Intro to Saidar - Group 1 Class 2: First Touch - COMPLETED

[Elgee]

Larindhra waited behind her weave of Folded Light for the last novice to seat herself, then used flows of Air to slam the window shutters closed, eliciting a few gasps and squeaks from the girls. Now the only light in the classroom came from the candles in the wall sconces, but those were snuffed out easily, plunging the room into total darkness.  She waited a few moments, allowing the shrieks to quieten down, before creating several large Globes of Light, spacing them evenly around the room. A simple trick, but the room was filled with oohs and aahs. Finally she dissolved the weave behind which she had been hiding and stepped forward, to the pop-eyed amazement of her class.

 

“Impressive, wasn’t it? Would you like to learn how to do that?” Eager nods swept around the class, which had been the whole point.  No need to tell them that most of the weaves were simple and easily done: the show had them all sitting up and paying attention; even Deanne. “Well, before you can do those, you first need to learn how to open yourself to the Source. Shall we start?” More eager nods and ”Oh yes Larindhra Sedai’”s echoed around the room. Smiling, she reached down for the basket filled with roses she had picked earlier, and started handing them out. Red roses, of course. “You are wondering why each of you gets three roses.  Note that they are in the three stages of development: a closed bud, a half-open one, and a fully open one.  I want you to study each one, until you can see them with your eyes closed, every single petal. Don’t roll your eyes at me, Deanne,” she said without looking at the girl, eliciting a startled gasp, “just do it.”

 

She walked slowly back to the front of the class and sat down, waiting a few minutes as each girl studied the flowers before her.  “Just as the bud opens its petals to allow the warmth of the sun to suffuse it, so you will learn to open yourself to the light of Saidar.  Close your eyes, breath in … hold that breath … now breath out slowly … breath in… that’s right, you are all doing well.  Now, every time you breath out, I want you to imagine your muscles relaxing – a little more every time you breath out.“ Larindhra repeated the simple exercise until they all looked totally relaxed and almost asleep. “Now imagine yourself as the bud. Allow your petals to open, slowly … ever so slowly … allow the warmth and light in …” Larindhra let her voice drone on, soothing and low, all the while watching them with a hawk’s eye in case one actually managed to touch the Source. Where one managed that, she stepped close to the girl and talked to her in a low voice so as not to disturb the concentration of the others.

 

Larindhra Reyne

Mistress of Novices

 

OOC: I will do this in 2 posts, giving you all time to put your own reactions and actions in, then I will respond again afterwards.  You’re welcome to run your ideas past me via pm, email or MSN, so we can co-ordinate. :D

Your character need not manage to open to the Source during this first lesson, btw  :D

 

[Kara_J]

Now this was what Deanne had been waiting for! She'd waited patiently (somewhat) and had put up with that silly, ill-fitting, itchy uniform that Larindhra had given her, not to mention her two new room mates. Deanne rolled her eyes at the thought of those two. But today was when she was going to learn how to Channel!

 

She was first into the classroom, which was a first in itself. Glancing around she took the seat she always did, nearest the window, and awaited the arrival of the rest of the class and whoever was going to be teaching this lesson.

 

The girls muttered quietly between themselves but still there was no sign of the lecturer then, all of a sudden, the window shutters slammed shut making Deanne and not a few of the other girls to jump and squeal. Next, and just as suddenly, the candles all went out leaving the room in the dark. Deanne wasn't scared of the dark normally but this was unexpected and she bit her bottom lip, grateful for the darkness in that it hid the blush on her cheeks. 

 

Eventually the room quietened down and then globes of light appeared around the room causing oohs and aahs from everyone including Deanne. She sat up straight for once. This must be Channelling! Her jaw dropped when Larindhra materialised from an empty corner of the room.

 

Eagerly Deanne awaited what was going to happen next..her mind already full of the things she would be able to do. Uncertain as to what the Roses she received were for, she rolled her eyes at the explanation given by Larindhra and then gasped at the telling off she got. The woman must have eyes in the back of her head! Staring at roses? What in the Light for?

