Hello.

This message is sponsored by... no one, since everyone is broke nowadays.

It it time for the EMPYS! (actually, a bit past time >.>).

We'd like to invite you to participate in this yearly site wide event and tell us who you think is the BEST in the year of 2011. As in every year, there are various categories that you can nominate for. Please help us give back to the site and honor it and its members.

The Empys Board is now open. It is a child board under the General Discussion board. You can find the link here. The two stickied threads contain all the information you need to nominate (and more! since Nyn and Tyn like to babble).

If you have any questions, concerns, thoughts and so on about this event, feel free to contact Nynaeve or Tynaal via PM.

Let the games begin

Basically what you hate of Egwene is actually a major characteristic of Nynaeve, and not a characteristic (or at least a very minor one) of Egwene.

No ... it's more that I hate what Egwene is growing into, and like that Nynaeve is growing out of it.

There's an admission of ignorance when she and Elayne first meet Avi and Egwene talks about how little she knows of aiel for example and even expresses her, "But I'll lean!" mindset.

It doesn't take much to admit ignorance about a culture that is pretty alien to just about EVERYONE in the world. Plus she wanted to learn dreamwalking, and had nowhere else to go to find it. If the Wise Ones didn't have that to offer, do you honestly think for a moment that Egwene would have cared either way about the Aiel? She would have tried to persuade Rand to not go with them if their interests hadn't coincided (didn't she do that anyway?). Because she always knows best.

There's the scene where she discusses how important the Wise One's opinions of her are, and this is while she's Amyrlin, so the arrogance stuff is pretty much BS. People comment on her outward show, which is a show. Hate the game, not the playa'!

 

The thing about her being hypocritical about TAR is not wholly BS but extremely exaggerated. I mean Nynaeve was told of a danger, denied it, and was shown she was wrong. Egwene didn't know of a danger and fell for it. How those are considered analogus boggles my mind. Being stubbornly ignorant is hardly the same as being ignorant of your ignorance.

 

And Egwene asked about why she got sucked in after it happened, she asked the women she highly respects, and she was much more careful once she knew of the danger. Nynaeve was told of the danger and shrugged it off like a child.

Except for those times where she secretly continued her dream training in spite of what the highly respected Wise One's opinions. Actions speak louder than words. Then when she dressed down Nynaeve as a fool for 'playing around in T'A'R which she had been guilty of doing only moments before, she did it not to protect Nynaeve from the dangers of the dream world, but to save her own lying skin from being found out by the Wise Ones.

Edit: Oh and there's the whole thing of Egwene being "giddy" over how she finds she can manipulate Nynaeve. Of course it was Nynaeve to taught Egwene how to handle men, and how to handle the women's circle, and Nynaeve is extremely proud at her ability to do that. But because this is focused at Nynaeve, well all of a sudden it's some moral evil...

Nynaeve always seemed more frustrated by the fact that she had to do things that way, rather than proud. Her young age, and younger appearance, were a liability as a Wisdom, and interfered with her ability to be perceived as a leader. She resorted to bullying to get things done, and it began to become second nature. Not a great way to be a leader, but it worked on a small scale. Egwene gets power drunk when she realizes that she can just brow beat anyone into submission. The scene where she first does this to Nynaeve wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that she doesn't stop. She is supposed to be equal with Nynaeve at this point, but she sets herself up as the biggest bully on the playground. And she's over joyed by it.

Another thing that really irks me about Egwene is her attitude toward Rand. EVERYTHING he does, she opposes. Every major decision he has made, she has been against. Never mind the fact that he's the biggest ta'veren in history, or the fact that NOBODY really understands the prophecies of the dragon (despite 3000 years of being studied), or even the fact that the Wheel weaves as the Wheel bloody wills, he can only make the correct decisions with her direction ... the advice of the teenager Amyrlin; leader of the organization that has done nothing but screw up concerning Rand from the beginning.

Nynaeve opposes things that Rand does, but she does it from a more informed perspective ... and it was mostly dark Rand that she opposed. She also realized that he does, in fact, know what he's doing. She began to see things from his point of view. She didn't like it, but she respects him more. Nynaeve's opposition to Rand stems from her concern for him. Egwene's opposition stems from her concern for the White Tower, and out of her own misguided sense of superiority.

I think one of the biggest problems with Egwene is that she has come to embody every negative trait of the White Tower. She has a double dose of Aes Sedai arrogance, and a complete inability to relate to others.

The difference between Egwene and Nynaeve is that Nynaeve is fully aware of her own shortcomings andy hypocrisies, and struggles to correct them (usually). Egwene can't or won't ... she seems to thrive off of them.

