Lyla stared at the blank sheet of paper on the desk in her quarters. Light, this was going to hurt.
It was shameful enough to have made such a careless mistake, but for Bakkus to be the one to set the punishment… She still remembered him shouting in the square, demanding the return of his grisly trophies. Why couldn’t Tear see that they had a madman at the reins?
Still, if she was to have any hope of continuing her… studies in the south, she needed the ability to travel freely.
Gritting her teeth, she dipped her quill into the inkwell and began to write:
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With humility and respect, to Defender Bakkus, and the High Lords of Tear:
In the three thousand years since its founding, the White Tower has never wavered in its war against the Shadow. There are many who believe this affords us a measure of privilege, the right to ignore any rules or customs we deem inconvenient in the service of a greater good.
Laws, however, are not made to be broken.
Every member of the White Tower understands this, from the newest novice in the kitchens to the wisest Aes Sedai in the Hall. Sovereignty must be respected, if we are to have any hope of earning a nation's trust. Sometimes this is accomplished by the lines on a map or the words of a treaty; more often, it is done through a simple acknowledgment of personal accountability.
Please accept, once again, my sincere apologies for channeling the One Power within the gates of your city. As much as I would like to lean on the excuses of inattentiveness or haste, I recognize that these are not valid excuses for someone in my position. We of the Tower should be held to a higher standard with regard to the law. Not a lesser one.
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There. That should do it. Two hundred words: all of them true, and none of them committed the Tower to any specific course of action. With any luck, this would be enough to put the matter to rest without throwing more wood on the fire in the south.
She dipped her quill into the inkwell a final time, and signed her name at the bottom of the paper.
- Lyla Farande, Journey Accepted