Novice Rumor Mill

[Elmitsu]

Rumors spread throughout the lower corridors of the White Tower that Novice Myrtle is setting girls on fire: you may have spotted several (or at least two) with uneven hair and burnt hems. Will Sheriam Sedai get Myrtle under control? Only time--or failing that, this rumor mill--will tell.

[Elmitsu]

The Novitiate Well is in a tizzy with news that noted criminal Bobo-something was chased out of the Tower by Novice Lexiane.

Reached for comment, Lexiane said, "It was pretty boring," and that he "smelled like my da's donkey."

[Lexiane]

Rumors spread like grass fires among the novices. They burn bright and hot, but they also tend to go out quickly. Some of the more sophisticated novices, the ones that could have skipped all the way to Accepted but stayed a novice to spend time with their friends, say that the rumors that stick around a long time are the true ones. One such rumor is that Elmitsu is totally faking her block and is just doing it for attention.

"She just pretends so she can hold hands with boys," novices whisper to each other in the hallway. "I saw her weaving to heat up her porridge the other day and there were definitely no boys around her."

Sources have been unable to confirm if these rumors are true.

[Lexiane]

The well echoes with the sound of frogs croaking, but also bubbles with new and exciting rumors. One popular rumor, whispered in hush tones, is that Elmitsu was killed by a wicked, female Child of the Light. Elmitsu is said to have died protecting Sheriam from the woman who came to assassinate her! Then, Tolza Sedai gave her a special Healing and she came back from the dead. No one believes this rumor, especially not the smart novices who have been telling everyone that the library is actually a boring place for boring people, but everyone still repeats it.

Another rumor echoes throughout the halls of the Tower, buoyed by the frogs who have managed to hide from the Accepted trying to catch them. Everyone swears this rumor is DEFINITELY true, like, for REAL. Everyone is saying that the new girl, Tigiria, is actually a runaway Sea Folk princess who was supposed to marry a king but instead decided she would study with the Tower because she needed to stay safe. Also she smokes tabac.

Also at this point everyone in the Tower KNOWS Myrtle keeps lighting things on fire and it's a big problem. The Aes Sedai are probably going to Still her.

[Lexiane]

The rumor mill floats on a gentle current of croaks and tall tales. Most of the stories spread among the girls aren't true, and they know that, but it's still fun to tell each other stories. Like how Everesta Sedai let Elmitsu kiss her warder to help break Elmitsu's block! Also now Elmitsu is totally being promoted to Tower Accepted, but she wants to first enjoy the week. She said Everesta's warder was a pretty good kisser but not as good as her warder-to-be, Rolfe. No one believe this story, but everyone keeps telling each other about it.

However, there are also TRUE rumors that get spread with more urgency. They're usually the ones about people being unkind. It's how novices stay ahead of mean Accepted or punishment happy Sedai. Ok, so, one of the rumors about someone being unkind? Well, it was about the Accepted Prya. Apparently Accepted Prya said that Accepted Penzei giggles too much, even when nothing funny happens. She says she doesn't like Penzei. Also Accepted Prya is a total liar who lies all the time to the novices for no reason. She's not nice at all. Everyone is saying it, so it's definitely true.

[Elmitsu]

The Novice Rumor Mill turns, and rumors come and pass, leaving rumors that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the rumor that gave it birth comes again, or it’s finally time for lunch. In one rumor, a rumor yet to come, a rumor long past, a neigh rose above the shining spindle of the White Tower on the island of Tar Valon. The neigh was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the Novice Rumor Mill. But it was a beginning.

Some say they saw Myrtle leading all those horses into the Tower. Others say it was Skyra who released the frogs. One version of the rumor even implicates every living Aes Sedai, for who could pull such a fast one on these seemingly omniscient Sisters? All anyone can say for sure is that it was definitely, probably, Myrtle.

