The Grey Tower

Alric Aurella, is he made of stone?

Cassie Majere, the obviously dense and unaware Novice

Cassie’s amethyst eyes flashed as she considered her predicament. Here she was, straddling a Soldier whom she had pinned to the ground with bands of Air.

And he was likely upset, enough to bring himself to do something rash once she was forced to let him go. And that would likely be soon unless she kept kissing him. And while the thought oddly appealed to her, there might come a point where he’d simply bite her nose off.

Should she tie off the flows holding Alric in place, she flaming well knew they wouldn’t last. So that left with her more bluffing.

“Why would I run?” she said simply with a faint smile. “I’m not moving until you channel or admit that a silly Novice you might consider nothing more than a spoiled brat trapped a fine specimen of a soldier. And I have enough anger over the fact that a flaming Gaidin decided to up and leave rather than face the possibility of a future together.”

Her smile vanished and her eyes grew serious, the gold flecks that occasionally flickered becoming more prominent as she weighed down on the Soldier, and keeping a firm embrace on saidar.

“And don’t think you’re the only one who can be patient, Soldier Alric,” she murmured. “I grew up around soldiers. My father doesn’t just look pretty in a Tower Guard captain uniform; he fought in three campaigns and helped hunt down at least two flaming fools who thought to claim the mantle of Dragon Reborn. My brother trains to be a Gaidin in the White Tower, and the man who taught me to handle a knife and shoot a bow wasn’t just a grizzled old coot; he was a retired Tower Guard, and tougher than nails. My uncle is the Warder to the former Amyrlin Seat, the former captain of an entire squadron in the Band of the Red Hand.”

She leaned down slightly, her red hair draping around either side of her face. “And I have an additional hour before I leave for my next lesson, and it is with Nyoma Sedai, who might understand my frustrations of the past year to allow a few extra minutes before sending someone to escort me back,” she whispered. Her eyes calmed and she smiled bittersweetly. “Besides, if you escape and you someone catch me, what harm could you do to me that I haven’t already caused myself? I killed a Whitecloak, a boy my age, and I see his face every time I close my eyes. As I said, I can’t channel unless someone is under my skirts or I’m an emotional wreck, and even then barely with any safety. And my dreams never end.”

She kissed Alric again, this time much more softly before she continued. “So if I can take whatever few moments of peace of mind to try and help some flaming fool of a man break his block or have some fun, I will,” she said calmly. The roar of the ocean she always pictured calmed down, the winds gone. But she still channeled by sheer default. “I have you under my skirts, Soldier, so I it will be a while yet before you go anywhere, unless you channel.”

Bright as Cassie Majere might be, however, she also got caught up in the moment without realizing basic facts. She’d forgotten -- at least for the moment -- that she was wearing trousers, yet she still held the One Power.

Alric Aurella, Thinks he's smart enough to get out of anything

Cassie "Hell hath no fury" Majere Cassie blinked and looked incredulously at the Soldier beneath her. Her amethyst eyes narrowed to slits and she thumped his chest lightly. It did in lieu of a slap across the face for what he had just insinuated. “Men, always thinking down south,” she said, half-insulted. “I like you, Alric, but if I wanted that from you beyond a few kisses, I’d be more blunt. ” She half a mind to do more than just thump him in the chest. She briefly wondered how long she could leave the weaves binding him tied off before, but thought better of it. It could rain, birds could come down and poke at those gorgeous brown eyes, or some flaming idiot could come by singing some Amacidian diddy so bad it could curdle milk. “As for losing control,” she murmured, glancing at his arms and the flows that bound him in place, “me out of control is shaking the Novice Hall because I saw that Whitecloak and everyone else who died because of that decision while I was awake.” She leaned down again, but this time stopped just beyond his reach. “I thought I could get through that flaming thick skull of yours, and help get rid of that block,” she said. “Instead, I just find a man who is just too uncompromising and rigid and afraid to try to think outside the box, too afraid to take a risk and play it safe now that you’re here in this comfortable little place.” The words came out like sharp knives. And they were just as blunt as the ones Sebrina Calin Gaidin had thrown at her the day the former had left, effectively ending an argument. ”Yer too intense, Cassie, and all over the place. One minute yer all fire and passion, and the next cold as ice, and ya have been even more erratic since her betrayal. Ya get intimate with people but ya don’t let anyone in. What happened to the woman who aimed to misbehave, the one I was falling in love with? Because she’s barely there any more.” That particular memory stung more than anything else, and it prompted her to stand. Saidar still flooded her, and she looked at the weaves she had woven. They were delicate things at the heart of everything. Her eyes went to Alric’s sword and she reached out physically, and the weave of Air called it back, hilt first, to her hand. And she promptly dropped it unceremoniously just outside his reach before she tied off the weaves. Tightly. “There’s your precious sword, Soldier,” she said coldly. She contemplated kicking him, but listened to better judgment. Whatever she was, Cassie was no bully. She gathered up her bow and quiver and muttered, “I’m no expert in tying off weaves. They should last an hour. If you want to find me, do look at the knitting circle or the water fountain where other Novices might gossip for an empty-aired girl like myself.” And then she was off, deep into the Gardens and off the beaten path.

