I've not been very active and I've not had much time to roleplay again yet, but I'm still sort of around.  :)

I'm still here.  Or back.. or something along those lines.  Stil intending to roleplay, anyway.

Aes Sedai RP, Transition, and whichever of the others I manage to finish writing first.  Unless I get really restless and do a Turning solo post just to be done with it. :)

Oh, I should mention that it's updated to here.  If there's ever a change in your contact info, please just send me a PM with the updated stuff.

Thanks!

With the new Reqs, Katiana is done.  Now I have to write her arches.

There's a new roll call that will be up until September sometime.  At that point I will PM anyone who hasn't responded and then they will be given a week to respond before they are removed from the user group.  There are a lot of people on the user group who are there because once upon a time they had an active character but they're not active anymore.  I'd like to trim the user group down to the people who are actually roleplaying so that I can find out who all is here to make it easier to plan roleplays.

I'd like for people to keep track of the main plot roleplays going on and to reflect them in your own posts.  Things like the Bowl of the Winds will be felt very clearly for all channelers, male and female, and your characters should notice and respond to the use of the ter'angreal and the changing of the weather.  Especially those who are stationed anywhere near Altara.

The Daughter of the Nine Moons will be kidnapped by the Band soon.  The Seanchan characters and any freelanders who are in the Tarabon area should reflect in their posts how stirred up and concerned by something the Seanchan are.  The Seanchan, of course, can be involved in looking for her and trying to figure out where she's gone.

The Aiel are rather isolated from the rest of the world, but there are events that they too would be able to relfect on and then Aiel that aren't in retro can reflect on the taking of wetland Gai'shain (Shaido only) and the events of the world in the wetlands that they are visiting and pillaging.  The Dragonmount Aiel should be excited about the birth of a new Aiel from our head wise one, Covina, and as soon as her thread where the child is born is completed, there can be threads about merrymaking over the birth or giving of gifts to the new child. 

My warriors and wise one apprentices need to get back to their training.  If there's anything you need help with - meeting reqs or just story ideas - feel free to contact me.  Apprentices, go help Covina with that baby.  I'll be PMing you guys about this in the next couple of days, the poor woman's been in labor since May 20.

Work to find other Freelanders to interact with and roleplay with.  Since the vast majority of Freelanders characters don't have requirements or roleplay reporting to do, and I can't read every post on every board (just not enough time!) if there's something interesting going on in your characters life, feel free to write a post about it on the Freelanders DR Div board and let us know!  If you want more reaction and activity, it's a great place to ask for it and drum up interest in your storyline and character.

And if there's anything else you need, I'm around.  Don't feel hesitant to drop me a PM, it's the best way to make sure I see whatever you're sending to me.

~Quisalas Selene

Freelanders DL

Your guild is just Freelanders, Samus.

Quiz is checked and good. :)  Still need your OP score breakdown for N'Daye.

Selene is trying to decide between Blue and Gray right now.  She's great at people, befriending them and getting them to like her.  I originally wanted her to be yellow but then I didn't get the OP score for her to be able to do the proper weaves, which ended up making for some very good story as she struggled with not being good enough for the Yellows.  She definitely doesn't want to be in the Tower much, and she wants to help people.  She was leaning blue but then Tigara swayed me towards making her Gray and now I'm not sure which way she'll run.

I'd love to have you in that Gray thread I was talking about with Elgee, Lavinya.  And I was doing a blue thread with Elyssa, but I don't know what I'm going to do with that now.

I play a Gray sitter, Ziya Asunawa, and I also have a novice, Katiana, who has a lot of growing up to do before she can even guess at her Ajah.  No blacks, though.  I don't enjoy playing them.

Eventually, if Selene ever gets raised, I'm going to make a Red sister, too.

Yeah, this bio was interesting.  Thanks for looking it over. :)

"Viviaina?" She leaned closer to the other woman's mare and spoke again. "Viviaina?  Light, but the browns will be the death of me.  And they claim the Blues care for nothing but our causes and here I am with a Brown lost to her own thinking."  By the end of it she was mumbling more to herself than to the woman beside her but she smiled warmly and set a hand on the other woman's arm.  When the Brown's eyes met hers she continued on with what she'd been trying to say for the past 5 minutes or so.

