The Grey Tower

Leala awoke and walked to the door of her room. She paused and stifled a yawn. After the yawn left her, she sighed and shook it off. she silently praised the Light that her next class wasn't until mid-morning. The night before, she had discovered that she could enter Tel'aran'rhiod through her dreams. She had awoken earlier than usual to assess her notes, and had taught her class that morning. Now that she had two hours to spend how she wished before her next class to be taught, she had relaxed a little too much. Now, she felt like she needed sleep again. Time spent in the World of the Dreaming felt like she had just dozed, rather than slept. What she was about to do next would look illogical, but it was the most logical thing to do.

She stepped back and shook herself. She shook her head, shook her arms, and stamped her feet, then walked around in a circle for half a minute. She needed to wake up, get her blood flowing. Stopping in front of her mirror, she made sure that her hair was in order and that she looked bright and attentive.

Walking to her door again, Leala walked out of her rooms and through the Accepted Quarters. She looked just as studious and astute as her contemporaries as she made her way through the halls and into the Tower. Her fatigued state brought back images from her test in the Three Arches, the Second Arch to be exact. That one had been brutal, a scene of destruction and death as Darkfriend channelers of the contested Ajah that all swore didn't exist rampaged through the Grey Tower, killing all in their way and extorting those left. Well, that certainly woke her up. She made a mental note that thoughts like that would likely be dangerous in future ventures to the World of the Dreaming.

Now outside, Leala made a point to take note of where everything was. If she decided to go back that night, it would be interesting to know where everything was, and how it could be affected in the real world. A Yellow Aes Sedai was culling her herbs to make a salve. Novices and Accepted hung laundry to dry. Perhaps she could move a piece of laundry as an experiment.

Feeling refreshed and her mind active once more, she made her way into the Library. A Brown directed her to the books about abilities and talents. She thanked the Asha'man courteously, but he did not seem to notice.

Leala made note of a couple of people picking through the books as well. She passed books about Cloud singing, Earth singing, Foretelling. She made note that some of the titles sounded rather philosophical. Finally, she found books on the subject of Tel'aran'rhiod. She examined the titles at eye level and saw one that interested her: Forays into the Dream. She reached her hand out for it, and she was surprised to see another hand in front of the very same book. Looking to the other person, she saw another Accepted, but she wasn't quite acquainted with her yet. Like her, she had blond hair, although the other woman's seemed to be a bit more manageable. But, this book told her that they had something else in common. "Are you able to enter the World of the Dreaming as well?" she asked.

Lirievin Tesiva It had been a long night for Liri. She had entered the Dream world once and not for long, but as she tried to sleep afterwards she kept tossing and turning. As far as she could tell there was no reason that she couldn't have slept peacefully but something had not been right. Liri had a rare morning off so she was planning on heading to the Library to do more reading about her Talent and looking into the connection for other talents. So far as she could tell it seemed like she had at least another talent dealing with the World of Dreams and she was working with Illyria Sedai to try and figure that out.

Liri really didn't have much of a morning routine, get up get dressed and look presentable, so it wasn't long after she woke up that she was headed out her door to get in some studying. It didn't take her long to make her way down to the library and into the section where books on talents were kept. Liri went and grabbed a few off the shelf. She had read a bunch of them but now she was trying to compare notes from what Jaryd had given her of Amadie's notes. Some things were the same but there were things, experiences, that were different- which made sense. Everyone experienced Tel'aran'rhiod in a different way. She found she learned a lot of that while she was learning with Illyria Sedai. She had a totally different perspective on Tel'aran'rhiod then Liri herself did.

Liri had just finished with her last book from her pile and she was missing something... she knew she had seen another book with more information on Entering Tel'aran'rhiod then the previous had given her, but she much not have grabbed it off the shelf. Getting up Liri was so focused on where she was headed that she didn't even see the slight blonde that was headed in the same direction until she saw the girls hand in front of her own. Liri took her hand back slightly, surprised at the sudden presence of someone else. She normally had this area to herself and she had gotten use to not really paying any mind to things around her.

"Are you able to enter the World of the Dreaming as well?"

