Introduction to Saidar: Lesson 3

[Kathleen]

Seheria arrived early to the classroom tucked the basket of rags she had brought with her under the desk at the front of the class. When she was sitting she took out some paper and began writing the letter she had meant to get to the night before. If she wasn't going to be seeing the intended recipient for lunch just after the class it could have waited, but she had the time now to write it so she did. She was just finishing the last of it when the last student took her seat. Pleased with her good timing the Yellow, smiled out at the class.

 

 

"Welcome back to class girls. There is much to learn today, and I would prefer not to waste time repeating myself, so please pay close attention. That is not to say that if you are having difficulty you cannot speak up of course, please do speak up so I can help you sooner, rather than later." Seheria moved out from behind the desk and when the whispers hushed she began to slowly pace across the front row of desks as she continued the lesson plan.

 

"Now that you have learned how to embrace the source at will, it is time to move on to learning more about the nature of Saidar and what we can do with it.” At this announcement some of the girls began to chatter excitedly and a few through nervous glances around the room; this was the lesson these girls had been waiting for since they put their novice dresses on. Seheria send a stern glare across the room, seeming to eye each girl at once. She had just told them not to waste time and she was not pleased with the outburst, subtle as it was.

 

Talking over the girls as the subdued themselves Seheria's voice cut through the room, “Saidar is made up of five elements: Water, Air, Fire, Earth and Spirit." She stopped in front of the desk she was at and gently tapped the girl's paper, indicating that the girls should all be taking notes. With extra care to be silent the girls who hadn't been taking notes quickly began. Seheria continued to cross back and forth in front of the class.

 

"Women are generally stronger in Water and Air, while men are reportedly generally stronger when working with Earth and Fire. The ability in Spirit is equal. Each element appears a different colour when pulled into a thread. Usually the colours are green for Water, blue for Air, brown for Earth, red for Fire and silver or white for Spirit." She stopped at this point to be sure the girls were keeping up. When the sound of notetaking died down Seheria had returned to the middle of the classroom and when all eyes were on her she spoke.

 

"Some channellers see slightly different colours so we will now find out the combinations for each of you. As I show you each one, please be sure to write what you see down.”

 

Seheria opened herself to one power and held it until she was sure every one was watching her. When the girls were settled and ready, before she did anything with it she spoke, "Some of you may see a glow around me and some may not yet see it. If you do not see it yet, do not fret, you will in time. You will see that same glow around any woman who is holding Saidar. Keep your eye out for it, you may be surprised at how often you see it."

 

Some girls squinted and stared trying to see and others made no reaction. Whether they saw it now or not was of no concern, they would in time. She quickly moved on, "Back to the lesson now girls. I will show you each element, one at a time."

 

"First is Water." Seheria explained as she pulled a thin thread of water for the novices to see, "most will see it in green, but do not worry if you see a different colour. This is water, and you are to write the colour you do see, not the one you think you should." She held it for a moment and then let it dissolve as the girls began to write. She repeated the process for each of the remaining elements, giving time for the girls to have a good look at each then she released her hold on Saidar. When they were done writing, Seheria asked if anyone had seen them in a different shade than she had described. When the girls had finished answering she continued the lesson.

 

When they were all reassured that being different did not mean being wrong, Seheria retrieved the basket from under her desk. "In this basket I have rags. I will send the basket through the room, please take a rag and pass the basket on." She handed the basket to the first girl, and let the confusion stir as it made it around the room. While it was circling the class Seheria took a bowl from the shelf and filled it with water from a jug she had sent for before the class arrived.

 

When the basket made it back to her, there was one rag left. Seheria took and instructed the class to watch her closely. She lowered it into the bowl of water until it was completely submerged, then she pulled it back out and let it hover over the bowl some of the water dripped back into the bowl.

