Silliness and Light (Open RP)

Mariasha sang to herself as she wandered down the streets of Tar Valon.  The town was its normal hubbub of noise and activity, for which she was grateful.  She didn’t consider herself that great a singer, but being in such a fine mood, she couldn’t help herself.  It was a gorgeous day, and she was very pleased to be free of duties.  It hadn’t taken her that long to figure out what she wanted to do with such a lovely day, and that was to spend it outdoors.

But before she could implement her devious and glorious plan, she had several stops in mind, which was why she found herself singing her fool head off and wandering around town. ”First things first,” she thought to herself, ”I’m going to need a basket.” This proved to be no problem, as she was aware of a basket-weaver who sold her goods in the open market east of the Tower.  ”I can probably get everything I need for this little trip at the open market,” she thought cheerfully as she approached her destination.

Nodding to herself, she stopped before entering the row of stalls.  Musing aloud, she began listing what she needed, “A basket, a bit of linen, some things to eat…”

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23 February 2009 (10:17pm)

Satisfied with her list, Mariasha entered the market proper.  Her first task, she had decided, was to find a suitable basket.  Strolling up the aisle, she noted other stalls to hit up on her way back down.  But even if she didn’t need to do any shopping, she couldn’t help but love this sort of thing.  There was a certain… energy, a certain showmanship to these bazaars, and she loved hearing people call out their wares in over-the-top creative ways.

Perking up, she spotted a woman selling baskets.  After some haggling, Mari was striding away to hit up a cloth stand she had seen on passing, only to be distracted by a bit of discordant yelling coming from a nearby stall, “You thief!  Don’t try to steal my goods right under my nose!  I tell you the prices, either you pay or you leave!”

Mariasha blinked in surprise, pushed her basket up her arm, and strode forward to the source of the shouting.  “I’m sorry, Sir. I didn’t meant to…”  the boy said while the shopkeep carried on.  “Excuse me, sir,” Mariasha interjected, hooking a thumb at the boy, “Was he actually stealing anything?”  Casually resting her free hand on the hilt of a dagger, she raised her eyebrows questioningly.  “N-n-noo, ma’am,” the shopkeep stuttered out, “H-h-he was just trying to make me sell him things for prices that I’d not even sell things to my aged grandmother for, I promise!”  Snorting derisively, she leaned across the stall counter and got right into the shopkeep’s face, “If that is going to be your attitude, I will inform my friends amongst the Warders, Tower Guards, and Aes Sedai that you have a lack of compassion for those that are in worst straights than yourself, and to not give you their custom.  Good day, sir.”  Ignoring his spluttering, she grabbed the newcomer’s arm, “Come on, kid.”

Pulling him a few stalls down, she looked down very slightly into his pale green eyes, “Are you okay, kid?  You’re not actually trying to steal anything, I hope?”  She smiled warmly; no reason to scare the kid… unless he actually was stealing something.

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24 February 2009 (12:30am GMT)

Chuckling softly, Mariasha dipped her head in greeting, “Hello Llewelyn, I’m Mariasha, Mariasha Valnar.  My Aes Sedai is Taeadra of the White Ajah, but past that, I don’t know that many Aes Sedai.”  She grinned merrily, and nodded to her basket, “Myself, I was planning to have a little picnic.  I’m just here picking up… well, everything for it, really.  I was heading to that fabric stand over there,” she gestured off to her right, “to pick up some linen next before deciding what foodstuffs to get.”

Raising an eyebrow, she gestured to Llewelyn to follow her, “As for trouble… well, I take it you’re not used to city traders yet, then?  Even here in Tar Valon, they’ll try to gut you for every penny they can.  You’ll get used to it in time; he probably just sensed that you’ve not had much experience with his sort.  And,” she laughed again, shifting the basket to the other arm, “I’ve probably scared the poor bloke enough that he’ll be very generous to his customers for the rest of the day.”

