Black and White (Attn: Avyra)

The offices of the M'hael, Amyrlin Seat, Master of Arms, Keeper and the MoNSTers
Post Reply
User avatar
Craig
Librarian
Posts: 2613
Joined: November 20th, 2015, 10:29 am
PC: Ravak t'Sha'hal Darrow
SC: Elia Darrow
TC: Zarayne
QC: Farah Kattan
Location: Scotland

Black and White (Attn: Avyra)

Post by Craig » October 13th, 2016, 5:14 pm

Elia Darrow
Elia inspected her reflection in one of the classroom windows, tucking back an errant tuft of hair behind her ear. The fine web of gold thread placed moonstones in amongst her fiery locks, which complimented the eggshell coloured dress she had chosen for today. Silk gathered in a draped neckline, low enough to reveal a silver necklace also with moonstones, but not so low to give men -- or women -- ideas.

Turning away from the view over the southern side of Hama Valon, Elia stepped back to her desk. It was a magnificent piece of mahogany, dark unlike the spindly golden wood of the chairs. She plunked herself down on the red fabric, grateful they had finally been re-upholstered. She hated lavender.

Her bondmate's nearing presence bought her back around to the business soon at hand. All of Mirin's notes and files had been lost with the destruction of the Novices' Quarters, leaving the Indigo Aes Sedai the 'honour' of piecing together all of the information from scraps. Some facts had risen beyond mere note keeping, though.

The door opened expectantly, with Weland holding the door whilst an Accepted entered the former classroom. With a brief nod, the door closed behind the woman -- this was not a conversation for servants.

"Come in, Avyra." She beckoned to one of the two chairs on the opposite side of her desk. "Please, take a seat. Would you like a honeycake?" Half a plate of the sweet pastries remained on one side of her desk.

Avyra Moeryr wasn't one of the oldest Accepted, but her tenure had been prolonged. Different women progressed at different rates, but that forward momentum had slowed to a crawl in the last few months. Possibly longer, Elia mused. The bright-eyed, tempestuous Cairhienin that her brother had described did not seem to resemble the brunette approaching her now.

Elia's lips pursed together. "I think it's time we had a talk, Avyra." The Aes Sedai sounded like a mother giving her daughter bad news. "I know these last few months have been trying. Everyone has suffered from... from the attack." From Mirin's betrayal. Her tone become softer. "There is a time to grieve, but there is also a time that we need to build ourselves back up and move on with our lives. We, you and I, have long natural lives ahead of us, and they cannot be lived in the past."

Elia straightened in her chair, and offered a commiserative smile. "Now, it's for this reason I sent for you today. Your pace of progress has slowed significantly, and that extends back before the attack on the Novices' Quarters. My brother described you as a natural Aes Sedai to me in the past, but at this pace, you may never obtain the shawl." A concerned frown marred her face. "That's not what I want for you, but... but I also don't wish to keep you here against your will." The Shienaran slid a piece of thick vellum to the centre of the desk. A wax seal adorned with the Flame of Hama Valon was already affixed at the bottom. "This is a Letter of Release. You are at a place now where you are safe to leave the Tower, to live out your life as a woman if it is what you so desire. There is no benefit to you or to the Grey Tower by forcing you to stay, if you have no compulsion to remain with us. If I sign this," she tapped the scroll, "then you can set off within the hour. But if you want to remain, you need to explain to me what has changed with you. Where did the defiant, confident girl go?"
Image Image Image Image
Craig's Tracker ❖ Librarian
Elan wrote:Of course, the problems with observing a chain of command arise when the one in command decides to do something unspeakably idiotic, like taking off on his own for no discernible reason in the middle of enemy territory.

Avyra
"The Path of Daggers"
Posts: 1079
Joined: February 21st, 2016, 10:03 pm
PC: Avyra *bloody* Moeryr - Accepted

Re: Black and White (Attn: Avyra)

Post by Avyra » October 15th, 2016, 3:17 pm

Avyra had been summoned. To the new Mistress of Novices' office. Mirin Sedai was gone, thank the light, but she had been replaced by someone Avyra couldn't stand even more. Elia Darrow.

How could such a boring rock of a person be sister to her dear friend Ravak? Who had caught her when she fell out of that tree? Who had lent her a book on swordplay? Who had bought her a kesiera?

