Basic Information
Age:110 (19 when entered into novice books)Nation of origin:Arafel
Hair:Dark Brown (very close to black)
Eyes:Dark Green
Skin:Peaches’n’Cream
Height:5’8”
Voice:Mimi’s voice is pretty low for a woman. It sounds scratchy, like she’s just getting a cold (or getting over one), except that it’s like that all the time. It works well for giving orders to her younger brothers and sisters, and for drawing attention (especially male) when she sings.
Personality:Miahna is the eldest girl in a family of 9 children and two parental units that are drunk more often than they are sober. Therefore, she’s had to assume the duties of taking care of the family and with that responsibility came a very no-nonsense personality. She’s extremely organized and an incredible multitasker – has to be to raise five younger kids. Growing up with three older brothers (and no parents to soften their teasing) has made her a very blunt, honest young woman and because she’s so blunt, she doesn’t really understand why people lie or twist the truth around. As said above, she also makes snap judgments, though she will usually readily admit when she’s wrong.
Special Skills:good at running a household, taking care of children (and drunken adults)
Weaknesses: Knowledge Weakness: Miahna grew up in a small town, so she doesn’t have the advantage of an in depth education Physical Weakness: Mimi has a very slim build, so she’s definitely not much when it comes to muscles. Personality weakness: She does not suffer fools easily; is extremely blunt, makes snap judgments.
One Power Breakdown
| Air | Earth | Fire | Spirit | Water | >Strenth | SkillPotency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 26(28) | 31 | 57 |
History
Character History
The sun was still just threatening to peek over the hilltop when Miahna forced herself awake. Sitting upright in bed, she ran her hands over her face in an attempt to get rid of the grogginess. It was always there; it came from deep exhaustion and never getting enough sleep. Time to get on with the day. she thought, opening her mouth for a large yawn and stretching her arms upward. She wrapped a worn robe around her, slipped her feet into a pair of shoddy shoes and stood. The bells at the ends of her braids tinkled quietly as she stood. In the bed, her youngest sibling murmured and rolled into the spot Miahna had just vacated, sighing contentedly at the warmth. Miahna managed a small smile for little Tessa before turning toward the kitchen.
The pots above the fire pit shone dimly in the early morning light. She grabbed the largest one and placed it on the table, turning toward the buckets. She swore under her breath as she noticed the decided lack of water in any of them. Bloody ashes! I give him one job!, she thought, and he can’t even do that right! How does he expect to ever earn anything to support this family? Muttering to herself, Miahna stalked quietly toward the small bedroom just off the kitchen. “Kagan,” she whispered from the doorway, squinting at the large shape half hanging off the bed, “get up! I need you to go get some water.” Her brother groaned, but opened his large dark eyes.
“I thought da was supposed to get some last night.” Kagan whispered, while untangling himself from the blankets.
“So did I. That’s what we getting for counting on him for anything. Now would you please go get some water from the stream?” Miahna turned around without waiting for a reply. She knew he would go and get her some – she had practically raised him after all.
She went back into the kitchen, pulling out cheeses and bread – freshly baked yesterday- for breakfast. Breakfast was always the hardest part of the day for her; the little ones scurrying around, the older kids dragging their feet, and all of them always asking about Mother and Da and why they weren’t there for breakfast. One would think they would have become accustomed to it over the years, but no, they still asked. Absently, Miahna cut slices of the bread while thinking about her parents.
“Mimi? Miahna! ” Kagan whispered loudly to her right. He was holding a bucket over the large pot on the table, “how much did you need? “ She started, slicing the knife into her skin. Grimacing, she grabbed a towel off the hook by the sink and pressed it to her thumb. Looking back toward Kagan, she pushed her hair out of her face with her other hand, and pointed to a spot on the side of the pot. “I need it to there. Can you start the fire while I get the others up, wrap my thumb, and dress myself for the day?” He nodded and she patted his shoulder fondly before moving back to the small bedroom where the rest of her brothers and sisters. It was nice to have some help. She both dreaded and looked forward to the day when Kagan moved on to a life of his own, after all, then he’d be out but she’d be all alone.
Da was laying on the front porch, a bottle of some filthy liquid slowly making a puddle underneath his right arm. His face had a few yellowing bruises and a nasty gash across his cheek that was still working on closing. Miahna stepped over him to open the door and put the boxes from the market. Shrugging off her jacket, she threw it on an empty hook by the door and reached down to check if he was alive. After feeling warm breath on her hand, she dragged him inside and propped him up in a chair. She then slapped him hard across his uncut cheek. She used to wake him in a more gentle way, but every time she found him like this it was more and more difficult to be nice. He woke with a jump and caught her wrist before she could slap him again. “I’m awake woman!” He roared. He released her hand and shook his head. Miahna dropped her hand to her side, but before she could turn to get him a drink of water, he slapped heracross the face with so much force that she stumbled back into the table. “Don’t you EVER slap me again. You are my child and I am the parent and I will not take that!”
