"...Saldaea," The Captain-General spoke the final word of Calia's report and recommendations in the same instant she did.  

Cal inclined her head to acknowledge the perspicacity, along with the truth and weight of shared information. It had taken a further, in-person meeting with Fenn to decipher the exact details of the note he had passed her at the White Flame, and then another week for a second contact to arrive from the same general direction and corroborate his stories. Evidently though, hers had not been the only ears attuned to the growing whispers.

The press of the Captain-General's normally rosy mouth into a pale line  confirmed it, as far as Cal was concerned. It was time to move, and Saldaea would be the target. Surely there was no denying action now -  signs of darkness were definitely spreading at an unusual rate along the edges of the Borderlands; the Blight was stirring once again, and it was past time for the Tower to have coordinated an appropriate response. 

"Ah-!", the Captain-General held up a finger - a smooth and practised measure of admonishment and caution to patience.

Cal pressed her mouth closed accordingly.

"- leave it with me, Calia." 

"Of course," Cal smiled at her colleague of many battles and many years, and pressed her mouth carefully shut again. For an instant.

"I know, I know - you're packed and ready to go." An entire cautionary hand lifted above the table-top to head off the unspoken words this time, waving Cal completely out of the room for good measure. In response, Cal nodded and rose promptly from her seat. The Captain General fixed her with an eagle-like stare, knowing her all too well. 

She was two steps from the door before the expected order came.

"Go and get some sleep."

Calia turned, smiling over her shoulder with absolutely no pretence of intended innocence or immediate compliance with that order, and slipped out of the room, softly closing the door.

* * *

"I recommend him," Calia affirmed several days later when the official orders had come through and discussions concerning companions had begun, "Elessar is my pick."

"Sister, he isn't exactly the youngest resource in the Tower, and neither are you..."

"- the mention of which, I can only assume, you are bringing up to highlight the wealth of knowledge and experience we could each bring to a vast number of situations throughout a journey such as this one." Calia cut the younger Sedai off smoothly, somewhat surprised that anyone would question her recommendation. Cal had been watching the man in question for weeks now, and was more than confident enough in her decision.

The Captain General hid a smile behind her hand. "Elessar comes," she confirmed, having been privy to all of Calia's positive observations and thoughts on Elessar's capacity and ability to perform appropriately for this since the two of them had first met.

"I'll inform the Captain of the Warders."

* *  *
 

The blood was warm. It seeped from the meat crushed between his teeth. It ran in messy rivulets around his tusks and down his leathery muzzle. Garg grunted and grinned at the still-jerking body held in his fist. Human bellies were so soft. He wanted more. Now. Like the Eyeless and the hoard of brothers around him, he didn't wait.

* *  *

Dawn seeped through the gaps at the edges of her curtains. Slowly, slowly, the day of departure finally arrived. Slithers of light stretched across the tidy room, highlighting the empty and neatly made bed, the inside of the tightly shut door.

Calia strode down the hallway, her hair smoothed back from her face in tiny braids collected in a no-nonsense bun at the back of her head, her green silk riding skirts swishing determinedly with every step.

She reached the stables and saddled the mare that had been allocated to her for the journey. Checking her packed belongings a final time and finding nothing amiss, she mounted up and headed to the meeting point just as the sun burst forth from the horizon. Light streamed across her path, minimising shadows and chasing away the dark. She smiled, eyes bright.

This, Calia thought.

This chasing shadows was exactly what she was made for, and it was high time again for her to put her skills and strength to best use!

No doubt about it, Cal noted to herself. Elessar had practiced moves and cold control, an ability to present a hard, unyielding front and talk smoothly of crushing knee-caps whilst still keeping a wider, watchful eye; and he demonstrated that absolutely unique combination of simultaneously protecting an Aes Sedai from danger and respectfully deferring to her decisions when a situation was more under control without even the smallest hitch.

Unless he was the Shadow's best actor, the man was Gaidin. And a competent one at that. Even unbound, the trouble-maker at his feet was going nowhere. 

"The Warder gives you good advice," Calia warned all of the young men, lowering her hood and exposing a face and tone as impassive as only decades as an Aes Sedai could wring. 

As she spoke, Cal bolstered and tied off the orb of light.  She shortened the wall of Air between the two men, drawing them closer together, and trimmed the rest of the threads around them into a neat and compact block. Carefully, ever so carefully, she secured the weave around each man's chest just a little bit tighter. 

Better. 

She suspected Elessar would take the acknowledgement she spoke for exactly what it was - despite the fact her gaze was now firmly fixed on the three young men, and them alone, without even the slightest hint of the satisfaction she actually felt as a result of the solidified understanding.

