A tall figured walked across the grounds of the Black Tower during the early morning hours, his grey eyes observed Soldiers and Dedicated starting to gather for their morning training exercises, he had already seen Jelsa leading a group of men for one of his famous morning runs which one usually did not wish to repeat. Christian was more than glad not to go on the run for the first time in a quite a long while, Lacy had called in a favor and made sure that he had run more than his fair share of mornings. When the group had passed at a leisurely pace, the tall Andoran had simply given Jelsa a slight nod and continued about his trek back to his new living quarters. As the tall Andoran walked across the Black Tower grounds the early morning sun glinted off of a silver sword pin on the right side of the man’s collar; on the opposite side a red and golden dragon rode as if it were floating upon a black wind. His mind went back to the day before, the day of his raising to the rank of Asha’Man, the only reason he wasn’t following Jelsa on the insane morning run that he had been put through for more than half a year.

The Dragon Reborn himself had affixed the enameled dragon to his collar and told the young Andoran, along with a few others that received dragon pins, what was expected of him as an Asha’Man then the man had quickly been escorted off by the M’Hael and a group of other Asha’Man which made up the Black Tower’s form of a Hall, that is if the Hall didn’t spend half the day squabbling amongst its members and listened entirely to the Amyrlin Seat. After the little ceremony and speech given by the Dragon Reborn had come to an end Christian had quickly been escorted to the barracks he had been staying in with his fellow Dedicated, his personal items were gathered up by friends who had already been raised to the rank of Asha’Man. The newly made Asha’Man had been led to a house that he would have to share with one other Asha’Man, whom at the moment was considered missing in the Blight, amid whoops and congratulations and slaps on the back that would fell a lesser man. Christian allowed his fellow Asha’Man to congratulate him before politely closing the door behind him, being alone he turned to his possessions which now laid about the room in heaps.

The black coats that were tossed over the bed he placed in the wardrobe that was furnished and the black pants that completed the uniform of an Asha’Man were placed in the drawers that were inside. He had few other possessions such as his shaving box as well as his box full of writing instruments; those also went into a drawer in the wardrobe with a few other odds and ends. With his belongings quickly put away, he took the time to observe the room and though the room looked rather bare. Not worrying overly about the bare look the Andoran was sure he could supply items for the shelves that filled the over half of the walls. Of course not everything displayed on the shelves would be books, he had a few swords and other keepsakes that he could display and enjoy looking at them. One such sword already lay upon a low shelf; it was a gift from long ago when he was a Soldier and was a Seanchan Deathwatch Guard’s sword. His grey eyes left the black sword and landed upon the bed, it was long and had sufficient covers upon it and a decent mattress. In the corner of the room where a wall was not covered in shelves hung a banner from House Al’Meraia. The black Charging Stallion of Al’Meraia standing proud on a field of white. The room was still a bit bare though and it was not as luxurious as his chambers at Ashlin but it would do until he could take more time to think about it. Perhaps Lacy would be willing to give him advice on how to turn it into a mirror image of his sleeping chamber at Ashlin.

After he inspected the room, the tall Andoran found himself out of things to put into trunks, drawers or on shelves, Dedicated were not allowed to have many possessions for they did not have the proper places to store them neatly. Going over in his mind what he would need to do next, Christian knew he would need to tell a few people at the White Tower about his raising, of course the first that came to mind was Lacy so she could be assured that her calling in of favors from the Asha’Man had resulted in her desired end, he was sure if her calling in of favors had not helped him obtain his raising in a time she thought of as sufficient she would have quite seriously lit him on fire and probably would have enjoyed doing it as well. He would also need to let Amelie know, she would be infinitely proud that he had finally been raised and would be glad that he no longer need to seek permission to leave the Black Tower Grounds. However the question of Kioka, her image came to him as he thought of her name, also floated in his mind. Since Lacy had decided to call in her favors he had not seen her in quite a while and was sure she had already gotten over him and moved on to another man she thought of as desirable. He had done little to endear himself to her over the past few months and had spend much of his free time in Amelie’s company, even taking her to Ashlin when he had need to go and spoiling her in Caemlyn during the same time. He and Amelie had formed a bit of a bond between themselves while they had spent two incredibly short weeks at Ashlin in complete bliss without duties to the Towers. In fact they had just returned from Ashlin less than a sentnight ago. He was not sure he wanted to consider two weeks at Ashlin with Kioka; she probably would have stuck a knife in his gut while he slept if their past encounters were any sign.