Well, before they had even talked they had at least one thing in common. "Yes I can. I have a talent for it apparently, but I only discovered it after I was raised to Accepted. "You have a talent for it as well? It really is an interesting place isn't it?" she said, mostly to herself. It still seemed strange to her finding others that were about to enter Tel'aran'rhiod. FOr so long it had been a place just for her, and she was only just getting use to Valadin's presence. But considering the amount of people at the Tower, it really was a small amount of people that could enter Tel'aran'rhiod.

Leala's hand hovered in front of the book as the other golden-haired Accepted spoke to her. As she did, the aspiring White thought of a plan to master this newly found talent. She had an entire world to discover, and it was fascinating, and it was frightening. There was so much that she did not know, too much. She should look for counsel from an Aes Sedai or Asha'man after this. For now, perhaps this girl had some pointers.

"Ah..." Leala said as the other Accepted explained how she had been entering Tel'aran'rhiod likely longer than Leala had herself. "Yes, but I only entered it for the first time last night," she explained, taking the book. They could both probably use it now. "It is rather an interesting place. I only experienced just a few things about it before I woke myself up. I have very little evidence for actually having gone there besides that I remember every part and every detail of the dream, whereas I usually do not, for usual dreams. Truth be told, I woke myself up worrying over the name Tel'aran'rhiod," she admitted, pushing some of her golden curls behind her ear. She took a deep breath, but really, she was stopping yet another yawn. She would need some rather strong tea to make it through the morning with her no-nonsense teaching method's reputation intact. "And then, what real sleep that did come later came rather reluctantly, because I remembered a distant class that I still only vaguely remember saying that it could be a dangerous place." She remembered her garbled notes that she had taken when she awoke the first time.

"My name is Leala Gymorraine. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, extending an open hand. "I don't know what your schedule is for the day, but would you mind terribly sharing some experiences with our shared talent?"

Lirievin Tesiva Liri listened as the other Accepted, Leala she said talked. Leala had little experience in Tel'aran'rhiod which could make is frightening and dangerous. Liri knew she had been lucky that Tel'aran'rhiod had always come easy to her and that she had never killed herself with inexperience. But somehow she had survived and it had all worked out. Now she was learning, being taught and trying to pass down what she had learned. It was far too easy to loose yourself in the Dream and wind up dead and Liri wanted to fix that.

Liri watched at Leala took the book, she didn't mind and she really did not need it, not as much as Leala would have needed it anyway. Liri couldn't help but feel some empathy for Leala. She remembered Valadin's first time in the World of Dreams and that had been a wreak, if Liri had not been there he may have died.Plus not knowing that time ran differently in the World of Dreams and even with her experience there was still no way to tell how much time had passed.

Liri shook Leala's hand when she reached out for a hand shake. This girl talked in a no-nonsense way and Liri found it odd but in the same time it was refreshing. She's probably going White she thought to herself. Leala definitely had a very White Ajah vibe going on. "I'm Lirievin Tesiva, but call me Liri." she said with a smile. She had a feeling that maybe, just maybe her and Leala would become friends.

"I actually have the rest of the afternoon off and was planning on just review some things about Tel'aran'rhiod so I'm free if you want to talk about it and our experiences in it. I've been entering it now for a year or so, so I have a fair few to share and you're more then welcome to pick my brain." she finished waiting to see what Leala wanted to talk about.

Leala smiled when Liri explained that she would be willing to help. It made her feel a little more relieved than she was willing to admit. "I don't have to teach another class for two hours or so. Let me show you my notes. Perhaps you could expand on them," she said, taking the book and walking to a free table. Seating herself, she set the book to the side and took out her notes from the night before. It was likely early morning when she wrote these, but that didn't matter at the moment. her handwriting was messier than it usually was, but it was still legible.

Woke in rooms - home.
Bed became made - no memory.
Dress was own - not issued.
Pin appeared - my sigil.
Ajah stripes appeared - not Accepted dress.
Amended dress - now issue.
Woman appeared. Seemed to think room was hers. Vanished in seconds.
Transported to the Grey Tower by thought.
Awoke in reality after remembering name in Old Tongue: Tel'aran'rhiod.

"I tried to write down everything that happened during that first entrance," she explained. "Not much happened, really. I know that the World of the Dreaming can be manipulated by will power. I think that was what I was trying to remember from that class. My guess is that if you allow a fear to take hold of you, you can become ensnared in nightmare. Is that right?" If it was, she should try not to think of her scenes from the Three Arches like she had this morning. The Second Arch had been the most terrifying. If any one fear could make her descend into a living nightmare, it would have been that one. The third one had featured real monsters, but monsters hiding in the bodies of one's contemporaries were much more disturbing.

