Name: Katrani Tawada Age: 230 (as of 998 NE) Place of birth: Fal Dara, Shienar Physical description: Katrani Sedai is very tall for a woman at no less than 5'11" (180 cm), and has a rather athletic build. Her skin is naturally dotted with freckles, although she covers them with a fine concealer when she is trying to look more refined and proper. Katrani's blue eyes rest on an ageless face, though her advanced years are obvious, as her once dark brown hair has now gone fully white. Her hair is a little longer than shoulder-length when not tied in a bun. (Katrani) In more casual settings, she wears a simple Shienaran-inspired dress with a light cloth belt. In formal settings, she wears an elaborate Borderlander-style gown made by a Tar Valon seamstress in a rich blue of her Ajah. Personality: In many ways, she is sort of a quintessential Borderlander at heart. She can be humble and reserved, but this should not be taken for shyness by any stretch. In spite of a low sense of self-esteem she had as a novice, she is now level-headed, self-assured, and very diligent. She was driven to the Blue by her strong sense of justice and compassion for others in places of suffering. Character history: Childhood As a baby, Katrani was found on the streets of Fal Dara -- though none were sure if she was abandoned, or perhaps one of the many orphans made by occasional raids of Shadowspawn in the Borderlands. Wishing to care for the child, the community of Fal Dara fostered her between different families, first a few childless couples, but at the age of eight, the family that she was staying with could no longer care for her after the husband was injured. She thus entered the employ of the noble family as a servant girl. The shatayan of Fal Dara at that time was called Mistress Tawada, and it is her name that Katrani entered in the novice book when she later came to Tar Valon. In the household, she regularly cooked and cleaned, and had a few self-defense lessons, such as how to use a crossbow against Shadowspawn. When she was fifteen, she channeled the One Power for the first time when a great stone statue was about to collapse on her in the courtyard, surrendering to some unknown source that toppled it away from her. This led to her developing a rare type of Block linked to the event and her affinity for earth, where her channeling only affected large objects rather than small ones, and she lacked any sense of precision. She would only find out she was a channeler a year later, after a mission of Green Ajah sisters rode to Fal Dara to combat a surge of Shadowspawn, and sensed the ability within her, taking her to the Tower as soon as they could. Training at the White Tower In 784 NE, Katrani Tawada's name was entered into the novice book. As a channeler with a Block and poor orphan, there were many of her fellow novices who disliked Katrani. Ironically, her serving girl days helped out with her chores, as she diligently scrubbed pots and swept floors until the White Tower had not a speck of dirt. During this time, she became pillow friends with an Illianer novice called Gathera Senecos. Three years into her training, her Block was broken when Gathera tripped and broke her leg, and Katrani was forced to channel the small and precise weaves of Air and Water needed for Healing. She spent four more years as a novice, held back by her former Block and by her lack of scholarly knowledge, having to spend a while to learn to properly read and write (she is still one of the Aes Sedai who tends to rely on White Tower clerks, and has poor handwriting and cannot hold a quill properly). In 791 NE, she entered the Accepted rings and passed the test at age 23. As Accepted, she began to be interested in the Green Ajah, as they had recruited her from Fal Dara, after all, and she knew the importance of combatting Shadowspawn. In fact, as Accepted teacher, she was often relied upon for teaching novices classes in strategy, Shadowspawn, and the element of Earth. She spent five more years as Accepted before taking her Aes Sedai test in 796 NE at the age of 28. During her process of making one hundred weaves, Katrani was struck by how much injustice the Sitters controllers the test made appear before her. Though she had truly wished to join the Green Ajah, she had an epiphany that she really needed to focus on all causes of true justice beyond the singular aim of battle when she exited the ter'angreal without breaking composure. Even the Amyrlin seemed a little surprise when Katrani proceeded to choose the shawl from the Blue instead of the Green. As Aes Sedai Katrani vowed to make justice her aim in life, and she has had many causes over the years. In 800 NE, she set out to the Shadow Coast, where she spent several years combatting a rise in piracy in the lawless region, and it was here that she met and Bonded her first Warder, a Tairen named Yune Guteres. Her next feat involved being trying to reason two bickering branches of a middling Murandian House in succession crisis in the 840s NE, and Yune was killed in the ensuing civil war. She was heartbroken by the loss, and she did not bond a Warder for another thirty years. By the 870s NE, she Bonded Giran Egliari of Altara while trying to put an end to border conflicts between Murandy and Altara. They fought together until his death from natural causes in the 920s NE, and she has never Bonded a Warder ever since. Afterwards, she returned to the Tower for some time, and found comfort living near her old pillow friend Gathera long term, who was now a senior sister of the Red Ajah -- even if the ancient feud between Blue and Red made that seem extremely strange. She was never put forth as having a leadership position in the Blue, largely because of her unusual attributes, and because there were so many skilled politicians in her Ajah. After the Aiel War, many of the oldest sisters of the Tower seemed to pass away of natural causes or a string of unfortunate accidents. Katrani was not one of those, though Gathera died in her sleep around this time. Her next "cause" was supposedly a small passion project of leading Tar Valoner men to maintain the roads between the city and the Borderlands, though she seems to have just recently returned to a semi-retired life in the White Tower once more. Character reputation: Her natural talents are stronger in Earth and Fire than the typical female channeler of her strength, and she is weaker in Air and Water. Many still think that she would have been much better suited as a Green than a Blue, but she has no regrets of her choice of Ajah. She had a close pillow friend as a novice and Accepted, Gathera Senecos. This friend went on to choose the Red Ajah, and it is said that they were true lovers until the day that Gathera died, in spite of their Ajahs. All of the above generally means she is considered a rather unorthodox Aes Sedai, and is mistrusted and disliked by a number of sisters within her own Ajah. One Power: 18(6) She does not have any special Talents of the One Power. Elemental ranking: Strongest to weakest Earth Spirit Fire Water Air Other skills and flaws: Katrani is good at a crossbow and can wield a sword like an average soldier, believing weapons can be used offensively at times when the Three Oaths might prohibit it - especially due to her lack of Warders for 70 years. Katrani is a poor scholar, and will order White Tower clerks to write most of her letters or find some piece of research she needs (or hire someone for it when out of the Tower). She knows almost nothing of the Old Tongue.