Lanaya had been looking forward to this particular class since she arrived at the Tower, and she was making her way to the classroom with a strong feeling of strong anticipation, mixed with worry and just a little bit fear; disguised behind a proudly raised head and both eyes fixed ahead, until she finally arrived at the door. She was early, but she was not the only one, and she gave the other arrivals a nod eachhe walked into the classroom, picking one of the available chairs closest to where the teacher would be.

The other novices began arriving one by one, seating themselves, and Lana could hear bits of conversation popping up - someone talking about the One Power; someone else talking about the teacher. Apparently it would be the MoN herself who would be teaching this class; another curiosity - Lana had still not formed a stable opinion about Larindhra Sedai. She admired the woman's strong will, but still thought that the MoN sometimes seemed overly harsh to transgressors - she herself had received a tongue-lashing and extra chores for talking back to an Accepted.

The conversation silenced as their teacher arrived, and Lana straightened in her seat to listen attentively. Some was a repetition of what she had already been told; some was new - she did not need a warning not to touch saidar without supervision; she had not been able to as much as sense the Source thusfar, and she was eager to remedy that problem.

Lana tilted her head as parchments started to be handed out, but her question was soon answered as the MoN spoke again, and the young Andoran swallowed as she heard the requirement. That was an unexpected lesson ... she tried hard to ignore the massive disappointment that suddenly flooded through her, as she realized they wouldn't be working with the One Power today. She had expected to be learning how to sense saidar today.

She accepted her own parchment as the turn came to her, then lowered it down to read carefully. A listing of names, as Larindhra Sedai had said; they were really supposed to memorize them? It seemed a bit more like a scare tactic than a lesson, but Lana wanted to be the perfect student in this partiular class, and she started reading the names, then closed her eyes and repeated them mentally to herself, but her process was interrupted as one of the novices spoke out. She opened her eyes and turned her head to stare at the speaker.     

Managed to completely overlook the email - haven't checked around much, so i didn't catch the PM till now x_x If it's not too late, I would like to sign up - if it is, I will wait for the next class

Character Name: Lanaya Traemane

Handle: Lanaya

((OOC: Pardon the slow reply; had a very sick doggy that required alot of attention))

Lana stepped inside and shook her head lightly, sending Jasmyne an apologizing smile before starting to survey her new home - and struggled to hold back a gasp of indignant disbelief. She had known she would not be having the amount of luxury, that she had had at home, but these spartan surroundings was not even fit for the lowliest of servants at the Traemane estate!

She managed to keep quiet, but she was sure some of her shock would shine through. She wanted to be alone as quickly as possible so as not to humiliate herself further, and answered crisply.

"No, Accepted; I am sorry to have kept you waiting." She waited with closing the door, however, eying Jasmyne, just in case her new mentor had a last-minute instruction for her.

OOC: LOL! I love her already =)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IC: Lanaya glided out of her chair and dropped into a deeper curtsy than she did last time, out of respect this time rather than just manners; she had a feeling she would come to like Larindhra - the woman had thusfar shown a remarkable ability to balance authority with kindness - as much as she would undoubtedly later come to hate her, as well.

"Thank you, Larindhra Sedai; I will look forward to that."

Lana gathered her skirts and turned to follow Jasmyne, listening attentively with building amazement and a growing small suspicion. The Accepted as prattling merrily, entirely too sweet and cheerful, which meant that she was either a featherbrain, which could be worse than it sounded - Lana vividly remembered Mesare Devaine, a maid at her family's estate. She had been a sweet, gentle person, but she could not be trusted with any responsibility past ensuring that there was clean clothes ready for the next day - and aside from her job, she had not found anything interesting except gossip. So she gossiped - constantly. Lana would rather have broken an arm than spent a full hour with her jabbering mouth. No, on second thought, she would rather have broken both arms.

There was also the possibility that Jasmyne was faking it, which Lana would actually prefer. Being assigned to an ACCEPTED whom reminded her of her maid could not possibly be a good combination. She realized that perhaps being light-mouthed like a clam was not a good way to begin what hopefully would be a new friendship, and she made herself smile and tried to copy Jasmyne's conversation level.

"You are most kind, Accepted; I would not mind a hand with the braiding ..." She gestured to the five small braids that held her hair in place as well as any pins. " .. they're difficult to set up; your own hair is quite beautiful, actually, I think it would look well with ..."

