Class 3 and 4 are done !

Myrrhi had not had the time to practice illegally her channeling skills since her last class. She had been moved in another Novice’s room, Thayetta’s. She and her had been very busy, studying, doing chores, reading books, sometimes together, sometimes separate. And with such a schedule, it had been impossible to sneak in the garden like she had done, before.

Today, for once, the young girl had tried to find a sitting spot in the middle of the classroom. Thayetta would be able to sit not far from her. It was weird not to be alone in the Tower anymore. I guess I can’t stay alone forever, thought Myrrhi with a grin.

Aureli arrived a few minutes after Myrrhi had sat on her chair. The Accepted had entered the room with a covered basket and, this time, no servant had been following her. With a little smile at the corner of her mouth, Myrrhi saw that quite a lot of her class companions had not been able to arrive as early as she had. A couple of girls filed in with a meek face but their silence only lasted for a time. As soon as they entered, they started talking with their classmates who were already in, showing how excited they were at going forward in their One Power training.

The class was quite nosy, nosier than usual that day, but Aureli didn’t say a thing. She seemed to take advantage of this background to set her basket on her desk. It was only when everyone was seated that the Accepted stood up to begin the class.

 "Welcome to your last class in this introductory course, class.  After today, your lessons will be much more challenging, but you have all shown that you are ready to handle what is to come next.  Today, we will study Earth, Fire, and Spirit.  As this is our last class together, this will be your last chance to ask me any questions or present any concerns you may have."

 Myrrhi looked around to check whether or not some hands were raised. She had some questions herself but she wanted to channel so much that she had decided that she’d wait till the end of the class. By chance, no one wanted to ask anything. They all must be as impatient as I am, the young girl thought.

Earth was supposed to be the first subject of the day. This element sounded quite useful but when the teacher started talking about how it could be use to help plants grow, Myrrhi rolled her eyes. She didn’t like plants that much. And using the Power to play the gardener was something she thought ridiculous. Unfortunately, this was exactly the thing she was invited to do by Aureli. The Accepted had uncovered her basket : it was full of rosebuds.

Some of the Novices squeaked in delight. One could see stars in their eyes as they were watching their teacher embracing Saidar and opening the buds she had taken between her fingers. Oh Light! How can Aes Sedai help soldiers win wars by playing with flowers… At least I know that the earth threads have a rusty color. The day is not lost. Myrrhi sighed and took a rosebud in the basket which was now traveling from one desk to another, like all the other Novices. She opened herself to Saidar and without difficulty made the flower bloom. It had been so fast that the flower had fallen from her hands. It was now laying on her desk next to her parchment. Pink, I am a Mighty Gardener who plays with pink flowers. Today’s lesson is fantastic. Sighing once more, she looked at Thayetta. She had managed to make her flower bloom too.

“Myrrhi you have done very well” said Aureli “It seems that it is easier for you to handle Earth than Water”.

“Thank you Accepted”, said Myrrhi with a smile. Of course, she couldn’t say anything else to her teacher. She had to show how enthusiastic she was for her lessons. Maybe if Aureli appreciated her well enough, she’d be able to have private lessons. 

The next subject was Fire. This part sounded was way more interesting, the teacher talked about the dangers of that Element and the class was asked to light a candle. This time, it was Myrrhi’s turn to squeek. Unfortunately it took her a lot of time to weave the needed threads. After the fifth try, Thayetta who had seemed to be very confident with channeling Fire, had to come near her desk to help her. The sixth try was her best and almost perfect. Smiling to her classmate weakly, the young girl felt that Fire could be her weakest Element. At least weaving a thread of Air to extinguish the flame had been easier.

Aureli announced then that the last subject of the day would be Spirit. An element of the mind, she said. Sadly, it seemed that the weave with Spirit were too advanced for the class that day. There would be no more channeling, except for the Teacher who showed the class a very interesting ward against eavesdropping. The weaves were definitely purple, like Myrrhi had thought they would be. She didn’t dare say a thing though. The Accepted used her weaves to make it impossible for the classroom to hear two of their fellow Novices. The results were astonishing. As soon as Aureli stopped channeling she rushed to write as much as she could about what she had seen. Weaves like that would come in handy in the White Tower...or maybe in the future when she’d be a full raised Sister.

