02 September 2007 (12:39pm)
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The dusk had settled over Tar Valon and the last trails of the beautiful sunset were giving way to the darkening night sky. In the Gray Ajah quarters the standing lamps along the corridors had been lighted and the rooms of Annais Nevell were brightly lit with candles and hearth fire. She had changed into her silky night gown already and combed her hair that she had released for the night from the ornate curls piled on top of her head. She had always been partial to Cairhienin fashion and since her own hair was sadly straight, it was a chore every morning to get it presentable. But the moments when her hair was tended were spent productively going through her mental to do list for that day or the next.
She had arranged three meetings for the next day and first she would have lunch with a Blue sister with vast Eyes and Ears network and she would try to get a confirmation to her suspects that she might be the head of her whole Ajah’s information gathering. Any news from the world would also be welcomed. She was looking forward to the dance back and forth between them as they would feed morsels to each others and see if the other one had already heard that piece. Dinner time would be spent in the White Ajah quarters where she had gotten herself invited to as she was trying to find out more about some internal going ons of the Ajah. It seemed to her like there was some kind of a conflict kept well in wraps among the White Sisters and such struggles might affect the power structures of the Ajah. She had to know who had the authority and support of most of the Sisters among their own Ajah if she was to function well in the task Phaedra, the First Voice, had set for her.
She wasn’t particularly looking forward to the occasion as she always felt slightly inferior in the company the Philosopher Sisters. The Browns she admired for their vast knowledge but they were somehow more unintimidating in their intelligence than the Whites who often made no pretenses to cloak their sharp minds under guise of absent-mindnessness. But she would just have to do and get something out of it for after her meeting with the Whites, she would have supper with her Ajah Head who expected a report of her progress.
Her ponderings were interrupted by an authoritative knock on her door and as she called who ever it was to enter, she was in for a quite a surprise. In came all three Sitters of her Ajah wearing their shawls and best dresses. She didn’t have time to ask what was going on as Phaedra intoned “Annais Nevell, you are summoned before the Hall of the Tower.”
“Ask not why you are summoned. It is yours to answer, not to question.”
“Delay not in your coming. It is yours to obey in haste.”
“It is well to fear the summons of the Hall. It is well to obey in haste and humility, unasking. You are summoned to kneel before the Hall of the Tower and accept their judgement.”
Those were the words of summons to a trial… or to become the Amyrlin Seat. Annais had never in her life done anything that would merit the first so it had to the latter. Light! It had come to this then. The Hall had determined that Sirayn Simeone was gone for good and she needed to be replaced. And they had chosen her? She was feeling faint. Since the Gray Sitters themselves risked coming to fetch her and supporting her claim, it meant that the Hall had to be unified this time unlike it had been with Lanfir. The Tower could not afford to exile another four Sisters like had happened to Asyndara and her backers. It had been a long negotiation since the Hall had been in sitting since the morning but maybe there had been other issues too. Was she the compromise candidate? How locked had the Hall been in their choice? Would she have to wash feet?
But the Sitters were growing impatient as she just stood there rooted but ceremony forbid them from saying anything more to her. Annais wouldn’t even have time to change into a finer dress so she did the best she could do and grabbed the shawl she used in balls and nodded to the trio that she was ready. In reality she was not and she was still half expecting that she would be called to account of some crime. She tried to calm her doubts and fears by running novice excercises through her mind and reminescing how exactly the words of the ceremony would go. It had been a long time since she had last read through that piece of Tower protocol as she had never thought that she would personally need it, not even if she became a Sitter one day like she had begun to dream.
Annais was familiar with the impressive room that was the Hall of the Tower. She had been there before to give her reports to the Hall as a leader of several missions and as the Tower’s representative. Today the illustrious room and the serene faced women all looking at her unnerved her. The Gray Sitters stepped aside to reveal her and Adrai Tynin, the eldest Sitter spoke. “Who comes before the Hall of the Tower?”
This was it, these were not the beginning words of a trial.
“One who comes obediently in the Light”, Annais replied with calm certainty that she did not really feel inside her.
“Who comes before the Hall of the Tower?”
“One who comes humbly in the Light.” Why her? Could she really do this? She had failed to make peace between Arad Doman and Tarabon, just two nations and as the Amyrlin she would have to worry about every nation of the world. She had been able to represent the Tower with honour during the Aiel War and likely her recent success with bringing back the Sisters captured by the Black Tower had merited her name to come up among the Sitters. But those had been single tasks and the Amyrlin juggled dozens of balls in the air at the same time.
