OOC: Carise, Maegan, Nyssa, Michael, if you hadn't guessed. :P

 

Three white crescents on a field of red and gold marked their arrival, flags taut with the wind around. And what a wind it was. Not the fierce blustering sort often told about in stories before great wars or terrible tragedies, but rather a quiet, evil nip, that caught you and made you shiver before you had any opportunity to make it otherwise. Just the thought of it made her stiffen, for immunity to weather or not, it was an unpleasant thought nonetheless. Glancing towards her companions, it was with some shame that she observed that they were unaffected, gliding ever on, straight-backed and calm. Regal and self possessed, as befitting to an Aes Sedai. Greater in both experience and age, it had been an arduous trip for Vera. Warmed as she might have to Maegan and Carise, they did not seem to see that this was more than a little uncomfortable for her. They had been mentors to her, guiders and teachers. Not friends. Never friends. Light, she’d been awed by Carise as a Novice. And Maegan, with her beautiful eyes and open, easygoing ways that covered layers of steel? She was the living image of what Vera believed Shayna would’ve become. Except for her hair- Shayna’s hair was always let down, glossy waves just touching her shoulders. Maegan's on the other hand, was pulled back to create a vision of rich dark curls.

 

Conversation came in a steady stream, with silver laughter and amused smiles, talking of Cairhien and Altara in turn, or otherwise of people common to all three of them, or solemn exchanges about their views of knowledge and advancement and surprisingly enough, even though it had made her blush inwardly, talk of men, loves and hates alike. And then….then, once in a while when everything seemed still and always in the night, they talked of the Tower, of the happenings, of Nyssa. Of their purpose. Questions, she had so many questions. Some of which she had revealed to her two companions, brushing aside insecurity and ready for anything. The other questions though, the ones that lingered in her mind after she believed all else was dead or asleep….those were the ones she was aching to receive answers to. Those were the ones she could certainly never ask either Maegan and Carise about, for the sake of her Ajah, Nyssa. For the sake of herself.

 

“Sister? Vera?” Maegan’s voice came through her thoughts, pleasant always, if with a hint of wonder now. Looking up towards the other, she apologized instantly and was about to continue on, only to stop when she sighted what lay behind Maegan. Grey-black stone greeted her vision, molded in the structure of a tall, powerful manor and behind it lay the ocean, miles of blue-green glades rippling in rays of light. It looked like something out of a painting, or at the least, a haunting story. It made her itch, and wish to open her little book there and then, leaving her to scratching, drawing, assembling. There was peace in that idea, she thought with a mental nod. And yet, she could hardly resist the stirring thrill within her. Her questions would be answered. That, and maybe even more.

 

Tilting her head as she felt water touch her cheeks, she looked to find the dark grey clouds they had thought to have left far behind, now upon them quite suddenly. It was raining. They were here. “Shall we go in then Sisters?”

 

~Vera Cadsanome

Grey Ajah

It had been rainy all day. Nyssa supposed it fit the mood that had settled over the mansion. Word had reached her that Vera and Carise were underway. Michael had still had hope that they’d stay away before that, but now that that option had faded, there was a sense of things looming over them. From Michaels moods, Nyssa guessed that he expected that no good would come of it. She hadn’t decided yet. She had watched Vera grow into a full Aes Sedai, pushing and prodding to see that the girl went along the path she had set out. Carise was a different matter though. She had no influence on Carise. It was probably best that Michael didn’t figure this out.

 

As the day progressed, Nyssa found herself staring out the window for prolonged periods of time. They would be here soon. Michael knew this, and he’d been quiet all day. She’d barely seen him around. He would have to meet them sooner or later, but Nyssa knew that if it were up to him, it would be later. Three shapes appeared on the horizon. Not two, as she had expected. Nyssa’s eyes widened at the sight. Three? Had Vera bonded? Surely not within those few months. Then again, the events at the White Tower might have urged a lot of Aes Sedai to find protection. She was so focussed on the three shapes that she didn’t hear Michael’s footsteps as he entered the room.

 

As far as days went, Michael found this was one of the ones that he would have liked to either put off indefinitely or get through as quickly as possible. But, like many things it was a case of wanting what one couldn't have. The day came regardless of his wishes and it seemed to be spiting him by making every every minute a day and every second an hour. Thom and Julie along with the others weren't making it any easier, they were as unsettled as he was about the prospect of visitors. Or rather, these visitors in particular. Everyone had been required to coach themselves in believable roles and characters as a result. Thom was the scholar, Julie his sister, Rasputin was Urias Cheven the head of a mercanery band that Michael had been part of and the others were his fellow brothers and sisters in arms.