After a couple of minutes, that the Accepted fully used to remind the younger girls that they were not allowed to channel unsupervised, the class was dismissed. Myrrhi hesitated. She still had some question and she wanted to find a way to practice channeling those fire threads that had seemed so hard to weave earlier in the class. Unfortunately three Novices were already around the Teacher’s desk and she didn’t dare approaching nor talking in front of others of the difficulties she had encountered. She decided then to leave the room.

guys ... i still have no idea about my WS ... are there boards that i am supposed to have access to ?

coz if it is the case... i can't see them lol

“Stop trying to grab that dagger you have into your boot” said the Corporal and Fang grinned. Just as she had been asked, she stopped stretching her left arm and put her left foot back on the ground.

“I see you have a keen eye”, she replied after having cleared her throat. She needed to think, fast, she needed a way out. In the worst case scenario, this man had indeed made some kind of agreement with her father and would try to make her go nicely to a room where she’d be locked for a couple of days, waiting for a journey to be arranged back to Tear. The man was fast, had spotted where one of her hidden weapon was. It would be hard to escape but it was still doable as long as no one would appear too soon. On another hand, she may have been wrong. The soldier could have said the truth about not knowing what she was talking about. Why this flaming comment about my hair, then ?

The blade was still at her throat but Jeral’s eyes seemed to be pleading for her to calm down. It was far from the greedy grin she would have expected. Dang, he must have told me the truth… and I have made a fool of myself. No, it can’t be! He is a Tairan he must know about my father. Fang’s inner debate was interrupted by the soldier. “Now, tell me what this is all about. The Quartermaster will surely not appreciate what you have done here unless there’s a good reason… a very good reason”.

The Corporal looked a bit less tensed now, he had changed the position of his feet and his arms seemed to be a bit more supple. But Fang knew that he had only set himself in a more comfortable position that will allow him to jump, run or kick depending on what would be useful. Ready for anything, huh? she thought.

The girl’s eyes swept the room as she licked her lip. It was messy indeed … she felt her cheeks turning pink but decided that it was the time to show herself tough. Unfortunately forbidding herself to blush had usually the opposite effect. If need be she’d tidy up the room herself and scrub the floor during hours.  After all her first goal had been to be accepted in the Band, not impersonate a crazy hurricane. No one needed to know that right now, though. Sighing, she fixed her eyes on the man. Of course, the flaming man is a soldier and not an actor. He would not lose his time asking me what the matter is if he knew about me. He’d grabbed me and lock me up before I’d have the time to say “dagger”.

“I come from Tear and my father is after me. No one is supposed to know, and I didn’t tell a thing about it to that older guy at the entrance. For him, I am an orphan and that is how it is supposed to be for everyone”. Fang checked at the blade. It was still there near her throat but Jeral had taken it a bit further away showing that he wanted more information than what she had offered so far. Rolling her eyes, she gave him a small summary of what had happened to her in Tear. The truth would be her way to give an excuse, she had decided. She didn’t speak much, only a couple of sentences but it would be enough for him to understand why she had attacked.  “I didn’t commit any crime. He wants me as a precious doll he can show off and I am not a doll”, she concluded.

Hearing a chuckle, Fang tensed. Is he laughing at me? Would I be free to move, I’d surely have …

Jeral lowered his weapon. And Fang stepped back astonished, waiting for a reaction. Either she’d have to flee, either she’d have to give some kind of excuses.

Again Myrrhi had tried to be the first one in the classroom. This time, unfortunately it had failed. An Accepted had stopped her on her way to ask her to deliver some books to one of the Brown Sisters. The girl had not dared refused, but never had she ran faster. She didn't want to miss even one minute of the lesson. There was so much to learn. 

The last few free hours she had spent in her bedroom, she had spent them with a great book. Like the previous ones she had "swallowed" so fast, it was a book about wars and battles. She was in awe reading about the destiny of those soldiers, generals and commanders. Hoping to find something as interesting in the pile she had to carry, she had lost some time trying to read all the titles. Some were in a strange tongue and the others ...well ... they weren't about wars nor battles. There weren't even novels ! It was a little disappointed that she gave the Sisters her books and that she hurried back to the classroom. She'd definitely have to go to the library again.

When she entered the classroom, Myrrhi saw that Aureli had fortunately not arrived yet. She took the first seat she saw, near the door. So she'd be able to get out faster at the end of the lesson. What wouldn't she do to be able to go through the garden one more time before starting her next chores? It was sunny outside and she couldn't resist taking full advantage of good weather, as far as a Novice could take advantage of it, of course.

