It was hard to keep a straight face sometimes around her mentee, and Elia knew that she hadn't managed when Kyrie looked at her and stopped ordering food. Hopefully it'd be enough to keep her full until they got back to the Barracks - Elia didn't have enough coin on her to be paying for the whole kitchens. She smiled at the thought.

"So, can I ask? Who was the Tower Guard?" With a furtive look around the room Kyrie went on. "It was Aran wasn’t it? I bet the time that man spends in his own britches is surprisingly small compared to the time he spends in other peoples’. I mean, my poor mother..." It was impossible to keep a straight face at that, and Elia just managed to keep her laugh to a quiet chuckle rather than an uncontrollable guffaw. As it was, her ribs were starting to hurt from holding back, and she knew her shoulders were shaking in amusement at the words.

"Actually, and yes, I am surprised, it isn't Aran. For all we know, though, it may not even be one of our men - from what I've heard..." She trailed off with the gossip as another of the serving girls arrived with some of their food, and Elia spoke to her before the girl went back to the kitchens for a second load.

"Is Emmilie working at the moment, by any chance?" The girl just shook her head and went back for more, arriving with the rest of the order before telling them, "No, ma'am, she doesn't start until nightfall. Gets mighty sick in the mornings, was putting the patrons off their drinks with the sound of her retching so early on. Thought we had a bad batch, some did." Elia nodded, trying to appear sage-like rather than amused at the thought.

"If she does come in before then, could you send her my way? I need to speak to her urgently." The girl agreed and went back to the tables, and Elia and Kyrie turned to their meals.

The Tower Guard was finished soon enough, and in an effort to resist picking from her mentee's plate, she stood.

"I'll go and ask where she lives, see if I can track her down and at least ask her when would be a good time for us to discuss the matter. You stay here, and try not to eat the plates by accident." Elia smiled broadly to mark the jest. That was what happened to a growing young trainee who skipped breakfast, they ended up ravenously hungry by the time they could stop to eat.

"I'll see you back here."

~Elia

OOC: Figured if I left it'd make it... easier for you to get yourself into trouble ;) Enjoy!

It seemed that they'd both looked to the sky to see how much of the day was gone at the same time, because just as Adine was about to make a comment about heading back to town, Leila spoke.

"Thank you very much for your kindness, Adine," The woman absently tucked some hair behind her ear. "But I really must be going - I hope perhaps to meet you again someday." She nodded slightly and turned to head back into the forest.

"You are very welcome, Leila - I hope that we will be able to speak again soon." As the woman disappeared into the forest, Adine watched after her curiously for a moment then turned to Dai.

"We'd best be off, too... My nephew will be wondering where we have gotten to." She picked up her things, mounting her steed, and pointed back to the Two Rivers as surely as a compass.

Leila and her eyes occupied her thoughts most of the way back to the town, and Adine wondered if she'd ever get a chance to speak to her again. The Aes Sedai was hoping that she would - it was not every day you got to meet someone like that, and she would like dearly to find out a bit more about the woman. Still, there was no use thinking on her now - unless Leila chose to appear again, Adine had no doubts that she'd never be able to find her.

With a smile for her nephew's youngest grandchild, who was sitting on the doorstep as they arrived back at his house, Adine walked inside and found the family in the kitchen. Pushing her sleeves up, she started peeling a potato to help with dinner, despite the protests, and her thoughts turned back to the conversation she'd had earlier in the day.

"Would any of you like to hear the story of Eldrene, the great Queen of Manetheren? Pure of heart and fair of face, she was loved all through the land..."

I'm sorry, I totally suck.

IC:

After six weeks stuck on the same square footage, with the same people, and the same foods, things were starting to get very tedious for Kaylan Morin. She'd long since grown bored of reading, there was very little research she could do out here, and she was far too bad a player to be entertained by stones for very long. She'd spoken to the crew quite a bit at first, amusing herself with asking them questions and making them nervous about the rabid Green, but even that had worn thin after four weeks. The fact of the matter was that there was only so much you could do before you simply ... ran out of ideas.

Embracing the Source, Kaylan amused herself by juggling balls of air and spirit, changing the colours and sizes as she did so. As they came closer into harbour, though, she let them disappear and went below deck to make sure that all of her things were in order. Somehow she'd managed to lose a shoe, and the hunt around the ship amused her for as long as it lasted, when she found the thing jumbled in with ropes as thick as her arms.

"Huh." The murmur of surprise was the first sound she'd uttered all day, but there was no-one around to notice it. With a shrug, she headed back down to put the shoe away with the rest of her things.