Miahna narrowed her eyes at her father. “Start acting like the parent and I will! Mother I can almost understand, but you? Can’t you consider that with her basically gone we need someone to take care of us? Nita needed someone who could have taken care of her!”
He opened his eyes wide in shock at that name but didn’t have a chance to answer. Both of their heads turned toward as a metal cup bounced off wooden walls to clatter to the floor. “Drink!” a hoarse voice yelled, “Need more.”
“Well.” He said to her, and swept his arm in a grand motion toward the bedroom. “You heard her.” He stood unsteadily, picked up the bottle from the porch and took a big swig. “Better get to it.”
Miahna gritted her teeth and grabbed a bottle from the nearest cupboard. She forced herself not to cry in despair as she moved toward the largest bedroom in the tiny house. Life was on repeat with minute details that changed, but never affected the outcome of the day. “Mama?” she said, using a timid voice that no one else ever heard. “I have another bottle for you.” She walked forward slowly, cringing at every tiny creak the floorboards made. Her mother had once been a sweet, loving, woman, but a Trolloc raid and rape she had miraculously survived five years ago had changed her into a volatile drunken mess. The dark shape on the bed grunted and thrust out a hand. Miahna gently placed the bottle in her mother’s hand. The shape jerked the bottle back under the covers, spilling some of the vile smelling liquid on the blankets in the haste to drink. Her mother made no motion toward her eldest daughter, no acknowledgement that anything or anyone else existed but that bottle.
Mimi blinked back tears and backed out into the sunny kitchen. It took a second for her eyes to adjust, but when they did, she saw that her father had moved from the kitchen chair to the porch swing, his half gone bottle sitting in the crook of his arm like Nita used to. That was before her mother had been attacked, before her youngest sister died, before life had gone all to Shayol Ghul. He didn’t even braid his hair anymore. It was just a tangled mess that hung limply behind him. Taking a deep breath and calming herself, she grabbed the pile of dirty laundry and tromped out to the stream. She had to be done by the time her brothers and sisters came home. Someone needed to bring in money for this family and wasn’t as if her mother and father could.
By the time she’d put the last of the clothes on a line to dry, and dragged Da to bed, she saw a couple of short dark heads making their way down the road. Throwing her hand up in the air with a wave, she smiled as Rolland and Tessa started running for her. Jenelle and Cale sped up their pace a bit to keep an eye on the little ones. Kagan brought up the rear, his swords looking as much a part of him as his own two legs. Miahna remembered a few years ago, before his growth spurt, when he’d grabbed their older brother Malik’s sword sheaths and tried to walk about the kitchen – the hilts stuck up a foot above his head.
“Mimi! Mimi! Guess what?” Tessa panted as she rushed to Miahna’s skirts, Rolland trailing slightly behind her. “There’s a Aes Sedai in town! A real one, honest!” She looked up, her red face eager to see her older sister’s reaction. Rolland nodded furiously in agreement, the dark hair lying on his forehand damp with sweat. Tessa was normally a lot faster; he must have really wanted to be there when she broke the news.
“An Aes Sedai Tessa. It’s an, remember?” Tessa rolled her eyes good naturedly and shrugged, tugging at Miahna’s dress. “An Aes Sedai! Why is she here?”
“Like she’d tell us. She made some illusion that she was touring the countryside after a visit in Shol Arbela, but your guess is as good as mine. She’s pretty rich though – she paid for the nicest room at Prelaine’s Inn, has a beautiful horse, and her clothes have certainly never been worn before.” Jenelle spoke as she, Cale, and Kagan reached the yard.
Miahna gave Jenelle a pointed look and fluffed up Cale’s hair fondly. “How’re sword lessons going?” Cale puffed up proudly and told her about his lessons as they all filed into the house. Each child changed clothes before immediately starting their daily chores. Miahna nodded to herself, she couldn’t have asked for any better siblings, and began to get dinner ready. Kagan went out to chop wood for the upcoming cold season, Cale took buckets to the stream to refill, Jenelle picked a dress off the mending pile and started to deftly repair the garment, Rolland stoked the fire and replaced the linens on the beds, Tessa cleaned off the table and set it for dinner. The next few hours passed quickly and soon they all sat around the kitchen table, the only nice piece of furniture in the tiny house, discussing their days in more detail. The arrival of the Aes Sedai dominated the conversation, but there were healthy tidbits about other things too.
