The Grey Tower

Carraidhin Glaisne The First and the Second She had waited long for him, and the words 'we' felt hollow since really it was merely her. The 'we' was representative of the Grey Tower for they had waited long for him to wear the oaths around his bones. The left the chambers where the Stairs and where the raising Ceremony took place and Carra lead Jaryd up through the corridors, past the place where he would now call home. Well, for now. He would not be there long for her and the M'Hael had plans.

Up they walked until they stood in the outdoor courtyard that served as a rooftop to the Red Ajah Quarters below. Her Keeper had waited outside the room downstairs and followed behind the Amyrlin and the newly raised Asha'man. Turning to her now Carra removed her stole and held it for the Keeper to hold, and in turn requested the use of her staff. The Keeper hesitated but the gleam in Carra's eyes, rare that it was, kept her from protesting.

*thump thump*

The staff hit the ground with two firm taps, bringing to attention all that stood in the courtyard and within hearing of it. Carra gathered to herself just enough Saidar to weave spirit and air to allow her voice to grow. Looking around, Carra let a true smile break her mask of stone, a smile she shared with Jaryd.

"Attend." Her voice calm, as if spoken like a whisper and a melody. Carra had no reason to yell with her voice amplified. "I present to you Jaryd Kosari, newly raised Asha'man of the Red Ajah. Welcome him, for he is now part of the Grey Tower and bound by our Oaths."

Saidar dissipated and Carra handed the Keeper staff back to her Keeper. Accepting her Amyrlin Stole in return. Turning to Jaryd she touched his arm as if extending an embrace without actually showing a public display of favor. "I will be returning to my office. Please come join me at your leisure. We have much to discuss." And at that Carra left him to decide whether to follow or come later.


(Ooc: We can continue in this thread or start a new one in the Admin offices. I'm good with either.)

Jaryd followed Carra and Riven out of the raising chamber, his thoughts still lost in the details of his testing. Many of the scenarios he had experienced had been all too real; the ter’angreal had known about his strengths, weaknesses, fears, ambitions, and even his area of study. Now that he stood in his own skin with his own memories, he even knew of Joslyn of Murandy, an upstart noble with big dreams and few resources. With all of those things being true…could what he had seen about Londane be real? Does it matter if it is?

He hardly realized the small group had stopped walking until Carra spoke, her voice amplified by the Power. Somehow she had the Keeper’s staff- surely that wasn’t allowed?- and was banging it on the floor. "I present to you Jaryd Kosari, newly raised Asha'man of the Red Ajah. Welcome him, for he is now part of the Grey Tower and bound by our Oaths."

She smiled, and Jaryd realized in that moment that as long as he had known her, and as many forms as their relationship had taken, she had never shown him a shred of true emotion. In that unguarded moment, she was the most beautiful woman the new Asha’man had ever seen. He dropped his eyes to the floor, lest she see what he felt in his eyes. She was the Amyrlin, and he…. As far as he knew, he was now an annoyance who she now had to trust to build her Ajah the way she had dreamed it.

She touched his arm as she turned away, extending an offer to join her in her office, then moved down the hall without a backward glance. He stood still for a long moment, his mind still lost in a maze of possible truths, red hair, and green eyes.

Abruptly, the reality of everything that had happened hit him. “I passed the bloody test!” he said out loud. A Blue that had been standing nearby chuckled.

“I think you’ll find the test has only just begun,” Alain said, “especially with her as Amyrlin.”

“What exactly is that supposed to mean?” Jaryd asked, his body tensing and his brows snapping together. Alain spread his hands in a non-committal gesture, then hastened away, clearly unwilling to elaborate on his statement.

Jaryd stared after him for a long moment, perplexed by his attitude, but quickly shook it off. He had other things to do. With a giddy laugh, he turned on his heel and headed for Carra’s office. She had had an ample head start; when he arrived her Keeper greeted him coolly from her desk.

“I am here to see C- the Amyrlin,” Jaryd said.

Carraidhin Glaisne The young Amyrlin opened the door to her study as she turned to look at Virya, "Let him in once he arrives. No other until we are done." "Yes Mother." The Blue Keeper replied and turned to her work at her desk. Carraidhin closed the door behind her and leaned up against the door. The look in Jaryd's eyes finally daring to break her poise. He had earned his right for raising, but she had known where he would call home, and now she held an office at the top of the tower and he was relegated to the basement. Despite that distance Carra knew that they touched just the tip of something much closer then that. Closing her eyes in hopes of regaining her breath, the Amyrlin attempted to steel the drums of her heart in hopes of not messing up the second of many.

Or the first of something else entirely.

