The Return had gone well in Amadacia. Here in Tarabon too, they were scouting out the area, sending out feelers. All good and well, as efforts go, but where was lady Ruan?

She wasn't there, and she wasn't here either.

Still there was no way Lijah, as her Soe'feia, would speak the truth about her disappearance. Nobody must know that Ruan had gone missing.

Running his fingers through his beautiful golden hair, Lijah leaned back into the chair and sighed. What did he do wrong?

He thought of the possible reason she might have ran off and abandoned him.

It connected to what had transpired between Ruan and Lilune, the seeker. Lijah had always felt Lilune hid her own strength well . . . too well. She was investigating a case connected with Ruan. He knew her secret involvement because she had denied any knowledge in a low voice, but her gaze didn't directly touch his.

Which meant she didn't want him involved.

He could have said something though. Anything was better than avoiding the subject altogether.

The opening of the door let some of the chill in, distracting Lijah from his thoughts.

Grey eyes soft as soot regarded a woman with dark hair and bright blue eyes. It was nice seeing familiar features in this land.

"Pardon me . . . " Lijah called out to the passing waitress. Her movement stopped as she peered over. "Could you get that lady over there what I have please?" Smilingly he slipped a silver unto her tray. It was more than adequate to pay for the kaf, which he thought she might appreciate. She looked about as tired as he felt.

Lijah Opeth

Voice

There had been some that had mistaken her for being a trainee before but definitely not this guy by his reaction, she assessed. If Lillian were the giggling type she would have giggled at that. Instead she laughed and felt a need to make the boy more comfortable. For a moment, she considered bringing him to the white inn and making him play a game of stones. But it would be presumptuous . . . Maybe later. She would help him, after all she had bumped into him.

"Great, it seems we're headed the same place."

Not totally a lie if same place was loosely defined as the entire warder yard.

She was actually heading toward the armoury but then again so should he be after enrolling. Might as well stick around.

Lillian leapt through gaps in the path. What an exciting scenery to one so exuberant and young, she thought making sure to go at a brisk but manageable pace. Finally they reached Thera's office.

"When you speak with Thera, make sure you tell her your name, age and where you are from. And don't look so stiff, she's the mistress of trainees so she's here to help you."

One might mistaken the andoran warder being in charge of the warder yard recruits because she was a woman. Just like how the asha'man teaching Lillian basic saidin had talked about women being gentle and surrendering, feeding into what Lillian thought were gendered stereotypes even if it was true. But, also true, was the fact that Thera Trakelyn was tougher than nails, and bonded to a Green.

She knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Lillian." She walked in, gesturing "Thera, a new recruit."

They waited for him to introduce himself.

Lillian Tremina

Aes sedai of the white tower

I get this :(

[#10333] We could not find the forum you were attempting to view.

It's been a while Jagen (remember advanced saidar with Saline?)! In any case I have a listener character (Seanchan) who may be interested in having a friendly chat and a cuppa black Kaf with a compatriot :)

Do you want to start the thread or shall I?

Welcome!

I have a question for the staff - what's the procedure now for bringing new arrivals to the yards? Is there still a mistress of trainees? If so is it still played by Eqwina/Crystal? Do ppl still get assigned mentors ic? Are they taken to the weapons storage in the arrival post by the mentors still? I'm sure if I dig around I'd find all this info or one of you staffers would be nice and let me know please so I don't have to look, thanks :D

Also if any new trainees want to rp something fun, my trainee ashley wilkes could be persuaded to join in :)

PS: If we still have ooc trainee boards for warders yard (don't remember) I think I might need access

Tension on the brink of explosion at any given moment filled the hall, one of the largest sections seating a great portion of the novices and accepted. Even though all the spaces were occupied by chairs, it was a place not unlike a war zone. There was a set of stairs leading up to the podium.

The students' chattering ceased suddenly. A person appeared on the stage. Jet black hair, green jacket which matched her eyes, and white trousers - Lillian Tremina, aes sedai of the white ajah. As usual, she wore a confident and sly smile that caused the students to once again raise their voices.

"Everyone . . ." Lillian's amplified voice drowned out the chatter. "There isn't time enough left to continue this debate, so we'll simply pick up where we left off today. Thank you for your hard work, you've done well."