"I think visiting the Kin is a good idea.  They've a lot experienced women there as well, and I think if there's one thing that a group of women in charge of keeping an area to rights knows, it is what's going on in their own town.  So what shall we do, find the Kin and have them take us to whomever they have in charge of them in our quaint little homeland and ask them about the ter'angreal?"  She mused a moment, wondering how the women who were in such fear and awe of Aes Sedai would take being told that they may have an item that the Tower wanted.

"How do you think they'll respond best, you've studied the Kin before this trip, haven't you?  Should we be intimidating and demanding, or try to coax them along with smiles and sweet words?"  Mariella had always preferred kindness, but when you were a weak channeler in the White Tower you had to learn other ways to deal with people and Mariella had gotten very good at getting respect for who she was in spite of what strength she was capable of with the One Power. "I don't know if it would be a good idea to show ourselves before we actually get to the Circle.  Poor dears tend to bolt and panic if they so much as sniff an Aes Sedai."

Mariella took her hand back from Viviaina's arm and idly traced the faint wrinkles beginning to show on her face, defying the agelessness she had worn for so long.  Perhaps it was a good thing that two of the oldest Aes Sedai on the mission should be the ones to approach the Kin.  It might keep them from realizing they were dealing with the Tower too early.

Mariella Jerin

NSW Blue

Selene is bubbly and chatty and a bit silly and hates having to be serious all the time, but other than that is a very studious person and takes her learning seriously.  I'd love to have one of your characters take over the thread, just let me know which one is more likely to be the person Ziya points out as someone Selene should go talk to about going gray.

Handle: Sedrin Mathos

Character Name: Sedrin Mathos

Division: Freelanders

Age: 32

Gender: Male

Physical Description:

~Height: 5'9"

~Weight: 170 lbs.

~Eyes: Gray

~Hair: Dirty blonde

~Other Outstanding Features: Sedrin Mathos is a compact man, who sports the traditional square-cut beard of Illianer men that bares the upper lip. Thick eyebrows hide most of a thin white scar that curves above his left eye; he received the injury whilst in a skirmish with several Altaran soldiers in a border raid at a young age, when he first joined the Companions.* He is muscular, but not incredibly bulky, and is of average height and build.

~Place of Birth/Raising: The Perfumed Quarter, Illian

~Character History:

Sedrin Mathos was born in the kitchen of an inn known as The Silver Dolphin near the Perfumed Quarter of Illian. His mother, Marim, was taking a leisurely stroll on the Bridge of Flowers in the last days of her pregnancy, all of a sudden began to cramp and knew that little Sedrin was about to be introduced into the world. The nearest building was a squat pale stone building known as The Silver Dolphin. The kindly innkeeper there eased Marim through birth with the use of several herbs, for she was rather skillful at the craft.

Unfortunately, however, Marim passed away during childbirth, leaving little Sedrin with only his father, Tamar. Tamar was a tanner who worked in one of the outlying tanneries in the marshes of Illian, and he wasn't as fond of Sedrin as he thought he would be. Their relationship was veiled by Marim's death, and Sedrin grew up alone, for the most part. Nothing much happened in his teenage years, but when he became a young adult, he was drafted into the Illianer Companions and sent on a border raid to Murandy. He and his legion had a small skirmish with Altaran soldiers for a border dispute. Whilst taking orders from his Commander, an arrow brushed Sedrin's brow, producing a permanent scar, white and thin, that he would live with forever. Fortunately, however, the Altarans were quelled and Illian gained several hundred hides of land for their control.

Upon returning to Illian, he and his legion found the city in an uproar. A man had gone missing, and that man was Tamar, Sedrin's father. In a panic, Sedrin set out alone to go find his father, with a pack on his back and his sword from the Companions in hand. He ventured out into the Plains of Maredo, and found Tamar pinned to a tree with a spear, his mouth gagged and his neck broken. Clutched loosely in his fingers was a yellowed note, which Sedrin gingerly slid from his dead father's cold grip. Scrawled across the parchment in his father's sharp hand were the words "Seek the treasure of gold, call the heroes of old." That was it, that mere sentence.