It didn't take long for the Accepted to open the door though. The Novices stood like one man... or more like one woman in a heartbeat. They all noticed that their teacher was carrying a basket of rags but Myrrhi was one of the few who didn't dare move nor mention anything. She still kept her lips shut and her head straight towards the board as a servant entered the classroom with a large pitcher of water.  It looked quite mysterious. What are we going to do today? Are we going to channel water? Myrrhi was so concentrated on the basket and the pitcher now that she didn't see the servant going away. It was the sound of her classmates that make her stop musing. Some of them had started to ask questions, some others  had been giggling. A total lack of respect, she thought.

The chatter became lower and lower, but when Aureli mentioned that today's class would be special, it started to get louder again.

It took five more minutes and a gentle scowl of the Accepted for the class to be completely silent.

"For the most part, women are stronger in Water and Air while men are stronger in Fire and Earth, and in Spirit, we are generally equal.  Each element has a different color.  Usually, the colors are as follows:  green for Water, blue for Air, brown for Earth, red for Fire, and white or silver for Spirit." 

Myrrhi started writing delicately the few important words. Near each element, she wrote the corresponding color. Spirit is silver ... strange, i would have pictured it purple.

"Some of you may see different colors for each thread, but that does not say anything about your ability, simply that you see the threads differently, just as we are all individuals.  So, as I show you these threads, write down what you see."  

Aureli embraced Saidar and channeled. As predicted by the Accepted, Myrrhi saw a glow around her teacher. This glow would mark any woman holding Saidar.  Myrrhi remembered what Deana had told her on the way to the Tower and grinned. It was because of this glow that she had been practicing only a couple of times in secret. Three times had she dared already. She was looking forward to the fourth time. But this one would be hard. She had so many chores to take care of now, that she had barely the time to find the time to go into the deapest parts of the gardens.

Aureli started by channeling water. Surprisingly, Myrrhi didn't see any green thread. The only color she saw was a  light and inviting blue, like a cloudless sky in summer. Myrrhi wrote the color she had seen and scratched the mention "green" she had written a couple of minutes before. She rolled her eyes. Maybe we could have started by this so I wouldn't have had to do any scratching...

Then, the class was invited to take a rag in basket just like the Accepted had done. Aureli then lowered her rag in a bowl of water. It seemed that the soaked cloth could be dried by water weaves. It sounded quiet weird as Myrrhi would have chosen air threads of fire to do the job. But the teacher managed to dry the cloth in to time and to send the water into a bowl. It had been quite impressive. After some more explanations, the class was asked to do the same. Myrrhi concentrated very hard on doing things exactly like her teacher but she only succeeded on her third attempt. Frustrated and blushing, she tried not to look at her classmates. Some would be laughing at her, she was certain of it.

.

Next step where the Air weaves. Aureli explained that due to her missing arm, the Air weaves were her favorite but also the more useful for her on a daily basis. To prove it, she opened herself to Saidar and channeled some threads of air at the cloth. It danced gracefully into the classroom. No blue, thought Myrrhi. But silver.  Again, she scratched her notes sighing.

Once again, the class was asked to do the same. And it is with a lot of joy that she took her turn to practice. This time, things went better. So well that she became quite sad to have to let go of Saidar.

The lesson was at its end. The Novices were reminded once more of how addictive and dangerous channeling was. Some asked question to the teacher about the Water and the Air, some others about why the power would be so addictive. Myrrhi didn't really pay attention. The only thing she had in mind was that she wanted to try out Fire and Earth to see their color. And so Spirit could be purple, she thought. Without waiting she scratched the word silver on her parchment.

After the servant had come back to take care of the basket and pitcher, the class was dismissed and Myrrhi was the first one out of the room.

Hearing no answer, Myrrhi opened the door. She needed her sleep and was not ready to wait for Thayetta to be done with her chores, whatever they could be. If she has been caught wandering in the warders yard, she still must be cleaning the ground floor. The girl smiled and shook her head, as she knew very well that Thayetta wouldn't be the kind of novice to do that. Like herself, the other girl had kept a lot to herself but, there was an importante difference. This one had tried to take extra care to respect all the rules, while Myrrhi tended to forgotten about them when she found herself alone.

But; to her surprise, the girl was in the room, sitting straight on her bed and looking as if she had been crying a lot. A candle was burning on the small table full of books, near the door. Another book was open on her bed. She had probably been reading it.