She eyed each of the men in turn. Slowly. With a stare as sharp, direct, cold and impenetrable as possible. She left the man at Elessar's feet until last. 

"It is curious that you scowl again," she noted blandly, turning her attention back again to the two wider-eyed and Power-held boys in front of her. 

"You," Cal locked eyes with the youth closest to her and took a step forward, gesturing the dagger lying near her feet, "You would stab an Aes Sedai with a knife?" His gaze flickered wildly from her outstretched hand to the knife and then towards the third the man on the ground before darting back up to hers. Without breaking stride or stare, she crooked her fingers and drew the dagger upward from the cobblestones with a fist of Air.

"N-no, Aes Sedai!, no!" Again - a flick of his gaze in the direction of the man at Elessar's feet. The boy's voice was on the edge of panic.

"You then?" she snapped her stare and accusatory question towards the other in her net. He swallowed hard, looked wide-eyed and rapidly and emphatically shook his head to either side as much as the weave around him would allow.

Cal amplified her voice, matter-of-factly, raising the blade as high as their brows and looking sharply from one to the other, "Yet, here we are. And here is a knife." The weapon dropped neatly from the air into her waiting hand. She held it steady.

"And there," she tilted her head towards the knife Elessar still had, "is another."

The boys paled. 

Eyes narrowed, Cal began rapid-firing questions at the two in her best no-nonsense-teacher-of-the-Tower tone. Quickly enough, they spilled names and hometowns she placed little stock in along with believable ages and confirmation that they were brothers from Andor. The two were decidedly not strangers to Tar Valon, Cal decided, and both of them were reasonably aware of how much trouble they were in for being caught as perpetrators of crime in this city, even in these more secluded streets. Neither of them had ever sat in the Chair of Remorse. This she believed at least. Both of their eyes had widened even further at the mentioning of the Chair, but nothing more than that; and try as she might she just couldn't stretch her imagination far enough to cast either of them as the sort that would react as they had, or risk a second session if they had.

The third man, however, scowled throughout her questioning, answering apparently both more smoothly and more begrudgingly than the other two boys. His misshapen nose and the scar on his face probably told more truth about his rough life than his words, Cal knew. Most telling of all for her though, was his initial panic at recognising her channeling for what it was, mirrored later at the mention of the Chair, and all of the barely-contained surliness-bordering-contempt in between. 

All three of them swore, trembling to various degrees of believability, that they had never intended to try and actually harm Elessar or herself or any other passer-by, and that they were working alone, just trying to 'earn' a few coins for a meal and a bed for the night. 

Cal didn't bother mentioning that none of them looked particularly destitute or in dire need of a meal. Even before the last of her questions, she had weighed the facts of the situation and shared the briefest warning glance with the Gaidin so he might be prepared before the announcement of her decision and ready for any reaction from the men.

There were countless paths, some more innocent than others, that might have led these men to tonight's activities and the stories they now told. Regardless, the street was no place for sifting truth. They would be going to the Tower. At the very least, all three of these youths were guilty of intended violence and strongarming innocents in the streets of Tar Valon. That alone was not something she would excuse, nor something that could go without punishment here. The City was kept as safe and ordered as it was because there were always harsh consequences for crime. Lessons needed to be learned in order for behaviour to be changed. Lenience could lead to ruin. 

It was also entirely possible that the third man, especially, could represent a deeper level of trouble, at the very least for the other two. There was something about him and the way they glanced his way before speaking, something else about the way he appeared to both fear her use of the Power and scorn at her questioning with false bravado.

At least with Shadowspawn, you always know...

The wind whipped and whistled down the alley-way, stirring up the corner of cloak and reminding her that whether the boys in front of her were common crooks with a sad back-story, terrible plan and the lack of sense to stay away from Tar Valon, or one or more Darkfriends with connections to a more sinister plot - the Tower and tailored experiences in the Chair of Remorse - not this street in the wind - was ultimately where they would be shown the consequences of their actions and the best place for risks and stories to be straightened out.

She drew more of the Power as a precaution against any trouble, ready to fight or bind the men as required, and her voice cut through the wind with finality when she spoke.

"And yet, here we are, and here are the knives you rushed at us with - knives of a cut for thieves, strongarms and criminals more than for gentle every-day use. In an ambush. In the streets of Tar Valon. Crime can't and won't be tolerated here and you all have things to learn. Let's get you all to the Tower!"

"And here we are." Cal slowed her pace at the entrance to the cross-street, turning to the Gleeman with a smile.

