Kiruna: Apparently, she tried to run away and join the Tower, twice when she was 12, and twice more when she was 13. The second time, she actually made it to the Tower, but was sent back because she was too young. She was finally accepted at 14 because of her determination, and apparently her fierce desire to be Aes Sedai was "well known" in the Tower.

She and Bera were pillow friends. Though they are very close friends as of the books, they prefer men exclusively, now.

Also, the Red Ajah has a secret ceremony called the Grand Emergence, where they walk through a warded place, and still speak in a guarded way. It was a plan for seizing the Tower, "should the need arise". A comforting thought for the other Ajah's, I suppose.

Interestingly, Katerine joined the BA in 987 NE, 5 years after she was raised to the shawl, so she wasn't marked out by Merean or anything.

Talkin of Merean, she was Andoran, and had a Warder early on, but never bonded another after he died. Rumor was that she loved him, but he had been a Darkfriend, and she didn't find it easy to get a replacement and without the Three Oaths, never found the need.

Merean, incidentally, killed Larelle soon after Moiraine and Siuan fled. Larelle was one of Tamra's searchers, though neither Moiraine or Siuan knew this to save her. This confirms that there were more women that Siuan or Moiraine knew of. They all seem to have been very strong in the Power, apart from being adherents of the Law, and fairly old.

A large chunk of the older, more powerful women seems to have died due to Tamra trusting them. I wonder if the Pattern had a hand in weakening the Tower so.

The Mistress of Novices, incidentally, could be chosen by the Hall and forced on an Amyrlin, though this happened rarely. She had absolute authority over her charges, and could defy even the Amyrlin Seat, or the lesser consensus of the Hall. Only the Greater Consensus could overrule her.

This is interesting, because it explains why Elaida had to order Silviana's arrest, I think. If she allowed her to continue as MoN, she'd need a Greater Consensus from the Hall to keep Egwene imprisoned, which she was highly unlikely to get. So she substituted Katerine for the post.

Lelaine: She was only named First Selector after the Tower split, meaning the previous head died. She apparently was fond of Logain as a "fierce dog she had tamed". Whoa. Also, she and her faction tried to use tel'aran'rhiod to spy on Rand.