The Grey Tower

Jaryd scratched his chin. Though he had had a beard for a little over a year, he still hadn't grown used to how it could itch. He had noticed the sidelong looks that he got from women since his return, however, and that was all his mind had needed to insist that the blasted thing -and the dark curls that had grown now to cover his ears- remain. Not that he could or would actually pursue anything with the women he saw, but....

Shaking his head at his own vanity, the wiry Altaran donned his coat -dark maroon wool with gold accents- and left his quarters. As the door closed behind him, he seized saidin, flows of Spirit and Fire threading through the lock and around the frame. With a deft flick of his fingers, he inverted the weave and tied it off; as he released the One Power, the Ward vanished as if it had never existed. Woe to anyone who tried to cross it, however. With a smile, the Asha'man headed up the winding stair to the light of day.

It had snowed over night it seemed, but he didn't let that stop him. Instead, he wove flows of Air through his shoes to keep the wet out and the heat in, and found his way out of the Tower and along one of the many long paths that led to the Gardens. White shrouded the world, and the air seemed more hushed than usual as small white flakes drifted through the air to settle on his shoulders and head. Although his bones were rooted in the heat of Ebou Dar, his mind enjoyed the quiet; by the time he reached the Gardens, his mind had found a sort of peace with the outside world that it did not normally possess.

A few minutes of walking later, he rounded a corner formed of winter-brown hedges to find a man in black with the sword pin of a Dedicated at his throat sitting alone on a bench near the next turn in the path. He looked vaguely familiar, but it took Jaryd a moment to place his face. Ah, that was it. "Good morning Daelar," he said as he drew near. "What brings you out here so early?"

Daelar stepped into the gardens, his feet crunching in the snow. The crisp air hit him, waking him up completely. He walked slowly through the garden, taking in the sight of the new snow. As he passed under one of the trees, it emptied its load of snow onto his back. Whew! That's cold!

He quickly channelled, drawing out all the water and snow. Once I've learned more, I should make a Ter'angreal that keeps snow off my back. That would be quite nice indeed!

He continued on his walk, the cool and quiet gardens much preferable to the overly warm and bustling inside of the Tower. He passed the waterfall, which was not frozen. Apparently the rapid movement of the water had kept it liquid. Perhaps the Ter'angreal had a more direct effect on the temperature of the water. Daelar had no idea.

The quiet roar of the waterfall entranced him, the movement of the water glorious. Daelar sat down, slipping into a half sleep. He only vaguely noted the man walking toward him, until he spoke. He was wearing a gold-fringed maroon coat, and had a small beard and very curly hair.

"What brings you out here so early?"

Daelar mentally scrambled to place the man, obviously an Asha'man, probably Red Ajah. "I am simply out enjoying the cool and quiet away from everybody. As you likely noticed, the paths have not been cleared yet. I like it better that way. It is more natural."

Ah yes, it was Jaryd Asha'man. Red, like he had thought. "If I may ask, what exactly is it that drew you to help found a Red Ajah in this Tower? Many people react much worse to the Red Ajah, of the White Tower at least, than to Channelers in general."

Jaryd blinked, surprised at the young man's direct inquiry. How long had he held his curiosity about the Red Ajah, waiting for the right opportunity to ask? Judging by his eagerness, it had been quite some time. Rather than answer immediately, the Altaran found a seat on the end of the bench opposite the Dedicated as he contemplated the best way to respond.

"I did not actually found the Red Ajah," he said. "Carra Sedai was raised some time before I was, and by choosing the Red Ajah, she became its first member here." He felt a muted spike of curiosity along the bond- she always knew, somehow, when he was talking or thinking about her. "After she was raised, I had a conversation with her that piqued my interest, and I knew from that moment that I would join the Red Ajah as well."

He shrugged ruefully. "You asked about what people think, and the truth is...that didn't even enter into my thoughts when I was considering my options. Why should I let what others think of me effect my choices? I will be a part of my Ajah for the rest of my life- the only person whose opinion I cared about was my own. There are certainly those who despise me, but that would be true no matter what Ajah I chose."

"why do you ask?"

The Asha'man sat on the other end of the bench before responding. Daelar was quite interested by what he had to say, though. He had wanted to talk to a member of the Red Ajah for a while. All the others were easily accessable, but there were so few Reds.

Daelar had always thought that Jaryd had founded the Red Ajah. Probably because he was the first that he had seen with a Red shawl or -in his case- Tassel.

Not caring what other people thought was likely a good policy: one that Daelar had had to adopt. Everybody seemed to dislike Seanchan. It was also true that some people would have thought badly of Jaryd had he chosen any other Ajah. Even these Westland countries had people that disliked them greatly.