What am I doing here? I was supposed to find my bed and sleep till the sun would rise and then head for the kitchen. As much as Myrrhi had been angry at being thrown our of her former bedroom and at having to share her living space with someone else, she now felt embarrassed. She had repeated lines in her head while walking to Thayetta's room and in most of them she was showing to the girl that she wasn't happy to be stuck with a roommate, in some of them she was talking like that silly Taraboner who was now occupying her old bedroom with a lot of "yes" and no" at the end her sentences. She had even thought about having to run to the Mistress of Novices would Thayetta be yelling at her and refusing her admittance in her room.

Never would she have imagined this situation, facing a fellow novice crying.

Feeling her cheeks going red, she looked away. I must act as if i have not noticed that she has been crying. I don't want to shame her... and i don't want to take care of this. Thinking those last words, Myrrh bit her lip with guilt. It was not so long ago that she had been crying in her bedroom too...

'My name is Myrrhi" she said, looking at the plastered wall.

"My stuff have been sent to your room".

Hearing no answer, Myrrhi looked back at ther girl. She hadn't moved an inch and she had not even opened her mouth.

"It seems you will have to share your room with me. But if you need time, i will come back later. Maybe some errors have been made", she said then shrugged.

As much as she wanted to step away, Myrrhi felt that she needed to do something. Her mind still screamed for her to find a spot to spend the night alone - it would be better to come back in the morning and surely there were spots where she could spend the night without being found -  when she advanced into the bedroom and placed a hand on her future roommate shoulder.

"It's gonna be ok, you will see".

Turning her back, she stepped slowly towards the door. And if I am found out of my room after the curfew, its gonna be hell for me....

Hey ! Welcome to Dragonmount :)

 I am still missing book 13 and 14 lol

so don't give me spoilers

i'll hope you will enjoy your time with us.

so you is your fav character  ?

“Anyway... I like your hair”, said the Corporal.

Fang dropped the short bow she had been holding. The weapon had looked easy to handle, but it was nothing like the bow she had been carrying so far. The size were almost the same but the pull was different. I need to exercise a lot if I want to be good at shooting with it, was what she had been thinking when the young man had spoken about her hair. Fang pertified. She was there, in an empty room, full of weapons and she was discovered it seems. Fast images came to her to disappear in a Flash: her father who could have sent words of her even here in the Citadel, the old soldier she had met a couple of minutes ago who had looked like he had known something about her, the man drinking near the tavern - how could a soldier be drinking when there were surely more interesting things to do like training, her missing dagger.

The Corporal tried to smile, surely it was to make her believe she was safe. As he tried to step towards her, Fang grabbed the dagger that had caught her eye with her right hand and the dagger that was hanging at her belt with the left. It had been a good thing to keep as many daggers around. She still had one in her left boot and another hidden somewhere safe. Jeral had barely the time to move when the girl rushed at him with both weapons.

'You won't get me", she said as she tried to slash at him with her right then with her left hand. Flaming goat, this man is quick.

As she had expected it, the soldier had grabbed his own weapon. A short sword. She grinned. It would  be easy to use one of her dagger for the defense and the other to attack.

"I don't mean any harm". Jeral tried to keep a table between them.

"Do you think that I will fall into your trap?". Keeping a eye on her opponent, Fang tried to cool down. She needed to think. If her father had tried something with the Band, she would need to be careful. That Tairan was maybe not the only one who'd try to stop her.

"What did my father promise? Was it gold, women, an estate in Tear?"

"Your...what...". The soldier stuttered. He tried to get futher away in the room. Probably too get some kind of reinforcement, thought the girl.

"I don't know what you are talking about".

Fang spat on the ground. The man sounded sincere. But her father had reach.

"You flaming know well what i am talking about. Don't think that because I am a girl, I can't fight".

"How many people know about me?"

The soldier shook his head. He tried to repeat again that he had no idea about what was happening. Indeed he had noticed she was a girl but that was about it.

Stepping back, she fastly placed  her left foot on the edge of the table, putting all her weight into it she toppled the table on its side, towards Jeral.

Myrrhi's hands were red and puffy. This is what happens when Aes Sedai suspect you to channel in secret, silly girl, she thought. She had been spending the biggest part of three days scrubbing pots in the kitchen. It looked like the cook had prepared special extra greasy meals only to make her suffer. She had barely had the time to sleep as she had had to go to classes and to study. It had not been possible for her to wander in the garden anymore, the place where she had tried to channel already four times unattended.

When Myrrhi arrived to her room, she was surprised to see another girl standing there. "Who are you, what are you doing into my room", she asked.