 

It was the afternoon when he decided he'd had enough of the coaching. He needed to see what Nyssa was up to and to find out how far away their visitors were. It took him a bit to find her but sure enough she was up on the second floor, she'd hidden herself away in the study no less. Smiling as he saw her, he saw a very rare opportunity as she seemed unaware that he was there, fixed on the window as she was. Taking ever so soft steps towards her, he stopped just behind her. Still nothing. Throwing his arms around her, he yelled at the top of his voice. "Table!"

 

One moment there was no one in the room with her, and the next a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, and someone shouted table. Of all things. Nyssa’s eyes widened even further, and she let out a loud shriek. The person holding her was laughing as she tried to struggle free. It took her a moment to realise it was Michael. “Let go of me, you… you…” letting out another frustrated cry, she settled. “Fine. Hold on then. See if I care.” She muttered, her lips settling in a very determined pout. At least he hadn’t noticed the fact that there were three people instead of two yet.

 

Suddenly the thought of Muirenn coming along with Vera and Carise settled in her mind. She was a Red sister, after all, and she had her ways of figuring things out. What if Nyssa hadn’t been as discrete as she thought she’d been? What if Vera or Carise had mentioned something? She went rigid in Michaels arms, staring out the window again at the three shapes that were getting bigger by the moment. They’d be there soon, and Nyssa still didn’t know what to expect. It worried her.

 

Laughing at her pout, he was about to kiss it away when she went rigid and turned to the window. That wasn't normal, usually this was making up. Following her gaze, thats when a good deal of understanding came to him, as well as him needing to take a deep breath and count to ten. Unless his eyes were deceiving him, something was very wrong with what he was seeing. In fact, he would go so far as to say he needed some healing if he didn't know for a fact he was perfectly fine.

 

"Nyssa." There was a deceptively mild tone to Michael's voice as he spoke. No reaction. "Nyssa, I was under the impression that we were going to have two guests. Two Aes Sedai from memory, and after a bit I was able to handle that. Two Aes Sedai, could cause a bit of trouble between them but we could manage. But there's a problem, see, from what my eyes are revealing to me, there are three horses and three riders making their way towards us. Three. As in not two. Is there something you would like to tell me about now? Because I'm rather lost."

 

As expected, Michael wasn’t amused. Then again, neither was she. Indeed, there were three, and indeed, three was one more than she had invited. “I don’t know.” She said, still staring at the three riders. They were all female, that much was clear by now. The chances of the third rider being Muirenn were slim, and yet… as long as there was a chance, Nyssa wouldn’t be at peace. “I only invited Vera and Carise.” She said, her voice small. “I didn’t leave any hints in the letter that would tell anyone but them that I wanted them to come here. There shouldn’t be three.”

 

That wasn't a good sign, if there was a third that was unexpected, then were the other two who she thought they were? If they were Black Ajah then they were going to be in for a rude surprise if they thought to do anything with Nyssa. Two of them against their three was doable though he would prefer to have the odds stacked in their favour. Rasputin, Thom and Julie nearby would more than capable of bringing overwhelming force to bear on the trio if they so much as hinted harm towards Nyssa. Or him for that matter. "We will have to meet them downstairs, if Rasputin, Julie and Thom are nearby in wait we should be fine. Long enough to determine what is going on."

 

Michael’s determined actions broke Nyssa out of her shock as well. She let him take her hand and guide her downstairs, where Rasputin, Thom and Julie were. They reacted just as shocked to the news as Michael had, but luckily they were willing enough to help out. Perhaps a little too willing, if the eagerness on Julie’s face was anything to go by. Minutes before the three arrived, Nyssa found herself standing on the front steps to the manor, weaving a shield around herself and Michael to shield them from the rain. Thom and Julie were standing just inside the door, and Rasputin was a few paces back. Nyssa trembled slightly, something she managed to suppress by the time the three arrived on her doorstep.

 

Nyssa Deschain

 

Michael Daemeau

And so it was that they found themselves before the stone manor in Tear, magnificent in its own way, if not as breath-taking as the Ogier stone-work that surrounded them in Tar Valon. Carise paid little heed to the grandeur of the scene, though not from lack of appreciation. Her eyes were darting forth to every possible nook and cranny that could hide an ambush, or something else as unwanted and unexpected. She took in the little figures at the doorway, barely made out at this distance, with as much caution as the manor itself and the background of the street scene before them.

 

At no point in the journey had her doubts come to rest; setting forth on a quest the nature of which she could not be certain was plainly not her cup of tea. Even the added presence of Maegan was not wholly reassuring: she would no doubt be a helpful resource should they find themselves in need; indeed, her resourcefulness was evinced by the fact that she had been chosen Sitter while Carise was away in Altara; but Carise could not discard entirely the image she had of the woman as a willful novice. And Vera Cadsanome, young sister of the Gray, promising as she was, was altogether too trustful for Carise’s taste. Altogether an odd party.