She couldn't be sassy or funny. Or joke around. She couldn't be herself in the face of this flaming woman.

"Come in, Avyra." Elia's voice was its usual cold tone as she entered the room. "Please, take a seat. Would you like a honeycake?"

Avyra took a seat but didn't take a cake, trying not to glare or look unusually displeased with her situation.

"I think it's time we had a talk, Avyra." Wonderful. You're kicking me out. "I know these last few months have been trying. Everyone has suffered from... from the attack." That was Mirin's fault yeah we all know get to the point. "There is a time to grieve, but there is also a time that we need to build ourselves back up and move on with our lives. We, you and I, have long natural lives ahead of us, and they cannot be lived in the past."

Avyra bit her own lip to keep from rolling her eyes.

"Now, it's for this reason I sent for you today. Your pace of progress has slowed significantly, and that extends back before the attack on the Novices' Quarters. My brother described you as a natural Aes Sedai to me in the past, but at this pace, you may never obtain the shawl." She frowned a probably fake frown. "That's not what I want for you, but... but I also don't wish to keep you here against your will." She paused, sliding her a thick letter across the desk. Looked official. "This is a Letter of Release. You are at a place now where you are safe to leave the Tower, to live out your life as a woman if it is what you so desire. There is no benefit to you or to the Grey Tower by forcing you to stay, if you have no compulsion to remain with us. If I sign this," she tapped the scroll, "then you can set off within the hour. But if you want to remain, you need to explain to me what has changed with you. Where did the defiant, confident girl go?"

So you are kicking me out? Cool.

"There is no place for defiance or confidence here, Elia Sedai," Avyra said evenly. "You don't conform to everyone else and you are punished. You fall out of line and you are punished. Do not try to tell me that you want me to be defiant and confident when you really just want to punish me for being myself.

"I do not want to leave. I do enjoy it here, Elia Sedai. But you and everyone else knows it. I will never be a good Aes Sedai. I'm not good at the One Power. I'm not good at much of anything. And even if I was, I wouldn't be taken seriously anyway.

"I know you don't enjoy my company, Elia Sedai. Why would you want to know what's changed in me?" She paused. "If you want me gon-" Her voice broke slightly. "If you want me gone, just say so. I'll go. But I want to finish what I've started here.

"I want to be an Aes Sedai, if you will let me."

User avatar
Craig
Librarian
Posts: 2613
Joined: November 20th, 2015, 10:29 am
PC: Ravak t'Sha'hal Darrow
SC: Elia Darrow
TC: Zarayne
QC: Farah Kattan
Location: Scotland

Re: Black and White (Attn: Avyra)

Post by Craig » October 16th, 2016, 12:49 pm

Elia
Elia limited her immediate reaction to a quick blink. We stifle confidence? Or was that a more directed attack saying that she stomped down on confidence? Both of her previous, formal meetings with Avyra had been... well, not quite a success in the first instance, and disastrous in the latter. She had a point, as much as the Mistress of Novices wished to deny it. Still, I can't have had such an impact in such a short time.

A moment after the blink, Elia's heart-shaped face was lit up by a smile. "I think you just demonstrated confidence and defiance quite well, Avyra." The light from outside made her look like an aunt amused at a niece's antics. "Confidence is something I value, and expect to see from our Accepted. We need that more than ever, after the attack. People for our novices and soldiers to look up to. Role models that our youngest members can see themselves becoming."

"And if, or when you become Aes Sedai, you have to embody confidence. Greens are the figures armies look up to, standing as the living shield and sword against the Shadow. Greys quell the disputes between nations, and their rulers need to know those treaties will hold. Blues need to be certain in the causes they espouse. So you are mistaken if you think we don't look for confidence within our students."

The Shienaran adjusted the moonstones around her neck to give her time to think. She'd anticipated that Avyra would be bounding for the door already, glad to be shot of the Grey Tower and Hama Valon after everything. I guessed wrong. This did leave the question of what needed to change. Even if the Cairhienin did wish to be Aes Sedai, she was potentially years away from realising that goal at her current pace.

There was a lie to dispel, and the power of being Oathsworn to destroy it with.

"You can be a good Aes Sedai." A fact. "And your ability with the One Power can exceed my own, in time." Another fact, although a bitter one for Elia to admit to. "As for being taken seriously..." Elia opened a drawer in the mahogany desk and slipped the Letter of Release inside.