The blacked haired girl sniffed. "I was told that this is now my room, yes. Are you Myrrhi Morrigen, the Andorian girl?"

Myrrhi coughed and felt her cheeks getting red. "Yes, this is me, and this is my room".

The black haired girl looked more or less familiar. She mustn't have attended Aureli's classes or Myrrhi would have known who she was. Probably a newcomer, and I guess from Tarabon. Even if she looked quite young, she had her back as straight as it was possible to. It seemed she was trying to act like a full raised Aes Sedai. "The Mistress of Novices told me this is my room. Now, she told me to tell you that you had to move out. You have to share the room of a Thayetta girl".

Myrrhi tried to calm down. Surely, the girl could not be lying. She would not place words in the mouth of the Mistress of Novices only to make a prank.

"I will see to it with the Mistress of Novices. Can I at least take my stuff ?" There was not much to take. Only a couple of items : three books, some shifts and two spare dresses.

"Your things have been moved already. Can you leave me alone now ? I need some time to study. I am sure the Mistress of Novices can explain you more, yes ? "

It surely didn't sound like a prank at all. Turning away from the door, Myrrhi sighed. Thayetta ? That's that other girl from the class, with the sandy hair. The one that doesn't talk much. At least that one looks intelligent and will let me read my books and do my stuff.

It was already quite late in the evening, but Myrrhi didn't want to hurry. She had get used to her room and was not really happy at having to move in with someone. Of course she had been sad, sometimes, not to have any friend. She had wanted to talk to someone of how hard her days were and of how much she missed her sisters. But she had never found the courage to go to someone. Some of the novices in her classes seemed to be very arrogant. And she didn't want to be rejected.

Myrrhi had to ask directions three times, to servants, but in the end she found the right door. Well, let's knock!

When the younger soldier entered the tent, Fang bleached. Her stomach got tight, very tight as she felt sweat running down her spine. The flaming soldier had called a flaming Tairen!

It took the girl three whole minutes to relax. After all, there were not many people who had encountered “Fang” in Tear and “Faydora” had been overprotected by her father, barely putting her feet outside of the family house.  Even if the newcomer shared the same birthplace as her, he would not… he could not recognize who she was. Keeping out of the conversation between the two Band members, she adjusted her coat and tried to breathe more slowly. She couldn't resist pulling her hood a bit lower though even if it seemed that the younger man was more interested in the old soldier than in her.

Corporal Jeral, that was his name, was "nicely" ordered to take her around. The exchange between the two men turned out to be quiet interesting in the end. It looks like they really like each other thought Fang but it will better if i stay out of it. I can attract any kind of attention on my past. It was with pleasure that she heard that they both allowed to go.

Stepping out of the tent behind the corporal, Fang welcomed a colder breeze. She had felt very warm in the tent. Probably because of all this stress. I hate it. Everything looks good so far, though. She had forgotten her dagger, she noticed, but she didn’t want to get it back right now. Nothing won’t interrupt me now. I need to show what I am good at.

The first step seemed to be visiting the quartermaster. But he was nowhere to be seen. Fang didn’t really pay attention to his absence, nor to what Jeral could have been saying to her. Her eyes were attracted by the weapons and pieces of armor placed at the disposal of the members of the Band. From heavy plates and huge axes, to chain mail and poles. It looked like a soldier paradise.

Immediately, she went to another set of daggers a little bit longer than the one she had used during her journey. Those looks lethal. Jeral coughed and finally Fang looked at him. It seemed that he had been asking her something and was expecting a reply.

"Nice stuff you have over here" she said with a grin.

Come over to my tent, said the soldier. And Fang's grin disappeared straight away. He must surely have noticed she was a girl and he must be planning to rape me, she thought. Gripping the hilt of her dagger, it was with relief that she heard him calling for food after a couple of seconds. Maybe he had some other plans for her after all.

I still must stay on my guard , she repeated to herself till she arrived to the soldier's tent. It was a plain one and the few pieces of furniture matched the man it housed. The soldier set down his helmet and layed down his weapon, not so far from his hand, the girl noticed. He lit a lamp and turned himself toward Fang.

Now, we got your name, but you haven’t answered my questions. Why do you want to join the Band?

Fang tried to rehearse the stories she had been preparing in her head. But the man was looking at her so intensely that she decided to go for some kind of truth. Before she had the time to open her mouth though, a younger soldier entered the tent with food. Two big bowls of broth. It smelled so good that her mouth started watering. She thought she would escape giving any kind of the explanation : the old man looked hungry too. But he kept his eyes on her. When he told the youth to leave the bowls on the table, she knew she had to say something.

