Ah ... good man.  Taking role for me and all.

Character: Arath Faringal

Rank: Storm Leader

Ideas for RP:  Still haven't thought of anything specific, but I'm more than willing to help out anyone else.

Arath found himself nodding in agreement with what Jaydena was saying.  With every word, the idea of being bonded with this particular Aes Sedai seemed more and more like a good idea.  A friend, a sister, an understanding companion ... and someone he could count on to end him if it came to it.  Everything he could ask for.

Arath's face never changed as Jaydena reached up and pulled the strange half mask from her face.  He supposed that many people would have a negative reaction to the less than pretty sight, but in his time as training instructor over the soldiers, he had seen worse.  "This is what I am, a burned, lonely, bitter old woman who has outlived everyone she loved or watched as they turned that love to hatred. I have watched so many die to the Shadow but I keep fighting on and will continue to do so. I am proud of the work I have done this lifetime, will you be as proud of yours?"

Siezing Saidin, Arath channeled a simple flow of air and pulled the mask from Jaydena's hand, pulling it to his own.  Turning it over in his fingers, he smiled softly.  "I resigned myself some time ago to the fact that I won't have much of a lifetime.  I already feel like I'm on borrowed time.  I've outlasted so many others at the Farm.  But I plan on spending what time I have making the shadow pay."  Reaching up to his collar, Arath quickly undid the buttons on his coat and unlaced the top of his shirt underneath.  Pulling the fabric to the side, he exposed a livid scar, shaped like a dragonfang, that had marred his chest over his heart since he was a small child.  A gift from a darkfriend who had stolen his mother and ruined his life.  "Mine is a little easier to hide, but I feel it every day.  A constant reminder of what I fight against."

His decision made, Arath took a small step forward.  Reaching up, he gently replaced the mask over the ruined portion of her face.  "Jaydena Sedai, I would be honored to fight along side you until the Last Battle is won.  I find myself willing to enter a bond with you, if you will have me."

Rochel arched an eyebrow as Regalia vehemently declared her wish to be blue.  It was a gesture she had witnessed often in her years here, and she had been perfecting it on the novices in her year as an Accepted.  It was a little odd that a new accepted already know her ajah.  It certainly happened, but mostly with healers aspiring to the Yellow.  An understandable desire in Rochel's eyes.  But the Blue?  Rochel had never really known what to think of that particular ajah.  Their whole purprose had always seemed so ... vague.  What exactly was 'involving with causes' supposed to mean?

"Yes.  Well, I must confess I know very little about the Blues.  I've never really been sure how to define them.  What their goal is."  Rochel shrugged.  "And like you say, classes discussing them are few and far between.  They do seem to be out of the Tower quite a lot, don't they?"  That was definitely a plus in her eyes.  Rochel planned to spend a LOT of time outside of Tar Valon as soon as she was able to. 

"Whatever ajah I pick needs to be useful.  And I mean useful in a way unique to the Aes Sedai.  I mean, why spend so long learning to use the One Power, and then turn around to become a librarian?  What advantage does that give you over any other person in the world, other than the longer lifespan?"  Rochel shook her head in mock exasperation.  "Honestly, I don't understand some of the ajah's at all."

"Do you have any idea about which Ajah you will choose Rochel?"

Rochel groaned inwardly at the question.  It was an odd question to pose to someone who didn't even want to be Aes Sedai.  She had given it a lot of thought, despite her misgivings, but as of yet hadn't come up with any firm decision.  Just a lot of frustrations.

As she pondered her response, another girl in a banded dress approached the table.  She was a little surprised when Amadine jumped up and gave this 'Ray-ray' a big hug. 

"Err... hello! Hi! I'm Regalia Frantelle! And who would you be?"

"Ray, this is Rochel, she is Domani and Rochel, this is Regalia, she grew up here in the Tower."

Rochel vaguely recognized Regalia.  She had likely crossed paths with her coming out of the Mistress of Novices office.  By all reports, the girl made nearly as many trips there as Rochel did, though likely for different crimes entirely.