"Good-night, friend." She brought their conversation and wandering to a close. The chill wind, snapping at the hem of her cloak and doing its best to get in under her hood, continued unnoticed. 

"And to both of you!" Fenn bowed with a grin. He bounced backward into the street with a final flourish for them both as Elessar caught up, then he gave a wave, turned lightly on his toes and strolled happily away with the wind gusting at his back. Calia nodded at his retreat and turned her attention back to Elessar and the rest of their journey back to the Tower.

* * * 

The Kandori turned into a back alley she didn't recognise and the Aes Sedai smiled quietly to herself, pleased to find that there were still novelties for her to discover in this world, and particularly this town, even after all this time. She studied the stonework of the buildings on either side until she caught herself automatically setting her 'safe dome' wards in their usual spot and then she supressed a bigger, somewhat self-deprecating smile.

The alley they had turned into might have been unknown to her, desolate and dark, but it was also in Tar Valon.

With a shrug she cast and expanded the finished net of wards to a distance of ten paces and tied it to the simple circlet-necklace under her shirt. The weave glowed faintly and the circlet warmed against her skin, settling neutrally as it always did. No harm in keeping fresh practice, she reminded herself sternly, inverting the weave and tying it off.

An instant later the circlet all but burned at three points from a frontward direction and Elessar leapt away from her with a warning shout. 

The split second of warning was all Cal required.

She drew Saidar deep and near-simultaneously spun an orb of Spirit, Air and Fire and an expandable wall of solid Air. The orb she flung upwards for better light; the wall she softened to a thick, immovable-mallow-like consistency and snapped in front of what had previously been two more rushing shadows.

The young men seemed to freeze mid-stride. Cal wrapped the 'wall' tightly around both of them, until the warning points on her circlet returned to normal temperature, signalling the time of threat and excitement was all but over. She maintained her hold of Saidar nonetheless, thanking the Light as she always did that she had been blessed with sufficient strength in the One Power to channel quickly and maintain multiple weaves at once.

Battle in the Borderlands this ain't though. That much was certain. 

With the circlet a neutral temperature, she didn't have to look to know that Elessar would likely have his 'shadow' well-enough in hand, but she did anyway, assessing his manner and technique with an appreciative eye before turning her attention to the two men caught in her wall of Air. 

Young, yes. But most definitely old enough to know better, and quite possibly candidates for the Chair... if they're not up to something worse.

She turned her body slightly so she could continue to take in what was happening with Elessar and his would-be-aggressor as she studied the faces of the two in her net. No way to know the attacker's actual intentions or allegiance to the Light or otherwise at this point. That would come in time enough, as would the decision on whether to take them on to the Tower or to the watch-house of the City Guard. 

First things first. She made sure there was sufficient laxity in the net at the men's mouths and noses for breathing requirements, but with enough responsiveness and tension to tighten with the vibrations of yelling and smother any obnoxious sound. So much better than a gag, she reflected on the weave, not for the first time.

Then she allowed free movement of their eyes and stretched the sections of weave surrounding two exposed daggers in the men's hands, only just enough for them to open their fists, should they so choose. And then she unplugged their ears and spoke in a calm and level voice, her face smooth, eyes like deep ice.

"Release those knives, please boys. Now." 

She kept part of her attention on them, and began preparing short tendrils of concentrated Fire to snake in and heat the blades if they did not comply.

Welcome back!

The wait and the gloom in those periods was real and I'm with you on the passing of Ta'Veren Tees 😞 😞 though I think the show will probably see another rise in available merch... 🤞

9 hours ago, Jagen Sedai said:

I like it! May I assume from this bio that Thay is a novice in the current timeline or will you advice her?

If she is an Accepted or even a Sister by now, can you add a section about her character reputation? 🙂

Happy to leave her as Novice, didn't get too far in, and think I'm going to make it as if neither her nor Calia are aware the other is there at this point in the current timeline...

Fantastic!

The RP could do with more players again!

Let me know if you need anything during char creation etc, I'm always happy to chat!

Welcome back Israel / Calazar !

I do indeed remember that name!

Were you in the role play side of things as well?

Name: Thayetta Luin

Age: 14

Place of birth: Four Kings, Andor.

Physical Description

Hair: Light brown, chin length bob.

Eyes: Blue, large and wide.

Skin: Fair, with a sprinkling of freckles over her nose

Height: 5’1”

Voice: quiet/timid

Other: Dimples in her cheeks and ‘Crow’s feet’ wrinkles at the corners of her eyes when she smiles.