Stopping at the stand she’d eyeballed earlier, she handed Llewelyn the basket, “You’re welcome to join me for my picnic, if you wish.  I’m sure that you probably have it in your head to explore the town, but that can come a bit later.  You’re going to have a lot of acclimatizing to do, after all, so better to play it safe until Thera has you all sorted out, I would say.”  She winked, and started eying the linen samples on the table.

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25 February 2009 (4:45pm GMT)

Raising an eyebrow, Mari walked over to the fallen guy and offered her arm, “Here there, let’s get you up.  Ever think about watching where you’re going?”  He eyes twinkled merrily to match the smile playing across her lips before she turned her attention to her new little friend, who was just scampering back, “Here, don’t drop it again, you might really lose it to some thief next time.”

“I take it by your blush, Llewelyn, that you feel you might have done something wrong.  Well…”  she laughed in earnest then, “Considering that this isn’t a training or a battle situation, I guess I’m going to have to let you live.”  She winked turning her attention to the guy she had helped up, “You look familiar… do I know you from around the Yards?  Either way, it seems you’re as in good a place as any to get patched up, at least once we decide what linen suits our various purposes best.”  She eyed his wounds in bemusement, wondering if she should continue to offer her arm, or if that might offend the poor injured fellow.

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28 February 2009 (4:14pm)

Chuckling to herself as Llewelyn doctored over Visar, Mariasha thought, “This kid is going to make something of himself.  That is, if he doesn’t step on all his teachers’ toes with his enthusiasm.  After all, have to be a good follower to be a good leader…”

She was drawn out of her reverie when Llewelyn addressed her yet again, “This’ll hold a while, he might as well be another guest for your picnic. That way, we’ll be sure to drop him by the infirmary when we get back to the Tower. What would you say?”

Nodding, she smoothed the just-purchased linen down into the basket before handing it back to the Saldaean boy, “Food is generally a good thing to have after an injury.  Plus, if you decide to have a relapse, grass, mud, and rivers tend to be a tad more forgiving than pavement.”  She winked, and waving her hand, led her party onward.

With two males in tow, the basket was quickly overladen with meat and mead.  All sorts of excellent nibbles had made their way in, and Mari was most definitely looking even more forward to this little outing.  She hadn’t expected to pick up company, not really, but on such a nice a day is this, might as well share the good times!

It was only a short walk to the river on this side of town, and in no time, they were being let out onto the bank from a small pedestrian gate.  “Thanks Tad, don’t work too hard!” she laughed, striding through with her companions in tow.

The grass was dry beneath a clear sky, as the Warder had hoped it would be, “Good thing too – didn’t get enough cloth to sit on or anything as extravagant as that!” Still, she spread out a portion of linen and began to unload some of the goodies onto it.  “I don’t know about you two, but I’m hungry.”  She smiled, and gestured towards the food, “Shall we dig in?  I mean, after all, there is quite a bit here, and it shouldn’t go to waste.”

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05 March 2009 (9:48pm GMT)

Eying the sun, Mari sprawled out on her stomach and watched the byplay between the trainees.  It had been some years since she had been amongst their number, and it was amusing to watch their byplay.  Had she herself been that nervous about getting into trouble when she was amongst their number?  It was hard for her to remember; the passing of years had colored everything rosy.

So it didn’t come to much surprise that the children were quickly reminded of a need to return back to the Yards.  Granted, the boy who had jumped into the river, Elyan, was probably freezing by now… tapping her lip, she shook out the linen they had used as a groundsheet and stood, “Here… Elyan, was it?  You might want something a little drier than your own skin.”  She winked, and stood up with the proffered ‘garment’.

“As for the rest of you… I’m sad to hear you’re going already.  Myself, I’m going to enjoy the rest of the day… maybe I’ll drill a bit, or maybe I’ll go fishing.  I’ve not decided yet; all I know is that it’s a lovely day, and I’m determined to spend as much of it outside.”