"Rochel Dion," she said simply, nodding her head in way of greeting.  "I was just discussing ajah studies with Amadine here.  Honestly, I don't know which ajah I will choose.  I know for sure that I won't choose the Brown or the White.  Or the Grey.  I don't really know enough about the Blue Ajah to decide either way about them yet.  Green, Red, and Yellow all seem like good choices.  Useful choices anyway, if one wants to have some positive influence in the world."

Scraping the last of her oatmeal from her bowl, Rochel turned toward Regalia.  "What about you?  What ajah are you looking toward joining, or have you had time to even think about it yet?"

Rochel was a little surprised to have company.  It was rather early, so most of the other girls wouldn't be down for another half an hour or so.  But company was welcome to have, especially after such a frustrating night of studies.

"I didn't get to eat last night, so I thought I'd get here early and beat the rush."  She grinned at Amadine, who judging by her own heavily loaded tray had similar problems.  "I had to copy notes for a Brown sister last night.  That's never a good thing, even with the best of them.  The sister I was scribing for kept falling asleep, but she'd manage to wake up every time I thought about leaving.  Then I had to finish some of my own studies on the different ajah's, and kind of forgot about eating altogether."  Tearing a large piece from her second sweet roll, Rochel let out a disgusted sigh.  "Ajah studies ... if there's anything I'd rather not do, it's spend hours on end comparing the qualities and values of the different ajah's.  I don't even understand why some of them exist, let alone try to understand what they hold dear." 

Loading her spoon with another mouthful of oatmeal, Rochel tried to steer the topic away from ever frustrating ajah's.  "Anyway, that's my excuse.  What brings you down here so early?  I don't remember seeing you in the Brown quarters last night."

Started an OPEN RP for any Accepted who are interested.  A chance to discuss the different ajah's and all of our aspirations.  And annoyances.  And Warder prospects.  Or wherever the conversation goes.  Just an open character development thingamabob.  

Any takers?

Stifling a yawn as she stepped into the room, Rochel shuffled her way toward the pleasant smelling side of the large dining hall in the White Tower.  She'd ended up skipping her evening meal the night before, and breakfast seemed like a wonderful idea. 

After loading up her tray with as much food as she could reasonably get away with, the Domani Accepted plopped herself down at the first open table she saw and set to work.  While making her way through a sweetroll, her thoughts returned to the studies she had been lost in the night before.

Ajah's ... why do they need to be so confusing? For perhaps the millionth time in the decade she's been at the Tower, she cursed the odd organization system that the Aes Sedai used.  Some of them make sense, but why bother with some of the other ajah's at all?

For her entire life, Rochel had had problems with accepting things that didn't make logical sense.  And even greater problems keeping her mouth shut when such things got in her way.  A great problem around the White Tower, where many things made no sense at all, and explanations were few and far between.  Understanding the ajah's was her latest pet peeve.  A problem made all the more frustrating by the fact that she was expected to join one of these organizations in the near future.

As she began to work on a large bowl of oatmeal, Rochel was distracted from her meal and her thoughts by another young woman in a banded dress standing alongside the table with her own tray.  "Would you mind some company?"

A cat, shoe strings, and a belt?  I'm terribly curious ...

Looks good.  A bit sparse on the actual character's history, but other than that, no problems.

*BT STAMP*

Already made my announcement at the BT, but then I remembered I have an accepted, so I thought I'd tell all of you as well.

The Arath is back!

And boot camp sucks.  I really don't recomend it to anyone.  Many much painful days and not nearly enough sleep.

Anywho, who feels like helping me knock out my last Accepted requirement for Rochel so she can cause trouble of the shawled kind?

Arath listened quietly as the green sister spoke, thoughtfully taking in everything.  When she finished, he remained quiet for a moment, studying the ground between them and working out a reply.

"I suppose to answer that, I need to go back to your other questions.  The first time I held a bond was a few months ago when a group of your sisters paid a visit to the Farm.  During that unfortunate incident, I was forced to bond an Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah.  It wasn't a pleasant experience, being bonded to her.  I'm pretty sure that she tried very hard to keep it that way.  The riot of emotions constantly throbbing in the back of my mind ... she made me pay for bonding her every single day.  It was a relief to finally release the bond."

Arath fell silent again for a moment, gathering his thoughts.  "I don't know why I want to do this again.  It makes sense for a lot of different reasons, which is why this is happening in the first place.  But personally ..."  Arath trailed off and stared into the distance.  Northward he realized after a few moments.  Toward Shienar.  Toward Shayol Ghul.  That was the Black Tower's reason.  What was his own?

