Nations Class (Open to all Lower Ranks)

[Lou]

Nations Class

The Borderlands

Barad signed the last of the patient charts for the morning, and tied a ribbon around them to show they were completed. He left them on his desk and stood, knowing he was about to go and teach a group of the Learning Ranks about the Nations of the Westland. He liked to teach, he usually split his time between the Infirmary and the classrooms, as he found teaching generally relaxing. Generally. There was always the off student who vexed him, but it was hardly like one became an Asha'man if you did not have patience. Seizing saidin, he channeled a hint of Air and brought his black coat over to himself, which bore the sword and dragon on the collars, and slipped it on before releasing the One Power as he did up his buttons. He was ready, and as such he made his way down to the classrooms.

He entered the classroom as the bell sounded, and he moved to sit at the desk, as he waited for the students to arrive. It was a healthy mix of all parts of the Tower, and he watched them take their seats.

"Good afternoon," he started, his voice a rich deep baritone. "I am Asha'man Barad al'Sheara of the Yellow Ajah." He said before he stood, and came around the front of his desk and stood there, his arms folded over his broad chest. "And we are here to talk about the Nations that make up our lands. And we shall start with the Borderlands."

Seizing saidin once again, he pulled a cord at the front of the class, and a map unrolled for all to see. "There are four Nations that make up the Borderlands, so known because they act as a buffer between the Blight and the rest of the Westlands. They are Shienar, Arafel, Kandor and Saldaea. There were five at one point, but we know what happened to the doomed Nation of Malkier." He paused again, letting those who wished to take notes (and he was watching) could do so.

"Saldaea is the westernmost of the four Borderlands, lying adjacent to the nation of Kandor. It is also the largest of the Borderlands, larger than Shienar and Arafel combined. Saldaea stretches from the Aryth Ocean to the Plain of Lances and consists of forests in the south, mountains (such as the Banikhan range) in the north and plains in the east. Saldaea's coast is extremely rocky and consists of vast cliffs known collectively as World's End. It has no major port or good harbour-ages. Their flag is three silver fish on a field of dark blue, and it is ruled by a Monarchy." He paused again, letting those writing catch up.

"Kandor lies on the threshold of the Great Blight, sitting between Saldaea to the west and Arafel to the east. The sign of Kandor is a rearing red horse on a field of pale green. Kandor is located to the east of Saldaea and is bordered by the Plain of Lances to the west, a tributary of the Erinin to the east and the Blight to the north. They are also ruled by an Monarchy."

He waited to see if there were any questions, before going on. "Arafel lies on the threshold of the Great Blight, sitting between Kandor to the west and Shienar to the east. Arafel's flag is made up of three white roses on a field of red, quartered with three red roses on a field of white. Arafel stretches from Kandor to the River Mora, which marks its border with Shienar." He said, before pausing to go on a moment later.

"And lastly, but not in any way least; Shienar, which lies on the threshold of the Great Blight. It is the easternmost of the Borderlands, lying between the Spine of the World and Arafel. The sigil of Shienar is a swooping black hawk. By tradition, the sigil of the reigning ruler is also a sign of Shienar. Shienar stretches from the River Mora on the border with Arafel to the Spine of the World, and from the Blight to the River Erinin. The city of Fal Dara lies in the north-east of Shienar, near Tarwin's Gap, while the capital Fal Moran is further south."

He moved to lean against his desk, and folded his hands over his waist. "Now, who has some knowledge of one of the Borderlands, something to share knowledge with for the rest of the class?"

OOC - Welcome to Nations Class. Please write coming in, taking a seat, and maybe come up with a tasty treat about the Borderlands. This class is open to any who wish to join. All I ask is if you mate a note in the top corner of your post so I know which part of the lesson you are answering; example 'Borderlands, etc'

[Alianora]

Kalyan Rihera, SoldierBorderlands

Kalyan's feet dragged on the tiles as he walked towards the next of the day's classes. This one, a class on the different countries, at least sounded as if it might be interesting, but the Soldier still was in no hurry to arrive. He moved slowly through the halls, following their twists and turns until he stood in front of the assigned room. He sighed, opened the door, and walked in.

To Kalyan's surprise, the classroom was almost empty, suggesting that for once, he'd managed to get himself to a lesson early. After bowing to the teacher, the Soldier chose a seat near the back of the room, where he might be able to avoid notice if his mind started wandering during the lesson. He sat down, setting his paper, pen, and ink jar on the desk, then fixed his eyes on the front of the room.

He managed that for a very short time, as the lesson he'd hoped would be less boring than some others turned out to be terribly dull. Kalyan didn't really care about maps and flags and geography, and forcing himself to give it any attention was difficult. He'd picked up his pen, taking occasional notes, but even that didn't stop him from looking towards the walls of the room, wishing he could be out in the garden instead of stuck in a desk inside.

When he caught himself doing that, Kalyan did try to redirect himself, reading over the notes he'd taken. They were nearly impossible to read, but he wasn't worried about that. If I ever need to know where the Borderlands are, I can just go to the library and look it up. He'd hoped to learn more about the people of these foreign places, their lives, their cultures, but as far as Kalyan could tell, this class wasn't going to cover any of that. He made himself lift his head from his papers and act as if he were paying attention as the teacher asked if anyone had any knowledge of the Borderlands. Kalyan certainly didn't, so he stayed quiet, waiting for someone else to offer a suggestion.

[Lou]

The Borderlands

Tala had fallen into life here at the Tower fairly easily, as it were. It was much like working in the Inn, as you had to be up at certain times, and doing certain chores, but she also got given lessons and she had no men trying to grope her behind. It was all such an improvement, and that was before the fact she could become an Aes Sedai one day. She was not going to ruin this chance, and that meant she made sure she was early to every class, in a clean dress and a white ribbon as a headband to keep her dark hair from falling into her face.

Today she was surprised to see that she was not the first one there, and as such she nodded her head to the Soldier before she bobbed a curtsy to the Asha'man, before moving to take a seat. She had a small folder with paper and a pencil inside, so she could keep notes on what she learned. At night when she could not sleep, she sometimes read over the notes again, to make sure the knowledge sunk in.

Once the class was full, the Asha'man began his lesson. Tala knew him, from seeing him in the Infirmary when she was serving penance. Asha'man Barad was always nice, and he had a deep melodious voice that she liked to listen to. She listened as he spoke of each of the Borderlands, and she remembered when her Band had travelled through them. Hard men with hard eyes watching them, even the women had looked ready to do violence if called to. It had scared her then, though she wondered how she would feel going there now.

Raising her hand as the Asha'man asked for any comments or knowledge, Tala stood when he called on her to speak. "Asha'man al'Sheara, it is widely recognised that the Saldean Cavalry is one of the best in the Westlands. And also there is a dance in Saldea performed by women called the sa'sara which is supposed to be the height of indecency, not to mention it is rumoured that it also started three wars in the country's past." She bobbed another curtsy, before she sat herself back down.

[Lou]

The Borderlands

Dianlinn strode into the class, and was almost to her seat before she paused to bow to the Asha'man who sat at the front. She then noticed Kalyan Rihera, in his black Soldiers uniform. She nodded her head in greeting to him, but she did not say anything. This was not a free time, after all, and she had been told to be here. She had little knowledge of the world outside of the Three-fold land, and she would need to learn more.

She sat down on the chair, wishing she could sit on the floor, and watched as the lesson soon began. She did not take notes, though she could read and write as her parents had taught her, but she did not want to spend so much time focusing on writing and not on listening. She watched the man as he spoke, the way he showed himself to be a little more open and easy than a lot of the men who wore the sword and dragon pin. She found she liked him, not to mention that he was a Healer, he was to be respected.

When he was finished, she watched as a dark haired girl spoke about the Saldeans, and she snorted at the mention of some sexy dance. The Wetlanders were strange with their dancing, as if that was the way to win over a man? Once the girl was done, Dianlinn stretched up a hand and then stood when she was given the option to.

"Asha'man, when the Aiel came to execute Laman for his sin, it was noted how well the Shinarans fought, they were the nation that the Aiel came to look forward to dancing the spears with the most." She finished before nodding her head respectfully and sitting down.

[Lou]

Nations Class

The Borderlands

Barad looked over his class as they filed in, noticing who did and said what. It was an old habit of his own time as a Learning Rank, as back then there had been some quite unsavoury elements in the Tower, and as such he had always made a habit of watching who spoke to who and who made a big deal of not talking to another. But from those before he he could see nothing to worry about here, for their sake, not his now. His life had settled into the same old routine, and he liked it that way. Excitement was not always for him.

After he had given them the barest facts of the Borderlands, he waited and listened for them to tell him some things that he had not covered. He was not overly surprised by the hands that had gone up, except for maybe one, but still, he listened and nodded his head to each student to tell what they knew. Two answers that stood out were the Tutha'an Girl and the Aiel's, as they were about as distant as one who be when answering the questions. Interesting.

"Thank you, Novice Talaitha, it is true that the Saldean Calvary has been recognised as one of the best in the world, and we are lucky indeed that we have them to stand as a wall against the Blight and the creatures of the Dark One that spew from it." She folded his arms across his chest and chuckled a little, "As for the dance, while it is an interesting titbit to know, it does have little impact on the Borderlands as a whole, except to warn people of the dance if they are offered a showing." He gave them a small smile, as they may not be children, even if they did treat them as such half the time.

When the Aiel stood and mentioned the Sharnarians, he once again nodded his head. "Yes, they are widely renown as some of the best fighting men who have lived. Even the denizens of the dark one fear to face them in battle. They believe they all came from the earth and that they must return as they came, naked and unarmed, into the last embrace of the mother. What is usually said at their grave side is The Light shine on you and the Creator shelter you. The last embrace of the mother welcome you home."

He then looked around, "Would anyone else like to contribute before we move on?"

OOC - This class is open to any who wish to join. All I ask is if you mate a note in the top corner of your post so I know which part of the lesson you are answering; example 'Borderlands, etc'

[Eve]

Borderlands

Zhenquan was one of the first people to enter the room. He had asked to be assigned to this class, and honestly looked forward to it. He didn’t know much about these parts of the lands, and he knew that this lack of knowledge might be bad for him down the road. Yes, he would learn it slowly… but a class might not only do so faster, but perhaps better. A class he would have classmates to discuss things with, and teachers to ask questions of. He had a piece of paper and a quill and ink with him, and he sat near the front of the room as other students filtered in. He looked around, hoping to see something he could look at as the class started that might help him. At the moment, he saw little.

The teacher rose and began to speak, and Zhen’s attention was fully upon him. He was quiet as the introduction to this class was given, but at the mention of ‘Malkier’ he looked quite confused. Still, he was silent for the moment, bending his head to write the word in a corner of his paper. The teacher, an Asha’man, went on. When the map unfurled Zhenquan watched it with wide eyes, holding his breath for a moment. This happened so often, and yet he just couldn’t get used to it. He had learned not to gawk, at least…for the most part…most of the time… Swiftly he bent to write more notes about Saldaea. He knew that place. Dreyric was from there, and he had heard a lot about it, even outside of the time he had spent there himself. Their flag confused him. Why have fish on one’s flag if there was no harbor? Maybe they fished out of lakes…

He continued his note taking, mostly silent at this point, though he could hear others asking questions when the moment of silence happened. He had questions, but he wanted to wait for more of the lesson to make sure the questions weren’t answered before he spoke. His father used to clap him upside the back of the head for interrupting him with a question that would have been answered anyway. His spontaneity had always gotten him in trouble, and he was doing his best to keep it in line here.

He made a quick sketch of the flag of Arafel as it was explained, only because it sounded so pretty. He wasn’t the best artist in the world, however, so it was a bit crude. His quill scratched dry and he swiftly dipped it for more ink. This was fascinating! He would have to read more on these places.

He finished his note taking and lifted his head, looking around after the Asha’man had explained Arafel. He was quiet for a moment, and then he raised his hand. He waited until he was indicated. Once he did, he spoke. “Excuse me, Asha’man but…” he looked around, knowing he was about to possibly make a fool of himself. “You mentioned Mal…mal…mal-ki-er…” the word was strange on his lips, and he had trouble pronouncing it. “You said that we should all know what happened to it but…I am from far away. I do not know. I imagine it was tragic from the way you said it, though. Am I correct? Was it overcome in a war?”

[Lou]

Barad was thinking of moving on from the Borderlands, as there did not seem to be too many questions, and no one seemed to want to add anything more. He was about to shift from here he was perched on the desk when one of the Drin raised a hand and asked a question. He claimed to be from far away, but he had an accent that Barad could not place. And he was sure he had heard them all. He would have to ask around about the lad, but for now he was going to answer the question.

"That is a good question, Drin." He said with a smile on his lips before he moved to the map and waved to an area of the Blight about Shinear. "It was one of the oldest of Kingdoms, carved out of the territory after the death of Artur Hawking. It was the fifth nation to be carved out along the Blight, and like the other four, it was a martial nation, hard from facing shadowspawn." He paused as he came back around the front of his desk. "And despite it being so close to the Blight border, it was a land of beauty. Known for its Seven Towers and its Hundred Lakes. Now the Towers are broken and foul things live in the lakes."

As he spoke, he began to walk back and forth along the front of the class, almost lost in his own head as she spoke. "The nation was ruled by the Mandragoran's, and they were betrayed from within. "Lain Mandragoran, the brother of King al'Akir Mandragoran, took five thousand lancers to the Blasted Lands as part of a wager laid by his wife Breyan and was killed. Al'Akir's refusal to support Lain's foolishness saw Breyan plot to have him and his young son Lan killed so her own son Isam could take the throne. Cowin Gemallan, a Malkieri noble but also a Darkfriend, supported Breyan's plan and attempted a coup against al'Akir." He paused and looked around, his eyes looking sad at such a loss.

"The coup failed, but the Blightborder forts were stripped bare and a major Shadowspawn invasion was able to break through the lines. Breyan and Isam were apparently killed and much of the kingdom laid waste, although the famed scout Jain Charin, already called Farstrider, was able to take Gemallen prisoner and bring him back to the Seven Towers to face al'Akir in single combat, where he was killed. Al'Akir abdicated the throne to his son Lan, anointing him a Diademed Battle Lord, and sent him south to Shienar to be raised in safety, before rallying the last of the Malkieri to fight the Shadow." He sighed, her hands pressed together, palm to palm, before him. "Al'Akir was killed, Malkier was overrun, the Seven Towers were destroyed, and the Blightborder was pushed a hundred miles or more to the south, until troops from the other Borderlands met the Shadowspawn at the Stair of Jehaan and turned them back." He moved back to the map and motioned were that place was.

"Does that answer your question, Drin...? What was your name?"

[Eve]

The moment he was acknowledged, and the answer to his question began, Zhen dropped his head to his pen. He started to write, taking notes quickly as he had with the topics before. This seemed much more detailed, however. That did make sense, he supposed. If this was so famous an instance that one was just expected to know it, then the details would have been told and retold. He wondered how long ago this happened, but did not interrupt the flow of information as it came to him.

His pen raced across his writing pad swiftly, taking short cuts when he could so that he could get it all in. It was…well, it was fascinating. To think that something so human had ended in shadowspawn overwhelming the entire nation… The Dark One could truly use everything to his own advantage. That was a lesson he would have to remember.

He looked up when the lecture ended, it and was clear he had been listening hard, interest and curiosity shining bright in his eyes. He blinked when the subject turned to him, and lifted his head a little. “My name is Zhenquan Drin, Barad Asha’amn.” He told the other respectfully.

[Lou]

Andor

Barad nodded to the young man he had asked the question of, and nodded as he told him his name. "Thank you, Drin Zhenquan, feel free to continue to ask questions as you like." It was unusual indeed, and Barad was not sure where it was from. But that was a puzzle for another day, of course, now he was teaching a class about the Nations of his land. He moved a hand, seizing Saidin as he did, and moved a map from his desk to be hung there, at the front of the class, as he tied the flows of Air off. They would last as long as they needed to, and he would let them go once the class was over.

"Andor is a country in the heart of the Westlands. It is the largest and most populous country in the West, and where we ourselves are currently situated. After the Borderlands, it also has the largest and most well-trained army." He paused, as he let those who were taking notes, well, note. "Formerly a province under gubernatorial rule, it was declared a sovereign nation, and is the oldest and largest of the nations formed after Artur Hawkwing's empire collapsed." He paused once more, using flows of Air to pin another map up, and this one of the capital city. "The capital of Andor is Caemlyn, and it is considered to be one of the most beautiful in the lands. Ogier work, of course." He added, before he moved to lean on the front of his desk once again.

"The tradition of Andor is that only a queen must sit on the Lion Throne of Andor, and wear the Rose Crown. However, it wasn't always intended that a queen would rule - it happened that the sons of Andor's first two Queens were killed, and so their daughters became queens. After this it became tradition that a queen would rule. The eldest daughter is known as the Daughter-Heir, and is always sent to Tar Valon to study." He paused, a pained look on his face. To know that the White Tower was destroyed was a hurt indeed, the loss of life, and the fact the Dark One had struck such a blow against the Light. "At least until recent events, of course. Now, where was I? Oh yes. The eldest brother of the Daughter-Heir is sworn to protect her with his life, and is prepared from an early age to take control of Andor's army. He is given the title First Prince of the Sword. If the Daughter-Heir does not have a brother, another man is appointed to the post." He paused once again, letting those writing notes catch up to what he was saying.

"If a Queen does not have a daughter, then another successor is appointed, judged by the number of blood ties she can establish to Ishara. Four times in Andor's history this method has been disputed, leading to the Succession Wars. And you can imagine the blood shed." He said, before rubbing his hands together. "Who knows something about Andor they wish to share, or has a question?"

[Lou]

Andor

Tala had been quiet as the dark skinned guy began to asked questions about Malkier. She was also interested in such a thing, as she knew little except stories. And the Tutha'an were only interested in the finding the Song, and Malkier had not held such a thing. But to hear the words from a man who knew the actual histories was something else, and she made notes as fast as she could write, though she was sure she had missed a few vital points along the way.

As the subject changed to Andor, she listened and once again began to make a few notes on her sheet. She had been through Andor many times, though they had never gone near large towns or cities, only trusting to be close to the villages, where they could mend their pots or sell what items they had to sell. And hope none came to accuse them of child stealing, as she had seen before. When it came time to answer some questions, or share knowledge, Tala raised her hand.

"I have heard much of Andors wealth is generated in the Mountains of Mist, where we are now. Silver, iron, copper and even gold are extracted from the rich mines in these mountains." She said softly, and hoped that she had gotten that right.