| Aliray Telkano |
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| Aliray Telkano is a mysterious girl, with a past that she keeps hidden from everyone. For one, that isn't even her real name, merely one she made up upon her arrival. Yet in the beginning, she had had a name, and a family. Aliray was born a Seanchan, as the eldest of five, in a well to do family of The Blood. Her mother was a very proper figure and so from a young age she was subjugated to consent training in being a lady by her. Yet against her mother's morals of how she should behave, she took to learning a bit of the sword from her father and was rather good at it too. As years passed in her sheltered life, she would soon come to know the stark reality of her people's class structure, but even more so how pride would be worth more to her family, then her as a person. Her life's collision with a rock wall came when she was about fifteen. It was then that she was discovered to have the One Power. It was also then that she came to see how someone could go from such high status to being considered less than human. What hurt her most, in this finding, was that her mother and siblings automatically disowned her right off. Even her father reluctantly, excluded her from the family. With a tear streaked, tan face, she was forced to wear the a'dam by a sul'dam named Ria Culin. As much as she wanted to hate them, her family and this mistress, she couldn't come to, due to the fact that they had nothing to do with her having the One Power. In her final acceptance of her new life, she plunged into despair. Ria treated Aliray well enough, for a slave. She worked hard in all tasks assigned to her, fulfilling the wishes her mistress demanded of her and her untested limited power. In some instances she was the "pack horse" or in others the all hour maid service. By a year's end, she began to growing resistant to the treatment she received. From there she attempted, once, running away at the first opportunity, yet to her dismay she was easily caught. Her mistress, to make sure this wasn't to happen again, beat her to the most severe. But this didn't break her resilient spirit and she started to continually attempt going against her sal'dam's orders. And thus she was continually mistreated in worse ways. She even went as far as to physically attack her mistress with one of the kitchen blades, one day. This ended horribly, with her score at nothing, and Ria's, a deep gash to Aliray's right lower arm. Though when she's asked of how she got that scar, she merely replies that she cut herself on a plow blade. For the next year and a half she remained submissive once again. One day, while in a local tavern, a peculiar man challenged Ria with the way the system of rank for one with the Power worked. This rose into a overall argument, as he seemed to defend the rights she didn't have. She was after all still a person, but would never be viewed as such. The significance of this tid bit of information falls together at the night of this day. Aliray was following behind her mistress, when an arrow struck Ria down. It all seemed to happen so fast to her, but she managed to catch site of the assassin. It was the man from earlier. The one that seemed so determined for her to have a life, to change her people's way of life. Well her thoughts came back to the present situation, in which she finally realized she was no longer controlled by a sul'dam. In a moment she was running, leaving Ria to whoever chanced upon her. Perhaps hours later, once she had cleared the city and was within the woods, she finally risked a break. Her fingers brushed over the much hated collar, as she attempted to remove it and then to her amazement it released its hold on her neck. For days after she traveled the land, working a few odd jobs to receive food in return. Soon she made it to the ocean's shore, where to her luck she found one of the sea folk's ships in harbor. When she came to request passage, she found she had nothing to give as gift. Strangely enough, though, her predicament appealed to the Sailmistress and she received the transporation with only she herself having to assist in work aboard. Spending a week at sea, with the occasional sea sickness, she finally made it to Altara. Where she then searched out a place to live, to build herself a life. The beginning months were taken up with her job in a Tayloring dress shop, of which she appeared to have some skill in. Her bubbly, good nature led her to becoming well known and popular among her fellow works and customers. Though unknown to them was that even though she had been like this in the past, it had become a mask over her new true self. Well of these people she met one, Janiel Pearka, who became a close friend and mother figure to her. It was her who learned her secrete ability to channel to a degree. With Janiel's encouragement, Aliray made her good byes as she headed off to Tar Valon to further learn of her abilities and hopefully, as now her dream was, to become one of the Aes Sedai. |