Lirievin Tesiva Liri nodded as Leala handed her her notes. She read them over fairly quickly as they were just small notes but she found herself explaining everything to herself in her own head as she was reading. Part of her felt proud that she was able to do that, barely a year ago and she could not have even thought about Tel'aran'rhiod in a logical way. She only hoped she would be able to help Leala.

"Tel'aran'rhiod is almost like a different world, and you'll find this easier once you spend some time there. But it appears differently then here. It's easier to explain with examples, for instance, in Tel'aran'rhiod this table would appear here as it is because it never moves in the waking world, but the books would be constantly changing because they are constantly moving. So if you keep you bed made, that's how it would appear in the waking world. A lot of what happens in Tel'aran'rhiod is based on your own perception, so when I enter, I normally appear in my striped dress as that is what I am use to but to change it all i have to do is imagine what dress i want to wear." She paused there thinking about how much easier this could be if they were actually in Tel'aran'rhiod. "but you have to be careful of your thoughts, a simple though can create things, like monsters, or transport you to another place, as you experienced."

"Tel'aran'rhiod can be a tricky place, you said you saw someone appear then disappear?" She waited for Leala's nod. "For the most part, only people with a talent for Entering Tel'aran'rhiod can enter, unless they have some sort of aid. But occasionally regular people enter Tel'aran'rhiod in their dreams for a few seconds before disappearing again. THey never know that they enter Tel'aran'rhiod, but it can leave a mark on them. And by that i mean if you are injured in Tel'aran'rhiod it will be reflected in the waking world, if you die in Tel'aran'rhiod, you die in teh waking world." She didn't mean to scare Leala but facts were fact.

Leala nodded thoughtfully as Liri explained the World of the Dreaming in more detail. She wanted to explore it right then, get a better feel for it, see what else she could find, but she knew that not only was it dangerous, she would likely be seen as sleeping when she should have been working. She would have to set aside some time for ventures into Tel'aran'rhiod when she could. Her schedule was already packed. Perhaps she could research this place during her normal sleeping schedule. She would need a guide, definitely.

"I couldn't remember what I was dreaming about before I entered, but when I did enter, I was in my rooms at my family's lands in Andor," she explained. "As you saw, my bed made itself. My rooms looked like they had been when I left. I suppose they've kept them that way since the day I departed for the Grey Tower. I was wearing one of my favorite dresses in my house colors. It was interesting, because it almost seemed that I could will a pin into existence, one of my own personal sigil. That was interesting, because while I've kept the design in mind, I've never actually seen it realized. When I saw that and came to my senses a bit more, I tried to change into my Accepted's dress. At first, the stripes appeared on the dress, but the dress and embroidery stayed the same. I had to think a bit more before the dress I'm wearing now came to be."

She wondered about Tel'aran'rhiod leaving marks on the people who are there. She remembered the classes she had fretted about. "If you are able to be injured there, it stands to reason that one can die there as well. If Tel'aran'rhiod is subject to one's thoughts and dreams, I suppose nightmares are included as well." She remembered her vivid recollection of her Second Arch trial that morning. That scene along with the subconscious workings of her fears would likely have done her in.

Leala abruptly noticed the tension in her shoulders and the cold feeling in her stomach. She needed a guide. "Liri..." she said, "I suddenly find myself a bit less confident about this ability than I was. Would you be able to help me, or do you have a suggestion for who could?" she asked cautiously.

Lirievin Tesiva The more Leala talked the more Liri understood about her dream. It sounded like a pretty typical dream and Liri knew that Leala was lucky no 'demons' had haunted her. Once you understood where you were it could be easy to control the thoughts but with Leala, had she thought about anything horrible it probably would have manifested in her dream and she would not have known how to get out of the dream. Although Liri did find it interesting that Leala had seen her own sigil, something that had not even been designed.

Liri nodded as Leala reasoned everything out. "Nightmare are included in that, I have been caught in another nightmare and if I had not been there he probably would not be here today. Anything you can think of can happen there. Anything." She said putting emphasis on it. Valadin had done things there she had not thought possible so it seemed literally everything was possible.