Abruptly Jasmyne glanced backward, and Lana quieted down as she caught a glimpse of the Accepted's expression - there was nothing cheerful about it. The pace became quicker, and Lana strained her still-sore legs to keep up, listening with rueful bemusement to the change of tone. The honey-sweet fluffle-talk before -had- indeed been faking, and Lana tried to gauge the new, hopefully real, personality that was now showing itself.

The reminder that she was not a noble did not faze her - it was about the same thing Larindhra Sedai had been poking at her earlier, and while it was still a difficult concept to wrap her mind around, it did not put her back up. Neither did the venom dripping off Jasmyne's tongue as she named Larindhra 'that vile woman' ... but the next words almost made Lana trip herself. She suffocated a gasp of disbelief that Jasmyne would really accuse an Aes Sedai of such a crime, and almost ran to catch up with Jasmyne. Oh Light, but her legs were hurting now!

She caught up just as Jasmyne stopped at a door and swung it open for her; Lana glanced inside briefly, then straightened up to meet Jasmyne's eyes with a peculiar stare instead of entering.

"A Darkfriend, Accepted? I understand that you must have good reason to dislike her so ... but there can be no Darkfriends in the White Tower. None believe that there is, at least not in Andor. I doubt you'll find many elsewhere, either, unless they're Children of the Light, and they think half the world are Darkfriends, the poor fools."  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lanaya flashed a grateful smile to the Mistress of Novices, startled that she had indeed been about to cry - it had been awhile since she had last done that. Her mother would not have approved - noblewoman to every inch of her body, she had time and again taught her daughters that dignity and self-control was as valued qualities in women as was patience and intuition. In nobles, even more so. People that were to be examples to other people, to be guidance, could not be seen as crude or uncertain. Good, strong leadership cultivated good, strong people.

But you are not a noblewoman here, a quiet voice whispered in her head, and she acknowledged it silently. She still had her title as a daughter of House Traemane, but while in the Tower, perhaps it would be best for her own progress, if she forgot that little fact altogether. No, not forget, she told herself with a lash of ferocious pride; not for the Aes Sedai or for anyone ... but she could bundle that dignity and pride together into a little chest in her mind, and not unlock it before she earned the shawl. She would, if she had to sit on the lid of the chest to keep it properly closed.

She reached out for the cup of heated tea and took a large swallow this time, as much as she could bear without burning her tongue, listening to Larindhra Sedai. Servants of All; she did recall her house tutor explaining that was the meaning of the title Aes Sedai.

She did not turn her head to the knock on the door; she had expected Aviana to return at any moment, and that had to mean her own interview were over. As Larindhra Sedai returned to her, though, she sneaked a quick glance back in the room, recognizing the new girl that was sitting meekly in her own chair, clearly as nervous as Lanaya herself had been. She sent the girl a smile, doubting it would help any, before she resumed her attention toward the Mistess of Novices. She finished her tea and placed the cup back on the table, nodding curiously. "Mentor, Larindhra Sedai? Do we each receive our own teacher?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lanaya took another sip of her tea, then carefully placed it back on the table, and gathered her hands in her lap before looking up on Larindhra Sedai again. Her expression had changed into solemn and thoughtful; not eager, but not hesitant either. She remained quiet for a moment, then spoke in a soft, serious voice.

"Compared to many others in this world, Aes Sedai, my life always -has- been easy. The hardest I've ever had to face was politics classes, and Andor are not even as deeply mired in intrigue as Cairhien; I have known nothing else and asking if that is what I want instead ... I thought that was what I -had- to become; I never even dreamt of being an Aes Sedai. Maybe once or twice as makebelief games when I was younger, but marrying a Prince somewhere seemed the far more likely fate - if I was lucky. But now that I know that I -can- be taught, and I -can- become an Aes Sedai ..." The girl's eyes flashed for a moment with determination and newfound pride in her potential ability. " ... yes, Larindhra Sedai; this is what I want."

"And I will work hard to achieve it, I assure you. I do not see myself as better than anyone else; there is just a difference of ranks in this world, and I was taught to respect that difference. The White Tower is different, though, it's like ... a class of nobility in itself, with the ability to channel shared by all. Isn't it?"

