Casera M. Caniwin

[hearmeroar]

Full Name : Casera Mostric Caniwin
Nationality : Domani\Taraboner
Age : Joined the White Tower at the age of 18
Hair colour : A light, brown tan sort of colour.
Eyes : Hazel brown.
Height : 5'4'' \ 156 CM
Other noteworthy traits : A small, half-moon shaped birthmark on the small of her back. An hour glass figurine most women would kill to retain. She has a relatively innocent look about her , though the reserved look in her eyes hints at the fact that there is more to her than meets the eye.
She also has the Spark and will eventually channel Saidar whether she wants to or not.

Family
Mother : Tesiya Caniwin Sedai (Assumed dead)
Father : Aran Mostric (Assumed dead)
Brother : Rian Mostric Caniwin
(Half)Sisters : Aurora Mostric, Elenera el'Liani.

Relationships of note outside of her family : None. Perhaps a few Novice friends.

Social status : Hails from a minor noble Domani family on her father's side. Not much is known of her mother's side of the family.

Vocation\Occupation : A member of the White Tower in training. Also an amateur poet (even if she despises her own poetry and rightfully finds it to be horrible.)

Flaws : She can be somewhat vain, and she often talks far too much. Other than that, she has a remarkable ability to appear overly icy and almost “Bitchy” in certain situations. She has a passionate heart. Her father is Aran Mostric.
Strenghts : She is a quick learner, usually only having to see or hear something once before picking up on it. Her smile could melt the heart of the most zealous of Whitecloaks. She has a passionate heart.

Her past.It's there. It's complicated and iffy!

[hearmeroar]

The Three Arches

To say that Casera was nervous when she entered the room, was an understatement.

She had been summoned for the test of Acceptance, deep underneath the Tower itself in one of the cellars. She knew she was deep underneath it, because the walls and ceiling itself was made of bedrock. The entire room was cold and draughty, sending a shiver up her spine.

There was no turning back now.

In the middle of the room, the contraption she was expected to enter stood. Three Archways, linked together, with an Aes Sedai seated at the foot of each one, maintaining the shining, glimmering white surface of each archway. They didn't as much as pay her any attention at all.

“...Novice Casera... Are you ready to face your fears?” Ryer Sedai, the Mistress of Novices' voice had her snap back to reality in an instant. “..My fears?” frowning briefly in confusion, she pondered the question. Was this one of those traditional questions she had to answer? Light burn her! She should have read more about the test, and prepared herself more properly. After a small moment of contemplation, she answered. “Yes, Aes Sedai..”

The next couple of minutes had been a blurr. She remembered talking with Ryer Sedai for a while longer, but she never registered much until she was actually inside the room itself.
“Whom do you bring with you, sister?” Said a voice, Casera did not recognize at first, but once her eyes saw the emotionless , unreadable face of Tsutama Sedai of the Red Ajah, she knew that she had been the one to speak.
“One who comes as a candidate for Acceptance, Sister.”
Again, Casera's attention drifted to the Ter'angreal in the middle of the room while Ryer Sedai exchanged the words that tradition dictated of her. It was a somewhat intimidating sight, those glimmering archways. Casera already knew she had to pass through all three to become an Accepted of the White Tower.
“Is she ready?” Tsutama's voice chimed in the back of her mind.
“She is ready to leave behind what she was, and , passing through her fears, gain Acceptance.” came the answer from Ryer.
“Does she know her fears?”
“She has never faced them, but now is willing.”
“Then let her face what she fears.” With the last word uttered, Tsutama Sedai of the Red Ajah gestured towards the first arch.. The doorway into her first of three tests.

At the behest of Ryer Sedai, Casera undressed. She felt vulnerable in her naked state, not even her small-clothes were left to protect her from the insistent coldness of the room. It felt as though the entirety of the White Tower itself was pressing down on top of her.. and she wanted to leave.
“The Light burn you for a fool, Casera.” She found herself whispering underneath her breath, and a little by little, her feet slowly brought her in the direction of the first, glimmering archway..

