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Eloise Tamindred
Profile: Eloise is a petite Cairhienin with straight, dark brown hair and murky green eyes. Her skin is pale, although she doesn't look unhealthy. She is a young noblewoman of fifteen summers, and raised in the middle of Daes Dae'mar. Her usual demeanour reflects that - she tends to hide lesser emotions, although her disdain for simple people and menial tasks is clear. She has a sharp wit; unfortunately she reserves it only for those things she thinks important. Biography: "Hold your breath please, milady." The maid waited for Eloise to do so before pulling the strings of her bodice just a bit tighter. The ornate dress was far from comfortable, yet the young Cairhienin was more than pleased when she looked at herself in the mirror. Her gown was of midnight black velvet, slashed and ribboned with the cream and gold of her House. Ribbons of the same shade held up her hair in an elaborate tower of curls - she despised how straight her hair was, and loved it when someone paid good attention to it. Offering a slight nod to the maid, she strode through the doors of her dressing room into the much too cold hallway. In the drawing room, mother and Fyra Sedai were waiting for her. House Tamindred was a House of middling influence in Cairhien, yet despite its dwindling strength it held the old ways high. Fyra was a Tairen Aes Sedai of the Grey Ajah, and had been a familiar face for as long as Eloise could remember. Her mother studied her approvingly. "That will do nicely. You will not be allowed to keep it, of course, but first impressions matter much." With a smile, Eloise inclined her head. Fyra Sedai's expression was utterly unreadable - it was one of those days again. From her twelfth nameday on, Fyra Sedai had tested Eloise for manifestation of the ability to channel every years. Three times, she had tried and been disappointed. The fourth time, the small flame the Aes Sedai channeled had flickered when Eloise looked at it - a minute reaction, but something to change her very destiny. From that day on, the young noble had been preparing to travel to Tar Valon. But these were troubled times. Their House was far away from the city, and because of that they had been spared much of the recent troubles. It was not something people spoke about, but beneath the words that traveled through the halls the worry was always obvious. Eloise had heard the heated tones of a conversation between her mother and Fyra Sedai, and the image of the Grey stalking out of the drawing room with an expression close to sulking was still clear in the girl's mind. Something had changed that day, although no one would talk about it. Her mother's recent aloofness was connected to it. And when Mirella Sedai arrived with her Warder to take Eloise to the Tower, Fyra had locked herself up for a day, pretending to be sick. Now that had to mean something. The girl supposed it had something to do with that Warder. Although he had the stone-faced look down like any of them, there was something odd about him. His black coat seemed too ornate, and he did not wear the colour-shifting cloak. She had asked one of her mother's servants about it - discreetly of course, not using too many words - but either they did not know or they played the Great Game better than Eloise could comprehend. Well, none of it mattered now. She would be going to Tar Valon today! In the stableyard, a black pony was saddled for her. Not her own horse, of course - she would not be allowed to keep it anyway. Mirella Sedai and her warder were waiting. Mother was there to say goodbye, Fyra Sedai had excused herself. Excited, Eloise turned from her mother to the Green Aes Sedai who would take her to a bright and powerful future. "Can we go to Tar Valon now?" Mirella Sedai looked at her Warder, and out of nothing a slash of bright light appeared in the air, turning into a hole that looked out over a snow-covered mountain range. "You are going to the Tower, child, but not to Tar Valon." Gasping, Eloise turned to her mother, who shook her head, expression illegible. "It is the Game, my daughter. You will understand." She was led through the portal as though in a bad dream, and all that she had ever known vanished and gave way to the chill of the Mountains of Mist. The Grey Tower. If she had the slightest bit less self-control, Eloise Tamindred would've cried.
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