That hint, that look. She should have known better. Pushing off the door, she walked in and sat at her desk. The paperwork never ending, Viyra was good at shifting through the pieces that did not need her attention but it did not diminish in volume. Sitting at her desk did more than just give her place to sit, but gave her a barrier Carra never needed before from the man that would walk through those doors. Man.

The tap at the door admitted Jaryd into her newer quarters, and Carra made a motion for him to sit. Tea already made and set to the side while she had been out. "You will have to forgive me, I have not done this before." A touch of pink to her cheeks, realizing that despite all the other emotions breaking through her control she had not expected to be embarrassed. "Illyria had been kind enough to tell me of things that will be expected of me as an Aes Sedai, and so I will share that information with you. All Ajah's have their own secrets, and as you and I are the only one's of the Red we have fewer secrets but those we will share moving forward." Saidar touched the tea to ensure it the proper temperature. "Tea?"

Jaryd entered the Amyrlin's study with some trepidation. He knew he belonged in Red, but until he had actually sworn the Oaths he had not considered what that would actually mean. It was one thing to be raised to Asha'man. It was another to be raised Asha'man to an Ajah whose only other known member could no longer acknowledge affiliation with the group. Would the Tower consider it undue bias if Carra spoke to him of thew new Ajahs burgeoning traditions, or would they understood the necessity?

Carra was seated within, behind a desk on which some papers were stacked. A tea service sat to one side, the pot steaming faintly. She waved to him to sit. As she spoke, her cheeks turned pink, and Jaryd could not help but grin, his expressive face showing his baffled amusement better than any words. A smile AND a blush? How could this woman possibly be the blank-faced Carra who had sent him to do penance without a second thought?

"Yes please," he said in response to her inquiry. She poured, then pushed his cup toward him. He lifted it in careful fingers and took a sip. He was quite certain that the cup he held in his hand was worth more than the Rahad and everything in it.

"I was wondering whether you would acknowledge your...prior affiliation...or not," he said, setting the cup down with a soft click. "My desire to join the Red after our discussion some time back somewhat overrode my ability to consider the consequences of that decision," he admitted in a self-deprecating tone. "With that in mind...what do I need to know?[/i]

Altara called to him. He could go home now. He could see his mother and his gang. He could walk through Ebou Dar with his head held high, and no one would look at him sideways. If he had not known that Carra's knowledge would be of utmost importance in the coming years, nothing in the world could have stopped him from departing at that very moment.

Carraidhin Glaisne The tea gave Carraidhin repose, gathering herself better for this conversation now that he was within the room. It was easier to slip into herself and become like stone now that the preliminary nerves had come and seemed to pass with sips of tea. Picking up her own cup, she listened to him and regarded his words carefully. She was still Red Ajah even though she was now of All Ajah's and of None. But even still she was but one Red and it would be a shame to disregard the second Red due to formalities. Their making int he Tower was unprecedented so naturally handling raisings such as this would have to fall on her.

"I am no more the Red Ajah than Amora was Blue Ajah. It would be foolish to assume we could not be the Ajah of our Calling even if we represent them all." She gave him a hint of a smile, "So naturally, I am still your Ajah Head until we feel that you are better suited to be, or another joins our ranks and is instead. Such are the way of things."

Setting the tea cup down, she leaned back in her chair, “What I am about to tell you is a collection of knowledge that is not shared with anyone that has not proved themselves worthy of the shawl, or the cord in your case. It is not to be shared, nor hinted at to anyone who has not ascended the Great Stair. Tower tradition is as strong as law. There is more that bind Aes Sedai of all Ajahs than just the Three Oaths.”

“But before we begin, I can offer you a little Healing. I know how uncomfortable the Oath Rod leaves one. Would you like for me to ease it?”

Carra waited as Jaryd appeared in thought, before reluctantly giving a nod of his head. "Yes." There was embarrassment in his features, but Carra was unsure why. Perhaps this was awkward for them both. The necessary weave was constructed and then laid on his forehead.

“First: We are ranked by strength with the One Power. Should you wish to build your Ajah at all, and not be tossed from the Hall of Sitters, or sent to me for penance, you will submit to those who are stronger than you. Those who are weaker are required to submit to you.” Carra mused, “Depending upon the gap of strength between you and the brother or sister in question, the greater or lesser the gap in rank is. Someone who is barely strong enough to be Aes Sedai or Asha'man, for example, would have to outright follow your orders. Someone who is only slightly weaker than you, however, would only have to politely listen to your suggestion, and could ignore it if she wished.”

Jaryd nodded respectfully at Carra's statement that she would still act as his Head of Ajah. It only made sense; he had no idea what a Head was supposed to do. For that matter, did she know? How could she? Perhaps another Ajah had instructed her? He held his tongue, but he could feel curiosity burning inside him.

