Welcome to Gaia! ::

*Skiiy nods to the man as he shakes his hand, then walks out of the warder training room and into town, returning to his post at the gates to Tar Valon. He sits down against the wall and stares off down the road, once again looking for anything of interest. He had been glad to help out Kakashi, but it didn't leave him with anything to do long-term.*

Some twenty minutes or so after Katerine had Healed her, Mercury woke up and sat up. She rubbed her temples; last she remembered, she'd been somewhere on the grounds..and someone had mentioned a Yellow..and..

With a slight realization of awakening, Mercury sat up straighter and looked around. She recalled being Healed several times by various people.On finding that there was no Yellow in sight and that she was in her office, she relaxed. She noticed that there were five other people there. She only recognized two and was surprised to see that one was Katerine. There was a young man sitting next to her; a Wolfkin from the looks of it. Behind her, she heard the door to the Amyrlin's office shut-rather forcibly, probably a gust of wind-and turned too late to see whoever had gone in.

She turned back. Near her door-or rather, where her door should have been-, were Azalea and another man. In front of them were her now empty doorframe and some floating chunks of wood; which she presumed had come from her door. Seeing as there was no glow around Az, the man had to be doing it, making him a channeler. She wondered what had gone on. Which was what she asked.

"Well...I think I've missed a couple of things...You..next to Azalea...thank you for picking up the splinters of the door...I hope you weren't the one who broke it...or you." She added towards the man sitting next to Katerine. She gave a small smile which soon faded into the mask.

She only teased them because, in all honesty, it was quite beyond her why any sister should resort to breaking down her door simply to ask an audience with the Amyrlin. "Can someone tell me what happened? And who's with the Amyrlin? "

((Continuing the last post I made...))
--The Past, The throne room of the Empress, the Ivory Tower--

At the great doors, once those of the study of the Amrylin Seat, the da'covale stopped and bowed once more. "The Empress, may she live forever, will see you now, Centurion." Kederaji nodded, removed his helmet, and strode through the great doors into the throne room.

The gloried Empress sat on her throne at the far end of the room, and Kederaji strode toward her confidently, but with eyes downcast as custom demanded. At the proper distance, he stopped and dropped to a knee. Deathwatch guard were not required to fall prostrate before the Empress, as that would detract from their responsibility as her guardians. "Glory and honor to you, my Empress. May you live forever, and may your enemies cower when they hear your name." Kederaji remained bowed, one fist on the floor, the other hand around his helmet, which sat upon the hilt of his heron-marked sword, waiting for the response.

"Rise, noble Centurion," the Empress's Voice said. Kederaji obeyed, keeping his eyes downcast. He would never consider himself important enough to look at the Empress, and he was used to hearing her Voice speak. Kederaji had never heard the Empress speak in his life. "Centurion, report on your mission," the Voice commanded at the Empress' bidding.

"In short, my Empress, it was a success. All those who would dare defy your rightful rule were put to the sword quickly and without exception. The rebellion was little problem to my men."

"A testament to the skill of their Centurion, I'm sure," the Voice said.

"You honor me deeply, Empress," Kederaji replied humbly.

"Tell more about your mission, Centurion. How many losses did you take?"

"My Empress gave me five hundred of her finest, man and Ogier, to crush the rebellion in Cairhein province. It pleasures me greatly to return five hundred Deathwatch to her service."

Kederaji heard the Empress start. Apparently she hadn't expected this. The next voice Kederaji heard was one he had never heard before. "Look to me, Centurion, and repeat your words, so I may know that you speak truth." Kederaji's eyes went wide. The Empress herself had just spoken to him, and honored him again by granting him level eyes! The centurion slowly looked up to his ruler and repeated his words.

"My Empress, I return all five hundred soldiers to the Ivory Tower this day," Kederaji said forcedly. He had to work hard not to tremble at seeing the face of the Empress. Most men cowered simply at her presence, but to see her face was enough to cause even a Deathwatch to shiver.

The Empress nodded. "You have proved yourself a far more capable commander than even my current Tribune, Centurion. I am appointing you the Captain of the Ivory Tower Guard, effective immediately." The other two gifts she had given him did not need to be mentioned. She had granted him sei'taer, the ability to look into her eyes without fear of retribution, a gift that even her Voice did not have. The other gift was that she would speak directly with him, something he had never even hoped for! He knew he would have these gifts until he did something that required them to be taken away, and he would rather die than do such a thing.

"Centurion-Captain," the Empress said, "go see to your men. Do not fail me, Centurion."

Kederaji bowed again. "By my blade and my life, I serve my Empress, and I would die before I would fail her. The Centurion rose and backed out of the room, careful not to turn his back to the Empress until the door was shut. He then went to attend to his new duties as Captain of the Guard.

((There, that should give some idea as to what kind of man Kederaji is. twisted I'll be in the tower shortly.))

((I was tired, okay? [/CleverMog]));

Yeah, the keeper. I can feel her through the bond now..but i couldnt a while ago. She is quite a master in blocking me out of the bond. So i traveled back here to look after Markis. Last time saw him he have something worried in his eyes about something. Hawk pause and look at the stranger bound by the shield made by Wes. He look at her intently and saw the markings of her yellow eyes. He look back at Wes, anyways have you seen him around here.

--Tar Valon--
Kederaji paused for a moment in a side street and checked everything he had to make sure it was all properly concealed. His armor and fancloth uniform he'd hidden carefully in the city. He'd wrapped his sword scabbard to cover the heron, because he knew that would draw attention. The centurion double checked to be sure that the clothing he'd acquired would conceal his ravens, then mounted his horse and rode into the White Tower grounds.

As he got into the gate, he looked around, genuinely having no idea where to go. The only time he'd been in the White Tower when Aes Sedai were here was when he and his men, along with many sul'dam and damane were brutally slaughtering every resident of this tower. It was ironic, that now that his oath to the Empress was invalid, he was returning to the place he had nearly razed to the ground three years earlier... or was it a hundred years in the future? The whole situation was confusing, including being sworn to serve a woman who wouldn't be born for another eighty years. Looking around again, Kederaji decided to simply wait. Someone would find him eventually. An obvious warrior atop a horse was a hard sight to miss.

Kederaji wheeled his horse around to face Lacy. It was apparent to the centurion instantly that she was nobility, and his reflexes kicked in. He bowed, laying flat on the back of his horse, then forced himself to sit up straight. "Good day to you, Aes Sedai," he said, speaking slowly enough that he could force the accent out of his words. "I was actually looking for the proper man to speak to about joining the ranks of the Warders. Would you know of the man I seek?" As he spoke, Kederaji sized the Aes Sedai up. She looked like she could be a formidable foe, even without being marath'damane, and she was pretty enough to have been one of the Empress' servants, had she been born in the Empire. And not born marath'damane, of course.

Kederaji was glad he had thought up an answer to that question. "I am a skilled swordsman, Aes Sedai." The way he said the words made it a statement of fact, rather than arrogance. "I spent many years in the Illian Companions honing my skills. When my time was up, I needed something else to do. Farming is a waste of my skill, so I came here. I always heard tell that Warders were the finest warriors in the land, and that is a tradition I would be honored to serve." Kederaji noticed her looking him over and chuckled inside himself. He was rather used to it, though, since the servants of the Empress would sneak glances in his direction when they thought he wasn't looking. Kederaji suddenly noticed that he was avoiding looking at her eyes, and forced himself to let go of that habit as well. He'd already bowed to her, and he was becoming more suspicious by the minute.