[Amilya]

Accepted went about their very important duties in the Tower - shelving books, attending to Aes Sedai, and obviously NOT staring at the students in the Gaidin practice yard. Still, rumors from the novices reached their ears. Ridiculous, trite rumors about some Myrtle girl who was pillowfriends with Elmitsu who had kissed Everesta Sedai's Gaidin. The novices were so gullible. A novice kissing a Gaidin? Absurd! The accepted all really knew who was canoodling with Reil Gaidin. It was Aloisa Sedai. They had seen the two together in the Tower Square, and there was TENSION between them. The chemistry was palpable. Thankfully, the Accepted only listened to rumors they KNEW were true. And so the rumors multiplied faster than the shaggy mares that were to be found everywhere in the Tower these days. True rumors. Rumors sometimes about novices, usually about Accepted, and almost always about Aes Sedai.

[Amilya]

The novice rumor mill churned and groaned, pushing out a constant slurry of whispers, each more ridiculous than the last. Did you know that Elmitsu and Myrtle aren't pillowfriends anymore because Myrtle burned Elmitsu's dress because Elmitsu kissed Reil? Had you heard that Lexiane shaved her head because she is Seanchan royalty and has been called back home to sit on the Crystal Throne? Hogwash, all of it. Novices are incredibly gullible. Accepted could always tell which rumors were true though. Like the brawl among the Brown Ajah. It all started because Catisune had dog-eared one of Danelle's books, and now the whole Brown Ajah was falling apart. Sides were being taken, the Aes Sedai who were fine with dog-earing fighting the ones who were against it. You could see it whenever the Browns got together, cold glances passing between them. There was a betting pool forming about which side would win, but the Accepted all bet that the Browns would forget about it when they found their next new old book buried some stack that hadn't been visited since the formation of the Tower. In the meantime, the Accepted stepped lightly around the Brown and rushed to get them more wine.

[Elmitsu]

The Novice Rumor Mill sputtered and moaned under the weight of its many new charges. Though absent the croaking of frogs and sonorous clip-clop of shaggy brown mares, one could hear a whisper if she listened hard enough: the whisper of new rumors escaping the well and drifting through the corridors of the White Tower.

Is it true that Raeza Sedai beat Elmitsu’s block out of her? Perhaps that’s why the girl returned from the Hall of Inferences whiter than a sheet, her own dress, and Raeza’s shawl. No, no—it was Nevirha Sedai. She tortured Rolfe in front of Elmitsu until she could finally channel. All anyone can say for sure is that Elmitsu’s dress is no longer burnt.

Another rumor that is totally, probably, true is that Damena Sedai made Lexiane kill all the horses. That’s why Novices can’t leave the island of Tar Valon—not enough transportation.

Some girls are even saying Tigiria tricked Everesta Sedai into doing her chores for her, but they aren’t saying that where Tigiria can hear. No, they are not.

Just ask Myrtle and her black eye.

[Tigiria]

The Novice Rumor Mill IS the water wheel, ever turning, filling and emptying and filling again, turning the mill and grinding the grains that feed the people of Tar Valon what they want to know. And today, there was much grain to be served.

Loudest were reports that some saw several novices being dragged off to a private room by Prya Accepted, who appeared more exasperated than ever about locating the foe of many, Myrtle the Mellifluent, who still remains at large on the Tower grounds.

It was also rumored that a small team of novices were discovered in the laundry, sewing a pair of pants for Reil Gaidin after Everesta Sedai loudly declared that her Gaidin never has had any pants, ever.

A distinct lack of meat pies has been noted in the bakery today, and some suggest that this is due to Laras having to dispose of the entire meat section of the larder after it was discovered that some of the old mares who had been removed from the Tower may have ended up butchered and cured with the other meats. Tigiria the weirdo continues to insist that frogs are edible, healthy, and abundant.

Lexiane loudly declared to any who would listen that yet again some one or thing has tried to stab her, as if anyone's after her tacky white dress. This time a very "crusty" trolloc. Others are beginning to think that she may be making this all up for attention and wonder if it was indeed her who sliced Penzei's palm.

Wait, wait I heard that Nevirha Sedai told Elmitsu that Rolfe's hand had been removed and the only way she'd have the Yellows re-attach it is if she broke her block. You didn't hear that?