Everyday Negotiation (Attn: Kenneth)

[Cat]

Tristram Baryn

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness… It was all, in fact, proving to be horribly disappointing. He hadn’t wanted to come to the Tower with expectations, because expectations only led to disappointment, but he had. He had been around Aes Sedai and Asha’man for much of his life, and he supposed that was where he had gone wrong. They had all been full rank, not students, and he was swiftly discovering that being a student channeler was nothing like being an Aes Sedai or Asha’man, and nothing, therefore, like he had thought. He had thought it would be all action, all adventure, danger… He hadn’t even got to explode anything yet. Instead, the most he had done was light a bloody candle. Wow. So impressive. He was certainly going to impress all his fellow High Seats with that! If things carried on at this pace, he was going to go mad.

He had to focus on other things.

And those other things meant the Ajahs. If he couldn’t control how fast he learnt, Tristram felt that he could at least find out what the options were for once he had. He knew all about the Ajahs, but he didn’t know which one would be the best fit for him, and that needed to change. It was better to be prepared.

He carried a stack of books with him, taken from the library, as he walked through the corridors, intent on going back to his room to read as much as he could before he went about chasing down the respective Ajahs and getting them to tell him all that they could.

Sadly, the stack was tall, impeding his vision, and he didn’t see the person coming until the books were suddenly flying through the air and hitting the ground.

He swore under his breath, already moving to pick them up, no apology on his lips. He hadn’t even bothered to see who he had walked into. Instead, “Shit! Bloody help me, will you?” his voice snapping.

[Kenneth]

Taesh Calm Seas

“Shit! Bloody help me, will you?”

Taesh gave an inquisitive smirk at the scene in front of him. Whoever this Soldier was, he definitely was used to giving commands. His tone implied that he usually held some rank in comparison to those around him. If that attitude has not been broken yet, that meant that the Soldier had not been in the Tower for all that long. Taesh gave a little chuckle to himself as he thought of the ways that the Master of Soldiers would drive home the lesson that rank outside of the Tower meant nothing within its walls.

"Of course my friend" Taesh responded, a sly tone coloring his voice. With a moments thought the Atha'an Miere Head Clerk had opened himself up to the One Power and wrested saidin to his will. Snaking arms of Air reached out to wrap the books, hefting the scattered literature into the air and reforming the stack to float beside the Asha'man. As Taesh got a full view of the snappish Soldier, and vice versa, the dark skinned channeler could only smile more.

"Quite a reef we find ourselves on, eh Soldier?" Taesh began, his eyes flashing, playfully or dangerously it was hard to tell. Probably a mixture of both, but the would be channeler would not know that. "Because I am an Asha'man I should be a raging storm that you would dare to get in my way. Or speak to me in such a tone" Taesh was attempting to sound as serious and indignant as he could, with some degree of success but not much. "If I am Brown I should be prepared to bring the Tower down around your head for treating these precious books so poorly. Which way does the wind blow?"

[Cat]

Tristram

He should have known that, despite the place being filled to bursting with other Soldiers and Novices, the person he’d run into would be a full-ranked channeler. It was bloody typical. It was like coming across the only venomous snake in a field full of grass-snakes. Luck always had a way of turning its back on you when you needed it most. Tristram could have laughed, but instead he simply straightened, brushing down his uniform, and looked at the Asha’man in front of him. With his books. That happened to be floating in air. That the Asha’man didn’t look like he was going to hand over any time soon.

Damn. Tristram knew he should have been impressed, awed, suitably scared by the sudden display of Power, but all he felt was mild irritation. This was not the way that he had hoped to meet an Asha’man. He wasn’t ready, and he hadn’t exactly made a great first impression.

His eyes lingered on the books for a moment, before he turned his attention back to the Asha’man and grinned, not willing to let any of his irritation show. If he had to hazard a guess, which he did, the man was Atha’an Miere. Reefs and storms and winds… Yes. Definitely an Atha’an Miere.

“I think,” he replied calmly, “that the wind isn’t blowing, because if it was, if there was indeed a raging storm, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Storms don’t stop to chat or inform you about what they’re doing. They just act. And, well,” he shot the Asha’man another grin, “the books are alive and well, and the Tower isn’t currently on my head, and I’m ready to admit my mistake and beg the wind to spare me. I thought you were one of my fellow students.”

[Kenneth]

Taesh laughed at the Soldier's response, the intent behind the laugh was unclear, but it was genuine. The young man's answer intrigued Taesh, it was a good attempt at persuasion. Not enough to really sway the Head Clerk, but one of the better attempts that had been delivered from the learners.

