Topic: Milestones

Valucia Sabet · Date: 2009-02-11 11:48 EST

The next day dawned bright but the chill of winter still lingered in the earlier hours of it. Valucia rose from her bed and bathed in the tub she had within one of her rooms in the inn. Meticulous care to her appearance and the time was taken to bring that about though that day, she wore her hair bound near her neck and otherwise unpinned against her back. That morning, the Aes Sedai did not wear her usual and fairer dress of blue but instead opted for a dark green one of sturdier material and cut. The skirts were split in the fashion for riding. About her waist her belt was cinched with a small sheathed dagger and a single leather pouch. Chatelaine and earrings were left to the dressing table, bearing only the ring on her right hand.

She crossed the room she slept in and stepped into the outer room that was set up to study, write, and hold company in. Two chairs faced one another with a small table within reach of both. A larger table stood across the room near a window where papers, ink, sticks of wax, an unlit taper, cup and saucer, a large kettle and more filled most of the surface of it.

The cup was lifted from its mismatched saucer to drink the rest of the tea from it. After the cup was refilled, she glanced out of the window to the busy street below. Raytheon was expected and there was much to talk about.

?Swordplay will have to wait until afternoon, at the very least.? The words were murmured to herself then sipped at the hot tea.

Raytheon was young and she worried over it without tell him. There was no need to tell him. What concerned her would change in that way and other matters might be helped with training and the passage of time.

As her thoughts turned to the weaving of events to come and tasks yet to consider, Valucia?s eyes shifted slowly between the busy road below to the horizon of rooftops and the distant mountain range.

Raytheon · Date: 2009-02-12 19:09 EST

Raytheon was out the door before dawn, leaving a trail of booted footsteps in last night's snowfall as he joined the morning shift of dockworkers as they shuffled to work. His Warder's cloak fluttered in the breeze while he slipped easily among them, catching snatches of conversation as the men exchanged the latest news.

The men trudged up the planks to the ships, but Raytheon turned left onto a small alley where some of the seedier dives were located. Men who would be reluctant to divulge some information in a confessional spoke freely here, as if by virtue of entering such a place it meant that all others were equally tainted by sin. Slipping into the not-so-subtly named Easy Conquest, he ordered a cup of coffee and leaned against the wall, pretending to be watching something in the street and occasionally holding his head as if fighting off the effects of a hangover.

Several minutes later, he stepped back out on the street, storing away the rumors he'd heard about a mysterious shipment that had arrived in the middle of the night. He mentally identified a couple of sources that might be able to verify the information and provide further details. Valucia had given him access to a small sum of money, which Raytheon was able to use to grease palms when necessary.

Glancing up at the sky, he estimated he had another hour before Valucia would be expecting him. Chuckling lightly, he figured he had a natural alarm clock, since any impatience on her part would be felt through the bond.

At the corner, Raytheon paused to buy the newspaper. Folding it under his arm, he walked in the direction of the marketplace. The vendors were another great source of information, as they observed the shopping habits and mannerisms of Rhydin's residents. Furthermore, gossip tended to be their only source of interaction and amusement during the long days in front of their narrow stalls.

A hazel-eyed gaze swung over the market, assessing the level of activity in different parts before settling on a bench near the area that local farmers had staked out to sell their produce.

As he sat on the bench, reading the newspaper and seemingly oblivious to the rest of the world, he feared his ears might drown under the deluge of gossip pouring into them. Each bit was filed away, to be brought up when it might prove useful.

Valucia Sabet · Date: 2009-02-13 10:12 EST

While she waited she thought on Zedi Null, the Tower, and things past. She was a Blue and it was, by her very nature, to want to have peace for everyone even if it seemed the most unlikely of possibilities.

The tea was put aside and her gaze left the street and buildings. A thread of amusement was felt through the bond, just then, and wondered at briefly. But it was tucked away for later as she reached for a missive that bore that stamp of the White Tower in the wax. Delicate fingers and thumb placed pressure to either side of it to bring about a dull ?snap? of sound; breaking it.

As she skimmed over it, she found it to be like the others: a report of happenings that lacked emotion or zeal. Merely, it was a list of facts of people, places, ages, and more. The letter was placed on top of the others. She glanced to a box beside them that was warded with more sensitively worded letters.

How the trunk had made its way to the ship and into RhyDin and the continuance of communication from the Tower was hers to know. The journey for herself had been hard enough. She pressed a sleeve back completely and passed a look and touch over the two, small scars at her forearm. They were tiny reminders of the harsh ordeal she had endured to get there.

For the briefest of moments, she thought on Alrin and frowned. ?There will be no peace for Raytheon.. ? ..if she didn?t somehow nullify her mourning for her past Warder. Some took no Warders at all and others not only had one, but several. Even some were married to their Warders. Valucia had never married and Blues were rarely known to ever do so. But she had cared a great deal for Alrin, even now. She stole herself against it again. ?There are other things to do...? The chiding was for herself, to herself. A habit of talking to herself drew another frown. Something she still had to work on, no matter her age.

Thoughts turned to the ride against the two youths she had set against them in game. They had won, though she had not pushed her horse hard enough to win. She hadn?t intended to win. Just enough to allow them their happiness and the winning of the silver coin apiece she had promised them if they had. Valucia smiled to recall that happiness.