 

Even as they sat still on their horses before the manor, Carise felt the urge to give the young Gray another word of warning – watch carefully, lest some harm befall that you do not expect. The same she had given before they left the Tower, and she was hard-pressed to keep the words down. Looking across at Maegan, she saw that her sister was regal and calm on her horse; certainly this was a one who was sure of her purpose, and no cautioning words would be needed, here. That Carise felt the need at all was distasteful to her; after all, Nyssa had once been a most promising protégé, and dear to her heart. If sisters, and she of all, could not be trusted, then what would become of the world? Still, instincts honed through the passage of years kept the Red on her guard.

 

“Shall we go in then, sisters?”

 

Vera’s light voice came through the wind and slight rain, and Carise gave her a curt nod, with an added warning glance that she could no longer suppress. Then they rode their mounts steadily towards the entrance of the manor and the figures within.

 

As they approached, Carise’s searching eyes found their quarry – Nyssa Deschain was among the three women present, welcoming smile gracing her ageless face though with a touch of … was that nervousness? … in her posture. With her under a saidar-woven shield of Air was a man, imposing in looks, whom Carise had never set eyes upon before. The rest were not known to her either, and as they came closer, she was aware that none save Nyssa could wield the Power.

 

So Nyssa seemed not to be in need, and the party had thus far seen nothing untoward. What then the purpose of their errand? The question was foremost in Carise’s mind even as a smile, warmly as of old, came unbidden to her eyes and lips at the sight of one once dear and missed. The Gray approached them as the party made to get off their horses.

 

First on the ground, and shaking the droplets off her traveling-cloak, Carise stepped forward and embraced the woman who had so occupied her thoughts of late. “You have made us worry much, sister,” she said wryly, by way of greeting.

 

Carise Doraile

Needless worrier ;)

 

OOC: A long-delayed post. Sorry all! Am looking forward very much to this :)

Nyssa couldn’t think of a time when she had been this worried before in her life. She had been wary of the arches, and even more so of her final testing before she attained the shawl. Since accepting the Great Lord into her heart she had made some narrow escapes from plots that turned against her, and yet… and yet this was different. The three Aes Sedai that rode towards her home seemed infinitely more dangerous and vicious than any opponent she had ever had. She smiled at Michael in a reassuring manner. She hoped he would interpret it that way, at least.

 

She had to remember that these Aes Sedai were not here to take away her newfound happiness. They did not know about her true allegiance. Up until a few months ago, they hadn’t even known she was still alive. Perhaps it would have been better if she allowed things to stay that way. But despite the threat they posed against her new life, she was glad to see them. Besides, Michael had his friends there, and while friendship wasn’t common among Aes Sedai, she would like to think that with Vera and Carise, she had at least some friendly faces on her own side of the wedding.

 

For a moment she remembered that she had had a friend amongst the many faces of the White Tower. Dawn had been more than just her mentor, she had been her friend and guide for many years. If she had one regret about becoming a friend of the Dark, it was that she knew it would break Dawn’s heart if she ever found out. Dawn’s death that eliminated that possibility, but Nyssa knew that she would have given up her own safety, if only Dawn had survived. With these thoughts in mind she stepped forward, accepting the embrace Carise offered her.

 

Naturally they had worried about her, fearing her dead when she wasn’t found after Caladesh had wrecked the White Tower. That they never found her body would have been a source of hope and fear for them. To see her here… Nyssa couldn’t imagine what went through their minds now. She let go of Carise, and walked to Vera, embracing her former mentee. Then she walked over to Maegan, whom she didn’t know beyond what she had learnt of the woman when they were novices together. “Sisters.” She muttered, looking at each of them. “We have much to talk about.”

 

But first things first, she supposed. The reason why she had invited them to her mansion in Tear. She stepped aside, allowing them to see the people that were standing behind her. Michael looked a little nervous still, but that was a look that matched with what the situation was supposed to be. Rasputin and Thom looked friendly, while Julie looked a little hostile. Nyssa walked over to Michael, taking his hand in hers. “I would like you to meet my fiancée, Michael Daemeau.”

 

~Nyssa Deschain

Greater Dreadlady.

 

ooc: it took me forever to write this... sorry :oops:

Wearing a slightly nervous smile as he studied the three women who approached, he was rather glad for Nyssa's ward against the rain. It was teeming and seeing as he wouldn't be able to channel at all now, it saved him from fetching an umbrella. The Aes Sedai on the otherhand seemed to have disdained such a solution in favour of their cloaks. The three didn't seem to be wearing their shawls either, yet Michael was finding it easy enough to identify which one was the schemer and which one was the gentler. That of course left the third with the glasses as an enigma, he would have guessed a brown from the glasses alone but that would have been a terrible and possibly inaccurate stereotype.