Kiena Sedai (the not-so-Big-Bad) Kiena Sedai’s thin lips curved into a smile as she watched the entire affair from afar. The girl had done just as she anticipated. From the first time she had been assigned to teach the girl, the Blue Aes Sedai had seen so much potential in Cassandrya Majere. So much raw strength, albeit in constrained forms. And the second she had prodded the girl while trying to break her block, she knew once that stubborn streak and sense of control was breached, her confidence level was low. A few choice words on that day nearly six months ago enabled Kiena to see the girl at her fullest potential. Granted, she had only soaked her dresses, but the Aes Sedai had seen the potential damage the Novice could have wrought had the wards protecting the Channeling Yard not nullified errant weaves. From that day, the Aes Sedai knew the young brat would serve as a useful tool of the Great Lord. Unfortunately for the Altaran Aes Sedai, two obstacles stood in her path. One was a troublesome Gaidin who was no longer in the picture, and the other had been Mirin Ronaile, the then-Mistress of Novices. Both women seemed to be in her way at every corner, and Mirin had even taken it upon herself to attempt to break the girl’s block. And one did not go up against that woman without hoping to be struck down. Despite whatever rumors surfaced after the Novice and Soldier Halls were destroyed, and that disgrace of an Aes Sedai outed as a member of Kiena’s own Ajah, she saw Mirin for what she was -- incapable of harming children. The woman was quicksilver, yes, but she cared so very much for her charges. But Mirin was dead and Kiena moved in. The Altaran implanted the first weave of Compulsion so very gently. It was a delicate art, that weave, and it took time to manipulate a strong-willed individual like Cassandrya. But she was heart-broken when the one Aes Sedai she trusted here was found to be a traitor. Rather than forcing the girl to act out of character, Kiena had manipulated the obvious traits her new puppet showed: erratic emotion, an appetite that made most envious and pride. The only stumbling block was that the girl seemed very well adept at keeping her emotions in check, and that was still a problem. But there was one thing Kiena had taken advantage of: Cassie would not disobey an Aes Sedai, nor harm one so it seemed. Kiena’s programming had essentially caused her puppet to become a perfect potential weapon. When she revealed emotions -- more than Kiena liked -- for the Soldier she toyed with now, Kiena had made sure to amplify certain erratic tendencies. And the results she witnessed were overwhelming. The Aes Sedai quickly removed herself from her hiding spot and moved deeper into the Gardens, to a predetermined spot. And she waited until the Novice entered, her amethyst eyes dull. She still held the Source but a quick order solved that. As the Novice gave a report in an monochromatic voice, Kiena smiled. She embraced saidar, and the Compulsion weave took hold as she wrapped it around the girl’s mind. “Tell me what you know of Jerid Walker Asha’man ...”

Jerid Walker Asha’man and Nyoma Aes Sedai, overprotective “She’s never late to anything, Jerid, not one flaming thing,” Nyoma said. The short, stocky Altaran Aes Sedai walked in sync with the youthful-looking Asha’man, almost as ready to kill him as kiss him for caring so much. The slender Asha’man, dressed in simple noble’s clothes of earth-toned hues, walked beside her, his expression blank. His gold-green eyes, however, betrayed two different things: an age that defied his appearance and a wrath that only enemies knew. He was angry because his grand daughter had not kept appointments, important ones. He’d nearly called in Tower Guard to facilitate a search, but Nyoma had calmed him down. And so the Indigo Asha’man found himself tracking Cassie down with only a Yellow dressed in ... well ... yellow-accented gown adorned with an Oath-sworn pin. He was about to retort to an order to remain calm when he caught her glance. It said shut up or I’ll tell your Warder. While the Indigo would normally call the bluff, he knew his wife and Warder were in these very walls. The Indigo had fought too many wars against the Seanchan, withstood the Battle of Lights, the war with Tar Valon and so many other things, but a threat to bring a Warder in on this was where he drew the line with questions. “She was supposed to meet with you for ...” “I know what she was meant to see me more,” the Yellow retorted. “And she has been very good about keeping the dates.” Jerid was about to respond when they entered one of the many alcoves of the Garden. And his jaw clamped shut as he saw the dark-skinned Soldier on the ground. “He’s bound,” was Nyoma Sedai all said, albeit with some amusement. “It seems Cassie was indeed here.” Jerid growled and saidin roared within him, balancing the storm of ice and fire with an amazing skill over the years. He channeled a knife of Spirit at what he considered an absence that might represent saidar, and within seconds the bands keeping the Soldier down vanished. As the lad stood up, Jerid was in front of him. “What happened here, Soldier, and where did she go?”