The mild growling of her stomach reminded her that she had not had breakfast; only the tea. Time enough yet to see to that smallest of things, she slipped from the rooms she held at the inn, but not before locking and placing wards on each of the doors that accessed those rooms. She guided green skirts in her descent to the inn?s common room and passed the few that were in it at that hour. With any luck, there would be what she wanted in the kitchen. A hand on its door, she was out of sight of the patrons for a small time to come.

Raytheon · Date: 2009-02-14 20:52 EST

As Raytheon walked towards the Red Dragon Inn, the haunting sounds of a female voice, accompanied by acoustic guitar, caused him to veer from his path. The woman was disheveled, her hair in knots and a stained dress barely covering her more intimate parts. Dirt caked her face, which seemed to be contorted in a permanent state of anguish. She was, in short, hideous, but her voice was... divine. There was no other way to describe it.

He listened, entranced, as she sang. So beautiful was the music itself that it took him a moment to process the lyrics:

Life is little more than a dream,
So shut your eyes and go to sleep,
Upon waking, things will not be as they seem,
For the Aiel will expect you to take the leap.

At the last sentence, the singer stopped singing abruptly and swiveled her head to Raytheon, fixing him with a long stare. Thinking that perhaps she expected a tip, he pulled a few coins from his pocket and placed them in her guitar case. Yet she still did not play, her dark eyes fixated on him.

Feeling distinctly uncomfortable now, Raytheon smiled encouragingly. "Ya sin' beautifully, miss." If anything, the comment seemed to upset her. Her mouth twisted horrendously and she let out a loud wail, before crying out. "You must visit them! You must! You must!"

Her antics were attracting a crowd. Backtracking quickly, Raytheon retreated for the safety of the inn, the woman's words raining down on his back: "You must visit! You must!"

Raytheon · Date: 2009-02-15 22:18 EST

Light snow was falling by the time Raytheon finished his final lesson with the swordmaster. It was almost noon, and his stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten all day. Wiping a hand across his sweat-drenched brow, he started north towards the Red Dragon Inn for a bite to eat and a chance to dry off by the fire.

He was nearing the inn when the familiar sounds of a woman's voice reached his ears. Turning, he saw her down an alleyway, huddled against the wall. Her eyes appeared to be closed, but she opened them a moment later. Her eyes widened when they fell upon him, and she began to strum her guitar furiously, chanting:

Guided by the invisible hand,
Make haste to the Three-Fold Land.
To help Tar Valon fully heal
Go in search of the crescent seal.
Follow the one with golden hair,
But if you lose her scent, beware.

As soon as the last note left her, the singer placed her guitar into its case and slammed it shut. Raytheon called out to her, but she was already running down the alleyway, her bare feet pattering on the cobblestone street. She gave one final glance over her shoulder, her eyes full of fear.

Raytheon shook his head. He was beginning to think she was just crazy. Twenty minutes later, he was hunched over a hot bowl of stew in front of the hearth, his encounter with the singer pushed out of his thoughts.

That night at the Marketplace, he heard the first rumors: A woman's body had been discovered in an alleyway a few blocks from the inn. Her face had been disfigured beyond recognition, but the City Guard had found a guitar case nearby. The strangest thing though, the peddler said in a low voice, was the overwhelming smell of sulphur in the air and several large paw prints left in the stone.

Valucia Sabet · Date: 2009-03-04 10:13 EST

Strengths and weaknesses. Everyone had them, even Aes Sedai whether they spoke of them or not. To listen to a Red, they never had weaknesses or flaws for that matter.

But Valucia Sabet was neither a Red nor without her weaknesses. So again, for more than the fiftieth time that day, she worked her hand at Fire. That particular thread of the Five Powers was not her strongest of working of the Powers. Wind and Water came as naturally as breathing to her, so much so that she had to guard herself against them in her sleep. But that was a story for another day.

On this particular day, the woman of the Blue Ajah stood tall in the middle of the Glen ? no matter her small stature. Her hair was pulled back at her nape but the rest of its length was left free to flow on the cool, Spring air. Her face was schooled with concentration and her black-pearl eyes were distant. The muscles of her back and shoulders ached with the numerous attempts. Her arm was outstretched towards the ancient stump with its cragged crown and fingers spread with the attempt. Any that held the ability to and ventured into the area could see the glow about the woman.

Seventy. Ninety. And nothing more than a faint wisp of smoke trailed up from one of the stump?s uneven points. But two or three tries thereafter came a spark. She grit her teeth and sounded a verbal noise of utter frustration and flung her hand out again with that upset at her fingertips. What came next threw her off of her feet and made the wood of the old stump erupt in flames. Sharp sounds of cracking wood were heard and she stumbled back to land rudely on her rump. Darkluster eyes were wide with wonder at first, then narrowed speculatively.

Valucia gathered herself up and dusted the back of her skirts off before she slowly approached the stump. There was no reason why to get a better look of it. What had happened feet away could have been seen where she had been. But she stepped closer, all the same while she thought on it.

A smile then touched her face, uninhibited and laughed quietly aloud. Her head lowered while she thought on it more and hands met her hips as she ?A wonder.? She shook her head and drew upon Water to douse the fire she had created at the old tree stump. Wind was then used to dry it thoroughly. Years it had taken and this was her progress. The remainder of the day was spent with more practice at it until darkness fell and hunger urged her to seek the inn for a meal and rest.