The Grey Tower

She was always careful to be sure that potential aspirants were served the highest quality tea.

Honey, cream, and sugar were rare commodities in the learning ranks: they were only served bitter, black tea. Illyria would never want to force anyone to join her Ajah's slim ranks, but there was no harm in making her indigo fringed shawl as attractive as possible. Despite Tia's lineage, she supposed that there was a glimmer of hope - after all, the child had asked to meet with her. And if she could pique her interest... She would be a valuable addition, to say the least. Not only was the Indigo Ajah smaller than it had been in her memory, Tia Tomosan would come with a hefty amount of political power.

Illyria despised politics, but it came with the territory; she had been able to sink below the currents after stepping down as the Mistress of Novices, and had staunchly refused any offer of a seat in the Hall, claiming that she needed to tend to her daughter, but she knew that her guise was terribly transparent: the Amyrlin Seat had children and she held her position with all of the poise and grace of every Queen of the realm combined. But, at least for the time being, she would continue to hide. Tia could be a valuable addition to her Ajah, particularly if she had any of her lineage's propensity for leadership.

The knock at her door jolted her from contemplating the Accepted, and she stood quickly - it was a confident knock, not at all like the timid knocks of Novices that had made appointments to learn more about their blossoming Talents, and Illyria supposed that it could only be Tia. She smiled softly as she swung the door open, carefully cataloging the girl's features: Tia stood nearly a full head taller than her, and despite her great serpent ring, she did not look very at home in her banded dress. Green eyed and dark haired, the girl projected an air of confidence that was not arrogance - That will serve you well, Tia,. Illyria felt her smile become a little more genuine at the prospect of speaking with her.

"Welcome, Tia. I'm pleased that you've come," her tone was light, cordial, and careful; she did not want to scare the girl away before she had the opportunity to even try and speak with her. She swung the door farther open and beckoned for the Accepted to enter her quarters. "Make yourself at home, child, and take what you please. I'm afraid that we won't have anyone serving the tea, but you're welcome to anything on the tray." Illyria took the seat opposite the girl, and carefully prepared tea for herself - generous amounts of cream and honey turned the dark liquid into a pleasant, dimmed shade. There were little sandwiches and cookies as well, but Illyria ignored them - they were there for Tia, if she chose to eat them. If she didn't, Emila would delight in finishing them off in a tea party. The thought made her smile.

Illyria made sure to give Tia ample time to settle before she began, careful as she had been before. "What would you like to know about the Indigo Ajah, child?"

The door opened, revealing a woman who was over a hand shorter than Tia, who was not an exceptionally tall woman. Illyria Sedai offered Tia a smile as she opened the door further and invited the young woman into her quarters, “"Make yourself at home, child, and take what you please. I'm afraid that we won't have anyone serving the tea, but you're welcome to anything on the tray."

Not necessarily a nosy one by nature, Tia couldn’t help but take in her surroundings as she stepped over the threshold and into the Indigo’s quarters. The main living area was not entirely different from that of her family’s, though the decor tended to be more indigo and lavender in color, as opposed to yellows and golds. She turned her attention from her surroundings and looked to the tray with its tempting treats and tea.

It seemed to the Accepted that tea was its own food group for Aes Sedai at the Tower, and wondered if the Asha’man had the same seeming addiction to the brown liquid. Her father seemed to drink his fair share, as did her Aunt. Inwardly amused, she wondered if drinking tea came with the shawl? It wasn’t that she didn’t like tea. In fact, Tia enjoyed a cup on occasion, but it seemed to be the only drink offered when one visited with Aes Sedai.

Looking up to Illyria, Tia offered a friendly smile as she prepared herself a cup of tea. The Accepted almost passed on the snacks, but her stomach gave a soft growl, reminding her it had been ages since she’d eaten breakfast, and she had ages yet until lunch. Taking one of the small sandwiches and a cookie, the young woman finally took her seat opposite the Aes Sedai. It was time to get to the crux of the conversation.

Of course, Tia managed to take a bite of her small sandwich when Illyria asked, “What would you like to know about the Indigo Ajah, child?"

Knowing better than to speak with her mouth full, Tia finished her bite and washed it down with tea that was still a bit too warm to drink. She did her best not to rush the moment, though, as she needed time to consider how to answer the Aes Sedai’s question. Turning her green eyes to meet Illyria’s grey, Tia chose her words carefully, “As I am sure you are aware, Illyria Sedai, as an Accepted, each day brings me closer to earning my Shawl.” And an escape from blasted dresses, she thought to herself.

