Introduction to Saidar: Lesson Three

[Leala]

((OOC:  I'm soooo sorry it's taking me so long.  Job search.  Crazy schedule.  It should even out when I get a full time job, I think.  But I'm planning on finishing these tonight.  :) ))

 

IC:  Aureli opened the door to the classroom while keeping the basket of rags with its whicker handle hooked on the crook of her arm.  The servant followed her in with the large pitcher of water.  She set the basket on the desk and asked the servant to set the pitcher next to it.  The servant bowed her way out and promised to be back at the requested time.  Aureli thanked her, and as soon as the servant left, her students began to pile in.  When they were all settled, Aureli allowed herself to give them a smile.  It was hard for Accepted to hold respect for their classes at times, it was true.  But she felt they had fallen into a rhythm with each other, and they should know that she wasn't always strict and unmoving.

 

"Welcome back.  Today is a very special lesson.  That is to say, we'll be learning a lot, and at a faster rate than the last couple of classes.  You will be using everything you have learned up to this point, and new things as well.  Pay attention, and I'm sure you'll be fine.  Please let me know if you need any help."  when she mentioned that today's lesson would be special, some girls sat up straight and waited expectantly.  Others began to giggle and chatter, but she waited until it died down.  By now they knew that when she paused too long, they were being too loud.

 

"That's right," she said.  "Since we can now embrace Saidar and control it, it is time to learn a bit more about its nature, and what can be done with it."  Aureli heard a few girls cheer along with the giggles.  She cleared her throat and moved in front of the desk, quieting them down again.  "Please take out your notes.  As I said, we must learn a bit more before we plunge into practice."

 

"For the most part, women are stronger in Water and Air while men are stronger in Fire and Earth, and in Spirit, we are generally equal.  Each element has a different color.  Usually, the colors are as follows:  green for Water, blue for Air, brown for Earth, red for Fire, and white or silver for Spirit."  She stopped and waited until everyone had finished writing down the information.  

 

"Some of you may see different colors for each thread, but that does not say anything about your ability, simply that you see the threads differently, just as we are all individuals.  So, as I show you these threads, write down what you see."  

 

She embraced Saidar and let a good amount, but not a huge amount flow into her.  She waited until everyone was paying attention to her to speak once again.  "You may see a glow around me right now, or you may not.  Do not worry if you don't.  You'll have plenty of time to see it in your studies.  This glow is called 'the glow of Saidar.'  You will see it around any woman holding Saidar.  Remember that you are in a Tower full of women who can channel, so watch for it."  Some novices stared at her in concentration, others nodded in recognition.  But there were other matters at hand, so she moved on.

 

"I will show you each of the Five Powers one at a time."  When she felt they were ready, she began.  "First is Water."  She drew out a thread of Water and held it out for them to see.  The note-taking didn't last long, as they were only supposed to write the Power and its color as they saw it.  "Remember, if you see a different color than green, you should write that color, not the one that is more common." She showed them the rest of the Five Powers just as she had for Water, waiting for them to write down their respective colors.  "Did anyone see any colors that were not the ones I mentioned?" she asked.  She took answers, and when they were finished, she continued.

 

Aureli walked behind her desk to her supplies.  "There are rags in this basket.  I will pass the basket around the room.  Please take one rag and pass the basket on.  The last person to have the basket, please make sure it returns to me."  She started the rotation of the basket on the left front corner of the room.  After everyone had one rag, and she had the basket back, she retrieved a large bowl from a shelf and filled it with the water from the pitcher.

 

Making sure that everyone's attention was on her again, she took the last rag and lowered it into the bowl, letting it completely soak, then pulled it out, letting it drip into the bowl.  "To dry this cloth, I'll use a weave of Water.  Watch carefully to see how the weaves are combined and what they do."  Taking the two required weaves, Aureli placed them on either side of the cloth, and with exaggerated slowness, twisted them together to dry out the cloth.  Water dripped back out of the cloth and into the bowl, and when all the water had dripped out of it, she held up the rag for the class to see that it was completely dry.  "Everyone will have a turn at this.  Please try not to drip the water outside the bowl."

 

The girls came one by one and tried the weave out.  Even if it took them three tries, they giggled at their success.  Aureli could remember how giddy she had been at learning this first weave, too.  She helped those that needed it and guided them through it once more.  When it was over, Aureli began again.

 

"Water was fun, wasn't it?"  After everyone got their giggles out again, she asked another question, "Who can remember the other element that women tend to have talents in?"  A few hands shot up, but Aureli called on the girl who had shot her hand up first.  She answered.  "That's right, Air."

 

Aureli laid her now dray rag on the desk as flat as she could make it.  "This weave is very handy, especially for someone like me," she said, moving her head to indicate where her right arm should have been.  "While most of the time, I can find ways around it, only having one arm can be troublesome at times.  So, this weave was my favorite to learn."  

 

She embraced Saidar again and, as she had done with the weave of Water, she ever so slowly prepared the weave of Air and slowly picked up the corner of the rag, lifted it into the air with a tight tug of the weave, and let it drop again onto the desk.   She let go of the One Power.  "Now you may all try."  She watched and waited as the girls tried the second weave a few times.  When it seemed everyone had it down, she spoke up again.  "Very good, girls, I'm proud of all of you.  Please release your rags and release Saidar."  There was some disappointment, but some girls beamed at the fact that she was proud of them.

 

"I'm glad you all enjoyed that.  But I want you to keep in mind what we discussed yesterday.  Saidar gives us a good feeling, but it is addictive, and if abused, destructive.  Remember those names you all wrote down.  Each one thought they knew better than their teacher, ignored the warning.  We don't impose these rules to be mean.  We do it to be safe."  When she was sure her words had hit home, she spoke again.  "Now.  Please be sure all these rags are returned before you leave.  Class dismissed."  The girls packed their things and returned their rags.  When everyone was gone, the servant came back in and helped her clean up.