"So, Bandar Eben. Are we going to retire for a night to gather our strength or head straight out toward the source of the problem?" The Green started speaking without any announcement of her presence, wondering if she could make the Blue sister jump. "I'm gloriously bored, but one night to have a real bed that doesn't sway might be nice."

~Kaylan

She gets odd when she'd bored, what can I say?

Sunlight filtered through the window, and a shadow passed over it making Kaylan look up from her notebook. She'd been sitting in her rooms for over an hour, thinking and writing and trying to decide what to do with herself. She'd finally managed to destroy half of her study samples, and she was getting bored playing with the rest of them. The truth of it was that she was just bored - she'd been stuck in the Tower for so long that it was ridiculous - ever since she had first become Aes Sedai Kaylan had spent far more time out in the world. Being cooped up for so long made her irritable.

With an overexaggerated sigh, the Green Sister slammed her book shut and left her rooms, her head held high and proud. Just because she had nothing to do, there was no reason for her to look like she had nothing to do. No, best to keep up appearances, especially with the state of things these days. Kaylan was no stranger to scandal, it was true, but all the political machinations that came of it could be so tiresome. She had no patience for dancing about manipulating the truth and presenting a face. Perhaps there was a new novice she could terrorise. The thought brought a half smile to her face.

Setting chores was never as fun when they were completely unknown to you, and everyone Kaylan had been a novice with was long Aes Sedai, or long gone. No-one stayed a novice for centuries, it simply didn't make sense. Still, it always had been fun setting pointless chores for the little girls who managed to cross her. Recluse or absent as she mainly was, they had to have a special talent to achieve that.

As she walked through the halls of the Green Ajah, she suddenly had a thought. Spinning on her heel and heading toward the rooms of the newly raised, Kaylan approached one of the doors and rapped on it briskly. As her hands performed the motion, she thought about the traps that Muirenn set around her room and the wards on her own, and reminded herself to think. These younger ones seemed to be far too concerned with Daes Dae'mar for expectations to be relied upon.

When the door opened, Kaylan spoke briskly.

"Greetings, Sister. Halvie, I would very much like it if we could share tea sometime." No point dancing around it - she did like tea, and perhaps playing with a new Sister would be more fun than a new novice. One needed assistants on trips through the lands, after all, to carry bags and keep alcohol consumption in check. And Light knew Kaylan's Warders weren't particularly good for that job.

~Kaylan

Sister of the Green

There was always something going on in Tar Valon, and while Elia would normally leave city business to the City Guard, this was Tower Guard business. Or one Tower Guard's business, at any rate. She'd heard reports that a serving girl had gone and gotten herself pregnant and now her father was threatening to make heads roll unless someone married his daughter. And apparently it had been one of her Guards who had been having a tumble with the girl, so she needed to go and sort things out.

"I don't suppose lunch is on the agenda for the day, is it?" Kyrie's rumbling stomach had been getting louder, and Elia raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Well, it wasn't in the plan, but I suppose we can stop for a moment. Hopefully she'll be working and we can talk to her quietly instead of having to go and find her father." That was a prospect that she didn't particularly like thinking on.

"Excuse me, can we get a pitcher of water and... what's cooking today?" Elia sat and called out to the nearest serving girl, who ran through the kitchen's options for the day. Selecting one of the lighter options, Elia looked to Kyrie, waiting to hear what she'd order.

~Elia

Tower Guard lady

Though they were outnumbered, it was over soon enough, and Elia looked to the group to see what they'd managed. Eight of eleven - where the others had gone to she didn't know, but she hoped that it wasn't to get reinforcements to come for another try. Carnhain threw Rodrik a roll of bandages and told him to tie them on, and Elia watched her mentee comply before asking her advice.

"What do we do now?" Carnhain had already given his opinion, and Elia agreed.

"We ride. Hopefully there are no more around, but at least you three can hold your own if there are. I need to move forward to arrange a larger guard for our return trip, I should have put more credit in the woman's reports than I did." She realised that she was probably saying more than she should, but they knew her a swordswoman and hopefully would not question what kind of guard she was. Light blast it, did it really matter? They could have left them to die, but they hadn't, so it hardly seemed an issue if they knew them to be from Tar Valon.

"Baerlon can not be more than a days ride away. I will move quickly, and hope to see you there soon. I will be at the Badger's Hide waiting, once I have gathered some more troops, and I trust that you three can keep your heads and keep out of trouble. If you see more bandits, do not take chances. Ride if you can, do not stay for pride's sake, and only fight if you have no other choice. I wish I could stay but we are already behind time, and we need to be leaving as soon as we can. Take care of yourself, Rodrik, and you as well." She nodded to the other two before resheathing her sword, keeping her eyes and her ears peeled as she mounted Grim.