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08 March 2009 (12:15am GMT)
“If I had to stake a guess, I’m guessing that young man leading the two-person parade back to the Yard is soon to be raised to the Guard, yes?”  Mariasha laughed, and peered around for a suitable branch.  Exclaiming in delight, she spotted a likely one nearby, and picked it up for inspection.  Nodding in satisfaction, she sat back down and fished a small case out of her belt pouch, “You can tell, you see, with those about to get raised.  They get all pomp and dignity at thinking about not being a trainee anymore and all the honor and duty that supposedly come with it… but really, it just means training the same and having to stand watches besides.”

Gesturing Elyan and Edana over with her branch, she then took out her dagger and whittled a notch into the top.  Nodding in satisfaction, she opened her small case to reveal a few hooks and a couple of meters of line, “Edana, do you have any experience fishing, or are you going to need pointers like wet boy here?”

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09 March 2009 (8:17pm)

As she finished securing the line to the stick, Mariasha carefully tied the hook onto the end of the string.  “That’s about all there is to preparing a rod, Elyan.  If you find yourself a good stick, I’ll let you borrow a hook so you can try your hand as well.”

Eying her handiwork, her attention was diverted when Llewelyn suddenly spoke up, “That was a clever idea, Mariasha Gaidin. If we fish enough, maybe we’ll be able to feed the whole Yards with our catches tonight!”  She laughed, “I sincerely doubt that we could feed all of the Yards, but at least we might manage to catch enough of something or another to snack on here in a bit.”  Shooting a smile at the returning Elyan, she took the proffered stick and inspected it, “That should work just fine; help yourself to the hooks and line.”

And then Llewelyn threw her a curveball, “Mariasha Gaidin, if I may, I would like to know how you met your Aes Sedai. I mean, what kind of thoughts and relationship can make a Warder and an Aes Sedai bond together?”

Laughing and groaning at the same time, she laid down her line and turned to the young trainee before addressing him, “Oh Light, now that’s a tale.  Suffices to say that beer makes the heart grow fonder, and in mine and Taeadra’s case, it provided an immediate connection.”  She shook her head before continuing, “And what I mean by that is that we happened to meet at an inn while out drinking with friends, and it was just an immediate liking of each other.  We both knew that it was right, drunk or not, and agreed to bond the very next day.  Of course, the very next day we were both very hung over… care to guess what happened?”  Her eyes sparkled with amusement before she continued, “Well, as you might have heard, women who bond each other tend to reflect each other a lot more strongly than a male/female bond.  Take two hangovers and multiply them mentally… let’s just say some very unhappy Novice had some very nasty cleaning up to do later that day.”

Standing abruptly, Mariasha gestured towards the river, “Shall we try our luck, then?”  She wanted to distract them before they asked any more questions – for all that herself and Taeadra were back on the right track again, there were still many things she wasn’t comfortable talking about with their relationship.

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10 March 2009 (9:49pm)

Accepting a worm, Mari threaded it expertly into her hook.  She had already taken off her shoes and rolled her pants up a bit, and her feet dangled in the chill water as she cast her line out a bit in front of her.  The submerged grass on the downward sloping riverbank tickled at her feet, and she smiled – this was relaxation!

She turned her attention back to Llewelyn, who looked pensive, “Is something wrong, Llewelyn?”  Mariasha had an idea what was worming into his mind, but then?  Initiates had to lose their innocent ideas about bonding and servitude at some point, and she didn’t feel bad about bruising notions.  After all, it might make him think about what he was getting into more than she herself had.

And if it saved her the pain that her Aes Sedai brought her, that Thera’s Aes Sedai brought her, then all the better.  While none could deny her affection and concern for her Sister, it was definitely far from the ideal relationship a young girl fresh to Tar Valon had in her mind.

Ferena (Biography)

Name: Ferena
Age: 17
Place of Birth/Raising: Three-Fold Land
Clan: Dragonmount
Society: Wise Ones
Weapons of Choice: n/a

Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 150 lbs

Physical Description: Ferena is your average girl, really.  She is neither ugly nor striking, but cute in a rather commonplace manner.  She bears no signficant scars or other such markings.

