Whites

A Herald's white uniform is always referred to as Whites. It serves as the "badge" of Heralds. Along with their Companions, the Whites make it easy to recognize Heralds and anticipate their aid.

Herald-Trainees wear Grays until they are finished classes, when they don Whites:

The Whites were made of entirely different materials than the Grays, and were tailored to him. Trainee uniforms were comfortable enough, but full Whites were little more than a second skin. Where the Gray tunics were heavy canvas or wool, the Field Whites were butter-soft doeskin. The winter shirts that went beneath the tunics were chirra wool or ramie and linen; the Trainees made do with wool or plain linen. Trews were doeskin again—Trainees got canvas. Hose beneath the trews were finely knitted linen or chirra wool, where Trainees got stockings of heavier wool or baggy woven linen. Only in the matter of boots did Trainees and Heralds fare alike.

Field Whites are usually "constructed of tough and durable leather" and may serve as light body armor. Court Whites may be made of rich fabric, such as silk or velvet. Queen Selenay wears a long skirt (or a divided skirt) as part of her court Whites.

The vivid colors of Heraldic Whites, Healer Greens and Bardic Scarlets were chosen deliberately. The colors are expensive to make, and Whites are difficult to keep clean, making it difficult for con-men to masquerade as the real thing.

Combat experts from other countries wince at the way Whites make Heralds easy to spot and target. Weaponsmaster Alberich from Karse absolutely refuses to wear Whites: his first Collegium uniforms were dark gray (darker than Trainee Grays) and he preferred them.

Herald-Captain Kerowyn from Rethwellan said the white uniforms must surely shout "I'm a target! Hit me!" She refers to them as "shoot-me-now" outfits and opted for dark greys like Alberich.