“Who comes before the Hall of the Tower?”
“One who comes at the summons of the Tower, obedient and humble in the Light, asking only to accept the will of the Tower.”
“Are there any present save women?” The youngest Sitter spoke the ritual question that dated back to the Breaking of the World.
Adrai was the first to put aside her shawl and unfasten her dress pushing it down to her waist. There was no shame, no emotion what so ever in her bronze skinned face. “I am a woman.” One after another the Sitters rose and bared them themselves, showing proof that they were women.
“I am a woman”, Annais said with everyone else and after a searching gaze, the youngest Sitter declared that there were none present but women.
“Who stands for this woman, and pledges for her, heart for heart, soul for soul, and life for life?”, Adrai continued the ceremony.
“I so pledge”, the Gray Sitters repeated firmly in unison.
“Come forward, Annais Nevell”, came the command and obediently she walked forward three paces and knelt. “Why are you here, Annais Nevell?”
“I was summoned by the Tower.”
“What do you seek, Annais Nevell?”
“To serve the Tower, nothing more and nothing less.”
“How would you serve, Annais Nevell?”
“With my heart, my soul and my life, in the Light. Without fear or favor, in the Light.”
“Where would you serve, Annais Nevell?”
“In the Amyrlin Seat, if it pleases the Hall of the Tower.”
Then it was time for voting and Annais held her breath to see who would rise to support her. The Gray Sitters assumed their own places, standing proudly before their seats and their confidence in her was a small comfort. She prayed that it would not go to feet washing. She had heard that both Lanfir and Sirayn had had to do it so the Sitters might want her to get a reminder of humility too. The Amyrlin Seat might be the first among equals with the Sitters but the Hall had the power to elevate her and bring her down like they had done with Karana Majin. Dear Light, please let them be unanimous. She did not regard the Sitters as lapdogs and never would so there was no need for them to draw it out.
Annais Nevell
Gray Sister
Petitioner before the Hall
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06 September 2007 (3:18am)
Sada sat in her Sitters chair and observed the other women. They whispered to each other or sat quietly. This was a historic meeting…a meeting where a new Amyrlin is raised is always historic. Sada felt weary, the hall had been debating all day. The situation with Syrian leaving was something to talk about to be sure…the decision on who to raise was a hard one. Sada was very much against another green. They defiantly had heart and passion but the tower needed to be lead by someone with logic and a clear mind. After hours of debate they finally came to a consensus. Keeping her face smooth she watched the Grey Sitters leave to collect the Sister who would be summoned. After not to long they arrived and presented her to the hall. Adrai stood and began the ancient forms…
“Who comes before the Hall of the Tower?”
“One who comes obediently in the Light.”
“Who comes before the Hall of the Tower?”
“One who comes humbly in the Light.”
“Who comes before the Hall of the Tower?”
“One who comes at the summons of the Tower, obedient and humble in the Light, asking only to accept the will of the Tower.”
As the youngest in the hall Sada began her part…
“Are there any present save women?”
Adrai responded…
“I am a woman.” One after another the Sitters stood and gave proof that they were indeed women.
“I am a woman”, the supplicant said intone with the hall.
“All present are women” Sada proclaimed.
“Who stands for this woman, and pledges for her, heart for heart, soul for soul, and life for life?”, Adrai continued the ceremony.
“I so pledge”, the Gray Sitters repeated firmly in unison.
“Come forward, Annais Nevell”,
Annais Stepped forward and knelt before the sitters.
“Why are you here, Annais Nevell?”
“I was summoned by the Tower.”
“What do you seek, Annais Nevell?”
“To serve the Tower, nothing more and nothing less.”
“How would you serve, Annais Nevell?”
“With my heart, my soul and my life, in the Light. Without fear or favour, in the Light.”
“Where would you serve, Annais Nevell?”
“In the Amyrlin Seat, if it pleases the Hall of the Tower.”