The topic that had attracted everyone's attention was the nature of saidar and saidin. A time-honored debate of worthy proportions, thought Lillian. Still as provocative as ever.

"Those who wish to, please feel free to stay as long as you like if you do not have lessons or other business to attend. Debate club dismissed."

Silence descended upon the hall. Then, slowly novices and accepted talked in low voices. Small chatter, not a huge commotion like before. Students who had challenged one another so ardently with speeches before began to talk among themselves. However, the noise failed to capture Lillian's attention. The Grays would handle it if anything gets out of control, like wailing, moaning or crying. They were a debate panel, not a childcare service worker.

The white felt glad however that the atmosphere was so lively, even if some words were filled with murderous intent. It would probably seem like childplay to the real sitters for the hall though. Not that Lillian would know. She was young yet, for a sister, and had no intention of trapping herself inside forever.

For example, it was a lovely day and she was going to use this time to exercise her body.

Which reminded her, a servant had told her they were going to hold her katana temporarily while repairing the notches from before. It was time to go gather her weapon again.

Happy at the prospect of being reunited with the katana, Lillian glided. The wind blowing past the wall made her dark hair dance. She turned her head to keep the hair smooth and quietly moved over to the front gate's side where a groundskeeper lived. The empty weapon harness hung on her waist.

Not for long.

Five minutes later saw her gliding directly into the path of a lean boy. He seemed in an excited state to get to wherever he was going.

Lillian looked at him with a curious “what’re you up to” expression.

Only her face remained ageless.

"My apologies, young man" she said smilingly. Then, prying "if you are not busy, what is your business in the yard? Are you ok?"

Lillian Tremina

Aes Sedai of the White Tower

Sorry didn't get around to seeing/replying to yours 'til now.

Rydia could do with a lil more discipline would be good for her character

Still a painful expression on Ful's face he watched as others' expressions turned calm. One man, the friend Nandiel named Baran, was interesting to watch.

Ful wondered if Baran was feeling what he had felt.

How should I know?

Baran started breathing so heavily that Ful backed away a few steps.

He could see a light . . . it was a very intense light. Caused by saidin?

Baran bent over and, still breathing hard, hawked into the ground.

Sweet lands!

Ful wanted to turn and flee but he knew that pursuers would catch up very fast, and retribution even faster.

The smell however was overwhelming.

Invoking the flame and the void again, Ful experienced saidin for the second time. Confusion caught him. The fire inside was very hot and somewhat oily to feel, but some of it was nice, too, not gentle, but rather made Ful feel very alive. His senses were sharper, as though without his link to saidin he was only breathing. Again the smell of sick, like sour milk or bad meat, came to him strongly and made his stomach stumble.

Hardly being able to bear it anymore he wheeled around seeing Nandiel beside him.

"I see. Nandiel, is that your pup?" he asked without any feelings.

Maybe the animal would clean up the sick.

Ful Haert

of the Upset Stomach

Tavern fight? Pancake club? Ooh, a cook off! Or maybe Nandiel's pup will go missing and we'll all search in different places for Blaze?

Edit: Also while we're at the topic of reqs is there a board for posting req progresses/threads? Because I may need to be re-added to it thanks :)

". . ."

Rydia frowned.

As far as she knew, there wasn't anything that deserved punishment apart from the time when she turned in a late assignment because she had fallen asleep before completing it . . . But she had already gone to see Valeri Sedai about that. Rydia's frown deepened, remembering.

What are the aes sedai playing at this time? Really, they're already past that age for games.

When is the hunt going to end? That thought flashed past her. She felt like a hunter who had turned into the prey.

Rydia's gaze moved down from wall tiles to the accepted sitting. She peered with marked impatience.

Ah, this is a headache.

Why was she being supervised for such a (tedious but) simple task?

And why did the accepted think it was due to something Rydia had done?

Irritation rose in her.

It wasn't dissatisfaction so much as anger.

Rydia was angry.

"Nothing," Rydia said, moving to the left to scrub at a particularly stubborn bit of the floor so she didn't have to look at the accepted anymore.

Then, "Ah!" Rydia stepped back and almost slipped on a wet spot on the floor. The other caught her wrist, helping her back to balance "careful."

