From Nothing, Something (Attn: Roan)

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Craig
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From Nothing, Something (Attn: Roan)

Post by Craig » October 15th, 2017, 6:11 pm

Farah Kattan
The journey from the quarters of the Indigo Hall to the centre of the Great Serpent felt like the longest distance Farah had ever travelled. She walked in a daze, one foot stepping in front of the other without active thought. Her mind, whilst seldom filled with wonders, was utterly blank now. Her life's plan – from here until her last day – was just as empty. In a few words, everything she had wanted to be was taken from her.

"I think it's time you were freed from this glass tower, Farah."

She stepped through the doorway leading out of the Indigo Hall into the bright sunlight. She squinted against the harsh glare, but never raised a hand to provide shade. She felt leaden, and making her arms do anything beyond hang limply at her side was too much of an effort.

Figures approached her as she walked along the path towards the Great Serpent building. Two men, both with the dragon pin along their collars, strode briskly in the middle of the road. Farah was slowly moving in the opposite direction, also unwittingly in the middle of the road. Arrogance, bravado, a sense of superiority: any of those attributes that could be assigned to the two Asha'man caused them to impact with the white-dressed Domani. She stopped dead as the two men took a faltering step back. "What do you think you are doing, child?" one of the Asha'man asked.

For the first time in a number of years, Farah was noticed.

She looked at the man straight in the eyes. He had a young face; he wasn't Oathsworn. The Tower had changed in her time here, and that was not one of the improvements. Seeing someone so young-looking glaring at her, as if she was some rat in a gutter, fired up the engines of passion within her.

"You watch where you're going," she snapped back viciously. Shock flittered over the Asha'man's face. Maybe he was actually young, and not merely unsworn. Farah didn't wait for an answer. She moved around them, holding her chin high.

"Whatever you're about to say, forestall it," a woman's voice said behind her. Farah resisted the urge to glance over her shoulder to find out if that was directed towards her. Unhappy mutterings from the two Asha'man seemed to answer that question.

Farah walked the rest of the way to the Mistress of Novices' office with an air of determination. She wanted another run-in with some haughty full rank, just to see that stunned look again. She wanted the world to notice her.

The Mistress of Novices' door received a firm knock when Farah arrived. There were two other novices waiting along the seats by the doorway, but neither protested at having their punishments delayed. Farah stood waited, one fist clenched around the letter that Elia Sedai had written for her. The letter that said she was no longer a novice of the Grey Tower. The letter that said she was free to... what?
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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.

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Re: From Nothing, Something (Attn: Roan)

Post by Roan » October 15th, 2017, 9:49 pm

Tia Sedai
Tia’s eyes didn’t move from the Novice who currently sat in front of her when she heard the knock. “We have been through this what? Three times now? Everyone must see to their chores, and no one gives the Mistress of the Kitchen lip. I know back home you are considered royalty, but here, you are a Novice of the Tower. There are any number of young girls like yourself who are special in some way back home.

“None of that matters here, and the sooner you realize it, the easier this will all go for you. You’ve forced my hand child,” she continued, the use of the word ‘child’ causing her to frown. She disliked referring to young women in such a manner, but the woman before her was behaving like a child, so it was deserved.

“All of your free time and chore time will be spent in the kitchen for the next two weeks. The Mistress of Kitchens holds your fate in her hands. If I hear one complaint from her, you will be sent to the farm for a month. Now go. You are due in the kitchens,” Tia ordered.

The young Novice forced a curtsey, and left, leaving the door open behind her. Looking to the hall, Tia saw another Novice standing there, and from the looks of it, she held a letter. “Come on in Novice Farah Kattan. What have you brought me?” she asked as she waved for the girl to enter.
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Re: From Nothing, Something (Attn: Roan)

Post by Craig » October 17th, 2017, 11:16 am

Farah
Farah could recall when the Mistress of Novices' office was panelled in blues, with small bookshelves set up behind a dark-haired Cairhienin sister. Then came Elia and her baking, although the taste of honey did nothing to halt the wrath of her tongue. After her was Vanya. The Yellow was pleasant, but Farah had never really interacted with her. Now Tia Sedai of the Green Ajah was Mistress of Novices.

She stepped inside the familiar room. The wind in her sails had ebbed and Tia Sedai had never caused Farah any personal affront. The Domani slowly opened her fist, then did her best to smooth out the crushed letter. The indigo-coloured seal was mostly intact, enough to prove it was unopened.

"A missive from Elia Sedai," Farah answered as she handed the abused letter to the Mistress of Novices. She knew the contents of the letter; she had transcribed the letter as Elia narrated. In short, she was to be released from the Grey Tower now that her training had come to an end. There was a note about 'the usual repatriations' whatever that entailed. Money enough for proper clothes? That seems like the very least the Grey Tower owed her.
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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.