 

OOC:  You know the drill!  RP reactions to the color of the Five Powers, practicing the two weaves, and leaving class.  If you need help, let Aureli know!

[WolfbrotherKronos]

KIra walked through the halls of the White Tower. She was not running late, so Kira tried to emulate Aes Sedai calm in her steps.  Kira felt in a good mood today.  Kira and her roommate, Hallia, had made a little game of seeing shich one would get to class first.  Kira was almost certain she would beat Hallia today, but as Kira entered the room, she saw Hallia smiling at her as she entered.  A smile crossed Kira's face as she sat beside her.

 

She saw Aureli at the front of the classroom with a basket of rags and a pitcher of water.  Kira didn't know what to make of that, but she was getting excited for the lesson.  Aureli introduced the lesson and then embraced Saidar.  Kira jumped a little as she saw a glow surrounding Aureli.  That was new to her.

 

"You may see a glow around me right now, or you may not. Do not worry if you don't. You'll have plenty of time to see it in your studies. This glow is called 'the glow of Saidar.' You will see it around any woman holding Saidar. Remember that you are in a Tower full of women who can channel, so watch for it," Aureli explained and Kira nodded in understanding.

 

Aureli continued the lesson, "I will show you each of the Five Powers one at a time.  First is Water.  Remember, if you see a different color than green, you should write that color, not the one that is more common." Kira watched the thread of water.  Seeing a green thread, she wrote it down in her notes.  Aureli continued to show them the other threads.  Kira saw all of the common colors and waited for the next part of the lesson.

 

For the next part of the lesson, Aureli passed around the basket of rags and each girl took one.  Kira took hers and watched Aureli fill a bowl with water.  Getting her rag wet, Aureli held it in the air and formed a weave of water to completely dry the rag.

 

Kira waited patiently for her turn to try the weave.  Kira walked up and smiled at Aureli as she dipped her rag in the water.  Kira embrace Saidar and formed the two weaves.  She slowly moved them into place and was able to dry the rag.  This was the first time she had succeeded at a weave the first time.  Kira beamed allowing the giggles to come out.

 

Kira sat down and waited for everyone to finish before Aureli continued to teach.  She asked what other element women tended to be stronger in.  Kira raised her hand, knowing that it was air, but Aureli called on another student.  Kira nodded as the answer was confirmed.

 

Aureli showed them a simple weave of air to pick up the rag and Kira felt a pang of sympathy as Aureli pointed out her deformity to the class.  Aureli used the weave to lift the rag in the air.

 

After getting permission to, Kira tried the weave.  Full of confidence, Kira lifted the rag and set it down.  Aureli then dismissed the class.  Kira returned her rag to the basket, grabbed her things, and walked out with Hallia.

 

"I'll beat you next time," Kira said with a grin.

[Hallia]

Hallia hurried into class, glancing quickly to see if she’d reached the classroom before Kira.  Seeing who could get to class first had become a fun little competition between the two of them.  Heh, I win this time.  Taking an empty seat, she readied the things she would need to take any notes required for this class.  Once she had everything ready Hallia took the time to look around the class, greeting a few of the other girls she’d made friends with and eyeballing the pitcher of water next to the basket on Aureli’s desk.  I’m sure we’ll find out when we’re intended to.  Seeing Kira enter, she grinned and raised an arm in greeting.  They only had a few moments to speak with each other before Aureli stood at the front of the class, a friendly smile gracing her face.

 

Upon hearing that this lesson would be special Hallia perked up, her eyes glued to Aureli.  After a few moments everyone else was doing the same, helped along by the expectant pause from the Accepted.  Having already readied her previous notes on her desk Hallia waited patiently for the rest of the girls to do the same before Aureli continued with the lesson.  As Aureli continued the lesson Hallia listened intently, writing down the information given on the different colors and what they symbolized.  When the young woman suddenly developed a glow around her Hallia’s eyes widened as Aureli went on to explain about this phenomenon and then went on to channel Water.  Hallia saw the thread as a very light green, almost like new grass in spring.  Water was a deep blue that resembled the ocean while Earth was the same color as its namesake from back home.  As Aureli channeled Fire the color was so alike that it almost seemed like she was in control of an actual flame, and Spirit was a soft silvery color.  Hallia scribbled each color and which thread it corresponded to.

 

Hallia listened with interest as a few students described different colors they saw before Aureli walked back towards the basket on her desk.  The basket was passed around the class as instructed, ending with Hallia.  She took the last rag out and placed it on her desk before taking the empty basket up and placing it on the Accepted’s desk.  Once she was back in her seat Aureli continued with the lesson.  When it was her turn to try the weave Hallia stood and nervously walked to the front desk.  Embracing Saidar was becoming easier she noted to herself as she tried to copy the weave.  She grinned in nervous relief as she succeeded in getting all of the water out of the rag.  She retook her seat and watched the rest of the other students try the weave, really noticing this time the glow that enveloped each girl.  When Aureli asked about the other element Hallia raised her hand along with her roommate and several other girls, smiling as the answer in her head coincided with the
answer the girl who was chosen to speak gave.

 

Hallia smiled in delight as Aureli shared how the weave helped her with her life, glad and proud that their teacher had overcome the obstacles in her life to succeed.  The glow of Saidar winked back on around her as the Accepted continued with the lesson, showing the girls a new weave that was blue this time.  Her smile widened as she attempted this weave, giving the rag a tug.  The smile faded and her eyes widened instead as she tugged a little too hard, causing the rag to go flying rather high into the air.  Flushing Hallia tried again, this time keeping a tighter reign over the strength with which she lifted the rag.  This time it slowly floated up almost a foot off of the table before settling back onto the desk.

 

Releasing Saidar was always difficult but the knowledge the class had received yesterday seemed to make it a little easier.  When class was dismissed Hallia took her rag to the front and dropped it off before quickening her step to catch up with her roommate.  She grinned cheekily back at Kira.  “I dunno, I’m pretty quick!”

