The Grey Tower

OOC NOTE: I received permission from Jaryd for the auto of his character before posting it.

Herarn left the office of the Master of Soldiers following another Soldier who was to give him a tour of the grounds. He had been given a rundown of the most basic rules the Grey Tower had for it's Soldiers and he was still surprised that he would be expected to not channel without a Dedicated or Accepted on hand to 'guide' him. Had it not been a general rule, he'd have been insulted.

Of all the rules that the Grey Tower had given to their newest recruits he knew that that would be the one that Seth would be handing out the most punishments for. The Black Tower had ingrained the use of the One Power into their recruits to be used for everything. From heating your own meals to chores and uniform maintenance. Now they were expected to stop all of that.... immediately.

Herarn already knew he would be violating another list of strictures repeatedly. No lying. No leaving Tower grounds without permission or an escort. He decided he would requisition a journal from the Quartermaster. He would owe a very large amount of toh by the time this was all said and done. They went to the Stables so Herarn could retrieve his things. Seth had granted them permission to use their own uniforms. No sense in burning perfectly functional uniforms and equipment.

Then it had been up to the Soldier's barracks where he was bunked with Addric, which would work out wonderfully for any number of reasons. Not the least of which was that he could trust his roommate to keep his mouth shut. From there, they started on the tour.

Along the way, the two Soldiers encountered a man who was not in any kind of uniform, but Herarn's guide immediately bowed respectfully to. Herarn looked the man over and could have sworn he recognized the man but for the life of him couldn't place where he's seen him.

“Herarn, meet Jaryd Kosari the....” said the other Soldier but Herarn didn't hear him over the roar of saidin as it flooded into him. He wasn't even fully charge before flows of Air and Fire spun out at a dizzying speed with Jaryd as the target. The other Soldier didn't know what was going on, but he had enough sense to run away.

The other man, Jaryd, reacted immediately by snapping a Ward against the One Power around him just as Herarn's weave took effect with explosive results. The carpet around the man was burned down to the stone foundation, several wall hangings were just gone entirely or scarred irrevocable. But the biggest tell were the two huge gaping holes in the walls behind him that allowed the rain to bleed into the hallway.

Not to be outdone, stomped on the floor kicking up chunks of stone with flows of Earth before sending them flying with Air. The Ward might protect him against direct assaults against his person with the One Power but it wouldn't protect against something thrown with intense force unless he changed the weaving of his Ward.

“Time to pay for your crimes Rogue. Your head will hang from the branches of the Traitor's Tree before morning.” snapped Herarn with a detached sense of anger. He didn't know how strong this Rogue was, so he felt the best way to kill him would be to overwhelm him if he could. Channeling thick weaves of Air with thin almost hairlike tendrils of Fire wove Ball Lightning and snapped it at him from through the gaping holes in the wall. It didn't hurt that the storm was already raging outside.

Jaryd Kosari The Fang of Tar Valon Jaryd strode through the halls of the Grey Tower, doing his best to ignore the coterie of Asha’man –most many times his age- who followed him around like clucking hens. They had chosen him to be their M’hael, and yet they clearly did not believe he could satisfactorily perform the duties of that position. They questioned, they lectured, they watched, and inside the wiry Altaran’s mind, frustration grew with every passing day.

Had Carra had to field this kind of inanity and criticism? How he wished he had even a shred of her inhuman ability to remain flat-faced in the face of overwhelming odds. Since being raised to Asha’man –and especially since being summarily dumped into an office next to his friend- he had been practicing the tricks Carra had taught him, and yet…yet he had eyes that burned with the inner fire of every emotion that passed through him, and lips that betrayed the humor with which he generally viewed the world.

How am I ever going to convince these people I can do the job they gave me if I can’t even control my own flaming face?

None of that really mattered. He was thinking about his face to avoid thinking about the other problem that he had seen marching into the courtyard a short time earlier. What in the bloody Light are Black Tower men doing here? Anger fluttered in his belly. He had escaped them, found peace, and he loved this place. If they brought danger to his door step, he would-

He would do nothing unless the law allowed. He was M’hael, not a hot-headed back alley brawler. That did not mean, however, that he had to put up with the men following him around. He swung to face them. “I promise I will not suck eggs, put itchoak in the Amyrlin’s shifts, or make a peace treaty with the Seanchan without consulting you,” he said in an irritable tone. “You are dismissed.” They complained, of course, but they left.

Free to do as he wished, Jaryd Kosari lengthened his stride, took a sharp right into a narrow back corridor, and found his way to the ground floor.