Personality

Thayetta is inherently brave, and has a strong inner will and sense of duty, but outwardly she is quiet, gentle and shy to a fault. This is partly due to age, and partly due the fact that she has been raised a protected, only child. She may develop a stronger outward attitude as she grows, although it is likely that she will always prefer sidelines to centre stage. She loves children/babies and small animals and, oddly enough, fire. It is likely that her love of fire will show/grow with her as she learns to channel.

Special Skills: Quick reader, almost photographic memory, especially for faces and names.

Knowledge Weakness: The grown-up/real world. Thayetta has been rather sheltered by her parents and has spent most of her life with her head in a book.

Physical Weakness: Height, or rather, a lack thereof.

History

Thayetta Luin was born the only living child of Amelie and Joem Luin, in Four Kings, Andor, and it was not for want of her parents trying. Raised in the background of the inn and alehouse that had belonged to the family for generations, her childhood was (purposefully, at the wishes of her father) very different from that of the girls in the family before her.

She never wanted for attention from her parents, but she was very sheltered from the life that broiled on around them. The alehouse was off limits on pain of scolding - or worse, bringing her father a heavy sadness - and she was strongly encouraged by both her parents to keep away from any guests of the inn. She was not made to work in the kitchen, or tasked with the cleaning out of rooms. Rather, she was in charge of mending drapes and cushion and odd things here and there, all in the privacy and shelter of the master house – the floor above the entrance to the inn.

Oddly, somewhere along the line she picked up on a natural talent for recalling the names, voices and faces of others, clear as day in her own mind, even when she had only seen or heard them for the slightest of seconds. To keep her occupied whilst they worked (her mother in the inn and her father at the bar) Amelie and Joem taught Thayet to read at a young age, and from there bought and traded her books whenever and however they could - adequately censored and innocently appropriate books, of course. As a result Thayetta developed into a bright, well-spoken, but timid and quiet child, with an inordinate sense of right and wrong.

From the age of five or six years old, her duties expanded to minding the children of her parent’s staff. She developed a natural affinity for babies and young children. At night once the young children were asleep and her chores were done, Thayet’s favourite thing to do was sit at the table, a book in her hands and lantern burning bright within her reach, and read, or stare studiously into the flickering flame until she fell asleep.

A month before her fourteenth name day, Thayetta half sat, half lay at the familiar, worn oak table, doing exactly that - staring at the flickering, dancing, dimming flame, her head resting heavily on her outstretched arm. Her book lay closed on the table beside her. It was late, and she was almost asleep. Her mother would be up from the inn soon, she thought, since no further guests would be likely to arrive tonight.

Or would they?

The cadence of two ‘new’ voices drifted upwards from amidst the quieting mumbles of guests downstairs. Thayet stared intently into the flame and strained her ears, trying for a moment to match a face or name to either of the two voices she could hear conversing with her ma. Nothing came to mind. She dismissed them as strangers she had yet to meet and went to sleep.

She did not hear the new voices - or even glimpse the faces they belonged to -  at all during the next day. Until early evening, when there they were again! Talking to both of her parents this time. A man, mostly silent, and a woman - with a strangely calm but strong, authoritative, voice. They didn’t speak long, but as they – and their voices - faded into the quiet din (likely heading to the dining room for supper, Thayet thought), she caught the words ‘Channeler’, ‘search’ and ‘Tar Valon’ coming from her father’s lips. She shivered, although she wasn’t really - or even remotely- sure of the reason why she should.

At dusk the next evening she heard them again, the voices. This time quietly accompanying their owner’s footsteps up the lane towards the inn. Curious, but careful not to be too obvious, Thayetta paused briefly in her task of lighting the lanterns at the door, and looked carefully down the lane towards the sounds. The pair belonging to the voices looked normal enough at a distance, but even from where she stood, solidly perched on an ale box, she could tell that these guests were like none she had ever met before. Again she shivered slightly without really knowing why.

The man was huge, and muscly, and had the presence of a rolling mountain. The woman was average in height and build, but somehow she seemed stronger even than the man. It was the woman that made her… nervous. Quickly, Thayet turned her attention back to the lantern immediately in front of her as the pair approached. Not really wanting to be noticed, she lit the wick and deftly coaxed the flame, staring at it momentarily to calm her nerves before jumping down and walking smartly to the box and lantern on the other side of the door. She kept her head down, lit the second wick and turned up the flame. She was almost done. Almost finished. A second more and she could dart unnoticed back inside to her books and flames...

