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Arith Madhe Arith Madhe was born in Baerlon, to Aline and Tor Madhe. She grew up in the inn her parents owned: The Great Oak, early helping out with some of the light work there. Her parents called her the "Mistress of Brooms", because she nearly always ended up with the task of sweeping the floors. All in all, she had a happy childhood, seldom lacking anything. But there was one thing that constantly bothered her: All the other girls were asked to dance, but not her! Having her mother's rail-thinness, and her father's long face, she wasn't exactly a beauty. Aged 13, she had not yet talked to a boy her own age. This frustrated her to no end, and one day, she refused to come out of her room. "Arith?" Aline called, and knocked on the door, "breakfast is long since finished, why won't you come out?" No sound came from the room; then, a soft sob. Aline went in. Arith was lying on her stomach on the bed, face burrowed in the pillow. Her shoulders were shaking slightly. Aline sat down, and started stroking Arith's long dark hair. She sighed softly. "What's the matter, dear?" Arith looked up; her eyes were red-rimmed, and her lower lip shaking. "Why am I so ugly?" "Ugly, dear? You are not the least ugly!" "I am! Just look!" Arith pointed at her face, "I have a horse's face!" "That's nonsense, girl." "Then why won't the boys dance with me?" "Hm... Maybe they're shy? Too shy to talk to such a pretty girl?" "Don't lie to me!" Arith flung her face back into the pillow. Aline rose to go, but Arith didn't notice. She was too consumed in the hatred towards her own appearance. Two years passed, and Arith turned fifteen. She had fleshed out somewhat, gotten more of a woman's figure, and was pretty happy with the way she looked. On her birthday, she entered the common room of The Great Oak in her best dress. She got to dance many dances, and when she went to bed that night, she was as happy as can be, with one exception: Mader had not even looked her way. 'If only there was a way to make myself pretty!' she thought. And with that still in mind, she went to sleep. The next day, she awoke, sensing no abnormality. Then she looked in the mirror, and jumped. 'My face!' she thought. It appeared oval, and her eyes were bigger than usual; she looked pretty! Clasping her cheeks the way she often did when she was pleasantly surprised, she gave a giggle. Then she noticed it: Whenever she touched her "new face", it shimmered in a way, and you could see her old face through it. "What is this?" she whispered. Then she remembered her thoughts from last night. "Did I cause it? How...?" "Talking to yourself?" her father said in a joking tone, entering the room, "your mother told me to wake you, she is too busy with out new guests. You should see them! They wear more silk than I have ever seen, and they--" his eyes widened, "what has happened to your face?!" "I don't know, da!" Arith bit her lip nervously, "it was like this when I woke up!" "Well," her father smiled, "you should ask our guests about it, I bet they know." Arith smiled, little or nothing shocked Tor Madhe. "Who're -- what are -- our guests?" "I didn't get their names, but they say they're Aes Sedai, down from the Grey Tower. They're looking for something, but they didn't tell what. You know how secretive those people are." He winked at her, "stop worrying about your face, I know you've always wanted to be pretty. Are you coming?" Arith smiled again. Her father was a good one at calming people. She'd seen him once, stopping a fight between two miners by just saying the right words, and giving a polite smile. Arith was proud of her father. Running down the stairs to catch up with him, she nearly collided with a woman coming up the stairs. Noticing the Great Serpent ring on her right hand, she gave a deep curtsey. "Forgive me, Aes Sedai, I was in a bit of a hurry, and--" she cut off when she noticed that the woman was staring intently at her face. "Curious," the woman said in a low tone. Waving for the other Aes Sedai to come up beside her, she pointed at Arith's face, and said something Arith did not quite catch. Something with "illusion". The other Aes Sedai tapped her lips thoughtfully, and said, "She must have a strong Talent in that area, to be able to do so much without training." The other woman nodded, and turned her attention towards Arith. "Girl, " she said, "are you aware that you can channel?" "Are you joking with me?" Arith asked. Realizing whom she was talking to, she added a hasty "Aes Sedai", and curtsied again. "No, I'm not joking, why would I?" the Aes Sedai said, "You can channel. And you aren't among the weakest either." "So you are saying...that this accident with my face was," she swallowed, "channeling?" It sounded too crazy to be true. But Aes Sedai couldn't lie, could they? "Yes. Would you like me to remove it for you?" Arith nodded, and felt as if a breeze blew across her face. "There." The Aes Sedai looked pleased with herself. "Now, girl," the other Aes Sedai said, "I'm afraid we can't ask you if you want to come train in the Tower. You have to, or risk dying." Then she started explaining something Arith hardly understood, but the one in four chance of survival she understood well enough. "Ok. I will go to the Tower, but I'm not sure how happy my parents will be if I go away." "We'll talk to them," the woman nodded to her companion, and smiled at Arith, "you go and pack." Disobeying an Aes Sedai was out of the question, so Arith went. Back in her room, she mused for a while on what she would need for the journey. She ended up with a couple of shifts, several pairs of stockings, and two dresses. She bundled them together inside her winter cloak, and went out in the hallway. Her parents were there, as were one of the Aes Sedai. When Arith asked, she explained that her companion was staying behind, to see if there were any more girls in Baerlon like Arith. The goodbye was not the easiest thing the girl had been through. Her mother was all hugs and well wishes, but her cheeks were damp when she waved them off, and even Tor's joyful nature was somewhat dimmed. Arith was crying softly when they rode off, and the Aes Sedai patted her on the shoulder. "It'll be ok," she said, "I was sad, too, when I left my parents." Her smile was comforting, and Arith rubbed her cheeks.'If all Aes Sedai are like this,' she thought, 'I think my stay in the Tower will be rather nice.' A week later, they approached the walls of The Grey Tower. At the sight of it, a thought came into Arith's mind, and she spoke it aloud: "I will be Aes Sedai."
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