The Grey Tower

[subtitle]The OOC[/subtitle]
Here is a rundown of how it’ll roll. Since we have a sizeable group here, I will put rough timelines on posts--how long it will be before I post the next “plot post” to keep things moving. Plot posts don’t mean you can’t post to previous events, but will likely need to roll it into one to tackle current events. I’ll try to keep them open enough to give people time but close enough to keep it rolling.

There will be two combat scenarios (that’s all I’m telling you, though!) so if you want weapon skills, you’ll have a chance. I know a few want battle weaves too and you’ll have that chance as well! Just remember the word count minimums for the points you want to get.

We have a full roster! And since there are no less than four fully raised Greens in the group, I’m unofficially calling this Grexcursion 2016! Or maybe not. It's a working title...

In Character, it’s been approximately two months since The Children MRP. Which I hope is enough time for any damage you do to your characters there to be rectified… Miahala is leading this group and it is widely known that she has stepped down as Amyrlin, but no one knows why.

SO! Here’s the lineup:

Fully Raised: Mia, Zeen, Tia, Tori, Taesh & Valadin
Learning Ranks: Terric, Avyra, Muireen, Rhykana & Avram
(If anyone needs to step out, just let me know!)

With all that being said… Away we go! Please don’t hesitate to ask me if you have any questions. Keep your arms and legs inside the forum until the post has come to a comple--

I have a head cold. Don’t mind me.

The afternoon prior to gathering in the Traveling Yards, Tia had gone to speak with the stable master about borrowing a mount for her first journey to the Citadel. The man looked at her as she entered, “Well now. . .look here! Last time I saw ye, ye were in a banded dress, and cussin’ up a storm because ye wanted to come ride yer mother’s horse, but only had time to groom the beast.

“Congratulations on earning the shawl Tia Sedai,” he added with a deep bow.

Tia felt herself flush and shook her head, “Jorell, you have known me since before I was put in Novice whites. Please do not bow to me, and just Tia is fine. I do not need those considered friends to get all formal with me, especially when no one else is present.”

The man beamed as he stood to his full height, “Still humble.” He looked at her, from black riding boots and breeches, to white top and forest green vest, “Followin’ yer matriarch, I see and takin’ up the Green. Are ye headin’ out with her tomorrow?”

“I am,” Tia replied, “And that’s why I’m here. I need a horse.”

Jorell’s face lit up in a beaming smile and he pointed to the stall next to the ones that held her Mother and Father’s horses. “I know just the one,” he said simply.

Tia stepped over to the stall and saw a nearly black face with a simple white star looking towards her. On the door of the stall was a nameplate: Storm of the Mountains owned by Tia Tomosan. The Aes Sedai furrowed her brows and looked up, “I don’t understand.”

Jorell grinned, “Miahala Sedai wanted it to be a surprise. Storm is yers. She’s come for the family farm. . .raised specifically for you, Tia. She stands at 16.2 hands, and is docile as she needs to be, but will be fire if called upon. She’s yers to take on yer excursion in the morn.”

Tia was speechless, but went to the door of the stall. Storm gave a low, rumbling winnie, and approached the door. She brought her muzzle up as she sniffed her owner, and gave a gentle nudge of Tia’s head with her own. She was a tall one, with the strong lines expected of the Sha’hal horse farm. She was the kind of brown that was so dark it was mistaken for black. Aside from the star, she had no other markings.

Anything else Tia had planned for the next couple of hours went to the way side as she entered the stall and got to know Storm.
~~ ~~ ~~ The next morning, Tia led Storm to the Traveling Yards, and found herself falling in step with Zeen. She looked to him and flashed a smile, “Morning. In the mood to light up the Blight?” Combat wasn’t a given, necessarily, but most trips to the Blight Border and Citadel came with stories of battles. It was where they held the line, after all.
Before given a chance to answer, her kin began to speak, going over the basic objectives of their mission. The first stop would be the Citadel, and then a trip to an outpost that requested help. From there, investigate and dispatch whatever might be causing trouble. It seemed simple enough, but would anything be so simple?