“The first time is for what was. The way back will come but once. Be steadfast.” Ryer Sedai's words followed her through the archway and into the light that soon enveloped her.

[hearmeroar]

The first time is for what was.

..She was suddenly home. At least, she thought she was. She remembered this house from her childhood! She had grown up here! At least.. Before.. Before what exactly? It didn't matter. She was here now, and so was her parents. Light, but she had never been so happy to see her parents!
She stumbled forward a little, feeling naked, but when she looked down, she was wearing a plain dress made of sturdy wool. Something a child would be expected to wear , something cheap, and easily mended.
“I am leaving, Tesiya.” She recognized the voice of her father, who was standing in the middle of the room, his unsettling and so intense green-grey eyes were glued to another woman who was also present in the room. It was a woman Casera had seen before, but it was also one of the most beautiful women she had ever laid eyes on in her entire life.. And she felt.. safe.. Of course, the maternal instinct that radiated from Tesiya Caniwin was enough to confirm for Casera that this was , in fact, her own mother.
It felt like years since she had last seen them, but this wasn't true! She had seen them for breakfast, just this morning... They had been arguing then as well, just like they were now.
“That's it? ..Things gets too rough and you abandon your children, to run off with some foolish chit?” The coldness of her Mother's voice mirrored that of her gaze. She knew that gaze well.. Mother was angry with him again. ..Wait! Why was he leaving?!
Casera's face mirrored her inner confusion as she frowned, her brown eyes flicking back and forth between her two parents.
“Don't say we don't agree. It's safer for them to be alone, without me.” Her father's chuckle sounded..bitter? “What are you to me woman? Nothing but trouble, light help me.” Oh, it was one of THOSE fights again.
The cutting laugh that came from her mother surprised Casera nevertheless. “That truly is something, coming from you. Trouble follows you wherever you go, yet do you see ME running away? ..We have to think of the children, Aran..” Her mother's voice was surprisingly soft, despite the previous laugh.
“Are you going somewhere, father? Can I come? It's not going to be dangerous, is it?” She spoke.. but.. why? She wanted to go with him, be part of one of the stories he told her at night, live it! Yet, she was hesitant..
Her father's gaze as it found her was surprisingly cold, and for a moment, she thought she was about to swallow her tongue. He looked frightening!
“They would all be better off dead.. You should have let me kill that blonde girl of mine. She has no mother.” It was clear that he was still talking to her mother, yet his eyes were still oddly unsettling. Though, who was he talking about? His blonde girl? Who was that.. Elenera..?
The thought came from nowhere, and Casera had no idea where it originated from. She didn't even know anyone named Elenera.
“Who are you, wench?” The question came from her father, and the tone of his voice made her flinch as if struck. How could he not remember his own daughter?!
“But..It's me.. Casera..? Uhm.. Your daughter..?” Her voice was oddly timid. She knew better than to make her father angry.. Yet he had never hurt her. Even so, he frightened her beyond measure.

In under a second, the protective shadow of her mother covered her as the woman had moved to stand in front of her. Her glare was cold enough to freeze. “Leave her out of this, Aran! Go, then! And come back when you regain your reason! Only perhaps I will no longer be here.”
Her father's frown just grew deeper. “Reason, woman..? You are protecting some wench and you talk to me about reason? ..Perhaps she is one of your .. nevermind.” He cut himself off before he asked that question. Good, it meant he didn't want this to escalate further than it had already.. Didn't it?
“She is your daughter!” Tesiya snapped back at him. “If that means nothing to you, perhaps I shall take her somewhere that you can never find, nor hurt her.” ..He had succeeded in drawing the full extent of her mother's anger nevertheless.

“The way back comes but once. Be steadfast!”

..Where did that voice come from? She knew it was important, she knew she had to do something. Her eyes scanned the area around them quickly, and then she found it. The silver archway, standing there in the corner of the room. But why was it so important?