Malachite orbs stared into droplets of deep green challengingly. "Now tell me Accepted Avyra Moeryr. What needs to happen to make you move on from this slump in your demeanour? Are you still in mourning for the attack on the novices quarters? Or from the Seanchan? Or is it something else? Tell me, and tell me straight, so that I can help you."

"I want to help you."
Image Image Image Image
Craig's Tracker ❖ Librarian
Elan wrote:Of course, the problems with observing a chain of command arise when the one in command decides to do something unspeakably idiotic, like taking off on his own for no discernible reason in the middle of enemy territory.

Avyra
"The Path of Daggers"
Posts: 1079
Joined: February 21st, 2016, 10:03 pm
PC: Avyra *bloody* Moeryr - Accepted

Re: Black and White (Attn: Avyra)

Post by Avyra » October 17th, 2016, 10:43 pm

"I want to help you."

Avyra bit back a laugh. "I find that hard to believe. I have never been popular with any of the Mistresses of Novices, nor you nor Mirin. You don't want to help me for me. You want to help me to get more Aes Sedai to follow you without question." She paused. "You don't like me, Elia Sedai. Not an accusation, many people do not like me, including myself. But I fail to see how you would ever help me out of the goodness of your heart." Honestly, can you even feel emotions?

"But since you asked, Elia Sedai, I will humor you." She sighed, the sarcasm leaking out of her voice. "This is tiring. There have been two attacks in the past few months, one by the Seanchan and one by some Black Ajah scum. Do you know how much I did? Do you? I couldn't help with anything. I am useless." She paused. "I don't want safety. I have the Power. I want to help people. How can I help people when I'm not given the chance? Light, when I'm not even capable of helping anymore, Elia Sedai."

She paused. "And it isn't just that, Elia Sedai. Darkfriends crawl through his tower like cockroaches. If they were literal cockroaches, it would take months for my kestrel and I to clear them out.

"Seonin is dead. My roommate from when I was a Novice." She paused, voice breaking. "My dear friend Seonin is gone. Mirin said she had been released. But I think we all know the truth, Elia Sedai. Seonin is dead." She paused. "And I am fairly sure that I am next."

She hesitated for a long moment, then spoke again, mouth dry. "We found a list before the Seanchan attack. A list of suspected Darkfriends. Mirin was on there. So was Asha'man Jaryd. I do not remember many names; the list disappeared ominously after Seonin's own disappearance.

"I was the only other one who knew about the list," she continued. "It makes sense I would be next to die. Frankly, I don't care. They'll find that I am useless to them. Besides, I'll take down as many of those rats as I can before I go down. Not like I'm needed here."

User avatar
Craig
Librarian
Posts: 2613
Joined: November 20th, 2015, 10:29 am
PC: Ravak t'Sha'hal Darrow
SC: Elia Darrow
TC: Zarayne
QC: Farah Kattan
Location: Scotland

Re: Black and White (Attn: Avyra)

Post by Craig » October 18th, 2016, 1:19 pm

Elia
Kill her.

It took more than a moment for the beautiful Indigo to understand the compulsion that almost overwhelmed her. Emmond's presence in her mind was so strong, forceful to the point of being a command. He waited just outside the door. He likely had his dagger on him, but he could do as much damage with the Power, in spite of his blindness.

"No." She pushed the thought back along the invisible connection, then cast Emmond out of her thoughts. No, Avyra knew too much, but Elia could not afford to kill every threat to her and her fellow Darkfriends. There was another way to handle this situation. First and foremost, she had to be the Mistress of Novices that Avyra would expect. The Cairhienin was wrong on some points, but even the Oaths that she was meant to be bound to gave her leverage to manipulate the truth.

"I believe Seonin is dead as well," Elia repeated in a quiet echo. Dead in a field in the Caralain Grass. A murder of an innocent girl, although it was Mirin who had placed the Seanchan in harm's way, not Elia. How Mirin had handled that lie, she did not know, but Elia had her own answer. "There are dangers with each of the raising tests, Avyra, you know this. It is my understanding that Seonin failed in her test for the shawl. You know I cannot say any more than that." Even after having passed the Great Stair, no-one spoke of the experience, just as with the Three Arches.

