01-02-2018, 03:23 PM
Lythia sat back in her chair, it really was a comfortable seat. The cushions she'd had restuffed a few times since its original purchase, but the svelte cloth was warm and inviting. She always felt nestled when sitting in this chair, as though she wanted to draw up her legs and sit under a heavy afghan next to the roaring fireplace. Of course right now there was no fire, and she sat with her ankles crossed not tucked under herself. Although her lips twinged with amusement while watching the Accepted muse over her question. How would the girl react to that? An Aes Sedai of Lythia's name demonstrating such a pose of familiarity with an Accepted. As interesting an experiment it would be, in the end Lythia remained as she was. There were some traditions, after all, that even Lythia Krean would not break so casually.
Hmm.. She regarded the Accepted's answer without offense and minimal surprise. She truly was interested in Nythadri's point of view. Not as though there were some magical pattern that underlaid all Greens' perception of their Sisters. Although, admittedly, she really only cared what she saw in the Greens. Everyone had the incorrect perception of the Green Ajah, including Lythia herself, until she joined the Ajah. Then, it was still some years before she truly understood. Now that she had, she was willing to do anything to protect it. Anything.
"Hmm."
She mused out loud and easily maintaining the Accepted's gaze without hiding her consideration. Nythadri had her fair share of scrutiny under Aes Sedai difficult stares and Lythia might have an astounding level of energy to her, but there were Sisters out there who could easily out-intimidate. The memory of Kaydrienne's disapproving face flashed across her mind. Lythia's hasty answer had been far more disrespectful when Mother had posed the same question. She most certainly lived to regret her crude answer.
Nythadri's answer was surprising in her refusal to participate. Lythia was not offended, not because she believed the girl philosophically averse to answering, but because Lythia didn't care what her choice of words might have been. That wasn't the point of the question, but as that piece of the game was set aside for a moment, Lythia let it stay there.
She gestured at the room around them. There were certainly enough weapons to constitute the environment the tapestries depicted. However, as Lythia's eyes roamed across her walls, there was sentiment to her expression. They were not decorations, and she held a working skill with only a few of them, although in a pinch she would use anything to defend herself. She looked upon the Aiel crafts with a smirk for the one that'd carried them. The mounted pair of daggers had made poor Logan's eyes widen to discs the first time Lythia picked them up and turned on him. He always let me win, that buggar. And the strongest sense of connection and partnership - love, although they'd never been married - softened away the playfulness dancing her cheekbones' mirthful expression when she looked away from Shadow's dragon-etched sword.
She suspected Nythadri was astute enough to notice Lythia's display. "I will volunteer an answer. An Ajah is not so much what it is they do. That is why we teach the novices that all Aes Sedai have elements of all Ajahs in them. What is more important is understanding why they do those things. Greens did not fight in the Trolloc Wars because our preparations for the Last Battle gave us the best position to lead. We do not work aside our Black Tower brothers because we think the White Tower alone is not sufficient. Not all of us glory in blood. Not all of us carry a weapon when we travel. We do not hover near conflict because our passions place us in the heat of battle. Our passion is not fighting at all. In fact, it's the opposite."
She casually selected a few more bites to eat and popped one in her mouth. She could dine with the finest of flatware when she wanted, but lacking that kind of social pressure at the moment, she always reverted back to her upbringing. Where food was popped greedily in her mouth when not hidden away in her pockets for later. "I once knew this young man. His name was Logan DiVega."
The loyalty and passion to her story from before took a more playful turn. It was obvious she knew this young man more than a passing acquaintance. He may disagree, but to this day long after the brief years she knew him, to consider him a good friend. "He avoided conflict almost as fiercely as he avoided women, moreso when those women were Aes Sedai."
Oh and how he tried! "But he was a good fighter. One of the best. And a thoughtful, loyal man. The characteristics of the most upstanding of warders. But i've often wondered why such a mild-mannered, soft-spoken man would come to the White Tower to be a warder in the first place if he detested fighting so much. Seems contrary to the life of a warder, does it not?"
She shrugged. Perhaps he might have served a Brown, Logan was fond of reading after all. But Lythia didn't truly believe that was where Logan's character ended. He always harbored something under the surface she couldn't quite grasp, like a camouflaged fish swimming on the bottom of a stream.
"He loved living. Specifically, dedicating his life in such a way as to preserve life for everyone else by taking the burden of the world from their shoulders and onto his own. He did not walk into fights because he loved the thrill of it, he went so others did not. So someone else could have a normal, peaceful life of the sort we cannot."
