The Grey Tower

Posted: **June 9th, 2017, 10:02 pm**

Tia Sedai

The Citadel. The very name was, in its own way, intimidating, and the stories Tia heard growing up didn’t make it any less intimidating. Never mind that the last time Tia at the Citadel, the party she was with was sent to another outpost, and were ambushed. For all of these reasons, the Green thought she should be apprehensive to visit the Citadel once more, but she found herself looking forward to it.

The Tower felt. . .stifling as of late, and it partly had to do with how events unfolded between the Green and Jaryd. There were no hard feelings from Tia towards Jaryd. How could there be? They’d both agreed to the boundaries placed on their relationship. It’s just that when it came to emotions, sometimes the best laid plans go sideways because emotions were rarely predictable. Or were they?

In the Green’s mind, it was a simple case of her feelings deepening (though she didn’t realize it), while his seemingly did not. He was, above all else, her friend, and she would always care deeply for him, but being in such close proximity was challenging. Thus when the chance came for Tia to go to the Citadel, she jumped at it.

The Aes Sedai wasn’t going alone on her journey. Lysira Gaidin would be with her, along with Accepted Zarayne. The Green Sister was currently in the Traveling Yards with her horse, Storm, tacked up and ready to go. As was usual, the party of three would travel by Gateway, but bring horses in case they needed to ride elsewhere. Tia was the first to arrive, and waited for her traveling companions to join her.

Spoiler: show: I have NO idea where the title came from.

Posted: **June 11th, 2017, 1:36 am**

Lysira was, naturally, at her best and her happiest when she was doing what she had been molded to do. She had been formed in the fires of the Warder Yards, it was in her blood and in her pride, and when she had a chance to be a warder... Well, she felt her best. Of course, the Blightborder wasn't the happiest of places, but if she was needed anywhere, it was there.

Today, she was escorting two channelers: one was practically family, and the other was an intriguing young woman now her part-time translator, whenever she could be spared from her studies. (The Mistress of Novices had only been so yielding.)

The diminutive Gaidin led her grey mare, Ashes, into the Traveling Yard. She had her sword at her hip, a quiver on her back and another on her other hip, her bow, and a pair of artfully placed knives. A girl had to be prepared, right? As the well armed and armored Gaidin got closer, she saw that one of her channelers there already.

'Well met, Tia,' Lysira signed, the reins over her arm so she could use both hands.

Posted: **June 12th, 2017, 9:23 am**

"I need a horse."

The groom cast a judicious eye over the lanky, red-haired Accepted who had just manifested before him. Putting the hair colour and height together, the groom guessed that he was either being ordered about by an Aiel or by the tallest Andorwoman he'd seen in some time.

"Who's horse are you needing?" he asked.

"Um, I need a horse."

It took the groom a minute to realise that she hadn't just repeated herself. His eyes grew wide as he came to appreciate what was being asked of him. "Oh, right right, I see..."

Zarayne

The dappled mare moved easily through the grounds of the Grey Tower. Zarayne was less easy, still finding the notion of using another's feet to move her disconcerting. She also didn't like how far away from the ground she was. There was a surety about having one's own feet on the ground that stirrups did not replace.

This wasn't Zarayne's first time on a horse. As with her swordsmanship, the Aiel had been getting semi-private lessons on all things equestrian. There was a Tairen Dedicated she'd befriended who seemed keen to educate someone 'such as her'; she ignored the perceived slight. Things had gone far enough that one of her dresses was now made up for riding. That was the dress she wore now. Flashing ankles and calves was not on the day's agenda for the aspiring Aes Sedai.

She was the last to arrive at the Travelling Yard, and could see from a distance that Lysira and Tia Sedai were already in conversation. Zarayne wasn't one, but some wilders had learned how to listen in on a conversation at a distance using the Power. This was her equivalent, although she felt bad about listening in to Lysira. Her role as Lysira's translator was just that, to translate. Zarayne had quickly learnt that she was to rely Lysira's words, not reinterpret them in her own voice.

Zarayne rode towards the two with a modest smile forming. She wasn't exactly sure what was planned for the day ahead, but she looked forward to it. Even if a horse was required for some part of it.

"Good morning Lysira, Tia Sedai." She bowed her head to each woman in turn, yet kept care not to look at the ground. Her stomach fluttered uneasily. "I haven't delayed you, have I?"