 

“Now I will use a weave of Water alone to dry out the material. Watch carefully the way threads are combined.” It was a very simple weave; in fact it had been the first she had learned herself. Seheria carefully and with exaggerated slowness pulled the two threads of water required for the weave and twisted them together. As the last twist was complete the water started to drip faster out of the fabric, back into the bowl. As the final drops of water fell from the handkerchief she held it up for the class to see. It was perfectly dry. “Now you will each have a turn to try this. Please do be careful not to drip out of the bowl. ”

 

One by one the girls approached the desk and tried to achieve this task. Seheria made certain the only one channelling was the one she was standing with and she gave special attention to those who needed it most. A few girls caught on on the first try but most did take a few attempts to get the weave right.

 

When each girl had had a chance to try the rag and Seheria had regained control of their attention. "Now that you have had a taste of it, I'm sure you will all want to learn more, and though you have heard otherwise, I am not a cruel old woman. So, you have had a taste of water, let us focus on the other element we should all most likely have some skill in. Who can remember which other element women may find easier to use?" Seheria waited for the reply and when it came she smiled at the shy girl who had answered. "That is correct, air."

 

She lay the rag flat out on her desk. "This weave is one you will see quite often, and very well may be the most used weave. It can have many uses, but it should not be overused, though the temptation will always be there." Seheria stood at an awkward angle, but one in which everyone could see clearly what she was about to do. She took hold of the source again and then just as slowly as with the water weave, she went through the exaggerated motions of weaving the air together. She reached out with the weave and grabbed the corner of the rag with it. Then she pulled it tightly in and the rag began to lift off the table. She dropped the weave and the rag fell down to the table again.

 

"Now, each of you may try to do that with your own rags." She stood at the front of the class and watched the girls straighted out their rags on their desks, concentrate and eventually lift them up with air. She let them repeat the processes until they were comfrotable with it as she dumped the water back into the jug and used her own rag to dry the bowl off before replacing it on the shelf she had taken it from. When things were back in order in the class room Seheria called a stop and watched the glow blink out from around the sad faces of the girls.

 

"I hope you all enjoyed your first taste of using Sadair for something tangible. Remember, it is additive and calls to you. It seems harmless, but do not forgot those names in your note books so quickly. We will get to do this again in our next class. Please be sure to return your rag to the basket before you leave the class." She reached down to gather her belongings and looked up after a few moments when she realized why no one was moving. "Class dismissed." She called and the novices began to gather their things to leave.

 

Seheria Mori

Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah

 

OOC: You know what to do! RP from getting to the classroom, to your reaction to the colours of each element and your learning and practicing each of the weaves I mentioned in the post. If you need Seheria's help feel free to have her help you.

 

Sorry for the time lapse here, my computer was off getting looked for a long while.

[Ledinna Sedai]

Again, Sagneia managed to be the first one to arrive in the class and took her familiar seat from the front row. She hated being late and liked how being the first arriver made her look like a good student. And she loved to look at the last arrivers that slightly annoyed way.

 

"Welcome back to class girls. There is much to learn today, and I would prefer not to waste time repeating myself, so please pay close attention. That is not to say that if you are having difficulty you cannot speak up of course, please do speak up so I can help you sooner, rather than later."

 

Watching the teacher pacing in front of her row, the Novice began nodding once again.

 

"Now that you have learned how to embrace the source at will, it is time to move on to learning more about the nature of Saidar and what we can do with it.”

 

Sagneia couldn’t hide her gasp of amazement. Now this was something! Since her very first day in Tower she had both dreaded and eagerly waited for this day. Meeting Seheria Sedai’s glance, the gasp turned to gulp, but her eyes still felt like popping out of her head.

 

“Saidar is made up of five elements: Water, Air, Fire, Earth and Spirit."

 

Immediately Sagneia began taking notes again. She wouldn’t trust her memory in things of this great importance. Suddenly, the Aes Sedai stopped and tapped the paper of the girl next to her. Secretly she smiled, happy that she had begun the writing and spared that tap from herself.

 

"Women are generally stronger in Water and Air, while men are reportedly generally stronger when working with Earth and Fire. The ability in Spirit is equal. Each element appears a different colour when pulled into a thread. Usually the colours are green for Water, blue for Air, brown for Earth, red for Fire and silver or white for Spirit. Some channellers see slightly different colours so we will now find out the combinations for each of you. As I show you each one, please be sure to write what you see down."