Fang sighed and decided not to touch her bowl. She couldn't show any sign of weakness. She had to show that she was strong. Biting her lips she knew she had to say something fast. Soldiers were not of the most patient kind. But her story was not ready yet.

Right. Shall we start with how you came here? he asked.

On foot ! All the way from Tear, she said with another grin.

I came all the way from Tear, Fang repeated, trying not to look at her broth too much. Ran into some problems over there. Have no dad, no mum, no one. I need to do something with my life.

Again the the old man didn't look impressed. As he raised his eyebrow once more, Fang felt obliged to continue.

I have learned to steal, to break into houses. I am quite sneaky, she smiled. Being a thief is not a future. Well at least it is not what I envisionned for my future. I want to be useful. She sighed

Things turned out bad for me in Tear, and there are things i want to forget. I want to be a fighter, a soldier. I want to live for something, not only be a ... survivor. she added, hoping this would do the trick.

Fang grabbed one of her daggers and started to juggle with it then she threw it at a random piece of furntiure in the tent. Surely that would impress the soldier.

Fang had arrived near the Citadel and was hoping to reach the wall as soon as it was possible to. She was hungry, her stomach had been growling for hours now and she was tired. Unfortunately, the road in front of the fortress doors had looked quite busy. Some soldiers where busy patrolling, or discussing. There were also some carts. Getting in would not be as fast as she had hoped. The young girl didn't know whether or not she should feel safe. She was alone, protected only by her daggers and her bow would do no good would she be attacked. Maybe with luck those soldiers would be nice to a new recruit, or maybe not.

Pulling the hood of her cloak, she tried to think about what she could say to gain admittance. She could definitely not tell the truth. But it would be hard to hide the fact that she was Tairen. Her accent and her features would giver her away immediately. She jumped out of her thoughts when she heard someone calling.  

"Ahoy stranger! Be headed to find the Band, I presume?" Fang turned and saw an old soldier, fighting to put his helmet back in place. Straightening, she tried to appear calm and nodded slowly. The man didn't look especially gentle nor very happy to see a new comer. Better for her to say lilttle. This man could be an annoyance, she thought. Maybe he would try to slow her down or to give her another of those weird proposals. Men tended to do that, she had learnt.

She felt relieved though when he told her that he was with the Band. Seeing how proudly he had said the word, she guessed he must have some kind of position.

But, he asked her her name, and Fang started to panick. She had not her story straight yet.

"I am Fay... " Fang bit her lips. She was not supposed to give out her real name if she wanted to stay away from her father. "I am Fang, Old man", she replied trying to grin and talking with the lowest voice she could manage. Under no circumstances would she show that she was a girl. She had to try to pass as a boy at least till she'd be accepted officially.

The man didn't look impressed though. Fang put them more efforts in trying to look confident, as he eyed her from head to toe, but his words had scared her when he had made it clear that not anyone would be accepted in the Band.

"I am not anyone, i can fight", she replied with a scowl. Of course, she would not tell him yet that she could only fight with daggers nor that she had barely mastered shooting with her bow. She tried to look in front of her and to think about the kind of information she could give. Placing her hand on the hilt of the dagger that was hanging on her right side, she added "I have injured a couple of men already. Some badly."

- Fang

Clutching her gray woolen cloak, Fang looked towards the citadel one more time. The fortress looked so scary and so inviting at the same time. It was supposed to house fierce and mighty warriors, people who spent their time fighting Darkspawns… or that was what she had been told in one of the inns she had visited, it felt like ages ago. People who won’t notice who she was, who won’t try to make her go back to her father or call her stupid for leaving comfort and luxury for a wish of freedom. She needed them, she needed to lose herself in battle and to forget what had been her life before arriving here.

More than once, she had hesitated about going back to Tear and ask forgiveness to her father. He would forgive her, maybe ... that was not certain, after switching her raw and marrying her to that horrible business partner of his. She would not have to be cold nor hungry anymore, would she choose that path. She’d be rich, she’d have servants and a fluffy bed with pillows made of goose feathers. But this was not the life she was picturing for herself anymore. In the beginning, she had wanted adventure.  Unfortunately, the adventure she had encountered so far had been completely different that what she had had in mind.