Personality: Ferena is a kindly young woman, and was raised to be most dutiful in all things.  She is a good listener, and slow to anger.  Because of this, some people mistake her as meek.  However, she is a very proud woman who knows her own worth.

Character History:

Ferena is the only child of of Corel, a trader, and his wife Sina, a Roofmistress.  She became very close to her mother, as her father was often away on business.  Oh, she loved her father very well, and always delighted when he came back home.  Of course,  she didn’t mind the little trinkets he brought home for her and her mother, either!

Still, hers was a happy childhood.  While she didn’t have any siblings, she played happily with the other boys and girls of her sept.  She wasn’t able to understand why some of the girls wanted to run off and play with spears, but then, she herself didn’t know what she wanted to make of herself when she grew up.
She delighted in sharing what she knew with the younger children in her sept.  She felt that she would be a very good mother if given the chance, and was very happy to be like an extra ‘big sister’ or ‘aunt’ to the other children.  Now, if only she could figure out what to do with herself besides that…

That decision was taken from her when it was decided that she was to apprentice under the Wise Ones.  Ferena was baffled – what about her made her special enough to be honored by this calling?  So, with some fear and much determination, she readies herself to rise to the challenge, and to serve the Aiel well.

SCRAB? CRABS? O_o (Basic Training)

Dodging a determined runner, Lydia walked up to the woman standing nearby.  “Are you Evelyn, ma’am?  I was given this note and was told to give it to you.  I think I’m supposed to be training under you today?”

Wiping her brow, she watched the guy running around in circles around herself and Evelyn.   He looked like he’d been at his task for some time, and she couldn’t help but wonder if she was going to get a taste of the same.  She wasn’t a huge fan of running, but she knew that there was a lot of tasking things she was going to have to do to prove her worth to the Children.

The Forging of a Dreadlady…

Sitting cross-legged on her bed, Rendra hummed quietly to herself as she honed her daggers.    It was a nightly ritual for her, and it brought great comfort to know that her steel was sharp, and ready to serve her another day.  One blade already lay next to her, glimmering in the lamplight, and the other was almost complete.  Giving a few last strokes with the whetstone, she switched the stone for a cloth and gave the blade a final wipe-down.  Smiling in satisfaction, she stood and began to transfer her tools into her wardrobe.

As she was shutting the wardrobe door, a knock suddenly boomed through the door.  Before she could so much as move to grab the daggers off her bed, Arcon swaggered in.  Narrowing her eyes at the annoying Cairhienien, she opened her mouth to speak, only for him to cut her off, “Adept Rendra Harella,” he started, speaking languidly, precisely, “You are to be tested for the rank of Dreadlady this day.  I assume you’re bright enough to know the rules from the last test, yes?”

She glowered, but nodded sullenly.  Taking a moment to sheathe her daggers, she stiffened as the older man laughed, ”So I can surmise that my blades will do me little good in this test, whatever it may be… but at least I will have the mild comfort of cold steel by my side,” Rendra thought, stepping out the open door past her guide.

As they made their way to… wherever, Rendra tried to suppress her nervousness.  She had no idea what to expect on this test – how much worse could it be than the maze that had brought her from Acolyte to Adept?  And yet, even as she asked herself this, she knew within herself that it would probably be a lot worse than anything she could envision.  As the Myrdraal in one of her classes had said in the past – they had to succeed, or die trying… and no matter how hard she had worked these previous years, she wasn’t sure if she would succeed.

The time for thinking was short, however, as Arcon quickly delivered her to a large room.  Smirking, he nudged her into the chamber, and shut the door behind them.  Before her, she recognized one or two of the people sitting before her – Mae’shadars, the elite of the Dreadlords, and there were five of them staring down dispassionately at her.  To the side, four male Dreadlords waited, “What…” she started to think, only to have her thoughts interrupted as one of the Mae’shadar gestured her to step forward.