“How many times have I saved them woman?! And THIS is all I get? Argument, after argument after argument! I am tired of this.. I am tired of them.” ..He meant Casera, and her brother Rian. There was no doubt about it.
“He can't be leaving! ..Really..Why would you be leaving?” Casera found herself rather surprised over the fact that it was her voice that spoke up. She was still occupied by studying the archway. She needed to find out why it was so important!
..It flickered. No! It mustn't disappear! Casera moved towards it in a hurry, most of the arguing around her being drowned out by her interest of the Archway in front of her.

“What's the name of that wolfgirl?! You should have let me kill her , like I killed her mother!”

..Wait?! Who did he kill? What was going on? Oh light, Elenera!

“The way back comes but once. Be steadfast.” The voice came again..And the archway flickered, threatening to wink out of existence.

“Who did you kill?!” Her words were almost drowned out in her own ears as white light enveloped her entire body.. Had she walked into the archway..? She couldn't remember..

[hearmeroar]

“Wait! Who did you kill?!”
She repeated in a shout as she stumbled through the archway and back into the dim light of the room in the White Tower's basement, she came to a sudden stop, blinking as her eyes anew got used to the dim light, as opposed to the sudden radiance she had been enveloped in just moments before as she passed through the archway.

“You are washed clean of what sins you might have done, and those done against you.” Tsutama Sedai's voice was accompanied by a sudden jolt of coldness as a chalice of cold water was poured across Casera's body, making her nearly yelp in surprise before she shuddered, realizing just where she was.
“Come” Ryer Sedai commanded as she began to move, and Casera had no choice by to hurry to catch up with her, falling in beside her and whispering to the Aes Sedai. “Was that real..?” She was uncertain if what she had just been through was to be honest, but it felt real. Almost too real.
Ryer Sedai would soon stop, in front of the second archway, which now glimmered intimidatingly in front of Casera. “Do you wish to stop?” For a moment, Casera thought she might notice a glimmer of … worry... in Ryer Sedai's eyes. She most likely envisioned that though.
“No Aes Sedai.. I have to continue.” Casera nodded her head, her mind set at the task ahead. She had to be mad to willingly passing through one of those things again. But she had to. She HAD to continue.
“Good.” Ryer Sedai motioned ahead to the second archway. “The second time is for what is. The way back will come but once. Be steadfast.”
Casera studied Ryer for a long time, or at least it felt like a long time. But then, she made for the archway, a look of stubborn purpose crossing her face.

Again, the light enveloped her entirely...

[hearmeroar]

The Second time is for what is.


Casera groaned in pain as she was brought back to reality of the dark cellar she was currently held in. How long had she been here? She couldn't remember, but it seemed like a lifetime. How exactly HAD she come to be here..? She couldn't remember.
She moved her head, looking around the dark room, and the stocks she was currently chained to gave a wooden creak in protest as her naked shoulders rubbed up against it.
There was only one source of light in the entire room, a brazier, burning brightly just a little way off, and though it took Casera a moment to get used to the light, she made out two shadows. One , of a woman, wearing a dress as dark as the night, and with skin as dark as ebony, the flames making shadows flicker across her, over and over. The woman seemed oddly known to Casera, she knew her from somewhere.. But where..?
After a moment, realization punched her in the face like a closed fist. The woman in front of her, the one in the black dress. It was one of the Forsaken! ..Semirhage.

Panic suddenly shot through Casera's mind. She was in a room, with one of the Forsaken! And she was obviously a captive!
She began struggling within the stocks, they didn't budge under the pressure of her minimalistic strength. Light, but she was sore! Every muscle in her body was aching.

“So, do you think that one of you will break soon?” The voice of the woman in black was oddly, relaxed. Though it was also.. horrifyingly casual. As though this woman was merely keeping herself occupied like other people occupied themselves with needlework after a long day of work, or a good book to relax with. The thought made Casera shudder in fear.