He knew what it meant--that he must hunt for the Horn of Valere--but why? Why had his father been pinned to a tree with a note in hand that said he must find the Horn? He tried to sort out the swirling thoughts in his head, but to no avail. He set off for Illian. Upon arrival, another great upheaval wracked the town, but a jolly one this time. The Great Hunt of the Horn had been called. Wide-eyed with the absurdity of it all, Sedrin vowed to leave the Companions and became a Hunter for the Horn. He was sworn by his oaths in the Great Square of Tammuz, and embarked on a quest to find the Horn and fulfill his father's mysterious words.

The Companions, however, would not simply let him desert their ranks and go off to chase after what some of them believed was simply a myth. They chased after him, pronouncing him a deserter, and he fled to the harbor, where he meant to board a boat that would take him away from Illian. He felt no ties to Illian now, for he had buried his father before leaving. The ship he boarded was a merchant vessel bound for Tanchico. As it headed out into sea, it was captured and raided by Illianer pirates, who killed the panicked Tairen merchant and captured him. He was kept belowdecks as a prisoner, and was given a crusted heel of bread and a cracked glass of dirty water to satisfy him. But, fortunately, the ship was moored on a sandbar and Sedrin managed to escape.

Not far from shore, he swam and was surprised to find himself on the banks of Tear. You see, Sedrin had not the usual hatred of Tear as most Illianers did, but he knew that he would most likely cause trouble if any Tairens caught sight of him. Laying low, he found shelter under a rock overhang and waited, plotting out what to do next. And he thought of a perfect idea.

An Andoran trade vessel passed by several days later, and he waved down the captain, who let him aboard for a hefty sum. The Andoran captain however, took him to Andor, where he now resides in Caemlyn, hoping to begin his hunt for the Horn, and where he now tries to avoid Illian at all costs. Sedrin Mathos is a bold and practical man, who does what he can to survive. And find the Horn, as his father's fabled words instructed...

Basic Information

Handle : SerenaMorrigan

Character Information

Name: N’Daye Kishar

Age: 17

Nationality: Illian

Appearance

Hair: Brown (chin length)

Eyes: Gray

Skin: pasty and pale at the moment, but it will eventually be somewhere between tanned and

Pale

Height: 5’5

Voice: Slightly low

Other: A few scars on her back from being lashed

Optional

Special Skills: She deals quite well with the dead. Is that a skill? Other than that, she has not

developed any upon her arrival at the WT

Knowledge Weakness: She can read very basic things, but has little to no education

Physical Weakness: She’s quite weak

Personality weakness: she is an introvert, and doesn’t socialize well.

Personality

History

Place of Birth/Raising: Perfumed Quarter, Illian

Digging the shovel into the ground, producing another spade full of wet dirt, N'Daye could do nothing but breathe and focus her thoughts on the task at hand. The moon hung low in the sky, and hardly shone upon her pale luminescent skin. Biting the inside of her cheek, the girl paused to suppress the thoughts that were creeping into her mind.

With a soft thud, the fresh dirt slid off the spade of her shovel and onto the contents of the shrouded form below. It was N'Dayes duty to bury those that did not end up in the canal in the Perfumed Quarter. It wasn't necessarily a sad job, in fact, she quite enjoyed the time she spent alone... and away from where she lived.

In her 5th year, N'Daye had been removed from her parents and handed over to her aunt and uncle. Often, she would experience flashes of her life with her parents. Sometimes things were exceptionally good, and others she seemed only to remember through frightening dreams. Never did the flashes of memory occur while she was awake. All she really knew, was that her parents had handed her over to a disgusting uncle and an aunt that was hardly ever home.