She looked poignantly at the Accepted. From what she knew of Nythadri's background, of House Vanditera in Caemlyn, Lythia's personal area of expertise, and of the unusual circumstances that led to Nythadri's six month long punishment on the Farm, then she expected to strike close to home. The Accepted was dallying with her aspirancy choice. She outright said she did not feel a place in any of the Ajahs. Lythia believed it was because she didn't understand, as most didn't, what it was the Greens did. They loved life. They loved living, themselves and preserving the normal way of life for everyone else. Their color was the essence of flourishing life, after all. They laughed and cried and loved and did not waste their one chance in the Pattern by working so hard at Daes Dea'mar they forgot what this was all for.
She also believed the Accepted would not appreciate the round-about tactic Lythia took. She didn't want to dispirit the girl, nor make her shut down after winning the rare moment of participation so far. So it was time to drive her idea home.
She led in with an innocent tone, "We don't teach much about the Black Tower. I try to explain their ways to Green Aspirants when I can, but rarely to other Accepted and most Aes Sedai would agree its extraneous knowledge. Despite men being relatively simple to understand, creatures of action and loyalty and focus as they are, and knowing Asha'man are merely regular men burdened by difficult futures, one really has to be there to understand."
Lythia's eyes narrowed in slight consideration. "You've heard tales of their Tree, i'm sure. The barbaric thing."
She shrugged. The strapping triangle reserved for novice runaways was only slightly less extreme. "For instance, do you know what they do to one of their own that commits a crime short of alliance with the Shadow? It can be rather cruel."
For someone of Lythia's dispassion to say such a thing gave it gravity. The Black Tower was a hard, hard place. It's leaders hard as stone and just as unshakable.
However unlike the one about Logan, this tale had another point. Lythia was closely watching Nythadri, although her tone implied she was not attempting to incriminate. Nor was Nythadri in trouble at all. The opposite. If the child had used her one contact of power to the outside world to accomplish powerful, but personal ends, it was actually a tribute to her ingenuity. An attribute Lythia could put to good use in a Green.
She crossed her legs the other way to change positions a bit, studied the tea that had cooled to the temperature she preferred to take larger gulps rather than the teenie sips of earlier, finished it off then set the cup aside for now. "Even I had a bit of a time of it, and as you can imagine I have a nice position to keep up with their news. You should really be careful, though. And not just with him, although men are far more delicate creatures than they would lead you to believe, but when agents act on your behalf, you should ensure they are qualified to adequately cover their tracks before it gets back to you."
Then she played her card. "I will have you know I am more than happy to protect an aspirant of the Green Ajah. And her interests, to an extent."
Interests in affairs - or people - if necessary, and it seemed Nythadri had them. She twinkled with the forwardness of her offer.
This wasn't so dirty a trade as it sounded. It was sisterhood, if Nythadri was interested in joining it, and if not, Lythia would do nothing to act against her. No other Aes Sedai would be so caring about the affairs of an Accepted. Let alone tell her so. Greens protected many aspects of life, and like a mother cat pawing over her kittens, they were extremely loyal with their own.
Hmm.. She regarded the Accepted's answer without offense and minimal surprise. She truly was interested in Nythadri's point of view. Not as though there were some magical pattern that underlaid all Greens' perception of their Sisters. Although, admittedly, she really only cared what she saw in the Greens. Everyone had the incorrect perception of the Green Ajah, including Lythia herself, until she joined the Ajah. Then, it was still some years before she truly understood. Now that she had, she was willing to do anything to protect it. Anything.
"Hmm."
She mused out loud and easily maintaining the Accepted's gaze without hiding her consideration. Nythadri had her fair share of scrutiny under Aes Sedai difficult stares and Lythia might have an astounding level of energy to her, but there were Sisters out there who could easily out-intimidate. The memory of Kaydrienne's disapproving face flashed across her mind. Lythia's hasty answer had been far more disrespectful when Mother had posed the same question. She most certainly lived to regret her crude answer.
Nythadri's answer was surprising in her refusal to participate. Lythia was not offended, not because she believed the girl philosophically averse to answering, but because Lythia didn't care what her choice of words might have been. That wasn't the point of the question, but as that piece of the game was set aside for a moment, Lythia let it stay there.
She gestured at the room around them. There were certainly enough weapons to constitute the environment the tapestries depicted. However, as Lythia's eyes roamed across her walls, there was sentiment to her expression. They were not decorations, and she held a working skill with only a few of them, although in a pinch she would use anything to defend herself. She looked upon the Aiel crafts with a smirk for the one that'd carried them. The mounted pair of daggers had made poor Logan's eyes widen to discs the first time Lythia picked them up and turned on him. He always let me win, that buggar. And the strongest sense of connection and partnership - love, although they'd never been married - softened away the playfulness dancing her cheekbones' mirthful expression when she looked away from Shadow's dragon-etched sword.