“P-please..No more..” The whimpering voice of the woman hanging from the stocks next to Semirhage made Casera's eyes go wide. She would recognize that voice anywhere! ..It was Beline.
Beline, her friend. More or less her only friend in the entire world at the moment. They had grown close since joining the White Tower.. But why was she here?

“What is this?! Release me at once!” The strength and firmness of her own voice surprised her as she shouted out towards the Forsaken, demanding her own release like a fool.
“Oh, Casera my dear.. Your father won't come this time. You see, I killed him.” the smile that the ebony-skinned woman offered Casera was unsettling to say the least. She found herself exhaling in relief as the woman again turned her attention back to Beline. “Oh, light.. Poor Beline.”
“Please? Oh, don't tell me you aren't enjoying yourself?” The woman's voice was still frighteningly casual as she addressed Beline.
“Why are you doing this? Who are you? ..Please, just.. Stop it.” Beline's voice on the other hand.. Casera had never heard her so tired, or broken before in her entire life.

The black clad woman placed a hand on Beline's shoulder.. and suddenly the room echoed with the snapping of bones, while Beline's body jerked uncontrollably this way and that in a very unnatural way. No one was supposed to move like that. Light!

Beline's panicked, pained screams filled the room, and Casera's ears. It was as though her friend's voice was echoing within her mind.

“The way back comes but once. Be steadfast!” Wait. That was not Beline's voice.

Again, Casera began to try to force the stocks open, though the wood bit down into her skin like a thousand jagged teeth. At least, at the moment, it felt like it. “Stop it! No! Don't hurt her! What has she ever done to you?! Leave her alone!” She cried out in panic, knowing fully that no matter what she would say would stop the woman from hurting her friend. Casera was utterly helpless.

“Oh light..” Beline's voice moaned out. “Someone save me.. Anyone..” The poor girl was still alive. And Casera knew she would remain alive until the woman in black was entirely done with her, leaving her poor friend a broken wreck. Until then.. Casera shuddered at the thought, and again panic gripped her.

Suddenly, her stocks popped open and Casera tumbled forward into a heap om the ground, grunting and groaning in pain. After a moment, she tried to rise, and found her feet beneath her. Unsteadily, yet they were there, sapped and tired, but there.

Again, Beline cried out as her bones were broken again. Wait, had the woman healed her?! How cruel could one person be?! Casera's face paled, and she found herself struggling not to throw up, heaving and gagging briefly as the sound of bones snapping over and over continued to fill her ears. She had to help her! Somehow!
She slowly began to make her way towards the screaming, pleading and sobbing Beline, as well as the other woman, her hands closing into fists. Perhaps, if she was lucky, she could catch her by unawares..

“The way back comes but once. Be steadfast!”
Again, that infernal voice was inside of her mind, and echoing throughout the entire room. Though this time, it was accompanied by another source of light. There, to the right of her. A silver archway.

“Take one step closer and I will kill the girl” The woman had turned and was now watching Casera, giving Beline a moment of respite for now. Casera froze in place.

“The way back will come but once. Be steadfast.” It was as though the archway was taunting her, just as the words.
“Casera..? is that you? If you can.. RUN! She will kill us all.. Oh, Light! It hurts so much”

Casera ran towards the archway. There was nothing she could do for Beline now.

“CASERA!! SAVE ME!!”
Beline's words chased her through the archway, and into the light..

[hearmeroar]

She stumbled to a halt outside of the second archway, her entire body was trembling and she could feel tears running down her face and staining her cheeks. “..I am sorry..” Her voice came out at a small whimper. No.. That wasn't real. That hadn't been Beline.. Had it?

