My WOT Characters

All journeys begin somewhere and where they lead is a secret until the traveler arrives at long last… but all journeys end at the same place, home.

I remember the day I came to the Tower, some two lifetimes ago, as if it were yesterday. I remember the weariness I felt, my horse barely holding me aloft as we crossed the great arcing bridge towards the island of Tar Valon. Beneath us passed the ships sailing off to points unknown and with each wave crashing upon the shore line, my dream of being Queen of Arad Doman and a council member, sailed gently off to the Sea of Unlived Dreams.

That day, the world lay ahead of me. That day, there was no Black Ajah… there was no great war against the shadow… that day there was only a dream that lay on my own horizon as surely as distant Dragonmount. I remember seeing those two things and thinking to myself how ironic it all was. Of all the places in the world that the great witches of Tar Valon could build their Iconic Stainless Tower, they built it within sight of the one thing that they should most wish to escape, the legacy of Lews Therin. They built their home facing the inescapable truth that it was the One Power, their power, which broke the world.

And then, as I gazed towards the mount and then back to the Tower, I realized something… of all the things in the world which marked the passing of men, only one dared touch upon the great mountain. For as terrible as the Dragon had been, the Tower alone could touch it… it’s long shadow looming across the land, chasing the mountain endlessly; a reminder that what they rot on the world long ago, would be undone. This was the Tower’s promise to the world; ever vigilant, never giving up. That for so great as many could be, it was one man’s mark that would change the world and set the course for all to follow him. With the hope of vigilance and the promise of good… and the idea that one man (or woman) could change the world; I made my way to the gates of the Tower to declare my name and purpose for the first time ever.

Had I known then where my journey would take me, I’m not so certain that I would have gone to face my destiny. Had I known of all those I’d come to love and lose, and how much of myself would be stolen away… would I have met the challenge as I did? I suppose I will never know. The arches, so they say, show us where our heart of heart lays… that we are strong enough to forsake all that we love and care for in order to serve selflessly. I’ve always hated those bloody things, the arches, but I suppose in some way they serve their purpose too. Perhaps that is the lesson of all of this, of life, that even evil serves its purpose in the grand design. Perhaps the greatest wisdom is that there is no such thing as evil at all, just a measure of what ends men would go to in order to achieve a goal.

What ends, I wondered as the Tower came into sight, would I pursue to achieve my goal? Was I better than those foul women who had stolen the Ter’Angreal and Angreal from the storage… was I little more than a pawn for the machinations of something greater than myself?

Telcia chuckled. [i]I’m beginning to sound like a White…[/i] The Tower lay ahead, the moon shinning on it’s bright white walls and from beneath her dark cloak she smiled a weak and faint grin. Whether the smile was because of madness or joy at being back, she was unsure… perhaps both. Her stomach rumbled with hunger pains, her food had run out two days back and she felt weak as a newborn kitten. She wished now she had taken the horse in Camelyn which she’d been offered, bad leg or not… but no, that farm family needed it more than she did.

At the top of the bridge, a guard house sat, and a man there in the red cloak of the Guard had her pause. “Who goes there?” He asked with confidence. At this hour it seemed the streets of Tar Valon were desperately deserted and the guard had good reason to wonder who she was, dressed so mysteriously entering the city alone. Drawing breath she slowly exhaled and slid on something beneath the deep cuffs of her cloak. Then, extending her right arm she let the moon glint off the small serpent ring on her ring finger. “No one you need concern yourself with, Guard; a good evening to you.”

“Aes Sedai, forgive me… do you require any assistance?” The man was kind enough in voice, likely he noticed how she wavered as she walked, despite her best intentions.

“Only for you to forget you saw me. I wish a quiet homecoming… no need to wake everyone at this hour. The Light bless and keep you.” Telcia began walking on and could hear the man stammering the same blessing in return behind her. Something about her must have unnerved the man more than she was use to seeing in men. Even without her crimson banner slung across her back, this man seemed to quiver. Had she grown so cold that even in trying to be friendly she sounded icy and without care for anyone or anything? Or was it simply her manner on such a dark night?

Down into the city she strode and towards a place she’d remembered distantly in her dreams as a place of sanctuary. The small building was two stories high and out front on a red sign was carved in the Keeper’s Staff and an image of the Amyrlin’s Stole that, if one looked closely enough, had a larger red stripe than any other. Telcia stood staring up at the sign for a long while until a particularly cold draft of wind caught her cloak and seemed to remind her that she was rushing inside somewhere warm where food waited for her.

The common room of the Staff and Stole was dark save for the lone fire blazing still in the far hearth. Crossing the room, careful not to knock over chairs which were up ended on the tables, she came to stand before the fire and warm herself. “We ain’t got no rooms, Miss. Try the Gleeman’s Whistle just up the way.” An old woman’s voice called out behind her. The woman was the great-grand daughter of the first Mistress who served her on the first day she came here; yet her name remained the same. A position of honor, a position to serve…

“Why Mistress Elina, no rooms,” Turning around she came to face the woman who was standing on the bottom step of the stairs, with a look of tearful joy in her eyes, “…not even for family?”