 

Waiting politely as one stepped forward and embraced his soon to be wife, Michael was silent as he took in what was said. It explained the extra sister neatly enough, they had thought something had been wrong so had brought assistance in case it was needed. Something that was made clearer when Nyssa spoke in turn, unless he was missing something and the looks of surprise from the sisters were feigneed then it seemed that Nyssa hadn't informed the sisters she had invited why they were coming to the manor. Much to talk about indeed, Michael was fairly certain that Nyssa was going to have a lot to talk about. Not just with the sisters either, but that would be able to wait till night time when they were alone.

 

Bowing quickly, Michael grinned as he straightened. "If I were to guess I would say that Nyssa neglected to mention certain details. Come in out of the rain, your horses and things will be taken care of."

 

Turning to those behind him, Michael waved to the pair of men. "Marc, Rae, come and help me would you? And can you go put some tea on for our guests Teresella?" The last was almost an afterthought but inwardly he was laughing, changing her name on her at the last moment was terrible but Julie couldn't do anything but nod as she turned and went inside to find the kitchen. Rasputin and Thom on the otherhand were already stepping out into the rain to secure the horses and lead them to the stables.

 

Turning to Nyssa, Michael smiled. "We'll join you after we've taken care of the mounts, alright?" Reaching out and squeezing her hand, he stepped away from the shelter of her ward and made his way towards one of the horses. The horses would need to be rubbed down he was pretty sure, it would definitely take them about as long as it would take Nyssa to explain things to them.

 

Yes, about that long.

 

 

Michael Daemeau

Ooc: Sorry.. it may be too late, but.. *hearts*

 

 

Ic:

 

And thus came to pass, the Aes Sedai rode out of the Tar Valon gates and south towards Tear, a place the Maegan had not visited frequently due to the tension between Aes Sedai and Commoner. Pulling her cloak around her, she talked without commiserating beyond the basics of conversational topics with both Vera and Carise Sedai as they rode through villages and cities, stopping only when needed. It did not need to be said that both Aes Sedai were worried for the mentor and companion that Maegan knew very little about. Nyssa Sedai had been within the same classes and raised about the same time she had, but they had never conversed beyond what may have occured in class and thusly Maegan had no emotional attachment to the woman. But the woman was an Aes Sedai of the Ajah of Maegan's heart, a Gray, and although she missed her own mentor with a threatening heartache, it was only in Deyalyn's name that she had agreed to this. Although the mystery behind the note had been enough indeed to push her along, entice her, seduce her into their long ride towards the southern shores.

 

As they approached the structure that dotted the shoreline, Maegan started to wonder, awed a little by the beauty, and intruged by the masses of power that the scene symbolized. --But how did it seem powerful? How.. and why.-- She regarded it with a silence that was not uncommon to her, and her face impassive, reasuring Vera as they approached. She felt nothing out of the ordinary, although the nerves of her fellow riders made the horses they rode skittish and higher strung.

 

But the scene changed again to her, and through her spectacles the sight of Nyssa and a Man unfolded as they approached. Haning back, she regarded the pair with an impassive and quiet reserve gaze. Bowing her head in respect to Nyssa, confusion over the womans mortality left Maegan without words, for now. After the mess within the Tower walls, To find the woman who had been rumoured dead now pronouncing herself engaged -- An Aes Sedai Engaged!! -- left her exceedingly unsettled. After all Nyssa would still out-live her 'husband' by at least 3-4 generations. Even Telcia Sedai had been foolish in taking up her husband, however in Telcia's case, Maegan suspected that the woman did not believe that she would live that long due to oher own adventures that the Wheel had woven for her. However, it did not explain Nyssa Sedai. Glancing over Michael, Maegan's cold and calculated eyes had very little in judgment yet very much judging.

 

However, it was the arrival of the next two men that caused Maegan to pause. Familiarity struck her as she reached up to tug on her right ear a little, touching the ruby studs that decorated her lobe, an itch. They were two different memories that had conjoined into one and for the life of her she hed no names, no connection to why they were familiar and it irked her into a very stilled silence. Impassively she regarded them as she tucked a strand of her rich brown curls behind her ear and then held her hands together in front of her. Whoever they were, this Marc and Rae, she did not trust them until she knew who they were. She watched them as they retreated into the rain and took the hold of the bridles of their horses and then Michael joining them. Following the Women into the house, she fought the urge to look back and watch the two ..three mysteries that were leading her horses away.

 

--A very interesting visit this will be.. -- Maegan thought, silent in her reserve and a softness still in her face.

 

 

 

 

Maegan Ryanne

Red Ajah