By the time dinner ended, the sun was perilously close to retiring for the day. Miahna tsked at herself and pulled the linens down from the line. Ducking her head back in the door, she yelled to her siblings that she was returning linens in town. Cale answered her that they would be fine and she set off down the road, rocks digging into her feet at places that had worn away in the bottom of her shoes. Maybe Cale has a pair that he’s almost done with, she thought, since Kagan’s are too big now. Enjoying the time to herself, Miahna started singing softly, a tune that mother used to sing to her right before bed, a lifetime ago.
The small town was in the process of settling down. Most people had already made it home, or were well on their way. Buildings, both houses and not, lined the road, candles burning brightly in the windows. Prelaine’s Inn loomed ahead, clearly the biggest building in town. Miahna picked up her pace as the sun starting setting at her back. She walked around the Inn to the back door and knocked twice.
“There you are girl!” Prelaine exclaimed, rushing Miahna and her large load of laundry inside. “I thought the day had gotten away with you again.” She took the bundle and pushed it into the hands of her son, who was standing at the counter eating a piece of fruit. He gazed open mouthed at Miahna for a moment before putting the piece of fruit down and taking the laundry from his mother. “You know where they go. Go on now.” The tiny innkeeper pushed him gently toward the stairs. He looked back once before bolting up the stairs, white shirt sleeves flapping behind him.
“You know how he is.” Prelaine said, shaking her head, the bells in her braids chimed softly. “Now, I haven’t any coin to spare right now, but I do have some fruit and –“ she glanced down, “a barely worn pair of shoes. Follow me.” She walked behind the bar in the common room.
Miahna followed, her arms feeling extremely light without the bundle of laundry. She was nearly giddy with the idea of fruit. Fruit! It was a wonder Prelaine had any to share and Mimi felt grateful that the innkeeper chose to share it with her and her family. She looked around the nearly empty common room. It would fill up in a short while, after people had had a chance to eat dinner and spend some time with their family. She was surprised that Da wasn’t there though. Perhaps he hadn’t woken for his liquid dinner yet…he certainly hadn’t roused himself for actual food.
“Mistress Prelaine?” a voice called from the bottom of the stairs. It was a beautiful voice, though one could tell just from hearing that one question that it was from someone who was used to being obeyed. Miahna looked over to see the Aes Sedai that her brothers and sisters had been so animated over. She was of a normal height for a woman, with features that would have looked quite normal on a regular face, but were disconcerting on her ageless one. Her blonde hair was swept back into a large thick braid down her back and she wore a dark, so dark it looked almost black, blue dress with white lace trimming the sleeves and neck. “I was wondering if I might have a moment to converse with you.” She strode forward with confidence, giving Miahna a once over as she approached the bar. “Who are you child?”
Bristling at the child comment, Miahna looked at the woman and said flatly. “Miahna Telonne, Aes Sedai. Just bringing back the wash.” The other woman gazed at her with no emotion, so Miahna schooled her features down until she was gazing back just as emotionless.
The Aes Sedai raised her eyebrow slightly before turning toward the main door of the Inn. A warder stood there, his multicolored cloak hanging limply in the still night. He nodded to her, she nodded back, and he sat down at a table where a fresh mug of ale waited for him. “As I was saying, Mistress Prelaine, I need to discuss some things with you. Before I do that, however, I would like to have a conversation with Miss Telonne. Miss Telonne?”
Miahna glanced at Prelaine, who nodded and shook her head yes, before reluctantly agreeing to talk with the woman. Prelaine handed Mimi the shoes and mouthed the words ‘be nice,’ before she grabbed a rag and started wiping down the already spotless bar. If Prelaine says it’s all right, it must be all right she thought, rolling her shoulders as she released some tension. She followed the Aes Sedai to a table in the corner near the Warder. She put the new shoes neatly in her lap and looked at the woman. “Not to be curt Aes Sedai, but I do have a family to get back to, so if we can make this quick…” she trailed off as the Aes Sedai held her hand up.
The woman asked her several questions in rapid fire succession, barely waiting for Miahna’s answers before barreling onto the next question. Even though it hadn’t been very long, Mimi felt exhausted by the time the Corine Sedai was through with her questions. The woman put her through the ringer and for nothing other than who Miahna was and how she lived. She still wasn’t sure what that little bit at the end had been, but the Aes Sedai had looked very pleased afterward. Excusing herself, Mimi changed shoes, the new ones were blessedly soft in the bottom, said her goodbyes to the innkeeper and walked back down the road to her house. Neither she nor Prelaine had known that that meeting would change the rest of Miahna’s life – ending one and beginning another.