N'Daye's uncle reaked of alcohol and tended to forget that his niece was not his wife, and should not be pawed at. Her aunt made her way from Inn to Inn, selling her personal "wares". Did she do it for money? Obviously not, N'Daye hardly saw a penny go into anything at their house. N'Daye had decided a few years ago that her aunt must have grown into liking the lust of other men, and not her husband.

Shivering in disgust, the Illianer girl seemed to attempt to shake off the repulsive thoughts of her uncle from the inside out. Fortune prick me! His wandering hands and the thought of him will no leave me, ever! She cursed silently.

Greasy tendrils of brown hair criss crossed infront of her eyes, and seemed to block something that was moving in the dark just beyond where she was digging the grave. Hunkering down, N'Daye assumed she might not be in the line of sight of whatever seemed to be coming towards her.

Almost at once, she heard soft plunking sounds falling around her and more than once she was pelted with something quite hard. "Hey!" She shouted. "Ouch!" Several rocks came flying at her, and soon she was lying on the ground. Laughter erupted from the area of darkness where the stones had been coming from, and footsteps thudded on ground. It wasn't the rocks that would be the most painful, it would be the words that followed.

Instead of standing up to defend herself, N'Daye had lost all drive to be independant and strong, she remained on the dirt. "Can you no do anything better with your time, N'Daye?" One voice jabbed at her.

"Why do you no be like your wench of an aunt?"

"Surely, she could be dressing you up prettier than that."

"Do you no be liking the touch of your uncle?"

"Why do you no be finding better company than the dead?"

It used to infuriate N'Daye, she used to strive to be accepted by her piers. However, she had been betrayed by them. They had pretended to accept her as one of their own, and turned their backs on her. Her life had become a joke to them. Her abuse, her job, her appearance all became the butt of their humour.

Not for the first time, did they become violent. Soon, their boots and shoes were being driven into her sides, her back, and her head. Dirt and tears stained her cheeks.

"Oh, Fortune desert you, N'Daye! Can you no deal with a little violence? You did always be putting up with it before."

It was not the pain of the kicking and throwing of objects that ate at her soul, it was the shame of willing for death to come. At one time in her life, she would have cursed them all and fought back. She would have asked for the Dark One's own help. If He could have destroyed them, she would have defeated them all. No, not now. Now, she merely lay there, like a distorted and crumpled rag doll. "Beat me! If that do be what makes you happy. Hurt me." I will it. I will for you all to be bringing me death!

That's when it came, the hardest blow of them all. She drifted away from consciousness and drank in what she thought was death...

"She's coming to, Helayne Sedai." A strong, yet calm male voice tickled at her mind.

"Good." A rustle of what may have been fine silken skirts seemed to wash over N'Daye.

A fire crackled somewhere neary by, and gave off a warmth that N'Daye hardly knew. Fluttering one eyelid, then the other, the Illianer girl began to recognize her surroundings. She was lying on the feathered mattress of an inn that she could never have afforded to be inside. Standing over her was one of the most beautiful and oddly ageless looking women N'Daye had ever seen. She had heard of Aes Sedai, but never really gotten close enough to see them. Surely, they would never come into the Perfumed Quarter. Why had this one?

"W-what?" Was all N'Daye got out before the Aes Sedai spoke.

"YOu would have been killed, if it had not been for us, girl. What were you doing burying bodies in the night? Why were the others trying to hurt you so badly?" Shaking her head, the Aes Sedai seemed to cast away her questions. "No, nevermind. What you will do, is tell me everything from the very beginning." The Aes Sedai must have caught the inquisitive look in N'Dayes eyes, because she continued, "Yes, from the beginning up until now."

As Helayne Sedai looked upon N'Daye with her dark brown eyes, the Illianer girl felt as if her soul was being stared into and it made her cringe. The woman was obviously majestic, but something about her was cool and cold.

N'Daye started with her adoption, and left out a great deal. Last time she had told anyone anything about her life, she had been made fun of, her character had been tortured. There was no harm in leaving out the very disgusting and grave things of her past. Besides, there was no way the Aes Sedai could really care about a grave digging Illianer girl.