 

 

Edited March 7, 2013 by Hallia

[The Bard Babe]

Dwyn grimaced as she bolted into the classroom, late again. She didn't even have a decent excuse anymore, she knew her way around now, she was just absolutely terrible at getting places on time. She skidded neatly into the room and shut the doors quietly behind her, walking silently up to the front left desk she had adopted as her own, barely resisting poking her tongue out at Nyanna's snort-like giggle as she took her seat.

 

Aureli was standing behind a basket of rags. Well, that had Dwyn intrigued. Her eager eyes pinned Aureli down as she drank in her words. At the supposed glow they were supposed to see around her, Dwyn merely pouted slightly. She saw no glow. Ah well, she would have more than enough time to practice seeing that glow. It would happen. Eventually. It had to happen eventually. She stamped out a quiver of jealousy for the girls who could already see it and focused on Aureli's next words and actions. Colours. Now those Dwyn could do.

 

As she watched, threads of sparkling light blue spun and stretched out from her teacher and dried out the rag. The colour was difficult to name, a watery colour of blue and green of various shades, but the feeling was overwhelmingly water. The sparkle was like the glint of sunset on the water, always moving but still, twisting and gentle, but forceful. It was just...water. And it sounded like silver trumpets, clear and beautiful.

 

Earth was next, the deep and husky tone of strings, low strings accompanied the rich brown of soil and tilled earth, tiny blossoms of colour reaching out of the weave. It felt solid and sturdy, just like earth ought to.

 

Fire was fascinating, it held a brash risk-taking desire for Dwyn, it drew her in, tempted her with its subdued, flickering yellow-orange flames like embers and the clap of drums and unpredictable fiddles racing up and down their strings.

 

If fire had drawn Dwyn in, Spirit held her soul in its grasp. It had the magical sound of a harp, threads of silver arching gracefully about the room, beautiful like the bridges onto Tar Valon, not like the snaking path of water, zig-zagging fire or the direct force of earth.  Spirit widened Dwyn's eyes and sounded like the voice of angels.

 

Air was the final weave that Aureli showed them, but she didn't hear her words when she told them that. Nor did she see the weave at first. The weave had no colour for Dwyn, it simply was air. It was clear it was a disturbance, a twisting thread of wind brushing by, twirling and spinning around the room. Flutes trilled through Dwyn's mind as the air arced into the sky and she had to laugh at the joyful emotion of them. So...that's where the music came from.

 

Dwyn reported back with the assorted oddities she saw the weaves in when Aureli asked and was practically bouncing in her seat, so ready she was to try the new weaves. And fortunately, she was the first to get up and try them. Gladly sinking into the Source, Dwyn brought up the trumpets in her Saidar Symphony and reached out tentatively. She grinned to see the thread of sparkling water reaching out from her. She touched the rag, and the weave fell away. Pouting, Dwyn tried again, reaching a bit harder again, just managing to dry out the rag. Water was hard. It required a lot of concentration to do these weaves, it seemed. A lot of strength which Dwyn didn't have.

 

The next time she stood up, she was more than ready to play with air. And this time, she was ready to move that rag, ready with her focus and her concentrated strength.Flutes trilled and ran up and down scales in her mind and she nearly laughed aloud. She touched the rag with her weave, hoping it was strong enough, only to watch the rag fly and hit the opposite corner of the room. Dwyn's eyes went wide and there was a moment of silence before everyone in the room giggled nervously. Dwyn hurried to retrieve her rag. Ok, so maybe she was just worse at water than she was at air. Air was fairly easy. Reducing the volume of the flutes slightly, Dwyn tried it again, and this time reduced the tempo as well, watching the air dance slowly towards the rag. This time it moved exactly how Dwyn wanted it to.

 

She was still beaming as she left.

[tonnalea]

Ariani was the first student in the room today, so she took a moment to eye the things on Aureli's desk before she went to her seat. She watched the other girls enter the room, 

and watched their mannerisms. Some of them seemed to carry themselves with a great deal of confidence, while others walked in with their eyes glued to the floor. Some of them 

even tried to wear that cool, mask of calm as they entered. Those masks always dissolved the moment anyone else said or did something funny for the purpose of making those masks 

crack. Ariani sat closer to the door nodding or giving a small smile to those who greeted her. As soon as everyone arrived, Aureli began the class.

 

"Welcome back. Today is a very special lesson....." the Accepted began, and then had to stop to wait for the excited chatter to die down, "You will be using everything that you have 

learned up to this point and some new things as well......."

 

She went on to explain the nature of Saidar, and how women were usually stronger in a couple of the elements, while men were stronger in a couple others. Both genders were equal in 

one element, Spirit. Each element had a color the corresponded with it, and Ariani hurried to write it all down before Aureli moved on. 

 

Aureli began to show them the different elements in threads, explaining the glow that surrounded her when she embraced saidar first. This glow hadn't surprised Ariani too much. There 

were times when she thought that she had seen it before, on Aureli or on some of the other girls. It would only be for a moment and then she wouldn't see it anymore, and sometimes, the 

glow would be there the whole time. It seemed that the more she held saidar, the more noticeable these things were becoming. This time, the glow that surrounded the Accepted stayed 

around her until she released. Ariani wrote down what colors that she saw for each element. They all matched what Aureli described; green for Water, blue for Air, brown for Earth, red for 

Fire.....all matched except for Spirit. Ariani saw Spirit as gold. 

 

"Did anyone see colors that were not the ones I mentioned?" the Accepted asked, and Ariani raised her hand sheepishly. Aureli took her answer before she went on.

 

Aureli passed a basket of rags around the room. Once everyone had one, she filled a bowl with water from the pitcher. She soaked the rag in the water and then held it up in front of them. 