 

Nodding sternly she stared the teacher keenly. She surely wasn’t going to miss anything.

 

The Novice didn’t see any glow what Seheria was talking about, but didn’t worry; it was just like with her potential and would be seen at time.

 

"First is Water."

 

Well, it certainly wasn’t purely green in her eyes. It was more like... turqoise? Yes, that was it.

 

The other elements weren’t exactly the colour they were supposed to. Earth was so dark it was almost like black, Fire was bright orange, Air indigo and Spirit white.

 

Usually Sagneia liked to be a little different and stand out the crowd, but now it felt more like awkward to tell she saw the weaves differently than the most of the class.

 

"In this basket I have rags. I will send the basket through the room, please take a rag and pass the basket on."

 

Being the first to get the basket, Sagneia was very unsure what she should do. Was this some kind of a joke? But she did what the teacher told, and passed the basket on.

 

“Now I will use a weave of Water alone to dry out the material. Watch carefully the way threads are combined.”

 

The Novice managed to look at the weave while she wrote what she saw. It was amazing to watch how the water started dropping faster until the fabric was completely dry. She was filled with excitement, when she thought of the endless possibilites that could be done with the One Power. How much time that drying method would have spared in her father's store!

 

Trying what Seheria Sedai had shown them wasn’t as easy as Sagneia had imagined. It took her three times to accomplish it, but she couldn’t help smiling proudly as she did.

 

"Now that you have had a taste of it, I'm sure you will all want to learn more, and though you have heard otherwise, I am not a cruel old woman. So, you have had a taste of water, let us focus on the other element we should all most likely have some skill in. Who can remember which other element women may find easier to use?"

 

Sagneia quickly started going through her notes, she didn’t remember the answer anymore. Spirit, maybe? Someone was quicker than her, or had a better memory, perhaps. So, air it was after all.

 

Trying the Air weave was a little easier, and Sagneia lifted her rag on the second try. She would have wanted to try to lift something else too, but resisted it. And the list from the last class made it sure she wouldn’t try it on her own.

 

"Class dismissed."

 

Sagneia took her time on gathering her things. She needed time to think. Wasn’t there any question she could ask from the Aes Sedai? The class was almost empty, when she decided, that there really wasn’t anything to be asked, and left the class.

 

 

Sagneia Kathen,

Novice of the White Tower

[Leala]

Ay'Lira calmly walked into the classroom. She was expecting a good crowd of people there, but there was only one other novice there, and the teacher. Strange, that. She had thought the Gray that had insisted on giving her commentary about her mopping would make her late. Oh, well. She noticed that the girl already there had a smug grin on her face. So she was first to class. That didn't mean she was the best in class. And at this point, that didn't really matter anyway, from the way Seheria Sedai had been talking. Oh, well. She sat patiently with the other girl, waiting for everyone to file in. When everyone was seated, their teacher spoke up. She wanted everyone to listen for this class so she didn't have to repeat herself. They were dealing with immense forces. Whoever wasn't listening was in for a rude awakening.

 

Seheria continued, saying that this lesson would be a bit more specific: the five elements in Saidar. That made sense. She wrote down the elements. She'd probably remember them, but writing them down made them stick. The teacher continued, and Ay'Lira took note what elements females were stronger in, which males were stronger in, and that Sprit was equal. She wondered for a moment what would be her strength as she copied down the colors that she might see. She left space after the colors that the teacher gave in case she saw different.

 

When the Yellow showed them the first weave, Ay'Lira nodded and wrote down that she did indeed see a green color. The blue color for Air practically danced and shone, it was so bright. The thread for Earth was brown, but it had a red tinge to it, like clay. And Fire was a bright orange. The thread for Spirit was beautiful, though. It wasn't white or silver. Rather, it looked like both. It was a creamy white with a silver sheen, like a pearl, or opal. Dazzling. Her description made the novices around her murmur. They almost seemed jealous. Why?

 

She blinked and wrote down what she had seen in the last thread.