Except, of course, she couldn’t. The woman spoke. Thayetta was encouraged to look into a small jewel, which glowed. Then she was told that she had the ability to 'channel', and that she would be going to Tar Valon to be trained as 'Aes Sedai'.

And from there, Thayet learnt, it was only the beginning...

Love it Jagen, no issues that I can see - and such a great backstory!

The Gleeman caught and held her eyes as he sang of Ellisande's fight against the Shadow, and the death she met. Calia inclined her head and lengthened her spine, obscuring the slight shiver that would otherwise have unsettled her poise. He did have news for her after all.

And the man knew how to sing a vivid saga, that was sure. A glance into history, a glance into the past... and perhaps parts of the future as well, she mused. With an effort, she relaxed her jaw. The Wheel would weave as the Wheel willed. All they could do was try to be ready. She smiled and clapped appreciatively along with the rest of the audience's applause, neatly wiping the memories of battle and Sisters burnt out from her mind.

Besider her, Elessar of Kandor's eyes had been alight with enthusiasm from the outset of the poem. Calia's smile and curiosity deepened. She studied his face momentarily. The Gaidin with impeccable manners liked history, then? She was sure by this point that he was, indeed, Gaidin, but she could not place him in all her time at the Tower. A curiosity, indeed. 

Gleeman Fenn bowed and launched from the wave of applause into a tale of Blaes of Matuchin, turned Hero of the Horn. Calia's thoughts turned to the Horn itself, and the words of the prophecy she had read so many years ago promising salvation in the last fight against the fall of long night. Not for the first time, she wondered where the Horn might be, should it still exist, and how it might be found to aid them in the Great Battle to come.

The tale ended with a roar of amusement from the crowd that shook Cal from her musings. She came back to the present to hear Fenn cry with a lift of his ale mug that next there would be dancing, and that the tables needed to be appropriately cleared. Innkeeper Taman laughed and nodded his assent as the patrons near the stage began to shuffle back tables and chairs towards the walls. Fenn picked up his flute and began a lively melody that soon saw half of the audience kicking up their feet. Calia watched with a slightly dimmed sparkle in her eyes. How many times had Joesh and Shem whirled herself and Kaylan to this tune?

She looked to the Borderlander beside her, wondering idly if he liked to dance even as she wondered if her dancing days were all but done. With a wistful shadow of a smile, she turned and signalled to one the wait staff for their attention.

"Something tells me I'm going to be here quite late waiting for Fenn to finish up," Cal confided to Elessar as she signalled, "The two of us go a long way back though, and I promised I would stay until the end. Would you like another ale?"

* * *

It was indeed late by the time the Gleeman finished up the last of his tunes and made his way over to their table, though the inn was still bustling with the business he'd brought in and more than one patron grumbled good-naturedly at him that they were sorry to see him step down for the evening to leave them to revel on their own.

"Calia Sedai - and friend? - I trust you enjoyed the show?" Fenn grinned as he approached, gallantly taking Cal's hand and offering both of them a full-flourished bow with a swirl of his multi-coloured cloak.

Cal smiled back at the man and shrugged, "Much better than the last one," she teased, tucking the tiny note he'd passed her into a skirt pocket and offering him a seat at the table she knew he would decline. 

"If you don't mind, Aes Sedai, I just came to say hello before I depart. It's been a busy day and I'm eager for my bed." 

"And to see your sweetheart in Town, no doubt," she teased some more with a knowing smile.

"But of course. It is late and I should be going too. Elessar, I believe we may all be headed more-or-less in the same direction part of the way at least, if you'd care to join us?" 

She smiled at the gamble, tilting her head in question as she waited for his answer. The Gleeman would veer off less than two blocks from here, she knew, and it would be nice to walk back the rest of the way accompanied for once - and to discover once and for all if this man from Kandor who liked history and missed the Borderlands was truly a Warder...

Calia pushed the last of the heavy wooden desks back into place and eyed the reconstructed lines of furniture critically for a number of seconds. Then she grinned.

Let's see that new Janna ...whatsit... whine about the disorder of the room after my 'chaotic' classes now! 

She gave a self-satisfied nod and swept the dust from her hands in two swift wiping motions that happened so abruptly they each made a little clap.

Done for the day. 

She tilted her head slightly to the left, considering whether she really was done in the classroom, or if there was anything else she needed to do.

Lately the teaching duties she'd undertaken never seemed to end. After-class paperwork 'requirements' were piled on and on and on (and on) to teacher workloads, to ends ultimately unnecessary and untenable. She pressed her lips into a tight line. Time in the classroom was one thing - hunting and igniting those sparks of determination and understanding in the eyes of her students was almost as satisfying as imploding the earth under a hoard of trollocs. But pointless paperwork was an entirely different beast. The issue definitely needed to be brought up with the current Mistress of Novices and the Greens.