Alric

Jerid Walker Asha'man

From the first instant Jerid Walker felt the boy channel, his gold-green eyes narrowed.

"You were not given permission to channel, Soldier," the Indigo Asha'man said simply. It was an order, much as if issued from a commanding officer to one of his subordinates. "Release saidin or the Master of Soldiers will find a Soldier in need of penance shortly."

He eyed the sword the lad carried and very nearly had it torn from his hands. He decided otherwise and nodded his head toward the weapon. "And you will sheath that thing before you poke someone's eye out."

Nyoma's smile turned into one wry amusement, as if watching man who had so flagrantly disregarded rules as a Soldier and Dedicated now lecture a Soldier on doing just that. But then the Indigo was one of the oldest living, and the former Master of Soldiers, Keeper of Archives and First Seeker to boot.

"Nyoma Sedai, please go see that my granddaughter's mother is apprised that her daughter will be found," Jerid said. "And should she insist on coming out, remind the Lady Liessa that there are a number of Tower Guard who have no qualms about escorting a noblewoman from these grounds. She attempts another confrontation with the Mistress of Novices, and I'll personally see her out the front gates and sent on her way back to Tar Valon. She attempts to ignore those threats, remind her that Lysira Gaidin can be ... unrelenting in understanding her Asha'man's wishes."

Nyoma's smile faded and she nodded. "And the Red?" Jerid shrugged. "She knows best not to wander about in this place, and I do think she's the only one keeping Liessa in line."

That earned a raised eyebrow. It might as well have been snort. The Yellow looked at the Soldier and then to the Indigo Asha'man.

"Soldier, you are with me," Jerid said as he moved in the direction the lad had pointed in. "You're Alric Aurella, aren't you?" The names of Soldiers came easy these days, especially after the incident. He had seen the ruins with his own eyes, and cursed himself for not being here when it happened.

"Tell me what happened and what Cassie's exact state of mind," Jerid said. "Every detail, no matter how trivial, and whether she needs to be brought before the Mistress of Novices."

He knew Nyoma had been called to Elia's offices this evening, and Jerid intended to have a word with the woman he had appointed high to the Hall of Sitters. It was not a conversation he welcomed, and it was not one that would end in Cassie's favor. After the conduct that Liessa Majere he had heard been conducted earlier today in the Mistress of Novices' office, thanks in great detail from a certain Red, he was prone to side with his fellow Indigo. After more than 150 years, he was tired of fighting, but it seemed it was not his fate to retire in peace.

Alric Aurella, was a scholar in one of his several lives before the Tower

Jerid Walker Asha'man, the wise one in the Gardens[subtitle]Also the one you really don't underestimate[/subtitle] Jerid listened in silence as the boy spoke up, noting every word and the tone in which it was spoken. The Indigo remembered all too well the feeling about breaking through a block. But that had been another life, and he a different person.

While he understood the Soldier’s desire to learn and catch up to those who might surpass him, an untrained trainee could do untold damage to himself and others.

“We’ll talk about your activities later, Soldier, and address how to break your block in the proper fashion,” he said simply, coolly. While it might sound like a reprimand, it was also an extended offer should the lad choose to accept.

But he moved passed it, albeit with the intent to circle back on the offer, when the Soldier ruminated on his brief encounters about Cassie, and then asked his question. He stopped in his tracks and spun on his heels, his gold-green eyes calmly evaluating the boy.

He’d trusted someone once, not too long ago, and he’d erred somewhat in that decision. The woman was dead and it revealed she was a traitor. Given other recent discoveries on his own, and a debate about other ideas, he did not know how far darkness could reach down.

And yet the boy had trusted him, and from what he had seen, he’d not been lying about his block. Otherwise, he would not be in the predicament Jerid and Nyoma had found him in.

