion looked towards Esthelle and smiled, "Pleasure to meet you, Esthelle. My name is Vanion. Vanion al'Makor. I cannot tell if the room is a mess at the moment, so I'll just apologize in advance."

Sitting down on his bed, Vanion layed his sword across his knees, then made a broad sweeping motion that took in the room, "Welcome to your new home. Make yourself comfortable! ...Watch out for the chests though... They have a knack for jumping out at you and biting your feet!", he said as he rubbed his stubbed toe.

Vanion began to unpack some things from his chest by the bed, a sharpening stone and some oil and some cloth. Unsheathing his sword, he began very carefully testing the edge in places. Carefully because of the blindfold. He then set about sharpening the sword and oiling it. The movements smooth and precise, even while blindfolded, so many times had he performed this task.

~Vanion

===

Esthelle's eyes rested on a young man her age with long black hair and a sash tied over his eyes. "Pleasure to meet you, Esthelle. My name is Vanion. Vanion al'Makor. I cannot tell if the room is a mess at the moment, so I'll just apologize in advance." He sat down on his bed with a sword accross his knees and gestured extensively: "Welcome to your new home. Make yourself comfortable! ...Watch out for the chests though... They have a knack for jumping out at you and biting your feet!"

"I bet they especially do that when you are blindfolded," Esthelle said with some amusement. She dumped her bags on the only free bunk beneath the window and sat down upon it, regarding the dark-haired boy with curiosity. "May I ask why you are doing this to yourself? Your poor toes, they must be stubbed senseless."

~Esthelle

===

"May I ask why you are doing this to yourself? Your poor toes, they must be stubbed senseless."

Vanion paused and looked towards Esthelle with a smile. "Well, the answer is rather simple. My mentor, Orion, is blind. And yet this does not seem to hamper him. I asked him to teach me to fight while blind. Your enemies do not always attack when you can see them. Orion agreed to teach me this skill. The blindfold is part of the training. I must learn to master my surroundings and rely on my other senses."

Wiping the exess oil from his sword blade, Vanion carefully sheathed his sword and replaced the oil, sharpening stone, and cloth back in his chest. Laying his sword back across his knees, he untied the blindfold and wrapped it around his neck. Alowing his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness, Vanion looked at Esthelle and smiled again, "Ah. Pleasure to see you."

~Vanion

===

Vanion smiled in her general direction. "Well, the answer is rather simple. My mentor, Orion, is blind. And yet this does not seem to hamper him. I asked him to teach me to fight while blind. Your enemies do not always attack when you can see them. Orion agreed to teach me this skill. The blindfold is part of the training. I must learn to master my surroundings and rely on my other senses."

Wow, that is pretty intense! I wonder what the rest of training is like, and if it's the same for everybody? I saw people fighting with some very different weapons out there... It just added with her curiosity.

Meanwhile, Vanion took off his blindfold and smiled at her while his dilated pupils responded to the afternoon light in the room. "Ah, pleasure to see you."

He had a friendly smile, Esthelle noticed. "Pleasure to see you too," she smiled back warmly. "It must be hard, walking around blinded all day but I think I can see the advantages. Could you tell me something about life here, if you don't mind? I just arrived here and it was a bit of an impulsive decision... I'm quite sure it was the right one, but some information from someone who is actually living the life would be most valuable."

She walked over to his bunk and sat down next to him. Curiously, she nearly touched his blade and then quickly retracted her fingers like a child who nearly caught herself stealing from the cookie jar. "Sorry," she grinned apologetically. "Couldn't help myself..."

~Esthelle

===

Esthelle walked over to his bunk and sat down next to him. Curiously, she nearly touched his blade and then quickly retracted her fingers like a child who nearly caught herself stealing from the cookie jar. "Sorry," she grinned apologetically. "Couldn't help myself..."

Vanion chuckled softly as he ran his hands along the scabbard of his sword, a far off look in his light brown eyes.

"This sword belonged to my father... It is all that I posess to remind me of home, aside from my memories", said Vanion.

Coming back to reality, he looked back to Esthelle and flashed a quick smile, "But you asked about life here! To be honest, I havnt been here long myself, and mine was also an impulsive decision to come to the Tower. I started off with naught but this sword, and dreams of glory. I had no purpose...", Vanion said with a deep sigh.

"But before I left home, my father told me that a man is only as strong as the cause he is fighting for, and that when you live life by the sword, you must choose to live honorably", he continued . "What could be more honorable than defending Aes Sedai?", said Vanion with a laugh.