It was an uncomfortable question.  It required Arath to step back and examine his own life.  And so often, it seemed so empty to him.  His life had not been a happy one before the Black Tower.  Nothing remained of his life before the Farm, but life as an Asha'man felt incomplete somehow.  Like something was missing.  It was a lack that Arath had felt keenly lately.  Something that needed to be filled.  But by what, he had no idea.  A friend?  Maybe that was it?

"I think more than anything, I'm looking for someone I can trust.  Someone I can trust to have my back, without having to constantly check over my shoulder to make sure they're still ... sane.  I don't know.  My reasons are hard for me to explain to myself, let alone to anyone else.  More than anything I want to fight.  I won't let the Shadow win, and I'll do whatever it takes to prevent that.  If that means bonding with an Aes Sedai ..."  Arath looked up at Jaydena and shrugged.  Hopefully she understood him better than he did.  Women seemed to do that a lot, but this time it might be a welcome thing.

Yes yes ... you saw right.  The great and terrible Arath has returned.  More or less.  I'm done with boot camp, and now starting up my Air Force tech school training.  Which means I've got freedom!  And more importantly, teh interwebz!  And DM!  mwahahahaha!

It doesn't look like too much damage was done in my absence ... though the liquor cabinet looks to be running a bit low for so short a time ...

Anywho, it's good to be back.  My access time will be a little limited for the next month or so as I get settled in and started at school, but I should be back up to speed and ruling with an iron fist again quickly.

So, who missed me?

*pokes head in*

Ah good.  Covai's back.  I was getting worried :D

Quick update for you all.  My flight was delayed a little bit.  Nasty blizzard turned a 1/2 hour layover into a 2 day delay, so I've been stuck in Denver for 2 days.  2 blissful days of sleep and freedom before bootcamp.

So I thought I'd take a moment to check in on you all.  Aren't I thoughtful?

Glad to see the place hasn't burned down in the last few days.  That bodes well for another couple of months.

See you all in a couple of months!

It looks like that time has finally arrived.  This upcoming Tuesday I'll begin Basic Training for the Airforce, and will be on LoA for at least 9 weeks.  Maybe up to 13, depending on how soon after that I can get internet access.  I'll actually be leaving this Sunday, and may have limited internet access Sunday and Monday evenings, but for all intents and purposes, my LoA starts this Sunday.

In the mean time, since the rest of my staff seem to have vanished, it appears that Wayward Fool (or Boopsie, or Skechid, or whatever you feel like calling him) will be the ranking BT officer in my absence.  Light help us all.  He will mostly be taking care of bio submissions and OP scores.  And he's disgustingly energetic, so if you need an RP partner he'll be more willing to help out.

If there are any major issues, you can also go to Elgee.  There are some changes in the works (might even be implemented by the time I get back), and we'll be working a lot more closely with the WT in the future.

And as always, our uber-admins are there to help.  I don't really anticpate much need for them to actually do anything, but they're always there if needed.

Arath didn't miss Jaydena's use of 'me' and 'I' as she spoke of the bond.  Almost as though it were a forgone conclusion that Arath would end up as her warder.  He let it pass though.  That prospect was certainly better than the alternatives though.  From what he had heard of her conversation with Zarinen, he would much rather that the Asha'man bond with Green ajah sisters than the Red.  

He nodded patiently as Jaydena explained what effects the bond had.  He was well aware of what changes the bond created, having been bonded to Serena Morrigan of the Blue after the small but furious battle with the Aes Sedai on the outskirts of the Farm.  There were a few interesting differences though.  None of the bonded Aes Sedai exhibited the enhanced vitality that their own warders recieved, and the emotional transfer in the Asha'man strong seemed a little stronger.  It would bear some looking into.  When asked about the ability to sense Shadowspawn, Arath simply nodded.  It wasn't a pleasant sensation, but he could feel it when shadowspawn approached.