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Re: From Nothing, Something (Attn: Roan)

Post by Roan » October 22nd, 2017, 4:30 pm

Tia Sedai
Tia studied Farah for a second or two before turning her attention to the somewhat wrinkled letter. She broke the seal to read what Elia Sedai had written, and then looked up to the young woman who was officially a Novice until Tia struck her name from the books. Furrowing her brows, she set the letter on her desk, “It seems Elia Sedai has deemed that your training as a Novice here at the Tower has come to an end.”

Lacing her fingers together, Tia placed her hands on top of her desk, over the letter as she studied Farah intently. The young woman was clearly upset, but was that upset anger, or some other emotion? It was impossible to tell at the moment. Not all who signed the Novice Books earned the Shawl. Some. . .well, some never returned from their Arches, while others walked away once they’d become Accepted, wanting freedom over the ties they felt bound them to the Grey Tower.

The Tower was in Tia’s blood, and she couldn’t imagine herself anywhere else, but she knew the life wasn’t for everyone. It seemed the life wasn’t for Farah either, but was it her choice or Elia’s? And. . .to be frank, who did Elia Sedai think she was dismissing one of Tia’s Novices? Yes, the Indigo Sister was once Mistress of Novices, but Tia bore the mantle now. It was her place to make such decisions.

“Elia Sedai is not Mistress of Novices, though, thus the call is ultimately mine. Perhaps you can tell me what led up to her writing the missive, Farah?”
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Re: From Nothing, Something (Attn: Roan)

Post by Craig » October 24th, 2017, 10:05 am

Farah
Farah filled the room with an audible sigh. She was usually reserved, capable of going around unnoticed, but the morning had been filled with its share of drama. It was hard to keep on an even keel after being bashed around like this.

"Elia Sedai asked what I'd learnt in the last six months," she snapped off quickly. Farah had always had a quick tongue. "When I didn't come up with an answer in time, she said I was done. 'Didn't have a permanent place within the Tower.'" She quoted Elia in a faint mockery of the Indigo's accent.

Farah took a half-step towards the Mistress of Novices' desk. She cooled her lungs a little, trying to make herself sound soft again. "I said to Elia Sedai that the Grey Tower hasn't kept me around so long just to let me go now. That has to be right. I've been here for twenty years and never put a foot out of line." A slight lie, but Tia Sedai would have to look back almost that full twenty years to find the last time Farah had been in this office for a punishment.

Having said her piece, Farah stepped back. She held herself unassumingly, hands crossed before her waist, waiting - praying - for the Mistress of Novices to disagree with Elia Sedai's assessment.
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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.

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Re: From Nothing, Something (Attn: Roan)

Post by Roan » October 29th, 2017, 7:10 am

Tia Sedai
The Mistress of Novices leaned back as she rested her elbow on the arm of her chair and ran her thumb along her chin as she listened to the Novice recount her encounter with the Indigo Sister. Farah wasn’t the oldest Novice, though she was far from the youngest. What Tia knew of the woman was simply that she’d been brought to the Tower a couple of decades ago by Yondis Sedai. At the time, Yondis suggested the young woman could be taught to channel, and she was, though as time went on, it became clear she would not make a strong Channeler.

None of Tia’s predecessors thought to bring her forward for the Arches, and there’d been no development in her progress for Tia to consider her for the test. Now, Elia Sedai was suggesting the woman had reached the end of what she could learn at the Tower. Studying the woman, Tia let the silence stretch between them, not to make Farah uncomfortable, but to think.

Eventually, the Mistress of Novices took in a breath and let it out audibly, “Our aim is to train young men and women how to harness their ability to Channel such that they can control it and are not a danger to themselves or others. Elia Sedai asked what you’d learned in the last six months to determine if you’ve progressed. You have been with us for twenty years, as you said, and surely it is not lost on you that you’ve not been called upon to be tested for the Banded Dress.

“Elia Sedai cannot dismiss you from the Tower, though in her mind, you have learned all you can. Listening to you, it seems you wish to stay. To what end, Farah Kattan, Novice of the Grey Tower? If you have learned all you can as a Novice, as Elia Sedai seems to believe, what would you do?” What did the woman want to do? Tia asked, as she considered what options she had with regards to the woman’s fate. It seemed she didn’t want to be turned out from the Tower, but surely she didn’t want to be a Novice forever?
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Re: From Nothing, Something (Attn: Roan)

Post by Craig » November 3rd, 2017, 12:42 am

Farah
No, it hadn't been lost on Farah that her Test for Acceptance had yet to come. Nor was it lost on her that Tia Sedai was not offering that opportunity now, even in the light of Elia Sedai's letter. Or perhaps because of it. She shifted her weight from one foot to another, weighing up the likelihood of success if she made an appeal to the Mistress of Novices over testing for Acceptance. That hadn't been the question Tia Sedai had asked, however. The words reverberated within her head, forming an echo chamber that drowned out almost every other thought.

What do I do now?

