((OOC: And after no ado and much delay.. the TG Oaths :P)

 

 

Midday.  They had told him it would come now, but even then he hadn’t known what to expect.  The glade was one he had never visited before, though he had a tendency towards visiting areas like this.  There were certainly places you left alone though, and with the tree covered skyline and few shafts of light coming through, there was a formality and solemnest that would most likely have kept him at bay if he had come across if by accident.

 

Others were there as well as he approached the stone slab.  The Commander stood before him and Ursana took a deep breath as the ceremony began.  Kneeling, he looked at the Commander and kept his voice clear and concise.

 

“I come here unarmed, offering to give myself to the defense of those who serve all.”

 

“Who would speak for you?” the commander asked. 

 

Lyssa stood on his right side and answered.  “I would speak for him, he is fit.”  He was glad at least someone he knew was there.  Lyssa and Aran were friends and he’d met the Tower Guard on more than one occasion.  It took a lot of effort not to smile at her.

 

“Who would trust you?”

 

“I would trust him.”  He didn’t know her, the Aes Sedai with the red fringed shawl, but he had heard her name whispered before they began.  Meagan Sedai.  A Red Sister though she didn’t seem anything like what he thought a Red would be.  She seemed.. nice.  Friendly.  He’d have to thank her afterwards and he hoped that he might get a chance to know her a little.  He wasn’t the sort to turn down the chance to meet an Aes Sedai. 

 

“Who would accept you?”

 

Lyssa spoke again.  “I would.”

 

“Who would witness your oath whose word is beyond question?”

 

“I will”  He liked the Aes Sedai’s voice.  Something about it was rather soothing.  Calming.  He wondered if they taught that in the Tower of if she’d always been like that.

 

“Do you understand that once pledged you are forever bound to a rule of defense? Defense of all Aes Sedai, the defense of the White Tower?”

 

There was no hesitation in his answer.  “Yes.”  He’d long ago fought his demons about being bound to the same place he had once hated his sister for.  Those thoughts had no place within him now, though the image of the open road rose to mind as soon as he said them. 

 

The Commander continued on and Ursana left his memories.  “Do you understand that once pledged you are forever bound to a rule of obedience? Obedience to your officers, obedience to all Aes Sedai?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Do you understand that once pledged you are forever bound to a rule of commitment? Commitment to serving faithfully, commitment despite any adversity?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Then give your oath now.”

 

Ursana took a deep breath before beginning, taking a moment to let his mind come to peace.  He had long ago learned where his heart and mind lay.  Now it was time to live by it.  “I swear by the light and my hope of salvation and rebirth, as a Tower Guard to defend the White Tower and all who call it home.”

 

“I swear by the light and my hope of salvation and rebirth, as a Tower Guard to serve faithfully for as long as the White Tower requires me.”

 

“I swear by the light and my hope of salvation and rebirth, as a Tower Guard to fight the shadow and uphold the light until my dying day.”

 

The Commander nodded as the oaths were completed.  “We welcome you to the Tower Guard, you that were known once as of .” 

 

Meagan Sedai clasped the cloak around his shoulders and he couldn’t help but look up and smile.  He had been trying to keep a serious face, but it didn’t quite make it.  She gave a slight smile in return but as she turned to walk away her serene face was back in place.

 

“We welcome you as of the Tower Guard, our brother in arms. Rise and stand as one among many.”  Ursana stood then and Lyssa came forward, handing him a long dagger.  He looked at it in his hand for a moment before looking up at her and nodding.  Then smiling again, the Than Sakhr propensity for wearing their emotions on their sleeves showing. 

 

“You came to us unarmed, and as our mark of trust we place this steel in your hand. May you keep it as a symbol of the trust that has been placed in you, and may it serve you well.”

 

The Commander walked around the stone slab to the right and placed his left hand on Sana’s shoulder before speaking.  “Spare a moment for those who have come before you and to who you have become, as shall those who follow you.”

 

The Aes Sedai and Lyssa were led away and Ursana took a moment to kneel down in the glade once more.  He didn’t think about what had come before or what would happen next, but simply took in the peace of the grove, trying to fix it in his head for future recall.  With the many places he had visited over the years, he placed it in the back of his mind.  A place to recall when he needed it.  With that memory in place, he walked out of the grove, in search of the Aes Sedai and Tower Guard who had stood beside him today.

 

He was one of the Tower Guard now.  One of the men and women he had trained so hard beside for so many years.  It was a more difficult path to tread than the others he had ever known and he knew there would be temptation at times, but he was a Tower Guard now.  Whatever else lay ahead of him, he would face it as one.

 

Ursana Tahn Sakhr, Tower Guard

Lyssa smoothed the imaginary creases in her dress uniform and wondered how she had gotten here. Years ago she had come to this Tower, to be an Aes Sedai like her Mother. Somehow she had ended up not having the ability to channel, though her brother had it in spades, and her anger had led her to the Warders Yard. That anger had fed her for some time and she had eventualy become a Tower Guard and then worked hard to become one of the best in the yards. She stood back and gazed at herself in the mirror, her crisp Tower Guard uniform in it's crimison was pressed and clean. The black cloak with her symbols of rank fit nicely over her shoulders. She was musclar but not overly so and her blue eyes still sparkled out of her pale skin. Lys looked enough like her Mother to make people wonder if she was more than the woman's niece. The black hair was the same but she wore it long and Sirayn has gray eyes to her blue. Luckily she hadn't inherited her Mother's height, and instead stood much taller. She picked up her sword and strapped it on, walking silently from her room, she shut the door behind her. The Glade of Remembrance wasn't horribly far but this was the first time she had come here to speak for someone else. The trees shadowed the glade and stone slab in it's middle. It was nearly midday and as was tradition the ceremony would start before long. Lys greeted the Commander and took her place to the right side of the slab.

 

Soon the trainee arrived and as was tradition he kneeled on the other of the slab from their Commander. Lys watched silently as the ceremony began, speaking when it was her turn. “I would speak for him, he is fit.” The Aes Sedai that stood across from her she knew and had become friends with, a Sister of the Red Ajah, how she had become friends with her was a mystery, but yet it has happened. Again her turn came to speak, “I would.” Lyssa watched as Ursana spoke his oaths and Meagan clasped his cloak over his shoulders. She stepped forward and spoke again, “We welcome you as of the Tower Guard, our brother in arms. Rise and stand as one among many.” As he gained his feet, she stepped forward and placed an ornate long dagger in his hands and continued, “You came to us unarmed, and as our mark of trust we place this steel in your hand. May you keep it as a symbol of the trust that has been placed in you, and may it serve you well.” The Commander closed the ceremony and led them from the glade, leaving Ursana by himself to contemplate his new position. Lys knew she would be at the celebration tonight, so she needed to go get ready.

 

Lyssa Simeone