Tia looked to Mia and shook her head, “No questions from me at this time, Miahala Sedai.” It seemed. . .weird to call her that, but not nearly as weird as ‘Mother.” Having her Memma in the halls of the Green once again was comforting in some ways, though Tia did wonder why her Memma stepped aside, and wondered too if her mother, as Mistress of Arms, knew what the rest of the Tower did not.

Torianin had done what she usually did before taking off on a journey. Most of her work as of late had been within Hama Valon, and it certainly hadn't taken her far from her daughter since she had adopted her. Abby was trying not to show how nervous she was, but the Red Aes Sedai could see it in how quiet she was, and how much more clean their quarters were. The girl had twelve years now, and she had shown herself to be responsible, but Torianin had still set it up with a few trusted servants to look in on her every once in a while, to make sure that she had some company. Abby had her own favorite places around the Grey Tower, but she could be reclusive when she was anxious. The girl, who was now a little taller than when they had first met, was checking a list she had compiled to help with preparations. She was checking and re-checking it, balancing it on a couple of books. Reading seemed to be slowly taking the place of cleaning, as far as her healing went.

"She'll be fine," Erishar said, leaning toward her, speaking in a low tone. The three of them were gathered around the Asha'man and Aes Sedai's mounts. Torianin had been invited on this venture, but Erishar, being her Warder, would come along as well. She had never been to the Citadel before, not even to one of the Borderlands, now that she had thought of it. She would be relying on her Shienaran Gaidin for guidance as far as the culture went. "She has made some friends by now, and she feels at home in the Red Ajah's Quarters."

The Red furrowed her brow and gave her Warder a withering look. If there was one thing she would worry as much as she wanted to about, it would be her daughter. "Oh, Mother," Abby said, turning around, her braids shaking "I very nearly forgot. I found a book on the history of the Citadel, if you'd like to take it with you." Her daughter had taken to wearing her black hair in small braids, in the Taraboner style. She didn't like the idea of a veil, though. Abby gave Torianin a small smile, holding out a dark green tome.

"Thank you, Abby, that's very thoughtful," she responded, taking the book and adding it to her bags. "Abby," she said, changing her tone a bit, but not harshly. "I know that you know what not to touch in the rooms." Her daughter straightened up and nodded at that. "And, if there's anything you need, you know who you can ask, right?" She nodded again. "And if there's an emergency, ask the first Aes Sedai, Asha'man, Gaidin, or servant you can find." She nodded emphatically. "All right," Torianin said with a smile. "I can't let you come all the way to the meeting with us, but...I will miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Mother," Abby said, her voice small, and her eyes looking at the ground. Torianin swept her daughter up in an embrace, and Abby rested her head on her shoulder. Erishar patted the girl's head affectionately after they said their goodbyes. The Aes Sedai waved to her daughter as she walked toward the Channeling Yards, Abby waving as well. She turned back around and sighed.

"I know she'll be fine," Torianin said, taking the bite out of the words. "I just worry that she doesn't have her feet firmly on the ground..."

Erishar nodded. "I understand." He had a patient smile on his face. "She has been with you for well over a year...this will be her first test."

Thinking on that, the Red nodded. "I can accept that."

The two came upon the group gathered around Miahala. Torianin noticed that Tia was there. Her old roommate, from when they were both novices. Miahala had also helped her overcome her qualms about using battleweaves. Torianin had not been surprised when Tia had taken the Green. They had vastly different backgrounds, but Tia had been an indispensable friend to her. "Congratulations on your raising, Sister," she said with a warm smile.

She turned her attentions back to Miahala, who explained the plan for the first day. Torianin and Erishar had no questions, either. Looking round the group gathered there, she thought she saw a few more familiar faces. This should be interesting.

They sprawled out before him. Trollocs by the hundreds, howling in rage and bloodlust. Twisted animal faces over black chainmail. By this point, Terric didn’t even notice the dead things squishing under his boots or his dozens of wounds dripping red blood onto the black spotted landscape. He just knew he was down to his last spear and that the horde of screaming monstrosities couldn’t pass. Till Shade is gone, till Water is gone, he thought as the monsters began to charge.

“Wash the Spears, when the sun flies high!” he began to sing from behind his veil.

The horde closed within one hundred meters.

“Wash the Spears, when the sun falls low!” He set his feet, readying his spear and buckler.

