In Plain Sight – Kipcha!!
Atia Doreilas, Written by Renee
Posted on Thu, Aug 19, 2010 01:43 am
It had taken some time, but Atia finally approved of the stark white uniform that the Tower was forcing her to wear. It blurred against her pale Cairheinin skin, rendering her reflection almost ghostlike in the mirror. In stark contrast was her black hair, which she had piled carefully atop her head with the aid of another novice and about two dozen pins. She had never managed to figure out why women used cosmetics – considering her background, she would likely never feel any need to use them, herself. However, she had allowed one of the girls to pierce the lobes of her ears, and was now wearing a simple pair of silver earbobs, which was on loan for the night. Throughout her hair, white ribbons had been woven, lending a delicate look to the zealous young novice. All in all, she approved. It was as festive as she could get, considering the fact that her clothing was limited to a simple white dress.
As she paced the room, waiting for the festival to officially begin, she caught herself wondering how she would be able to afford real dresses in the future – in the future, when she became Accepted. She had already seen some of the other Accepted in dresses of wildly varying shades of color – an amazing difference from the seven-striped dresses that they usually wore. Most of them looked human for a change.
Her musing, however, did not keep her from the most important thing on her mind – the contents of a note that had been tucked inside her shoe sometime during the night.
Tonight we will truly test your loyalty. Meet me at sunset, in the northeast corner of the Great Hall. Burn this note.
-K
Atia, of course, had burned the note, channeling for the first time without proper supervision. That in of itself had been something of a thrill, at least for her. It had been long weeks since the Creator – no, the Great Lord – had whispered in her dreams and thoughts. Perhaps He was waiting for her to take the Oath that Kipcha had spoken of, to solidify her part in the destiny that had been laid out for her. She could not know, of course, but she could most definitely speculate.
So she paced her room, refusing to acknowledge the fact that she might be nervous, and waited for the bells to ring, signifying the start of the Sunday Festival.
Upon descending the stairs, Atia realized that she had one small problem. In a sea of color, her novice whites would stick out like a sore thumb. There was no way to be subtle about the fact that she was meeting Kipcha in the Great Hall. Still, she suspected no one would think twice about it – friendships between novices and accepted were frowned upon, but not necessarily against the rules. It was simply that the Aes Sedai did not want any novice to feel as if she were competing against the favorite of an accepted – or even an Aes Sedai. Thus, most novices and accepted did not intermingle, not even at Festivals such as this. However, it was not unheard of.
So, pushing aside her foolish worries, the young novice wove her way through the growing crowd, trying her best to ignore everyone around her. It took her longer than she wished to cross the threshold – sunset was barely an hour away, and she wanted some time to gather her thoughts before she spoke to Kipcha.
She was stopped, eventually. In the White Tower, it was impossible to remain unnoticed, and Atia had been singled out as a ‘particularly determined young girl’ by more than one Aes Sedai. Other novices either ignored her or treated her with something nearing outright dislike. She had no friends among the novices, but that was to be expected. They are nothing, after all.
It was not a novice who stopped her, however.
In fact, it was an Asha’man, which shocked her enough to drive her to a standstill.
It was the Asha’man she had spoken to in the library, those weeks ago, speculating on the choices that the Amyrlin had made in the past few months. Atia stared up at him (nearly everyone was taller than she was), and braced herself for yet another longwinded conversation about religion and politics.
[OOC: Please note - at this point, whatever conversation happens between Locke and Atia will occur in another thread. It was simply a good way to introduce the moment before continuing on with this thread, thereby giving myself a method of posting on two different threads in one festival.]
The hour had passed, and the last rays of the sun were just now beginning to feather into true darkness. Atia, standing alone in the northeast corner of the Great Hall, realized that she had never had a chance to prepare herself for Kipcha’s arrival, and whatever it betokened.
Despite her doubts and worries, though, the girl felt calm. It might not be the Creator who had protected her all this time, but she was certain of the fact that she was still chosen for greatness, picked out from amid all the other chaff.
Her destiny, after all, was the most important thing.
How she got there mattered little.
Finally, as the last streaks of red faded from the skies, Kipcha arrived. She drifted out of the crowd of people almost effortlessly, reaching Atia with what seemed far less trouble than the novice had experienced herself.
To Atia’s surprise, however, the Accepted was not alone.
In reply to Sunday Festival - Friends Old and New[show]/[hide]
As a former White Sister, Melina was supposed to feel little emotion over the start of a large celebration such as Sunday, but she had never been a typical White. She recalled year s as a Novice getting into some trouble or another with her friends as she terrorized unsuspecting Accepted and as an Accepted she recalled being terrorized by similar Novices. Despite the rules, Festivals at the White Tower meant a few hours of relative freedom—freedom from the rules, from chores and from the unending learning. She recalled spending many conversations with her friends boasting about how they would find their Warders among one of these celebrations, and yet when she had earned her Shawl, the first thing she sought was exit from the Tower to explore the world.