She suspected Nythadri was astute enough to notice Lythia's display. "I will volunteer an answer. An Ajah is not so much what it is they do. That is why we teach the novices that all Aes Sedai have elements of all Ajahs in them. What is more important is understanding why they do those things. Greens did not fight in the Trolloc Wars because our preparations for the Last Battle gave us the best position to lead. We do not work aside our Black Tower brothers because we think the White Tower alone is not sufficient. Not all of us glory in blood. Not all of us carry a weapon when we travel. We do not hover near conflict because our passions place us in the heat of battle. Our passion is not fighting at all. In fact, it's the opposite."
She casually selected a few more bites to eat and popped one in her mouth. She could dine with the finest of flatware when she wanted, but lacking that kind of social pressure at the moment, she always reverted back to her upbringing. Where food was popped greedily in her mouth when not hidden away in her pockets for later. "I once knew this young man. His name was Logan DiVega."
The loyalty and passion to her story from before took a more playful turn. It was obvious she knew this young man more than a passing acquaintance. He may disagree, but to this day long after the brief years she knew him, to consider him a good friend. "He avoided conflict almost as fiercely as he avoided women, moreso when those women were Aes Sedai."
Oh and how he tried! "But he was a good fighter. One of the best. And a thoughtful, loyal man. The characteristics of the most upstanding of warders. But i've often wondered why such a mild-mannered, soft-spoken man would come to the White Tower to be a warder in the first place if he detested fighting so much. Seems contrary to the life of a warder, does it not?"
She shrugged. Perhaps he might have served a Brown, Logan was fond of reading after all. But Lythia didn't truly believe that was where Logan's character ended. He always harbored something under the surface she couldn't quite grasp, like a camouflaged fish swimming on the bottom of a stream.
"He loved living. Specifically, dedicating his life in such a way as to preserve life for everyone else by taking the burden of the world from their shoulders and onto his own. He did not walk into fights because he loved the thrill of it, he went so others did not. So someone else could have a normal, peaceful life of the sort we cannot."
She looked poignantly at the Accepted. From what she knew of Nythadri's background, of House Vanditera in Caemlyn, Lythia's personal area of expertise, and of the unusual circumstances that led to Nythadri's six month long punishment on the Farm, then she expected to strike close to home. The Accepted was dallying with her aspirancy choice. She outright said she did not feel a place in any of the Ajahs. Lythia believed it was because she didn't understand, as most didn't, what it was the Greens did. They loved life. They loved living, themselves and preserving the normal way of life for everyone else. Their color was the essence of flourishing life, after all. They laughed and cried and loved and did not waste their one chance in the Pattern by working so hard at Daes Dea'mar they forgot what this was all for.
She also believed the Accepted would not appreciate the round-about tactic Lythia took. She didn't want to dispirit the girl, nor make her shut down after winning the rare moment of participation so far. So it was time to drive her idea home.
She led in with an innocent tone, "We don't teach much about the Black Tower. I try to explain their ways to Green Aspirants when I can, but rarely to other Accepted and most Aes Sedai would agree its extraneous knowledge. Despite men being relatively simple to understand, creatures of action and loyalty and focus as they are, and knowing Asha'man are merely regular men burdened by difficult futures, one really has to be there to understand."
Lythia's eyes narrowed in slight consideration. "You've heard tales of their Tree, i'm sure. The barbaric thing."
She shrugged. The strapping triangle reserved for novice runaways was only slightly less extreme. "For instance, do you know what they do to one of their own that commits a crime short of alliance with the Shadow? It can be rather cruel."
For someone of Lythia's dispassion to say such a thing gave it gravity. The Black Tower was a hard, hard place. It's leaders hard as stone and just as unshakable.
However unlike the one about Logan, this tale had another point. Lythia was closely watching Nythadri, although her tone implied she was not attempting to incriminate. Nor was Nythadri in trouble at all. The opposite. If the child had used her one contact of power to the outside world to accomplish powerful, but personal ends, it was actually a tribute to her ingenuity. An attribute Lythia could put to good use in a Green.
She crossed her legs the other way to change positions a bit, studied the tea that had cooled to the temperature she preferred to take larger gulps rather than the teenie sips of earlier, finished it off then set the cup aside for now. "Even I had a bit of a time of it, and as you can imagine I have a nice position to keep up with their news. You should really be careful, though. And not just with him, although men are far more delicate creatures than they would lead you to believe, but when agents act on your behalf, you should ensure they are qualified to adequately cover their tracks before it gets back to you."
Then she played her card. "I will have you know I am more than happy to protect an aspirant of the Green Ajah. And her interests, to an extent."
Interests in affairs - or people - if necessary, and it seemed Nythadri had them. She twinkled with the forwardness of her offer.
This wasn't so dirty a trade as it sounded. It was sisterhood, if Nythadri was interested in joining it, and if not, Lythia would do nothing to act against her. No other Aes Sedai would be so caring about the affairs of an Accepted. Let alone tell her so. Greens protected many aspects of life, and like a mother cat pawing over her kittens, they were extremely loyal with their own.