Posted: **June 15th, 2017, 7:14 pm**

Tia Sedai

Tia offered Lysira a warm smile as she ‘read’ her signs, “Good morning, Lysira. I am glad you’re able to join myself and Accepted Zarayne on our trek to the Citadel.” She was idly scratching Storm’s withers, and in a show of appreciation, the horse lowered its head and wrapped her neck around its rider. With a soft laugh, Tia looked to her mount, “Softy.”

At about that time, Zarayne rode up, “I haven't delayed you, have I?”

Looking to the Accepted, Tia offered her the same warm smile she’d given Lys, “Not at all, Accepted. Since we are all here, no reason to delay. The sooner we get to the Citadel, the sooner we can get settled in.” With that, the Aes Sedai embraced Saidar, and as she did, everything came into sharper focus. The smell of leather seemed to override her sense of smell, and she took comfort in it. A moment later, a Gateway formed before the trio.

Tia looked to Lys and smirked slightly, “I’m guessing you would like to lead the way?” Lysira wasn’t Tia’s Warder, but she was their Gaidin for the purpose of their journey to the Citadel. Truth be told, Tia was more than glad for the woman’s company. Too often, things seemed to go sideways when she visited the Citadel, and she liked the notion of having someone who could help watch their back. It would not be the first time the two worked together, either, but Tia pushed memories of the attack on Hama Valon away. Now was no time to reminisce.

Posted: **June 17th, 2017, 2:11 pm**

Lysira offered her near-kin a smile and then turned when she heard the Accepted approach. She offered the tall woman a brief, respectful greeting. Since they were all there, she wasn't going to waste any time on matters. The Gaidin turned from them to double-check her horse's tack and supplies.

She didn't know how long they would be at the Citadel, but knew it was not intended to be a long trip... The key word there was, of course and as ever, "intended." She also knew how frequently things did, and didn't, go according to plan.

Mounting up, she looked to see that the others were ready. "I'm guessing you would like to lead the way?" Lysira kept her humor inwardly, since she didn't even think that had been an option otherwise. Instead of allowing that thought to show through, she simply inclined her head in agreement and then nudged Ashes forward.

As always, there was a channeler standing ready to open a Gateway for whoever needed to go somewhere. Today, it was an Asha'man that Lysira didn't know, but he already knew where they were going. He started channeling, and a Gateway swirled open to show the familiar sight of the Citadel's "landing" ground.

She nudged Ashes's sides and the horse obediently moved forward. Lysira's bow was on her back and it wasn't her first line of defense in this situation, despite her mastery. There wasn't a high likelihood of trouble on the other side, but that didn't mean she could allow herself to become lax. Riding through, she found that the odds were with her.

Seeing no trouble, she surveyed their surroundings and then waited for the others to come through.

Once they were, she turned and led the way up to the Citadel. They didn't have to get too close before the sense of something not quite being...the usual was clear. Lysira's sense of things being "wrong" didn't come up, but just that there was something going on. There were Citadel guards standing on the walls and at the gates, not giving the sense of issue.

Lysira frowned slightly. There were people camped just outside the walls, and as they hailed the guards and were permitted into the courtyard, she saw more people there. They had the ragged look of refugees or victims of...something.

That was when a tall man with a familiar face turned in her direction. Lysira blinked, then looked at Tia. She nodded towards the man and began to ride toward him, dismounting as she approached and slinging her reins over her elbow. Commander Marwen had a ragged look about him, but a faint smile lifted one corner of his mouth when he saw her.

"Lady Viathene," he greeted, but it was...dispirited.

Lysira had not met Marwen very often, but she knew him to be a friend of Miahala's and she had encountered him during a turn or two working on the Blightborder. He had also been known to her father, for the same reasons.

She waved the title away. 'What has happened here?' she asked. He knew many of her signs and after a moment, he was able to parse out her question. The fact that it was the most obvious thing to ask probably helped that.

It was at this point that he realized there were two others there. He bowed his head to the two other women. "Peace favor your swords this day," he said, then his gaze settled on Tia for a long moment. "Are you kin to Miahala Sedai?" he couldn't help but ask. "There is a look about you that reminds me of her."

