Chesay Nysurn

Chesay Nysurn
Handle: bcxanth
Character Name: Chesay Nysurn
Guild: Kin
Email: kbartrum (at) gmail (dot) com
Age: 120
Gender: Female
Place of Raising: Arad Doman
Physical Description: Chesay has the classic Domani physique, tall and willowy at 5’10” tall and 120lbs. Her blond hair hangs long, all the way to her waist, that she wears in loose curls. She has deep brown eyes and speaks in a soft and smoky voice. She seems to always have a small smile on her face, as if seeing something funny in everything, but she can switch to all business in a twinkling.
History: 
Chesay was raised in a large family, the youngest of five daughters of a successful merchant family, she naturally took in the teachings of her mother and aunts about everything from men to money, and everything in between. Because of this she never took the men of her family seriously, and from that has never been able to have any respect for men in general. She was taught that men, and in some cases women, are nothing but playthings.
She had a good childhood, but being the youngest she felt always in the shadow of her older sisters. No matter how well she did in her studies, or no matter how quickly she caught on to subtleties of the business world, she never felt she was good enough.
When she was 12 years old though, something wonderful happened. She was visiting Tar Valon with her mother on a trading trip and they were staying at an inn not far from the White Tower. As she sat at dinner in the common room with her mother, a woman who turned out to be an Aes Sedai came in. She passed by the table where Chesay sat and suddenly came to a halt. She looked down at Chesay with a look of shock on her face but quickly recovered. She began pelting questions at Chesay’s mother about Chesay’s age, where the came from, and if she had ever fallen ill from any strange sicknesses. Chesay’s mother, having been to Tar Valon many times, recognized the face of an Aes Sedai and answered the questions promptly.
It turned out the Aes Sedai was interested because she’d felt the Spark in Chesay. The Aes Sedai gave her mother no chance at objection. Chesay was going to the White Tower that day, without even the chance of a trip home to say goodbye to her family. Chesay didn’t care though. She felt like the chance had finally arrived for her to be special and outshine her sisters. After a quick but tearful parting with her mother she soon found herself at the White Tower, and was enrolled as a Novice the next day.
The next 10 years were a blur. She worked hard, got in trouble, made friends, and all the usual things for a Novice. She quickly became close friends with her roommate and soon became pillow friends as well. When Chesay had been there for nine years her roommate took her test for the Accepted and passed on the first try. The Tower was buzzing with her potential and how good she was at her lessons, and the jealousy as well as the distance from Novice to Accepted strained the relationship beyond hope of recovery.
For the next year Chesay was plagued with doubt and insecurity, comparing herself to her former pillow friend and always feeling she fell short. Once again she felt that she was back at home being overshadowed by her older sisters. Then the day came. She was to be Tested for Accepted. The walk down into the bowls of the Tower drove her nearly to the breaking point of her nerves. She was plagued with doubt about her ability to pass.
She went through the ceremony mechanically, the words coming to her lips only because of all the time that had been spent memorizing them. When the Mistress of Novices asked her if she wanted to turn back, she hesitated, but then said no. She went through the first arch, and her world was torn apart. Jealousy and insecurity drove her to kill her former pillow friend. Even when she stepped out of the arch and she knew it was all just a vision, she couldn’t rid herself of the guilt. She knew she was unworthy of being an Aes Sedai. She refused to go on.
The Mistress of Novices was kind and understanding, but beneath the words was the layer of disappointment she knew was going to be there. The Aes Sedai were good to her. They gave her a horse and some clothing, as well as a pouch of silver. Then she was kindly, but firmly, turned out with the unspoken command to never come back. She didn’t know where to go, so ended up retracing remembered steps until she found herself at the same inn where her journey had begun. It felt only right that it should end there as well.
After spending a few days at the inn she was approached by a woman. She talked to her about the Tower and soon the story of Chesay’s failure came out. The woman was sympathetic, and eventually she told her about a group of women known as the Kin. They banded together, those who hadn’t been able to make it in the Tower, as a support group to help them survive in the world.
Soon she found herself on the way to Ebou Dar and was accepted into the Kin. She set up shop as a small merchant, being the only thing she knew how to do, trading carpets and spices through various countries. Her time in the Kin over the past 98 years has been fairly uneventful. She eventually got over her insecurities and now believes in herself as a strong and capable woman. Her business is flourishing, but a part of her still regrets never having become an Aes Sedai.
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