"If I don't see you in Baerlon within a day of me, I will come looking for you. Keep your heads and ride hard when you can. I will see you in the city." She felt a measure of guilt leaving Rodrik behind, but doubted that the two of them would be able to move as quickly, and doubted that the group would be attacked again so soon after having repelled one group. If there even were more groups in the area.

She rode hard for the first half hour, walking alongside Grim for ten minutes before mounting again. She knew the stallion's limits, and while she needed to get to Baerlon quickly, she also needed to have a live mount at the end of it. She knew she could make it by nightfall, and hoped in the depths of her heart that her mentee would meet her in the inn the next day, but fed her niggling worries to the flame and rode on. She had a mission to complete, and it had turned out to be more dangerous than expected. It was necessity for her to ride on and form a larger group, she just hoped that completing the mission did not come at too high a price.

____________________

Oooh, he's back. *swoons*

Hey, I don't have to be tough ;)

*sighs* Third time is a charm, right? I've lost two posts trying to reply to this and I'm about ready to give up, no matter how suckful it is that I've left it almost a month. Uni is now finished though, so I totally won't be leaving it that long again. Sorry!

IC:

Why he would take offense at her plainly stating the conditions of their passage, Kaylan would never know, so she instead let Sheena speak and mused over the traditions of different lands. An Illianer in Tear was an odd enough sight, with the traditional animosity between the nations - existing for as long as Kaylan could remember, and for no apparent reason, but she didn't wonder too long on the implications because their business was done and they returned to the deck. The Green was visibly pleased that they'd put their hoods down, and when she spotted her Warder with a bundle of goods, she waved the woman on board.

A quick conversation with Katerine and a look through the goods made Kaylan's smile grow. Good food, decent supplies - women always were better at shopping, and the old Warder had accomplished it all while they were conducting their business and for a decent price as well. The two of them spoke in low tones about trivial things, the price of beef and the colours best for ribbons, but all the while they were examining the ship - checking out the crew, looking at the exit points, assessing the situation from a battle standpoint. It was unlikely that it would come to that, but Kaylan and her Warders did it all by habit. They were in port for a few hours before business was finally conducted - that insistence that it was an honest ship made Kaylan watch carefully - and then they were finally leaving, heading toward their destination.

Watching the water passing beside the boat, the Green let her mind wander to the mission at hand. Until they knew exactly what they were facing, she couldn't formulate an effective strategy, but several scenarios seemed the most likely, so the Green turned them over in her mind and attempted to be mentally prepared. If it was simply pirates or brigands, they would be able to deal with it easily, but Kaylan wasn't sure it would be that simple. For all they knew, it could be a plot specifically designed to draw in Aes Sedai, and that meant they would have to be on their toes. Still, that was not the top of her most likely list. If it was a rogue Wilder, Kaylan's Talent would help, and if it was a freak of the weather... Well, Sheena could help, but if it was a sign of the impending Last Battle, which Kaylan believed was coming, then there would be very little they could do to change the stormy weather.

Speaking of the weather... The sky was darkening, and not just from the position of the sun - low clouds threatened a deluge, and Kaylan embraced the Source to ready herself. She was far too weak with Water to perform great feats of the weather, but her Air was strong enough that she could cover most of the ship and stop the fat raindrops from ever hitting the deck. Where was Sheena? No doubt sicking up all over the place, Kaylan's own stomach was protesting at the choppy waters they were gliding through, and the old Green wondered with a small smile what that did for appearances in their Great Game.

Katerine approached and slid a packet of herbs into Kaylan's hand, no doubt having felt Kaylan's own nausea. But it was nothing, a minor irritation, and one that would be gone as soon as Sheena could play with the weather. If she could - being ill did not make for the most calm of states, and calm was needed for channeling. The Aes Sedai test put them through many situations, but being ill was not one Kaylan had encountered, and her physical health always contributed to her effectiveness. She could channel with a crossbow bolt in her side - and had, at one stage - but if her head was bowed over being ill, she could not see to make the weaves.

"Sheena, can you do anything about this storm?" The clouds up ahead were lighting up in flashes, but they could not yet hear the thunder. "My strength with Water has never been the most impressive, but... I can try Healing if you'd like, or there are some herbs you can chew." Holding out the packet, Kaylan looked at the water that had grown more and more treacherous. With a frown, she wished that she could calm it, but her strengths had always lain more in the other direction. Chaos and pain were traditionally the marks of a Battle Sister, though some could Heal as well as hurt. Their Talents ranged all over the place, but Kaylan's were not in the right direction to be of any use right now - unless there was a reason for her to Shield and hold Sheena, and that seemed unlikely.