Tomorrow perhaps. She nodded again. This afternoon, Tar Valon and further preparations for travel. This evening, the Inn. 

She had the itch again, and once it had started, it would not be quelled. She loved teaching, yes. But there were whispers amongst her networks of a swell of shadowspawn throughout the Borderlands, particularly Saldea, that could not be ignored. Early signs, perhaps, but experience had taught her it was best to ensure she was well-prepared ahead of time. When the decision was made and the call came, it would be swift. Therefore, so would she. Both her and her belongings would be ready.

* * *

"And that's the deal done well, Master Eldwin, as usual," she smiled sincerely at the cobbler as she handed over the required coin and then some. In all of Tar Valon, there was nobody who had taken care of her boot and leather repairs as competently and quickly as he, for nigh on thirty years. It had been only a few days since she had put in her request, and yet she had barely needed to glance at the repaired goods he'd laid out on the counter for her to be impressed by the same high quality, once again.

"And with pleasure, as always, Calia Sedai," he smiled back at her, pocketing the coin and then tucking her gleaming belts, knife-sheaths and boots back into her saddlebags and bundling everything into an easy-to-manage package. Job done, he bobbed his head, turned from the counter and shuffled back towards his workroom, collecting a well-worn pair of shoes from a shelf along the way.

She watched his slightly hunched and aging form retreat, anchored the package under her arm, and tried not to wonder how much more grey there might be in his hair, how much frailer he might be on her next visit. If she ever managed to return.

* * *

The gurgling in her gut was growing in intensity. If she didn't stop for an evening meal soon, that gurgle was going to turn into an audible growl most unbecoming of an Aes Sedai strolling through the shops and sidewalks of Tar Valon. Calia arched an eyebrow ever-so-slightly and embraced saidar, weaving together a tiny, modified circle of silence and tying it off inconspicuously around her middle. 

There. Problem solved, she smiled serenely and carried on.

* * *

The gurgling and growling may have been silenced, but the gnawing was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. On the outside she was all Aes Sedai calm and poise as she travelled though the last of twilight - her weave held, the swishing of her green split skirts and deliberately soft foot-falls were the only audible sounds from her person, her face remained as smooth and unruffled as the simple, no-nonsense silk of her blouse. On the inside however, dull hunger had turned to increasingly savage pangs.

When was the last time I ate? she wondered, without any real hope of recall. It hadn't been lunch, that much was certain.

Breakfast? she gave up both wondering and wandering, and decidedly changed direction, towards the White Flame.

The inn came into sight with the edge of night, a warm glow spreading out from the windows and the occasionally opening door. She breathed deeply, memories of evenings here with Kaylan and Joesh and Shem right from the beginning of their time at the Tower lapping gently at her heart where once they had flooded it with grief. 

How many times did we laugh and dine well within these walls? she half-wondered as she slipped over the threshold, nodding to the young man who had simultaneously managed to stumble drunkenly through the exit and still hold the door open for her to walk straight in. One of the heavies at the door - Javen? bobbed his head to her and closed the door gently behind her, she smiled her thanks.

Her blue eyes scanned the room, counting things that had changed and stayed the same since her last visit, noting Sisters and Warders present, but no Gleeman yet. It was a busy night. Exactly the kind of night herself and Kaylan had revelled in as young girls. She smiled at Taman, the current inn-keeper and grandson to Aman, the original owner she had known, bustling in a corner. He quickened his pace toward her, nodding half-apologetically towards a table that was presently occupied by someone Calia assumed to be Gaidin, of Borderland origin - one she didn't believe she knew.

Interesting-

"- Sedai, apologies, I thought you were intending to dine a little later?" The noise of the room obscured the beginning of the inn-keeper's greeting, but his eyes conveyed all of his perplexity.

"And so did I, Taman, so did I. But here I am, and hungry to boot!" She smiled more broadly at him as momentum and her intention continued to lead them towards the table he had indicated. There was no harm in being early, really.

"And, since I'm here and hungry and the place is full, I'm happy to share a table, if you are, Sir?" Still smiling, and packages still tucked under-arm, she raised an eyebrow at the Borderlander and waited for his reply.

Hmmm, ta Jagen, I think you're right that it's custom to bond for life... 