"Thanks" Rydia muttered "I'm Rydia. I don't know what I've done, but could it have been something to do with you? I hear they give newly raised accepted a hard time."

Rydia Burgess

Novice of the White Tower

Ooc: Hope the slight NPC with the fall is alright. There should be some continuation to the conversation in the chore after all, so I think an introduction might be in order x]

Healing was possible.

As was death.

Both incidents took place in the blink of an eye, it felt.

The last could not be helped since the situation developed so rapidly.

He was soundless, like a balloon without air. During the training hour Ful's expression hadn't changed. He still wore a slightly bitter smile that failed to reach his eyes. From weapons training the flame and the void was a concept Ful became familiar with. Slowly he fed his anxieties about saidin into the flame, looking as though his heart was elsewhere.

It was a loss to the farm that one of its recruits had spontaneously ignited. It'd be very painful to lose the capacity to channel, since they all have access to that power, but Ful thought it was another matter to damage the body.

Wouldn't cutting off access to saidin be a preferable outcome to losing body and heart?

Probably, but the problem was-- !

". . ."

His heart jumped.

What is this awful heat? It was far too warm. He felt as though he were boiling alive. The moment the oily heat hit his stomach it was gone again. But . . .

Was this the taint?

Ful looked at Sketchid for confirmation. It was all Ful could do to suppress the anger rising in himself.

This guy and those other guys, they were trampling all over people's lives. Checking the tense atmosphere around them Ful decided to swallow his words . . . but was he just going to . . . to let . . . ?

Isha's angry countenance surfaced in Ful's mind, but right now his head felt too full to be concerned about that sort of imaginary worry.

Ful Haert

Black Tower Recruit

Wb Kristen! It looks like my decision to return to play was worth it, now.

Also, congrats on goober no. 3

A few posts while she's new? If I recall correctly they used to make the new blue sisters streak naked (there is the option of wearing blue socks) through the halls ;)

Yes, ppl would poke their heads out the door because of the commotion then sigh when they realise it's just another blue initiation.

Waaah!

Hi Clepto! Welcome to the farm. I'm excited to see more recruits so it's not just going to be myself and like, two others playing with ourselves. Yes I said it. What's your character like? I play Ful, this stupid 15 year old boy.

In any case the person to heckle about that is probably Arath Faringal. And about any other thing too. Just because that way, he can't cause any trouble in the white tower :)

Again, hello and welcome.

Even if he wanted to forget what happened that day, he couldn’t. To Ful, it was a branching point of his fate. His brother Gavin had already left to become a Child of the Light. And Ful had come down to Caemlyn by the North Road. He met Linten upon his arrival, and that changed everything. Nothing in his education had prepared him for what he encountered.

A tool is made to be broken. He had known this since he was very young. He had wanted to be a destroyer like Blair. But now he would have preferred if the Master’s tools were broken for a better reason than carelessness. However traumatising it was to be left out of a mentor and Isha’s guidance, he wanted to ease the tremendous amount of pain he witnessed. Could it be possible to use saidin for purposes of healing?

How could that be possible though?

“. . . What did you say?” Ful’s gaze swung to the man.

Nandiel introduced himself again, breathily. Ful resisted the urge to repeat his question. How troublesome. He had refused to show himself whenever guests were around the attack leader’s house using the excuse of his dislike of meeting strangers, and now he was outside grasping a strange boy’s hand. Isha would have been dumbstruck at the change.

He shook his head, scolding himself for revisiting the possibility of returning to Jehannah. How foolish I am to even consider such a thing! Besides, after being exiled by his wealthy family, no guild of craftsmen would ever accept Ful’s apprenticeship.

“Aaaaaah, I’m Ful,” he replied, swallowing back more words and looking away. His sharp gaze swept over the other students once again, lighting on a particular man. “Um . . . You know him, Nandiel? That person was staring at you for a bit back there. And sighing.” Swiftly the other boy followed Ful’s gaze.

Ful Haert

Master of Deflection

Ooc: I hope this is alright. I didn't want the Grimm's boy to be left out of the discussion. Oh come on you know it's going to be great fun :)

Hehe never mind. Post changed. It was a simple edit. Two tweaks

Whoa. Even my novice is only 66 potency. See, this is why reds want to gentle you beasts :P

Hair on the head is so beautiful, but why does hair which is no longer part of our bodies seem so horrid?

