Silkhead worm and Kandori Tether mushrooms to cure sweat fever. Camigwen frowned at what she had read.  Silkhead worm? What in Light’s name is that? Oh! Silkthread worm! She wanted to growl in frustration. And the handwriting! She glanced at the name on the top right hand of the parchment. Thuverana Kapasaya Pong. She recalled the accompanying girl that came with the ridiculous name. Red haired Saldean who always seemed to be dreaming of something else during classes.

 

Camigwen sighed. It wasn’t that she hated teaching. She was proud of students that eventually became great Healers, many of them choosing Yellow. Her current Head of Infirmary and one of her Sitters had been students of hers. Many years back anyway. But they had each grown in their own ways and had since moved on to other duties. Duties. She hated that word. It was a word that tied her down to the White Tower, unable to move about the world and learn about new ways to Heal. New things that affected the body and mind. When was the last time, she herself had learnt something of use to the world? Something concrete that would help her back to the path she had idealized when she chose the Yellows.

 

It wasn’t as if she no longer cared. No. In fact she cared more these days than she ever did. But she just couldn’t do as much anymore.

 

She remembered the times when she had first been Raised to the Yellow. A new Aes Sedai proud of her elevation. She had worn the shawl everywhere. It was something all new Aes Sedai did. After all, it was an achievement. Something to be proud of. And after all that work as a Novice and an Accepted, wearing your shawl like a banner was a reward. Even if it did come at the amusement of the older Aes Sedai.

 

Her first year as Aes Sedai, she had studied hard. For there was much to learn about the Ajah. Secret weaves that only the Yellows knew. Secret protocols. Of the First Weaver, Head of the Ajah and the sitters who accompanied her. The worst of all, was the ranking between the sisters. Strength. Strength in the One Power determined who led and who followed. Which explained a lot. But Camigwen herself was only of average strength and not fully at her potential either. Which meant more often than not, she had been the one who followed. But that was alright. The other sisters loved her. As the Accepted and Novices had. She quickly became the favourite teacher amongst the Yellows, and Novices and Accepted filled her classes. Often leaving behind little presents as a form of gratitude.

 

And so, the Yellows gave her whatever lessons they had to do.

 

Not that she minded, really. Teaching was great joy. Especially for Accepted, whom she brought out of the Tower for more practical lessons at Patient care, Herbology and often actual treatment of the ill. Over the years as Aes Sedai, she accepted patients from Tar Valon. Those too sick to visit the Tower and needing regular care. And these were often case studies she taught to the Accepted that accompanied her. The One Power was great, but she always believed that physical touch and concern was the best cure there was.

 

And then there had been that fateful year when she first learnt her mother was sick. Old age was catching up, and Camigwen knew her mother would not be around forever. With her Aes Sedai pay and the Amyrlin’s blessing, Camigwen moved her mother into one of the Attendant quarters within the White Tower, where she visited often and brought much joy to her mother. It comsumed her time. But it was worth it. The last few years with her mother gave Camigwen chance to reconcile herself with her family. And gave her strength to carry on her long journey against the Dark.

 

By the time Camigwen was 80, she had become one of the most respected Aes Sedai in the Yellow Ajah, and indeed in the tower as a whole. She frequently was sought after for Healing and advice, and with her talent at teaching, most of the Aes Sedai who were raised under her teachings sought her out when they had taken the shawl and showed their appreciation in their own ways. As a result, her office was full of trinkets and odd little gifts, many of which were rumoured to be expensive and very rare. But Camigwen cared not for such things. It was not in her nature. There were talks about making her the Mistress of Novices. But those were just talks. Camigwen’s physical weakness made it impossible. Having to exert that much energy on spankings and birches, would probably exhaust her too much. And the topic was dropped. Especially since Camigwen, using Daes Dae’mar, made it clear to anyone who cared that she didn’t want the position.

 

But Aes Sedai being Aes Sedai wouldn’t stand for such things. So it did come as a surprise, when one morning, three Yellow sisters came a-visiting. Camigwen’s eyes widened with shock as they summoned her to the Weavers’ circle, the top echelon of the Yellow Ajah, and announced her Sitterhood. She expected nothing of the sort, for while her skill with Healing was relatively great, her strength in the One Power was average at best. Neither seemed proof of her leadership capabilities.

 

Still, she had not much choice but to accept. For it was indeed an honour. But it did limit her activities.

 

As a Sitter, she spent most of her time in the Hall of the Tower. It seemed like she spent more time arguing over petty things than actually doing any good. For one thing, she often found herself disliking the Green’s eagerness to go to war for any cause. And the Red’s apparent fondness of showing their superiority over male channelers irked her.  She itched to be able to study the Taint, and how it affected the male Channelers. Saidin was a mystery. And it dragged at her that it would remain a mystery as long as there was a Red about. It did not help that the Greens and Reds were allied closely, for some strange reason. This saddened her, especially since both had sitters who had been her students. Why couldn’t everyone focus on mending the world, instead of breaking it further apart? She often returned to her quarters too emotionally and physically tired to do anything else. She hardly taught anymore, except when it came to Ajah lessons, for those who aspired to be Yellow. Those gave her joy. But they further exhausted her.