I was going on a reference from The WoT Wiki that said 'Finally, Warder bonds can be dissolved unilaterally by the Aes Sedai at any time'

I had figured Calia used it as a (not entirely logical)  'balance' between serving effectively as a Green in the Borderlands and attempting to avoid attachment, and also a character flaw that caused 'strange bonding habits' to be a part of her reputation.

A search showed a quote from RJ saying that it would be incredibly rare/the AS is expected to be in for the whole ride, though. 

Ultimately it does indicate a level of immaturity/emotional selfishness that probably shouldn't be present in Aes Sedai.

I'd imagined that she'd held/released at least one bond in the 14 years since that 'decision', in order to get that reputation etc. 

But I am also unsure how to feel about this now, to be honest 🤣 - is it something I erase or play out (hopefully to a 'she's definitely matured or doomed' kind of end)?

Happy to go with whatever you approve! 

Name:

Calia
Nee: Calia Luin.
Married (widowed): Calia Luin-Metsar

Age: 118 years

Place of birth:

Four Kings, Andor.

Physical Description:

Build: Average  (Height: 165cms Weight: 60kgs).

Complexion: Fair, freckled.

Hair: Light brown/blonde streaked, long, usually worn wound up and out of the way of her collar.

Eyes: Blue.

Personality:

At her core, Calia is quick-witted, audacious and pursues her goals vigorously despite any challenges and resistance. A 'debater' type personality, she has always enjoyed brainstorming and questioning the status quo and prevailing modes of thought (her own and others) out loud with others, analysing everything and tackling controversial information, beliefs and topics head-on.

There is not a lot she hasn't seen of the world in her 118 years, and it shows in her matter-of-fact approach to most people and events. Fiercely rational rather than idealistic, she is brave and direct in action and speech. She is not uncaring, but she is somewhat hardened to the realities of the ever-changing world, the horrors of most shadowspawn and the Dark One's growing reach. 

In her younger years, she had a reputation for her lively personality, playful humour and friendly competitiveness, even after she was raised to the shawl. These days she is, more often than not, quite quiet and serious in manner - traits that truly settled on her some forty-three years ago following the deaths of her twin brothers who had each been her Warders for over fifty years. 

A Green sister through and through, she feels most alive and useful when directly fighting against the forces of the Shadow, which she does with fierce determination - traveling wherever the threats arise and seem greatest at any given time. She works well in groups, but is becoming increasingly independent and quite enjoys undertaking missions solo, with and without the support of a Warder or two at her side.

Weaknesses: 

Even in her older age, Calia is an 'all-or-nothing' personality, easily bored without some sort of immediate physical and/or mental challenge, prone to impulsively seeking/actively creating 'engaging' situations that are not always to the benefit of herself or others whenever there is even a moderately lengthy lull in activity. 

Calia may, or may not, be developing some sort of dementia or suffering from some sort of mild traumatic brain injury. In any case, she suffers from insomnia, occasional headaches and frequently forgets small details/finds there are small holes in her short-term memory.

Character History:

Born the eldest daughter and middle child of Mikal and Eleni Luin, Calia was raised at the family inn in Four Kings alongside her brothers Shem and Joesh (twins), and younger sisters Josiane and Thayet. She came to the White Tower and was raised to the Green Ajah a short time after her best friend Kaylan Morin.

Her twin brothers (and idols) became her first Warders, and served alongside her for over fifty years before defending her to their deaths at the Stair of Jehaan after the fall of Malkier in 955 NE.

After their deaths, Calia remained in the Borderlands fighting shadowspawn at every opportunity for almost ten years. She returned to the Tower for several years after this and taught the Novices and Accepted, refusing to bond again due to the pain caused by her brothers' deaths.

During this time, she met and fell in love with Warder-in-training Aaran Metsar. Ultimately unable to commit to him or her feelings, she all but fled to the Waste in 971 NE on a sanctioned mission to spend time with the Aiel, leaving in 975 NE. On her return to the Tower, Aaran was waiting for her with a proposition for marriage and bonding. She finally accepted and the two of them married, bonded and left for the Borderlands in the same year, taking no part in the Aiel War which broke out less than a year later.

Aaran was killed in battle in 983 NE. After a year of mourning and battle rage, Calia returned to the Tower, taught for a year and then began a cycle of travelling/fighting and teaching at the Tower, deciding never to take a Warder for more than two years at a time - something she tells each Warder who agrees to bond.

Character Reputation

Calia is known at the Tower for her exciting, hands-on teaching methods, and for her peculiar Warder/bonding habits. Outside of the Tower, particularly in certain cities of the Borderlands, she is known for her ruthlessness against shadowspawn, quick wit and brainstorming ability in battle.