Daelar had another important question, though. "What is the point of the Red Ajah? It can hardly be to capture and Still male channelers. After all, you are a male Channeler, and you are a member of the Red Ajah yourself. There is no need to still male channelers any longer, as the Taint has been removed. Therefore, I am quite confused as to what the purpose of the Red Ajah currently is."

Daelar mentally winced. He had gotten only slightly better at making conversation since his arrival in the Tower.

Jaryd shook his head. Something about the tone of Daelar’s inquiries set him on edge, but he couldn’t put a finger on what it was- a thought to consider at a later time. “You are correct, the purpose of the Red Ajah at the Grey Tower has evolved beyond its original purpose in the White Tower,” he said calmly. He thought back, remembering the many ways he had explained the Ajah since he had been raised Asha’man, and picking through those details to find an explanation that would satisfy this man’s curiosity.

“The Red Ajah at the White Tower was created to address a problem: Men driven mad by the Dark One’s Taint were causing chaos with their indiscriminate channeling. Male channelers,” and he smiled self deprecatingly, “single-handedly cause the Breaking of the World, so they can hardly be faulted for perceiving the wielders of saidin as a threat to society. However, in the last few centuries they have left the path of reason and into a madness all their own. It is quite apparent that the True Source has been cleansed; even the common people in Amadicia and Tear have heard rumors, even if they don't know if they're true. There are certainly some older mad channelers who still wander the lands causing chaos, but they are few and far between. And yet...the White tower insists that we are still a threat, that we must be stopped.”

He shook his head, disquieted as always at the thought. “What I do, and how I perceive the Red, is an expansion on the traditional purpose of the Ajah. When you boil the concept down, the Red Ajah took a hands-on approach to ending an excessive abuse of power- and that is exactly what I do, as well. I am not limited to channelers (let alone male channelers) as they are, however. If a ruler has become a dictator, I will do what is necessary to remove him from power. If a channeler is using the One Power for unsavory purposes, I will track that person down. It doesn’t have to be large-scale problems, either. I have just as many issues with a person blackmailing another person as I do with a ruler over taxing his people."

The snow fell quietly for a moment as he thought of how to expand on that. "I chose this as my life work because the Dark One corrupts everything he touches, and sometimes his work is so subtle that no one realizes what has happened. Those who abuse the power they have -whatever form it may take- allow the Shadow to have undue access to the world, and I believe nothing can be more important than stopping that in its tracks at every possible opportunity."

His voice was vibrant with emotion as he spoke; there was absolutely no doubt that he truly believed every word he said. “Does that answer your question?” He asked.

Daelar had, in his time at the Grey Tower, noticed three(from the point of view of honesty) different expresssions. One was dishonesty. They weren't telling the truth. Though occasionally, you had to be careful, because they might want you to think that on purpose. There was also an expression of honesty, which you had to be very wary of. Good liars could replicate it perfectly. Finally was an expression of complete honesty. It couldn't be pretended. This was the expression the Asha'man had now. He was very sincere about everything he was saying. And what he was saying was quite interesting.

It was true that men had caused the Breaking, Daelar couldn't say he was surprised at the new take on the Red, but it was nevertheless interesting. That sounds quite a lot like an assassin. Though he doesn't kill for money... I hope!

"Indeed that does, thank you. However, it begs another question. Isn't that rather a lot like what the Blue Ajah does? You seem to be seeking out injustice, just like the blues."

The Dark One corrupted everything he touched... That was a disquieting thought indeed.

"Indeed that does, thank you. However, it begs another question. Isn't that rather a lot like what the Blue Ajah does? You seem to be seeking out injustice, just like the blues."

Jaryd contemplated that comment with a deliberately neutral expression. Although as a Dedicated he had done the requisite amount of discussion and contemplation of Ajahs, the Blue Ajah had never been a serious option to him. It rankled him to have his chosen Ajah now compared to one he had never considered, but then....Daelar was only Dedicated, and doing explorations of his own.

"Injustice is not our purpose," Jaryd said carefully. "The sisters and brothers of the Blue Ajah choose individual causes, which they pursue until they succeed or they reach the end of their days. Along the way they promote justice and equality, which are all well and good, but they have a soft, political touch. They will watch an innocent woman burn as a witch in Amadicia if it means a war in Altara will be avoided, and then go about their day with murmured 'the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills.' To them, it is all destiny, pre-ordained, a thing to be suffered if necessary."

He closed his eyes for a moment. "I share no such belief, feel no such sense of noble sacrifice. If for some reason a war rests in the balance of that poor woman's fate, I would tear Amadicia into toothpicks to find the person responsible for allowing the situation to get to that point. I would not find them to serve justice, I would find them to bring an end to their corrupted actions. How would I do that? Well...there are many different ways to skin a cat." He bared his teeth in a humorless grin.