The lesser issue solved, Elia moved to the greater. The normal response would have been to deny everything about a list of Darkfriends, but that would only bolster the woman's abnormally angled resolve. The glow of saidar surrounded Elia as she wove a simple weave against eavesdropping. No-one had their ear to the door, not even Emmond, but she could not take any risks with this.

Malachite eyes watched Avyra closely. Seonin had been digging at the truth - the source of which had to be this list of names - and Avyra was on the same path. There was only one way to quell the suspicion. When she spoke, the Mistress of Novices' voice was tight. "Mirin Ronaile was a member of the Black Ajah."

No-one admitted that. Rumours as thick as treacle implied it, but that truth had been Sealed to the Flame. Not even those present in the Hall of Sitters would say such a thing to one another on pain of death.

Elia watched how the knowledge changed Avyra. She was not chasing phantoms. Even if Seonin had not been killed by the Black Ajah, it did exist, and her list had proven to be true in one instance. Jaryd Asha'man? Elia knew that he was not a member of the Black Ajah, but imagine what destruction could rain down upon the Tower if that was somehow found to be true. It was a challenge to keep a smirk from making its way across her features, but the razor edge of Emmond's anger reigned that in.

"Avyra, you cannot speak of this list to anyone." The Shienaran voice was quiet and serious. "Even if it was only a coincidence that Mirin's name appeared on it, it must remain a secret. Jaryd is... dangerous, even if he no longer serves as M'Hael. He has an entire Ajah at his behest, make no mistake about that. Neither of us would survive the day if he learned of this list, true or not." If Elia looked pale, it was out of genuine concern. The best lies were seeded in truth, and the Reds would stop at nothing to destroy the Black Ajah.

Elia learned forward in her chair, all pretence of Aes Sedai serenity vanquished. "You must tell me everything you know, from this list of names to Seonin's death. Maybe there was no raising test, it would be hard to confirm, and dangerous to. Either way, we must proceed carefully. A wrong word at the wrong time..." She let the words hang. Avyra had said it herself, she may be next. Elia wondered if the Cairhienin had any clue whose hand may wield the weapon that would still her questions forever.
Image Image Image Image
Craig's Tracker ❖ Librarian
Elan wrote:Of course, the problems with observing a chain of command arise when the one in command decides to do something unspeakably idiotic, like taking off on his own for no discernible reason in the middle of enemy territory.

Avyra
"The Path of Daggers"
Posts: 1079
Joined: February 21st, 2016, 10:03 pm
PC: Avyra *bloody* Moeryr - Accepted

Re: Black and White (Attn: Avyra)

Post by Avyra » October 20th, 2016, 8:25 pm

Avyra eyed Elia, searching for... she didn't know what. No. Elia was too strict to have been involved in such a plot. Still... no. Elia was mean and unfun, but not cruel and ruthless.

"I believe Seonin is dead as well." She paused, thinking slightly. Avyra wondered what was turning in that head of hers. "There are dangers with each of the raising tests, Avyra, you know this. It is my understanding that Seonin failed in her test for the shawl. You know I cannot say any more than that."

Convenient that Mirin would cover it up with that.

"Mirin Ronaile was a member of the Black Ajah."

Of course she was. Will you stop wasting my time speaking the obvious?

"Avyra, you cannot speak of this list to anyone. Even if it was only a coincidence that Mirin's name appeared on it, it must remain a secret. Jaryd is... dangerous, even if he no longer serves as M'Hael. He has an entire Ajah at his behest, make no mistake about that. Neither of us would survive the day if he learned of this list, true or not."

I'm dumb but I'm not that dumb. Honestly I'm almost insulted.

"You must tell me everything you know, from this list of names to Seonin's death. Maybe there was no raising test, it would be hard to confirm, and dangerous to. Either way, we must proceed carefully. A wrong word at the wrong time..." She had leaned forward.

"I don't know any more, Elia Sedai," Avyra replied. "But I can guarantee there was no raising test. Seonin wasn't close to the Stairs, it is my understanding. Besides, would Mirin ever tell the truth? That rat had been lying to me from day one. She didn't care about this place, or any of us students. She just wanted her own gains, whatever they might be."

Post Reply
meble kuchenne na wymiar cennik

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests