Introduction


Catieri al'Cardyn was a shy girl. She was quiet and reponsible. She was polite. She was humble. As the second of five children born to a tabac farmer in the Two Rivers, she did not stand out at all. In fact, her own family rarely took notice of her. Until she ran away, at least. All her sixteen years, she had secretly longed to be Aes Sedai. One day, she simply decided to act. She packed a bag and left.

The Grey Tower. She had often ridden her horse out to a nearby hilltop just to catch a glimpse of the tall structure at the foot of the mountains, and now she was going.

It was early morning. Very early morning. She glanced at herself in the mirror, taking in her long, brown hair and her blue eyes. Those eyes were the only thing remotely remarkable about her. No one in the Two Rivers had such light-coloured eyes. She ran her fingers through her hair again. She did not want to look worn out before she ever left! With a last glance over the farm, she led her horse out of the gates and onto the road. She would wait to ride until the noise would not rouse her sleeping family. It was not that Catieri never expected to see her home again, but she knew it would be a long while.

Judging herself out of earshot at last, she mounted her restless grey. The mare had wanted to run since they had cleared the gates. She gave the mare her head and curled down to let the animal move as quickly as it desired.

The Grey Tower...to be Aes Sedai...a life where people might finally take notice of her....

Catieri was looking forward to her future.