After a moment, he returned to the question. "Simply put, our outpost was overrun. This is all that remains. My...soldiers forced me to attend the retreat with them." He looked at some of the surrounding men with a look of both affection and annoyance.

Spoiler: show: OOC: I don't know if Z would have heard about it at all, but Tia would likely have heard about Mia's efforts in the Blight and Marwen's post, at least to recognize the name, etc., Yes, I have something of a plan, but figured I'd stop here before I ran away with the whole thing. >.>

Posted: **June 20th, 2017, 8:27 pm**

Tia Sedai

This was not Tia’s first excursion to the Citadel, thus the landscape was not wholly unfamiliar to the Aes Sedai as she rode through the Gateway. As the three women moved away from their ‘landing point’ and approached the Citadel gates, it became clear to Tia that it was not business as usual at the Citadel. She hadn’t expected to see tents outside the walls of the Citadel, nor did she expect to see the number of ‘civilians’ milling about. Something had happened, though she had no idea what.

Once the trio were within the gates of the Citadel, more became clear as a man named Marwen approached. Tia knew the name, having heard of Miahala Sedai’s stories of her time in the Blight, though the younger Aes Sedai did not personally know the man. While he did not know Tia, he recognized her as a Sha’hal.

"Are you kin to Miahala Sedai? There is a look about you that reminds me of her."

Tia offered the man a small, but warm smile, “I am her Great Great Granddaughter, Commander.” She didn’t say much more than that as he then explained his outpost had been over run. The smile faded from the Green’s lips, “Your men were likely wise if this is all that is left, Commander Marwen. When was your post over-run?”

As she asked the question, part of Tia wondered if there was any such thing as ‘business as usual’ at the Citadel, or if the unusual was more typical than not. Her last trip to the Citadel ended in an ambush that had the potential to kill not just her, but the entire party, including Miahala Sedai. They somehow survived, and her mother and Lysira rooted out the man responsible for setting their party up for the little. . .surprise.

Posted: **June 21st, 2017, 9:34 pm**

Zarayne

Zarayne had witnessed Gateways opening before, but never this close. When the beam of pure white light rotated and expanded into a window through the world, cold air rushed out from the other side. Her skin met the frigid air gladly. It had been years since she arrived in Hama Valon, and never had she left it. Now she was on her first expedition and it was a welcomed return to home.

The Accepted held her breath as her horse stepped through the window in the air. She heard the sound of snow crunching under the mare's hooves. Cold trickled up through the bottom of her slippers, as if she were walking on the ground. She could feel the snow under her feet and the wet squishiness of melting ice between her toes. All a trick of the mind, but the false feelings did provide her with genuine warmth in her heart.

Whilst the Accepted daydreamed, Zarayne's temporary steed followed Lysira's without instruction. The dappled mare led itself beyond the Citadel's walls whilst the Aielwoman stared at everything and nothing. The Citadel wasn't as aesthetically pleasing to the eye as the buildings on the Grey Tower's grounds, but its enormity and purpose gave it a dominating presence that could not be ignored.

Conversation drew her back into the present. The man conversing with Lysira and Tia was a Shienaran soldier of a high rank. As Tia explained her relationship to the Captain-General, Zarayne connected the golden braids with the rank of Commander.

"Four days ago," the Commander replied. He sounded displeased with that for a reason that eluded the Aielwoman. Zarayne frowned in the Commander's direction, then at the back of Lysira's and Tia's head. A thoughtful frown, but it was the one expression that clearly marked her as her father's daughter.

"Is that where we're going?" She asked before thinking. But then, just like her father, she added to the interruption instead of wisely stopping. "Are we off to hunt Shadowspawn?"

Posted: **June 22nd, 2017, 10:33 pm**

Lysira had the image of two or three soldiers manhandling their commander to keep him from dying with his outpost. Borderlanders were nothing if not stubborn, and a man who had dedicated his life to guarding that wretched and imperfect border would have to be more stubborn than most. The grizzled, scarred appearance was testament to that.

She noticed there were bandages peeking out from the edges of shirts and around the hems of his sleeves.

'Maybe,' Lysira signed as she turned back to Zarayne. It would ultimately be Tia's choice as to what they did, because this was her mission and she was the Aes Sedai, but as the Gaidin, she wanted as much information as possible. She turned back to Marwen. 'What can you tell us about the force that overran you?'

