Meeting the Mistress of Novices

[Yahna]

The lid of a large trunk slammed shut as a servant finished packing, a lock sliding through the ring and fastening shut. Venka Barashti did not even hear it, nor did she notice as the trunk was carried downstairs. Lost in her thoughts, she contemplated, not for the first time, abandoning her plans and staying here with her family. The Aes Sedai, the one who had tested her and stared hard at her with her ageless face and serene manner, said she could learn. She could learn but would not start channeling unless she did. She did not have to go.

 

Her eyes lingered on the shelves with the handful of books that were her own, a few treasured purchased from the larger cities on various mercantile expeditions. Her jewelry box was already closed and stowed in her mother's room, to be held until such time that she could wear the pieces again. The Aes Sedai had warned her, all cool voice and expectation, that she would have nothing of her own, at all, as a Novice. Her horse would return with her family, her clothes would be stored.

 

One small shake of her head and Venka turned, dismissing her fears and anxiety. She would do this. For Opadel, she would do this. She waded her way through the tearful goodbyes of her family, the whole extended trading clan seeming to have turned out to see her off. Those accompanying her to Tar Valon were already mounted, the outriders urging a small herd onto the trail in anticipation. The Barashti were not ones to miss a trading opportunity, after all. Their horses would sell well in Tar Valon.

 

The trip itself was uneventful. As they traveled south, it was almost possible to forget the end of the journey, the fact that she would not be returning. It was as first Dragonmount then the White Tower appeared on the horizon, visible before the rest of Tar Valon, that her decision truly hit home. This was it. She would not be returning to Arafel. No more horses, no more trading, no more family. Just the One Power, a terrifying unknown.

 

Having a letter from an Aes Sedai saw that she was attended to promptly and, before she was ready, her family was whisked off, disappearing out the gate before she even properly said goodbye. A white-dressed Novice, overly earnest and superior, lead the girl through the maze of corridors, stopping to curtsey to the various shawled and well-dressed Aes Sedai that passed without looking. Venka curtseyed as well, watching closely while keeping her eyes down the best she could. Caution. She must show caution.

 

Those thoughts repeated themselves over and over again as she was left before a polished but plain wooden door. "The Mistress of Novices waits within," the novice informed her in a voice she likely thought serene that sounded, instead, pompous. Turning on her heel and heading down the hall, she left Venka without another word.

 

Looking down at her hands, the young woman was surprised to see nary a tremor in her fingers. The calloused skin was clean, as were her nails. She'd seen to that this morning. Her dress was as clean as it could be, saved in the trunk for this day and freshly brushed. The dark gray wool was finely cut and well-stitched but not excessive. Her dark hair was held by in a utilitarian braid, falling to between her shoulder blades. Her face was clean--she'd checked--the dark skin smooth, her dark eyes not widened or panicked when she had looked in the mirror. She wasn't pretty but she looked capable. She was ready.

 

She stopped herself. She was dithering, delaying. Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand and knocked firmly on the door. When bade to enter, she did.

[Amadine]

Valeri sat at her writing desk, the large ornate timber polished to a deep shine, reading a report sent to her by Aes Sedai on one of her more troublesome Novices. The child sat sullenly in the chair opposite. "Do not sulk child. If you choose to be rude to your teachers then you choose to accept the consequences of your actions."

 

Farina curled her lip and bit off a retort as she caught a glimpse of Valeri's expression. The child was talented but Light, she was a wild one. "Farina you will go to the kitchens and tell Mistress Laras that you have been rude to an Aes Sedai. You are to spend all of your free time for the next month scrubbing pots and the ovens. Is that understood?"

 

Farina glared down at her lap and said nothing. "Is that understood child." Valeri repeated.

 

"Yes Aes Sedai." the child said glumly.

 

There was a knock at the door and Valeri rose from her seat. She walked around to the door and as she pulled it open she spoke again, "Now Farina, off with you child, and see that you follow my directions and have a care to use some manners with your teachers."

 

Farina pushed out of the doorway and ran down the hallway, she had almost barrelled over a stocky lass who stood there waiting to see Valeri.

 

"Come in child, won't you have a seat?" Valeri indicated the seat left vacant by Farina. "My name is Valeri Kinaea, I am the Mistress of Novices here at the White Tower, you may call me Valeri Sedai."

 

Valeri sat in her own chair and poured them each a cup of tea. She lifted her cup and before she sipped she said, "Now child, what can i do for you?"

 

Valeri Kinaea

Mistress of Traditional Novices

[Yahna]

As the outgoing Novice passed her, Venka cast a quick glance at the girl's face. All else fades--even curiosity about some sort of transgression--in the face of an Aes Sedai, however, and she was quick to follow the indicated directions.

 

Sitting quickly and arranging her skirts neatly, the young woman slid an envelope in her hands from side to side before holding it out. It had the angular script of a rarely-in-the-Tower Red sister, marked on the outside with the name of the current Mistress of Novices. "Malinta Sedai said I was to bring this to you, Valeri Sedai," she said in a rush of words, a bit of anxiety in her voice. Even now, even knowing as she has for some time, the dread worry that somehow it wasn't true, it wouldn't happened, wormed its way through the pit of her stomach. "She tested me, ma'am, several years ago. When..." Her voice trailed off. "When she came to gentle my brother."

 

That stated and the letter passed, she slide back in her seat and sat with a precisely straight back, proud and terrified and no small bit defiant about her brother, all at the same time.

[Amadine]

The child moved passed Valeri and took the indicated seat before Valeri's desk. Valeri closed the door and moved to sit in her own chair. The girl seated before her was fiddling with an envelope, passing it back and for between her hands.

 

"Malinta Sedai said I was to bring this to you, Valeri Sedai, She tested me, ma'am, several years ago. When... When she came to gentle my brother."

Valeri's expression softened and she poured them each a cup of her favourite Saldaean blend of tea. She pushed one of the fine Seafolk porcelain teacups across the desktop to the lass seated before her. "That must have been a difficult time for you child. Is that perhaps a letter for me that you have there?"

Valeri Kinaea

Mistress of Traditional Novices