She gave Leala a warm smile when she asked for a Guide. It had been a while since Liri had had the mental capacity to help others out, but now that things seemed to be settling she was looking forward to branching out again and maybe, just maybe, learning to trust again.

"I would love to teach you. I don't have the most experience, but I have notes from a friend which have helped me out a lot and having someone else in the Dream is important when you are learning, they can help you from hurting yourself and prevent nightmares from escaping if they try."

"Of course, if you want someone else, Illyria Sedai is also able to Enter Tel'aran'rhiod and she has just started to teach me as well. I'm sure she would want to know about your talent and she could teach you. I'm not sure how much reading you've done but it seems if you can Enter Tel'aran'rhiod you are more then likely to have another talent related to Tel'aran'rhiod, like Dreaming, or Dreamwalking, so that's something you may want to look into as well." Liri hoped she hadn't overwhelmed Leala with information but there was a lot she would need to know.

Leala felt relief when Liri agreed to help her. She had been very lucky that nothing had happened to her on her first venture there. The night that she had entered Tel'aran'rhiod for the first time was when she was likely thinking of something from her day in the Tower, and hadn't thought of anything past it. Her first roommate she had had would likely have giggled and implied that it proved that she was boring. The girl couldn't think past her own personal interests, so in Leala's mind, she was the boring one.

Either way, Liri's offer to help her or help her find someone to walk her through this new talent meant that she was not alone in this new part of her life. There were people who not only shared the same talent, but could guide her through mastering it. The more she thought on it, the more this talent made some logical sense to her. It was a talent of the mind, and her mind was a valued part of her personality. She had to squelch a surge of confidence when she thought of it. Humility was not something she found easily, but she was trying to teach herself to be more open to new ideas, and the idea that she was like a wandering babe in the woods in that other world was not something she wanted to accept immediately. Tel'aran'rhiod was a dangerously malleable place. If she became arrogant, it would be the end of her.

"Any aid you could give me would be a boon," she said to Liri with a smile. "Your perspective as someone who has not mastered it will help in these early stages, because you would be closer to my stage than someone who has." Aelyn sometimes used that same reasoning with her when he passed on classes to her that he did not wish to teach. She knew it was an excuse to not teach it, but she accepted the work anyway, because she needed the experience in teaching. "If you don't mind my asking," she began cautiously, "what was your first experience in Tel'aran'rhiod like?"

Lirievin Tesiva Liri smiled as Leala said she would like her to help her. It felt good to do something for others, and Tel'aran'rhiod was still like a sanctuary for her so to introduce it and guide someone through its ways made this even more exciting for her.

The more Leala talked the more Liri could see the White Ajah in her. She talked in a no-nonsense way and everything was logical. It would be interesting to see how she faired in Tel'aran'rhiod where logic didn't always have a hand. Liri made a mental note to herself to throw something illogical at Leala to see how she reacted.

Liri tensed as Leala asked about her first experience. The journey in Tel'aran'rhiod was fine, but still thinking about Sean and everything he put her through made her uncomfortable. It was a scar she would hold forever and she was getting better at handling it but her panic would still creep up behind her and latch on occasionally. Knowing that there was no possible way that Leala would know about Sean or what happened to her, Liri forced herself to relax, dropping her shoulders and closing her eyes for a second as she took a few deep breaths.

"The first time I visited Tel'aran'rhiod, it was a sanctuary for me. I didn't even realize I was in Tel'aran'rhiod, it just became a place where all my fear and worries seemed to melt away. I was being held captive in the waking world and my captor was essentially torturing me. The first few trips those scars followed me, but an Aes Sedai showed me how to change my appearance so I was able to rid myself of my injuries and the pain they caused." Liri paused there, her story was not joyful in any way, it was even an exciting adventure. She almost hated telling Leala, she didn't want her to associate the story with Tel'aran'rhiod, if she even thought of it in the Dream Liri didn't think she would be able to fight off that nightmare.

"But I probably have one of the worse first experiences in Tel'aran'rhiod. It really is an interesting place, and you never know what to expect. You can go in thinking one thing, and it totally changes. Once you get use to it it's not so overwhelming and you'll get excited, anticipating your next trip there."