Haras walked into the Gardens at the end of the day near suppertime. He came to the gardens at the time because nobody was there, everyone was eating and talking to each other. Haras made sure that all his paperwork was done before he came out here becuase he did not want to rush back. Haras walked in the Void. The Void that was a passive thing for him to do. Haras walked in the gardens among the Orchids, his favorite of all flowers.

As he walked he noticed the sun sinking with a redish hue. He sighed. "Blood will be spilt once more this night." he thought. The sun sinks and rises with red every day now. He remembered days when it never did. But those days were long gone and he wondered if he would see days like that agian. He thought not. As he walked he embraced the source and made three balls of fire. He toyed with them as he walked and thought.

Shaya had sought out her usual spot by the pond now, where she liked to slip away to and watch the sun go down.
The setting sun was reflected in the water of the pond and she traced her hand through it.
She looked up as she heard the sound of footsteps approaching.
A man came down the path, obviously wrapped up in his own thoughts. She watched him look up at the sun and sigh. Somehow she didn't think that had been a sigh for the beauty of it. For some reason the red globe seemed to sadden him as it started it's decent towards the horizon.

His uniform marked him an Asha'man and Shaya tried to make herself as small as possible. She had heard enough stories about how Asha'man liked to chew up novices and spit them out just for fun. She wasn't exactly the typical wide-eyed, young and innocent, novice, but then she had no intention of getting in their way either. Maybe if she held perfectly still, he wouldn't notice her. Just then he started to channel and Shaya nearly jumped as three balls of fire appeared above his hands. She silently chided herself for being so foolish. She had been in the Tower long enough by now not to get spooked by people channeling like that. If only there was some kind of warning if men did that, like there was with other women.
She held her breath as she watched the balls with a near hypnotised facination. Fire had always had that effect on her, ever since she was a child.

Haras thought deeply as he toyed with the three balls of fire. He wondered if the world would become peaceful like it was during the Age of Legands. He shook his head as he knew it would not happen for thousands of years. He stopped as he heard the breathing of a woman neary by. Thanks to Saidin he could pick up any sound or movement. He smiled as he saw she didnt want anything to do with him. He decided to talk with her anyway. He let the balls of fire die out and turned to look straight at Kaya.

"Good evening... Novice." he said pleasently. "Nice night for one to think to oneself no?" he asked following up the greeting. He slowly walked over. He still held the power to sense anything unusuall. When he was sure nothing was about he let go and listened to the Novice that seemed... surprised. He wondered if she would stay or scurry off with the excuse of chores like other Novices and Soldiers. He wondered why he had the affect on them. He hoped this one stayed, he needed to be normal... for at least one night.

Shaya had no idea how he did it, but just as she thought he was going to pass her, he turned and looked right at her.
Shaya forced her eyes away from the balls of fire that had stopped spinning now and settled them on his face. I must be slipping, she thought and rose to her feet smoothly as he spoke to her.
"Good evening... Novice. Nice night for one to think to oneself no?" Shaya felt herself smile in response to the warmth his voice and decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. To be on the sure side, she lowered herself in to smooth curtsy, respectfully inclining her head to him.
Not for the first time she found herself wishing that the novice dresses were cut somewhat more flattering. But then novices were not really meant to be appealing to the eye, she supposed. Still, what was the point of being a woman if you couldn't use it to your advantage every now and then?

"And a very good evening to you, Asha'man. You are right, t'is a truely lovely night." She turned her face to the setting sun and thought the gardens looked truly magical in the red glow like that. The pond looked like it was on fire from within and Shaya felt her breath fall short at the sheer beauty of it all. She turned back to the man beside her and studied him from the corner of her eye, wondering where he was from. It was the first time she had seen a man channeling since she had been in the Tower and for some reason it seemed so much more ... powerful.. then when an Aes Sedai did it. A little shiver ran down her spine and she spoke up quickly to hide her confusion. "I hope you don't mind me being so forward, Asha'man, but you seemed saddened by something as you came up. Is something amiss?" She might very well be crossing that line now where he would suddenly realise she was only a lowly novice and go cold and unforgiving on her, but then she figured everyone needed someone to talk to every now and then and sometimes it was easier to share with a total stranger then it was with someone close.

Haras watched as the Novice dropped to a smooth curtsy and gave an inclination of the head. He nodded his in return and followed her gaze toward the pond. He sighed again. Nothing was as it should. To much war and violence happened in this world. He shrugged. He saw the Novice in deep thought and smiled inwardly. He wondered what she was struggling with. He chuckled to himself and then listend to what she had to say.

"I hope you don't mind me being so forward, Asha'man, but you seemed saddened by something as you came up. Is something amiss?" she asked. He smiled. "It is alright Novice..." she gave her name. "Shaya Blackrose." he nodded. "Well Shaya its just that there is to much violence in this world. The sun rises and sets with a redish hue, an omen of blood spilling." he said quietly. "I remember days when the sun rose and set with a golden hue." he said quietly. "Enough of that, I am Asha'Man Haras Din'Suave Master of Soldiers of the Black Tower. Equivelent to your Mistress of Novices if you did not know." he said with a smile.