---

The men had apparently reported to Seth’s office. Odd. Alarm bells were tolling in Jaryd’s head as he strode down the long corridor that led to the path to the learning ranks quarters. Matters were not improved when he saw two men in black approaching; one of them was a soldier he recognized. The other was also a soldier, but he had to be an Aielman…and he walked with an arrogant swagger that Jaryd knew only too well.

“Herarn, meet Jaryd Kosari the M’-“ the Grey Tower soldier’s introduction ended prematurely as saidin roared through the air toward Jaryd.

For the love of the Light, why? Jaryd channeled, a wall of Air and Spirit appearing before him and causing the flows the stranger –Herarn?- wove to split and burn the carpet, the walls, and the tapestries.

The man stomped, and the floor exploded, chunks of stone flying toward Jaryd. “Time to pay for your crimes Rogue. Your head will hang from the branches of the Traitor's Tree before morning.” He channeled again and again, flows that the Altaran had hoped never to see again. He countered each with a flick of his fingers, his mind calculating the best way to end the chaos, and fighting the urge to simply end the man’s life instead.

Abrupty he channeled in truth, showing his full strength to his adversary at last as he wove a collection of flows of Spirit that sliced through the other man’s weaves like a hot knife through butter, then another weave, flows of Spirit and Air that wrapped around the Aielman and cut him off from the Source. Further flows of Air encased the man in a solid wall that prevented him from so much as twitching. Those flows slowly tightened until their grip around the man’s body was painfully tight.

The destruction stopped.

Jaryd could feel his opponent pushing against that shield, and then see his frustration grow when it held “You will not escape,” Jaryd said. “I can count on one hand the number of men who are stronger than I am, soldier, and none of them are you.”

The M’hael walked over and stared up at the much taller man, his swarthy face dark. “Once upon a time, I was a soldier of the Black Tower,” he said savagely. “That time is long gone. The Black Tower can burn in the Dark One’s fury and I would laugh as it happened.” He scowled, and the bindings tightened even more

“I am Jaryd Kosari, the Watcher of the Seals, the Fang of Hama Valon, the M’hael of the Grey Tower. My affiliation with this Tower is the only reason you still live, you miserable excuse for a human being.” He folded his arms.

“Now tell me exactly what you and those other men are doing here, or I swear to the Light you will rue the day your mother wove your father a marriage wreath.”

“For one who is the M'Hael, you sure show a decided lack of control.” said Addric from his position up the hall. “Punishments be Seared, but if you expect a man to speak, let alone answer your questions, perhaps you might wish to consider loosening the bonds a bit so he can breathe. That is unless your questions are rhetorical and you want to kill him. Which I believe is at this stage of the battle, a violation of the Three Oaths. Seeing as your life is no longer in any danger as you have him neatly shielded.”

Addric stood there arms crossed with a defiant look on his face. Turning to the Soldier who was trying rather unsuccessfully to pull him away, he said, “Go. I'll make my own way. Probably after joining my large Eastern friend in a mountain load of punishments.”

When the Soldier didn't go, Addric glared at him and said, “Look boy, I'm no simpering puppy to go cowering for cover just because I've pissed off the M'Hael. I'll take my licks like a man and move on. Now go, before I drop you out that hole my large friend just created.”

At that, the other Soldier disappeared at full speed in the opposite direction. “I'm no fool, Sir. I'm not as strong as Herarn and if you can cut him from the source as if he hadn't been holding it for more than a day or two in his life, then I've no better chance at fighting you. But I'll rot in the Shadow before I let anyone kill my friends while I can do anything about it.”

Suddenly, as if Jaryd realized he'd tightened the bonds so tight that Herarn couldn't breathe, Herarn was gasping for breathe. After a few moments, Herarn said, “We're transfers from the Black Tower. An act of good faith and friendship from the Black Tower to the Grey Tower.”

“Would you kindly explain why you attacked the bloody M'Hael!!?” said Addric glaring at his friend.

“Bloody reflex.” said Herarn without hesitation. “I recognized him from the posters at the Black Tower. The fact that I'm a Grey Tower Soldier has yet to sink in yet.”

“I want your dessert for the next year for this, Herarn. Do you hear me? Haven't been here a day yet and you've dragged me into trouble.” said Addric shaking his head.

Herarn snorted.

Addric advanced and bowed graciously if not quite as polished as a noble or a gleeman, and said, “He won't do it again. Or I'll box his balls and fold his ears over his head if he even considers it again.”