Dyrum Alede

Basic Information

One Power Breakdown

History

Dyrum was born as the only child to Daerin and Maigan Alede, of the minor noble house Alede in Cairhien. As the only child, Dyrum was doted upon endlessly, quickly growing accustomed to having her way whenever she asked, and when asking failed, a display of her infamous temper often did the trick. Far from the Topless Towers of Cairhien and the more intricate plots in the Great Game, Dyrum lived an otherwise simple life. That is not to say she never learned to play the Game, for she was Cairhienin after all, she simply never got to see it put to practice, either by herself or others, very often.

While mostly secluded in her father’s manor, she did make the occasional trip to the nearby village with her mother in order to “ensure the peasants know whom it is they serve,” as her mother put it. It was on one such trip that Dyrum and the Lady Alede visited the local inn where Dyrum first heard the music of a gleeman’s flute. Intrigued, the child demanded that her mother purchase a flute and hire a bard to tutor her. Although indignant at first with the fear that her only daughter would up and leave to be a travelling entertainer, the Lady Alede eventually consented, with only a little help from Dyrum’s temper, and purchased a fine flute crafted from fine mahogany and gilded with gold filigree, as well as a young man by the name of Doran Velmoran, a man aspiring to be a court bard in Cairhien eventually, to tutor the young Alede.

Dyrum learned quickly, and soon she spent so much time practicing with the instrument that she forgot to make demands of the serving staff, giving them a much-needed break from the spoiled child’s temperaments. Her father, however, disapproved of the notion, and decided the time had come to teach his daughter what it meant to be a noble. He set about planning for a trip to the City, where Dyrum could see how true Lords and Ladies lived: playing the Game and not the flute. Dyrum was indignant, but even her infamous tantrums would not sway her father on the matter, though she did manage to pack her flute with her clothing, and within the month they were off.

Upon arrival to the city, Lord Alede received several invitations to several different balls within the city, one from the king himself. While he debated on how best to answer them, Dyrum and her mother roamed the city, the young girl, by now fourteen years of age, was enthralled at the grandness of the city, though her mother was careful to keep them far away from the poorer districts. When they returned, Daerin had decided on attending a ball hosted by another Lord in similar status to themselves, giving his wife and daughter the rest of the afternoon to prepare and plan.

With young Dyrum in tow, Daerin and Maigan played the Game skillfully, though the young girl was entranced by a woman who held herself aloof from the rest of the nobles. Graceful and serene this woman was, though Dyrum could honestly put no age to the woman. As well, unlike any other Lord in the room, the man trailing this woman stalked as though he expected any one of the noblemen to draw a sword and attack, with a sort of fluid grace Dyrum had never seen. With the brazenness of youth, she approached the couple, asking them bluntly who they were. The woman chuckled and introduced herself simply as Lady Covan, the man was Lord Dasen, both of Andor. That was when Dyrum had the tables turned on her, as Lady Covan began asking a series of questions. How old was she, where was she from, did she have any siblings. The strangest request came when the Lady Covan produced a small blue stone, and asked Dyrum to concentrate and stare into it. Although Dyrum was dazed and a bit confused at how on earth any of that mattered, she answered truthfully and did as she was told, her dark brown eyes meeting the seemingly endless confines of that small stone. It felt as though all the world were in that stone, and as Dyrum stared, she felt a strange kind of warmth, an ecstasy beyond any she had ever felt.

Abruptly her trance was broken, and Lady Covan insisted on speaking to Dyrum’s parents. The young girl, slightly confused but still in awe at that feeling of warmth nodded and went straight to where her parents stood in the ballroom. Dyrum was nervous, for as she brought the couple closer to her parents, her father muttered a curse and her mother paled. Here it was that Lady Covan introduced herself as Meraila Covan Aes Sedai, and told the Alede parents that their daughter had the potential to become Aes Sedai as well. Her father spluttered until her mother elbowed him in the side with less-than-perfect subtlety, saying that they would be honored. Lady Covan then asked Dyrum what the girl thought of this matter. Dyrum wasn’t quite sure what to think, she’d been taught that Aes Sedai were both admirable players of the game and foul witches, but she longed to get away from her father’s manor, and earnestly agreed, so long as she could take her flute. Lady Covan smiled and said that would be fine. The next day, Dyrum was packed and her parents left her with the Aes Sedai and her Warder at the Tar Valon gate of Cairhein, likely to never see their daughter again.

Requirements