"My friend, as long as the waves roll, the wind is blowing, somewhere. Fortunately it blows in your favor, for the moment. I am no Brown to erase you from existence for your treatment of the books, though I can promise you if the Browns who oversee the Library ever find out about this, you will likely scrub the entire Tower with the shirt on your back and then wear it before you are allowed back into their domain." The Atha'an Miere laughed again as he directed the ropes of Air to place the stack of books on the ground, and then released saidin. Letting go of the intoxicating essence of the male half of the One Power left the world dull, but the Atha'an Miere knew better than to give in to that temptation.

"Double fortune for you, me and my Ajah are not so quick to tempest. There are some, me included, who find the Library to be almost as sacred as the Browns do, but I will spare you today. The Light must be smiling for you today then friend Soldier."

The Asha'man who lead the Grey gave the Soldier a more discerning look. He was young, but not so young as Taesh was when he first came to the Tower. The two looked about the same age, though Taesh was sure he had the Soldier beat by some years. His body language gave credence to his tone, he was definitely someone who was used to rank and being attended to. The neophyte channeler was not bad looking, slightly taller than the Asha'man himself. All considered Taesh found him pleasant, and was interested to know what exactly he was studying.

"So" the Head Clerk began once his visual investigation had ended, "while some may be ok with only calling you by your rank, I am not. What is your name? And what are all the books for?" he asked.

[Cat]

Tristram

If it came down to sacrificing his right to use the Library or scrubbing the entire Tower, Tristram knew which one he’d choose. In fact, he’d happily set the Library on fire to avoid it ever happening again. He wasn’t willing or ready to endure any punishment just because he’d made a mistake. It wasn’t like they were on some battlefield, where a mistake could cost a life. That was different. At the end of the day, he had dropped a couple of books, and they were fine. Even if that weren’t, they were just books. Wasn’t he glad, then, that he wasn’t facing a Brown?

He glanced back at said books, wondering if he should pick them up and carry on his merry way. Soldiers, he had found, didn’t get much in the way of free time, and he wanted to make sure that he didn’t waste even a second of it before he had to go back to class. He hated wasting time, full-stop. Time was valuable. You never knew when it would run out or be suddenly snatched from you.

It took some effort to tear his attention from the books and back to the Asha’man. He couldn’t tell what Ajah the man was, but that wasn’t anything new. He couldn’t tell a lot about most Asha’man, including their age. The one before him looked to be a similar age to him, but that meant nothing. Channelers tended to age differently. That, he realised, would soon include him, too.

He let himself smile, “I’m fine with being called ‘my friend’, if you like. It’s much better than being thought of as an enemy or someone you need to punish.” The smile turned into a grin. “But my name is Tristram Baryn. As for the books…” He shrugged his shoulders and pushed a hand through his hair, pursing his lips ever so slightly as he glanced back at them. “I was hoping they’d give me a better insight into all the Ajahs. I have very little idea about them.” He looked back at the Asha’man. “The Ajahs, I mean.”

[Kenneth]

Taesh eyed the stack of books and then eyed Tristram. "You are sailing the wrong way Soldier Baryn" the Atha'an Miere informed. "I'm sure these books will give you some insight, but you'd be better off just asking."

That is how Taesh had learned about the Ajahs. Really there had only been two that he wanted to get in depth information about, his chosen Grey and the Brown. As a learner he thought that the fully ranked members of the Ajahs would be secretive with their information, but the opposite had been true. Almost everyone had been more than happy to answer questions about the goals and aims of the special groupings of channelers in the Tower. New members brought fresh blood and thoughts to an Ajah. Taesh was not sure that he had ever heard of an Ajah actively seeking out Dedicated and Accepted to join their ranks, but he had also never heard of anyone being barred.

"it is good though that you are already thinking towards your future in the Tower though. I would suggest asking the Brothers and Sisters of the Tower as opposed just reading. Have you any questions about the Grey, I will be glad to answer them, no bargain needed either" Taesh grinned.

[Cat]

Tristram

So there was his answer: Grey. The Asha’man was a Grey, though Tristram still didn’t know his name. He supposed that was something he could learn later; he wasn’t in any rush to discover it, nor was he that particularly interested. What he wanted right now was to get himself out of this situation, though he didn’t know how, exactly, to do it.

Oh, he knew that the books would only give him some insight, but that was better than nothing. He didn’t like the thought of coming across as completely ignorant when he did eventually seek out the different Ajahs. Ignorance had a tendency to make you look not particularly bright, and Tristram was determined to make a decent impression.

He sighed, his hand falling to rub at the back of his neck, an old habit that he’d never quite been able to break.

