With In The White Tower (Wheel Of Time RPG)

[Spero]

Setting: Wheel of Time: Five years after A Memory of Light

It has been five years sense the Dragon's Peace has begun. The Amyrlin Seat Cadsuane Melaidhrin, like Egwene al'Vere before her, decided to keep the Novice Books open.

The One Power

A Warder (known as Gaidin in the Old Tongue) is a person, traditionally male, who is bonded by an Aes Sedai through the use of saidar to become her bodyguard and protector. Most Aes Sedai bond one Warder, but the Green Ajah allows the bonding of multiple Warders and the Red Ajah, until recently, did not bond Warders at all; in addition Browns and Whites often do not bother with Warders unless it is necessary for their research. Aes Sedai sometimes marry their Warders, but this practice is most common among the Greens. Warders are easily recognized by their distinctive Color-shifting cloak, made of fancloth, when they choose to wear it.

The Warder bond has distinct benefits for both parties. The Warder gains greater stamina and physical prowess, a greater capacity to resist evil, the ability to sense shadowspawn at a distance, and greater resistance to injury (totally aside from the proximity of his Aes Sedai, who is probably able to Heal his wounds using the Power). The Aes Sedai, for her part, gains a bodyguard, confidant and ally-in-schemes who is intrinsically linked to her and can be compelled, to a certain extent, through the bond. Both parties are able to sense the other's general location, physical well-being and, to some extent, emotional state.

When the bond with a Warder is broken he rarely survives. He completely loses the will to live and will almost always die attempting to avenge his Aes Sedai. The breaking of the bond is also terrible for Aes Sedai, creating so much emotional turmoil for them that often Aes Sedai take many years to bond another.

This story follows the tails of the all that now call the tower home:

Aes Sedai: Novice

Traditionally the White Tower only accepts girls for training who are between sixteen and eighteen years old, though the rules are bent sometimes for a novice of great potential. Becoming a novice is known as being "put in white", because they are held to a strict dress code: white dresses, stockings, shoes, and even hair ribbons.

Recently among the rebel (Salidar) Aes Sedai the age restrictions have been lifted, and there are novices of all ages, even as old as grandmothers. This is causing consternation among some traditional sisters, but most are happy that the number of Tower initiates has ceased dwindling.

A novice's life is deliberately harsh, in order to prepare her for the difficult life of an Aes Sedai. Her room is tiny, the bed uncomfortable and hard, and she must wake every day before dawn to scrub the floor and sweep the room. Meals are taken in silence and are extremely brief, so the novice must eat quickly or go hungry. She will have lessons and classes; some on learning to channel but just as many on history, the Old Tongue, geography, politics and philosophy, and if needed reading and arithmetic—to all of which she must pay strict attention or face punishment. However, most of her day will be taken up with such chores and duties as laboring in the kitchens, scrubbing floors, doing errands for Aes Sedai, and working in the gardens.

Novices are not permitted to channel except when supervised by an Accepted or Aes Sedai (though many do so anyway in secret), and must do all their chores by hand. The idea is that the hard work builds character, though it is likely that there is a desire to keep them too busy, and too tired, to start playing around and experimenting with the Power. Novices are strictly confined to the Tower, and there are no days off, except for occasional freedays.

Novices are subject to strict discipline, decided and handed out by a sister appointed to the post of Mistress of Novices. She is both disciplinarian and confidante, punishing those who have broken the rules and comforting those who are finding novice life too tough to handle. It is she who decides when a novice or Accepted is ready to be tested, or if the girl will be put out of the Tower for good. Punishment ranges from a lecture to a severe switching, and extra chores are usually involved. Although it is known what happens in the study, no one ever makes references to the punishment a person receives. For all that Aes Sedai act like they rule the world, within the Tower there are hierarchies and rules, and discipline and obedience are instilled from the earliest days. In addition novices are carefully cloistered from men. It isn't that the Tower disapproves of intimacy, but that they don't want their novices thinking too much about heart and family, especially if they are successful because they will outlive all their relatives and friends. If two novices get into a relationship, the Mistress of Novices will usually turn a blind eye.

Understandably some novices find the pressure too much, and resolve to run away. They rarely get away with it, usually being caught and returned. Life for a captured runaway makes ordinary novice life look pleasant, with anything less than perfection being swiftly and harshly punished. The reason given is that a half-trained channeler is a danger to herself and those around her, which is not untrue, but it is also the case that the Tower considers itself to have absolute right over all channelers, and does not permit them to leave until it is finished with them.