12 hours ago, Zander? said:

 

@Leelou Cass mase a typo that I fixed for her!!!!!

Eh, no thanks, relegating myself to semi-sanity for a long, long while

5 hours ago, AwholeLoafaBread said:

 

Also, Verbal32, take a bow, I legit had no idea, you had me so convinced you were town!

Yes, all attempts at brushing off my idiotics aside, 1000000% this, Verb, in case it isn't obvious, that's what I meant about couldn't read and bad potato, before going to bed and that needs to be acknowledged. 

ETA/clarify stuff and give credit where it's due - I still don't feel I can do internet speaking so

Verb you were wolfy in alignment, but so much more Towny in approach to me and the game.

I never really got the balance, despite SD  basically laying everything out

I didn't read properly and latched on to the assumption he was hinting that it would be 1 wolf 1, 3P/Vig at that end. 

@SinisterDeath is what got me to be as comfortable as I could with Wolf Verb, Toast not-wolf, even I failed his all laying out, and I didn't express it properly, I felt it in my bones he was legit good at this.

I legit had a horrifying moment after I'd voted Verb where I thought that you were Town, Zander actually WAS wolf and Loaf was 3P Town aligned. 

@Zander?, fwiw I had you trending up, and yes, at one point really thought there was a chance Redacted was what made you excited and you had some power that would bring you back >.< 

Then the 'Zander was/wasn't Town' 'possibilities' got me tangled up in aaaaalllllll the paranoia. 

And I meant it when I said that @SinisterDeath was my bad, but that and not reading properly, and not Lightening @VooDooNut in time (!!!!!!!) legit was equal to a wolf manoeuvre for Town, even if it was genuinely never meant that way and I'm sorry. I can have all the paranoia and stupidity and froze-ness and ??wanting to get something right, but they don't belong in a Town and they don't get to be excuses.

And @AwholeLoafaBread thanks for the perfect toasting and leading the whole way throughout the game!

Again/TLDR - I really appreciate you all for having me, and for setting good examples to follow - sorry for the aids!

Spec please!

51 minutes ago, Zander? said:

Poor Cass prolly has PTSD....lolololol

<.< I'll be watching from the spec chats again for forever! I think we need to check on SD... That man deserves an award, 100% the kill me song was perfect 🤣

26 minutes ago, Darthe said:

She did great!  Understood the game better than she pretended so no D1 pass in the next one folks!

🎉 robot indeed 😛 super impressive and scary!

I hope to see you play more!

On 8/13/2022 at 10:57 AM, AwholeLoafaBread said:

It was my big mistake ☹️ so I'm the sorry one, I voted first so I feel responsible. Sad potato

Nah, on revisiting, I'm at 100% Town potato status and can only blame myself for the roll, can't even read what's right in front of me, so I'm the bad potato... see you all in the morning!

Yeah

Vote: Verb 

2 hours ago, AwholeLoafaBread said:

 

I found a list of mafia game acronyms and that was what it said a potato was XD

🤣

I'm so sorry, SD!!! 

4 minutes ago, Verbal32 said:

 

Absolutely, here's an overview of my current thought process:

 

 - I'm town

 - Voodoo is mod confirmed town

 - that leaves you, SD, and Loaf

 - I have felt null on Loaf, but that's because I don't know her and she's been very cautious in her posting

 - I disagreed with some stuff on SD, but as I mentioned at the time - not sure if that's mostly because of my different alignment (and/or his, lol)

 - I was null-ish on you until a flurry of posts (maybe yesterday? - I posted as much right after) that gave me more of a town vibe

 - as a result, that left SD & Loaf a little below you on the POE

Ta for elaborating... I'm not sure how that makes me feel 😕

14 minutes ago, Verbal32 said:

 

For the record, didn't you enter today with me and Loaf as your WTL?  Can you summarize what made you move to SD instead?  Not that I'm complaining, as SD/Loaf is my current WTL.....

Can you explain why?

8 minutes ago, Verbal32 said:

 

For the record, didn't you enter today with me and Loaf as your WTL?  Can you summarize what made you move to SD instead?  Not that I'm complaining, as SD/Loaf is my current WTL.....

Yeah, I did. All I've got is what I've already put in the thread tbh. Vibes? 

Thanks @VooDoo for the shining lights???

5 minutes ago, Verbal32 said:

I'm going to pretend that pic wasn't hurtful to a spidey meme poster, heh.

NGL, at this point I'm still wondering if it goes both ways. But it at least fits for today?

True Australian saying, btw. Another thing to Google.