Ariani watched as the Accepted laid two strands around the rag and somehow twisted them to make the water drip back out and into the bowl. Again, she held the rag up to show them that 

it was completely dry. 

 

It was now their turn to try the weave. When it was Ariani's turn, she had a little trouble with it. She had managed to lay the strands of water where she needed to, but making them do exactly 

what she wanted them to was a different matter. At first, they she couldn't get them to twist and then they would not twist enough. She had to make four attempts before she could get the rag dry. 

She took her seat quickly, without looking at the eyes that she felt were on her. 

 

The next weave they tried was with Air. Aureli showed them how to lift the rags up off of their desks. Fortunately, they didn't have to stand in front of the class to do this one.

Less being embarrassed for me!

 

Air seemed a bit easier for, Ariani. She tried to move slowly this time, certain that going to fast was the reason she had had so much trouble with the Water weave. The corner of 

the rag moved a little when she tugged on the strand of Air, and then she easily lifted it up off of the desk and held it aloft for a few moments before letting it go. She gave up a small 

giggle and then looked around to see if anyone else had had an easier time with this weave as she had. It seemed that a few managed it easily, and a couple of them seemed to be having 

the same trouble with it as she had had with Water. Suddenly, she didn't feel as embarrassed. 

 

Aureli asked them to release and return the rags to her. She reminded them again of the dangers of saidar and the reasons that they were never to channel unsupervised, before dismissing 

the class. Ariani returned the rag and left the class room, feeling a little less afraid of her abilities, and a little more in control. 

 

 

[Sherper]

Another day, another sun rise – another lesson involving Saidar. Ellisha Falwein eagerly trotted along the side corridors of the Tower East wing, as she made her way towards her third Saidar lesson.  The coloured marble tiles beneath her feet once having felt alien and almost hostile to her – had taken up an air of acceptance towards the tall brown haired Novice. Ellisha wore a pleased smile on her face – a rare expression for her, which earned a few raised eyebrows from passing Novices and Accepted.

 

She was off to learn Saidar again. Something she had always looked forward to in the week, yet her unusually good moods had nothing to do with the upcoming lesson with the raven haired Accepted today. Earlier in the morning she had heard a petrified squeal coming from the outside; indicating her plans from last night had actually worked. Forcing herself to do a slow count of ten so as to not appear too eager, she had opened her door leading to the novice quarters. Sleepy faces popped out alongside hers as a pale faced Cairhienin ran down the length of the corridor; an expression of pure horror painted across her face as the girl clutched the ends of her linen shift.  

 

Looks of confusion passed along the long line of faces but Ellisha was already running after the Novice; tough slippered feet making short work of the coloured floor tiles as she followed close behind. Quickly turning a corner, she was just in time to see the scantily clad Novice swan dive into a large stone fountains set at the centre of the Tower garden; sending sprays of liquid in all directions as she splashed through the water’s surface. A look of unrestrained relief crossed the Novice’s face as her head reappeared above the water; flakes of blue ice peppers drifting from the corners of her submerged shift. The relief lasted right up to the point when the dark haired girl noticed the two Aes Sedai – of the Red Ajah – staring down at her; their dresses dripping with fountain water.

 

The Cairhienin paled – if that was even possible – as the two reds dragged her from the fountain with flows of what appeared to be air. Ellisha had actually forgotten what the girl had done to deserve this, but whatever it was – it was more than paid for by the incredibly satisfying expression on the young scallywag’s face as the two reds made their move on her. Ellisha couldn’t help herself but laugh; wheezing slightly and holding on to the side of a stone pillar for support as she tried gasping for air in between fits of hysteria. Which in hindsight – was probably how she wound herself up in the Mistress of Novice’s office an hour later; Her backside considerably more -tender- after leaving the oppressive room.

 

It was still worth it, she told herself as she passed even more stairways and corridors. They had no way to prove she was the orchestrator to the prank – even though they must have suspected – so instead, they had to punish her on some made up excuse of “Showing disrespect to a full sister.”
With two weeks of washing dishes and a strapping at the end of it to remind her again of “Proper behaviour in the Tower.” The thought almost made her break into laugher again as she approached the door to her designated classroom.

 

She had arrived slightly late, having skipped breakfast due to her trip to see the Mistress of Novices and for once, Venca seemed to have beaten her to class. A pleased grin was painted across the woman’s face as Ellisha approached her usual seat at the back of the classroom. “Before you say anything,” she said, doing little to hide the wince she felt on her bottom connected with the surface of her chair, “it was still totally worth it.”  Venca gave her a sceptical frown; a small lift of her left eyebrow with a slight tightening of her lips.

 

“Even considering the fact that you’ll be spending your one and only free day washing dirty dishes?”

 

“Yes,” she said, though a part of her churned and turned sour at the thought. You don’t get many free days as a Novice, and you learned to cherish them whenever they came up. 

 

Despite her rather late arrival, the lesson seemed to have yet begun as Novices were still chatting jovially with one another. Ellisha noticed the basket set on top of the teacher’s desk and contemplated what manner of wonders the Accepted had in stall for them today. The woman cleared her throat and the room slowly fell silent. A few late arrival bustled through the open door way and hurriedly took their seats as the Accepted began her lesson.  

 

“Welcome back.” She began, “Today is a very special lesson.” Ellisha raised an eyebrow and found herself leaning slightly forward to stare at the dark haired woman. “You will be using everything you have learned up to this point, and a few new things as well.”  

 

Well that certainly got everyone’s attention, Ellisha thought as out of the corner of her eye she observed the subtle sign of anticipation oozing from the class’s other occupants. The Accepted paused and waited for the girls to stop talking as a few had eagerly begun. She really was beginning to look like an Aes Sedai; the composed face, the cool manner of speaking, Ellisha thought as the black haired woman continued.  