“I know a great deal about the Green, Yellow, Blue and Grey thanks to my family, and if I were to be honest, I would likely choose to follow my Great Memma’s path to the Green. However, I think I would be remiss if I did not at least consider those Ajahs I am less familiar with. The Indigo is one that is perhaps of greatest mystery to me, and certainly the most intimidating.

“Objects of Power do not put me at ease, and I find I am not curious of them, but intimidated by them,” Tia explained. “Fear is not something to be ashamed of, but it is something to try and understand, thus. . .why I am here. The Indigo Ajah deals with objects of power, though I know it is not the only thing you do, and I thought perhaps it best if I at least try and understand more about what goes on in this portion of the Tower,” she finished, offering Illyria a small, almost embarrassed smile at her admission.

Illyria was lucky that she had had decades to practice her composure - she would have been lying if she had tried to claim that she was not disappointed by Tia's lack of enthusiasm. But that was not the Accepted's responsibility; the Aes Sedai should have known better than to get ahead of herself, and the fault was hers. I'm sure that the Green Ajah will be lucky to have you, Tia. What the Indigo found most surprising was that the Accepted was, in her own words, intimidated by the Indigo Ajah. But Tia was wise beyond her years, still a child, and already she grasped a concept that took many their entire lives to learn - she was willing to understand her fears. Illyria smiled at the child over the brim of her teacup, took another sip of the hot liquid, and considered how to proceed.

"I cannot say how close you are to your shawl, child, but your desire to think carefully before your choose your fringe is commendable." She placed the cup back on the little saucer and folded her hands in her lap. When she had chosen her Ajah all those years ago, and picked Indigo, she did not know as much of the Ajah as she did now. In the beginning it was not nearly the home that it had become.

"Objects of the Power are dangerous. It is good that you are wary," Illyria said carefully, "Too many Aspirants think that channeling makes them invulnerable. We teach that objects cannot have the Power - only those who can channel have the Power. However... objects of the Power can be amplifiers - like angreal or sa'angreal - or modifiers - like ter'angreal. Ter'angreal are the most dangerous of the three. There are many skilled Brothers and Sisters that can make anything they can think of, whether it's a ter'angreal that can sense the presence of Wilder or a ter'angreal that would create a blast large enough to level a small city and not leave a trace. The Talent to create ter'angreal comes with great responsibility." She paused, sensing that this had likely not done anything to assuage Tia's apprehension, but perhaps that was for the best. Objects of the Power commanded respect that too many foolhardy children did not bother to pay.

"Indigos who choose to work with objects of the Power receive a great deal of specialized training. It takes great skill and even more caution to work with ter'angreal - especially with objects that pre-date our Tower. Your fear is not misplaced, child, or any sort of cowardice. However, if you keep your wits about you, there is nothing to fear. They are only tools - a ter'angreal is as safe with an expert as a weapon is with a blademaster. I have a few ter'angreal here, if you would like to learn a little more, and I would be willing to train you, should you wish to be trained." Illyria's offer was genuine - she knew full well that Tia would not join her Ajah, but there was no reason why a soon-to-be Aes Sedai should not benefit from what the Vaults and the scholars of the One Power had to offer.

Illyria continued in a careful, light tone and picked up a cookie. "And you are correct: the Indigo Ajah is not only committed to objects of the Power. The Green commits itself to preparation for Tarmon Gai'don, the Yellow commits itself to Healing, and the Indigo Ajah commits itself to the One Power in general. We study Talents, Abilities, how the One Power works, the differences between saidin and saidar, and ways to use the One Power more efficiently or effectively. Objects of the Power are only a small part of this."

"For instance, I primarily study weaves. The five Powers that we channel can be woven in a million different ways - there are mechanics, rhyme and reason to all of it - but not very much of it is recorded. I also do a great deal of work with Talents and Abilities; I can train others to a certain extent in a few skills, and I am well-versed with Tel'aran'rhiod." Illyria trailed off into relative silence - not awkward or tense, but slightly uncertain. She ate her cookie in two small bites and glanced across at the Accepted, wondering if she was helping at all. She had never spoken of her Ajah with a child that was not invested or at least partially interested in joining her ranks.

"Do you have any specific questions, Tia?"