"The challenge, truthfully, is keeping my own power in check. It is a daily effort to maintain my perspective so that when I do have to take action, I do what is right, not what I want."

The snow was falling again, very lightly. The Asha'man didn't seem to notice, as he seemed very earnest about this distinction between the Blue and the Red Ajahs. Daelar shivered slightly, though not from cold. The Asha'man seemed... ruthless. Daelar wouldn't want to be his enemy.

Nevertheless, the conversation was interesting. "Then you are like the Blue, but where they try to fix the big picture, you seek out individual problems, and put a stop to them. Perhaps, if you would, the Blue is the organization to stop people from murdering others, while you, with the Red Ajah, hunt the murderer who has already murdered. You are not bothered with stopping murder, but stopping the murderer. Does that seem accurate?"

He stared into the distance for a moment, having thought of another question. It had been working itself out in his head, but he had come to a roadblock. "If the White Tower, or the Black for that matter, declared war on the Grey, what would your place be in the conflict? I can place all the other Ajahs- the Brown would discuss strategies, the Green would battle their armies, the Grey would look for a diplomatic solution, the Blue would look for the cause and try to stop it, the Indigo would make Ter'angreal that would help in the conflict, the Yellow would heal the injured, and the white would likely help develop strategies, but I cannot tell what the Red would do."

Jaryd turned his head to the side a little at Daelar's odd way of summarizing what he had said. "We are nothing like the Blue Ajah, in scale, deed, or mindset," he snapped in a flat tone, making an abrupt and dismissive gesture with his hand. "I can speak only for my own Ajah, which I have done at length. Therefore I can only assume that the problem is in your understanding of the Blue Ajah. I will happily continue this particular discussion after you have better-educated yourself." He brought his hand down to rest on his knee, and took a deep breath, allowing the Void to fall into place around him. His thoughts cleared, and he contemplated the boy's second question with distant clarity.

"As for your question- be wary, child, for you are placing the Ajahs in small boxes that they do not necessarily fit in," he commented first. "If the Grey Tower were threatened the Brown Ajah would take up arms as swiftly as the Green, and the Red would stand shoulder to shoulder with the Gray and the Blue. It has happened before, it will happen again- you may rest assured of that." He spoke with the authority that only someone who had read the secret histories could possibly have. "For the Red Ajah- the bulk of our work would occur as the first whispers of war traveled through our halls. We would find the source and the cause of those rumors no matter what it took and determine who or what benefitted most from chaos. Our actions would naturally depend on the anwers we found."

He tapped his knee with his fingers in an uneven cadence, distressed by the subject at hand. "In the eventuality that conflict came to our very walls, I would spend my time in the lower quarters of Hama Valon, assisting the people there. You see, when war flies its bloody banner, the common folk pay the heaviest price. They are pillaged, raped, and slaughtered where they stand; their belongings are destroyed, their fields burned, their children taken away to an unknown fate. They have no recourse, are shown no mercy. Those who commit these crime against them rarely pay the price for their crime. All too frequently, the perpetrators are actually the common folk's own lords, taking the opportunity to wrest away even more than they already had." His voice was bitter.

"Taking advantage of chaos to hurt those who cannot defend themselves is despicable. It is my honor-bound duty to show people who would do such a thing the error of their ways," he said savagely. "As a Red, as an Asha'man...as a man. Therefore, that is where I would prefer to be."

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OOC: To clarify- I am not saying Daelar definitely does not know enough about the Blue, only that Jaryd believes he does not, based on his prior commentary/comparisons.

Well. If Daelar knew nothing about the Blue, maybe he should rethink his Ajah decision. Jaryd Asha'man seemed... quite vehement that he wasn't anything like the Blue Ajah. Perhaps it was he that knew little about the Blue.

"I did not mean to imply that the Ajahs would do what I described and nothing else; simply that that would be their main role, or at least that of the quintessential member of the Ajah."

The Red Ajah seemed strange. Quite strange. They were spies, willing to kill and blackmail, then they turned around and helped keep the commoners from being taken advantage of. Daelar looked up at the sky, and was shocked. It was already late in the morning; the sun was shining through the clouds from quite high up.

"Thank you, Asha'man. This was very informative. I believe I have learned something of the Red Ajah, and possibly the Blue as well. I have to go now, though, as I am expected at a lesson in Creating Ter'angreal."

Daelar bowed a formal farewell, and walked off, the snow still gathering. It likely wouldn't melt, even though the sun was beginning to break through the clouds, as it was much too cold. He opened the door, wondering how his diagram had been received.