Annias continued to kneel as her Ajah sisters took their places and stood. They looked on her proudly and with expectation. Sada sat along with the others of the hall. Watching the woman, Sada went over in her head what she had learned. Annais served with loyalty and heart for her Ajah and for tower. Recently she helped to bring home sister who had been held by the…A shudder went through Sada’s spine….the Black Tower. She remembered the day Annais stood before the hall and made her report. It was Detailed and well done. Annais would make a very good Amyrlin, but Sada did not want Annais to think that the Hall would be her toy. Sada choose to remain sitting for the moment.
Sada Kuchim
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03 October 2007 (2:55am)
The image of Annais being brought before them to be the next Amyrlin was one that set too many emotions loose inside Aramina’s head. Thoughts of Natalie and their youth spun around in her head so that she had to close her eyes a moment to keep tears from forming. The words of the ritual had been spoken and as the rest continued she forced her childhood memories away.
The voting began and though she believed in Annais, wanted to throw her support behind her, Aramina couldn’t stand the first time around. The thought of replacing Sirayn still bothered Aramina, almost as much as the woman’s sudden disappearance. There were plenty of people that had reason to dislike Sirayn, but she had no idea how someone could get into the Tower to take Sirayn away without being noticed. It led to conspiracy theories that were almost impossible to trace. Not just because she had been gone at the time, but also because there were far too many. From the Forsaken, to the Black Tower, to members of her own Order, Sirayn had enemies in abundance.
Aramina pushed back memories of her time away, of how she had been taken from Sirayn’s side and what had happened in Kandor. She was barely able to keep her hand from coming to her throat where the light forsaken a’dam had rested. Placed by one of the Forsaken’s minions as a message to Sirayn, only there had been no Sirayn… only Annais to help her out in her need.
She continued to sit, out of respect for Sirayn, through the first footwashing. She smiled slightly at Annais as she completed the task, hoping that the small gesture would be recognized for what it was. True support. When the second round of votes came, Aramina stood.
Aramina sur Dulciena
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12 October 2007 (9:37am)
Jaydena existed inside the bubble of serenity but inside her emotions were in conflict. Sirayn the woman who had once been her best friend, Ajah Head, love, and Amyrlin was gone. No one knew where she had gone and Jaydena feared that the other woman had perished. Sirayn had always been to loose with her own life and this could be just another case. The woman had never been the same after Solin, the torture, rape, and the loss of her hand. Honestly, who could expect her to be the same person after all that? Jade could say that she wasn’t the same person after walking in and seeing that boy on his mother. She looked back the front of the Hall; they had been at it all day, working through the lunch and dinner that had been brought to them. An Amyrlin Seat must be chosen the Tower was once again without at the time when they most needed one. However each Ajah had their own agenda, they must find someone who wanted to work with the Dragon and not against him. The person must be strong and yet flexible enough to move with the wants and needs of her members. There was more than one name mentioned, her own name had been brought up briefly by her own Sitters, but she would never go for Amyrlin and the Tower would never approve her. She had been wild in her younger days and her sanity had been questioned in the past and most likely still was. The mask that covered half her face was another reason they would never choose her. The Amyrlin Seat didn’t need to be beautiful but she also didn’t need to scare small children, Sirayn at least had been able to hide her missing hand at most times.
Her back hurt and she was tired of all of this, it was times like this when she wondered why she didn’t just give it all up. Leave the Tower and its politics to the capable hands of others in her Ajah. Just head out into the horizon and fight it out until she perished. Perhaps even settle down somewhere and enjoy the retired life. Pretend she was someone else and ply herbs for the local villagers or disappear in one of the cities where Aes Sedai was welcomed. Jaydena looked around the Hall with veiled eyes and thought about the last time she had been here in this position. She had stood in front of this Hall twice and argued for a Green Sister and won. It had taken work and commitment but she had seen those two candidates to the Seat, with the help of several others and days of planning. Now they didn’t have days and the Hall would never elect another Green after the last two had lasted such a short time. They had settled on a Gray Ajah Sister named Annais and now they were waiting for her Ajah to summon her to them.