Again, she was brought back to reality as another chalice of water was poured over her, making her jolt and quiver as Tsutama Sedai's words washed over her. “You are washed clean of false pride. You are washed clean of false ambition. You come to us washed clean, in heart and soul.”
Casera barely had a moment of respite before Ryer Sedai gestured her to follow. “This way, Casera.”
Again, she found herself in front of the last obstacle of her test. The third arch.
“Do you wish to continue” ..For a moment, Casera almost said no. But when she opened her mouth to speak she managed to stutter out an entirely different answer. “Y..Yes.. I have to.”
“The third is the most difficult to face, Casera.. I know you will get through it. But I am sorry for all of this all the same.” Ryer's voice was lowered to a whisper, and Casera found herself sniffling like a small girl as she murmured out her answer again. “I have to..”
Ryer Sedai motioned towards the last arch. “The third time is for what will be. The way back will come but once. Be steadfast.”
Casera took a step forward, then hesitated.. What if.. What if this was even worse? Could it even BE worse. “Get yourself together, Casera. You can do this.” She shook off her hesitation, stepping forward with her hands clenched into fists. She was ready. Ready to take on what lay before her, even if she had to do it naked, and with her fists as the only weapon.

Again, the light of the archway enveloped her.

[hearmeroar]

The third time is for what will be.

They had been chasing that blasted man for miles now.
Casera sighed as she looked around the wooden buildings of the village she and her party were currently in. She recognized the faces of some of her sisters. Ryer was there, seeking shelter from the snow against the wall of one of the houses that the Shadowspawn army hadn't completely put to the torch. Zhendrial was there as well, stalked by her Warder. Gabriel, she thought his name was. He looked more like a restless lion than the man he was at the moment. Sometimes, Casera found herself wishing that she too had one of those looming, intimidating warders at her side.
The faces her gaze crossed as she wandered in between them, her red shawl cassually flowing in the wind behind her as she wandered across the dirt road, went on and on. Elenara of the Blue Ajah was there, off to the side by herself. Strong woman. Then, there was the men, the Black Towerites. Casera was not certain how she felt about having to cooperate with these men, but for now, they were a necessary evil, the man they were hunting was strong. Frighteningly so.
Coming to a stop next to Beline Sedai of the White Ajah and her warder Elenera, she offered them both a brief smile. They had been her friends since she first joined the White Tower, and despite the grimness of the situation and the task that lay before them, as well as the fact that they were being hunted by some few thousand trollocs, Casera found that some semblance of politeness was at least just proper.
“They are not far behind us, Casera.” Elenera sniffed the air, as though she could pick up the stench of the trollocs hunting them.
Casera sighed inwardly. This wasn't going to be an easy task. “Sisters, Mhael.” She addressed her group in entirety. “We must move. We have our purpose and we best get it done before they crash down at us, no? I wish to be back at the Tower for tea within the hour.” If she was to return at all, a cup of tea was the first thing she would pour herself. Not that she quite enjoyed it, but despite her little trick of ignoring the cold around them, she would need the warmth it had to offer when they were done here.
“You suggest we just let them follow us then? If they catch up, it will make things.. difficult.” Ryer was right, of course. But at the moment they had no other choice but to move on towards the eventual goal.
“There are thousands of them, I can smell them.” Elenera was going to get into trouble one of these days if she kept on like that. She shouldn't reveal what she was so easily.
“There is little time for discussion, Sister. Casera says we press on, and we must press on.” Of course, sweet Beline had her back as always. Casera was rather fond of the woman, she was a dear friend, and she carried some respect in the White Tower despite of her lack of strength.
“Then let us get on with it.” Ryer again. It was a shame that she liked to follow more than she liked to lead. She had always had a sound head for decision-making.
“Yes. We move on, Sisters. I will not send men to their deaths unless they choose so themselves.” A look was spared for Gabriel and Elenera both. The warders would have to make that sacrifice if it came down to it. Something they were fully aware of.
“Then let it be done.” Elenara Sedai's voice. That woman had scared her as a novice. Now? Not so much.