 

“That’s right. Since we can now embrace Saidar and control it, it is time to learn a bit more about its nature, and what can be done with it.” The woman cleared her throat as a round of cheers erupted from a few of the Novice’s throats. Ellisha was growing impatient. The Accepted was being forced to stop more often than she would have liked. When the -cheering- finally died down, Aureli instructed the class to take out their writing equipment and take some more notes.

 

“For the most part, women are stronger in Water and Air, while men are stronger in Fire and Earth. In spirit, we are generally equal.” Again, the Accepted wrote the names of the five different elements on the board and pointed to each of them in turn. “Each element has a different colour, and usually the colours are as follows.
Green for water.” She pointed to the top of the list.
“Blue for air.” Pointed again.
“Brown for earth, Red for fire, and white or silver for spirit.”
She stopped and waited for her students to copy down the information into their notes.

“Some of you may see different colours for each thread.” She continued. “But that does not say anything about your ability, simply that you see the threads differently, just as we all are individuals.”

 

The glow of Saidar suddenly surrounded her and Aureli instructed the class to write down the colours they saw as she will show them each of the weaves in turn.

 

“First is water,” she spun, the weave leaving her hands like a twisting ribbon as it snaked out a few feet in front of her. It was a deep chrysalid blue; like the colour of the ocean. Ellisha watched fascinated as the Accepted controlled the single weave. Though there was no physical change to her hand gestures, the weaves as if of their own accord, turned and twisted into a tiny ball above Aureli’s out stretched palm. Ellisha quickly wrote the colour down before returning her gaze back to the Accepted.

 

“Next will be air.” She said as she spun again. This time a tendril of misty white came out of her hand as Ellisha watched. The thread had a slight touch of grey along its shaft to give it colour, yet looked considerably less -solid- than water had been for her. Ellisha wrote her observations down on the piece of paper. This was followed by Earth and then fire, both of whom she saw the standard colours for.

 

The last was spirit. Aureli raised her hand for the fifth time and a bar of pure white shot from her hand as the Accepted produced the weave. Unlike air, which had seemed to be tinged with hints of grey, spirit reminded her of polished marble which had been cleaned and washed until it shone like the hallways outside.  

 

The weaves dissipated and the note taking began anew. When the sound of quilt scratching on paper had died down, the Accepted asked if anyone saw weaves of different colour. A few eager hands shot instantly into the air and Ellisha gave a few of the Novices, who seemed to be stretching the definition of sitting down, a sideways smirk.  
A short pale skinned girl with black curls on her head; who Ellisha had grown to loath for her insufferably nosey nature, stood up and announced to the class that her weaves looked different. Ellisha had stopped paying attention as soon as she heard the girl saying that her water was blue.

 

After a few of the other novices got their turn to say what they saw different, Aureli walked behind to her desk and gathered up the supplies from it.
“There are rags in this basket. I will pass the basket around the room. Please take one rag and pass the basket on. The last person to have the basket, please make sure it returns to me.” The basket was passed around and when it came around to Ellisha and Venca’s table, they each took one and passed it along to the other side of the room.

 

The woman then retrieved a large bowl and a pitcher of water from the classroom shelf, before pouring the liquid from one into the other. Then with deliberate slowness, she lowered the cloth into the contents of the water.

“To dry this cloth,” she said as she pulled it out and let it drip water back into the waiting bowl. “I will use a weave of Water.  Watch carefully to see how the weaves are combined and what they do.”
Ellisha watched as two ribbons of blue sprang from around the Accepted; their dual tendrils snaking around the cloth until they seemed to settle into the woollen material. Then, the weaves -twisted- and water began dripping down as if physical hands had dried it. When the Accepted held the cloth for them all to see, Ellisha saw it was completely dry.

 

Eager to have a go at whatever it was the Accepted just did.  “Everyone will have a turn at this.” The Accepted said as the Novices all walked up eagerly to wet their rags in the bowl at the front, Ellisha and Venca among them. “Please try not to drip the water outside…”

 

As she dipped her own cloth into the bowl; feeling the cool wet texture soak to her skin and the rag she held, she embraced Saidar and let the source flow into her. Suddenly the water felt wetter, the room looked brighter, and she felt she could sense movement much more keenly than before. She held on to a reasonable amount of the power; feeling it pulse vividly through her veins, but remembered the lessons on self control and released parts of it.

 

She eyed her dripping cloth and began willing herself to channel the one power. Picturing water flying out of her hands didn’t help. The water weaves weren’t -really- water as she had first imagined it, and it took her a few attempts to figure out how to make them appear. Sweat poured from her forehead which she absentmindedly wiped away from her forehead. Maybe I’m thinking about it the wrong way, she thought as she continued to study the rag in her hands. Maybe it is like Saidar.

 

Taking a deep breath, and fighting down a pang of jealousy at seeing some of the other girls having already succeeded in producing water weaves around her, Ellisha tried to relax and let Saidar take her. “I need water,” she thought and miraculously a thin tendril of deep ocean blue appeared from around her wrist. Delighted, she eyed the weave curiously. It was odd. It snaked and curled around her then  hovered a few feet from her; going where she willed it to go, so long as she didn’t force it too hard.  It felt like an extra limb, though the connection was not physical but perhaps psychological. It felt like a pet snake, and that thought made her giggle.

 

Remembering the task at hand and seeing a few of the Novices waiting in line behind her beginning to grow impatient, Ellisha produced another tendril of water around her arm and began going about twisting the cloth in front of her. The fabric of the rag bent slightly though not enough to twist like a knot. Yet as the weaves settled on the fabric, they seemed to lick the droplets off the surface and allow them to fall into the water basin.

 

She smiled to herself as she stepped away from the basin; returning to her seat whilst the other Novices finished up. She still held on to Saidar, letting the warm blanket of awareness wrap her as she sat down in her seat. She winced again, as the wound from her switching sent violent messages to her brain when she sat down. With the heightened awareness that came with holding on to Saidar, Ellisha also felt much more vividly the pain as she wiggled her bottom to a more comfortable position. She played around with the weaves of water as she waited. Apart from gathering moisture from the wood of the tables however, her watery companions seemed unable to do anything else for her –at least for the moment. 