~Kaylan

Battle Ajah

OMG it's a Bloodeye boy!!! *gets all nostalgiac for the Band*

... CC'ed by the Seanchan :)

I'm so sorry, it's been a really really horrible week for me at uni, and if this had been on next week then I would have been able to post every day. As it is, I thought we had more than just three members, but I guess that everyone didn't notice it was here. *shrugs*

IC:

The house was on fire, and Edeline wanted to weep as she looked out the window at the bright flames licking at the old building. That was somebody's home, although she had no idea if they were still alive or not. Most of the exotics had been caught by now - and many of the damane, though a few were still free and wreaking havoc, and the pots and pans had stopped being thrown around hours ago. Dusk was falling, but the city was lit by the blaze of old houses glowing red, dotted here and there. The clean up effort had just started, and Edie walked out from her hiding place and helped. She was picking things up like a servant, it was true, but rank seemed not to matter as they cleaned up the damage that had been done to their beautiful city.

The streets were the first thing to be cleared, though bodies lay untouched for the most part where they had fallen. Some people had brought out sheets or given up their cloaks to cover the dead, but there were so many that Edie was beginning to see them as just another part of the rubble, and that filled her with an intense sadness. No-one should see so much death that it was un-noteworthy. No-one.

A sul'dam was walking past with two damane in tow, one of them retching as she was pulled along with her a'dam hanging from her neck but connected to no wrist. Many sul'dam had been killed this day, and while most of the damane were happy to be collared again, Edie had seen some of them dead, too, and did not think that they would be the last. There were few things a damane would be killed for - they were too valuable, it was much easier to simply relieve them of their hands or feet, but it seemed that the chaos in the city was the mark of too far to forgive.

"I can hold her collar," Edie stood and strode to the sul'dam, holding out her wrist. There was no use in dragging a damane along - they could not move on their own if their leash was not held, Edie had learned a little about it before her parents had forbidden her to learn to train damane - and it was just cruelty to be forcing her to walk. "Are there so many that need to be brought back to the kennels?" Edie felt the bracelet being clipped on her wrist, and then through it, the damane. "I am not completely trained, but if there are too many sul'dam injured to hold all the leashes, I will help." The woman in the lightning-bolt dress muttered something and started walking toward the kennels once more.

It would take a long time to heal the city, and a long time to discover who had done such a stupid thing as let all the exotics go free, but if they worked at it one step at a time, the people of Seandar would prevail. Eventually. They had to prevail - the second return was being planned, and if they were to defeat the mainlanders and claim back Hawkwing's empire, the people of Seanchan would need to be strong.

What does not kill us only makes us stronger. Somehow, she felt it would be little comfort to the dead.

~Edeline Jadien

Seanchan Blood

I'm squealing cause it's always awesome to see people from back in the day. You're obviously squealing cause you're a little girly man. :P Haven't been at the Band for years, even since Naven and Tenan disappeared and Beth had no-one to talk to anymore. Ah, you get that in a bag of chips. Awesome to see you back though! *huggles* What you been up to?

Cab!!! *squeals*

... sorry, I'll go back in my box now.

~Kaylan (you'd remember me as Bethany though, if your memory needs jogging)

Who is only visiting this board

Hey, just thought I'd come and say hi since I have expressed interest in being involved with this over on the WT boards. Still waiting to see what Robin thinks of course, but how can we have a party going out with a potential for conflict and NOT have a Green involved? :)

I guess I'll do that stats thing as well, cause I'm such a bangwagon joiner.

Name: Kaylan Morin

Age: ... not telling ;) Of an age with Muirenn, she's one of the oldest Aes Sedai in the Tower.

Rank: Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah

Appearance: She's 5'5 or thereabouts, has waist length white blonde hair, bright green eyes, and has worn scandalously low cut dresses all her life. By now, though, she's far too old for men, and is likely to lash out with the Power (she has a Shielding Talent) and a fist for anyone that thinks her low cut dresses mean she's... er, open for business.

About Kaylan: Originally from Four Kings, Kaylan is an expert and an experimenter with Shadowspawn and the Blight. Over the years she's studied pretty much all aspects of the Dark One's touch on the world, include the taint (courtesy of her one-time BT boy toy Torlong). Kaylan is firmly anti-political and has no time for playing with words to impress people. She's blunt, and believes that one should show worth to gain respect, not try to get it through words and appearances. Kaylan does not suffer fools. While her manner can be offputting, once a person has shown themselves worthy of her respect, Kaylan will do all in her power to help them.