Mistress Elina, head of the Red Ajah Eyes and Ears directory, held Telcia tight to her fragile form. “Light but we’ve missed you… so much, so many terrible things Telcia Sedai…” The old woman, who first felt like a mother holding her; now felt like a child in Telcia’s arms, “Muirenn, she’s not…” Telcia felt her stomach seize up and a tight knot and she found herself interrupting the woman rudely.

“What, is she well? Light, tell me woman, is she okay?”

Elina wiped away a stray tear from her cheek and nodded meekly. “Alive, Mistress Dyfelle… alive… but no longer in charge. Mistress Zania she was but now… gone… so many gone.”

“Dumai’s Wells?” Telcia questioned softly and to her horror Elina nodded again.

“Who leads then?” She whispered pulling the woman very near her. “Who is highest?”

“Mistress Caral.”

“Dear Light …” Telcia’s mouth hung agape only for a moment before she pulled herself together.

“What can I do Mistress Dyfelle?” Elina clearly wanted to assist but what could the old woman do? Soon the whole world would be asking that same question and wanting to run and hide, but there would be no where to go… and she’d have no answers on what to do. She sighed and pulled herself together, pulling the hood of her cloak back on.

“Make me three sandwiches and put them in a small nap sack. Send apples too, if you have them. Three. Cookies as well if you can spare them.” The old woman looked oddly at the hooded form before her now.

“How will that help?” She inquired.

From under the hood Telcia chuckled, “I’m the Aes Sedai, you let me worry about the how… now, off with you. We’ve got little evening left and I mean to be done by dawn.”

Less than twenty minutes later, a hooded figure slipped out of the Staff and Stole and continued up the main street towards the gates of the White Tower. She’d have to let the guard at the gate know she was there but he wouldn’t be able to race off and tell anyone till the end of his shift and she hoped by then what needed to be done would be.

Through the gates and towards the gardens and beyond to the plot of land in which rested the great Sisters of the past. The graveyard was a beautiful place, especially in the moonlight. Raising both hands slowly she pulled back her hood and walked confidently towards the large oak tree near the back of the plots. Sitting down she pulled out three sandwiches, one she placed on a grave that read “Jeleane, Novice of the White Tower, beloved friend.” And the other read “Melanie Tarou, Accepted of the White tower, Beloved Friend & Sister.” Melanie had been buried with a White Shawl, the Ajah she’d aspired to. It had been a lovely thing which the Whites did for Telcia then. They knew how hard it had been on her and most of them had been expecting Melanie to join their ranks within weeks. Rumor even had it they had already cleared out a room for her, a room that was likely still unfilled.

Next, came the apples and the cookies, again one on each grave and the last in her own lap. Her eyes lingered on Jeleane’s name and she pushed aside the thoughts of her own daughter (Jeleane Melanie Dyfelle) who would never receive a grave if she wasn’t found by Arette. That was, if she wasn’t still alive somewhere… which, she told herself, she had to believe; she couldn’t give up hope… not now… not ever.

“I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long,” She began in a hushed tone. “I suppose I owe you both a great deal of tea and sandwiches. Sorry for no tea tonight. It’s been a long trip and my hands were full.” She bit into her sandwich and ate several more bites hungrily in a most unrefined fashion before pausing to go on.

“I don’t know what I’m doing here exactly. I suppose Arette thought it was best for me to be here because out there maybe I’d have to face the reality of it all. Maybe I’m not better, I just don’t know.” She chuckled to herself. “Of course, you’re right… I should have let the Yellows poke and prod me more. Maybe they would have found me more forth coming with revelations than Iussi. Light, I hope…” She shook her head slowly.

“I don’t know if I can handle another bit of bad news. Perine trying to lead… Light… and the terrible incident at Dumai’s Wells… and we haven’t even begun on my own problems. In some ways I’m glad you two aren’t here right now. Perhaps that’s why HE took you home to him? Maybe he didn’t want you two to have to endure all this bloody mess.” Telcia glanced back at the Tower.

“We’d be enemies now… but as things are, no political alliances can separate us. I guess our promises held true, eh?” She turned back to the graves. “Seems the old vines of ivy have grown back to the roof again, I suppose with Con gone there is no one to keep them trimmed. I had heard a rumor he may have left … I need his strength now. I suppose I could put eyes and ears to the ground to find him, but would he come? His place is with Arette… may the Light send them together again. I think I shall pray for them both, and the children. Oh… that’s right, you don’t know. Arette had twins. Poor dears have their father’s nose but her lovely eyes and bright demeanor and they adore listening to stories and lectures. Arette couldn’t be more proud.” She laughed, but inside her heart was aching.