“Adept Rendra,” the woman spoke, “You have been deemed ready to test for the privilege of becoming a full Dreadlady.  All you have to do… is survive.”  The woman finished with a bit of bite, and smiled darkly.  As she finished her sentence, the Dreadlords stepped forward…

“What are…”

Her thoughts were immediately interrupted as one of the men raised his hands.  With a twist, a fireball suddenly hurtled through the air.  Training took over as she opened herself up to Saidar and deftly wove a shield of Air, blocking the projectile.  ”Why couldn’t this be bare-handed fighting?!” her mind protested as she jumped to the side in attempt to avoid an earthen elemental blade.  The blade brushed her arm as she dived, and the Taraboner woman gasped in pain as a slow welling of blood greeted the air where the blade had grazed her.

Time seemed to blur as she fought off attack after attack.  The very ground shook, and her legs and dress were cut and torn from the very earth under her feet rising up against her.  Rendra was very much on the defense; she was not a very strong channeler, and only the dexterity of her weaving kept her from death itself.  Oh, she managed to get off a few attacks of her own – one of her opponent was quite damp, but her limited successes only seemed to spur them on further.  Her body and mind were quite exhausted, and only the growing heat of her anger spurred her onward.

When her opponents suddenly stopped, Rendra fell to her knees gasping.  All in the room eyed her solemnly, and with great effort, she levered herself back to standing.  Once again, she tried to speak…

Only to be cut off as a wall of fire began to sped towards her.  Shrieking, she drew deeply upon Saidar and wove a shield of Air as strongly as she could around herself.  Where before some of the Dreadlords had only wove things that seemed designed to keep her off-balance, the room now seemed to be filled with Fire and Earth, all aimed directly at her.  Spirit brushed her link to the One Power, and she shoved back as hard as she could against that which would deny her life.

Biting her lip, she continued to dodge as best she could to keep all her opponents in sight.  Her dress was all but rags now, but life was more important than modesty.  Her entire body felt decidedly singed from all the close encounters, but all she could do was cut the weaves she could see, and block the others at this point.  She attempted to slice at her opponents, only to almost lose her head to a fireball.  She tried to weave shields to block her opponents, only to have them slashed to tatters, and her almost as well during the recoil.  Her anger burned dimly in her mind; she must not lose Saidar!  She had to live, to kill, to seek revenge!

Once again, there was a sudden cessation in the onslaught.  Gasping for breath, she held on as tightly to Saidar and her anger as she could.  What was the meaning of this?  Was she not worthy, had she not studied hard, had she not trained well?  Glaring defiantly, she straightened as best she could in her wounded state, and offered a prayer to the Great Lord that this was the end of it, that she would live to serve.

The Mae’shadar before her glanced at each other before the one in the center spoke, “Release Saidar.  Release the Power now, or else!”  Reluctantly, Rendra let life and color pour out of her, and gasped as tiredness crashed out.  Sheer stubbornness kept her upright as significant glances continued to be exchanged on the dais.  Perhaps she was too tired to miss the infinitesimal nods, but after what seemed an eternity, the woman in the center spoke, “If has been decided that you have tested truly, and on the morrow, you will be taken to the Bore to swear your oaths to the Great Lord.  Rest for now.”

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Dismissed.  To sleep, to dream; life followed an odd path to bring her here, but this was her way in things.  Rendra, between random bursts of inner glee and almost-complete exhaustion, was even able to ignore Arcon as he followed her back to her chamber.  Smirking, she slammed the door in his face, and tied off the sash behind her.

Hobbling to her table, she picked up her small mirror and inspected the damage.  Her braids were a frightful mess of loose and singed-off hairs.  Her face had picked up a few new gashes, and it was readily apparent to anyone that could see her (if anyone had been peeking into her room) that she was in a pretty beaten up state.  Sighing, she removed the remnants of her ruined garments, and began to carefully wash herself as best as she could with what was on hand.