Finally Annais arrived and the Head Sitter began to speak, “Who comes before the Hall of the Tower?” Jaydena sat silently and watched without passion as the Gray began the ceremony. It passed for a few moments until Jaydena stood and pulled her top down, revealing her large breasts as she said, “I am woman,” with the rest of the Sitters and the possible new Amyrlin Seat. Jaydena pulled her top back up and returned to her seat as the rest of the ceremony commenced. They ceremony seemed to take forever, yet Jaydena knew it was only a matter of minutes. The Gray were the first to stand and several from other Ajahs. She remained firmly in her seat; she didn’t know when she would stand. It wouldn’t do for her to make the Grays mad but on the other hand, she had firmly supported the last two candidates and she didn’t want to appear week. Light forbid she should ever appear weak in the eyes of the Hall, she would lose her spot in a moment. Sitting with a serene mask she waited to have her feet washed…
Jaydena Mckanthur
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15 October 2007 (11:00am)
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It was the first meeting she had ever had within the Hall of Servants, and had it been any other reason that she were to attents, her opinion would have held more wieght. However, it was her duty to defer to the Highest of her Ajah, the one that in her eyes stood higher than any woman in this room. Tatian’as features were serene although the look in here eyes were hard, hiding the concern she felt. Had it not been fo the reason they were there, she would have voiced her thoughts. However, for the raising of a new Amyrlin Seat it would not be best to question the Highests motivations. Not after her month long absence in the keepers lair that many called the Black Tower. It was but a mockery to her. To her Ajah. To the Tower. The White Tower.
Her eyes gazed indirectly at the Highest, Maegan Ryanne. Young for her station, but few could play Daes Daemar within their Ajah better than her, nor had the knowledge of the Brown Ajah at her finger tips. The woman was a shroud of mystery to Tatiana. But what unnerved her the most was the lack of sparkle in the woman’s eyes. Maegan Sedai always had a sense of humour few understood and there always seemed to be something behind the womans small gold framed glasses. ‘But not since the Black Tower..
Without a show of emotion the three Red sitters stood in turn, revealing a bare torso and incanting the words, “I am a woman.” Tatiana was kind enough to give Annais a nod of her head in show of respect to their soon to be appointed Mother. But the lack of show on Maegan Sedai’s part caused her consern that even showed on the Gray Sisters face. ‘Burn you, Mae.‘ But there was nothing she could say. Not here, and possibly not for a good long while. It was a simple known fact that Maegan would never reveal anything without just cause, lest it be woven into the pattern. They were setting a new path for the Pattern in this very room, and yet Tatiana felt completely out of control. She never liked to be out of control. However, she would have to become used to this, as the Hall had just appointed a Gray Amyrlin, and Tarmon Gaidin was only around the corner. After their feet were cleansed, the Red Ajah stood in favour and support of Annais Nevell Sedai as the new Amyrlin Seat.
Tatiana Muireach
Red Sitter (NSW)
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15 October 2007 (6:56pm)
Kareja sat silently following the events, only standing for the ceremonial revealing of being a woman. She didn’t like this, surely all the signs where pointing towards Tarmon Gaidon, two former Amyrlins of the Green gone so soon, within such a short timespan. If anything such only concluded in her mind that those ready needed to take the wheel, the Green and the Reds they needed them to control the Dragon Reborn, who else would know better how to deal with a male channeler who couldn’t be gentled.
Also no sure clue of what had happened to Sirayn, it was not to her liking, and she was happy to see Jaydena keep sitting at least through the first round. She did not like this, but one thing she wouldn’t do was stand up the woman beside her, her head and split the ajah, in especially not having been initiates together. No even if it was a step back, keeping the Ajah strong could be futile even more so now with the battles oncoming for sure. One could but pray to the creator that they didn’t come to soon, and mayhaps a Gray could help in least in collecting the full strength of the countries behind them, the last thing affordable would be them bickering over Borderlimits with so much bigger things at hand.
Kareja
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18 October 2007 (12:20am)
Raeyn only quirked an eyebrow at being summoned to the Hall; it was a simple matter of grabbing her shawl and following the twitchy Novice sent to pass the summons.
“I wonder what farce-come-business is in store today,” she mused to herself, “Perhaps we’re finally picking a replacement for that stupid Green trollop raised during my attempt at retirement.” Raeyn snorted softly to herself, and forced herself to outward serenity as she glided towards the Hall.
Sure enough, the Hall held no surprise for her – a Sister was being brought forth to stand for the Seat. “At least,” Raeyn thought to herself bemusedly, “At least someone’s had the sense to put forth someone NOT a Green this time. Still, a young Gray, barely tested…”
Reseating herself, Raeyn permitted herself a small smile as the call to stand and support came and went. “Child she is, she’ll have to show a little servitude before I consider kissing her ring!”
Raeyn Sedai
Brown Ajah