Unlike most of the people posting here, I'm far from inexperienced when it comes to having Bonds. ICly Kaylan has held the Bonds of ten different Warders over the years, and she currently has three (one of whom is about to die). Keep in mind that six of those are NPCs for her history (no way could a Green who is 300 or so have only had 4 Warders in her lifetime), and unfortunately one of my Warders hasn't been seen here in over a year, another is on LoA from RP indefinately, and the other is currently on LoA ... maybe I've got bad luck or something *sobs*

... yeah, so anyway... While I've been a bit slack with posting lately, thankfully I'm actually graduating in under a month, and I'll have time to spend writing for my own things rather than uni assignments again. Uni is eating my brain! ... er, stay in school, kids.

Before I degenerate completely into incoherence, I think the most important thing about the Bond from an Asha'man is not an IC compatibility but an OOC compatibility. Regardless of whether I do participate in this side of things in the end, I'd love to come over and interact with some of you BT boys (and girls in disguise) sometime anyway, so ... yeah.

Sorry about the rambling, I'm blaming it on uni :)

~Kayls

As she worked through the forms, Elia registered his presence, but did nothing to acknowledge the presence of the younger one they'd joined up with. Carnhain, a Lieutenant of the Band of the Red Hand, he'd called himself, and that intrigued her. Not enough to stop, though, there were few things that could keep her from a proper workout. Sweat trickled down her brow and a lock of hair had come loose, hanging in her face, but she was wrapped in the void and did not let either thing bother her. The void wavered as Rodrik approached, a flash of irritation quickly absorbed, but it - and the approach of the other man - signalled a time to end her practice.

Folding the fan, Elia looked at all of them, fixing Rodrik with a stare and speaking softly. "You should have joined me in that, Rodrik, we can all use practice." She practiced every day, at least once, and she needed to in order to keep her skill up. It was the price of being a Blademaster - you could keep a heron mark if you practiced every few days, but to be truly skilled you had to practice daily. There was no other way to do it - but that was a lesson best saved for later. She could imagine how hard she'd have pushed him if Rodrik had joined her, but now that she'd worked away her frustrations and started the day with at least part of her routine, perhaps he'd join her for a session in the evening. She looked at Carnhain in interest for a moment before returning to the campsite to roll up her blankets and ready herself. Light, but she'd be glad for a real bathtub and a proper bed once they got to Baerlon.

It was a long and uneventful day, with Elia staying silent for most of the ride, thinking about things back in the Tower and what she was going to do with herself. She'd accepted the short mission to help out her mentee, but with her mother's death and her resignation as Commander, everything was up in the air and she truly wished that she'd been able to stay with Alex. Soon enough, though, they'd be together again, but Elia missed him more than she cared to admit.

Her eyes scanned the foliage around them, but lazily - nothing had happened bar last night's adventure this entire trip, and she was beginning to feel that their presence would do nothing more than elevate an already big-headed noblewoman's ego. But the Tower had sent her an escort, and it was not Elia's place to protest. She caught a glimpse of what she thought was movement, but when she saw nothing, she dismissed it as a gust of wind. Rodrik rode back to her though, pointing to another spot, and through her looking glass Elia observed the men for a moment before making her decision.

"We'll ride around them. Hopefully they haven't seen us." There was no more movement and she put the glass away, looking at the two men from the Band for a moment before her thoughts were disturbed by Rodrik riding back again. At his words, she drew her blade, the red leather comfortable in her palm, feeling a connection with her grandfather who had carried it before she. Guide my blade, grandfather, and help us through this day. She had no idea of the skill levels of the two strangers, but she knew that it was her duty to protect Rodrik. Her mentee could hold his own in a spar, but a spar was different from superior numbers with the intention of killing and robbing you, and Elia fed her worries to the flame in preparation for the approaching fight.

~Elia Darnel

Tower Guard

I am so sorry that I didn't get this up yesterday, I had every intention of doing so but I got completely swamped with uni work. Ack!

IC:

There was a crash and a splatter as the plate fell to the floor, and the head of the table frowned down at the girl now whimpering on the floor. Hardly the best way to start breakfast, and Edie frowned as the girl cried something about the plate jumping from her hands, but before any of them could speak, the cutlery was dancing across the tables and imbedding itself in the chairs, the candles, and even one of the covale. Blood and flames and chaos took over their table and after putting out the flames from the candle that had fallen over, Edie darted out into the streets, following the sound of the cries that she could hear.

They lived close to the heart of Seandar, and everywhere she looked Edeline Jadien saw chaos. Carts had overturned, their contents pummelling the shoppers and shopkeepers alike - some of whom had the grave misfortune of standing at a cart loaded with weapons. Stones were flying about and people were spilling into the streets with bedsheets tangled around their necks and pots straining to beat them, and Edie was stunned speechless. How was this happening? What was it that was happening? She could not tell, she could not know... and then she saw it.

