The Grey Tower

Aureli lounged in her overly plush chair, staring out into the night of Hama Valon from the Blue Ajah Quarters. Everything from her furniture to her clothes were donated from others in the Ajah. She was certainly starting anew. She fingered the fringe on her blue shawl and thought idly what her former sisters would think. The Reds and the Blues had been at odds since well before she had arrived at the White Tower. And, even though the Reds here were quite different from her former Ajah, the Blues were much the same as they were in Tar Valon. After her Healing, she had observed the Grey Tower's customs and Ajahs. They had added the Indigo Ajah after deciding a Red was not necessary. She had to admit, that did make sense. And, when they added the Red again, it was a different one from the originator. Again, this made sense. The White Tower would have benefited from an Indigo Ajah, truth be told. She chose the Blue Ajah this time, because she had a cause dear to her heart. She had always had a cause, but now it was different. The Reds of the Grey Tower would have been useful, but the Blues seemed more calculating, and that's what she needed.

Sighing, the Tairen embraced Saidar, and had to hold back tears of relief again. She had been blessed by the Light to have made it out of the Black Ajah's clutches, and doubly blessed to have been able to arrive at the Grey Tower for Healing. Using a small thread of Air, she wrapped it around her tea cup, sitting perhaps a little too far away. It floated to her left hand, her only hand, and sipped.

Tonight was the first night that she was a sister of the Blue Ajah. The welcoming was...odd. Not that it was odd in itself, but she had been through a similar welcome before. There was also the underlying tension between the White and Grey Towers present as well. Of course, she could have easily gone to the White Tower after Healing and presented her case for Kalipha as an agent of the Black Ajah. But, that would have been incomplete. She wanted to take down as many of them as possible. They all stood as completely the opposite of what she stood for, and they would be dealt with until her last breath.

A thought formed that her late Gaidin would have shaken his head at her anger. Aureli was not an angry person, but her emotions had been made raw from her months of captivity. Blinking, she realized she was crying again. Lyser had been a good man, a good Gaidin, and a good Asha'man. She missed him sorely. She carefully wiped her tear with her knuckle. The newly minted Blue was sure that her partner's last thoughts were of revenge for her pain. That was how the Warder bond worked, after all. She would take down agents of the Black Ajah for what they stood for, but she would be lying if she said revenge had nothing to do with it.

Aureli Yenda was an unsworn sister of the Blues. There seemed to be no stigma against those that did not swear the Three Oaths, but they all seemed taken aback when she said she would not swear them. She had worn that too-tight garment for over two hundred years. Where the Pattern led her now would require something a bit less restrained.

Finishing her tea, Aureli laid it on the table again. She looked at her lavish dinner. She would have to finish it eventually. Months of starvation had made her stomach stubborn, though. Laying her arm across her body, she looked at the donated silver brooch holding her shawl in place. It had been a gift from a new Brother. It was not gaudy, simply a silver arrow. It reminded the Aes Sedai that she would need to stay on target.

A knock at the door startled her from her brooding. Perhaps some company would be needed. Keep your guard up and steady, she reminded herself. Standing, Aureli walked across her new quarters and unlocked her door, then opened it for her new guest.

Mirin had been released from the infirmary just a few days prior. The Healers had done their work well - her movement was unhindered, and she walked with as much grace as she had before her injuries. No one would guess that beneath her dark embroidered silks, a thin scar crossed her abdomen where she had been cut open and her guts spilled out. Sometimes when she turned her head too quickly, the room would spin. Otherwise, she had escaped relatively unscathed. Mirin was very lucky.

Unlike Emmond.

Thinking of Emmond frightened her. Despite his injuries, he had not fallen from power - not yet, at least, for he had ruled the Black Ajah for decades with an iron fist. However, he had been weakened, and it would not take long before others began testing his boundaries. Mirin needed to tread carefully. Too long had she found protection in Emmond's shadow. Perhaps it was time for her to take her own path.

She knocked, three short quick raps. A dark-haired woman opened the door. Mirin's smile was warm and welcoming, yet there was a coldness in her eyes that could not be masked.

"Aureli Sedai," she said. "I am Mirin Ronaile. May I come in, sister?" she asked. Aureli was gaunt from her captivity, and there was a strange intensity in her gaze. Mirin found it unnerving to be facing a woman from the White Tower. She is of the Grey Tower now, she reminded herself. Yet Aureli had not been trained in the Grey Tower. Who knew what secrets the woman held?

Mirin glided in, the blue fringe of her shaw swaying, and waited for the door to close. She spoke mildly and deliberately in her precise Cairhienin accent.

"You were of the Red Ajah. It is strange, now, to find you in the Blue," she said. "Historical differences aside, there are discrepancies in philosophy as well. You are welcome here, of course. I am glad that a sister has found the Blue Ajah to be her home. Yet I hear that you hunt the Black Ajah."

Grey eyes glittered as she watched Aureli. A woman driven by vengeance could be fiery and passionate. But passion could be blinded. Mirin had spoken bluntly, for she wanted to delve into the truth of the matter and gauge the quality of the woman who stood before her.

"How can the Blue Ajah help you, Aureli?"