Finally, Jaydena began to explain what Arath was really after.  "However this is what I know you would gain, if you bonded a Sister of the Greens. You would gain a helpmate, someone trained in battle, in defeating Shadowspawn, who knows what it means to be bonded and knows how to treat you with respect. Though you hopefully would get the respect from any Sister you bond. You also will get a relationship unlike any other, a friend, a sister, a lover, a best friend, whatever way a bond develops it is still one of the most special connections you will ever know. That person is there to guard your back and you are there to guard theirs. As for holding the bond, as long as you didn't spend your time trying to "force" me to do stuff, which I am not sure even works with the channeler to channeler bond I don't care who holds it."

The last part was interesting to be sure.  Every single Red he had met had cringed at the mere thought of being bonded by an Asha'man.  With the exception of Zarinen herself, he suspected that all of those who had been bonded had only done so under direct orders.  Her statement about being forced into things was also interesting.  It was well known from prior experience that the Asha'man bond had a strong compulsion effect.  It had been used extensively with the captive Aes Sedai to help keep them in line.  The bondholder Asha'man had now been placed under strict orders to not use the compulsion aspect, and Arath wasn't even sure if the Aes Sedai were aware of it yet.  No Asha'man had yet reported a similar effect from the Aes Sedai bond.  Another difference that would need to be investigated further.

"Well," he said with a smile, leaning back against the nearby fence, "that's certainly more than I've ever gotten from one of your Red sisters.  I've already had first hand experience with holding a bond, so I'm aware of some of the details.  It is good to know what the Green Ajah expects from a bond though.  But what about you?  What is your personal view on it?  Why would you be willing to be bonded to one of my kind?"

Wow ... enough to make you wish balefire was real, eh?

I'm in the beginning stages of freaking out, since I'm about 5 days away from bootcamp.  Tis a bit unnerving.

"Fair enough," Arath conceded with a shrug and a laugh.  "Every other time I've met an Aes Sedai she's tried to kill me.  Even in these last couple weeks it's been fairly ... tense."  There hadn't been any open attacks, but every so often someone had a panic attack and started shielding people.  This green was far different from what he'd come to expect, and yet in some ways she was exactly like the rest.  Dancing around the truth came as easily as breathing to the lot of them.  "We're allowed to wander about now, because it seems the secret is out, though I can't for the life of me figure out who might have spread it around."  Arath gave Jaydena a very pointed look, plainly placing the blame on her.  "Not much point in keeping us cooped up in secret when everybody knows.  I expect they also grew tired of every other Aes Sedai in the Tower intruding in the Red quarters to question their 'guests'.

"And no, I've not ended up in a bond.  The deal was that whoever is being bonded must go into it willingly.  Which I haven't been."  He paused for a moment, considering Jaydena.  She was giving him that sort of look that only women could.  A look so appraising that she could probably guess down to the minute the last time he had bathed.  At least it didn't seem disapproving.  "I suppose I've been rejecting bonds because nobody who has come to me has been willing to explain what she expects out of it.  I will not be bonded only to be a pet or a manservant.  And the few I've approached certainly don't want to be on the 'wrong end'."  Indeed, most of the Red's wouldn't even speak with him at all anymore, let alone discuss being bonded.

This one is for Dedicated and up.

DM Handle: Moseley

Character Count: 1st

Character Name: Ciprian Isandes Neramovni

Nationality: Arafellian

Age: 28

Physical Characteristic:

Hair: Dark brown

Eyes: Very dark brown

Skin: Pale, but not porcelain

Height: 6'2

Voice:Deep baritone

Physical Description: Ciprian is a striking and imposing man with high cheekbones and a sharp jaw line accented by his sideburns and muscled jowls. He shaves every five days or so, giving him a scruffy looking appearance. Large-nosed with deep-set eyes and full lips make attractive, but his “bugger-off” look usually deters people. He’s built like a Warder, broad-shouldered and imposing, well-muscled and a bit thick-necked.

Personal History:  

971 NE-Maighdal- Ciprian Isandes Neramovni is born to parents Leonin and Beldemaine Neramovni in Shol Arbela as the sixth and last child. Leonin is a butcher and Beldemaine is a seamstress. He grows up relatively normally, with a healthy family life and friends.

984 NE-Choren- Ciprian is apprenticed to a blacksmith and moves in with him and his family. He and the blacksmith’s son both discover their unusual interest in other men. He grows strong working at the forge, and is pushed by his master, perhaps a bit too harshly.