He studied her reaction which was readily controlled but still not mastered. He smiled outwardly this time. "Would you like to walk Novice Shaya?" he asked. It would be interesting to talk with a Novice. He hadnt dont that since he was a soldier, which was indeed a very long time ago.

Shaya fell from one amazement into the next.
First here was an Asha'man who actually told her that the thought of violence saddened him? She had very little experience with male channelers, but if the whispered gossip from the other novices could be taken serious at all, then violence was the way they ruled the world. Their powers of channeling were based on destruction mainly, they had Healers as well ofcourse, but the main focus seemed to lie with causing earthquakes and fire to destroy the enemy.
Just as she was trying to get her head round the fact that here might be an exception to the common preconception, the Asha'man introduced himself to her and Shaya felt her heart skip a beat. Not only an Asha'man, but the Master of Soldiers himself. Before she had a chance to recover from the shock he casually asked her if she fancied a walk, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for a highranking officer to go for a casual stroll with a novice.

Shaya found herself smiling and she nodded her head. "It would be both a pleasure and an honor to walk with you, Asha'man." As he continued his stroll in the gardens, Shaya fell in beside him. She had to lengthen her strides to keep up with his bigger steps and as they walked in silence for a few moments, she wondered what to say and if she was meant to say anything. He seemed to be in a pensive mood, even though he had asked her to walk with him.
He walked like a man who was used to standing on the training grounds and commanding his Soldiers. Even while casually walking like this, it was as if his body was ready to jump into action at any moment. It was oddly comforting, as if nothing could touch or harm her while she was close to him. Shaya shook the silly thoughts that fluttered through her mind like butterflies and pointed out a rabbit that casually hopped across the Tower grounds.

"Looks like we are not the only ones who are enjoying the sunset tonight."
A soft breeze made the leaves on the trees whisper and briefly lifted her hair. She smiled up at him and marvelled at the contradictions in his face. His nearly black eyes shone with a fire from within and she could easily imagine how those eyes would stare down any soldier who thought to challenge his authority. His lips bordered on a smile now as if something secretely amused him and she wondered if many people ever saw this softer, more relaxed side of him.
Thinking back on what he had said earlier about the vengeful red glow of the setting sun, she said: "Do you think there will be a war?"

"Looks like we are not the only ones enjoying the sunset tonight." she stated simply. "That is true but usually there are many people here, talking doing chores and the like. I come here at sunset for it is quieter and much more relaxing. And I usually finish the paperwork by then." he stated simply. He also got up early in the morning and practiced his weapon forms and some weaves if he felt like it. He wasnt very strong but was a very fast weaver.

He walked causually yet to others it was a walk that bordered readiness and action. Haras kept a smile because he knew that the child strolling next to him was one of the faster novices. There were others at her level but some just seemed so stuck up. So did some of the soldiers. He grimaced. The Towers were crumbling. In order for them to come together in full unity they needed a war. Then they would be fine.

"Do you think there will be a war?" she asked. Haras smiled. "War is inevitable in times like these Shaya. But it will not come for some time but you and I will live to see it." he shrugged. "I guess we need not worry for now but..." he trailed off. He could not say to much. That would be bad. "But concentrate on your studies Shaya, and become the best Aes Sedai you can. We will need strong leaders soon." he said smiling at her. She was a lovely young woman and he enjoyed her company.

Shaya nearly laughed but held her peace. The Master of Soldiers could not know she had no intention of becoming one of those stuck up Aes Sedai who's main talent seemed to be to stare down at the world down their noses. She had already made a compromise with herself to stay at least as long as it would take to master the power, but after there she would be out of this place faster than a bolt of lightning. The Tower could fight their own wars. She had a life to live on the outside, places to visit and riches to obtain. And perhaps being able to channel would prove to be useful to get what she wanted. Haras had adopted that tone she had heard a lot since she had put on the novice white. The Aes Sedai would talk to her as if she was a child, even though some of them looked young enough to be her younger sister. Shaya still couldn't get her head around the fact that some of them were over a hundred years old, even though they had explained to her how the power stopped them from aging.

She wondered how old the Master of Soldiers was. "Have you been in the Tower long, Master Din'Suave?" She wasn't sure if that was the correct way to address the Master of Soldiers, but then she was only just getting her head round how thing worked in the White Tower. The wind was picking up a bit now and she subconsciously moved a little closer to him to shield herself and absorb some of his body heat. Shaya had heard that a lot of the novices tended to get in trouble for not doing their chores properly or playing childish pranks on eachother, she wondered if the Master of Soldiers had to put up with things like that from the men as well. Somehow the Soldiers all seemed so much older when they came to the Tower. Most of them looked like they had seen something of the world already and were well past the age of playing childish tricks on eachother. "Do you think men learn how to channel easier then the women, Master Din'suave?" The questions poured out of her as she thought about the differences between the two sections. "How old were you when you first channeled?"

She blushed slightly as she realised it was hardly her place as a novice to question the Master of Soldiers. Out here in the gardens, walking like this with no one around, it was easy to forget where and who she was for a moment. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to impose on your privacy, Master Din'suave." She stole a quick glance at his face to check if she had offended him.