A Wolf at the Door. (It Girl. Rag Doll.)

The everyday life of the inhabitants of the Grey Tower. This board is for general daily roleplay around the Tower, in the corridors, rooms and halls that make up most of the building.
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Craig
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A Wolf at the Door. (It Girl. Rag Doll.)

Post by Craig » August 5th, 2017, 2:20 am

Varistan Uki
Vari leaned over the small desk in her study, sharp eyes examining the notes spread across her workspace. Like all Aes Sedai, she had established a network of eyes and ears across the nations. She suspected her network was wider and better positioned than most, for she heard more news from her contacts than she did from her peers in the Green Ajah. She had no way of knowing how right she was, not unless Miahala Sedai thought fit to place her in charge of the Ajah's eyes and ears, and that seemed unlikely.

Vari was a bit of an oddity for a number of reasons. The one that placed her apart from other Greens was her lack of interest in taking a Warder. It wasn't even because she preferred to be squirrelled away in the Grey Tower and thus had no need for one. Nobody had tried to dig into finding out the reasons, for which Vari was grateful. People had a strong reaction to the Kandori, only loved or hated, never just tolerated. It seemed apropos with being Aes Sedai. The reason for it was her way of speaking plainly and bluntly.

When she completed her report for the Captain-General, the sun was well below the horizon. She sealed the report with a glob of green wax, leaving it to rest on her desk. In the morning she would hand it off to a servant for delivery, and Miahala Sedai would have all the details she needed concerning the Kandori forces along the Blightborder.

It wasn't long thereafter when Vari blew out the last candle in her quarters, submerging her bedroom in darkness. She pulled the thick covers over herself, shielding herself from the wintery chill in the air. It wasn't long before enough heat was trapped underneath the sheets and Varistan settled into a tranquil sleep.
---- Darkness still engulfed the Green's chamber when she awoke. Stretching out across the wide mattress with an extended yawn, Vari could feel that something was amiss. She rolled onto her back, attempting to pick out the details amongst the shadows. One of the shadows stirred close to her bedside, a tall figure cloaked in black. Vari reached for the source, for the energy of the One Power...

"Don't," the figure chided.

Vari was startled on two fronts. Firstly she was shielded, cut off from saidar. Secondly the hooded figure spoke with a Lugarder accent. Myrddraal did not have Lugarder accents.

"What is this?" Vari demanded. She sat up in her bed, self-possessed as a queen on her throne. As more of the room came into view, Vari saw the latticework of a ward covering the room. A ward against eavesdropping.

"This is your initiation." The shadow sat on the edge of the mattress. Vari could just about see some light reflecting in this stranger's eyes.

Despite the warning, Vari pressed against the shield that held her back from saidar. She'd barely begun to prod at the wall when the stranger delivered a full-forced slap across her cheek. "I said don't," the Lugarder hissed. A new weave sprung into being between the two women. Silverish light turned and twisted into a form that the Kandori didn't recognise. A whip-like cord came into being before it struck out at Vari.

"Now," the stranger purred, "do as I say."

A foot pressed into her back, forcing her over double as she knelt on the ground. She blinked, confused by the sudden change in her circumstance. Her bed was gone; her bedroom was gone. The green negligee she'd worn to bed was missing, leaving her in nothing but her skin. The room was cold, with the stone beneath her knees and feet colder still. She began to tilt her head back to look up when something sharp nicked at her throat.

"Move and die." It was the stranger. She no long sat on Vari's bed. Instead, Vari could feel the Lugarder's warm breath by her right ear. It was she who held whatever it was that pressed against the Kandori's neck.

Someone else in the room approached. Vari only knew that because a mirror appeared in front of her face, held by two black-gloved hands. The Green sister stared back at her own reflection, bright eyes wide with concern. The object by her throat was a curved dagger. A small amount of blood rested on the blade from where it had cut into her.

The breath by her ear intensified. "Now, we usually just take non-Oathsworn to Shayol Ghul, but I thought I'd meet and greet you here first." The voice was pleased with itself; the cat with the cream. "I have a question for you sister, and I need you to be honest with me. Do you wish to join the Black Ajah?"

With everything that was happening, the question did not shock Vari as much as it might have others. She eyed the curved dagger in the mirror, then scanned the shadows for a sign of whoever was behind her. If she knew who was asking the question, she could better deduce how to answer. This could be another inquisition, or a continuation of the Hall's decision to start questioning everyone.

"I asked a question." The Lugarder sounded impatient. "It's a simple question, with a simple answer."

Test or no test, there was only one way to answer.

"No."

The knife by her throat disappeared from sight. Vari sighed with relief, kneeling slightly further forwards as she let her tense muscles relax.
Elia Darrow
Elia smiled. Her heart had been pounding a moment before, concerned about what answer Varistan was going to give. The answer was a relief. "I'm glad to hear that." She still masked her voice, using her vocal mimicry to sound like a Lugarder.

Elia patted Vari on the shoulder with her left arm. Pride flooded the Shienaran. Varistan had never seemed like the Black Ajah type. She was studious and practical, and mature beyond her young years. Varistan Uki would rise high within the Green Ajah and the Grey Tower given half a chance.

The curved blade slid between the third and fourth rib, straight through Varistan's back, piercing the Green's lung and heart in one stroke. Elia pulled the blade free and struck again quickly, delivering a blow to the Kandori's other lung. She continued her assault, stabbing a dozen more times until there wasn't an organ left untouched by her dagger.

Withdrawing the blade for the last time, Elia pushed off from Varistan's shoulder to stand up. She channelled briefly, cleaning the blood from the dagger with Air. Elia returned it to the sheathe underneath her robes as she looked to the corpse by her feet. May the last embrace of the mother welcome you home, sister.

Raising her head, Elia took a look at the three other figures in the small, stone chamber. "Clean this up," Elia demanded. "Make sure her body isn't found."
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Elan wrote:Of course, the problems with observing a chain of command arise when the one in command decides to do something unspeakably idiotic, like taking off on his own for no discernible reason in the middle of enemy territory.

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