990 NE- Tammaz- Ciprian discovers that he has unusual abilities. He accidentally Heals his sick sister when he returns home for a visit. He swears her to secrecy and she agrees at first, frightened. Neither of them really have any idea of what Ciprian can do. But it is unusual.

Nesan- Late one night, when the blacksmith is asleep, the blacksmith’s son notices Ciprian making the metal hot without the forge. He panics and runs to his father. The blacksmith grows frightened and demands Ciprian leave his house at once. Ciprian begs the blacksmith’s son to plead with his father. His father grows even more furious that his son is sleeping with his apprentice and in anger tries to kill him. Ciprian defends his lover and unleashes the One Power on the blacksmith, killing him. The son runs into the street screaming about what happened. Ciprian knocks him out to quiet him, then steals a horse and rides south.

991 NE- Taisham-Ciprian flees as far south as he can, to Tear, where he imagines no one will look for him. He joins a Ghealdanian merchant as a strongarm and grows a beard, hoping no one will notice him. This works for a while, until the merchant makes for Arafel. Ciprian leaves and heads south to Far Madding.

992 NE- Jumara- After traveling from city to city, Ciprian arrives in Far Madding, where he cannot feel the One Power. In Far Madding, he believes he will not have another outbreak like his first in Shol Arbela. He finds himself work as a blacksmith for the minor Lord Aedmun of House Matherin. Lord Aedmun find’s Ciprian particularly attractive and makes him his male-mistress. Though he is flattered, Ciprian does not enjoy the somewhat older man but stays in Far Madding where he feels safe from saidin.

998 NE-Saven- Lord Aedmun makes a diplomatic trip to Caemlyn and takes Ciprian with him. Ciprian, fed up with Lord Aedmun’s constant requests accidentally kills him while trying to resist. Ciprian flees and follows rumors of men who can channel gathering. After weeks of going farm to farm, town to town, he finds the Black Tower and begins his formal training.

Updated for 100 weaves class

"Why is it you find it so hard to simply accept that which you're told? Do you believe I would deliberately mislead you, child?"  Rochel was the daughter of merchants.  And she was the only girl among four brothers.  AND she had spent the several years of her life living among Aes Sedai who manipulated the truth into whatever form they wanted.  Rochel never accepted what she was told at face value.  As for deliberately misleading her ... isn't that what Aes Sedai did?  But Rochel lied, with a small shake of her head.  Light, she was going to miss being able to lie!  

"Another reason, if you please. And while you're at it you can clean that puddle. In fact, I want you to use one of the weaves you have learned today to do so, modifying it as needed."

Rochel froze.  What she had just been asked to do went against everything that had been beaten into her as a novice.  Using the One Power to assist in a chore?  Deliberately modifying a weave she had been showen to achieve a different result?  Experimenting with the Power?  As much as Rochel hated the rules around the White Tower, she did find herself agreeing with the experimentation rule.  The incident in her first year with the light globe turned fireball had given her a healthy respect for the dangers of experimentation.  It had also fueled her frustration that nobody ever explained why things worked the way they did.

"Go on, I will ensure you don't make too much further mess. And don't forget to answer the question."

More than a little nervous at the prospect, Rochel thought back on the series of weaves she had just learned.  Which one would be best for manipulating water?  Her immediate thought was for the weave that had made the mess in the first place, but it hardly called for any water at all.  She really no idea how it had happened in the first place.  After another moment of thought, she decided on the second weave.  The star shaped one which made the little puff of mist.  It had to draw water from somewhere, so what if she used that one on the puddle?

Carefully, nervously, she began to weave.  The star shape of the weave began to emerge, but this time Rochel drew the points of the star down into the water puddle.  She also made the weave significantly larger.  More than a litle apprehensive, Rochel placed the final threads into the weave, and let it do its work.  To her surprise, the weave immediately began to suck up the puddle from the floor.  And then to her even greater surprise, the weave collapsed and emitted  ... a cloud?  A heavy white mist lingered in the air just above their heads.  Afraid that it might start raining on them, Rochel quickly wove air and pushed open a window, then another flow of air to draw the fluffy white mass outside.

