The Grey Tower

The grey light of dawn was just beginning to illuminate the city of Hama Valon. It had grown up around the Grey Tower, and the Grey Tower had surged after the fall of the White as a place where men and women could channel. Perhaps that was an overly romantic view of what had happened. But it did seem right that the women and the men who could channel would come to be in the same place, mixing like paint on a wall. In any case Avander was hardly interested in the One Power. Or, rather, he was not more interested in it than anything else, at least not right now -- the world was full of interesting things if only one would let them be interesting! He was here to be a Warder, or whatever came before a Warder and then to be a Warder after that.

His stepmother had made a convincing argument, first to his father and then to Avander himself. Amaki Sheronvi was a very intelligent woman, and if she was meddlesome, well, she was good at meddling – she had found each of her sons an occupation that suited them, that kept them respectable, and that kept them fed and independent. She had even found two wives for her sons and approved of a third. Why should her step-son be any different? Well, Avander certainly was not interested in marriage but the prospect of being something like a bodyguard interested him. He had heard that some Aes Sedai and Ashaman travelled frequently, and took their Warders with them. He wanted to see the world, to get to know the world, and this seemed like a good way to do it. It would be work, but he never did mind work, and the majority of a Warder’s work was physical (or so he had heard), which was the best kind. He could not keep the broad smile from his face as he looked out over the yard – it was early enough that none but the earliest risers were out, and though he didn’t know up from down in this place he figured that one of them could point him in the right direction. He adjusted the bag on his shoulder. Amaki had told him to pack light (even though she sent him with enough food to feed an army), and his father had taken him as far as the edge of Saldaea. His horse was in the best stable he could find, nevermind that it had been more expensive than his own inn.

“Excuse me,” he said, to the first person who didn’t seem to be obviously busy. “Is this where I’m meant to go to begin training? Not for the Tower, I mean. To be a Warder.”

The first person that the young man happened to see was a woman. She was just over five-feet-tall with bright red hair and vibrant eyes. She was dressed in plainer clothing today than usual since she was out and about in Hama Valon about her own business, rather than anything on behalf of the Grey Tower.

At that moment, she had been lost in a bit of a memory. She recalled how many other cities like this she had been in over the years, though what she had been up to in them during her youth was...far, far different than now.

This did not mean she was caught unaware, of course. She was too long and too well trained for that. She turned and met the gaze of the polite fellow who had spoken to her. Elder teen, perhaps. Saldaean, if she didn't miss her bet. She flashed a small, crooked smile. "To be a Gaidin is to be more trained for the Tower than even the Aes Sedai and Asha'man, in many ways," she replied.

"I can show you the way," she went on to offer. "Natlya Gaidin, at your service. And you are?"

His own broad smile was inevitable. How exciting! Gaidin. That must surely be a term for a warder, then, and that meant that this woman in front of him was a warder. A Gaidin! Perhaps she would be one of his teachers? A woman so small as she must surely be a fierce fighter to be a warder, clever and quick.

"Avander Lothare!" he said, giving her a bow that was maybe a touch too formal for the situation. But what was there to do except be excited? The smile was still on his face when he straightened again. "I would be very glad to be guided by you! I have many questions, of course, but I will try to be conservative with them. I suppose my first question is: where are we going?" Avander was of course more than willing to follow, but if this was to be where he lived he certainly wanted to get to know the lay of the land as quickly as possible. He didn't want it spelled out for him -- hardly so! He was very excited to do his own exploring, but it was nice to have a few landmarks and even nicer to meet someone he would be seeing more of. He was not certain who exactly taught one how to be a warder, but surely he would see her in passing even if she was not an instructor. "What are warder students called -- or Gaidin students? Is it better to use one word over the other, if you don't mind my asking?"

In her experience, her many years in the Warder Yards at this point, she found that most new applicants fell into one of two categories: to eager and the belligerent. The latter were amusing in their way, while the former could be exhausting, but she did tend to prefer the former since she didn't like having to mete out discipline. The eager usually required it less.

"Let's walk," she said, gesturing for him to fall in step with her.

After a moment, once they were underway, she continued. "To answer your first question, I am bringing you to the Grey Tower proper. This is the city that surrounds it, but you must sign the warder books to officially be a student of the yards. As to the second, a warder can be a Gaidin or an Asha'man. A warder is one who is bonded to a channeler with the oath to protect them.

"Gaidin are the non-channeling fighters of the Grey Tower. Most become warders and bond, but not all. Some of us are unbonded and train the next generation, who begin as Drin and then Ji before becoming Gaidin--if they pass all their tests. Training is arduous and not everyone makes it to the end." She wasn't trying to be discouraging, but she wanted him to understand and be aware.