 

Her first heart attack came at the age of 108. Hardly three decades after she became Sitter. Lucky for her, a fellow Yellow had been nearby and heard her fall. But that sealed her fate. And it was decreed by the head of the Ajah that Camigwen no longer taught, and instead focused what energy she had on the Hall. It saddened her slightly, but she took it as a private penance, for the years where she had wasted away as an Accepted. She was also given a private maid, Covinya, who followed her everywhere. Covinya loved her mistress and saw to her every needs. Camigwen was grateful to her maid, but her lack of privacy did annoy her at times. Once again, she took it as a private penance.

 

As a Sitter, Camigwen often wondered why she bothered. When she had been Aes Sedai, her belief that the White Tower did good for the world. She herself felt like part of a great wave, a tiny drop, washing the world anew. Now that she was a Sitter, she knew better. She hated politics. And that seemed to be the only thing the Hall was after. How to manipulate thrones, how to form alliances, how to have their hand in certain battles and worst of it all, how to make sure your Ajah maintained its superiority over other Ajahs. If politics was bad, internal politics made Camigwen want to do whatever the opposite of Healing was, to herself. And other sitters. Even the prettier ones. And especially the more vocal ones.

 

Slowly, Camigwen shifted her focus. If she had been a drop before, she was now a tide. Using Daes Dae’mar she manipulated sisters to focus on working things out peacefully. Pushing her focus towards Healing the world. Making things better. And definitely away from wars and battles.

 

And then the First Weaver, Eqwina, decided to step down. A sabbatical, she had called it. And Camigwen was raised once again at 132, to the role of First Weaver. It was a great honour, but Camigwen privately thought there were probably better candidates than herself. The jobscope was not tough, but it did take up a lot of her time. Which seriously put a stop to her manipulation. But she tried her best anyway.

 

She focused on sending Yellow sisters out on missions, to learn about Healing. To Heal. And to make sure the world had a place to go to when it was not well. The good thing about being First Weaver, it also allowed her a lot more freedom, in a sense, to do things she wanted to do. Which included going back to teaching. She made it a point to teach at least one lesson every two weeks. One of the more important ones, like Healing, Herbology or Patient care.

 

Covinya, her maid retired when Camigwen was 133, and she had a replacement maid, who was hopelessly inept. she was dismissed within a month. Instead, Camigwen came up with the brilliant idea of rotating her attendant between the Accepted who aspired to be Yellow. And many of them jumped at the opportunity. At one point, practically all the Accepted had put their names down on the sign-up sheet, and Camigwen had a new attendant every other day. It was nice to meet all the Accepted, and as an added bonus, many were allowed a short one hour of consultation with the Head of Yellows. Not that they knew she was the Head of the Yellows. Only a well loved and respected Sitter.

 

It had been a good life so far.

 

Two years it had been since she was given the title of First Weaver. On a regular basis, the Weavers’ circle met in her office, a room that faced most of Tar Valon. Camigwen’s physical weakness did not allow her to climb too many flights of stairs, and for her health’s sake, they let her have one of the spacious antechambers on one of the lower levels of the South Tower. While that was supposedly a dent to her status, Camigwen who cared little for that sort of thing, had the largest office amongst many of her peers, and also the most beautiful. Which suited her just fine. She filled it with tapestries and trinkets. And decorated it mostly in cream and whites. In a corner, her private collection of manuals on all kinds of physical studies. She made sure she had a fresh vase of flowers on her bureau each day. More often than not, they were gifted by the Accepted for the day. It had become part of the routine. Which gave Camigwen pleasure.

 

As First Weaver, she no longer cared to measure herself against the strength of other Aes Sedai as well. Something she never believed in anyway.

 

Camigwen was interrupted from her reminiscing by a knock at the door.

 

“Come in.” She said with a cool voice as she covered the parchment before her with a silken cloth.

 

“Camigwen Sedai.” An Accepted in banded dress entered and curtseyed low before the First Weaver, in her hands a bunch of yellow Foxknot daisies.

 

“Yes, child?”

 

“My name is Rhianne Nicholls from the Two Rivers and I am here to attend to you for the day. Feel free to direct me to any chores or duties that you would like me to do.” The Accepted rose gracefully and replaced the day-old flowers in the vase on her bureau and gave the Aes Sedai a smile.

 

“Thank you, child. I believe it is close to noon and I do feel a touch of hunger. Could you be so kind as to go to the kitchens and request the cook for a meal that is not too oily or sweet. I would prefer fish, not chicken and if possible a jug of spiced wine. You may bring your lunch up here as well, and we will have a chat before you get to your duties. The flowers are yours to keep. I feel they should last another week or so. If you have learnt the weave for Keeping, they will last you as long as you wish. If not, I will teach it to you when you return. Thank you.” Camigwen waved a dismissal as she girl took her leave.

 

Another meal. Another meeting. Another day of teaching. Another sun rose, and another sun set. Each day that passed, left Camigwen with a sense of satisfaction. It was said that Tar’mon Gaidon was close at hand. And Camigwen hoped to live to see it. She knew it would come like the thief in the night, but leave a wake of devastation. But hopefully, the First Weave would be there with her Ajah, doing what they can to keep the world from falling apart. The whole White Tower would. Anyone who could light a candle unassisted would have to join in the fight. Everyone would have to do what they can. What else could anyone hope for?

 

Darkness came as it always did. As the moon rose to its shining glory, the First Weaver hung her cloak upon the stand in the corner of her room and smiled. Perhaps life wasn’t so bad after all. As she closed her eyes, Camigwen Klatsang Marivin could imagine the world improving slightly, just slightly.

 

But for now, that was good enough for her.

 

Snore.

 

((OOC: Thanks for reading!!)

 

*bump*