Standing at the open window for a moment, Rochel watched as the outside breeze quickly dispersed the little cloud, and she began to wonder what else that weave might be able to do.  What if she used it on the river for example?  Just how big of a cloud, or maybe a fog, could she make with it?  Though she doubted she'd be allowed to try it any time soon, it was fun to speculate.  At least until she remembered that Pia Sedai was still in the room, and was waiting for the answer to her question.

Shutting the window and returning to her seat, Rochel thought about how to word her answer.  If there is a reason, she thought, other than simply doing what I'm told, I can't think of it.  It isn't to encourage creativity, since all one hundred of them have to be done exactly right.  It isn't to learn new skills, since none of the weave as they are do anything useful.  And since nobody will ever tell me a reason why anything is done the way it is, I have to assume that nobody actually knows, and it's simply because that's the way it is.

Finally, she settled on an answer that seemed good enough, even though she didn't quite believe it herself.  "Patience.  As an Aes Sedai, depending on the ajah anyway, one might have to deal with a great number of people and situations that don't make any sense at all.  It would be important to have the patience to deal with things in the ... proper way, rather than doing something that might be much simpler but leave someone upset."  She doubted that Pia bought a word of that, especially coming from Rochel, but at least it sounded like she was making an effort to be compliant.

Daevis watched quietly from the corner he was leaning against as everyone began to pair off.  It didn't go quite so smoothly as he would have thought.  The vaunted Aes Sedai serenity seemed to have been left somewhere in the Amyrlin's office, and the results would have been downright funny if he hadn't been looking at the same fate himself. 

Despite the difficulties the bondings went quickly, until only himself and Storm Leader Arath remained unbonded among the Asha'man.  With a resigned sigh, Daevis stepped forward, drawing the eyes of the Aes Sedai.

"I suppose I'm next," he said in his usual gruff tone.  "But I warn you, the first one of you to even think of getting violent with me will sorely regret it."  More than one pair of eyes narrowed at that.  He doubted any of them liked being threatened in their own Tower, even if it was only a threat of retribution.  They would simply have to get used to it. 

Vora's sa'angreal is a female attuned sa'angreal ... unless there's something you'd like to tell us about Pherno, HE won't be able to use it.  Even claiming he's in a circle with females won't work, since one of THEM will have to draw from it in order for Pherno to access that power.  

And I think Arani has the right of it.  I know that for any of my RP characters, their first reaction to seeing the door blown up and discharge hostile people and shadowspawn (claim all you want that these arbitrary inventions of yours are not technically shadowspawn, if it looks like a monster and lives in the Blight, what else are we supposed to assume?) would be to fill that door with fire and all manner of explosions.  And if they were standing on top of the tallest building in the world, they would be adding huge sweeping flows of air to knock everything that managed to get through off the roof.

I don't mean to be nitpicky and ruin your fun, but I've been doing RP writing on Dragonmount for about 6 years.  I have a pretty good idea what makes an RP successful.  I realize that this is Rev1 and the rules are a little more ... vague ... but things like this only stay fun so long as the rules are followed.  Things aren't looking good for the Shadow in this siege, but so far it looks like the Shadow has been relying exclusively on the godder powers of Pherno.  Not exactly a tactically sound plan, even if he is more powerful than the Dragon Reborn.

The walls were the only place where the Traveling was possible,rest of the city was under the shield against the Traveling,and that was the only thing that kept the Dreadlords from moving the Trollocs in the city via a new form of Gateways that enabled them to transport the Shadowspawn quickly.

The same post allowing shadowspawn to move via gateway says the entire city is warded against travelling.  You're not going to be able to travel to the top of the tower.  Or you're not going to be able to do it with shadowspawn.  There needs to be some consistancy for this to work.

Daerath Farandran stood atop the White Tower, surveying the devestation around the city of Tar Valon.  The eastern side of the city looked secure now.  The brief breach of the walls had been corrected, although a great many channelers lay dead in the area around.  Losses the forces of the Light could ill afford.  The only consolation was that the assault had cost the dreadlords just as dearly, and the shadowspawn even more so.  But the eastern side was no longer Daerath's main concern.  

