The Grey Tower

Leala leaned back and looked at the small message she had just written to Keeper Jaryd Kosari. It was short, concise, and to the point. she didn't have much to say except to get his attention and invite him to discuss what she had written about further. She wanted to make sure that there was no lines to read between, no extra meanings to be gleaned.

I received a missive among reports pertaining to my family's lands. The missive was from an Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah from the White Tower. She and an undisclosed number of other Aes Sedai from undisclosed Ajah will be at my manor in a little over a week's time. I do not know their intentions in their visit, but I invite you to come with me when I receive them as guests. I think your presence there would add legitimacy to the Grey Tower, if they indeed believe it lacks any. I also plan to invite some Asha'man from the Grey Ajah in the future. If it is convenient, I invite you to my rooms for dinner this evening to discuss this more in detail, should you accept.

Yours in the Light,

Leala Gymorraine

She folded the message and sealed it with her personal seal. After she left her quarters, it did not take long for a servant to come along down the halls of the White Ajah. She passed the note to the older gentleman who accepted his orders and went to deliver the message to the Keeper of the Archives. Leala did not have many dealings with the Keeper raised from the Red Ajah, but she knew that he would likely accept her invitation to the visit, and she also knew that he was a man well selected for his position.

Returning to her rooms, she decided to tidy her desk back to its original state. Her invitation for dinner had not been accepted quite yet, but she had a strong feeling she would be entertaining a high-ranking member of the Grey Tower that evening.

Jaryd sat with his feet up on his desk and his chair tipped back, flipping through a pile of papers. He had been so annoyed by his Keepers as M'hael, had seen them as little more than chaperones to ensure his good behavior. Now that he had been granted that vaunted responsibility, he had been forced to reconsider his perspective. The job was grueling and thankless, and his hand hurt from writing carefully worded responses to non-urgent concerns for Durent to sign later. And yet, they still keep an eye on me, he thought, lips twitching up into the grin he had been known for since his arrival as a soldier. There was no better place in the entire Tower for the Hall to keep someone they did not know what to do with. Yes, he had access to everything that happened in the Tower and the world....and could do nothing with it.

So they thought, anyway. The Hall's grasp of his capabilities left much to be desired. He chuckled as he tossed a piece of paper over his shoulder with negligent fingers. Then his eyes fell on the next, and his eyebrows went up. A letter from Leala, and for once, addressed directly to him. He read curiously, rubbing the underside of his chin thoughtfully. The White Tower had sent a Red Aes Sedai and sisters to a Grey Tower Head of Ajah's lands.... How curious....and how very unwelcome.

He dropped his feet to the ground, and sat forward to reach for his pen.

---

He found his way to Leala's quarters at the requested time. He wore a white shirt, brown breeches in Altaran fashion, and a deep red vest, also in Altaran fashion. He tapped on her door, and when she responded, he entered without further ado. He bowed respectfully. "Good evening," he said quietly. "I trust all is well?"

Leala sat at her table, leaning back in her chair as she read the missive that she had drafted to the Aes Sedai from the White Tower that would be coming to her lands. It was incomplete, but she supposed she would finish it after she spoke with Jaryd. For the time being, it was simply a statement that she would meet with them at her lands. The dinner that she had ordered from the kitchen was laid out in front of her, awaiting her guest. Even though she knew she would have the support of the Grey Tower behind her in this meeting, she couldn't help but wonder what these Aes Sedai had in mind by coming to her lands. It was quite known in Andor that even though she held lands, Leala did not push for the political influence of the Grey Tower over the White Tower in the Court of Caemlyn. The queen or the lord's family over the Four Kings would have let them know that, so their visit was likely not about her power in Andor.

She stood when she heard the knocking on her door, she turned in her seat and set her small draft on the desk behind the table. "Come in," she called. Jaryd entered her rooms and gave her a bow. "Good evening," she answered in greeting. "All is well in the Grey Tower, but I'm afraid my manor is a bit in confusion," she explained calmly as she motioned for the Keeper of the Archives to sit at her table and help himself. Quickly, she wove a ward against eavesdropping around them before tying off the weave. "I hope you do not mind the ward. I do not believe there will be spies for the White Tower here, but I would rather not have undue panic or speculation over my guests' intentions. I plan on permitting them to come, even though they would likely come, even if I had refused their presence." Turning around to her desk once more, she picked up the letter she had received from her estates with a small flow of Air and offered it to her dinner guest. "Before I send a full response to them, however, I'd like your thoughts on what their intentions could be. I have reasoned that they are likely not coming there to dispute the Grey Tower's political influence in Andor, though they do mention that. I think that they know that the Grey Tower will not bend to them, but wish me to think that they believe this."

Jaryd's eyes twinkled in quiet amusement at the Ward. He had been on the edge of creating one himself, saidin raging in his grasp. Instead, he released the Source and took the letter the White offered him, listening in silence to her thoughts and concerns. He glanced over the letter as he took a seat at the table, his eyebrows going up at the condescending tone therein. He read it one more time, then folded it and handed it back to Leala with a nod of his head.

"They certainly have a way with words," he commented wryly, reaching for a slice of bread. "My guess it has less to do with the Grey Tower itself, and more to do with you specifically. I imagine the White Tower is upset that a "false" Aes Sedai," and sarcasm rang strong in his voice, "has any kind of political clout. Were I you, I would tread warily and carry a big stick until you have been established so firmly that they cannot make you vanish," he said. Sliced meat and roasted vegetables joined the bread on his plate. "I would be happy to be the stick." His black eyes twinkled.