Her small party soon began moving again, and not a moment too soon. The guttural cries of the shadowspawn following behind their little group was carried to them on the wind.
A few Shadowspawn burst through the trees in front of them, but her sisters and Saidar soon dealt with these strays. Nothing was going to stop Casera from reaching her goal. After all, they all depended on her.
“Good work, Sisters. Let not these distractions get in our way. We must hurry.”

They continued on through the forest, until they came across an old ruin of sorts, covered in snow.
“He is ahead.” A male voice behind her uttered. “And he is very powerful, as you said.”

Suddenly, the ground itself burst into an explosion, slinging her entire group. Oddly enough, Casera was the only one that remained standing.
Saidar was used as well, but not by Casera's group. The man was not alone.
“So you walked them into the trap. Good work, Casera.” The man they were hunting stepped forward, offering Casera a disturbingly friendly smile. He looked half mad.
“A trap? Nonsense. We are here for you. Surrender.”
“The trollocs have been hungry. It's lovely for you to have lead your own blood into the trolloc pot. The Great Lord is pleased with you.” Casera frowned. What sort of trick was this? Surely her sisters had to see through this farce!
A collective gasp went through her sisters however.. Were they all shielded?
She noticed one of the warders being grabbed by a trolloc.. Elenera. And soon, the young woman had a knife sticking out from her belly. That had not been from one of the trollocs.

"The way back will come but once, be steadfast."

“Bring that one to me.” The man commanded of Casera while he pointed towards Beline, who was currently resting up against a tree, stunned by the pain that most likely mirrored through the bond. Perhaps not having a warder wasn't such a bad thing after all.
“Not likely to happen, Filth.” She shook her head. The man had to be mad – he likely was – to even assume she would hand her sisters over to the shadow.
“No? Then the warders die.” As he spoke, both warders accompanying them suddenly dropped lifeless to the ground.

“The way back will come but once, be steadfast.”

..And then everything just erupted into chaos.
All around her, her own sisters started to throw accusations her way. “Traitor!” “How could you?”"Darkfriend!” And “The Dark One have you, Casera!”
The snow underneath Beline was stained with red, another kinfe in her stomach as well.” It is too late.. You got Elenera killed.. And you got me killed.” Beline would laugh a soft little laugh before cutting off. “..Ow.”
This was all Casera's fault. How could she not see the trap that had been lad for them?
She frowned, trying to come up with a way to escape, or.. to help her sisters. As her gaze traveled across their now dead or dying group, she noticed a silvery archway, just there between a few trees. Had that been there the entire time? ..For a moment, it flickered, and.. Casera ran towards it. It was important. Somehow, it was one of the most important things in the universe. And more importantly, it offered her a way to escape this. So she ran, as she had never run before, her silk dress almost tripping her as she ran.
“The Light Burn you, Casera!” That was Beline's last words.
“So you abandon them, Casera. You are helpless after all.” The man's taunting words chased her towards the gateway.
She had to hurry! It looked as though the silvery arch was about to disappear entirely. It flickered again, just as Casera passed through the arches, the screams of her dying sisters chasing her as she was enveloped in light. “COWARD!”

[hearmeroar]

..As she exited the last archway, everything had been a haze. Casera thought she had seen Ryer over in the corner. She collapsed to her knees, sobbing and holding herself before letting go of a pained scream of helplessness.
“Burn you! Burn you for a coward!”
However, she merely had a moment before she jolted as if waking from a nightmare, the last silver chalice being poured across her. She looked up, and was met by the gaze of the Amyrlin Seat herself. Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan. “You are washed clean of Casera Mostric-Caniwin of Tarabon and Arad Doman. You are washed clean of all ties that bind you to the world. You come to us washed clean in heart and soul. You are Casera Mostric-Caniwin, Accepted of the White Tower. You are sealed to us now.” Casera shuddered as the Amyrlin took her hand, and placed a ring on her left ring-finger before pulling her up and giving her a kiss on the cheek.*

“Welcome , Daughter.”

There truly was no turning back now.