The exotics had gotten loose. To'raken flew above the city, saddles slipping and reins broken. Grolm bounded the streets in packs that Edie quickly darted into a building to avoid - but that was not the worst of it.

The damane... There were women in gray dresses everywhere, walking free, uncollared and uncontrolled. If only she had gone for training with the sul'dam before now, Edie may have been able to help. But instead she watched helpless, unsure what to do, with no ideas coming as to how to stop the damane from wreaking such havoc in the capital city of the Seanchan empire. How had they gotten out? Who had let them loose? Heads would roll, she was sure, but what were they going to do to get the city back under control? Some of them simply looked lost, and one damane was sitting in the middle of the street crying, clutching at her neck. But others were smiling and obviously enjoying the chance to get back at the sul'dam who had held them collared so long, and Edie shook her head as she saw at least one corpse wearing a lightning-bolt dress. Perhaps it was a good thing that she'd had no training after all. A whistling sound was her only warning and she ducked to avoid the heavy porcelain bowl that had been thrown at her head, watching as it smashed against the wall and fell in pieces at her feet.

Hi everyone,

I'm currently seeking new staff for the Seanchan division. While I'm giving first consideration to current members of the Division, I'm looking for an ADL who will be best for the division, and I know that could potentially be anyone. So if you've been interested in working with staff, are interested in the Seanchan division, or want to get a bit of experience with one of the smaller divisions, here's your chance. Unfortunately, my current ADL has been absent for some time, and with my uni work taking up quite a bit of my time, a lot of the things that I've been planning aren't really happening as quickly as they should or as I want them to.

It's really a question of me wanting staff to help out with decision making (you know, reign me in when I'm being a tyrant ;)) and also to be able to represent the Division on the Div staff boards when I can't be there.

I need an ADL who is going to be active and enthusiastic for the division, and getting along well with me is advantageous ;)

If you're interested, send me an email or a PM with your application. I want to know why you want the position, what you think you'll bring to the position, and how much time you have to devote to DM and to the Seanchan.

I'll let you all know by this time next month. Applications close Monday 5 June my time (which probably means Sunday 4 June for most of you), and I'll make the announcement within the week after that.

~Kaylan

There was a boom and several voices yelling all at once, and Analie dropped her cloak in surprise, peeking out the door and drawing her sword as the sounds formed words that had been muffled by the thick walls of her room. Her first instinct was to cower, to dive back into her room and bolt the door, and hope that the Aes Sedai who were attacking didn't come for her and burn the door away with a thought, but she forced herself outside with a frown.

There were women - well, they looked like women. But the Aes Sedai had the Three Oaths, and they weren't able to use the Power as a weapon. And yet, there was a hole in the wall, and there was a man with his face bleeding, having been struck by debris falling from the damaged walls of the Fortress. And there was an Aes Sedai, wrapped in a Gray-fringed shawl, and she was hurling flames at passers by, and her face was twisted and evil. Analie shook her head, frowning deeper. Her mother had told her about going to the Tower, when she'd been raised as a noblegirl on her father's estate. The Grays were peacemakers, not killers, and as Analie thought it she realised that the tapestry on the wall - normally a scene of three Aes Sedai hanging with a crowd of people cheering as the looked on - was now just a crowd of cheering people and an empty gallows.

She gasped as she rushed in and slashed at the woman, her blade meeting what felt like flesh and blood but what couldn't possibly be. And she wanted to sob as she cut down the woman, helped by several of her Brothers and Sisters in arms, because she could only imagine what damage this would do in the Fortress, and the way that the different groups in the Fortress would react to this event.

~Analie Sheehan

Child of the Light

The darkness was absolute as the gateway snapped shut, and Kaylan gasped reflexively, suddenly glad that no-one else had joined them and very glad that Muirenn had gasped too. She hated politics, avoided them as much as she could, but there was no denying that Muirenn was a powerful and influential Aes Sedai, one of the oldest left in the Tower and in an Ajah that was seen by many as opposing Kaylan's own. And yet, the Green had found the two to have more in common than most people thought ever possible, and they had been allied in recent years. Still, Kaylan could not help but be glad, and she smiled in embarrassment as the lamp appeared, sharing a moment with the Red that was pushed out of mind at the sensation of moving. As the platform lurched to a stop, Kaylan blinked several times and held her balance carefully, then stepped out through the now open railing and into a field.