“I imagine she told you about the fact she killed someone in defense of her brother, yes?” When he saw the boy nod, he frowned. “She carries that guilt with her every day. And it did not help when she fell ill from fever when her uncle discovered the pair after taking down two Whitecloaks not far from Walker Manor in the Caralain. They had been fleeing for two weeks after their father’s master of household died defending them. She spent two weeks in a coma, only to wake and find she could channel, that her father and oldest brother were prisoners of some poor excuse of a House and that she was being separated from her twin brother. She was to come here because my House keeps faith with the Grey, not the White, while her brother returns home to Tar Valon with the assumption he may or may not become the next High Seat of his House. And then she and the party of fifty men who are escorting her to the Tower along with another potential Novice are attacked on the very field outside Hama Valon ... and many of the men who are ordered to protect her -- Andoran and Seanchan -- die doing so. Imagine now, that your horses are shot from beneath you, and the only thing you have to defend you and that other, now injured girl is just a long knife ... and that soon after you see your uncle shot with an arrow whilst he was trying to keep you from safety.”

Jerid knew every detail. He’d been there at the end, with his Warder, awaiting his son and his granddaughter’s party. When he saw the Seanchan, he’d led the Tower Guard arrayed with him into battle. If there was any truth left about Jerid Walker, it was that the former First Seeker was very adept at death and destruction.

“Now imagine, that guilt of all those people who died protecting you weighing down on you. Imagine someone seeing that and seizing an opportunity. They introduce a poison so insidious into you in small quantities over many months, switch an ordinary necklace with a ter’angraeal replica so accurate and start manipulating your dreams.”

He paused only briefly to let the young man absorb the knowledge. It was only brief. “That person triggered a reaction one day that made all her ghosts visible, and triggered the necessary emotions to channel, enough that it caused the evacuation of the Novice Hall. She had to be purged of the poison and reminded of whom she was .. and that was with a shield crafted first by Mirin Sedai and then by myself before she was Healed.”

He turned again, beginning to walk in a rapid, fluid pace once more. “Mirin Sedai, whatever her faults in the end, seemed to keep her from going over the edge. She provided a wall my granddaughter could pound against and a flaming temper that quelled any outbursts. I do believe my granddaughter looked up to her like a mother, and again, for whatever her faults, Mirin cared for her charges, even if she disliked their grandparents.”

Dislike was probably a mild word to use when looking at the interaction between himself and the now-dead Mistress of Novices. It was more like throwing a flaming torch into a building full of exposed fireworks and hoping nothing went off. He’d tried to secretly make peace, but reached a full trust, he felt. Perhaps he was wrong, just as he was wrong in his judgment of the traitor.

But he knew a person who didn’t harm children and at least strived to make them better.

“Mirin is dead and she is without a strong buffer,” he murmured. “Her closest friend is removed to the Farms, and Cassie apparently does not trust the current Mistress of Novices. And her emotions have become more erratic, enough that the only person who was closest to her is now in Camden Corelle as my captain of guard, and heartbroken over the decision but moved to it because the woman she loved became so irrational and hot and cold that she could not cope with it. Someone is trying to drive a wedge between her and all her potential support.”

Again he stopped, and one hand shot out to grasp the Solder’s shoulder. The other went to the hilt of the boy’s sword. While wiry, the Asha’man’s grip was like iron. After a moment he withdrew his hand from the latter and murmured, “She mentioned you to me in a letter, Alric. A Soldier who made things seem light in despair, who seemed to try to let things roll over his shoulders and a man with a good heart. Imagine someone else knowing that and manipulating her in a way that drives a wedge in that wedge. She is a passionate girl, and those traits can be amplified.”

“She’s being pulled in different directions, and by people who are Black Ajah,” he said simply. “There is no concrete proof in this area, but past incidents pointed to another who wants to assume a higher role in that blasted Ajah and think her a stepping stone. Others might think that know, or maybe they just want a key tool.”

His gold-green eyes evaluated the boy, who hadn’t seemed to flee so far. “Her mother is here, and I intend to arrange a meeting, but she made two mistakes: she confronted Elia Sedai, and she brought my name up whilst doing so. I did not raise the current Mistress of Novices high in the Indigo Ajah because she was a pretty little number who would sit pretty and vote the way her Ajah Head desired. I raised her to be a flaming voice of reason and independent thought who could box the flaming Hall’s collective ears should they decide to ignore reason.”

There was a reason Jerid had selected Illyria Sedai over Elia to lead his Ajah. Illryia wasn’t a soldier, she was a voice of reason. Elia reminded the Asha’man too much of himself. Put in place of First Seeker, Elia would not be positioned for higher roles that might teach her temperance. The former Ajah head saw Elia capable of rising higher, even as high as Amyrlin Seat one day.
His eyes focused intently on the boy in front of him as he released him from vice grip. “You know what lies before you, Alric of Mayene. You can go run along or you can try to at least prove whomever is behind this that there’s something of the Cassie you know that can be reached.”

It was an offer and a challenge.

Alric "Skeptic" Aurella