 

As the basket came to her, Ay'Lira took a rag, and passed it one, ready for the next part of the lesson. Seheria took her own rag, soaked it in the water, and said that she would use Water to dry it. The girl watched as the two weaves came to life and slowly drained the water from the rag, back into the bowl. She came up to the desk with the others and waited her turn. She watched carefully as each girl attempted the weave, taking note of each mistake they made. When she came up, she soaked the rag, and tried the weave slowly. It seemed to do the trick. Glancing at the Yellow, she soaked it again. Maybe she could do it faster this time? Taking the weaves again, she did exactly as she had the first time, but moved the threads a little faster. It made the water in the basin splash, but none came out, she let out a breath in relief, and returned to her desk.

 

When Seheria Sedai moved on, she asked what the other element was that women were stronger in. Ay'Lira said "Air" without raising her hand, and paled when she realized it. But the Aes Sedai went on, and gave her praise for her answer. Seheria showed them another simple weave using Air to make the cloth jump from the table. Embracing the Source again, Ay'Lira took a flow of Air and slowly reached it down to the rag. She didn't have others to observe this time. The flow took a while to hold and control, but once she figured it out, it worked well. She took the end of the rag with this weave and lifted it slowly off the table. She tried it again and again until Seheria Sedai moved forward.

 

She gave them another stern warning about the addictiveness of Saidar and dismissed class. Ay'Lira was positively beaming when she left.

[Kathleen]

Final Intro Class: http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/69790-introduction-to-saidar-lesson-4/

[Kaylynn]

Kaylynn walked down the hallway towards the classroom. When she stepped through the doorway she saw two other novices in the classroom, one being her roommate. She gave her a small smile. She sat down in her usual seat in the middle of the room.

 

Seheria Sedai was busy writing at her desk so Kaylynn decided to pull out her parchments, pen and ink well. As the last of the novices took there seats, Seheria Sedai looked up with a smile.

 

"Welcome back to class girls. There is much to learn today, and I would prefer not to waste time repeating myself, so please pay close attention. That is not to say that if you are having difficulty you cannot speak up of course, please do speak up so I can help you sooner, rather than later."

 

Seheria passed back and forth in front of the desk waiting for all attention to be on her it seemed.

 

"Now that you have learned how to embrace the source at will, it is time to move on to learning more about the nature of Saidar and what we can do with it.”

 

Kaylynn wanted to shush the other girls and say 'Seheria Sedai said she did not want to waste anytime.' Seheria Sedai glared and then talked over the last of the girls chatter.

 

“Saidar is made up of five elements: Water, Air, Fire, Earth and Spirit."

 

Kaylynn started to take notes as soon as the Sister said “Saidar,” but Seheria Sedai had stopped and she noticed that very few had started to take any notes at all. 'Silly fools,' Kaylynn thought to herself.

 

"Women are generally stronger in Water and Air, while men are reportedly generally stronger when working with Earth and Fire. The ability in Spirit is equal. Each element appears a different color when pulled into a thread. Usually the colors are green for Water, blue for Air, brown for Earth, red for Fire and silver or white for Spirit."

 

Kaylynn strived to keep up but also keep her script legible. She looked up at the Sister to see again why she stopped.

 

"Some channellers see slightly different colors so we will now find out the combinations for each of you. As I show you each one, please be sure to write what you see down.”

 

"Some of you may see a glow around me and some may not yet see it. If you do not see it yet, do not fret, you will in time. You will see that same glow around any woman who is holding Saidar. Keep your eye out for it, you may be surprised at how often you see it."

 

Kaylynn stared at Seheria Sedai as she spoke of a glow in any woman who is holding Saidar. As the words left the Sister's mouth a glow seemed to envelope her, no she was the source of this amazing source of light. Kaylynn's breath caught in her throat.

 

"Back to the lesson now girls. I will show you each element, one at a time."

 

"First is Water. Most will see it in green, but do not worry if you see a different color This is water, and you are to write the color you do see, not the one you think you should."