When she was finally finished telling her story, which the Aes Sedai seemed quite attentive the whole time, Helayne Sedai nodded and pursed her lips. The dark pools that were her eyes seemed to dance into thought. At last, she looked down at N'Daye.

"Have you ever thought of coming to the White Tower?"

N'Daye laughed, then quickly tried to supress it. "You do be serious, Aes Sedai? A girl like me, enter the White Tower? You do no be understanding, I'm sure. Mostly High born children do be going to the White Tower, no girls like me."

The Aes Sedai shook her head and smiled. "You and I, N'Daye, we are not so different." As if the smile had been a dream, it was gone as quickly as it came. "Now, I need you to concentrate for me...."

There's no record to N'Daye in the novice book or wiki.  Is this one a new character?

The Bio looks good, I'll be posting it promptly.

This is a character that was previously being played by a different person and will now be played by minisamus.  It is a PC character and approval has been given by original character creator and WT DL.

Character transfer is subject to Admin approval.

Basic Information

Handle : minisamus

Character Count : 2

Character Information

Name:  Lillian Tremina

Age: 78

Nationality: Bandar Eban/raised Tarabon

Appearance

Hair: Jet black

Eyes: Deep emerald

Skin: Copper

Height: 5′6″ (Weight: 64kg)

Voice: Musical

Other: WS 7

Special Skills: Stringed instruments (mostly), Tiganza (dance), Chop (cards), Stones (game . . . and in gems), has a very good head for business and feminine Domani arts due to her mother’s education

Knowledge Weakness: Though highly active and engaging in the Tower on her searches for the truth she reserves her private thoughts and keeps her intentions quiet, although there have been hints.

Physical Description: Lillian’s hands are callused from swordwork and her fingertips from stringed instruments she plays. She has a soft face adorned with and a petite nose while her dark hair is worn in a variety of styles. The White Sister also possesses a scar in the small of her back no wider than an inch. She has a well-rounded yet toned figure.

Personality weakness: Exuberant about the truth which may not be something regarded befitting her age; although Lillian is not mean she is not very nice sometimes, but the odd thing is it usually works out for her students’ own good.

History:

Born in Bandar Eban to a family of Domani merchants, Lillian was raised in Tanchico when Tarabon had been a vibrant economic centre.  Her mother the merchant of their household while her father was the captain of the guard, Lillian as a daughter was destined to follow in her mother’s footsteps.  Getting a Domani education ranged from negotiation and being apprenticed in a trade (Jeweler) to the more feminine arts.

Her enthusiasm for parties and her mother’s standing with the Panarch’s court led to Lillian attending various functions at the Panarch’s court, and one time while drunk with her friends during her sixteenth year she was dared to go and be tested by the Aes Sedai of the court.  As annoyed as the Aes Sedai undoubtedly was, she nevertheless administered the test and the joke was on Lillian when she was discovered to have the ability.

Having to travel to Tar Valon to be trained so she wouldn’t hurt herself or others as her powers had been tapped, she arrived in Tar Valon and was enrolled in the White Tower with Halvie Sedai for her mentor.  Constantly tested by her mentor as well as dealing with the punishing schedule of the Tower wore on her, but she persevered strongly so she could make her family proud.

So proud were her parents in fact that they decided to go to Tar Valon for trade and visit her while she was there.  Her parents were killed a week out of Tar Valon in her eighth year at the Tower by a band of marauders.  When Lillian received the news, she didn’t wait for permission but snuck out of the Tower and made all speed for the funeral which she made in time.  Found by her mentor at the funeral, she was taken back to the Tower afterward a broken woman.  Needing to both punish Lillian yet also give her a way to recover, it was decided to send her to the farm for a year without permission to channel, and no lessons.

It was a difficult year, with only her friendships with those there to keep her strong not only through her grief, but also from the madness of not being able to reach saidar.  By the year’s end, she was ready to return to Tar Valon and much more disciplined when it came to the use of saidar.

