Fanfic:Laela's Great Stair

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Laela's Great Stair
Author(s)
  • Nadine
Character(s)
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Yellow Ajah Weave

For just the breifest of moments, Laela has a feeling of doubt. A dread that she would never be able to take another breath again. The fear that she feels so strongly is not reflected in her face as she tries to remember what she'd been taught. Grasping at Saidar she lets the familiar rush fill her senses, even as she is still doubled over for her rough coughs. Knowing what it is that she must do, she weaves a tightly woven web of air and spirit all around her, circling the weave around her she feels it carry all of the heat away as she is quickly cooled. With the loss of heat she still feels nausea and she drives the spirit deep within her as she purges the feeling out of her body, as quite suddenly the world shifts around her.

Yellow Ajah Step

The world turns into one of fire and noise. She hears shouts all about her, all sense of order is lost in the onslaught. She is leaning up against the outer wall of the fortress, taking deep breaths and trying to assess the situation, Laela looks to her side. The sister she'd been with all of this time was also kneeling out of sight against the wall beside her, the occasional arrow managing to find its way through the gap in the wall. This battle had been raging on for too long, and she knew she would have to end it soon. They couldn't hide behind cover forever. As though reading her mind, Laela saw the sister stand up and faced the trolloc hoarde on the other side of the wall. A briliant blue cone of flame emited from her hands for a few moments before she stumbles back and collapses, and Laela can immediately see what had happened. One lucky arrow had managed to pass through her flames and struck her dead in the shoulder. Sitting back up and dragging herself to cover, she holds a single hand over the wound, holding onto the arrow as if contemplating pulling it out.

"No sister!" Laela shouts as she crawls her way over, avoiding the opening through which more arrows threaten.

Examining the wound, she looks at the crudely constructed arrow, it wouldn't be pretty, but Laela knew she couldn't leave it in there forever. Laela took a gauze into her hands as she prepared herself. She had no healing skill, but she'd been taught how to patch up wounds during battle. It would have to hold until the battle passed.

Finally, as gently as she could, she pulled the arrow from her shoulder, and the Aes Sedai let out a small yelp of pain, greeted by a surge of blood, Laela dressed the wound as best she could, and laid her friend down.

"Stay here, Sister. A yellow sister will arrive soon enough,"

Green Ajah Weave

Laela barely flinches as the weapons are tossed precariously about her, each one closer than the last. When she finally sees the number of the weave she must complete, her lip curves slightly in a smirk and she embraces saidar. Once again, she weaves air, but this time it is two thick weaves, woven tightly together like a braid. She lashes out with the weave, deftly knocking away each weapon, weilding the air as though it were a sword. Each time that a weapon comes close to hitting Laela, she knocks it back with her bar of air, the blade allowing each weapon thrown at her to land quietly at her feet. Until finally, a weapon that looks as though it were going to strike her in the neck stops, the dagger blade freezing in midair before she tightens the weave, crumpling the dagger as though it were paper and she drops it, releasing her hold and it falls helplessly to her feet, just before the whole word disappears around her.

Green Ajah Step

Bandits. It made her sick. These retched beasts that preyed upon the weak and helpless. The village that she heard of that was being constantly harassed by these attacks, it reminded her of her former home in the Two Rivers. Perhaps that was why she found herself compelled to helping these villagers. She'd gotten what she needed from them and was now leaving in the direction of the encampment of the bandits. Her eyes and ears had informed her as best they could on the layout, and she'd had a pretty good description of the leader, and based on the structure of the group if he could be eliminated, the rest would follow suit. The bandits looked suspiciously at her as she approached, their eyes drawn to her sheathed sword, with a gaze equal in disbelief and distaste. "Bring me to Sven" she says simply. "I have an offer he cannot refuse," she says with an innocent smile, her hand resting upon the hilt of her sword gently.

They looks suspiciously at each other but concede and lead the way to the main tent, where she knew Sven would be, conducting his business. One of the guards walks in, while the other keeps an eye on her. After the other emerges once more he beckons for Laela to follow. As Laela follows she finds herself pressed between two sharp blades. Taking hold of saidar she does nothing and waits for her moment, the shortsword blade just before her throat. "Please," she says simply, with an air of carelessnes. "No hostilities between friends."

He sneers at her. "You aren't my friend," he says, standing before her menacingly.

Her eyes flash brightly at him. "Quite true," she says with a laugh. "Perhaps we should get better aquainted."

She is completely unnerved at the swords to her throat, Sven sizes her up and laughs aloud. "Let her go. Step outside and we'll see how good this offer of hers is."