 

A few minutes later Venca returned to the back of the room, her face holding a smile that was as large as Ellisha’s had been. Tendrils of water surrounded her too, though her snakes seemed to appear from somewhere behind her head instead of from the folds of her sleaves.  

“Marvellous.” She breathed, letting out another small giggle as she sat down.
Ellisha gave her a warm smile as she herself felt giddy inside.

 

“Water was fun, wasn’t it?” Ellisha looked up and saw the Accepted continuing on with her lesson, and that the Novices all have had their turn. A wave of nods passed along the row of desks and Ellisha found herself nodding along with them. Next came Air, she thought and true to her predictions the Accepted laid the now dried rag on top of her desk at the front.
“This weave is very handy, especially for someone like me,” she said as she indicated to her stump of a right arm.  “While most of the time, I can find ways around it, only having one arm can be troublesome at times. So, this weave was mine favourite to learn.”

 

Ellisha was still thinking about the nature of the one power and all of its weaves, when the greyish white ribbon of air appeared from around the Accepted and lifted up a corner of the rag. Ellisha eyed the weave carefully; squinting, so she could see its every movement. Her brief examination of the water weave had helped make her mind up about something. The weaves, whether they were air, water, or fire, were not like their real life counterparts.  The water weaves were not really liquid water, so…

 

They must be manipulators of those elements. That was the only explanation she could think of. The one power shapes the world around it.

 

Her suspicions were confirmed when her eyes noticed a small clump of air solidify at the corner of the rag when the Accepted lifted it.  The weaves didn’t produce the winds or water itself. It made the world produce it for them! The grey tendrils disappeared and the air around the cloth returned to normal as it fell back down onto the table.
“Now you will try.”

 

Ellisha took up the weave instantly; though summoning the greyish white snakes seemed to prove slightly more difficult than concurring up their watery brethrens. She allowed the weaves to burrow underneath the rag which she had laid out on the table, and willed it to lift the air. A solid lump of something solidified and began lifting the rag into the air. Ellisha smiled as she watched the thing drift almost lazily in the air. Her eyes widened as reflex made her duck underneath table level; her own weaves dissipating as she broke eye contact.

 

A rag zipped across the room and slammed into the back wall with a resounding ‘slap’, at exactly the spot where Ellisha’s head had been a second ago. She clutched the edge of her seat and slowly stood up; scowling at the girl with the black curls as she trotted up and gave Ellisha a sheepish grin.  One fist grabbing the edge of the girl’s rag, Ellisha threw it at the figure -who caught it- and after another sheepish grin, walked back to her place at the front of the classroom.

 

“Very good, girls, I’m proud of all of you. Please release your rags and release Saidar.” The Accepted said as the glow began disappearing around the room. Feeling more anger rather than regret, Ellisha let go of the source and stared at the back of the girl’s retreating head. What will it be for her? She thought; contemplating wicked punishment she should issue for this one’s insolence. “Mice in her bed? Spiders in her shoe? Ha, I know,” she thought. “Centipedes in her porridge. That usually gets a good scream.” She felt an arm around her and turned to see Venca lift her away from the ground. One look into those large disapproving eyes told Ellisha her friend knew -exactly- what was going through her head at the moment. Well. Venca didn’t like a lot of things Ellisha did, but she still did them anyway. The woman never dobbed her in; which was another feather in her cap.

 

“I’m glad you all enjoyed that. But I want you to keep in mind what we discussed yesterday.” Aureli said, rubbing the writings of today’s lesson off the board with a duster. “Saidar gives us a good feeling, but it is also addictive, and if abused – destructive.   Remember those names you all wrote down.” Ellisha twisted slightly in her seat. She hadn’t written down those names. Light, will she check? She thought and decided it was probably best if she asked Venca’s for her list to copy down – just to be on the safe side.

 

“We don’t impose these rules to be mean. We do it to be safe. Now.” She turned and faced back towards the classroom. “Please be sure all these rags are returned before you leave. Class dismissed.” And with a wave of her left hand, the Novices began getting up from their seats and walking over towards the door; all the while talking excitedly to one another.  Ellisha hesitated then followed them, trailed closely behind by Venca.

 

 

~Ellisha Falwein
Novice of the White Tower.

[Saphira Silvermoon]

This morning's chores had  not been too unpleasant. Nateera wanted to get to class a little bit early if she could. 

"Hopefully," she thought, "we will begin learning weaves very soon. Maybe even today."

 

She took her seat and waited expectantly for Accepted Aureli to begin the class.

 

"Welcome back.  Today is a very special lesson.  That is to say, we'll be learning a lot, and at a faster rate than the last couple of classes.  You will be using everything you have learned up to this point, and new things as well.  Pay attention, and I'm sure you'll be fine.  Please let me know if you need any help."  when she mentioned that today's lesson would be special, some girls sat up straight and waited expectantly.  Others began to giggle and chatter, but she waited until it died down.  By now they knew that when she paused too long, they were being too loud.

 

"That's right," she said.  "Since we can now embrace Saidar and control it, it is time to learn a bit more about its nature, and what can be done with it."  Aureli heard a few girls cheer along with the giggles.  She cleared her throat and moved in front of the desk, quieting them down again.  "Please take out your notes.  As I said, we must learn a bit more before we plunge into practice."

 

"For the most part, women are stronger in Water and Air while men are stronger in Fire and Earth, and in Spirit, we are generally equal.  Each element has a different color.  Usually, the colors are as follows:  green for Water, blue for Air, brown for Earth, red for Fire, and white or silver for Spirit."  She stopped and waited until everyone had finished writing down the information.  

