Ravak Gaidin
"Peace favour your sword." Ravak offered a courteous nod to the common Shienaran blessing. It didn't even seem that awkward on the Dedicated's lips. He had to have been born in Shienar, although the accent was hard to place. That was more Elia's domain at any rate. But the hadori marked him as a descendent of Malkier. It was curious how the old blood ran in some veins. But I know better than most. The Gaidin tried to put the crystal pillars out of his mind.
"Come in my child," Elia's sonorous voice announced. "Tea? Or I can get some kaf if you prefer." Rav shook his head at that. Since when had Elia got all of these fancy teas, and since when had she taken to kaf? The Seanchan drink was horrid and bitter, and her odd tea was... well, odd. Nothing wrong with brewing normal leaves. Silently Rav closed the door behind... Actually, he didn't know the Dedicated's name. Strange that. He thought he did.
"Tea is fine, Elia Sedai. Thank you." Rav moved away from the door, to take one of the three chairs around the low set table. Somehow Rav suspected this was going to be a drawn-out conversation, so he wanted to be comfortable. He was still ready to spring into action if needed, although he didn't detect any noticeable sense off of the man. Elia had one, strangely, but she'd already quelled his concerns, in a fashion. Removing his sword belt and propping the two hilts by the arm of the chair, he adjusted his sleeves so that his throwing daggers were at the ready, and also to conceal the Light-blasted tattoo that wrapped around his forearm.
The Dedicated was stony-faced. The ko'di, or the Void and the Flame as Asha'man called it, was in evidence. Why was the question? The hilt of a dagger slipped invisibly into Rav's hand. He knew he was on edge, because of Kaia and Riahana, and even Elia. He was pinching the bridge of his nose before he realised it.
"Take a seat," Elia said, gesturing to the other chairs. Two identical chairs sat opposite and to the right of Rav, with Elia's odd sofa on the left. It was half-chair, half-bed. The Light knew where all of this new-found refinement was from. Had becoming an Aes Sedai changed her so much? Who knew. "Ravak?" Grey-blue eyes caught the unasked question in malachite gems.
"Tea, please." He replied.
"I was sent to you," the Dedicated started, "by who I have no idea, but I was instructed to find you and seek your knowledge." Rav shifted. A long, boring conversation indeed. He should have brought a book. "I can smell violence."
That attracted all of the red-haired man's attention. He straightened without meaning too, although hopefully the Dedicated hadn't noticed. Rav's face was schooled to granite-like expressionlessness. A Sniffer? He hadn't known the term until Kaia Sedai had educated him, but he had known about sniffing all of his life. Rav was on edge, but not out of concern. The throwing dagger slipped back into his sleeve. "I have been able to for years. I hope you can help me with this ability." Years? "I have mastered some of it. The smell of the Warder Yards no longer makes me unable to eat."
Rav rubbed at his nose. Peace, but he understood almost all of that. The smell of violence in the Yards and in the Hall was almost ever-present, aside from at night. But the violence of training was entirely different from the smells that came off from rogues and vagabonds, or Shadowspawn and Dreadlords. Trollocs were the worst by far, even compared to Fades. The Light send it's many more years before I need to concern myself with anything worse than that.
Elia shared a look with her brother. She knew about his ability or Talent. She and three others knew. That was the absolute extent of who was aware that the former Master of Training could track down criminals and murderers without needing to look for a trail. Like with the tattoo, a price had been paid for earning that skill. Rav couldn't smell mundane scents any more. According to Elia, that was not a recorded part of the Talent, but the truth trumped archaic books.
Elia Sedai
"Tea is fine, Elia Sedai. Thank you." She gave a slight nod, moving the blossom from her cup into the glass teapot. There was already water inside, and a brief yet careful application of Fire was all that was needed into order to bring the water to boil. Jasmine tea was a delicate thing, but she enjoyed watching the blossom unfurl and open. As much about the taste as about the sight.
She gestured towards the circle of chairs with a free hand. "Take a seat." Apparently her brother had already affixed himself to a chair - how very Ravak - although for a wonder he didn't have a book in hand. Not for the first time, Elia wondered how appropriate it was to sit in her chaise longue whilst speaking with the training ranks. She wouldn't countenance it with Aes Sedai or Asha'man, but it was so much more comfortable than sitting in one of those chairs. It depended if the Dedicated sat opposite from her brother, or beside him. Elia glanced over at her younger sibling. "Ravak?"
"Tea, please," he replied curtly. Again she nodded, setting out a third cup. She liked it sweet, Ravak liked it with milk. The Dedicated - what was the child's name? - could enjoy it plain if he didn't speak up. That was one of the fun perks about being a fully raised channeller. The children had to put up with what they were given, not that she had a mean streak in her. The truth be told, she rather enjoyed teaching, and she thought she was one of the kinder teachers. Youth helped with that. Not being a sister for fifty or a hundred years surely gave her a different perspective. Hopefully I'll still be teaching in fifty years.
"I was sent to you," the Malkieri started, "by who I have no idea. But I was instructed to find you and seek your knowledge." Elia smiled slightly. It's nice to be appreciated. The smile warmed her heart-shaped face, framed today by her loose shoulder-length hair. "I can smell violence." Elia turned, facing the Dedicated with interest. "I have been able to for years. I hope you can help me with this ability."
Elia glanced at her brother. His face was hard, his glare like living death. She knew his thoughts to the inch. No-one knows, brother. Be calm. Not for the first time, she wished that Ravak had accepted her suggestion of being Bonded to her. She could ease him a lot more easily with that link between them. And I need a Warder, sooner rather than later. She began to pour out the tea, listening to the Dedicated's last words without further comment.
"Sniffing," she proclaimed with the teapot in hand. "The Talent you are describing is called Sniffing, Dedicated...?" The Indigo Sitter paused for the man's introduction. "It is quite the uncommon ability, and not widely known. It is a shame, in an odd way, that you were born with the ability to channel. A thief-taker with the ability to hunt down violence attracts a high wage from most noble houses."
Elia lifted one of the cups from the side table, and handed it over to her brother. He still looked grim, but that was nothing unusual for him, nothing to say he was any more or less concerned than normal. "It is something I know quite a bit about." Grey-blue eyes slid over without any change, but again she knew Ravak's thoughts. Continuing, she said mildly, "My father had the ability. It made lying rather challenging as a child." Her chuckle was soft, like chimes. "I think that's why we're so well behaved."
The Aes Sedai lifted a second cup, and handed it to the now seated Dedicated. "Let me know if you want milk or honey. But yes, sniffing. It is a curious thing. Much like most Talents, it's near impossible to say why one person possesses them and why another does not. But as it is not connected with the One Power, it's a more formidable ability to explore."
For a moment, Elia paused by the side table, adding honey into her drink. "Tell me Felix. What do you smell at this moment? Describe it, as best you can."
- Spoiler: show
- Ravak has been working out for most of the day (whatever time this is), and he had been for the last several. But aside from that, he hasn't left the Tower grounds for any other duty.
Elia has, in the last few days, been the victim of violence and been an accomplice in a murder. She's also meddled with Compulsion, but hasn't made any of her victims do anything untoward.