Alright guys, sorry to have to abandon you, but I am in the process of moving from Texas to Georgia. I leave today (Saturday), and will arrive some time on Monday or Tuesday. Then I get to go house hunting and set up a new apartment and such. Fun fun. So, I might be out for a couple of weeks. Hopefully by next weekend I'll be settling into a new place and getting back into the swing of things. I'll be checking in as I can, but access may be sporadic.

Until then, Skechid is in charge. But Dali holds the keys to the liquor cabinet. Try not to burn the place down. And no hazing the new guy ... until I get back.

Man ... I've just been failing left and right with you. I just put in the request for the admins to put you in our usergroup. Give it a few hours and they should take care of you.

Sorry

DM Handle: Cai

Name: Cai Murray

Born in: Ghealdan

Sex: Male

Age: 25

Cai can be largely recognized by his larger slender height standing at 6 feet. He has short dark bushy brown hair to match his emerald eyes. He always has a small drawstring pack slung across his back usually full of herbs and books. Cai can almost always be found in greys or blues.

Cai Murray originated from a small town on the border with Amadica that no longer stands as the white cloaks burnt it to the ground. During this invasion many of the town’s folk were killed, including his mother as she was labeled a traitor along with Cai himself. Cai’s mother was a healer for a large portion of the area, but healing was seen as too close to working with the One Power for the invaders and all who practiced it were killed. Cai has ever been scared with the suspicion of strangers, especially Children of the Light, true to his Ghealdan background.

Cai had chosen to follow his mother’s trade instead of following his father, as his elder younger brother Klaine had, in the Ghealdan army. Cai always seemed to have a better talent at heeling than his own mother, and stuck to his strenghts. He had luckily (or unluckily) been out visiting a sick family on the day of the invasion and was spared.

Upon hearing the news, Cai fled those who feared him only to prove them right. He began a journey to the dragon banner in Tear, in hopes to become what those who killed his mother feared he was, a channeler of the forbidden saidin.

On his way to Tear Cai passed through numerous towns, paying with what little he could scavenge from his burnt home. However, as the money began to run out he began using his wears in the villages as he passed through, using a fake smile to pay for his dinner. At the inns that he visited he choose to stay much to himself, coming down to eat supper and watch any of the performers to take his mind of his mother.

After much traveling, and a lot of thinking, Cai finally arrived in Tear. Still wary of strangers Cai began to feel his way about Tear, an area that once had a fear of the One Power, much like the White Cloaks. While wandering the city, Cai happened across a Healer’s shop where a kind old woman named Lily lived. Cai was a little less wary of Lily, a little less, but as the two began sharing recipes and methods, beginning to slowly bond a friendship.

Cai and Lily talked a few days through, Lily offering the flat that was above her shop as a place for Cai to stay for a while until he was ready to meet with the leader of the men in the city that called themselves Asha’man. The two talked about everything, sharing histories, tales, elixirs, and goals. Cai made a true connection with Lily, and was soon introduced to her son, Riordan who was in town as a traveling merchants guard. Riordan was a little younger than Cai by a few years, but the two were fast friends as Riordan shared the same flat area with Cai.

Eventually the two became very close, to the point that they were never seen apart and Cai’s boundaries were lowering. The two eventually became so close that they were secret bed mates together, another of Cai’s interests that the whitecloacks weren’t too fond of.

However, soon enough Riordan was back with the merchant on their way to Camelyn, and Cai to the stone of tear to meet the storm leader in charge. Cai went through the normal tastings of the flame with a few other gentlemen. Cai was chosen as one being able to wield the One Power along with one other young man. Cai remains weary of his “brothers”, but enraptures himself in his studies and training. Here his story unfolds, in the hands of mad men, but how sane was Cai to begin with?

For the hundredth time since he'd joined this strange little expedition, Arath was struck by the sheer difference between the Aes Sedai and the Asha'man. Did they never think to use the One Power? The entire trip, they had used the Power very little, other than for Kathleen's evening lessons. They had always seemed so shocked every time Arath had used Saidin for the most menial tasks, from hunting, to cleaning his boots. It should have come as no shock to him then that neither of thought to resort to the One Power for this task.

After Kathleen offered to take the first watch of the door, Arath shook his head. "Why not use a ward?" He paused as both sets of eyes turned on him. "If I had a good enough description of your contact, I'm sure I could construct a ward that would let us know when a specific person passes the threshold." He shrugged. Spirit was one his greatest strengths. There were few, if any, who could match him with that element, and wards were composed almost entirely of spirit. "Just an idea. Unless you really want to sit here and watch through the window all day. Less chance of being seen from the street as well."

"Other than that, I want to find out about the Whitecloak presence in town. They seem to be the biggest threat here ... especially to you," he added, nodding toward Olmena. Her ageless face would make her stand out, whereas Kathleen didn't seem to have the Aes Sedai look yet. For a moment, Arath idly wondered if Asha'man would ever develop any distinguishing feature like that. Other than the rotting death of course. It had been millenia since any male channeler had lived long enough to find out. "It always pays to know where your enemies are."

Alright, I posted a little something. Not much, but I'm present.

After the hunting incident at the start of the trip, Arath had done his best to remain unobtrusive. For the most part, he had faded into the background, doing whatever was asked of him but not drawing any attention to himself, or his abilities. As a result, the group seemed to ... maybe not trust him, but they didn't exactly shun him either. Resigned acceptance perhaps?

The last few days had been even more silent than usual, almost to the point where his two companions seemed to forget him for a time. He couldn't really blame them. Kathleen seemed to be having a difficult enough time getting used to Olmena, let alone adding an Asha'man to the mix. For the most part, Arath was content with being ignored again, but now that they had reached their destination it seemed less than ideal. At least until the others arrived.

After securing his own room at the chosen inn, Arath made his way down the hallway to where the Aes Sedai's rooms were. Tapping on the door, he cracked it open and poked his head inside. Ignoring the look that plainly told him he was interupting something, he simply asked, "What happens now? Bide our time and wait for the others, or ... what?"

Still want me in this?

I know I haven't added anything in ... quite a while, but I wasn't sure how to go about it. Still willing to barbeque some Whitecloaks though.

Arath is supposed to be with Kathleen and Olmena, right?

Man ... this might be enough to drive Arath into madness ... 6 or 7 old Storm/Attack Leaders, and a presumed dead M'Hael all showing up out of the wood works in so short a time. Everything must be winding up for TG :D

Yep, just send it to me. And if it's a returning character, flesh it out a bit with any memorable experiences at the BT, and maybe an excuse for being away from the Tower. It won't even need a CC by another div.

Kind of tall for a Cairhienen girl.

But whatever. *BT STAMP*

Looks good. *BT STAMP*

DM Handle: Jask

Character Count: 1

Character Name: Dalinarius Traachanshield

Nationality: Shienaran

Age: 28

Physical Description: Roughly 6’3 with a lean, slightly lanky, hard build. Mousey brown hair falls in a slightly foppish Hugh Grant style around his face. Pale grey-blue eyes in true Borderlander style. Carries a quarterstaff of bone-white wood near his height with leather binding that was once a midnight blue but has been stained near black with years of use and sweat.

Dalinarius Traachanshield grew up in the Borderland keep-town of Fal Dara, in far north eastern Shienar. His mother was a house-wife, and intermittently child-minder for other women around the keep with larger families to manage. His father was a soldier, and like most men in the town, Dalinar was expected to follow in his warrior's footsteps.

From a young age, however, Dalinar showed an aversion to the brutality of the sword, and it was obvious that he would not live out the typical Shienaran life as a warrior. Eventually he settled into his calling as a Healer, apprenticing for some years to the keep’s master in that art, even as he continued martial studies under his uncle in hand-to-hand and the quarterstaff. He was a fair student in the fighting arts, and progressed well, but nowhere near as well as he did under the tutelage of the keep's wisened Master Healer. Within a matter of years he had surpassed his ailing and frail mentor's skill, and replaced him as Fal Dara's Healer.

At the age of 21 or 22, a summons came from Fal Moran, from King Easar. The missive was short, to the point, and direct. "Make all haste,” it demanded, so make all haste he did.

It wasn’t long before the reason for the summoning became clear. The King’s Aes Sedai advisor had taken ill, but refused to send to Tar Valon for assistance. Brianna Sedai, of the Blue Ajah, had a congenital heart disease that would take her to an early grave despite any miracle the Aes Sedai of the current age could try to save her. But her ending would be slow, though inexorable, and over this time the King insisted Dalinar tend her daily and cater her every need. Over this period they grew close until, finally and perhaps in a moment of near-death delirium, Brianna bonded Dalinar to her as her Warder.

Brianna, like some Aes Sedai, had a fascination for things of prophecy and the Dragon. She had in her younger travelled extensively across the lands and was fascinated with parallels in different cultures and their beliefs around the Dragon’s Rebirth.

Much of this she shared with Dali in their time together, though surely only a fraction of the wealth of knowledge at her fingertips.