At Aureli's door was the Cairhienin Mistress of Novices, her shawl draped on her shoulders. She asked if she could come in, and Aureli saw no harm in it. The Tairen Aes Sedai wanted to hesitate. She could have made up some excuse. She truly wanted to be by herself tonight, but she would have to integrate into this tower eventually. Letting the woman in, Aureli began to motion for Mirin to have a seat, but before she could, the woman began to question why she had chosen the Blue. The new Blue kept her face smooth and schooled as she traded gazes with the Sister in front of her. The Mistress of Novices certainly was direct. She wondered for a moment why she would come to her rooms to question her on joining her Ajah when she had a Tower full of novices to watch over.

Instead of answering right away, Aureli finished her motion with her one arm toward the chairs next to her windows. "Have a seat, Sister," she said. Any hospitality that she had in her voice felt forced and more than a little of her annoyance showed through. How had just a few short months taken away her diplomacy? They took everything else as well, why not that? she thought as she sat back in her chair.

Across from her was a woman who hadn't seen even half the years she had, who wanted to know what she was doing in her Ajah. Mirin likely wanted to know what she was doing in the Grey Tower as well. If an ally like Kalipha could turn out to be an agent of the Shadow, there was no telling who would be an enemy. By the grace of the Light, she had been spared, and she would not waste her second chance by trusting blindly again. "It is true that the Blue Ajah and the Red Ajah of the White Tower do not see eye to eye," she began. The annoyance in her voice had vanished now. The very least she could do on her first night as a sister of the Blue would be to entertain one of them with conversation. "But not every Sister of the Red was of cut of the same cloth. It's true that a great number of my sisters hated men, and many showed confusion when I made an effort to see those that I had helped gentle were as comfortable as they could be. Some of my sisters lost sight of what it is to be a Servant of All."

In the moment of hesitation that Aureli felt while talking to her new Ajah Sister, she filed swiftly through why she had joined the Grey Tower. To put it plainly, rejoining the White Tower would have been suicide. If Kalipha did not kill her, another of her Ajah would, and quickly. The Grey Tower knew that Aureli Yenda had been held captive, and that she hunted the Black Ajah. Her reasons would stay her own for the time being. "When I arrived at the Grey Tower, I was presented with eight Ajahs to choose from. There is a Red Ajah, of course, but it is not the Ajah that I left. The two that I saw as plausible were the Blue and the Green. But, my fight has not been in solely preparing for the Last Battle. My strengths were always in my connections to others, trying to serve justice to those that I encountered, if it can be said." Her former Ajah had gone through many forms after the taint on Saidin had been cleansed. Aureli wasn't about to divulge details to Mirin. For now, she needed a reason that she chose the Blue.

"The Blue Ajah has always been about connections, focus, and justice. The Blue Ajah can help me...simply by being itself. I do not seek to change it." Perhaps she could have been a bit more diplomatic at the end there, but she felt like she had already explained herself enough. Her dark eyes stayed trained on Mirin's grey. "What was it that made you choose the Blue, sister?" she asked. It was an innocent question. An Accepted might ask an Aes Sedai this while in training, and it certainly wouldn't be untouched territory between sisters of the same Ajah.

The newest sister of the Blue sounded annoyed. Mirin glanced at the meal that had been laid out. A banquet, really. Understandable considering the circumstances.

"I apologize for interrupting your dinner," she said sincerely. "I am here to help you settle in. A new sister often has many questions. If you have any, I will answer as best as I am able. Please, feel free to eat while we talk." This time was also prime for finding out more about a new sister, especially one who had not been trained within the Grey Tower, but Mirin did not say this. Surely Aureli realized that she would be pumped for information. Mirin took a seat, listening intently as Aureli spoke. She nodded as the woman said that she did not seek to change the Ajah. However unlikely, the sentiment was appreciated.

Then, Aureli asked a question. Mirin smiled again. This time, her expression was touched by real warmth. For a moment, she could almost be mistaken to be the vivacious and charming young woman she had once been. It was a side of her that few except the brothers and sisters of her Ajah saw. Mirin rarely allowed herself to dream.

"I wanted to travel and touch the world - and make it a better place. And to serve the causes of the Grey Tower. The Blue Ajah sends out its brothers and sisters more often than any other, except perhaps the Grey. Unlike the Grey, I believe in choosing sides," she said. Her eyes glimmered with amusement as she continued, "Preferably my side."

Her tone turned wry. "Of course, that hasn't happened. I soon became the Mistress of Novices and haven't set foot outside of Hama Valon in years. It was a surprise, really, that the Amyrlin would offer me the position so quickly after gaining the shawl! Apparently I was the first suitable candidate who accepted the offer. It wasn't quite what I wanted, but how could I refuse? Sadira likes to say that the position suits my abilities, and I must admit that she's right. And that, really, is how we serve our Ajah. We are a practical group and whatever abilities you may have will be put to use. Which brings me to..."

She leaned forward. "Connections, you said? If that is a concern, then I think Sadira would like to know about it. Should I tell her of your interest?" Regardless of Aureli's answer, Mirin would speak with her Head of Ajah. A woman like Aureli who had traveled the world must have an extensive network of eyes-and-ears. And even if she would not give them up, there was still valuable information to be pieced together.

"And what else do you seek? Focus and justice? Justice to be dealt out to the traitors in our midst, and the dedication to see it through." Mirin's demeanor darkened. "An unpleasant topic," she said, softly. "And one to speak carefully about. Tell me, sister, do you think the Black Ajah is also in the Grey Tower?"