Jaryd held his teacup carefully in his thumbs and forefingers, still half-out of breath from the cold shock of the Healing Carra had given him. It had helped, a little; at least, his skin felt a little less tight. He attempted to mutter "The sky is red," but the words were stillborn. He could not so much as move his lips. He shuddered, and refocused on Carra.

It did not surprise him that channelers ranked themselves by strength. The ability to physically intimidate opponents and protect ones safety was a primal need in everything that lived and breathed; those who were strong survived, those who were not acknowledged their inferiority or perished. Why would it be any different for channelers? Though one would think that we, as the pinnacles of wisdom, would have risen above.

He whirled his tea, took a sip. "I should have no problem with that," he said with airy indifference. "There are only two in the Tower as strong as I." Carra gave him a level stare, and he cocked an eyebrow at her, unphased. "You cannot pretend that age does not also play into the equation of social standing," he said, displaying a level of insight he normally kept hidden. "I could be stronger than the Betrayer of Hope himself and the weakest Asha'man in Hama Valon would laugh if I gave him an order right now." He half-grinned, "allow me my moment of ironic vanity. By the time it isn't funny anymore, I'll be too old to care."

The Amyrlin took a drink from her cup, and Jaryd thought in the momentary silence. "In the White Tower, the Red Ajah does not bond," he said. "As we are not the same, I suppose we are allowed to bond if we deem it prudent?"

Carraidhin Glaisne She expected the humor, it was naturally part of him and who Jaryd was, but she kept her inner thoughts within and just held her tea with a casual look at him. The tea was just a prop that kept her hands from falling to bad habits or to show other pieces of information that are often hidden behind stone eyes and stilled tongues. Looking upon Jaryd Carra could tell that he still had much to learn yet.

"This is true, age plays as much a part of it as strength. I am not the strongest within the Tower, not by far, nor the oldest, but my rank and my resolve appears to come as much into play as much as the ladder. It is all politics which is something you will have to learn to navigate carefully. I can only help with so much and I can not show you favor." Her eye's bore into his. He chose the Red Ajah and, like her, he had much to earn in the sight of others even if he answered only to those within his own Ajah. Which meant he answered directly to Riven as the M'Hael and to her. The weight of that knowledge kept her from wandering too far from the conversation.

The question upon the Red Ajah and bonds brought her pause. "I..." She thought carefully while still mindful of the Oaths. "have considered the idea of a bond and have not yet found a suitible partner. We are not the White Tower Red Ajah and hold no ties to their traditions. If you wish to bond, you may bond. Woman, Man. Aes Sedai or Gaidin." And yet her heart held a small ache on that idea and she pushed it down HARD to keep the jealousy far away. Carraidhin was certain that what was hers was hers alone, but that did not mean she had that right to claim what could be hers without willingness and acceptance. A thought and possibility for another time.

Leaning back, she allowed him to think on her words and she continued. "Like with all that are raised, you are given your own accounts with the Tower Clerks, and day and every year on the anniversary of your raising to Asha'man, you will be given a Tower dividend to use as you wish. While you may request more it is usually frowned upon and may go through the Hall of Sitters for approval." There was a sour note to her tone for warning. The Hall of Sitters would approve of no such thing for a member of the Red Ajah, and Carra had no intention of asking. She had other venue's if need be.

Carra then took a little more time to describe a few other formalities that were both expected of the Newly Raised, along with aspects that were not shared with the lower ranks. They were simple things, small things that she either learned the hard way or from Illyria upon her own raising. Until what knowledge she had that he may required and was exhausted, Carra paused to refill her teacup.

"And one last thing. You may have noticed that I have yet to leave the Tower since my raising. It has not been easy to forge ahead a new Ajah, and with that came limitations. Boundaries." She sipped her tea, this time its coolness was sweet and more to her tasting. Carra felt no need to warm her cup, Jaryd was welcome to warm his own. "And so I will grant you one year of freedom before becoming bound to the Tower in whole. Different Ajah's have different Traditions and I wish to grant you the one thing I wanted but could not have. Freedom to put to rest the demons that may have haunted me in my past." She eyed him carefully, measuring his reaction with a weight that only an Amyrlin and a Head of Ajah could give to one newly in her charge.

"This is granted to you, for you to do as you will. You will be answerable to any crimes you will be caught for, but you will do this on your own and with your own conscience. This is not the will of the Tower, but My will granted to you. Should you choose this."

There were unspoken words in her eyes. A jealousy, a forlorn, a wish and a craving. Freedom to just be herself, her true self, without the weight of a Shawl, Staff or Amyrlin Stole. A freedom that Carra could not foresee happening for many decades.