The last twenty years felt like everything and nothing as she thought back. What little she could do with the One Power seemed trivial compared to what her peers did. At the time, everything seemed normal. Now, reflecting on it, what had she been doing? And why?

"I've been here for twenty years," Farah repeated after a long moment. Despondency mixed with displeasure in the Domani's tone. "I've made the Grey Tower my home. I deserve more than a dismissal." What she deserved was the chance to be Aes Sedai. It wasn't just twenty years, thinking back about it, but her entire life that the Grey Tower had consumed. She was looking down a very long shaft on the arrow that was her life and had nothing to show for it.

She made a step forward, hands balled into fists at her sides. Farah took a deep breath before speaking, making sure not to let any of her inner anger through. Determination filled her voice as she addressed the Mistress of Novices. "You owe me a new life for the one that's been robbed from me. I may not become Aes Sedai" – those words came far too easily – "so I refuse to find myself at their beck and call any longer."
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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.

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Re: From Nothing, Something (Attn: Roan)

Post by Roan » November 13th, 2017, 11:01 pm

Tia Sedai
Tia arched a brow and tilted her head ever so slightly as the Novice seemingly made demands of her. “Be thankful I am the Mistress of Novices and not one of my predecessors. If Elia Sedai had been sitting here when you talk about what you deserve or what we might owe you, I can guarantee you’d have been escorted out of the Tower with nothing more than enough gold to last you two weeks.” She let go a slow sigh and laced her fingers together, “Having said that, it does beg the question of what to do with you?”

It was a rhetorical question as Tia studied the woman on the other side of her desk. How is it Memma acted as Mistress of Novices not just once, but twice? This desk is starting to feel confining. With the title came responsibility, which meant no more willy nilly trips to the Citadel. The Mistress of Novices was expected to stick close to the Tower.

A thought occurred to Tia, “You refuse to find yourself at the beck and call of Aes Sedai, fine. There could be an alternative. Have you ever thought about learning to fight? The art of warfare and combat? If it interests you at all, you could join the learning ranks of the Warder Yards. You’d need to speak to the Mistress of Training, of course, but it could be an alternative than just walking away from the Tower. . .that is if you’re interested?”
Spoiler: show
OOC: So sorry it took me so long. The trip to Bangkok threw me for a loop.
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Re: From Nothing, Something (Attn: Roan)

Post by Craig » December 4th, 2017, 11:20 am

Farah
What to do with me? The statement infuriated Farah further, although she wasn't willing to act out that anger. Novice or not, it had never served anyone well to hit an Aes Sedai. But Light it would be satisfying. It wasn't Tia she wanted to punch but any of her countless other teachers, including Elia Sedai. Maybe especially Elia Sedai. The woman pulled out the smarmiest smiles when she thought you weren't looking.

"Fight?" Farah had barely caught anything the Mistress of Novices had been saying but that word jumped out. The idea of fighting for the Grey Tower was anathema to her on first thought. The Grey Tower had denied her the one dream she had been working towards and now they wanted her to fight for them?

She held back her first retort, still aware that even a verbal spar with an Aes Sedai was a poor concept. Instead she mulled the suggestion over. She could learn to fight. Even if she didn't stay for long, knowing the basics of how to defend herself was never going to be a bad skill to learn. The Shadow was real, and Whitecloaks were real; even bandits posed a danger on the road to Baerlon. Knowing how to handle a sword could some in handy, if she wasn't able to use the One Power to scare them.

"What's the catch?" Farah couldn't help but feel there was a catch. Aes Sedai never let go of people once they had their nails in them, and she'd been the Grey Tower's property for a long time. Was this just a trap to keep her from wandering away?
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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.

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Re: From Nothing, Something (Attn: Roan)

Post by Roan » December 5th, 2017, 2:32 am

Tia Sedai
“Catch?” Tia asked with a puzzled look. She shook her head, “There is no catch, Farah. You said a moment ago you deserve more than a dismissal, that I owe you a new life for the one that’s been ‘robbed’ from you, as you put it. I am trying to give you an option that is something other than a dismissal. Not all who are brought before the Mistress of Novices to be told they can learn nothing more of what we can teach them get such a chance.”

If there’d been any annoyance or frustration, Tia did her best to keep all traces of it out of her tone, though the truth of it was she felt as if she would not be able to do right by Farah as far as the Novice was concerned. She’d been Mistress of Novices long enough to know she couldn’t please all the people all of the time, and she was getting better at not going above and beyond when the situation did not warrant it.

“If a life as a Drin as part of our Warder Yards is appealing, I can escort you to Riahana Gaidin’s office so you may sign their roster. You would trade Novice Whites for Drin Grey, and begin training in the art of combat. The only catch is knowing that to train as a Drin is very different than what you’ve done as a Novice. You’ll still have chores, but also physical exercise along with classes.

“Does that sound acceptable to you? Is it a change you’d like to make, or would you rather be given recompense and the chance to walk away from the Tower all together? The choice is yours,” Tia explained.
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