They returned to Tar Valon together then, Brianna having made some brief recovery, enough to survive the journey, and there life was less stressful for her, though surely more so for Dalinar, who was taken into Warder training immediately. Despite endless pressure from his many mentors, he would never touch a sword save to pass it to another or pick it up to hand back to a defeated opponent. His training focused primarily in the quarterstaff and hand-to-hand.

Brianna and Dali shared a few precious years together before the Wheel’s weavings caught up with her and surely snipped her thread from the Pattern at last.

Dalinar was distraught, having spent those last weeks almost constantly at her side. Her dying wish was that he seek out the banner of the Dragon that had been raised in Ghealdan and attempt to determine the man’s supposed authenticity. Her dying wish was all that gave him life and purpose.

Find him he did, eventually. A curiously charismatic man named Dramon Calgar, gathering people to him like moths to a flame. He gained private audience with the man, and questioned him closely.

Dramon demonstrated his ability to channel to Dali in this first meeting, and in so doing discovered that Dalinar too could learn to touch the True Source, with the proper guidance and training. Dramon had a Farm, he said, where men could learn to channel together, safely. Although reluctant (and terrified of the prospect of a group of men channeling, together!) Brianna’s dying wish pulled at the back of Dali’s mind, and before he knew it he was learning to channel.

Dramon and Dalinar became close, until Dalinar was virtually Dramon’s right hand man. An attack on the Tower left Dramon in a coma which he could not be roused from, even with Dalinar’s finest efforts (and an ability to Heal that had not been seen since the Age of Legends, a Talent which left a bitter taste in his mouth whenever memories of Brianna haunted him).

Dalinar replaced Dramon as the leader of the Farm. A new Dragon had arisen before Dramon’s death, and the Farm had sworn fealty to this man at Dalinar’s insistence and persuasion when the signs became all too clear that he was fulfilling the prophecies that Brianna had once spoken of to him. When Tear fell, the men of the Black Tower, were there fighting by the Lord Dragon’s side.

Dalinar had ever had sentiment for Aes Sedai, though he spoke of his close connection to them in his past with noone, fearing retribution from many of those in the Tower who had only disdain or even hatred for those who would hunt them down and gentle them given half a chance. When Aes Sedai approached the Tower, Dali would have met them with peaceful offerings and open arms. Conflict arose, from both within the Black Tower and without, and a particular man of extraordinary strength in the Power who had risen to the rank of Storm Leader (Brent Enios), turned on Dali and sought to strip him of his leadership – by force – believe Dali was too soft on the Aes Sedai.

Dalinar, though exceptionally skilled in the Power, was no match for the formidable strength that was flung against him by the mutinous Storm Leader. With the last of the strength that he could draw on, he fled the scene via a Gate that opened into a place that Dalinar and his Spymaster (Skechid Aran Teobon) had once agreed upon in case of this very sort of coup.

As Dalinar fled, his feet finding purchase on the far side of the Gate, the Storm Leader Brent flung a final weave of the Power at him. As it struck Dali, unprepared, the Gateway that had hung in the air a moment before melted out of existence.

Dalinar collapsed to the ground on the far side, his breathing hoarse, his wounds sapping the strength and lifeblood from him. He reached for saidin, hoping it might fortify him even as it sought to destroy him… and came up short. He reached again, coughing out blood and clutching his sides as his innards ripped with pain. Again, saidin evaded him. And again. Just out of sight, just within reach, but as far away as the sun itself.

Oh Light… It’s gone.

A tear crept down the side of his face, mingling with sweat and dirt, and Dalinar didn’t know if it was for the pain of the wounds which were surely killing him, or the emptiness and loss he felt. The loss of saidin. Not even losing Brianna had felt like this.

Hey! I remember you. And I AM the powers that be!

As far as your cannibalizing your old Dedicated for his sword pin ... it's possible. I'd just need a reeeeeeeeally good bio for the new character. Shoot me a PM with your ideas for the new guy and we'll see what we can do.

He wasn't quite sure what to make of that bit of information. A hundred years old? Aes Sedai lived that long? It suddenly dawned on him just how much that taint stole from him. From the Asha'man. Fury welled up in his mind for a moment before he composed himself. It changed nothing, and dwelling on what could never be helpful. So long as he made it to the last battle, he would be content. But still ... what could he do with hundreds of years ...?

"It has been a long day for all of us, and we've strayed a bit from your original point. Rules. What do you have in mind?"