She was in crumpled novice whites, cleaning on the 22nd floor, scrubbing a wall of the corridor.

The noise of the bell drowned out Rydia’s sigh. She was feeling more than a little irritated, and still carried with her the sleepiness of having just been roused out of bed. Being tired made tower life a little more difficult than normal. She had been overdoing it on classwork and novice activities lately. Having to force herself in lessons was one thing, but for a chore . . . she found that time spent regrettable.

She jumped around, her unkempt hair showing her lack of sleep. In addition to the cleaning tools, Rydia was holding a big complaint because she was hoping to sleep until noon on her free day.

At least the hall was warm. The water was icy cold though. She wished she could heat up the water with saidar, but did not have permission to do so.

She slowly became aware of the sound of soft slippered steps falling in from behind.

“Did the browns send you too?” She asked, cleaning the brush in a bucket of clean water. “I can change your water if you do not know where the lavatory is.”

She turned, not at all expecting the multicoloured hem that greeted her eye. Morning light seeped through the windows, outlining the accepted’s face. Rydia couldn’t make out her expression but, did not honestly care. Her split-second glare swept over the young woman with braids, before she went back to work on the wall.

“Never mind. I’ll try to finish up quickly so we can both pack up and go back to bed." Rydia said, cross and tired as she closely examined the area she had just cleaned.

She found another hair.

“Aaaah,” she said.

Rydia Burgess

Novice of the White Tower

That sounds doable to me. Thanks! If you're going to be sporadic I think supervising her chore would be a better fit than pranks (just 'cause of the whole permission and punishment if caught planning hassle)

Which chore are you thinking of giving? Also would you like to start or should I

And if you're finished with all your accepted reqs I don't mind getting a chore from your aes sedai :)

Darn it!

I'll edit my post when Skechid does. :)

He was neither the last nor the first to finish the run.

As he stopped to rest, the world before him was predominately a coming together of sounds. The ceaseless sound of hammering, the furious howling of a mad storm, the roaring of the recruits, it all echoed in his ears. The brown-haired boy felt he was very close to them, but he had not moved. He was watching and waiting, but it was like being in a war zone, when time had slowed.

He was in the center of what the men called the farm.

“. . .”

It was lucky that nobody here died so far. The thick layers of clothing had reduced the (cold and some) damage, but there was also the matter of timing—if they kept experimenting with saidin like that, people might die. They already had five students heavily injured, and numerous students sustained light injuries. The possibility of death would rise if Ful got training from here. Fifteen years was too early to die, thought Ful. This was why, although he had been living in Isha’s house for half a year now, he never once strayed near here for lessons. But after the one-eyed attack leader was killed, Ful could no longer get away with only attending basic weapons training. People had said that Isha had gone mad when the witches caught and then executed him, but Ful knew from living together that Isha was already mad for years before his death. The Shienarian was forever mumbling incoherently to himself, while staring wildly at Ful and the Asha’man Linten. So Isha did have such great instability within him. Perhaps the aes sedai Isha and Linten had brought back was one of those factors that sped Isha to his death. That must be it. But, never mind.

Grey eyes soft like ashes stared listlessly at the men before him dressed, like he was, in black funeral clothing. Were they anticipating death as well? Either way, the other side held the upper hand. This Skechid person, who made the fireball as naturally as somebody else scratching their nose, seemed to be saying “here is the power you want.”

This feeling differed from the time in the past when he had to hide from powerful people threatening him.

But he didn’t have time to ponder the past now. Very soon, he would face his own madness.

A chill ran down his back, but had nothing to do with the weather for once.

Ful Haert

Black Tower Recruit

Edit: Winter rather than hot summer

Ah right. It's a good idea to give the actual OP.

Saline: Air 5, Earth 7, Fire 5, Spirit 5, Water 5 so her OP is 29 (out of 30), Skill 33+3 (Potency: 62+3)

Lillian: 5, 4, 4, 5, 5 so her OP is 22 and Skill 30+3 (Potency: 52+3)

As I said probs the weakest sister there. :)