<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/5/50/BlueAjah.jpg)</div><strong>Character name:</strong>Aleana Schiller (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=234819.msg11575159#msg11575159)<br/><strong>Position:</strong>Keeper of the Chronicles, Blue Ajah<br/><strong>Bondmate:</strong>None (As yet!)<br/><strong>Tag:</strong>Imoko<br/><strong>Time:</strong>Morning, Saven 5, 990NE<br/><strong>Place:</strong>Keeper’s Office<br/><strong>Wearing:</strong>Blue Dress (http://www.wearingideas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Royal-Blue-Prom-Dresses-13.jpg) and the Keepers Stole of Office<br/><strong>Warning:</strong><br/><hr/>Pleased with Imoko’s eager curiosity, Aleana leaned back in her chair and shook her head.  “Those are both wonderful questions and really where a lot of this gets… complicated.”  She mused and took a deep breath.  “There are no easy answers but I shall do my best.”  Much of the system was easier to understand once it was seen in action but, for her to have that chance, the basics needed to be discussed.<br/><br/>Just as she opened her mouth again, a knock at her door made her close it again before even a word had escaped.  Having no doubt that both of them understood that the conversation was private and shouldn’t be discussed with whomever was at the door, she called out for the person to enter, hoping it was Sebelle.  Aleana didn’t know about Imoko but she could certainly use something to drink.  As the door opened and it was the Novice she had expected, Aleana waved the young woman inside, her gaze flicking to the array of food on the large tray, the delicious scents quickly filling her office.<br/><br/>“Please place everything right over there.”  Aleana said, rising from her desk and gesturing to the sitting area meant for longer discussions, waiting space for important dignitaries that wished time with the Amyrlin and anything else Aleana wished to use it for.  Turning her attention back to Imoko, she once again gestured toward the plush chairs and couch.  “Let us adjourn over there for the rest of the meeting.  It will be far more comfortable while we eat and discuss.”  Meandering over toward the elegant sitting area, Aleana took her time, letting Sebelle get their breakfast laid out on the handcrafted table.  Once the Novice was nearly complete, Aleana sat in one of the white chairs, crossing her ankles demurely even though her dress was slit to her thigh.<br/><br/>“Thank you, Sebelle.”  She said with a pleased nod of her head.  “Attend to your studies for now.”  While she did take up quite a bit of the Novices time, she never forgot that the Novice had many tasks and studies placed before her from the Mistress of Novices and the standards of the Tower.  Waiting until she curtseyed and departed, Aleana busied herself with pouring her and Imoko a cup of tea, sipping the hot, sweetened beverage.  Hearing the door click closed, she still peeked to make sure they were private before continuing.<br/><br/>“Please, help yourself to any of the food.”  She said, gesturing toward the plates of food, she leaned back comfortably with her tea cup in her hand.  “As I was about to say, there are several means by which information is sent to the Tower.  Some of it is passed along to a Sister of the Blue Ajah when they make trips to various locations.  Other times, it is written and sent by courier.  Sometimes it is even brought by the informants themselves.  Meetings in Tar Valon with informants is not an uncommon event.”  She shrugged and took another delicate sip of her steaming tea.  “As well, each of our Sisters has a method that they may employ most regularly with their own informants.  Some prefer to spend a good deal of time in specific areas and have contacts spread out in that area and only accept information directly from their informants.  Some prefer to have little contact and work through intermediaries, especially in parts of the world in which being known as an Aes Sedai is dangerous.”<br/><br/>“This is not a foolproof system by any means.  Information often gets lost along the way and sometimes warning signs are missed because of one of many factors.  Informants can be mistaken, they can be lost, they can miss signs themselves and so many other things can happen.”  She sighed and shook her head.  It was one of the largest difficulties with systems of information.  They were usually faulty and had to be interpreted by those that receive it and passed along again.  “Your task, eventually, will be to sort through the copious amounts of information received and determine what you believe to be important to both the Tower and the Ajah.  Then, you’ll decide how best to handle the situation, whatever it may be.  If a piece of information gets passed along that could be of significant importance, it will be up to you to decide if you send a Sister to investigate or if you simply request further information.  With resources being limited, it is always a judgment call as to how to respond.”  She pondered for a moment, “There is always the option to pass along the information as well.  Which leads me to the second question you asked.”<br/><br/>“While the Aes Sedai of the White Tower do work together and most of us share the same common goal, each of the Ajah’s has a sphere of influence in which they are responsible to maintain.  Because of that, most of the Ajah’s have their own information networks that keep them up to date on whatever they wish to investigate.  Sometimes, if one Ajah runs into something of importance to another Ajah, they will share that information and allow them to handle it as they see fit.”  She paused, a small frown beginning to form on her face.  “As shown on that map, there were plenty of rumors or events that would have been useful to another Ajah and it is often handed over to them.”  She paused cautiously.  There were a great many reasons that not all of the information collected was shared publically but she didn’t wish to divulge that as yet.  “Having all of the Ajah’s working toward collecting information pertinent to their own Ajah does help the Tower as a whole as well.  It allows an even larger network to be formed, with each Ajah presumably gathering intelligence for their own goals and the Tower as a whole.”  It also allowed for a system of checks and balances between the Ajahs and made certain that an entire Ajah wasn’t completely subsumed by the Black’s.  Or, at least, it helped in theory.<br/><br/>“The Blue ajah tends to have an… eclectic network of information because of the nature of our Sisters.  As most of us have personal goals that we are working toward, the information we seek tends to revolve around those personal goals.  Instead of gathering information on, say, predominantly male channelers, we gather a wide variety and then deal with it as it comes.”  Leaning forward, she set her cup down with a slight clink.  Gesturing toward the table, she took another deep breath, “While we do get a lot of information this way, there are gaps in our knowledge and we can never presume to know everything that has happen or is happening – even if it is of importance.”  She warned, not wanting Imoko to assume that the network, even as extensive as it was, kept them informed as well as they might like.