 

"Some of you may see different colors for each thread, but that does not say anything about your ability, simply that you see the threads differently, just as we are all individuals.  So, as I show you these threads, write down what you see."  

 

Nateera noted down everything that Aureli told them. She wrote down the colors that she saw for each element. Water was a shimmering green. Air was a wispy, light blue. Earth was a deep brown. Fire was a bright red-orange. Spirit was a sparkling silver.

 

 

She embraced Saidar and let a good amount, but not a huge amount flow into her.  She waited until everyone was paying attention to her to speak once again.  "You may see a glow around me right now, or you may not.  Do not worry if you don't.  You'll have plenty of time to see it in your studies.  This glow is called 'the glow of Saidar.'  You will see it around any woman holding Saidar.  Remember that you are in a Tower full of women who can channel, so watch for it."  Some novices stared at her in concentration, others nodded in recognition.  But there were other matters at hand, so she moved on.

 

She could see the glow around Aureli now and decided to patiently look for it in others within the White Tower.

 

She took a rag and passed the basket on to the next girl. When her turn to try the weave came, Nateera placed her rag in the water, tried to make the weaves, but failed on the first try. It took her several attempts to get it right. 

Why can't I do this on one try? Maybe I need to twine them together. Much better!

 

The next weave taught was Air. She laid her rag on her desk as flatly as she couldand wove Air just as Aureli had shown them. Her first attempt was perfect. She let the rag drop and released Saidar as instructed. She could hardly wait for the next lesson.

 

Smiling to herself, Nateera left the classroom in the best mood that she had enjoyed for several days.

[Hayl3y]

Again Myrrhi had tried to be the first one in the classroom. This time, unfortunately it had failed. An Accepted had stopped her on her way to ask her to deliver some books to one of the Brown Sisters. The girl had not dared refused, but never had she ran faster. She didn't want to miss even one minute of the lesson. There was so much to learn. 

 

The last few free hours she had spent in her bedroom, she had spent them with a great book. Like the previous ones she had "swallowed" so fast, it was a book about wars and battles. She was in awe reading about the destiny of those soldiers, generals and commanders. Hoping to find something as interesting in the pile she had to carry, she had lost some time trying to read all the titles. Some were in a strange tongue and the others ...well ... they weren't about wars nor battles. There weren't even novels ! It was a little disappointed that she gave the Sisters her books and that she hurried back to the classroom. She'd definitely have to go to the library again.

 

When she entered the classroom, Myrrhi saw that Aureli had fortunately not arrived yet. She took the first seat she saw, near the door. So she'd be able to get out faster at the end of the lesson. What wouldn't she do to be able to go through the garden one more time before starting her next chores? It was sunny outside and she couldn't resist taking full advantage of good weather, as far as a Novice could take advantage of it, of course.

 

It didn't take long for the Accepted to open the door though. The Novices stood like one man... or more like one woman in a heartbeat. They all noticed that their teacher was carrying a basket of rags but Myrrhi was one of the few who didn't dare move nor mention anything. She still kept her lips shut and her head straight towards the board as a servant entered the classroom with a large pitcher of water.  It looked quite mysterious. What are we going to do today? Are we going to channel water? Myrrhi was so concentrated on the basket and the pitcher now that she didn't see the servant going away. It was the sound of her classmates that make her stop musing. Some of them had started to ask questions, some others  had been giggling. A total lack of respect, she thought.

 

The chatter became lower and lower, but when Aureli mentioned that today's class would be special, it started to get louder again.

 

It took five more minutes and a gentle scowl of the Accepted for the class to be completely silent.

 

"For the most part, women are stronger in Water and Air while men are stronger in Fire and Earth, and in Spirit, we are generally equal.  Each element has a different color.  Usually, the colors are as follows:  green for Water, blue for Air, brown for Earth, red for Fire, and white or silver for Spirit." 

 

Myrrhi started writing delicately the few important words. Near each element, she wrote the corresponding color. Spirit is silver ... strange, i would have pictured it purple.

 

"Some of you may see different colors for each thread, but that does not say anything about your ability, simply that you see the threads differently, just as we are all individuals.  So, as I show you these threads, write down what you see."  

 

Aureli embraced Saidar and channeled. As predicted by the Accepted, Myrrhi saw a glow around her teacher. This glow would mark any woman holding Saidar.  Myrrhi remembered what Deana had told her on the way to the Tower and grinned. It was because of this glow that she had been practicing only a couple of times in secret. Three times had she dared already. She was looking forward to the fourth time. But this one would be hard. She had so many chores to take care of now, that she had barely the time to find the time to go into the deapest parts of the gardens.

 

Aureli started by channeling water. Surprisingly, Myrrhi didn't see any green thread. The only color she saw was a  light and inviting blue, like a cloudless sky in summer. Myrrhi wrote the color she had seen and scratched the mention "green" she had written a couple of minutes before. She rolled her eyes. Maybe we could have started by this so I wouldn't have had to do any scratching...

 

Then, the class was invited to take a rag in basket just like the Accepted had done. Aureli then lowered her rag in a bowl of water. It seemed that the soaked cloth could be dried by water weaves. It sounded quiet weird as Myrrhi would have chosen air threads of fire to do the job. But the teacher managed to dry the cloth in to time and to send the water into a bowl. It had been quite impressive. After some more explanations, the class was asked to do the same. Myrrhi concentrated very hard on doing things exactly like her teacher but she only succeeded on her third attempt. Frustrated and blushing, she tried not to look at her classmates. Some would be laughing at her, she was certain of it.

.

Next step where the Air weaves. Aureli explained that due to her missing arm, the Air weaves were her favorite but also the more useful for her on a daily basis. To prove it, she opened herself to Saidar and channeled some threads of air at the cloth. It danced gracefully into the classroom. No blue, thought Myrrhi. But silver.  Again, she scratched her notes sighing.

 

Once again, the class was asked to do the same. And it is with a lot of joy that she took her turn to practice. This time, things went better. So well that she became quite sad to have to let go of Saidar.