Befriending another Novice by the name of Taei Mirel, they quickly became close friends.  Her friend refusing the Arches twice, Lillian was determined to go through them to show Taei they could be done.  Passing her Arches with wounds of the mind that would always stay with her . . . this was to further be compounded by a kidnapping of not only herself but another Accepted named Elyna by a Dreadlord named Talin Losev. Upon their release of a mysterious nature and her return to the Tower, Lillian was informed her closest friend, Taei Mirel, had been ‘lost’ to the Arches.  A pivotal moment in Lillian’s life, which not only caused her to seriously question the White Tower’s traditions but also led to many friendships including that of Aramina Sedai.

As an Accepted Lillian embarked on her great project, a thesis on the Tower that began as a way to try and determine her Ajah but instead became a critique upon the Tower as a whole from its traditions to its practices and culture and things that needed to change.  Earning her some attention, it wasn’t long after that Lillian was allowed to stand for her final test and take her oaths.

Throughout her training, Lillian had not revealed her aspirations to anyone so it was a surprise for many when she chose the White Ajah for her own, though even as she chose in the raising ceremony she also declared her friendship to all other sisters.  Not long after her raising, she left the Tower on her first mission despite being one of the weakest sisters of the Tower and since that time to the current day she has been embroiled in a number of events in the world even as she has attempted to lead by example.  To show that all sisters in the Tower should be sisters regardless of Ajah and to do her best not only for the Tower, but for the people of the Westlands even as the final battle approaches.

After her raising, Lillian was rumored to have gone many places.  Hearsay placed her in the Mountains of Mist with other Aes Sedai at an excavation of items of Power.  Other rumors spoke of an Aes Sedai traveling in secret with a band of Tuatha'an, posing as a singer and peddling songs to earn her keep.  But, as with many things in Lillian's present life, they were never confirmed. The possibilities, however, remain.

Requirements met for the Aes Sedai RP, thread is still ongoing.

"Atha'an Miere... Atha'an Miere."  Selene murmured quietly to herself as she looked through the box of documents.  The papers were already warded for keeping but she ended up spending the most time handling the flimsy aged parchments than actually reading them because she felt she had to be so careful.  Growing up, Selene had devoured the few books she could get her hands on, and taking care of things so that they would last through multiple readings was something as ingrained in her as the talkative nature Claire had been musing on.

She had no idea that Claire was shaken by her meeting with Raeyn and Selene's own meeting with Azalia had run every thought from her head before she sat down again in Claire's study.  She hadn't even given a thought to where Claire had gone while she was in the library since she'd left to fetch the books.  And now her mind was solely on the task at hand.  "Claire?  There's something here about the Atha'an Miere and a ter'angreal..." She stood up, already pretty sure that this would amount to nothing, and handed the curled scroll to the Aes Sedai.  "But this doesn't seem to be anything at all about weather, and it has a note at the bottom that it was last in possession of the Tower only 45 years ago."

She watched as Claire skimmed the parchment and was sure that if there was anything to this, the woman would know.  It didn't take long for the Brown to shake her head minutely and confirm that this ter'angreal had nothing to do with their current search and Selene dropped it back into the box with the other papers she had already dismissed as being fruitless.

This was not an easy task, but she'd known that when she agreed to help Claire.  By the time she'd gone over every one of the parchments she'd been so hopeful would hold the key, she was hungry and tired.  Never one to miss a meal if possible, Selene thought fondly of the fresh fruits and breaks and most of all honeycakes that would be down in the cafeteria and with a sigh dismissed the whole idea.  There was work to be done.

She pulled the next book off the pile and started looking through it carefully.  The books seemed to be nothing more than a life's notations of a Brown who had spent her time in practically every city in the world, or their part of the world, and noticed and wrote down everything.  She was most of the way through it and could tell her attention was beginning to wander when she turned a page, and then immediately turned back to the previous page.  "Atha'an Miere."  She murmured aloud, the first she'd spoken in well over an hour.  "Ter'angreal!  Claire, I think this may be it!"  She scooped the book up to her chest and gracelessly scrambled to her feet and hurried over to the desk.