“I was,” he said, wincing ever so slightly, “rather hoping to learn a little about them all first before I approached anyone. That way I can at least look like I know something, but, alas,” and his expression turned sheepish, “it seems I messed that one up. If.” He paused, biting his lip. “If I ask you questions, you have to promise that you won’t set me on fire if they come across as incredibly stupid, or perhaps at least pretend that they’re the greatest, most thought-provoking questions you have ever heard.”

[Kenneth]

Taesh eyes flashed dangerously as he listened to Tristram. He might be land bound, choosing to change his allegiance from the Sea to the Tower, but he was still Atha'an Miere. The promise that the Soldier wanted sounded much like a bargain, and bargains were not something entered into lightly with an Atha'an Miere.

"I will make no such promise Tristram. If I did, you would owe me, and I am not one to refuse collection on my bargains." The Grey informed the inquisitive Soldier. "Be assured, no question is worthless if you are truly seeking knowledge. I will even do you a favor and give you a bit of insight first."

Taesh smiled and assumed his lecture pose, which was no different from his content pose, that happened to be very similar to his boredom stance. All in all Taesh really only had one stance, and that posture seemed to place in a perpetual state of mirth, as if at any moment the Atha'an Miere would start laughing.

"My Ajah is the Ajah of unity, one of the greater causes of the Tower, but then I am rather biased. You would be hard pressed to find a treaty that me and mine had no hand in creating or maintaining."

Taesh's pride in his Ajah was evident in his voice. He could find no greater cause to dedicate his extended years to, not one that he was so well suited to. Derren Asha'man had to do very little to convince Taesh that the Grey was were he was best suited, though it had taken a little more convincing to get the Atha'an Miere to accept the role of Head Clerk. From his time on the Sea until now, Taesh had always had a drive to see others content. It was his nature to combat aggression with hilarity, his voice, expression and carriage tended to put others at ease, even in situations of heightened emotion. The Head Clerk felt that he had been created to be a Grey, and was pleased to be so.

[Cat]

Tristram

Tristram raised an eyebrow, tilting his head ever so slightly as he regarded the Asha’man. The Asha’man who also happened to be Atha’an Miere, he reminded himself. He opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it, realising that there was probably no point in arguing. In his mind, bargains and promises were two very different things. A bargain required a kind of trade in most cases, yes, but a promise did not. Making a promise did not require some kind of demand or debt in return. He’d made a promise to his wife, at her request, that he’d make sure that their son never wanted for anything. He hadn’t asked for anything in return. It was like asking someone not to laugh. You didn’t say ‘Promise not to laugh and I’ll be in your debt forever’.

He let out a breath, resisting the urge to fold his arms across his chest. He wasn’t used to being lectured to either. There was a lot that he was going to have to get used to. The only thing he could really do was hope that his time as a Soldier and then as a Dedicated was short, because he didn’t think he would be able to endure much of it.

“Could we,” he finally said, “at least find a room? I’m not asking for a promise or a bargain,” and he let himself smile at that, “but if we’re to discuss things I’d rather do it in comfort and not in the middle of a hallway.” He let himself wince self-deprecatingly again, more to take the force out of his words, because he knew he shouldn’t be ordering Asha’man about, and then grinned. “Sorry. Former lord with a sedan chair. I’m not used to standing around.”

[Kenneth]

The Head Clerk gave the Soldier Tristram a contemplative look. Taesh was not sure how he should react to the request. The Soldier was a bit pushy, something the Atha'an Miere would normally appreciate, but not in one of the learning ranks. At least he shouldn't allow the behavior, better to redirect that tide now then to continue to allow it. Many of the Aes Sedai and Asha'man would not appreciate the Soldier's energy, and he would find himself quickly, and continuously, doing penance.

"This one time Soldier, I will allow your request. But heed my advice, I did plenty of penance in my time as a Soldier, for everything from speaking out of turn to a Green, ruining the Gardens, and failure to leave my room fully clothed" Taesh laughed at that last part. "You do not want to have to visit the Master of Soldiers too often Tristram, it only gets worse each time. Do not think that all Asha'man and Aes Sedai you meet will be like me, they will not. You will find the the seas of the Tower quite stormy if you do not learn the waters quickly."

That was one thing Taesh had never truly come to understand about the land-bound. On the seas, ranked was earned, you were not born to it. Even being the son of the Sailmistress and Cargomaster of the Star Song had not given the young Taesh any special treatment. His father might have been training him to become a Cargomaster in his own right, but Taesh knew he would have to work hard to even attract a Sailmistress. He was glad to find out that the Tower was much like an Atha'an Miere ship, rank was earned through hard work and discipline. He thought Tristram might have a rough beginning of his journey to Asha'man until he realized his rank outside of the Tower meant nothing inside.

"Find us a room, and I will give you some time to ask your questions" the Asha'man told the Ajah researching Soldier.