Nyderalith Praeld

Nyderalith Praeld was the son of a fairly weathly merchant, and shipper from Illian. They weren't upperclass, but they weren't far from it. Unlike most families in Illian, they looked rather favorably on the Aes Sedai. Gerwald, the great-great grandfather of Nyderalith, was struck by a mysterious sickness, before he had found a wife, and so he had no heir to inherit the business, which was prospering. An Aes Sedai, of the Yellow Ajah, happened to hear the story of the poor merchant, and went to see him. She stayed with Gerwald for many days as he recovered, just to make sure that he didn't have a relapse. When he was healed, he attempted to pay the woman, she named herself Mistress Virn, but would take no payment. She never claimed to be Aes Sedai, but who else could have healed him, he reasoned. He vowed that all male children of his household would travel to Tar Valon, and offer to serve. Thus the tradition was begun, as Gerwald did find a wife, and had several sons, who in turn had several sons of their own. All of them sent thier sons to the White Tower, offering to serve however they were needed. Only two were ever accepted, and those as stablemen, the rest returned to thier family, and work in the Praeld family shipping business.

Nyderalith had a childhood like any other. Maybe a bit different, but only because the family was grooming him to take over for his father, Thom. He was a bit more muscular then the Praelds of the past, owing to the fact that his mother, Lira, came from heartier stock. Her family had been blacksmithes, for as long as she could remember, anyway. The appointed age that the young men would present themselves before the White Tower, was 18 years old. By a chance of fate, Nyderalith was unable to follow this tradition, his father left Nyderalith in charge while he took a caravan to the city of Tanchico. Not only was the trip expensive, it was also time consuming, even more so when winter broke, and forced them to delay thier return. When his father finally did return, Nyderalith's birthday was well past, and the family didn't have the money to send him anyway. Thom was not about to break tradition totally, though. When Nyderalith's next birthday came around, it found him on his way to Tar Valon.

Nyderalith had always had a good head on his shoulder, and picked up what he was taught fairly quickly. Though his studies with the family had mainly focussed on managing the finances, and with arranging deal, he had still managed to learn to wield a sword some, about enough to not cut his arm off. He also learned some about wielding an ax, though he was much less proficient with it, then with the sword. When he finally arrived at Tar Valon, he set about getting in touch with those in charge, to see if there was anything he could do in service of the White Tower. He managed to get an appointment with the Stable Master, but on his way to it, he got turned around, and ended up in a practice yard. Being curious, he picked up one of the pratice swords, and swung it experimentally. He could tell it wasn't an actual sword, but if he closed his eyes, he could still imagine himself fighting off a band a brigands. When his sword connected against another, his eyes flew open, and he dropped the sword, stuttering appologies. He was faced with an elderly man, easily in his late fifties, yet the man carried himself like one who had half his years. He picked up the sword, and offered it to Nyderalith hilt first. Still shaken, Nyderalith took the hilt catiously, not sure what was going on. When the elderly man saluted, and dropped into a slight crouch, Nyderalith swallowed hard, and mimiced the movements as best he could. The mock fight that ensued was one sided, as the old man, moving quicker then Nyderalith could have thought possible, attacked him repeatedly. Sometimes the attacks would strike Nyderalith on the body, which always brought a small yelp of pain, and other times, Nyderalith was able to toss his blade up to deflect the blow. The few attempted blows he tried to deal back at the man, always met with failure. The battle ended with Nyderalith catching one blow on his sword, but was unprepared for the sudden spin, and second blow. The blow knocked Nyderalith off his feet, and split open a his eyebrow. The old man, who then intoduced himself as Alester, complimented Nyderalith on his fighting, while he bandaged up the wound. Alester was a warder, though he'd never been bonded. When he asked Nyderalith what he was doing at the White Tower, Nyderalith explained how he was supposed to be meeting the Stable Master. Alester laughed, and shook his head, saying that they had better places for a boy with his skills. Thus Alester cleared Nyderalith's path, and entered him as a Trainee, one day to be a Gaidin.

Nyderalith trained for several long years. Alester had accompanied an Aes Sedai to the borderlands, and been killed by trollocs. Nyderalith was raised to Proven after a year and a half, and eventually made Gaidin. His family had tried to keep some contact with him, but the young man was dedicated to his studies. He served as an un-Bonded warder for a year after being raised, but one day he got a message from his family, begging him to come home. His father had dissappeared, and the family was in disarray. So, one stormy night, Nyderalith slipped away from Tar Valon. He left a note saying that he'd return when his father was found, and the family problems settled. This problem took longer then he ever expected, his father had been lost in the borderlands, and after finding him, settling the in family squabbling took longer. Two years after leaving, the wayward Gaidin, Nyderalith Praeld has returned to the White Tower to serve, and if the Light wishes, Bonded.