The commander grunted with displeasure. "Many," he said with a mirthless smile. "The forces of my outpost have been stretched thin for some time. We were barely three dozen soldiers and plus a handful of non-military outpost persons against what had to be two Fists of Trollocs. I know there was a Draghkar among them and at least one Fade."

Lysira suppressed a shiver at the idea of that much Shadow power coming down on one outpost. Why? There was a mystery to that, however, that remained a large question within her mind. Four days after being overrun wasn't time to get a recon done to know if they were still there, but it was likely worth investigating.

The Gaidin turned her dark eyes to the Green Sister. 'Your thoughts, Aes Sedai?' she asked. They were near kin, but she maintained propriety around others.

Posted: **June 23rd, 2017, 2:22 pm**

Tia Sedai

Are we off to hunt Shadowspawn?

Lysira answered the Accepted’s question, but then the Gaidin’s eyes were back to Marwen and asking about the forces that overran his outpost. Two fists of Trollocs, a Draghkar and one Fade, maybe more. It was more than what thirty-six men could handle, and certainly more than one Gaidin, one Aes Sedai and one Accepted could handle. Marwen’s outpost, though, was critical, and losing it permanently to Shadowspawn didn’t seem a viable option.

Tia wondered why the Shadow sent such a sizeable force for one outpost. It seemed a waste of resources, but the Shadow cared not about waste.

Your thoughts, Aes Sedai? Lys asked.

Tia wanted to tell her to drop the title, but knew out here it would be less appropriate to do so. Lys was as much family as anything, but out here, the bow master was Gaidin and Tia was Aes Sedai. . . which meant she was the one who would need to make the call. Light. . .I am not ready to bare this responsibility, Tia thought to herself.

Taking a deep breath as she looked from Zarayne, to Marwen, and Lysira, the Green Sister furrowed her brows, “That number of Shadowspawn is more than a little disconcerting. I do not think it is an option to let them keep their hold on the outpost. I think we should scout the situation. . .see if they’ve maintained their numbers at the outpost. Once we know that, we can come up with a plan of attack appropriate to the situation.”

Accepted, Dedicated and Ji’Val all came to the Citadel to gain experience, though sometimes that experience could come with lethal consequences. Tia looked to Zarayne for a moment, and suddenly felt very much responsible for the Accepted’s well being while they were on this mission. It was tempting to suggest she stay behind, but then Tia would be doing the young woman a dis-service.

“I’d say a scouting party of the three of us,” she hesitated and looked to Marwen, “Perhaps the four of us since you will know the area better than us, but no more. Get in, get a feel for what’s what, and get out to form a better plan.” She looked to Lysira, “Do you concur?” In other words, am I being foolish? she wondered without asking.

Posted: **June 25th, 2017, 4:12 pm**

Lysira waited for Tia to think things through and then make her suggestion. The Gaidin knew that the younger woman wasn't comfortable with this, it was certainly far more than they had anticipated finding, but she did well. The smaller woman listened and then nodded. 'I think that's a good plan, yes. We cannot leave it unattended, but we need more information to be sure of anything else.'

"I would like to go with you," Marwen chimed in, to the surprise of...no one.

The Gaidin turned to the Accepted. This might have been more than she planned on herself, so she decided to check with her as well before they soldiered on. 'Feel up for a scouting adventure?' she asked with a glint in her dark eyes, offering her the choice--she could remain at the Citadel or return to the Tower if she preferred.

The Grey Tower

Citadel Dreams of Green [attn: Craig/Z and Bella/Lys]

Citadel Dreams of Green [attn: Craig/Z and Bella/Lys]

Re: Citadel Dreams of Green [attn: Craig/Z and Bella/Lys]

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Re: Citadel Dreams of Green [attn: Craig/Z and Bella/Lys]

Re: Citadel Dreams of Green [attn: Craig/Z and Bella/Lys]

Re: Citadel Dreams of Green [attn: Craig/Z and Bella/Lys]

Re: Citadel Dreams of Green [attn: Craig/Z and Bella/Lys]

Re: Citadel Dreams of Green [attn: Craig/Z and Bella/Lys]

Re: Citadel Dreams of Green [attn: Craig/Z and Bella/Lys]

Re: Citadel Dreams of Green [attn: Craig/Z and Bella/Lys]