She set the book down on top of the one Claire had been looking through and pointed.  "Is this it?  There's not much to go on, but back here..." she flipped back two pages, "she was just talking about the skill of the Atha'an Miere with their ships and how rarely they lost them to storms and how well they caught the winds and then there's some rambling," she gave an apologetic smile for saying a Brown, however many years ago, might have been rambling.

"Does it say where the ter'angreal was?"  She probably should have finished reading the paragraph before she leaped up and gave the book to Claire, but Selenessin was never especially well known for not being hasty.

Yeah, there were two threads because she was trying to decide between the two Ajahs, and then she was going to make up her mind after learning more about the two of them.  I'd never seen anything about the requirements having to be completed in a single thread, just that the threads have to be related in subject matter.  Like the Intro to Saidar classes.

I can have another character do it instead of Ophelia, it just has to be one that would be likely to deal with Accepted with questions.  It wouldn't even be very hard to change in the post.

Tigara's was here... http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,40877.0.html She was supposed to set up where she was going to be and then my next post would be finding her, and then we were going to talk about the Gray Ajah.

Elyssa's is here... http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,40817.0.html 

Neither of them were blatantly the Ajah heads, I could change Tig's post to be any gray other than Ziya (since I play her as NSW), and just have Ziya send Selene to that Gray.  With Elyssa, she was just the only blue that Selene knew IC.

Selenessin gave the Brown a warm smile as she entered the room after Azalia.  "I found a fine strong young novice in the Library who looked just the thing to carry some books.  I dare say she was frittering away her time when she could have been doing chores, but since she was choosing to spend her time reading, we should forgive her."  She set the box of documents, scrolls, odd papers and half-finished manuscripts down on a spare bit of floor and then moved a stack of books so Azalia could set her stack of books in their place.  She made careful note not to change the order the books she moved were in, Browns had their own way or organization that it seemed only they half-understood, but at least they had that half.

"I've also told Azalia that we're working on finding a solution to this weather, but wasn't sure if I should say more."  She bit her inner lip as soon as she said it, she shouldn't be showing indecision in front of a Novice while also in front of someone with the clout to be thoroughly upset at her breach in etiquette.  Hurrying on, she hoped to head off any disapproval from the Brown by chatting.  It was a tactic Selene was beginning to think she'd never grow out of.  "There's quite a lot to go through, so we best get to it.  Put the books right here, Azalia, and then you're free to go."

Once Azalia had set down the books and made her proper curtsies and greetings to Claire Sedai, Selene led her over to the door to the office.  "I hope I will catch you again in the library, Azalia.  We can discuss your preferred reading material in more detail then."  She gave her a cheeky little grin that Claire couldn't see with her facing the doorway and then sent off the girl.  Light, she would never make a proper Aes Sedai if she didn't control her giddiness better.

Mariella liked to think of herself as a warm-weather type of woman, having not forgotten her early years in Altara and the later years she spent here on her travels.  Of all the places in the world, she still looked to the South with warm memories of warm temperatures.  Even more so as her age began to catch up to her just recently.  But this really was just a bit much.  She'd been uncomfortable in Tar Valon, even in the lightdress of Altaran cut, albeit a modest-for-Ebour Dar cut, but it was downright muggy once she stepped through the gateway.

"Light have mercy," she murmured as she mounted up and settled astride her dark gray mare.  She smoothed her skirts, glad she had given up the layered short petticoats of Ebour Dar for the longer silk skirts of northern Altara.  At her age, she really shouldn't be dressing like she was in the market for a new husband.  She'd never had the first one, though the knife around her neck said otherwise.  Appearances and all that.

With shrewd eyes hidden behind a pleasant countenance, she surveryed the groups as they broke into factions.  It was no wonder the planning would start as soon as they were out of sight of the Tower, but she could still see the Shining Walls through the open gateway when she looked behind her.  It closed as she watched and she nudged the mare forward.  With her as the only Blue and Viviaine as the only Brown, she wanted to speak to her quite soon and while she didn't care for discussing things in public, it was clear that none of the other women were inclined to keep their allegiances secret.  How decidedly odd.