Leaving Tear had been easy. It had not been hard to break in the seamstress shop, to steal a nice black linen riding dress and a red silk cape, then to go the blacksmith, to steal a couple of fancy daggers. Even grabbing a couple of golden coins in pockets had been very amusing. But life out of the city had been very different. The food she had taken with her had only lasted three days and the clothes she had chosen had been way too thin to protect her from the cold at night. The first people she had encountered had either tried to rob her, either laughed at her. Some had even made disgusting propositions that sent her running as fast as she could.

She had quickly understood that traveling as a lonely girl was a very bad idea and she had hurried, after a horrible night, to steal breeches, shirts and a dark grey coat to replace what had remained of her linen dress. She had also decided to tie a black scarf around her hair to pass as a boy for a while. It had helped her feel safer that way. But only for some time. Always people would eventually notice she was a girl and think she was weak. Then they would try to take advantage of her. Sometimes, she would have the upper hand, sometimes not …

Daggers had been very nice weapons to start with, but they had been no good to defend herself against some of her opponents. The daggers hadn’t even been enough to hunt for food in the forests and fields she had crossed. After having starved for days, she had been happy to see a village and to steal a bow forgotten in a garden. It had taken her time to get used to that weapon and to train but she had been quite happy when she had been able to eat her first bow-killed rabbit.

Going from hiding place to hiding place, having learned from her mistakes, she arrived in that Andoran town, she didn’t remember the name of, thinking that settling there would be a good idea.  At least for a while. The town had looked rich and not very protected. She had found a sleeping spot in an abandoned house  and had managed to steal some coins at the weekly market, enough to get a room and a bath in one of the two town inns. After some more tries at picking pockets, she had bought herself new clothes and food. It was at the had heard old men talking about the Band of the Red Hand.

At first, she had thought that fighting like the Band did was the silliest thing in the world. But she had not been able to stop thinking about it: at least there, no one would dare taking advantage of her. She’d have free food and a roof, and she’d learn how to fight to defend herself.

It had taken her days to travel to the Citadel, away from the main roads, trying to hunt for her own food, and now, in a couple of minutes she would be there …

- Fang

Class 2 706 words !

Again, Myrrhi had arrived in a hurry and alone. She still had not found the courage to make friends. This time though she had arrived first, and it was with a broad smile that she greeted her fellow novices and Aureli, her teacher. She picked a spot at the back of the classroom but in the center so the Accepted would be able to see how serious she would be during the class.

The lesson had started in a weird way, Aureli keeping silent and had written a couple of names on the board before greeting the class.

- In the last class, we discussed and practiced how to embrace Saidar.  I know a few of you had a bit of trouble with it, but by the end of the class, I saw the room full of the glow of Saidar.  If you had had any questions or concerns about it, you should have asked me at the end of class.  We must move on now.

Myrrhi smiled, she had had no problem to hold Saidar's embrace now. She had even managed to practice a bit, alone, hidden in the gardens.  The Accepted asked the class whose name she had written on the board. Myrrhi looked at her class mates. She knew about those girls. Deana Sedai had mentioned them on their Journey to the Tower, but the girl didn't want to be the one to start talking. No one raised a hand thought. And Aureli was obliged to speak again.

- Every single one of these names represents an initiate of the White Tower who burned themselves out, never able to touch Saidar again, the ability forever taken away by their own foolishness.

Myrrhi looked at her hands. It was very foolish to burn oneself out. She would never do that to herself. Again Aureli warned the Novices about the importance of not channeling alone but Myrrhi was barely listening. When she had trained those three times in secret she had been very fast. There were no risk of her dying like those silly girls whose name were written on the board. She wrote the names on her parchment though, as she was asked. Myrrhi's hand was still clumsy in comparison with the one of the other Novices. But she had trained a lot and hoped that soon she would be able  to write in the most elegant way. When she had been in Andor, she had not had the chance to write much. Here it seemed that there were too many occasions to use ink and feathers. So many, that she always ended up with big black stains of ink on her hands.

- Today's lesson is on control.  When you channel, you must be in complete control of yourself and of Saidar.  We will practice a technique called 'Pushing and Pulling.'  This involves taking hold of Saidar, then pushing it as far away from you without losing it.  This will help you if you do lose control and Saidar becomes too much to handle, and it is a good technique for linking, which you will learn more about in your studies as an Accepted.