"Well, that worked as expected," Muirenn spoke briskly. "Would you like to try your hand at taking us back? I do not think, however, that it would be wise to attempt to gate into that small sitting room. And I do not think either of us know it well enough to do so. Have you any ideas of a location to return to?" Kaylan pondered the idea for a moment, thinking about the best place, and remembered that Jada was out of the room for the day, along with Mercury and Calya who almost never stayed in her quarters anymore.

"My rooms should be empty, if I can get us there." The Green embraced the Source, taking one last look at the field around them curiously, then wove the threads as she'd seen several times now, watching as the gateway opened onto a white platform with green tiles so dark they were almost black, bordered by a short wall and a rail, with lamps burning merrily at each of the four corners of the platform. She smiled at the thought and stepped in, waiting for Muirenn to be settled in her place before the gateway closed and the platform moved forward. It was hard to tell - there was no wind, no point of reference to look at and see the movement, but she had a distinct feeling that they were whizzing along quickly through the emptiness and toward the White Tower. After a few long minutes, the silence undisturbed, Kaylan felt the platform slow and stop and another opening - bright light streaming in blindingly after the small amount of light provided by the lamps. Squinting, she waited for Muirenn to leave first, and then stepped out herself to see with relief that they'd ended up in her quarters, and hadn't disturbed anything. It was crowded, even though she periodically cleaned it out and put things in storage, and thankfully none of the stacks of notebooks had toppled over, and all of the more dangerous things she'd studied were still firmly in place. A sun-bleached Trolloc skull leered down at them from its place on the cream painted wall, a tattered green silk hanging speaking of how many years had gone between renovations. The Myrdraal blade that took pride of place over her desk reflected the gateway as it closed, and she turned to the Red with a smile.

"I'm glad that went well - shall we return to the White quarters?" Her smile deepened as she realised that anyone in the hallways would be astonished to see the Green and the Red emerge from Kaylan's quarters with the ward Kaylan kept around her door when she was away firmly in place. Still holding the Source, Kaylan dismantled it and opened the door, gesturing to the open doorway to allow the older Aes Sedai to pass through first and affixing the ward back in place behind them. She twirled the Great Serpent ring on her finger - a habit from her Accepted days - as they walked back down to the tea room, unsure how much time had passed and lost in thoughts about the implications of this discovery.

~Kaylan

Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah

When she didn't find the Blue in her room, Kaylan decided to look around the ship - somewhere with room to vomit over the side, if Sheena's condition had not improved. Some people just didn't have the stomach for water travel, and while Kaylan had grown up inland and landlocked, she was old enough to have taken a good number of voyages by water in her lifetime. The small amount of nausea she'd experienced when she first took a boat trip had long since disappeared, though Kaylan knew some women who had never gained their 'sea legs'.

Finally the old Green managed to locate the younger Aes Sedai, and the cheerful return of her greeting sounded a little forced, which was understandable considering the position Sheena had been in just moments before. They traded words carefully, just as protocol demanded, though Kaylan was aching to throw protocol out the window and speak simply. Still, they had not been travelling together for long, and there was no point in getting herself into trouble. If she could avoid it.

Oh, burn it. She decided to skip the required response and just speak as she normally did. This was why Kaylan didn't spend that much time outside her ajah - it was one thing to yell at your own sitters and entirely another to yell at someone else's. She'd learnt that the hard way.

"Oh, I try to avoid anything that requires politics, Sheena, you're quite welcome to do the bargaining. Are we wearing shawls?" It was her way of asking if they were going for pomp and ceremony, or trying for discretion. Perhaps a bit of both was in order, but it truly did send Kaylan's head in loops when she tried to understand it all. Why one thing was offensive and another not simply didn't make sense to her - she knew when she was being offensive, and if everyone just told people what they thought there would be no question of it. But they would have to be careful if they were to gain passage, so she'd definately leave the talking to Sheena.

~Kaylan Sedai

Rodrik was awake early, and Elia had caught her sleep in short stints to be aware of their surroundings. It was strange to be surrounded by the sounds of three other people, not just one, and all these men made her miss Alex desperately, the wistful thought that he'd never do something so stupid as her mentee making Elia grin to herself. She could hear Rodrik approaching, but he hesitated and turned to leave, and Elia spoke quietly.

"Where are you going? You and I need to have a little talk about your behavior yesterday." She didn't want to do it in front of the others, but leaving it too long would be just as bad, and as Rodrik turned she stood and walked a short distance from the campsite with him.