 

Kaylynn wrote next to 'Water – Green,' that it was more of a peridot color. The next thread was 'Air – Blue,' as she looked at the thread it was an aquamarine color. 'Earth – brown' was more of a cat's eye color, swirls of browns and golds. 'Fire – red,' was a fiery red like a ruby. 'Spirit – silver or white,' was more of a multi-ffaceted opal color. Kaylynn smiled at the thought of how proud her mother would be that she had learned something form her trading.

 

After the other girls answered the question of if any colors were different, she felt almost abnormal for being so normal. She saw all the threads the color that they were suppose to be. Kaylynn frowned a little in her seat.

 

"In this basket I have rags. I will send the basket through the room, please take a rag and pass the basket on."

 

Kaylynn grabbed a rag from the basket and passed it to the novice next to her. Kaylynn then watched as Seheria Sedai submerged the rag in the water and pull in back out. 'What are we going to do with that?' Kaylynn wondered.

 

“Now I will use a weave of Water alone to dry out the material. Watch carefully the way threads are combined.”

 

“Now you will each have a turn to try this. Please do be careful not to drip out of the bowl. ”

 

Kaylynn watched the two thread twist together just so and then watched the effect it had on the drenched rag. Kaylynn wrote a couple more notes about the twist of the two threads before it was her turn. Opening herself to Saidar, she pulled at two water threads. Trying to get them to twist just so took all her concentration. After what seemed like forever, the water dripped out of the rag until it was dry. It took her twice as long as her peers but that was just how she learned. By examining each step as she did them would make it several times easier the next time she tried the weave.

 

"Now that you have had a taste of it, I'm sure you will all want to learn more, and though you have heard otherwise, I am not a cruel old woman. So, you have had a taste of water, let us focus on the other element we should all most likely have some skill in. Who can remember which other element women may find easier to use?"

 

A novice in the front row blurted out the answer.

 

"That is correct, air."

 

"This weave is one you will see quite often, and very well may be the most used weave. It can have many uses, but it should not be overused, though the temptation will always be there."

 

Kaylynn watched the Sister weave form in the air with the threads. She stared as the weave touched the edge of the rag and lift it into the air.

 

“Now, each of you may try to do that with your own rags."

 

Kaylynn first took notes on the weave of air she had just seen and after she was satisfied with them, she opened herself up to Saidar. Kaylynn slowly went through each step of the weave the first time with her slow deliberateness. After the first time weaving the air threads, each subsequent time went considerably faster. She managed to weave the thread four times to lift the rag by each of its corners before Seheria Sedai told them to stop. Kaylynn released Saidar and tried to not grown like the other girls around her.

 

"I hope you all enjoyed your first taste of using Saidar for something tangible. Remember, it is additive and calls to you. It seems harmless, but do not forgot those names in your note books so quickly. We will get to do this again in our next class. Please be sure to return your rag to the basket before you leave the class."

 

"Class dismissed."

 

Kaylynn gathered her things and placed the rag in the basket on Seheria Sedai's desk. She curtsied to her and as she rose she gave her a small smile. She didn't think the Sister was a cruel old woman, but she was an Aes Sedai. Even though Kaylynn was only a novice, she had grown quite fond of the Yellow Sister.

 

Kaylynn left the classroom thinking of her chores yet to do this evening but went to her rooms instead to have a quick rest and put her things away.

 

Kaylynn Tasil Saeed

Novice of the White Tower

Edited April 23, 2012 by Kaylynn

[jozan]

This time Liana was late, because she had to do a silly chore for the sister who had brought her to the tower. Which had ended with the sister calling her a good little girl, who does what’s she told to do. That made Liana pout her lips at the sister, after she had gone out the door and the door had been closed behind her. Liana made her way through the hall, ducking a few novices and accepted on her way to the class room. Some even had to dodge as she was hurrying along the hallway.

 

She curtsied when she entered the class room that was already filled with novices which was all looking at her. Liana’s cheeks turned red caused by all the staring. She took the very same seat she had had during all of Seheria’s lessons on saidar so far.

"Now that you have learned how to embrace the source at will, it is time to move on to learning more about the nature of Saidar and what we can do with it.” This made Liana smile as she couldn’t wait to learn even the simplest of weaves. So, she could actually start noticing her strengths and weaknesses early on. But she almost embraced saidar too early as she was very excited like all the other girls in the room, and the novice beside her could see her glow and then glow out again.