The novices studying under the rebel Aes Sedai have been arranged into families of seven or eight women, making them much easier to organize and also establishing close friendships that help novices to get through the day. This new development has meant that this faction has almost no runaways to deal with.

The expected time spent as a novice for most girls is ten years. Those showing greater potential might be raised Accepted after five or six years, and there have been cases of, gifted novices like Moiriane Damodred, Siuan Sanche and Elaida a'Roihan being raised after only three, and truly exceptional ones, like Egwene al'Vere and Elayne Trakand after a few months. When the Mistress of Novices decides that a girl is ready, she arranges for her to face the Arches. In only one known instance has a Tower initiate bypassed novice training completely. Nynaeve al'Meara began her training as one of the Accepted at the insistence of Amyrlin Siuan Sanche, but many Aes Sedai and Tower initiates (especially Accepted) disagreed with this decision.

Aes Sedai: Accepted

Where novices wear plain white, Accepted wear the same dress with seven bands of color at hem and cuffs - the color of the seven Ajahs. She must wear her Great Serpent ring on the third finger (ring finger) of her left hand.

The Accepted have larger and more comfortable rooms, and are trusted to channel alone and to direct their own studies. The Accepted also have the greater responsibilities of her own studies while being expected to prepare and teach novice lessons on a wide range of topics (the purpose of doing so is to learn how to manage and control others, and she can expect to be reprimanded if she runs to the Mistress of Novices for every little problem). Being Accepted does not mean less deference to Aes Sedai, and while she has more freedom - she is allowed to visit the city, for example - if she does break a rule, her punishment will be all the harsher.

An Accepted must learn much, as the Tower will not permit ignorant Aes Sedai. It is expected that she will be ten years in the banded white before being tested for the Shawl, though again there are exceptions to this. Elaida a'Roihan, Moiraine Damodred and Siuan Sanche all spent three years as novices and three as Accepted before being raised Aes Sedai. Egwene al'Vere and Elayne Trakand spent a matter of months in both novicehood and the status of Accepted.

Aes Sedai

Blue Ajah

The Blue Sisters involve themselves with causes and justice. The Blue Ajah is the second smallest one, but it has the most extensive network of espionage. The head of the Blue Ajah is called the First Selector.
Brown Ajah

Sisters of the Brown Ajah are dedicated to the search for knowledge and spend much of their time engrossed in study. They are led by a Ruling Council, and the head of the Council is called the First Chair.[1]
Green Ajah

Sisters of the Green Ajah (informally called the 'Battle Ajah') prepare for Tarmon Gai'don. They are the most tolerant of men and many even marry. The head of the Battle Ajah is called Captain-General.
Gray Ajah

Sisters of the Gray Ajah are mediators, and are often used for this purpose. The head of the Gray Ajah is called the Head Clerk.
Red Ajah

The purpose of the Red Ajah is ostensibly to prevent a second Breaking of the World; but their principal business is to deprive gifted men of access to Power. As such, they are often opposed to the Blue. The Red is the largest of all the Ajahs. The head of the Red Ajah is called the Highest.
White Ajah

The White Sisters devote themselves to questions of philosophy and truth. The head of the White Ajah is called the First Reasoner. They tend to serenity.
Yellow Ajah

Sisters of the Yellow Ajah are Healers. The head of the Yellow Ajah is called the First Weaver.

Warders

A Warder (known as Gaidin in the Old Tongue) is a person, traditionally male, who is bonded by an Aes Sedai through the use of saidar to become her bodyguard and protector. Most Aes Sedai bond one Warder, but the Green Ajah allows the bonding of multiple Warders and the Red Ajah, until recently, did not bond Warders at all; in addition Browns and Whites often do not bother with Warders unless it is necessary for their research. Aes Sedai sometimes marry their Warders, but this practice is most common among the Greens. Warders are easily recognized by their distinctive Color-shifting cloak, made of fancloth, when they choose to wear it.