Massive boots and unnatural hooves thundered closer.

“Wash the Spears, Who Fears to die?” The line came out ragged through gritted teeth.

The Trollocs’ rancid stink overwhelmed even the cloying Blight air and they were upon him.
~~~ Terric sat amongst his blankets, spread in the middle of his room. It was that dream again. He’d been having it since the Greens began to talk about taking some of the Mid Ranks on a trip to the Citadel, the Tower’s Borderland outpost. This dream didn’t fade upon waking. Instead, mixing with his memories from the last time he was in the Blight. The Black Fortress and the horrors a much younger Terric had been ill prepared for. Patient Jodehn and several of his fellow Stone Dogs incinerated by weaves of the Power while they held the line. The Myrdraal’s eyeless stare as its blade lodged itself in his buckler, less than an inch from his arm. The traumatized expressions of the kidnapped children. Sorena’s nearly unrecognizable head floating in a Trolloc’s cook pot. He nearly emptied his stomach, going to his knees retching, just as he had done all those years ago. He dressed for breakfast with a head full of memories he’d rather forget. One memory seemed burned into his mind though. After the fact, as Terric and his fellow Aethan Dor questioned survivors, this half-starved Tardaad girl told them in a listless voice, “They were teaching us to Channel.”

At breakfast, Terric ate mechanically forcing food into a roiling stomach. Thoughts flashing back to the Blight, his chest seized and his fork began to shake spilling eggs back onto his plate. He slammed his fist down onto the table. No! he would not let this eat him. It hadn’t for years, but now that Black Fortress loomed before him again. He’d never been the type to let fear rule him. This wouldn’t be an exception. The Wise Ones did like to say, Fear is the mind killer, and he was apt to agree. Fear under control was healthy and kept people alive, but unchecked fear led men to do incredibly stupid things. Terric wasn’t a stupid man, even if Rhiale sometimes treated him as such. He’d sign up for the trip to the Citadel. He couldn’t be an effective Gaidin unless he faced this.
~~~ The morning of the expedition, Terric strode onto the Traveling Grounds a pack on his back, and armed as an algai’d’siswai. He wore a heavy knife at his belt counter balanced by a quiver of arrows. Lacking a traditional horn bow, a cased short bow was tied to his pack. His buckler was on his arm, and two of his three Power-wrought spears were tucked into the straps of his pack. The third was held ready in his hand. He found Avyra amongst the Mid ranks and squeezed his way through. With friendly nods to his fellow Ji’val, he took his place next to Avrya, elbow lightly touching her shoulder. This trip will be fine, he reminded himself. His heart began to pound again, and he forced his fear into the Flame. Pulling the Void around him, he thought to himself, Everything will be fine, Avrya will be fine. The Citadel wasn’t even near the Fortress. Even if had been, the Nakai had cleared it years ago.

Miahala Ives Sedai, former Amrylin Seat, lead this expedition. As she spoke up, the murmur of voices died off instantly. When she finished briefing the expedition, she called for them to “Mount Up” before a gateway snapped open before them. With the prospect of adventure before him, Terric felt his mood lightening. He even mustered a flicker of amusement at the command to mount up. He shot Avrya a wry smile as she pulled herself onto her horse. A mare, that’s what female horses were called. The full Gaidin rode ahead of the group through the gateway first cloaks swirling and eyes scanning. Terric longed to run be part of the fore guard with them. His sense of duty won out against his anxiety over the upcoming expedition. It was in his nature, if something bad was going to happen, he’d run towards the danger, even if his feet wanted to take him anywhere else. Looking around at Muireen and the other Ji’val, Terric reminded himself, they had their own duty. From their order of march, they would be the last line of defense for the Accepted and Dedicated.


Finally the rest of the expedition was ready to move. Terric froze and looked around when he heard barking. There was a bit of a commotion from the back ranks and he saw a golden dog pushing his way through the crowd. He came to a stop in front of Terric giving him a meaningful look.

“I don’t think I can take you, Dog Gaidin,” Terric said, kneeling before the dog and scratching his ear. When he tried to send the dog on his way, he pressed closer making an almost petulant sound. Terric looked around at some of the Asha’man and Aes Sedai, none seemed to mind. He was still surprised they had let him and the other learning ranks feed him for so long. Somebody had even given him a fresh bandana in deep purple. With a sigh and a shrug, he stood, “Heel, Dog Gaidin.” The big golden dog actually listened and fell in beside him, tongue happily lolling. With Avyra on one side and Dog Gaidin on the other, Terric stepped through the gateway. Maybe this trip north wouldn’t be so bad.

Taesh Asha'man walked around the Citadel in awe. At least that is what it would've looked like to those who did not know one of the real reasons that the Grey had come on this trip. A major reason was because he needed to get away from the Tower. He had not been too long made the Head Clerk of the Grey Ajah, and he wanted a moment to breathe. From the moment that he had accepted the position, the Brothers and Sisters of his Ajah had come to him with issues. Who would be sent to a province that needed mediation between to minor lords, where the terms of this treaty beneficial to Ajah and Tower, item upon item, and he wanted a moment to escape. He had not been initially invited on the excursion, but with full rank came a bit of privilege, and an over heard conversation between some Ji'val turned into Taesh all but inviting himself.

Under the guise of researching Plantweaving outside of the Tower Gardens he had been able to justify himself joining the expedition, at least that was the reason given to anyone who asked. It was another Talent that Taesh was currently working on researching now, a Talent that had began to be called Scrying. The ability allowed a channeler to spy locations in reflected surfaces, and for the benefit of the Tower and also his Ajah, Taesh was building the number of locations he could Scry.

So, he walked through the halls of the Citadel, a place he had never been before, committing a mental impression into his memory, so that he could attempt to Scry the place later. At his hip was an ornate mirror, hanging loosely from his belt on a fine chain, a gift from a member of his Ajah who knew of the Talent. Some of the guards had made hushed comments on the peculiar ornament, and Taesh only smiled. It suited him just fine if others thought the tool only meant to indulge a vain attitude, the less who know about the Scrying Talent, the longer he could work in secret, though he was sure Miahala Seda probably knew.

Even inside the Citadel’s towering walls, Terric could still feel the cold breeze cutting through his uniform. It did little more than to remind him of the unnatural heat just a few days run to the north. While the others set about seeing to their horses, Terric took this time to inspect the fortress’s defenses. High walls and arrow slits would stop trollocs or a Wetlander army well enough, but he saw dozens of weaknesses a determined force of Aiel could exploit. Those large building stones offered plentiful handholds to climb. Much as he’d scaled the walls at the Black Fortress.

Despite the thick walls and patrolling guards, Terric was still on edge. He felt guilty about his unease. His friend Gaval Hanania was a Borderlander who’d fought trollocs since he was a boy. He however, a veteran algai’d’siswai, was still scarred from a battle nearly a decade ago. How could he become a proper Warder if he still had this fear? That was why he’d come through. He told himself there was no point dwelling but the memories still rattled in his brain. Over one hundred children kidnapped, almost a third of them dead by the time rescue came. The others starved and traumatized. Many of those who did return didn’t live long after, and some who did lived on changed. Changed in ways that made the people of their holds whisper in the sweat tent.

He looked around to find Avyra, but she was still talking to the former Amrylin. He set off to put away his few belongings. They could spend time together later. Determined to find a warm little alcove to read in, he headed inside. Dog Gaidin had already gone off somewhere to smell new smells and he was now alone.

A familiar voice shouted his name, and he spun on his heels, spear coming up. His thoughts caught up to his reflexes as he realized the shout was friendly and not alarmed. He didn’t realize he’d even summoned the Void until he released it. Irritated with himself for becoming so on edge, he tried to force a relaxed posture as Avrya approached. As he watched the younger woman running, balancing a giant eagle on her arm, he felt a swell of legitimate affection. When she stopped in front of him, he was almost smiling. Almost. The thought of her head ending up in a cook pot momentarily twisted his stomach.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Terric said, reaching out to tuck back a lock of her hair that had gotten loose. “Once you get your stuff put away, and Kyella situated, we could go explore this place. If luck favors us, we might find somewhere off the beaten path,” he concluded with a mischievous twinkle returning to his eye. Maybe it was the new location. Maybe he just desperately needed a distraction. He wasn’t sure what was causing it, but he was feeling rather bold.