Placing a hand on Eshtelle's shoulder, he said, "The life here is difficult. But that is how it was meant to be. The life of a Warder is not an easy one. We are meant to be living weapons in the war against the Shadow, and our Aes Sedai will be the hand that guides us. Here is the forge where we must be tempered, lest we break at that one crucial moment."

Vanion stared into Esthelle's eyes to make sure she got the point, then finished by saying, "Remember my words when you feel this is not the life for you. One day lives may depend on you... But I dont think you'll break Esthelle, not ever".

~Vanion

===

Vanion placed a hand on Esthelle's shoulder to get his point across, and his light brown eyes bored into hers. He passionately spoke of Aes Sedai, the Shadow, and all other things that Esthelle had always thought to be inspiring fairytales. She had never thought she would be one of the people who had to make a stand against the Shadow. Her life had always been centered around trade, marriage and city life. Not about battles and Aes Sedai and Light and Shadow. She'd always just.. lived. Not fought. Am I a fighter? Esthelle mused, and she had to come to the conclusion that she had to be, if this impulsive decision felt so right. But, to defend an Aes Sedai, to die for her... was that her life, as well?

She had only met Aes Sedai the other day for the first time. While the Amyrlin Seat and the Keeper seemed impressive women, radiating power and compassion both - they were like queens, and Esthelle had never thought herself to be part of world-changing decisions and battles. It had always gone over her head and she'd just abided by it. To live and die for such a person... it sounded a bit surreal and romantic. Maybe if she'd found one of them worth dying for, then she would. But it would have to be personality, not cause. It would have to be friendship, not just station, Esthelle decided.

"The life here is difficult. But that is how it was meant to be. The life of a Warder is not an easy one. We are meant to be living weapons in the war against the Shadow, and our Aes Sedai will be the hand that guides us. Here is the forge where we must be tempered, lest we break at that one crucial moment," Vanion spoke passionately. A light was burning in his light brown eyes and Esthelle thought that already they lived in completely different worlds. Would she enter his, or would she do it her own way?

"Remember my words when you feel this is not the life for you," Vanion said. "One day lives may depend on you... But I dont think you'll break Esthelle, not ever".

She smiled. "I wasn't planning to, Vanion... but thank you for the vote of confidence." She watched him sharpen his sword for a few moments before she asked: "So do we have any other roommates or is it just you and me here?"

~Esthelle

The sun had just left the horizon and copper-coloured rays were painting the Yards in warm hues when Esthelle arrived at the designated spot. It had taken some searching and some asking around, but finally she had found her way. She hoped she wouldn't be late! Her new mentor had told her to meet here in the morning to discuss the start of her training together.

Despite little sleep, she felt oddly clear-headed and sharp this morning. Already she could feel the adrenaline in her system; she was excited about the life that lay ahead of her. She had done some talking with her roommates and some thinking about weapons that she could fight with and she thought she had an idea of what would feel right to her. She just needed to run the idea by Kynwric Gaidin to see whether it was actually applicable.

While walking through the grass, she wondered what else her new life had in store for her. The information overload that her roommates had given her was quite staggering, and she was wondering how she would adapt to this new life. It was so completely different from all she had ever known. She had no offensive skills whatsoever; all she knew was that she was in a relatively good shape, fit with youth and that she had never been bad at running or swimming. Her most important mouth had always been the razor's edge of her tongue and her quick wit. It was a complete turnaround from all she had ever known, but she found that she was not anxious at all. She was excited!

Her mentor was already waiting for her, naturally. "Good morning," she wished him, smiling apologetically. "I hope that I'm not too late, I had to search a little..."

~Lannie

"Nay, you are fine. Right about on time and a good morning to you as well Esthelle." He gave a brief nod with his greeting. "Let's see about debunking as many myths those roommates of yours gave you before we go any further, any thing you have to ask of me before we head to the armory?" He knew that Trainees had their own ideas about what happened and most of them were quite correct, however everyone had their own myth that grew with the telling. It was those he had to destroy as quickly as possible, for if they grew to much then it became a distraction to the training and that was not conducive to a Trainee's lifespan.

~Kynwric

"Nay, you are fine. Right about on time and a good morning to you as well Esthelle." Kynwric nodded. "Let's see about debunking as many myths those roommates of yours gave you before we go any further, any thing you have to ask of me before we head to the armory?"

