Ciona Malfrey
| Ciona Malfrey | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Toby Selwyn |
| Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah |
| Affiliation | The Grey Tower |
| Nationality | Black Hills |
Ciona Malfrey is a Green Oathsworn Aes Sedai of the Grey Tower from the Black Hills.
Description
Ciona is short and slight, and holds a straight posture. She has straight, jet black hair that falls below her shoulders. Her eyes are brown, and often appear calculating. She has smooth, pale skin. She is very observant and pays attention to detail. She is cool and collected, and on the surface at least lacks emotion.
Biography
Eldina Malfrey smiled, her eyes lingering on the back of the departing man. As the door to her chambers closed behind him she turned around with a sigh, and embraced saidar. A few moments later the glowing coals in the hearth bloomed into full life, the flames reaching high. Eldina had not needed the fire earlier – there had been enough heat in the room without it – but it was a cold winter afternoon, and already she could feel the chill creeping through her red silk shift. She could have ignored the cold, of course, but she was tired, and once in her bed the fire would be perfectly adequate. She slid in between the sheets, and within moments was asleep.
She awoke.
Sitting up, the sheets slipping away from her, Eldina grimaced. The fire had died down once more, and she shivered. And the tapping at the door was growing louder, more insistent. Eldina swung her legs out of the warmth of the covers, and stood. She wrapped a scarlet silk robe around her body before yanking the door open.
The novice whose hand was still raised blinked at her before taking a hasty step backwards. The girl dropped a curtsy so low that she nearly fell. Eldina folded her arms beneath her breasts as the novice stood up, the displeasure clear on her beautifully cold face.
"I do not recall asking for a novice to be sent to wake me, child, and I did not expect the interruption to my sleep." Glancing at one of the glass-paned windows further down the corridor, Eldina could see that it was barely light outside, the visible rooftops beginning to take form in the shapeless dark. "I trust you have a good reason for being here."
The girl bobbed down in another curtsy, her face flushing. "Yes, Aes Sedai. I…" She swallowed. "I was sent to summon you to Junira Sedai’s study." The novice immediately winced at her words; novices did not summon Aes Sedai, even if they were only the messenger. "That is, Aes Sedai, Junira Sedai requests your presence immediately." That was not much better, and Eldina’s dark eyebrow arched. The novice sighed, her unhappy _expression indicative of her resignation to rebuke or even punishment. But the girl’s message was concerning enough that Eldina merely frowned and, with a wave of one hand, sent the novice on her way.
Eldina could conceive of only one reason why she would be summoned to her Ajah Head’s office, and as she quickly changed into a dress of maroon velvet, its hem, neckline and cuffs trimmed with golden thread, she remained calm and collected. She had committed no crime. She splashed some water on her face and drew a brush through her straight black hair before leaving the room. She swept swiftly through the corridors; the walk was a short one, and she was rapping upon Junira’s darkly panelled door within a few minutes. She pushed it open and stepped into the study without waiting for a call to enter.
The room was sparse, as it always had been. The floor was tiled with pale slate, its walls as darkly panelled as the door, and lamps burned brightly in all four corners of the room. There was little furniture; a heavy, dark desk was positioned towards the back of the room, square with the walls. A straight-backed chair behind it was currently occupied. There was a small stool on Eldina’s side of the desk; she ignored it as she walked forward.
She was faced by a panel of three. Junira’s chair was flanked by two standing Aes Sedai. Kindra was tall, buxom, and fair; the agelessness did not look quite right on her pretty face. Idelle was Kindra’s opposite; small and scrawny, her hair was steely grey throughout, and her nearly black eyes were hard, penetrating. An unlikely pair if ever there was one, but Eldina was entirely unsurprised to see them here; they were almost always to be found in Junira’s presence. All three Aes Sedai wore their red-fringed shawls, and for a moment Eldina wished she had brought her own.
"Junira Sedai," she said quietly and formally as she nodded her head, the perfect image of respectability. Kindra and Idelle she ignored; lapdogs was the word that fleetingly crossed her mind as she looked at them.
"You know why you are here, Eldina," Junira snapped. The Head of the Red Ajah appeared almost as old as Idelle, but there were still hints of auburn in her mostly white hair. The Saldaean’s slanted eyes were sharp, and her narrow mouth was tight as she spoke. "Did you think no one would notice? Men have been seen leaving your rooms late at night almost every day for the past three weeks."
"I was not concerned that someone might notice, Junira Sedai."
"It be disgusting," Kindra snarled, her blue eyes glaring at Eldina. "Like a rutting Green," Idelle added, voicing her agreement. Junira’s gaze remained locked on the Red sister standing before her desk.
"You have been behaving like a giddy novice, Eldina." Junira tilted her head as she considered the other woman. "You have worn the shawl for only a few short years. Perhaps you should have been held back until your…lack of control was weaned out of you."
The colour rose in Eldina’s cheeks, a combination of humiliation and anger. No, fury; Junira was questioning her right to be Aes Sedai. "I am Red Ajah because men must be controlled, Junira. Those who channel must be stopped, and those who cannot…well, they must know their place. That does not mean they cannot be used. I have done nothing to contravene our laws –."
"You talk and act like a child," Junira snapped, leaning forward in her chair, "and your behaviour will stop." Her mouth twisted at the words she spoke. "Sit."
Eldina’s eyes flickered towards the stool, then back to Junira. She was still furious, but could do nothing to countermand the other woman’s orders. Junira’s superiority within the Ajah aside, the Head was still noticeably stronger in the One Power than Eldina. She held authority over the younger woman on all fronts. Eldina shortly found herself perched on the stool, her hands folded tightly in her lap. The stool was low enough that she had to look up at the woman seated on the other side of the desk.
"Kindra," Junira said briskly, turning briefly to the blonde woman before gesturing towards Eldina. The young Red’s gaze moved from one woman to the other, and her eyes widened slightly in alarm as the Illianer sister embraced the Source, moving to stand above Eldina. She flinched away slightly as Kindra reached towards her with one hand, but Kindra slapped her hand down on top of Eldina’s head, and channeled.
Waves of Spirit flowed through Eldina, goosebumps rising from head to toe. Kindra’s Delving was harsh and unrefined, and Eldina continued to shiver for a few moments after Kindra had released the Source and stepped away.
"She be with child," the tall Red said with a distasteful sneer, stepping back to flank Junira. Three pairs of eyes bored into Eldina, but the Red barely noticed them. With child?
Junira eventually broke the silence. "Then we have something useful to be found in this disgrace." The looks of surprise were briefly evident on Idelle and Kindra’s faces, and Eldina’s eyes focused sharply on Junira.
"What do you mean?" Eldina snapped, her composure returning; she was not easily intimidated for long.
Junira leaned forward, her hands steepled before her with her elbows resting on the desk. "Only time will tell, Eldina."
Eldina Malfrey was sent to a farm in the Black Hills owned and used by the Red Ajah as a base out of the White Tower. She remained there for the duration of her pregnancy, restrained by the orders of her Ajah Head and the Red sisters who resided permanently at the farm. As soon as she recovered from the birth of her daughter she was sent back to the Tower; her long absence would be left unexplained to most, a matter of private Ajah business. It was kept a close secret even within the Ajah, known by only a small group of sisters.
The child grew up on the farm, and, in the absence of her parents, viewed the Red sisters living there as role models. The relationships she held with them were far from filial, and her upbringing was cold and calculated. The girl’s birth had been permitted for one reason; she was a cog in the machinations of the Red Ajah. From a young age she was indoctrinated with the Reds’ beliefs and grew to be utterly loyal to them. She was an intelligent child, and learned quickly. Her future had been decided even before she was born.
Sixteen years after the day of her birth, Ciona Malfrey rode into the grounds of the Grey Tower.
Career History
- Novice
- Accepted
- Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah
