The Library

This is a record of both the IC and OOC history of the Grey Tower. If there is a problem, please contact admin.

OOC time	OOC Events	IC Events
The Creation
May 1998	The Tower was the original idea Toby (who in time played Keyeren Selan/Kyelen Nachiman/Tatham Anselar/Kaihan Masawi), previously a member of a text-based roleplay for a different book series, thinking it would be fun to do something similar for the Wheel of Time.	There were men from the Black Tower who were dissatisfied with how it was being run, and it was the idea of Keyeren Asha'man to create a new Tower for both male and femal channelers. This was done in combination with Aes Sedai from Egwene's rebel group. The Black Tower and White Tower considered all members of this new group to be frauds and runaways. However, the Salidar Aes Sedai had a large number of followers and since they had already legitimized the Kin it was clear that the Grey Tower would not be far behind.
June 1998	Keyeren recruited Nevelyn Co'rel, the first Amrylin, who also help in founding the site. Rio'lan Shade (as Keeper of the Chronicles) and her warder Labarn Onyxious Gaidin also worked during the first two months of Tower construction.	In the interest of equality, the Grey Tower would be ruled over by both a female and a male rather then a single head position. The titles for these positions were taken from the White and Black Towers; the Amyrlin and M'Heal would rule together to represent the combination of men and women channelers. However, there would still only be one Keeper, who could be either male or female, and one Mistress of Novices and Soldiers (until later).
July 1998	An advertisement was put up on the Netland White Tower, where Amora, Jel'viendha, and Jaisen were roleplaying as middle ranks. They automatically became fully raised memebers of the Grey Tower, the last to do so.	A recruiter from the Tower was sent to Tar Valon. (This happened shortly before the seige of Tar Valon). He left secret pamplets in inns often frequented by members of the White Tower, inviting them to the Grey Tower. Several Accepted and trainees found them and left for the Tower, and the two Accepted were raised to Aes Sedai at the Tower and became its youngest founders.
The Early Years
August 1998	The Tower was opened to the public late August of '98 with the admin positions of M'heal (Keyeren Selan), Amyrlin (Nevelyn Co'rel), Keeper of the Chronicles (Rio'lan Shade), Master of Arms (Labarn Onyxious), and Mistress of Novices and Soldiers (Amora en'Damier) filled.	The construction of the Grey Tower is completed, in only one year with the help of the One Power and several talented Indigos. The rooms have been furnised, the Halls decorated in the colors of their respective Ajah, and the barraks open for trainees. The Tower's officers, chosen from among those Aes Sedai and Asha'man who left the White and Black Towers, are ready to accept members. The new Grey Tower is opened to both male and female channelers and those who wish to serve them as warders.
September 1998	The Raising Requirements were created by Amora Sedai, then the Mistress of Novices and Soldiers.	The Mistress of Novices and Soldiers developed a more defined raising method, which included a list of things a member of the Tower must complete before raising.
October 1998	The raising tests were written. It was decided that both novices and soldiers would go through the Three Arches, and with an OOC set of trivia questions. The Great Stair test was also created for the raising to Aes Sedai/Ashsa'man.	The Indigo Ajah worked for several years on the development of two raising tests. The Mistress of Novices and Soldiers worked together with the indigo Ajah to create a second Three Arches, which was used to test both novices and soldiers, and the creation of the Great Stair. This required that each Accepted or Dedicated tested would be able to fulfill the purpose of each of the seven Ajahs. A second oath rod was also found.
November 1998	Mekare became the first 'raised' member of the Tower, and later the first admin assistant while the Mistress of Novices and Soldiers took the first shara.	Mekare was the first member of the Tower to enter as a novice, pass both raising tests, and become an Aes Sedai of the Grey Tower. The next fully raised member was Ambrese.
October 1998 - January 1999	A Major Roleplay called "The Recruitment Mission" (also known as "The Shadar dore Roleplay"), was the first formal recruiting mission in which the learning ranks were visited and role-played traveling back to the Tower. Initially it was held to give backstory for the new novices and soldiers and then gradually it transformed into a roleplay about the shadow. It brought many characters together to interact and build character.	The first recruiting parties were dispatched. However, the mission turned dark when it was plauged by a new form of shadowspan, the Shadar dore, and later captured by a dreadlord. This dreadlord was defeated when forces in the recruiting party were freed by reinforcements from the Grey Tower (among them Daimor Asha'man). The Grey Tower overcame the first real threat it had faced.
Organization and Dissension
December 1998	Nevelyn, the Amyrlin Seat, and Keeper Rio'lan had a fight and Rio's warder Labran (the Master of Arms) destroyed the Warder Yards and left. Rio left without several backlogged updates.	Labran Gaidin, warder to the Keeper and frustrated with the lack of authority and attention given to the Warder Yards, burned down the Yards and parts of several warder buildings before leaving the Tower, never to be heard from again. The Keeper soon disappeared as well, and it is believed that the act was planned together and that they rejoined after she left.
December 1998	The position of Master of Training was created and filled by Macrean Sentia.	In the White Tower, the Warders are completely subordinate to the Aes Sedai and in the Black Tower there are no Warders at all. After much debate, it was decided that the Warders of the Grey Tower would be in a sense equal to an Ajah. To hold up this new idea, several officer positions were created that never existed with the realm of either the White or Black Tower.
January 1999	Piper Sedai, sitter for the Indigo Ajah, was exiled from the Grey Tower (OOC) for making accusations that Nevelyn was also playing M'Heal Keyeren. The Hall of Sitters temporarily ceased to exist.	The Hall of Sitters was having trouble staying together. It seemed that there was more arguing then decision making, and the few decisions that were made were forced by a few rather then agreed on by many.
June 1999	The Hall of Sitters voted that the Tower's IC location is the Mountains of Mist, near the village of Elman's creek.
August 1999	The position of Gaidin Captain was created and filled by Valek Hawke. The Gaidin Captain and the Master of Training positions helped to give structure to the Warder Yards.
The Breaking
September 1999	The Hall of Sitters was having trouble staying afloat, and several admin memebers were unhappy with how the Tower was being run. The Amyrlin and the Keeper deleted the entire Tower without consulting any other Tower members.	The Dark One sent a great earthquake with hot acidic gas coming up from the ground. Though this event was prophecized to happen on an unknown date, the Tower's structure lay in ruins. Some fled to a refugee camp already created by Amora Sedai, Jel'viendha Sedai, and Mekare Sedai because of the prophesy, while others returned to their homelands.
Reconstruction
October 1999	After finding the entire site gone (including memeber listings and other important files), Keyeren decided to reconstruct the Tower. Taking on the position of M'heal, he contacted several members who agreed to help restart the site.	After being gone for several years on an important medical mission, Keyeren returned to the Grey Tower to find it almost nonexistant. Finding that even the officers were gone, Keyeren returned to himself the title of M'Heal. With the help of Amora and others still in the refugee camps (although Jel'viendha and Mekare had been lost), the Tower was rebuilt several leagues east, using One Power wrought glass and some remains from the original Tower. Some documents and objects of the One Power had been saved.
	Former members were contacted and many returned.	The M'Heal and many of the officers he was able to bring back began to send out delegations to search for previous members to invite them to return.
	The Hall of Sitters was set up as a more authoritative institution.
	The position of Mistress of Novices and Soldiers was split into the Mistress of Novices and the Master of Soldiers because of the heavy workload for one person. Jaisen Davram served as the first Master of Soldiers.	The position of Master of Soldiers was created to make sure that the needs of the Tower's soldiers were fulfilled. It was seen that a female was having difficulty dealing with both channeling and personal problems for the Tower's young men.
		A seige of the Grey Tower by several Whitecloak forces. Possibly instigated by the Black Ajah and darkfriends, for at least one Accepted was kidnapped by the Black Ajah during the confusion.
Growth and Change
July 2001	The Hall of Sitters votes that Asha'man may bond Gaidin or Gaidar (or both in the case of greens), rather then be able only to be bonded by Aes Sedai.	It was decided that due to casulaties in the northern Borderland wars agains the Shadow, too many Asha'man were lost and it was time to grant them sanction for bonding Warders. This privledge was extended to all Asha'man.
November 2001	After a succesful trial period, the Hall of Sitters voted the Secondary Characters should be allowed following a set of character guidelines.
August 2001	The position of Warder-Channeler Representative was created and filled by Saphire en'Damier Sedai.	During a time when the relationship between the channelers and the warder yards was floundering, Saphire Sedai of the Green Ajah stepped in and pulled the two back together. In thanks for her hard work, the position of Warder-Channeler Representative was created and given to Saphire.
October 2001	The Shadar dore shadowspawn first seen in the "Shadar dore Roleplay" were brought back and their absence was explained. The characters were further complicated as the issue of free will for shadowspawn was addressed. The roleplay was unfinished.	Following the second sighting of a Shadar dore, a plague of rats and ravens were seen spying on Tower members, and shortly thereafter a string of murders arose. On the following day, a single Shadar dore appeared to Melabrid M'Hael and the mentally unstable Amora Sedai. This "Crimson Blood" warned that they were ordered to kill every member of the Tower, but that if it sacrificed its Indigo Ajah and 'angreal, the rest would be spared. The were never seen again, and their reason for not fulfilling the threat is uncertain.
October 2002	A list of informal and formal IC punishments was developed by the Hall of Sitters.
December 2002	The Weapon Skill system was revamped in many ways, and a Advantages system was created to cope with issues like duel wielding and mounted combat. The comittee headed by Ellisande Gaidar and Ashfalcon Asha'man with contributors from the Warder Yard and Hall of Sitters in general.	Programs were created for Warders and Warders in training to formally recognize and teach skills such as duel wielding and mounted combat. This gave rise to teaching other skills relevant to Warders, such as a form of Da'es daemar and other skills such as traplore and wilderness survival.