“Why did you have to ask?” She muttered. “I … I don’t know where they are.” Drawing breath a violent shuddering sob took her over. Putting her face into her hands she let the last crumbs of the bread fall to the cold snow covered earth. “But I’ll find them and bring them home… and I’ll make things right in the Ajah, mark me… I’ll set things right even if the cost is dear. Without them… what’s the one thing I’ve feared giving up all this time? I’m not like they think… I’m not… I’ll do as I must.” Pulling her marriage dagger from its sheath around her neck she slid it across her palm slowly and let the blood pour onto the earth.

“I’ll do as I must, give all that I have… by the Light and my blood… by my life and hope of rebirth I swear it. All that I must until the bloody flaming end; so the Light help me!” Through gritted teeth as she swore a nearly silent oath and then, quietly, finished her dinner leaving the apples, sandwiches and cookies behind on the graves where she’d placed them. She knew that birds and animals would eat them… but it always made her feel good to see the food half eaten or gone on her next visit. Somehow it was like they were there still, at least in spirit, and in that way she was never alone.

Silent and vast, the Halls of the White Tower stood before her, echoing chambers of nothingness at this darkest hour before the dawn. In a matter of hours word would reach ears across the city that she had returned, but now, if she hurried, she might get a nap in before being summoned to the Amyrlin’s Office. That was, if the woman’s contacts were as good as she expected they might be. Or, perhaps, it would be Perine who found her first. She hoped that wouldn’t be the case. She was fully intending to go to Perine as soon as she woke. Some things desperately needed to be discussed and immediately reconsidered. She might not be a Sitter any more, or planning on staying longer than it took to get Iussi out… but she’d bloody well advise the girl. [i]Light, she’s hardly a girl any more Telcia.[/i]

Through the double doors and into the main foyer of the Ajah Halls, she came. There, in that place she’d once knelt so long ago and prayed to the Light for guidance (a prayer that led her to the reds) she stood once more. From the great flame in the center of the floor, where she stood, she eyed each color spinning outward to a long corridor done in its Ajah’s color. Each had its own feel… but none felt so much like home as the one done in the color of fresh blood. The color stood for the blood shed by the men who suffered and died, for the women who died in the course of the cause, for the children who lost fathers and the wives their husbands… the color was for her and so many others like her. She, however, got the honor of wearing the banner and carrying their burden… even as she bore her own.

Drawing another steadying breath the cloaked figure made it’s way down the hall, past the picture which had been commissioned by Bonwhin the Great herself, to the second door in the hall. The first had previously belonged to Zania, while the third belonged to her Aunt Muirenn and concealed the entrance to the Crimson Chambers.

Turning the old ceramic handle until it clicked, she felt her weave which protected the room give and slide away at her contact. Darkness filled the room’s interior, as well as dust. To see where she was going she opened herself to the overwhelming warmth of life itself. Drawing it in like a deep breath and letting it wash over her like a wave, she pulled forward the strands of air, fire, and spirit necessary to create a ball of light. The basic exercise was the first weave she learned that involved more than one thread… and now, all these years later, it came to her like second nature.

The yellow-white glow illuminated so much in the room in an eerie fashion… in fact, if she hadn’t known better she might have thought she’d stepped into a dream. On the wall was a painting of Arie, Melanie and Telcia fishing on the shores of Tar Valon, next to it was a necklace holding a single gold serpent ring on it’s length… not her own. Inside, scribed on it’s inner band, was Melanie Tarou. Beside the necklace was a vanity with a great mirror, on it’s top rested jewelry boxes which had been gifts, and a vase Mellyn had given her as a raising gift. An empty box of turtles from the confection shop reminded her of her day out with Jaydena in Tar Valon what seemed lifetimes ago… and she couldn’t help but touch the box and smile fondly.

Pillows lay all about the floor in Domani fashion but each had their own meaning and was bought for a memory they held… colors, patterns… and embroidery she’d done on them, made each one unique and special. Kneeling down she picked up one in particular that had a gleeman’s lute sewn into it… “Oh Iussi…” She whispered, pulling the pillow tight to her breasts. Rising, still holding the pillow, she walked over to her bed… letting the heavy cloak fall to the ground and the snow with it.

Beside her bed she saw a copy of, “Tower Law and Tradition by Telcia Alainin-Nalemar; Accepted” She’d finished two copies of her first and only book… one likely still sat in the Amyrlin’s Study as she doubted Karana Majin had time to go back to her library to pick up gifts she’d been given on the day she was made Amyrlin. This one was important though… this one was the original and bore writings from Melanie and Jeleane inside. She could hardly believe she’d fled the Tower so quickly on her last visit not to have remembered to bring it with her.

Shoes off, and dress dropped to the floor in a pile she slid into the blankets in only her shift and lazily pulled out her hair tie as she did so. Still holding her Iussi pillow… she closed her eyes and tried to make the noise of the world’s problems leave her mind. As the small ball of light faded, dying as she dozed off and didn’t focus on it any longer… so too did the world seem to fade. With a yawn, like that she’d uttered her first night ever in the Tower, one of complete exhaustion… Telcia closed her eyes and proceeded to fall asleep.

But not before whispering one last thing to herself, “Welcome home Telcia… welcome home.”