"Well, first off, we are not your property." Zarinen's eyes narrowed a little, and he hurriedly added, "Last time, even though the Aes Sedai at the Farm were captives, they took on a very ... dominant ... attitude. As though they owned the place. We knew for a fact that if the position had been reversed they would have been studying us like animals. There won't be any of that. If any of your sisters want to 'experiment' with their bondmate, they only do so with full permission, and full explanations of what they're up to. The reverse also holds true of course. We removed all traces of compulsion from the bond that we used on you this time, so we can't force you into anything either."

Arath poured himself another glass of wine while Zarinen mulled that rule over. "Second, when the time comes, we will be the ones to ... to deal with each other. Like I said before, that is the only comfort we have. If one of us should fall to the taint ... you can shield him and restrain him, but it ultimately falls to us to end him."

Arath let his bond mate stew on that one for a while before moving to his next item of business. "The last thing I can think of right now is lodging. If any of you wish to visit the Black Tower, you may stay at the home of your bond mate, if he is an Asha'man. Dedicated live in the barracks, so if any of you bond with one of them ... she's just out of luck. As for us ..." Arath grinned. He got the feeling this part would be interesting." It seems that the inn that you've dumped us in will no longer work. The inn keeper hasn't had a man in her establishment for years by my guess, and didn't care much for us in the first place. And it also seems that nobody explained the exact nature of her new guests to her. She was snooping around and saw something she wasn't prepared for." The young Storm Leader smirked. "I don't think we'll be very welcome there for much longer." He looked around the lavish chamber very pointedly before adding, "You look like you have some nice enough rooms here. I don't suppose there are any available to house a few ... warders?"

Oooooo ... welcome back Dali!

http://blacktowerdiv.wordpress.com/getting-started/tower-history/

There's the link to the most up to date history we have.

As far as Dali's demise ... it was a kind of behind-the-scenes sort of thing. An NSW Storm Leader, Brent Enios, killed him and assumed the title of M'Hael. But the fight was never written out, and no body was ever produced. I guess it isn't inconcievable that Dali escaped, and that Brent just claimed him to be vaporized (You just don't argue some things with a Storm Leader who has maxed out OP scores). History just says there was a coup.

And now that Brent himself is dead (that one WAS RP'd out) Dali would be able to make a return.

There was a lot of improv in those days ... half the RP took off around the same time.

Well, if you want to come back with Dalinarius, I'm sure we can make it work. If not, Koras is in charge of training newbies again.

Sorry about that. Been testing at school all week and totally missed this. Checking it right now.

I'd say your initial post is pretty much done. So long as you both have your 5 posts, it's good. Your initial thread usually just deals with your arrival, and initial reactions to the farm. It rarely runs into anything actually substantial.

Can do. I'll make sure to correct anything that looks too far off base.

Arath laughed to himself as Zarinen barraged him with questions. Letting the link dissolve again, he answered as best he could when she managed to cut herself off. "Unfortunately, it is very draining. The longest I've ever used it was about half an hour. If I really pushed myself I might be able to last about twice that. I mostly use it for small things, and never really cared to test my limits."

The Asha'man sighed, and scratched his head as he pondered the other questions. "As for what I did, I told you before that I tried to make an angreal. We only have a few angreal at the Farm, and I was only able to study two of them before I made my attempt. Unfortunately, the stronger of the two angreal is flawed somehow. The weaker one increases your strength, but it has a limit to that increase. The other ... has no limit. There is no protective buffer on it, and it amplifies the taint as well as Saidin. I compared the two, and thought I'd found the difference, and when I built my own angreal I think I over did the buffer."

Arath shrugged. "Whatever I did, I haven't been able to duplicate it. I made another angreal, but it doesn't do anything at all. No strength increase, and no noticeable filtering effect. I have the theory correct, but I'm still missing something."

Staring back down into his wine glass, Arath thought for a moment, gently swirling the liquid. "At any rate, this proves that the taint can be removed. Burn me if I can think of a permanent solution, but there has to be something." He fell silent for a moment, before draining his glass and settling back into his seat. "But that is a problem for another day. I think we have enough to deal with for now. So you have a history of befriending channeling men, you were exiled from the White Tower, and you're now somehow the head of your ajah. What else should I know about you?"

So long as someone picked up the thread, I'm fine with it. Have fun with them. :)

Well, Grimm joined in, so I was going to let that little drama play out a bit. If he's done though, I suppose I can step in and sort things out before there's a bigger mess in my hallway.

Alright, back from my mini LoA (moving sucks btw) and I can help with your intros. FYI to both of you, we no longer have a Traitors Tree. It was destroyed in a nasty little bubble of evil a few years back. Fun stuff.