 

The lesson was at its end. The Novices were reminded once more of how addictive and dangerous channeling was. Some asked question to the teacher about the Water and the Air, some others about why the power would be so addictive. Myrrhi didn't really pay attention. The only thing she had in mind was that she wanted to try out Fire and Earth to see their color. And so Spirit could be purple, she thought. Without waiting she scratched the word silver on her parchment.

 

After the servant had come back to take care of the basket and pitcher, the class was dismissed and Myrrhi was the first one out of the room.

 

[Cass]

Thayetta watched quietly as Aureli took her spot at the front of the room and began to address the class. Her hands still stung from the previous afternoon's mishap, and she let the sting remind her - sharply - to pay attention the entire time.

 

"Each element has a different color. Usually, the colors are as follows: green for Water, blue for Air, brown for Earth, red for Fire and white or silver for Spirit... Some of you may see different colors for each thread, but that does not say anything about your ability, simply that you see the threads differently, just as we are all individuals. So, as I show you these threads, write down what you see."

 

 

A faint glow suddenly surrounded Aureli, and Thayett smiled. I see it! ... Glow of Saidar... She opened her stinging palms once again to the crisp air in the room, the pain of her burns reminding her not to get carried away, however much the power beckoned.

 

"I will show you each of the Five Powers one at a time... First is Water...Remember, if you see a different color than green, you should write that color, not the one that is more common..."

 

Thayett watched and noted as each of the Powers was shown.

 

Water - Blue-Green. It was blue but not blue, green but not green; the sort of green she imagined the sea would be, from the stories in her books - an ever-changing, simultaneously dull and still-bright colour that swirled with depth and power, spoke of speed and strength. Watching it churn in the thread channeled by Aureli, Thayetta shivered slightly in her seat.

 

AIr - Blue. A bright, clear, electric blue. Air pulsed and danced along the thread the teacher channeled, and Thayetta couldn't help but smile.

 

Earth - Brown. Thayetta squinted, staring intently at the pale thread at the front of the room. For some reason, it was hard for her to see, compared with the threads she'd seen for Air and Water. She shrugged, and watched as Aureli discarded the thread and began channeling another.

 

Fire - Red. A flaming, bursting, burning, glowing, radiating glorious red, with an internal orange hue and a vibrant golden aura. It sparkled and shone, and Thayetta's face burst into a radiant smile. This! It was the way she pictured her little internal fire-flower - the key to opening herself to Saidar - brought to life! She wrote the letters R-E-D with a shaking hand, her bright eyes fixed on the thread like flame, and concentrated on not opening herself up to Saidar on the spot. It would not do to have her notebook burst into flame if she got careless like yesterday afternoon. She looked away, and waited until Aureli announced the following Power.

 

Spirit - Silver. It shimmered and shone, translucent and yet obviously strong. Thayet smiled some more. It was beautiful. They all were. She set her pen down, and waited her turn as the others in the class mentioned the colours they'd seen.

 

 

 

When that was done, she took a rag from the basket and passed the basket on, as instructed. She watched as Aureli filled a bowl with water, and lowered her own rag into the water. 

 

"To dry this cloth, I'll use a weave of Water. Watch carefully to see how the weaves are combined and what they do."

 

Thayett watched.

 

"Everyone will have a turn at this. Please try not to drip the water outside the bowl."

 

At her turn, Thayetta approached the bowl nervously with her rag. She saturated it and held it up. With wide eyes she embraced the source, her little flower-flame budding and flickering and bursting into life. She felt the glow surround her, settle every nervous muscle in her down. She concentrated, and carefully, ever so carefully, constructed the weaves she had watched Aureli and the other girls make. It hadn't made sense at first, how Water could dry water from a cloth, but eventually, watching closely, Thayetta had begun to see. The Water weaves created a sort of shield either side of the water-logged cloth, and, when squeezed correctly, encouraged the water to drip between them and back into the bowl. She applied the weaves carefully, and, excitedly, encouraged them to squeeze. Drops of water began running from her cloth, between the blue-green shields of Water, and dripping into the bowl. Thayett grinned, and abruptly the blue-green weaves dissipated. Water splashed everywhere but into the bowl. Embarrassed, Thayett cleaned up her mess and tried again. This time she concentrated until the task was done - successfully, with a minimum of mess. Pleased, she smiled shyly and returned to her seat to watch the other girls give the task a go.

 

When all the girls had done their weaves with Water, Aureli introduced them to the weaves they were to learn for Air. She lay the dry rag on the desk as flat as she was able, and using a strand of Air, lifted it off the desk. "Now you may all try."

 

Thayett looked intently at her rag on the desk. She embraced Saidar again, even more naturally this time, and, remembering how she had watched the teacher do it, she channeled forth a strand of Air. Carefully, with her tongue stuck firmly at the corner of her mouth, she fashioned the end of the strand to the corner of the rag, and pulled it sharply up. Nothing happened. On the third go the rag fluttered up off the desk and then tumbled clumsily down. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough to make Thayetta proud. 

 

"Very good, girls, I'm proud of all of you. Please release your rags and release Saidar." With a sigh, Thayetta did as she was told, the stinging returning to the burns on the palm of her hands at the very same time Aureli reminded them that Saidar could be destructive, and that it was important to obey the rules. Even though her disobedience the day before had not been intentional, Thayetta looked down in embarrassment and shame, wondering if the teacher was aiming the lecture at her, wondering if she knew. The names she'd written from the board burned in her mind. Her palms kept stinging. Her cheeks turned red. Even without the extra reminder, the words certainly had hit home.

 

"Now. Please be sure all these rags are returned before you leave. Class dismissed."

 

Thayetta didn't need to be told twice. She snapped shut her notebook, dropped her rag into the basket and sped from the room, eager to leave the lessons and the lectures for another day.