Myrrhi closed her eyes and thought herself a rosebud again. She felt its petals, her petals. Then the sun, its warmth, its light, that she pulled towards her. She embraced Saidar quite easily. She pulled it then tryed to push it. It was hard to let go. She felt sad and empty having to do it. Then she pulled it again slowly at first then faster. It took her some time before she managed to push the Power again. After a couple of moves, Aureli came towards her and tapped on her shoulder. Indeed, Myrrhi was spending way more time pulling than pushing.

She tried the exercice again and again. It would be something nice to do in the gardens she thought. She would need to be alone though. After what felt like a couple of minutes, Aureli announced that the class was at an end. The Novices all sighed. But they had to go. Grabbing her parchment, ink and feathers, Myrrhi headed towards her room to drop everything she would not need to scrub pots in the kitchens.

eesh .. you are mean :p lol

Class 1 780 words :)

Myrrhi had hurried as much as it had been possible to, to be the first one in the classroom. She had wanted to show how motivated she was to learn about the One Power to the Accepted who would be her teacher that day. But even with her best efforts, she had only arrived third. She had to bit her lips in disappointment, as she had really thought she had done everything in her power, after having finished her morning chores, to be there first. She had even run like a farm girl into the corridors of the White Tower, barely giving attention to the people surrounding her.

Myrrhi had kept mostly to herself since her arrival and hadn't really managed to make friends amongst the other girls of her age. Here again, she decided to stay silent till the arrival of the teacher and to play with the folds of her dress instead of starting a conversation with the two other girls who had arrived before her. They were looking like they were good friends already, holding their heads close to each other. And Myrrhi didn’t really have the courage to interrupt them chatting.

Waiting near the door, she felt very happy when she saw, a few minutes after her arrival, an Accepted entering the classroom.

- Good morning, girls. Please take a seat, she said, before sitting down at the teacher's desk. Myrrhi looked at the woman and found her pretty, but when she noticed her missing arm she blushed and tried to look away. It was hard though, and, every two seconds, her eyes were pulled again on the class teacher.

- It's good to see everyone here on time. I am Accepted Aureli, ... The words of the Accepted were lost for Myrrhi, who was feeling very embarrassed to have blushed. Surely Aureli would not try to punish a poor novice for blushing, would she? Again Myrrhi bit her lips and tried to concentrate on the lesson. Unfortunately, this didn’t help her feel better. Seeing that all the Novices would have to take their turn talking about themselves in front of the classroom, Myrrhi began panicking. What could she say? What was she supposed to say? She tried to see if what the other girls mentioned could apply to herself and when she noticed it wasn’t the case, she scribbled a couple of words on her parchment to help her find ideas. When it was her turn to talk though, her mouth went dry and her mind blank.

- I am Myrrhi Morrigen, said Myrrhi very hesitantly after a while. I come from A.. Andor. I .. I have three sisters and I was living with my Mother when a brown Sister Deana Sedai saw that I could learn to channel. Deana Sedai told me a lot of stories and about history. I .. can also cook and use needles, she added defiantly when she heard some of the other novices laugh at what she was saying. She hesitated about adding a couple more interesting facts about her short life, but seeing the wide smiles on some of the other Novices’ faces, she decided to sit back as soon as she had given enough information to please the teacher.

When everyone was done, Aureli added a few words about Saidar and why it was forbidden for the Novices to channel without supervision. Everyone was asked to repeat that they would never channel without being supervised. Myrrhi said it two times, very proudly and loudly. Hoping it would impress her teacher.

The next part of the lesson was about the differences between Saidin and Saidar and the elements. When the lesson came to the topic of men channeling, Myrrhi sighed sadly thinking about how romantic it would be to save one of those men who could channel and keep him safe from insanity with the power of love only.

Suddenly, Aureli asked at one point everyone to empty their desk. Myrrhi hurried to put her parchment away, very obediently.

Smiling, the Accepted told the Novices they would embrace Saidar that day and explained to the class how to channel. This would be Myrrhi’s first time and she became very excited at the idea of being able to channel to power at last. She closed her eyes, like she was asked, and thought herself a rosebud. She began to feel its petal, the sun, its warmth and its light on her. She drew the warmth and the light in just like Aureli said and slowly she began to feel the Power. She lost its embrace once or twice but it didn't really matter. Each time she manage to touch and embrace Saidar again.

*shoots a suction cup arrow at Harry's forehead*

nah!  they are MINE !!!!

really ? oh nice *grins*

hey i want blueberry muffins too >.<

i'll keep that in mind lol

not that i want to ... but i am sure that there'll be a point when i will be punished, right Cass ?