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The next day found her dressed in the finest of red silks, and with her hair back in a proper state of repair.  There was little she could do for the dark circles under her eyes, and even with Healing, she was still feeling slow and weak,  ”Knowing my luck, last night wasn’t actually the test, and they’re going to try something to me again in this weakened state.”

Thankfully, her fear was unfounded.  She made her way into the wan light that surrounded the Fortress with her guide (thankfully, not Arcon –this- time!), and stepped through their gateway onto a strange and barren landscape.  “This is Shayol Ghul itself,” her guide spoke, gesturing to the mountain and surrounding landscape, “To channel here is death.  Remember this always.”  Nodding, Rendra gingerly followed her guide forward.

Up the mountain and around the vents, the pair finally entered through a vent that was indistinguishable from all the others except for one minor factor – it wasn’t belching smoke, steam or fire.  Stopping just inside the entrance, her guide gestured forward, “Step forth and swear your oath.  I will wait just outside for you.”  Nodding grimly, Rendra picked her way forward.

Ducking her head slightly, she made her way carefully around jagged stalactites that seemed to get lower and lower the deeper she progressed into the cave.  Before long, she was picking up her dress and trying to scoot around, hoping that she might make it through to swear her oaths looking better than she had the night before.  The Great Lord must have been listening, in this place that was nearest to his home, for she found herself at the end of the route.  A ledge jutted out over a pit of writhing flames, and above her… “Better to not look up,” she decided firmly as her knees collapsed under her.  Of course, that could have also been the overwhelming presence she felt all around her…

Suddenly, all thought was washed aside as pure force exploded into her mind, “WHAT DO YOU COME TO OFFER ME, CHILD?”

“My heart, my body, my soul, Great Lord!”  she cried out, shivering slightly at the sensation in her mind.

“YOU WOULD BE MINE, RENDRA?  THEN SWEAR IT TO ME, FOR NOW AND FOR ALWAYS!”

“I am yours, Great Lord, for now and for always!” she screamed, feeling like no more substantial than a vibration as the pressure in her mind increased.

“GO NOW, AND DO MY WORK IN THE WORLD!”

“I swear it, Great Lord, I swear it,” Rendra whispered as she felt the pressure suddenly vanish from her head.

Pushing herself upwards, she backed away a few steps before turning to exit.  There was work to be done.

CotL Philosophy class – To be or not to be…. what a boring question :P

Lydia was enraptured as Ezekiel gave his lecture.  Her time in the Fortress of the Light thus far had been a whirlwind of physical training, chores, and so forth; this was her first chance to put her new-found writing skills to use.

And for what a glorious reason to use these skills!  Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined such a discourse offered so casually to the average Child; even though she was learning new things all the time, she still considered philosophy to be a pursuit for intellectuals.

Peace.  Faith.  Aid.  Duty.  Honor.  Obedience.  How to define them?  And yet, she had to try.  Writing in large, careful letters, Lydia hoped that spelling wouldn’t be held against her:


Peace: When there is no war or warring.  It is a time of harmony and understanding between people.  To me, this is the ideal state of being, and something to strive for at all costs.

Faith: Belief in something higher than yourself, whether it be an organization such as the Children of the Light, or what they stand for – the Light.  To me, this is something that we should share and instill in others, that they might find greater joy of the Creator in the Light.

Aid: In the simplest of terms, help or assistance.  To me, this is what the Children of the Light do for others who are less fortunate, whether it be protecting them from Darkfriends, or whatever is needed.

Duty: An obligation, or a job to do.  To me, my duty is to serve the Light and protect the people of the world from Darkfriends, and to be the best Child I am able to be.

Honor: Honor is doing what is right and proper.  For me, it is an honor to be a Child of the Light, and to be entrusted with the sacred duty of protecting the sanctity of the Light.

Obedience: At the core, this is simply means obeying the rules laid before a person.  Obedience is very important in an organization, and it’s mete and proper to follow the rules so that an organization’s business might be carried on in a prompt and efficient manner.


Shaking out her arm, Lydia frowned at what she had written, and hoped that it would suffice.