The man outweighed Laela two times over, easily. He had no way to know she was Aes Sedai and so he underestimated her. Laela continued to smile as the guards left the tent behind, and as the flap closed behind her she silently lashed out with the power and held him fast, lifting him off of the ground and facing him towards her. She wore the same smile she'd been wearing as she pulled the sword out of her sheath. He stared back, unable to speak as she had gagged him with a thick weave of air. Holding him fast she grabs some nearby rope and starts tieing him up as she speaks softly.

"My oath forbids me from using the one power as a weapon," she says simply as she releases her binds and gags him with something else as she takes him to the back of the tent. Unable to move, he stares at her. Laela stares back, and her smile is completely gone from her lips as a fury lights up her eyes. "That is why I always carry one of these," she says lifting her sword high before striking him down, stepping out of the way she is careful not to get any of the blood on her dress.

Whether or not luck was on her side, or they simply never entered the tent without good reason , Laela didn't know, but she managed to open a gateway to the nearby camp overlooking the bandits, she smiles at the commander awaiting word. "Their leader is dead. Cleanup will be easy indeed," she tells him.

He smiles grimly and rallies the troops. The bandits would soon be brought to justice for what they had done.

Blue Ajah Weave

Working to balance the scales, she moves weights upon the scales with weaves of air, holding the weights and moving them, each time she does so only seems to throw things into further disarray. Placing more weights gently on either side, the blind lady justice eventually seems satisfied. Finally, seeing the number of the weave, she twists the weave into the base of the statue, and she disappears into a blinding searing white light, for Laela to find herself into yet another test.

Blue Ajah Step

The man that stood before her was as guilty of his crime as anybody could ever admit. His claims to his daughters husbands abuse do not match up to the mans self imposed punishment, even if the man were an abusive husband. His daughter was seated nearby, crying softly into a crumpled kercheif. Never once in her testimony did she ever admit to her husband having abusive tendencies, although it was common for women to defend their husbands, no matter what their crimes.

"As has been stated before, there is overwhelming evidence that you have commtted this murder," Laela said to the man. "You have chosen to plead 'not guilty'. Have you anything to say in your defense?"

She listened to the man plead his case, claiming that it wasn't murder, that he only did what any man would do to defend his daughters honor. The magistrate was sitting calmly beside her, awaiting her advise on the case.

She looked around, the widow was still crying softly into her kerchief... Laela didn't know what she was thinking. If he was an abusive man to his wife, than justice had indeed been served, however in the extreme. If that was truly the mans motivation, certainly he deserved punishment, but perhaps not the death penalty. However, no evidence had surfaced, and the mans daughter refused to defend her own father in the court, even knowing what was at stake.

"Lady Aes Sedai?" the magistrate inquired. "What is your opinion?"

"This man is a murderer," she said after much thought. "What is the penalty for murder here?" she asked.

"Death... but we've not had an execution in our town in over a hundred years..." he said uncertainly.

"So be it. He should be made an example of, but Magistrate... it is ultimately your decision. I am only here to advise you." Laela told him calmly.

He considered it for a few moments, and than nodded. He gave his judgement and condemned the man to death. Laela noted that his daughter did not still cried, upon hearing his conviction she had a silent look of resolve in her eyes, as though a weight had been lifted from her back.

Indigo Ajah Weave

Through the blinding light, Laela knows the weave she's told to perform. Thought the eerie light of the room, she starts to weave two weaves that seem separate at first, one of air and another of water. Holding the weave of water before her and spinning it until it seems to grow, she begins causing gusts of wind to blow all around her, the weaves of water released in a steady flow, draining what moisture could be gained in the room of nothing. The crackling in the torches subside as there is a flash of light, and she finds herself elsewhere.

Indigo Ajah Step

The man that had approached her with such a look of fear in his eyes, Laela thought for the briefest of moments she would have to investigate yet another murder. Instead the man pressed a figurine into her hand and said quietly. "You take this! It's brought me nothing but bad luck!"

She watches as the man disappears without a word, and than looks at the item. Her eyes opened wide. If she wasn't mistaken, this was made of cuendillar... that would make it a relic of the Age of Legends. She didn't know what it was from sight quite yet so she examined this strangely begotten gift with a mixture of fascination, caution, and fear. There was no telling what such a device was capable of, although most of the items from the age of legends weren't explicitly weapons, but they could still be dangerous.

She wondered what it was that had made this seem like such a bad luck piece, and she suddenly had an idea on a hunch. Laela channeled a bit of spirit into the figurine, but nothing happened. She tried each of the different elements in turn, finally coming to her weakest element, fire. Channeling a thin strand of fire into the figurine, from its outstretched arms erupted a furious cone of fire that caused her to jump back in suprise. She was unsure how such a weave worked... this was a ter'angreal like she had assumed. It would probably be best researched by the indigos... but Laela could see great use in such a device and if she handed it over it would likely gather dust in the

Brown Ajah Weave

The tome kept on crumbling to dust in her hand, each page giving way to a greater irritation as she searched in vain for her number. She did not understand the words on the page and knew not how continuing to read this archaic language would help her. With nothing else present, she continued to dig deeper into the book, even as more pages turned to clouds of dust. Eventually one of the pages showed her the number that she was seeking. Smiling brightly at the progress she knew what it was that she had to do. The weave was cold and fierce, she pushed everything away with a thick wall of air, clearing the dust away from her. Gathering what strength she could with fire, she let a thin stream of flames dance from her hand and consume the book in a bright flame that flashes a bright blue before crumbling into a brown ash, as the world shifted around her.

Brown Ajah Step

Each step that Laela took seemed to stir up an increasingly impossible amount of dust. Her eyes watered and she coughed on occasion and found herself increasingly frustrated by this impossible task the brown sister had set her to. A small ball of light floated before her, illuminating everything that she could, and each step just brought her closer to absolutely nothing. "Sister!" she called out. "This is hopeless, your book simply isn't here!" she said as she didn't wish to search any longer. It had been hours, and if it were here she would have found it by then. Of course, the talent that the sister was interested in sounded interesting enough, a kind of fire that could only inflict pain, but do no further damage. Laela saw it as a rather promising interrogation technique. Why would such a weave even exist? Laela didn't know, but she supposed that there must have at least been SOME amount of crime in the Age of Legends.

"It is here!" the Brown sister called out. "I just know of it!"

Frustration mounting, Laela continued to dig through all of the same piles that she'd already searched through. Skimming the titles of the books she looked at... none had the title that the sister had told her of. Shaking her head and continuing the hopeless search Laela moved further back into the basement, and picked up another thick book, this one had no title, or any writing to speak of on the cover.

Intriqued, Laela brought the orb of light just above the pages and she carefully opened the book. Surely enough, it was filled with ancient one power related interrogation techniques. Laela noted that it seemed to chronicle newly discovered abilities that were breifly documented before the second breaking. This was what Aes Sedai managed to compile out of the wreckage of the world.

"Sister!" Laela said with an excited grin. "I've found it!"

Grey Ajah Weave

The treaty was quite long and arduous of a read. Skimming every possible square inch of the treaty, soaking in every detail. Her mind growing numb from the sheer thickness of the words, written in such a miniscule pen that her eyes ached with her search. She wasn't sure if it was the pressure, or simply that the test was starting to take its toll... Laela kept on reading until she found the number, hidden so cleverly as the number of years the treaty would be in effect for, and Laela knew her weave at that moment this time as she wove within herself, feeling an energy from within her self and the world dropped into perfect clarity as everything shifted around her.

Grey Ajah Step

Laela was quite sure that she'd heard shouting in the guest hallway up the stairs, looking around she was quite sure that it was not the friendly kind of shouting. With a sigh and a heave as she lifted herself from her chair, she ascended the stairs to find two men shouting, red faced, at each other. Each man looked as though they were ready to kill the other. Laela approached them softly so that neither noticed her approach, before she finally stood before them, head and shoulders shorter than they, and in a commanding voice said "Excuse me? Is there a problem?"

Both men stopped fighting long enough to notice her standing before them, and they seemed to shrink back into their place, and it was as though Laela was towering before them. Neither answered her earlier question, so she asked another.

"What reason is there for raised voices?"

This time, there was a struggle as both men tried to speak at the same time. "He's plotting against me!" "He's been spying on me!"

Laela furrowed her eyebrows for a moment. "What makes you believe that?" she asked.

Both answered at the same time again but Laela got the gist that they were suspicious that the other had put them into neighboring rooms. Nodding, she tried to make them both speak in turn, but it was a losing battle.

"What say I move both of you to different locations?" she asked.

They were not satisfied with the answer, both thinking that the other should be the one to move. Their arguing continues for some time, until Laela finally cannot take any more of them.

"You are guests here, are you not? If this continues, I'll speak to the Lord of your conduct, and I can assure you, you will both be expelled from the premises immediately. Do I make myself clear. You are going to move to separate rooms on opposite ends of the manor, and that is all there is to it. Pack up and get ready to move your things, or you may as well pack up your things and get out now."

They seemed to get the message at this warning. Their business there was indeed important, and they wouldn't wish to miss any of it. She informed the servants of the move to different quarters and felt that her job was done. So long as they didn't wind up killing each other anyway.

White Ajah Weave

The blackness that surrounds her is absolute as she watches it all slip away, her hands grasp onto the edge of the panel, only barely keeping her from the endless abyss below. Pulling herself up with every ounce of strength she can muster she looks to the pattern and dares to take another step. She recognizes the alterations beneath her feet and begins to predict when the steps would shift. Her steps take her closer to where she can finally read the number before her, and she embraces saidar once again, using weaves of air she creates a net that connects from one side to the other. Tying off the weave she stands upon it, having created a bridge. Walking over the further abyss, without another worry, she steps onto the opposite platform, just as everything shifts and the world spins around her one last time.

White Ajah Step

Laela looked over the students blankly as they started working on their assignments, quills working furiously across their parchment. Suddenly one of her students raises her hand, she had always been a gifted student, and frequently questioned the things that she read. Today her statement suprised Laela, however. "You already know that I know the answers! Why should I have to write it down, it's a waste of parchment."

Looking at the accepted she frowns deeply. "Logically you should do the assignments that I give you. I may be confident that you know the answers, but until you prove it to me, it's all smoke and mirrors."

She had thought that was that, but the girl peristed. "I know these answers, and you know it! Why should I have to prove it again?"

"This is a different test, with different answers. I am confident that you will prove to me that you're still as smart as ever."

It wasn't enough for her and she started to grow sullen. "You don't understand! I know these answers! I shouldn't have to write them down!"

Laela looks at her for a moment and finally concdeds. "Very well." she says finally. "Stand up," she says, but the girl just sits there, uncertain. "I insist!"

Hesitantly, the girl stands up. Laela takes the seat that she'd just left behind. The Accepted just stood there for a moment and looked quite concerned. Laela decided to alert her class.

"All right everybody, quills down for the time being. We have a new teacher it would seem. Since I have nothing to teach her, I suppose it's up to her to teach me. Her proclaimed wisdom of the ages is no match for my own, according to her. So, what do you have to teach us? I wonder?"

She stands in front of the classroom for a moment, her eyes wide with fear. It was a side of Laela that was rarely seen. She didn't like publicly humliating her students, but it was necesary to teach her some humility. Laela wouldn't let up on her this day either, she continued with her patronizing manner.

"Nothing? So... if you have nothing to teach me... why don't you just show me that you know the answers on the assignment, or... how about this, I fail you and you have to start the lesson from the beginning?"

The accepted shakes her head as she takes the seat the Laela had finally risen from and she set off to work. "When we're through here, I want you to come back here after the final lesson and you're going grade my papers. All of them. If you know it all, than prove it to me."

The Three Oaths

You kneel in front of the Amyrlin Seat. Although her face does not move, you get the impression that she is smiling gently. You notice upon the cushion the Keeper carries rests the Oath Rod. The Amyrlin reaches out and picks the Oath Rod up from the cushion. The smooth ivory white cylinder appears to be only a foot long and as think as the Amyrlin's wrist. You remember from your training that the Oath Rod is ater'angreal that will bind you to the Oaths, and thus to the Tower and the Flame and the Fang.

You promptly raise your hands in front of you, palms upward. And Amora places the Rod there. The glow of saidar surrounds her, and she touches the Oath Rod with a thin flow of Spirit. You close your hands around the Rod, it feels like glass, except somehow smoother.

"Repeat after me. Under the Light, by my hope of salvation and rebirth I swear to speak no word that is untrue."

"Under the light, by my hope of salvation and rebirth I swear to speak no word that is untrue" Laela repeats the oath, feeling all the weight that comes with it, and though it had been years since last she lied, the finality of it all felt like a weight. The oath washing over her like new skin.

After the Oath is finished you feel it settle on you like a second skin. You can still think a lie but your tongue will not work to produce it.

"Under the Light and by my hope of salvation and rebirth, I vow to make no weapon with which one man may kill another."

She repeats "Under the light and by my hope of salvation and rebirth, I vow to make no weapon with which one man may kill another." The skin tightens around her as the oath washes over her. Everything she'd worked so hard for was nearly there... just one more oath to go.

The Oath settles and your skin feels tighter, as though you have been sewn into an invisible garment much too tight, that is molded from the crown of your head to the souls of your feet.

"Under the Light and by my hope of salvation and rebirth, I vow never to use the One Power as a weapon except against Shadowspawn, in the last defence of my own life, that of my Warder, or that of another Brother or Sister of the Grey Tower."

Finally, she repeats "Under the light and by my hope of salvation and rebirth, I vow never to use the One Power as a weapon except against Shadowspawn, in the last defence of my own life, that of my Warder, or that of another Brother or Sister of the Grey Tower." She feels the tightness of the oath wash over her and she knows that finally, it is done.

The garment shrinks to still greater snugness. You try to breath through your nose, clamping your jaws so it doesn't come out as a gasp. Invisible and utterly flexible, but oh so tight! You realize the feeling will fade, but not completely for a whole year. It will be another four years until you have the ageless face.