 

Liana could actually see a faint glow around the teacher, and the glow did become more noticeable as time went on. Seheria Sedai told them that most would see the water element as green, but Liana actually saw it as light blue. This made her smile to her self, liking it that she saw it differently than others. She wrote it down on her parchment, to make sure she didn’t forget it, as it could be important.

 

The weave the teacher created looked rather simple, yet very useful if you wanted to quickly dry your wet clothes. Liana gave it a try and nearly did it in her first go, but had to let go and re-focus. She then pulled it off easily on her second try. Seheria acknowledged that and told Liana that it meant she would find water weaves simple to grasp.

The next element was called “Air” which one of the novices shyly called out, that got her a smile from the teacher. Now this weave would be a bit more complicated but just as useful as the water weave they had just tried. Liana Saw the color of air as a darker blue than the color for water. When Liana started to channel air into the rag, it almost flew away caused by too much air used in the weave. Seheria Sedai saw it and came over to Liana to help her out. “It’s okay, child. Just take a breath and start over. You just happen to be very strong in air, and just need to learn to control it better.” Seheria Sedai said with a serene and stayed to make sure Liana could pull it off this time.

 

Then the class was finally dismissed and they could all walk back to their rooms and get some well needed rest. At least until next lesson was to start.

 

Liana Alore,

confident novice of the white tower

[Leala]

It seemed the cook had finally found a challenging chore for Aureli to do. She was to clean out the soot in the fire pit. Everything went smoothly, for what it was, but her beautiful white dress was now an ugly gray. The cook seemed pleased with her work and sent her off. Now she had to go to class. She had perhaps fifteen minutes to clean herself up. She'd have to hurry again. Taking a breath, she scurried to her room. Once there, she stripped to her shift and cleaned her hands and face in the basin full of water. It wasn't fresh, but it would do. Once her hands and face were free of soot, she put on a fresh white dress, tying the left sleeve with her right hand and teeth. With a satisfied nod, she went through her ritual of opening the door, taking her supplies, and leaving the room.

 

Aureli came in with everyone else and saw that the seats on either side of Narie were filled. She'd miss her friend, but she could handle herself. She sat down next to another novice who pretended to ignore her. Placing the inkwell between her knees and opened it. She settled in and Seheria Sedai started almost immediately. It seemed today, they would be working with the five elements of Saidar. Aureli took careful notes. Women had extra power in Water and Air while men were stronger in Earth or Fire. That seemed strange. But the One Power was a creature she had never tangled with before. Each thread had a different color, too. Hm. She had to smile when Seheria said that the glow she had seen meant that another woman was channeling.

 

Seheria Sedai lit up in the glow and took out a weave of Water. Indeed, it was green as she had said. Air was a thin blue color. Fire seemed to be alive with a bright red color. It looked like something a tinker would wear. Earth was a thin brown color, like Air's thin blue. And spirit for her was silver. She wondered for a moment why Fire was so bright for her.

 

The Aes Sedai demonstrated their first weave: drying a wet handkerchief. Aureli waited until her turn had come, then she went to the desk and tried to enter the state of mind appropriate to embrace Saidar without the imagery of a rosebud. Success! With that, she took out a thread of Water. How simple that was. It seemed instinctual. She dipped the handkerchief into the water and took her own Water, trying to copy Seheria's demonstration. It took some focus and will power to make the weave do what she wanted. After three tries, she finally had it down and wrung out the handkerchief. She took the handkerchief to her seat and waited for more instructions.

 

The next weave was one she would likely use a lot. Picking things up with the Power. It would be like having another arm! She had to calm herself down when it was the students' turn to try. She imagined the rosebud and and the sun again to embrace Saidar. But it worked. She took a weave of Air, and slowly, she willed the weave to pick up the handkerchief. Her heart sang. She didn't even need the arm she had! She released the Source and thanked Seheria Sedai for the lesson as she turned in her handkerchief. On the way out, she caught Narie and chatted with her, this time as giddy as she was.