Welcome to Gaia! ::

He looks at her and says, "All I can feel is the tingling but it is so strong is seems like their channeling right next to me. He looks down at his arms feeling the tingling sensation so strong it feels like the hair all across his body is standing on end.

: "Ouch!" Azalea exclaimed angrily, touching a finger to her bloody lip. "Bloody goat's foot!" she muttered, she had been biting her lip again without realizing it. Her bottom lip was slightly puffy and purple tinted in the left corner. It had been nearly a week since Azalea had worked on her book, Power-Wrought Items and Their Purposes: Volume Two, and she had forgotten how sorely her bad habit hurt. The Blue Sitter's eyes gleamed as she fingered the medallion around her neck. It was a Ter'Angreal, her Ter'Angreal. She had dozens of them: Angreal, Ter'Angreal, she would have had some Sa'Angreal but they were usually far to big for her to carry on hand. They were her passion; her reason for life. But this one, this one was her favorite. The Eye. Its purpose was to locate other Power-wrought items. But due to her blasted rank as Sitter, the rank that had been forced upon her, she rarely had the chance to use it. She had been subdued to her self-appointed job of sorting and finding the uses of all of the Power-wrought items in the storage places of the Tower. She was not yet finished, but it was a very large task with many rewards. With her Eye, Azalea never felt lonely because she was always in the presence of Power-wrought items. They were her friends when others shied away from her. She had few friends of the human sorts, it was true, but she didn't mind solitude. It meant less people prodding into her business. A perk, for example, was that after her recent exploits with two escaped cons, she recieved few questions. The fact that she could count her friends easily was no burden on her, it just made her closer with the few she had.
Azalea looked in the mirror again, the swelling had reduced but it was still a little bruised. No matter, it was not as though anyone would be staring at her lips any time soon. Coming back from her reverie, Azalea searched for her place in the incomplete book, "Ah yes," she said to herself and her treasures, "The Bowl of Winds..." With that simple statement, she was off again in a reverie that none could shake; her quill pen flying into a pot of ink and onto her paper. :

((*cough* It was just too good to not put in the funny posts thread...plus the picture of a Keeper covered in mashed potatoes and blinking so you can only see the eyes amuses me so....I wonder what we DID with that crater...*ponders* blaugh

Which page of the funny posts thread was it on?))

Mercury had paced enough and decided that she might as well do some work; she'd bring it in here though. Attempting to regain some focus, she opened the door and moved over down the hall to her office. Opening the door, she noted a stack of papers that hadn't been there that morning. Not unusual. She was moving over to take a quarter of the stack when she saw the note. Reading it, she skimmed over and smiled. She hadn't seen Azalea in a while; come to think of it, she hadn't seen most of her friends in a while.

I'll go see her after Clarissa comes back. What on earth IS Yurin doing that she's been gone so long?

Grabbing the papers, she stepped back into the amyrlin's quarters, and settling herself on a desk, began skimming through and scribbling, glancing up at her friend every so often.

Rintala's soft leather boots sketched over the paved stone streets of Tar'Valon. It was a wonderful city, built from the power to stand against the test of time. No seige had ever sucessfully breached those implectablly white walls, and Rintala seriously doubted that any man was foolish enough to actually beseige the White Tower! Aes Sedai weere forbidden to use the power as a weapon...unless they, or their warders, were in danger. Aside from the Red Ajah the Aes Sedai usually relied upon their warders to protect them, using the One Power only when they have too. It was not some personal pride issue, but a rule engrained deep inside every last sister. When an accepted is raised to a sister she is required to take three oaths upon the Oath Rod, an artifact from the breaking.

That was all fine and well for some women, to want to become Aes Sedai, but Rintala wanted something else. With a steady, even, stride she headed for the White Tower. Flat heeled boots, loosely fitting breaches and a loose blouse, with a dark brown cloak fluttering in the light breeze. A sword was buckled over Rintala's waist, and from the way she held herself, her eyes darting left to right, up and down, at seeming random...but they weren't. She was watching, waiting for someone to jump out and attack her. Some people called her paranoid...she just smiled and replied she was simply surviving.