She blinked and shook her head; obviously striving to adjust her world picture to the life in the Tower, struggling with the words. Now and then she glanced at Larindhra, as though attempting to gauge the Aes Sedai's reactions to what she was being told.

"I will obey and scrub as many floors as necessary to learn the level of humility you demand; just, don't send me home. Please." Her expression melted into one of fear as she spoke; the idea of being sent away, like a tool found flawed and then discarded, terrified her.

The tea had started to cool on the table, completely forgotten. Her hands trembled slightly in her lap; she was fighting an urge to wring them.

Another three knocks, and still no answer from inside the room; Lana shook her head ruefully. She could not remain standing there all day; in a little while she would go find someone who could take her to the Mistress of Novices. In a little while.

She leaned back against the opposite wall and stared at the ceiling, wondering what it would really be like to channel ... to touch the One Source. All that power, which would be used for only good, of course; to defend the helpless and heal the sick, and see justice done.

“Good evening, child.  You must be Lanaya. Merith Sedai has just informed me of your arrival.  Come in and have a seat while I brew some tea.”

Lana straightened up rididly and turned to face the speaker with as much dignity and self-assurance as she could muster - which wasn't all that much, dirty, exhausted and despite her best attempts to control herself, nervous as she were. She opened her mouth to give a quick answer, then clamped her mouth closed again on a second thought, eying the imposing woman quietly. The door to the office had been opened, and the Aes Sedai had already gone inside; Lana gathered her skirts, lifted her head proudly and followed slowly, stopping by the large desk inside, while still observing the Aes Sedai. Lana met her gaze for a moment as Larindhra turned to observe her. Those eyes were even more authoritive than Merith Sedai's, and she started to feel a touch ill at ease, which was perhaps what Larindhra Sedai had intended - her own gaze flickered to observe the teapot, the cups and the honeyjar that started to float towards the table. She had seen Merith Sedai channel on the way to the Tower, but it was still new enough to warrent respect. The prospect of hot tea was comforting, however.

“Help yourself, then give me your name and birthplace for the Novice Book.”   

Light, but I wish I could have done that, she found herself thinking wistfully, then shook her head in bemusement of herself. She was on her way to become Aes Sedai - at the foothold to beginning her training, actually - and channeling would become commonplace around her. She would learn how to channel objects through the air soon enough.

"Thank you, Larindhra Aes Sedai," she murmured; after a second thought, she dropped into a small curtsy, and then reached out to begin pouring tea to herself, with a drop of honey in it, in flowing, elegant motions of her hands. Eying a chair, she lowered herself gracefully into it - she could be as graceful as any Aes Sedai; she did not want them thinking she was a hayhair from the country - and held the cup to her face, taking in the wafting aroma, before she took a small sip.

"My name is Lanaya Traemane, House Traemane of Andor," she continued, and took another sip of her tea; it was sweet and refreshing at the same time.     

Lanaya probably is =) I'm still undecided whether to let her go Blue or Yellow, but I am leaning most towards the Yellow ...

No, not Tilly; I can't recall what my handle was back then, but my characters were a Novice (I spent forever as a Novice because I loved taking classes and playing pranks) named Kiya - left DM shortly before I was finally convincing myself to do the arches - and a Warder-in-training named Alia =)

Let's see ... my name is Susanne, but my friends call me Suzy, I live in Denmark (if I misspell stuff, that's probably why), and I am a child of 1983 - 25 years old last January =)

I was introduced to WoT, and to the fantasy genre in general, by my older brother, Peter, who started out with borrowing the Dragonlance series from the library - he had me read the first few books, and ever since then, I was always snooping around in his room for what new books he had laying around this time *lol* One day the first four books of WoT was on his shelves (bought, since they weren't available at our library) and after asking permission to take them, I started immersing myself in this world. The fact that they were in English meant they took twice as long to read back then; I had twice as long time to digest the content and to develop a probably lifelong appreciation. My brother bought each new book as they were published, and I swallowed them whole until Winter's Heart - both Peter and me moved away from home at this point; Peter took the books with him, and I found Dragonmount for the first time - I can't recall exactly when, but it was alot of years ago; there was no seperating the RP and the OOC part of the site; WT classes were done with alot of novices at once with one teacher, and the MoN had an OOC network of Eyes And Ears among Novices and Accepted to watch over boards and report different stuff.