"The White Tower has had too much power, for too long. They no longer hold a monopoly on the term Aes Sedai; perhaps it is finally time to show them the error of their ways." He nodded to the chair. "What are you planning on telling them specifically?"

As Leala listened to her guest's words, a small smile grew on her face. It was good to know that she had someone to support her in this matter. The Grey Tower was not steeped in as much history and tradition as the White Tower, but it operated in much the same way, and the White Tower had never appreciated that. "I understand that they will likely challenge my status as an Aes Sedai," she said, nodding, "and I can handle that on my own. But my primary concern is the Grey Tower. This meeting could go any number of ways, and I would like to see the Grey Tower land firmly on its feet."

She paused a moment to gather her thoughts and eat a few bites of her dinner before answering the Keeper's question. "As far as what I would like to tell them specifically, that largely depends on what it is they wish to tell me. For all that was laid out in the letter, they may even wish to ask us for aid in some unseen thing, whether they hold contempt for my title or no. In whichever case this happens to be, I plan to make clear that neither the Grey Tower nor anyone representing it will be cowed in any way." Her face was smooth as well as her voice, but inside she felt like a general going to battle. No one would make an unwanted visit on her lands and claim advantage, not even the White Tower. "Upon that note, I believe I should contact a few of our sisters who came here from the White Tower as well," she said, sipping her tea.

"For all that was laid out in the letter, they may even wish to ask us for aid in some unseen thing, whether they hold contempt for my title or no." Jaryd's eyebrow went up. That seemed extremely unlikely, to the point she sounded naive. Which, I suppose...she is young, and a White. No, the Grey Tower could not be easily cowed, she was correct there. Small in number though they might be, their glass tower had an inordinate number of strong channelers, many with Talents the White Tower still believed lost. They had faced the White Tower before and emerged victorious...if need be, they could again. "Upon that note, I believe I should contact a few of our sisters who came here from the White Tower as well," Leala continued, then took a sip of her tea.

Jaryd took another bite, face carefully devoid of expression. There were currently only two such women in the Grey Tower, both formerly of the White Tower's Red Ajah. One had chosen the Indigo when she came to Hama Valon, and subsequently vanished into her research. He had watched her surreptitiously for a time, but as she seemed to pose no threat, he had turned his attention elsewhere. The other...unbidden, a slight smile fluttered across his face. The other shared his Ajah, his study, his heart, and his bond. Even at that moment he knew she was pleased and content by whatever had her attention far below in their private workspace.

He sat forward, resting his elbows on the table and steepling his fingers over his plate. "What would be your purpose in speaking to Kaia?" He asked carefully, looking at the White over his hands. "She has a painful past with the women of that Tower, and I would spare her the pain of reliving those memories unless she must." Anyone with Eyes and Ears knew who Kaia was and what had happened to her at the White Tower; he did not feel the need to elaborate.

---

OOC:
1st: I am so sorry for taking so long.

2nd: Short version of history: Kaia was stilled for a murder she did not commit at the White Tower, and Healed by Gareth when she came to the Grey Tower. We haven't written the bond yet, but since it's happening next in the thread we're writing, I included it for continuity's sake *shrug*

Jaryd's words on speaking with sisters in the Grey Tower coming over from the White were few, but they were heavy. It was true that the first sister she had thought of was the First Inquisitor here. She, like Jaryd, was of the Red Ajah in a Tower that had not had a Red Ajah for a long time. He was being very protective of her, and more so than one would over a sister of his Ajah, whether or not he had been raised from it to his current position. She kept her tone and her expression calm as she responded, though. "I mean to offer her an invitation to participate, nothing more." She would have done this whether or not she had met with him first, anyway. Had she been from the White Tower herself, she would have felt neglected and insulted if an invitation to attend had not been brought to her, no matter her past with them.

"I do not wish to bring her pain, either," she continued, "and it will be her decision whether she comes with us or not. I will not force her to help in my personal agenda, should she choose not to." Her presence likely would not sway the White Tower's opinion of the Grey just from her past training. She bore a heavy scar from her time in the White Tower, Leala knew. But she also knew Kaia Ariasca to be shrewd and diplomatic, just as an Aes Sedai should be. "However, I believe that should she choose to accept my invitation, her input and support would be a boon to the Grey Tower in this meeting.

~~~

OOC: No worries. And, thanks for the context!

Jaryd kept his face carefully blank at Leala’s response, hiding his thoughts behind a wall of the Void as he ate. He knew chances were quite strong that the White Tower already knew of Kaia’s Healing. Perhaps she herself had already contacted former associates; he had not inquired. Yet for some reason the thought of her encountering emissaries from Tar Valon troubled him far more than it should. Finally he shrugged, giving the White sister a rueful smile. “The good of the Tower is certainly of higher priority than my personal concerns,” he said calmly. “You are correct, her knowledge and skill would be useful, regardless of the nature of this visit.”

He pushed himself back in his chair, his mind turning rapidly as he considered the many facets of the problem Leala faced. “You seem interested in remaining amicable with the White Tower, and yet…” he hesitated, then spread his hands. “The entourage you have chosen could not be better selected to instigate a confrontation, given what I know of the White Tower and its attitude toward us. Have you made any plans for what to do if it did come to that?”



OOC: Aaaand Shara should finally be over. <3 Jaryd can NOT wrap his mind around the idea of meeting peacefully with WT emissaries.