So much attention had been paid to the breach on the east, that the forces on the western side were spread thin.  As of yet, there hadn't been enough action to warrant a redistribution, but from his vantage point, Daerath could see that it would soon change.  Countless trollocs and fades were massing on the plains to the west of the city.  What they were up to exactly was a mystery, but it was doubtful that it would remain that way for long.  He suspected that the breach on the east would soon be replayed again on the opposite side of the city where fewer channelers would be prepared to stop the onslaught.

Eyes running over the burning landscape, Daerath searched for something, anything, that would give an advantage.  But try as he might, nothing came to mind.  What could he do to turn the tide?  What attribute of the enemy could he turn against them?  What aspect of the landscape would be used to advantage?  For the hundredth time, Daerath cursed the flat, useless terrain around Tar Valon.  The only bump for miles around was Dragonmount, and ...

Daerath paused for a moment, considering the great volcano.  A wicked grin split his face as he considered the dreaded mountain, the tombstone of the Dragon.  That thing which had been a marker of doom for millenia, could well be the salvation Tar Valon.  Raising his voice, he called to the others on the rooftop.  A dozen or so Aes Sedai and Asha'man, all tasked with monitering the battles and relaying information came quickly to his side where he quickly explained.  

A circle was quickly formed, Daerath at the lead.  An incredibly intricate net of all five elements was woven into a large dome around him, while the others remained well outside.  When the dome was complete, the Asha'man tied it off and let the link dissolve, and everyone quickly began on the next phase of the plan.  The sky above them churned with evil black clouds.  Though the fireball rain had ceased for the time being, the skies still boiled.  It actually seemed as though the burning rain had charged the air enough to make this even more potent.  Everyone on the White Tower rooftop wove air and fire, anchoring the beginnings of lightning to the dome.  More and more were added, until the dome was entirely covered with the spikey protrusions.

When all was complete, and Daerath was satisfied he motioned the others away from himself and the dome.  The weave was likely to kill anyone who stood too close.  Adding one final weave to the mass, the Asha'man extended heavily woven cables of air and fire in the direction of Dragonmount.  With a quick prayer to the Creator, Daerath closed his eyes, a smile on his lips, and extended a simple thread of spirit toward the top of the dome, activating the weave and completing every single lightning weave attached to it.

The skies erupted in a blinding flash of light and an incredible boom of thunder, giving pause to every single creature and person who struggled below.  Thousands of bolts of lightning crashed into the dome and coursed through the weave, seeking release.  They found it in the weave extended toward Dragonmount.  A collosal bolt of energy, thousands of lightnings woven into a single incredible burst, blazed across the sky and slammed into the side of the mountain.  The earth trembled as the eastern side of the mountain was blown away.  And then death rained from the sky.

Massive chunks of the mountain were blown miles to the east, falling among the shadow forces with devestating results.  And these were quickly followed by molten earth, no longer contained by the rock walls.  Sprays of magma gushed out of the stricken mountain as though the very lifeblood of the earth was being spilled.  Gobs of lava splashed down on the open fields, some reaching almost to the shining walls them.  And a massive wall of liquid fire ran across the plains, spreading out like a lake of fire, consuming all in its path.  Shadowspawn scattered madly, in an insane rush to escape certain death.

The channelers atop the White Tower pulled themselves to their feet and stared in awe at the devestation.  It took them several moments before they realized that the master of the plan was not joining them.  As they turned to search, their eyes fell upon an oddly serene, yet ghoulish sight.  A large black circle was burnt into the stones, and kneeling in the center was a charred and smoking figure.  All that remained of Daerath Farandran.  

Sadly, the survivors from the roof top returned to their duties.  They would not forget the sacrifice the Asha'man had made.  Nor would they let it be in vain.  The battle still raged on around the besieged city, and they intended to see it won.

OOC:  I might contribute another expendable character or two to this if I have time.  I'm two weeks away from a rather long LOA, so we'll see what happens.

I've been following this thread and the other one for a while, even thought of joining in a time or two, and although it's interesting I see a big problem with how this siege is happening.  Tar Valon is on an island, with a 1 mile wide river on either side.  And the walls are right up against the water.  Scaling ladders and siege towers would be pretty hard, if not impossible to use.  And an invisible tower would still be pretty noticeable as it ran across a 1 mile bridge.