The interest faded after awhile, and I got involved in different on-line roleplays; Vampire: The Masquerade and Wraith: The Oblivion among others, and the horribly, horribly addicting MMORPG Everquest. I found a cute boyfriend, moved different places and spent most of my adult life pushed into different forms of activation by the goverment - I have had a sleep disorder condition since childhood where I turn night and day upside down at random, which interferes with keeping a stable job.

It was finally diagnosed as a chronic problem little over a year ago, and I was given an early pension - I acquired a dog and garden, both of which I fall in love with anew every day =)

Then one day my brother calls and explains that he's getting rid of all his books - he remembers how much I loved them, and offers to bring them over. I say yes, and pick up The Eye of The World again - and face the truth that I never really ceased being hooked. At present, I am at Lord of Chaos, and am looking forward to reading Crossroads of Twilight and Knife of Dreams for the very first time!

That brings me back to Dragonmount and alot of memories =) This place sure has changed in alot of ways, but the heart of it remains the same, and I am happy to be home =)

As mentioned, I love gardening and I love animals. Yuki, my lovely white dog, probably finds it quite odd that I sometime walk him at day, and sometimes at night, but he's wonderfully patient and bears over with me =)

Aside from those two things, I also like working with paint, scissor and paper, and listening to music. Some of my favorite includes Rammstein, Cruxshadows, Evanescence, Nik and Jay (Danish rappers) and classical music.

New Novice looking for roomies =) Lanaya is a kinda independent girl; noble of birth, so she's a touch arrogant and proud - part of her upbringing; she can't help it *lol* She can be a kind person, and likes to help people, though, and she was very attached to her family, so she's lonely now =)