The Warder bond has distinct benefits for both parties. The Warder gains greater stamina and physical prowess, a greater capacity to resist evil, the ability to sense shadowspawn at a distance, and greater resistance to injury (totally aside from the proximity of his Aes Sedai, who is probably able to Heal his wounds using the Power). The Aes Sedai, for her part, gains a bodyguard, confidant and ally-in-schemes who is intrinsically linked to her and can be compelled, to a certain extent, through the bond. Both parties are able to sense the other's general location, physical well-being and, to some extent, emotional state.

When the bond with a Warder is broken he rarely survives. He completely loses the will to live and will almost always die attempting to avenge his Aes Sedai. The breaking of the bond is also terrible for Aes Sedai, creating so much emotional turmoil for them that often Aes Sedai take many years to bond another.

[Spero]

Tar Valon

Tar Valon (pronounced: TAHR VAH-lon) is a city[1] located on an island on the River Erinin, within sight of Dragonmount. It is the center of Aes Sedai power and is also the second largest, most populous city in the Westlands. Tar Valon also controls a small amount of territory directly adjacent to it, although it does not have as much land as it did before the War of the Hundred Years. Tar Valon is ruled by the Amyrlin Seat, although the day-to-day bureaucracy is handled by a council of Aes Sedai sisters and civil administrators. The city is notable as the only place where Aes Sedai have wielded officialized administrative power since the War of the Hundred Years. The population of the city in 1000 NE is roughly 500,000. It has remained independent of outside control for its entire existence, although it has suffered several major sieges and even direct assaults.

Tar Valon is a vital trade and transport link between the Borderlands and the more populous, richer southern kingdoms of Andor, Cairhien, Illian, and Tear. Multiple major roads meet at the city, directly linking it to the cities of Fal Moran, Shol Arbela, Chachin, Maradon, Cairhien, and Caemlyn, while the River Erinin links the city to Tear, along with many important ports and trading centers along the way (most notably Aringill).

The island of Tar Valon is eight miles long and more than two miles across at its widest point. The city fills the entire island, bar an Ogier grove, which is the only one within a major city still maintained and kept as a garden. The buildings of Tar Valon are noted for being graceful, tall, and sometimes linked together by unique 'skybridges'. The city doesn't just rely on its island location for defense, but also on its walls, which stretch along the full length of the banks of the island. The city is centered on the White Tower and its grounds.

The city is linked to the mainland by six bridges, each one of which is a mighty feat of engineering in its own right. Even the shortest bridge is still almost a mile long and gracefully arches from the island to the shore. It isn't said whether or not the Aes Sedai helped to build Tar Valon's magnificent buildings and bridges as they helped build the White Tower or the Stone of Tear, however much of Tar Valon was definitely built by Ogier stonemasons.

Taxation from all the trade means that the White Tower's coffers are extremely rich. Of the great cities of the land, Tar Valon is the greatest and most beautiful, with Caemlyn not far behind.

The White Tower

The White Tower is the tallest building in the Aes Sedai compound in Tar Valon. It is both home and training grounds to Aes Sedai, those training to become Aes Sedai, and Warders. It is a bone-white tower nearly 100 spans (around 600 feet) in height. Its roof is flat-topped with a waist-high railing.

[BlackStone]

Color me interested.   Since it is going to be after the Last Battle, would there be the possibility for Ash'aman to be part of this, as liaison from the Black Tower?

[Spero]

Color me interested.   Since it is going to be after the Last Battle, would there be the possibility for Ash'aman to be part of this, as liaison from the Black Tower?

Ash'aman will be allowed, still working on getting everything posted :)

[Cold Heritage]

Will this be a system game?

[Spero]

Will this be a system game?

No system for now.

[Muse]

Should you decide you want a system, this is a fairly good conversion of the Star Wars Saga Edition system for Wheel of Time. 

http://blackmoor.mystara.net/pdfs/wot/WheelTimeRPGSagaConversion.pdf

Should be fairly intuitive to anyone who has played D&D or Pathfinder. 

Not sure if I have time for another game right now, but I'll be keeping an eye on this.  :) 

[Purple Dusk]

I'll throw my hat in for this one.  I have a few ideas for characters, but need a little more info on where the plot is headed so that I can pick one out.

[Spero]

I'll throw my hat in for this one.  I have a few ideas for characters, but need a little more info on where the plot is headed so that I can pick one out.

Still thinking up plot but that's because I'm doing my best to put together Viewings about the braking of the Dragon Peace.

[Caela]

Tossing my hat in the interested ring.