There will be little exploring left for you, Melina. A good thing you spent eight decades doing so.
As Melina looked at her reflection in the mirror, the Tairen style gown in a bright leaf green with silver embroidery a pleasant contrast to the warm tones of her loose auburn hair, she thought on how her Sisters had always frowned on her for wearing colors instead of the stark white of her Ajah. Such a silly, illogical thing to be reprimanded on when there had been so much more in which to reprimand her. She’d chosen green tonight to pay slight homage to the Green Ajah and the loss of face that they had endured recently with the former Amyrlin and Mistress of Novices. Tairen cut because she just liked the style and always had. Across the green silk was the seven striped stole of office, looped loosely against her arms and shimmering in the soft light of her apartments.
It was her first Festival to begin, the money she had approved for all the expenses seemed excessive and she tried not to let her eyes pop with each bill. It was worth it, however, as tonight would be a history of firsts for the Tower, and she felt a surge of pride to be the one that had been leading the Tower when it occurred. Male Novices would most likely create a whole new dynamic to the Festival for certain; with saidin cleansed, the fear and barriers were coming down from what Candance had reported and it seemed more likely for the girls to get into the same romantic situations with the boys now as they would with the Trainees.
More importantly was the warm welcome and strong presence of the Black Tower to the celebrations. The curt yet brief message from the M’Hael indicated he would be unable to attend, but he was sending additional men to supplement those already established in the White Tower. There had been some Sitters demanding that she express her displeasure at the leader of the Black Tower refusing the invitation, but Melina had quelled it with a simple “No”. She had her reasons—all logical of course—and would not risk tensions between a budding relationship over something such as a Festival. He would have attended if he could, and she understood better than any of the Sitters the pressures and demands he was under. She was more pleased with the additional Soldiers, Dedicated and Asha’man attending as it would provide both Towers an opportunity to further get to know one another in a casual setting.
“Mother, it’s time.” Nathalia spoke from the doorway, her eyes looking at Melina as if she were trying to see into and through her soul.
“Thank you, Nathalia.” Melina slipped into the embroidered slippers and touched the simple silver and emerald necklace that circled her neck closely. It had been a gift from Alimon nearly fifty years ago and she had been angry at him for spending any money at all on her for something she thought she would never wear. Bringing herself back to the present, Melina walked swiftly through the hallways, Nathalia keeping stride with her. “Has the Black Tower delegation arrived?”
“Just a couple minutes ago, Asha’man Locke greeted them and brought them to the Hall.”
“How many?”
“Three score. Mostly Asha’man and Dedicated but there was perhaps ten Soldiers as well.”
It was a large enough delegation that showed Melina that the M’Hael respected her invitation, but not so large to frighten the White Tower. As they descended to the lower levels of the Tower, chords of music reached her ears, the beautiful strains of an Andoran composition that was light and whimsical. The corridors leading to the Hallway began to start showing signs of decoration, leading the wanderer to follow the lines of silk and flowers wrapped and skillfully attached to the walls, and as they reached the tall mahogany double doors of the Hall, light spilled forth and washed over Melina. There were already many men and women in attendance, some dressed in their Novice Whites, while others were dressed in a rainbow of colors and cuts—some fine some simple. Many Aes Sedai wore their Shawls as a badge of honor for the formal occasion, while some ageless faces simply appeared above the necklines of their gowns.
Those who immediately saw the stole of office on her entrance fell into deep curtseys, even the Aes Sedai bending in respect for her position. She made her way to the dais where the commencement of the Festival always took place and as she reached the platform, a wave of black caught her eye from the same doors she’d arrived. The orchestra let their music drift to silence and the Hall went quiet as she embraced the Source, weaving Fire and Air to amplify her voice. “Welcome one and all to the Sunday Festival at the White Tower. It is my distinct pleasure to not only offer a warm hand of welcome to those who live here in Tar Valon, but also to our new friends from the Black Tower, the men who fight the same battle as us and seek the same goals of keeping the world safe. Please be welcome to the White Tower Asha’man, Dedicated and Soldiers of the Black Tower!”
A warm applause, though light, received the men in black as they filed in with almost military discipline to the Hallway and they bowed as one to the attendants of the White Tower. As the applause quieted, Melina continued with a smile, “Sunday is a night for celebrating, so please enjoy the food, drink and dance and take this opportunity to become acquainted with new friends. Let the Festival begin!”
OOC: The Festial has now begun! Please remember that no posts are allowed above this one until it's finished on August 29. Any posts that do get placed above it will be deleted without notice. For rules and guidelines on what is expected by the characters, please see Joni's post. Remember that if you break the rules, expect to be caught--but sometimes that's just part of the fun!
Everyone have a great time writing and enjoy the Festival!!! =)
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Replies to In Plain Sight - Kipcha!!
- Wolves — Atia Doreilas, Fri, Aug 20, 2010 00:46 am