Introductionary post - http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,28105.0.html

~~~~~~~~

The sounds of a city, of people and wagons and craftsmen at work, woke Lanaya up from the strange half-state of sleep she was in, and she lifted her head just in time to catch Merith Sedai's bird-like gaze. The Red Sister kept eye-contact for but a moment, smiling almost wryly as Lana widened her eyes despite the sting of travel dust and the fading sun's strong evening rays, attempting to appear fully awake - and obviously failing.

A flash of outrage was quickly subdued, and Lanaya fought hard to keep the brief anger from showing on her face - they had been riding all day with only brief breaks to eat; not even long enough to get the soreness of the saddle out of the body. Lana herself was not unfamiliar with riding; she had had riding lessons half of her life, as she had had lessons in dancing, politics and trade, but she had never experienced riding for -this- long at a time, and her body felt almost alien - there was no area of it that was not aching just a little bit. She knew for a fact that some of the other girls had never been in a saddle more than an hour pr. day; she was amazed that they were holding up as well as they did. At least they were moving at a slow pace.

One of the other horses had lost a shoe on the way, and rather than risk injury to the animal, Merith had slowed the pace to this steady walk. It had also put them behind schedule, and as they had only one day's worth of travel left, they had not been making long breaks - if they kept on all day, they would reach Tar Valon by sunset rather than midday tomorrow.

Lana abruptly remembered what had woken her, and her gaze swept past their little caravan, up to the Shining Walls that were rapidly approaching, and Lana felt her breath get caught in her throat in revered amazement. Caemlyn and Cairhien, the two largest cities she had ever been in, was beautiful both beyond belief, but this ... Tar Valon, with it's pure white beauty, was otherworldly. She could almost imagine herself striding through it, dressed in a silk dress, with the Aes Sedai shawl on her shoulders and the great serpent ring on her finger. The silk dress changed color rapidly in her mind as she tried to decide which Ajah she would wind up joining; Merith Sedai had not been too straightforward with what exactly each Ajah stood for.

"We are soon arriving at our destination, children." Merith Sedai's voice boomed through the air, and Lana saw at least two other of the young girls jolt in their saddles; one - a fragile-appearing girl with large eyes that held a permanently startled expression; she had introduced herself as Dorela and was of a lower Andoran House - nearly slipped off her saddle. Dorela desperately grasped after the reins and used them to pull herself back up; her horse danced uncomfortably as all of her weight was suddenly pulling at the side of it's mouth.

Merith Sedai did not appear to notice, but her own horse began moving slower than the rest, until she was at Dorela's side; the Aes Sedai turned her head towards the younger girl and began talking quietly. It could have been the lighting playing tricks, but Lanaya thought she could almost visibly see the blood draining from Dorela's face. Then the girl began nodding vigorously.

Satisfied with the exchange, Merith Sedai urged her horse up to the front of the caravan and continued speaking, describing the city by the buildings they passed in a calm, lecturing tone.

Lana listened with only half an ear but she was as eager as the others to see as much as could be seen; the streets were almost spotless - the Aes Sedai obviously took great care of their city. Their caravan earned a few glances from the inhabitants, but people coming to the Tower was nothing new, and everyone quickly went about their business as usual.

The centerpiece of the city was the majestic White Tower, appearing almost as if it was carved in ivory ... no, whiter than ivory; it looked as if it had been built in snow and ice. It was a great deal larger than she had imagined as well. As they came to the foot of the great spired building, Merith Sedai's voice grew more clear, calling out for complete attention. 

"Here we are, children. You may dismount; the horses will be taken care of."

Lanaya patted her own mare goodbye, then slid slowly off the saddle, clamping her teeth down to stifle a pained moan as all the soreness of her muscles turned to fiery pain. She started walking about in circles, and felt the pain lessen for each stride. Dorela was out of her saddle as well; Lana noticed with sympathetic surprise that there were tears in her eyes, and her legs were trembling. Had she ever been riding before?

The Red Sister continued to speak, showing no signs of discomfort herself. Two other woman had come up next to her - one with a heart-shaped, friendly face and fairly chubby apperance, another graceful as a willow and with the coppery skin of a Domani, both quite older than the new arrivals, but without the ageless appearance of the Aes Sedai, each wearing a dress banded with multiple colors - the colors of the Ajah's, a little voice absently commented in Lana's head.

"Erina and Aviana here are Accepted, as their dresses will show you; Novices wear only pure white. Both are to be obeyed as much as a full Aes Sedai, and each has authority to discipline you if any of you decide we're being too rough. You do not understand the meaning of rough, yet. In your first week as Novices, you will learn." The bird-like eyes were almost menancing as they swept across the gathered young girls. "Erina, stay here to watch the rest; Aviana, bring each to the Mistress of Novices."

Both Accepted murmured a "As you command, Merith Sedai", and the Red Sister started off with a satisfied nod. The copper-skinned Domani, Aviana, immediately turned to survey them like a herd of prize cattle; her gaze fixed on Lanaya. Lana met her stare calmly - it was hard to maintain her pride against a full Aes Sedai, but she had no such trouble with any others. Merith Sedai -had- said that there was no such thing as nobility status in the Tower, but habit was hard to shed.

"You .. what is your name?"

Lana blinked as Aviana spoke, then lifted her chin slightly. "Lanaya of House Traemane." She did not expect Aviana to know her House, but it felt good to say it aloud. The Domani did not seem to listen past 'Lanaya', and gestured impatiently. "Follow along, Laniya; Erina won't want to sit out here babysitting the others all night."

Aviana turned about without a second glance at Lanaya and calmly strode into the Tower, with Lana quickly following suit. The Accepted walked in a brisk pace, and Lana took in as much of the the interior of the Tower as she could with a hungry curiosity; there were people there, more women in banded dresses, girls in complete white, a few Aes Sedai and some with men that followed behind them like wolves; Lana did not have to see the color-changing cloak to name them Warders. Maybe she would have a Warder herself one day - if she did not choose Red, like Merith; the Aes Sedai that had brought them to Tar Valon had not seemed like she needed one.

After a good deal of stairs and corridors, Aviana finally stopped at a door and gestured towards it. "This is Larindhra Sedai's office - remember to be polite; I will go fetch the next. Good luck, Lanara."

Lana had opened her mouth to say 'It's Lanaya', but the Accepted was walking as fast as she could without downright running. Swallowing, Lana lifted her hazel eyes to gaze at the door, composing herself before knocking soundly three times on the door.   

~~~~~~~~

Just recently joined, so I'm still here, naturally =)

DM Handle: Lanaya

Character Name(s): Lanaya Traemane, Novice

Email Address: mirrorreflections[at]gmail[dot]com

MSN Messenger: suzy[at]webhiker[dot]dk