There...the White Tower. A beacon of hope, of her hopes. Her fists began quivering as she clentched them so hard her knuckles began turning white. She would not be detered! She would not be stopped!

Drawing a quivering breath she started towards up the grand stairs of the White Tower, she was determined, she was confindent, she was cautious...she was scared to death! Where was she suppose to go? Who was she suppose to talk to?! What if they didn't let her in? NO! There would be no thoughts like that...she was going to do what she came here to do and no one was going to stop her! She always credited herself to being a decent swordsman...but what if she wasn't good enough?! Oh light she was scaring herself! NO! Stop it, she can do it...she will not be stopped!

Her stride took a more confident pace to it as she acended the stairs, looking quite well she might start running and take them two or three at a time. Yea, she could do this! No problem! No problem at all! Her earlier fears began to creep back into her head...where was she suppose to go. Maybe she would find a guard or something and ask for directions.

((Sorry for the wait, I'm sick and my imagination has been running low. sad ))

Katerine watched Skiiy go up the stairs while she moved to the horses. Then she thought better of taking the animals. It was better to just leave them where they were. Skiiy came back down and handed her some of the food he had displayed earlier in the day. She accepts it with a nod, but doesn't start to eat it yet.

"I think it is better we leave the horses here. They will only get in the way in the center of the city. So, let's go."

Leading the way out of the back door, Katerine began to make her way toward the center of the city. She nibbled at the food and didn't realize how quickly she ate it all. Then she took the crescent moon charm from her hair and placed it in her palm. They were getting closer to the center of the city now and she began to channel only the slightest bit of spirit into it. She didn't want to draw much attention to herself, but knew that even that little bit of spirit could alert something.

Even in the center of the city it looked as if untouched by time. Katerine split her gaze between looking on both sides of her and at the small charm in her palm. It was kind of unnerving to be moving through such a large city and there not be any people. She just kept reminding herself though that they needed to find the shield and the angreal quickly.

On one of her glances between her surroundings and the charm, Katerine noticed it was faintly glowing. Even though she had a nervous feeling about the place, a smile appeared on her lips. As she continued walking forward, the charm grew brighter. Looking to her left and right, there were warehouses on either side. The charm couldn't tell her which one to look in first though. Katerine studied the two buildings for a moment and finally approached the one on the left.

The door swung open with no problems, but the inside was pitch black. Katerine cut the flow to the charm and put it back in her hair. Hesitant to enter the darkness, she created a small ball of light in her palm.

"Well, we better start looking. This building is huge. The shield and figurine should be in a cabinet though."

Kederaji and Lacy rode quietly into Tar Valon from the north. They'd just returned from a strenuous, if somewhat short, strike into the Blight. They'd actually caught a fist of Trollocs and been able to kill the Myrddraal, which was a lucky thing indeed. However, eventually, they'd found themselves needing supplies, and decided to return to the Tower. Kederaji noticed that Lacy seemet to be considerably more exhausted than he was. In fact, he felt like he could still fight a full battle before he'd feel the strain. The fact that his newfound endurance came from the One Power still disgusted him, but he'd learn to deal with it eventually. As their horses stepped through the gate, the blademaster turned to face Lacy and spoke for the first time since they'd left the gateway. "Unless you have need of me, Aes Sedai, I'd like to spend some time in the practice yard working forms."

Kederaji took his horse to the stables, then headed over to the practice yard. Once there, he ran through the exercises his father had taught him, a long time back, when he lived in a city on the other side of the ocean. Entering the void, he steeled his mind and remembered the things he was taught. He sought no glory for himself, only for his Empress. He sought no honor, but only to serve. Life was fine, but when death would come, he would welcome it with open arms.

The blademaster looked around to make sure that he had a clear circle to practice in, then unfolded the fan and began running through forms. Gracefully, he danced from form to form, showing the years of expertise he'd acquired through experiences he never spoke of. He took a long time practicing these forms, until he was certain he had done enough for the day. Then he folded the fan and began watching the trainees practice.