Deciding that perhaps he’d best let the two women know about his raising before they found out from other sources and accused him of being thoughtless, he made up his mind so make a trip to the White Tower. Adjusting the two pins upon his collar until he was certain that they were straight, Christian left his room and made his way to the Traveling Grounds so that he could catch a Gateway to the White Tower. It was true he could Skim but it was a simple matter to go to the Traveling Grounds and show up at the White Tower in a matter of moments instead of minutes. It was a strange sensation walking across the Black Tower Grounds as men whom he had joked with earlier in the morning now wore serious faces and saluted him as he walked by. They saluted him just as he had saluted Asha’Man earlier that morning, a strange sensation indeed which made him wonder if it was the same at the White Tower when Aes Sedai finally gained the Shawl. Deciding not to worry about the strangeness of it all he expressed his wish to go to the White Tower upon reaching the Traveling Grounds and a gateway quickly rotated open so that he could simply jump through and be within the White Tower grounds, where his journey to the Black Tower had first started when he was a mere Siswai.

Having been at the Tower for a year as a Siswai he knew the Tower grounds well and had no need to ask directions to the Green Halls. The White Tower stood open to all so he quickly made his way to a side hall which one could enter from the Gardens located near the Traveling Grounds, it was quicker than trying to go through the main entrance and he was likely to run into fewer Aes Sedai that way. Once inside the Tower, Christian made his way to the correct stair case that spiraled upwards into the Tower and eventually to the Halls of the Ajahs, which were located high within the Tower. The assent its self would take him more than a few minutes and would test anyone’s stamina if taken too quickly. Taking a deep breath he started up the stair case and took the stairs at a considerable pace. The tall Asha’Man quickly found himself at the doors to the Green Halls and pushed it open; he hardly looked at the swords enraged onto the doors now.

Within the Green Halls his dragon pin drew the attention of many of the women which lived there, a man not Bonded that wandered into their Halls was free game as far as many of them thought. One particular Aes Sedai that had given him more than a few heated glances and had cornered him more than once during his time as a Soldier and Dedicated did so again. Christian found his back against a wall with Jolene Sedai’s small hand pressed against his chest; her green eyes looked like those of a cat with a mouse in her sights. Her words were anything but appropriate for being in a public hallway with her fellow Greens about, which laughed at every word from Jolene’s lips. Luckily a thick Andoran accent floated through the hallway calling the woman off and Lacy came to his rescue with a hug and a shooing motion to her Sisters. “I was afraid I’d be Bonded before I even got to tell you the good news. That Jolene should be locked in a room somewhere.” Christian told his sister as she led him to her rooms and ushered him inside. “That woman has no manners and had no clue what should be said in public and what should not.” Lacy complained as she motioned to a chair and pushed a delicate tea cup into his hand. Christian was surprised at Lacy’s words for his sister was famous for her conquests among the men at the Black Tower and even he had heard part of the gossip though he usually tried to avoid hearing any of it.

“I’ve known for quite some time that you would be raised today.” Lacy told him with a wink after she had fixed her own tea and settled herself into a chair that looked much like a miniature throne growing from ivy. “Jak does share information about you with me when I ask, and sometimes when I don’t.” Lacy sipped her tea as if there were noting outside of the ordinary. “I’m very glad you got raised by the Dragon Reborn himself.” Lacy said with a proud smile. “That’s an honor that very few receive any more.” Lacy had expected her brother to show up sooner or later but had been surprised that he had showed up quite so early or she would have been prepared and not have let her sisters corner him quite so easily. She had fully expected him to share his news with Amelie first. “Now that you are raised have you given any thoughts to the Bonding question?” Lacy asked with a wink. She knew many of her own Sisters would try to bond her younger brother and would do it in a heartbeat if her anger were not legendary but she was not sure if Christian had any other ideas, one could never tell with men.

Christian gladly accepted the tea though he wished he had remained standing, the seat was incredibly small and uncomfortable. The tea tasted slightly of fresh berries that he could not name, Christian was sure that it was something Lacy had discovered during her years at the White Tower. At his Sister’s question he gave her a slightly confused look, he wasn’t sure what Lacy was trying to get to but he’d answer the best he could. “I don’t know of anyone interested in bonding me so I haven’t really considered it. I do know that if I wish to remain free of Aes Sedai a bit longer I might need to sneak in and out of the Green Halls the next time I wish to visit.” Christian told his Sister quite seriously. He had a thought a moment and Amelie came to mind, the tall Andoran quickly decided he might need to cover that topic as well before Lacy asked questions that he might not be able to answer. “As far as Amelie goes, she’s a Warder to her bones and I couldn’t see her not letting the right Sister bond her.” Christian had thought more than once that Lacy needed a Gaidar that wouldn’t blink at giving his sister a beating when she needed one, Lacy would be hard pressed to seduce a woman. He thought that Amelie would have been an excellent opponent for Lacy and one she wouldn’t find easy to boss around, mainly because Amelie like men as much as Lacy.

His time spent with his sister was pleasant and they talked as equals for the first time in a very long time as Lacy shared a little information with him that he had not previously known as well as answered his question about the strangeness of being raised to Asha’Man, turns out it was similar with Aes Sedai. Much to his relief his sister also helped him out of the Green Halls without being Bonded by her fellow Greens. With one woman down he now had to inform Amelie of the wonderful news before she heard through gossip. After the safe conduct through the Green Halls, the tall Andoran quickly made his way down the spiraling staircase and out of the Tower, to the relative safety of the Warder training grounds, there were far less Greens trolling about the training grounds than in the Green Halls. He found that strange in and of its self but was relieved not to be cornered by any Sisters that had the look in their eyes they said they had found a new play toy.

Once Christian reached the Training grounds he watched some of the Siswai beating at each other and remembered his own start at the Tower and how Ingtar had welcomed him despite the wrath he might have taken from Lacy. Angry did not even begin to describe the feelings that the tall Andoran had experienced when Lacy had brought an Asha’Man to take him to the Black Tower after she had realized that another Al’Meraia had been blessed, or cursed depending on the outlook, with the power to channel. It seemed as if the pattern had known for Jak had come to take him to the Black Tower and Jak had made the decision that he should finally receive the dragon pin. Luckily he had come to accept his fate as a man of the Black Tower and the dragon upon his collar said that the Black Tower saw him as finally reaching his potential, the he knew deep within he was only beginning to reach is maximum power with Saidin. Bringing himself out of his thoughts, the Asha’Man asked the Warders that were around, and not drilling Siswai, about the Domani’s location until he found where Amelie could be located.

He was not surprised about the destination that was given by a grinning man with a fancloth cloak which had a watchful Blue at his heels; the Blue seemed to be watching the man as a mother watches a newborn, waiting for any reason to interfere. The Gholam Inn was a popular destination for many of the Towers’ inhabitants for it catered to all ranks of both Towers, and it was where he had first truly gotten to know Amelie. He did not have a far walk since the Gholam Inn was almost on Tower Grounds and was at the Inn within a few minutes. While still outside he once again made sure his pins were straight as best he could without a mirror, he wanted to look like an Asha’Man at her first glance, and pushed the door open. Amelie was not hard to spot in her usual pants and one of his button-up shirts, the C embroidered in black upon the sleeve proclaimed the blue shirt as one of his own, as well as the way is all but swallowed her. Catching the woman’s eye he gave her a wide grin that said ‘What do you think?”, the dragon clearly displayed upon his collar. He was sure that the night would be a memorable one if Amelie’s smile was any indication, she knew that he would not have to be back at the Black Tower before dawn and could spend all night in Tar’ Valon.