"I don't care what you see or hear, I don't want to see you running off like that ever again. You could have stumbled into a pit of vipers, you could have been killed. I thought you had more sense than to run off with only half a mind on what is going on, and if you ever do it again, I will speak to the Mistress of Trainees about dismissing you. I do not want to mentor someone who is only going to get themselves killed by being foolish." It was barely more than a whisper - a hiss, even, yet she was sure that he heard every word. With that said, she simply walked back to her bedroll and began to pack up, not giving him a chance to say anything - to keep her from yelling at him as much as for any other reason. Tying her hair back with a leather thong, she saw that the other two were awake and picked up her sword, finding herself a nice empty spot to work the forms and sweat out some of her annoyance.

She'd meant every word - but there was a time for anger and a time for calm, and she needed her wits about her. Feeding her emotions into the flame, Elia danced, her katana an extension of herself, one with the void and precise in her movements. It was a deadly grace that came from years of practice, and a hint of it could be seen on the ballroom floor. Still, there was something about working with the blade that was both beautiful and terrible, and Elia embraced it as she danced.

~Elia Darnel

The cough and question was an interesting response to a simple question, and though Adine raised an eyebrow for a moment she didn't comment on Leila's response.

"What most people know, I expect, though it never used to be a story well known in this place. Still, there is something about being in the actual place that brings a new dimension to every story, and some people have a memory of it." All true, once more, and Addie wondered what Leila knew of it.

"Manetheren is a story particularly interesting to me because of Eldrene's ... status, but also for the bravery of the city and her people. To be a thorn in the Dark One's foot and the bramble to his hand - oh, if only the sword truly could not be broken." Adine realised that she was gushing, but finding out the history of her home had been a great motivator in her ajah choice - Queen Eldrene had done what Adine would do, should the choice ever come, and she desperately hoped that if the Last Battle was to come soon, as she thought it was, that she would live to fight.

"Carai an Caldazar. Carai an Ellisande." It was a low murmur only. Memories long forgotten by most, and a women long dead. But still an Aes Sedai who inspired others, and those of the Green Ajahin particular. Manetheren had been betrayed and left to its doom, and the city that lived to fight the shadow had been shattered, the sword had been broken.

"Long gone, of course, there is virtually nothing left of the nation but the people who remain." Adine smiled and gestured toward Emond's field, the site of a great battle but now nothing more than a few houses. Addie was curious about the woman in front of her, but said no more, simply taking a drink of water and looking at Leila, wondering if there was any more conversation to be had.

~Adine al'Thoram

Fawne's words surprised her, and Elia felt the need to say something in Matalina's defence, but the words wouldn't come. The Tower Guard simply couldn't understand why anyone would leave such a beautiful girl - new family or not. The fact that Fawne spoke the words showed her hurt, and her confusion, and Elia didn't know how to fix that - she was not Fawne's mother, after all, even if she sometimes felt like she was.

"Oh, Fawne, it was lonely without you and your father here. But I've been feeling alright, the baby is coming along well and I'm not getting sick in the mornings, I've even started exercising again though I cannot work the forms as easily as I could before, I've become out of practice and my belly is awkward." She smiled and tried to lighten the mood, though the absence of Alex was still a huge aching void.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" She didn't want to say it, but the Siren's Call, so familiar and comfortable usually, was beginning to feel cold and depressing just to be in. She wanted to get out somewhere, anywhere else, to breathe fresh air and get the tight feeling out of her chest.

~Elia

short and crap, sorry :(

The fact that his kaf was taking so long to arrive was about to draw a comment from Edie, but she was distracted by a woman having a coughing fit. Edeline stood as people watched uselessly, but before she could do anything, someone rushed in with a glass of water and the woman finally stopped coughing and settled back in her chair. It would probably not be appropriate if she asked her parents, but Edie had never listened to them. She stood smoothly and walked over to the woman, asking, "Are you alright? I could summon a herbalist if you wish." She could summon a damane, but not many people liked being Healed by one of them - there was something not quite nice about being healed by something that was less than human. A view that Edie hadn't subscribed to since her sister was taken, but still one that many did subscribe to.

"Would you prefer to take your kaf by the window?" Edie walked back to her own table and motioned to one of the free seats, still not making any acknowledgement of the deathwatch trainee at her table. She had no idea who he was beyond the status his clothing marked, so she wasn't about to start with introductions to another woman whom she didn't know. Sitting once more, the young woman took a sip of her kaf and motioned to one of the serving girls.

"I am still waiting on my pastries, and I believe that this man ordered kaf." The girl nodded and positively ran off, returning soon with the items. Taking a sweet pastry and topping it with a dollop of cream from the selection of condiments on the plate, Edie made a vague motion to the plate to her two companions, inviting them to join her in the light meal.

~Edeline

No worries. CCed by Seanchan.

No worries then. Could be amusing seeing him learn how his idea of very skilled means little in the Yards. ;)

CCed by the Seanchan.