December 2002	Cerealyn Sedai organized a Major RP that brought up the idea that non-Black Ajah members could actually turn against their friends and comrads. This is the only archived Major Roleplay we have, although much of it was created through IC reflection on the entire event after the Major Roleplay was closed.	The Rebellion was a period of distrust among friends and suspicion among Ajahs. A time of fear for all. This is a dark stain on the Tower's tapestry. Hall of Sitters transcripts, testimonies, and journals were gathered to record the events and motivations so that posterity would remember and not repeat the mistakes of its elders. Needless to say, the Rebellion was silenced, but not without a terrible price.
April 2003	It was decided that the Hall of Sitters should jointly vote for all channeling Admin Officers, rather than allow them to be appointed by the Amyrlin Seat and M'Hael.	For many years the Hall of Sitters had raised the Amyrlin Seat and M'Hael. In addition, it was decided that instead of the Amyrlin Seat and M'Hael appointing their Officers, the Hall of Sitters should also raise the Mistress of Novices, Master of Soldiers, and Keeper of the Chronicles. This may have been in response to some anxiety following the Rebellion.
August 2003	The Hall of Justice was created as an official part of the Grey Tower, led and administrated by the Blue and Grey Ajahs.	In response to the Rebellion, many were held in the dungeons awaiting decision by the Amyrlin Seat and M'Hael and the Hall of Sitters. It was decided in the Hall of Sitters that a seperate but representative court should be formed to put to trial the offenders instead. The Blue and Grey Ajahs acted jointly as judges and also the Blue Ajah included prosecutors and the Grey Ajah defense counselors.
December 2003	A domain, www.grey-tower.net, was purchased for the Grey Tower after encountering difficulties with Draknet, the origional host.
March 2005	A vote by the Hall of Sitters decided that players should be allowed to have an unlimited number of characters, according to a set of regulations.
December 2004	Gaidin Captain Caden Ives organized a Major Roleplay "Ripples of the Shadow" in order to promote activity and cohesiveness in the Warder Yards. He suceeded in inspiring character development in many GT characters.	An upsurge of darkfriend and Black Ajah activity struck the Grey Tower hard. The Warder Yard played a large role rallying forces against the Shadow and countering them at the Battle of the Claw Stone. This prevented both the assasination of many prominant persons in the Grey Tower and the overthrow of authority in favor of darkfriends. The Black Ajah was devistated, and Captain Ives hunted their remaining members for the rest of his life.
December 2004	A medium sized roleplay at the Citadel evolved into a seige with many serious and humorous implications.	The Citadel fell under seige by forces from the Borderlands gathering in the face of the Last Battle. The Shadow managed to breech the secret entrence, through which provision could enter secretly and (should the Citadel fall) survivors escape. The Citadel was stormed, but Caden Ives managed to turn the tide and save the Citadel.
September 2005	The Council of Youth was created.	A council of Accepted and Dedicated was created to open up opportunitites for middle ranks to give input on current Tower issues. They would have no position or vote in the Hall of Sitters, but their opinion on current discussions would be listened to and considered during Hall sittings. A ring is given to each memeber to wear as a sign of their membership.
December 2005	In response to a noticed lack of activity and organization, but desire to play certain darker characters, the Hall of Sitters discussed and issued organizational guidelines for the Black Ajah, and with it, formal sanction as a GT organization.	Unknown to the Grey Tower as a whole, the black Ajah began to reform within the Tower after a long period of quiet.
January 2006	The Ajah Benefits System was established by the Hall in.	It was decided by the Hall of Sitters that Ajahs should work more cooperatively, and members of Ajahs should pass on their knowledge to newer generations in a more organized fashion to increase skill and competance. A system for Ajah Heads, in cooperation with the Keeper of the Chronicles, was designed to track "classes" and private lessons for Aes Sedai and Asha'man, with some programs for their Warders as well.
July 2006	The custom that members of the Grey Tower can not write another's character without permission or certain allowances granted to bondmates was formalized as a rule.
November 2006	The culprit unkown, the Tower's forms were taken advantage of and used to send spam to innocent victims. Lycos shut down the website, but after a week or more they gave the Tower's admin a second chance to make their forms more secure and less accessible.	A band of Seanchan, feared for many years but never seen, surrounded and attacked the Tower. Many fought bravely for their home and won over, but not until after the walls had been breached and the Tower nearly taken over.
January 2007	The postition of Keeper of the Archives was created and later filled by Durent Asha'man. This was done to follow the Amyrlin/M'heal and Mistress/Master of Novices/Soldiers split and to lesson the work load on the Keeper.	The Hall decided that in light of the Grey Tower tradition of splitting duties between male and female counterparts, there would be two Keepers. The original Keeper of the Chronicles would be held by a female and the Keeper of the Archives would be a new male position.

This page was created through a joint effort by Chyane Sedai and Amora Sedai.