Esthelle laughed softly. "I know boys well enough to know that they're prone to exaggarating. But one of them was walking around blindfolded, and they talked of running laps and laps and about balancing and swimming and... about paths, too, and disciplines, but I didn't understand all that much of it. I kind of decided to keep an open mind and to just let things come as they are. It'll all make sense in time, I guess." She looked up at her mentor and shrugged a little. "It all sounded very active and kind of exciting." Somehow the thought of running until she dropped didn't appall her all that much. She would probably hate herself for it later down the line, but right now it seemed like a welcome relief from the life she'd been leading so far.

~Esthelle

"Well, take anything they said about the physcial training and double it. Those boys have been active since they were tykes. Unfortunately you have not and so we have to get you into fighting trim, and you'll hate me for it." He smiled as he talked and walked. "I've yet to recall a trainee enjoying physcial training, fortunately that won't start till tomorrow." Kynwric was leading ehr through the bound wooden doors now, pushing them open into the armory. "Today we have weaponry, take your time, search through them all and find a couple you like. Most I can train you in, and if it is something I cannot then we'll find you someone who can."

OOC: I am out of town starting in about 36 hours or so. Be gone till Monday.

~Kynwric

Esthelle walked into the armory and looked around in wonder. The stone walls were full of weapons as were a few immense racks in the middle of the place; many sorts and sizes that she had not even know the existence of. "How do I know what I like?" she wondered out loud, as she walked over to the heavy stone walls and hesitatingly touched the hilt of a broadsword that looked so heavy that she did not think she could ever lift. "How do I know..." she murmured, lost in thought as she walked around, taking in the immensity of the choice she had to make right now.

She saw a woman with a burn scar eye her from a distance and smiled at the woman, who smiled back. The woman was muscly like a blacksmith. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask them," she said to Esthelle in a motherly voice.

Esthelle nodded. "I'd like to look around for a bit first, if that is okay." The woman nodded, and a quick glance at Kynwric confirmed it. He was also nodding.

Wandering around the room, she saw many swords of many sizes and sorts. Some were broader than axes (which were also present, by the way), some were as slender as her underarm. She didn't quite like the idea of herself handling a sword, come to think of it. Neither did she like axes or anything that would be too heavy. Esthelle was an intuitive being and went with her gut feeling most of the time, so in this situation she trusted on her feelings as well. Her feelings, and her memories. If I would have to fight, what would I feel comfortable with?

She thought of instinctive reactions and unbidden the memory of Yoran returned to her mind. When she had felt most threathened, she had resorted to slamming and hitting. Thrusting, maybe. But then she held still before one of the racks and her fingers trailed over what she thought was a quarterstaff. And it immediately felt right. "Can I hold that one?" she asked at her mentor, eyes shining with anticipation. "I think I want that one."

~Esthelle

I'm here :)

*giggles* Wouldn't that be something? Naw.... the Amyrlin's just a Tricia Helfer fangirl ;)

Esthelle had been here for a mere few months, but she had decided to sign up for the Horse competition anyway. While her weapon of choice was perhaps not the best weapon to wield on a horse, Esthelle had found herelf increasingly drawn to horseriding and horses. She had ridden around before when she was visiting her mother's family outside of the city; but it had never been an obsession as it was these days. She liked horseriding better than practicing with her quarterstaff, she liked it better than sleeping, she liked it better than eating sometimes. She loved taking care of horses and cuddling with them. Most of the horses took a liking to her for some reason, perhaps because she was around the stables every free moment she had these days.

Her favourite however was a spirited mare called Sunlight. Even though she found the name bordering on corniness, the mare itself definitely wasn't. She was a beautiful animal; her skin was a tarnished gold and her hair a few shades lighter, blond as Esthelle's own hair had been when she had been a child. Esthelle loved sunlight to bits, and Sunlight had taken to her with an equal amount. Even though she got along well with her roommates and pretty much everyone in the Yards, Sunny was becoming her best friend. Sunny gave attention and love without having to be asked, without Esthelle really having to try. Her affection was genuine, and Esthelle loved her for it.

So the horseriding competition seemed for a lovely way to be with Sunny and do something constructive. On that beautiful morning that they were leaving for Redfern, Esthelle had dressed simply in her gray breeches and a form-fitting white shirt. Her cloak was light enough, and her boots were made of supple leather. Sunny was in a good mood, eager to go outside, and so was Esthelle. She tied her backpack onto her saddle and swung up onto Sunny, trotting cheerily over to the rest.

Esthelle Vinder

Tower Trainee...

I'm here! See if this works... :)