As she guided her mount to move in step with Viviaina's similarly colored mare she held herself tall and firm, showing none of the deference that one weak in the power would be expected to.  Sometimes being around for long enough to outlive those who remembered you as a fumbling novice had its perks.

"Now, then all these young things running off and joining up together.  I remember every single one of them as Novices, save you, Viviaine.  Snuck sweetcakes to a number of them, too.  Looks like you and I are left to our own devices to plan how a woman of experience would get things done, hm?"  She looked sideways at the Brown, arching an eyebrow faintly.  The Browns were big on knowing what they were doing before they got to it, which might just be a good tactic to stick close to in this situation.  She was getting too old for diving headfirst into the water without checking the depth.

Mariella Jerin

NSW Blue

Selene's guarded look flashed to surprise when Azalia brought up the weather and she chided herself for being so easy to read.  Of course the novice would mention the weather, there was no secret about there being something definitely wrong with it and it was widely rumored that there must be something of the Dark One's touch involved.  Selene was entirely unsure of what to say to the girl.  While she liked and enjoyed Azalia's forthright honest, it might not be the best idea to tell secrets to someone who was so infallibly honest.  She cleared her throat and schooled her features and then felt a flash of loathing at the fact that she was never to be allowed to be herself, even when she was alone with a friend.

As novices, the girls had all pulled together to stand against the trials and difficulties.  As she had been raised through the tower, Selene felt every guideline and protocol forcing her apart from everyone else.  Was there no way for a woman of the Tower to have both companionship and respected standing?  Was the whole Tower White in thinking that emotions felt or portrayed were only weaknesses to be exploited or repressed?  She was scowling openly now and gave an irritated huff not only at having to wear a mask but at losing it so constantly.

She closed her eyes and halted them, near to the entrance to the Brown Ajah quarters.  When she opened them again, she gave Azalia an apologetic smile.  "I'm not upset with you, child.  It is about the weather, but it's not my place to tell you more than that.  We're doing what we can to try and fix it and these books should help." In a quieter tone, mostly to herself, she murmured "They must help."  She did clear her expression and give the girl a more genuine smile before backing to the doors and hipping one open and holding it there for Azalia to go through first.  "Come now, Claire Sedai is surely back in her study by now and will be wondering where I've gotten off to with her books.  Perhaps she will tell you more about the search if you show an interest in reading these dusty old things.  When she told me to fetch a Novice to help me with them, I'm sure she had no idea I'd spend the whole time flirting and nattering on like we were pillow friends cuddled together under the blankets on a stormy night."

The smile she gave Azalia was brief but suggestive and she had to fight down the giggle that wanted to come up as they stepped into the tomb-like quiet of what Selene had affectionately come to refer to as the Halls of Knowledge.

Selenessin

No One Saw A Thing

Selene stumbled a step or two when Azalia's hip made contact with hers but she recovered considerably more gracefully than the Novice.  Long years around horses made someone light on your feet, they weren't especially picky about shoving slightly-built little girls completely out of the way if they were standing on a particularly interesting bit of grass.  And when being shoved around a horse field, it was very highly recommended that you not set your foot down wrong lest you wanted to spend supper washing your boots off instead of eating.  And eating was something Selene was really quite fond of.

She fought off the urge to shove back at Azalia, only just remembering the importance of their cargo before her hand made contact with the girl.  Instead of shoving her sideways again, the hand instead held fast to her shoulder to help her steady herself through the comical dance.  Her box was significantly easier to manage one-handed than Azalia's stack of books so she took out her own kerchief to blot at the girl's shining eyes. 

"Little minx, if I didn't know you knew better, I'd swear you were sweet on me and trying to butter me up for some nefarious reason.  And since I know you don't mind hard work and you know that I don't have any sweetcakes on hand, I imagine this must be some intricate plot to lower my defenses and extract confidential information about official Tower business out of me."  She raised her chin, with the intent of hiding her expression of amusement from the girl, but raising one's chin only helped to hide expression when the other person didn't stand more than a hand taller than you already.  At her indignant sniff, she peeked one eye open and then her composure broke again and she laughed outright.

Selenessin

Remembers Being a Novice