 

 

Obediently, for once, she stared at the roses until their forms were imprinted on the back of her eyelids...she was certain she'd end up dreaming about them! Deanne let Larindhra's voice roll over her and she followed the instructions until she felt like dropping off. In her minds eye she saw the rosebud, petals blood red, like a ruby....once I'm Aes Sedai I'll have rubies and emeralds and all kinds of precious gems! Kings and Princes will be queueing up to give me...no...you're getting distracted! Concentrate! Get a grip!

 

Giving herself a shake and a mental telling off, she concentrated once again on the roses, and on Larindhra's instructions. She stared and stared at the blooms until she started to get a headache, but still no evidence of her embracing the Source would come. She stamped a foot in frustration and started over once more.

 

 

She felt like crying...it wasn't meant to be this hard, was it?

 

[Sylvirci]

Masuko had been practicing that quiet clearing of her mind for days and was getting frustrated. She would get to a point where she could almost feel...something but something always caught her away from it before she was sure it was even there. Completely frustrated and feeling like something was missing she went to the next class.

 

Sitting down she noticed that only one other girl was there yet. Sitting in the front of the class near the desk she started to clear her mind and waited, somewhat impatiently for it to start.

 

After the other girls were there she was surprised when the shutters closed and the lights were winked out. She thought she could almost sense something tickling her mind in her calm center but then the lights started up and her attention was dragged away as she stared in awe. Seeing the Mistress appear from nowhere at this point didn't faze her in the least, she was however full of desire to learn how to do that trick though.

 

Listening to Larindhra Sedai as she explained the roses and instructed them in how to touch the Source, Masuko was insulted that she had missed that she needed a focus point. That's it! Something to focus on! I should have realized that the stone had been the focus of the test and now we are to use roses. Can I use something other then roses though? The Mistress did when she teste me so why not? The disappointment and anger with herself was evident on her face for a moment before she brushed it aside and replaced it with a strong look of determination.

 

With those thoughts rattling through her mind she memorized the roses. Thinking quickly she decided to think of something from her childhood that could be slowly brought to light in her mind. Thinking of a hawk slowly speading it's wing, she picture every feather and detail of the hawk's beautiful figure in a swooping pose. She held it so perfectly in her mind that the sudden sense of enhanced life and power went unnoticed until the Mistress of Novices was standing by her side and whispering something in her ear. Holding on to the image and hence the Source she turned and with a look of extreme concentration said softly, " I'm sorry Larindhra Sedai, could you repeat that please?"

[Jehaine]

Jerinia went to sit down at her usual place near the window, waiting for class to start again. Much to her satisfaction, she didn't spot the Aes Sedai that was going to be teaching them this time. Maybe she was finally starting to get good at this 'time management' thing!

 

She was looking at the door when the shutters banged shut. Startled, she reached to grab some scraps of parchment with noted scribbled on them, muttering to herself for not having noticed the draft until it was too late. The room became brighter again, but it wasn't until she looked up that she noticed that the source wasn't coming from hastily lit lamps either.

 

Almsot mesmerised, she stared at the globes before noticing Larindhra step out from... well, whatever it was she was hiding, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out what it was. Would this be that One Power thing everyone was going on about? Making a mental note to lock the door next time she went out to take a bath, she listened to the Mistress of Novices again.

 

Jerinia looked at the roses that were now lying on her desk in front of her. They were pretty, and reminded her of the orange ones her grandmother somehow managed to survive despite Malkier's harsh winters. She had a thing with plants, she did.

 

A smile crept on her face from the fond memories, and she looked at the rose again, trying to recall what the differences were between the orange ones she had grown up with and this red one she had here. Looking at the differences, she tried to picture the two slowly opening up, simply watching as she looked at the differences between the two starting to take shape.

 

She imagined more of the garden around herself, watching the two roses start to bloom in more natural surroundings. Feeling the sun on her back, she relaxed, letting the warmth of it soak into her. Both roses had, by now, opened fully, basking in the light of the sun as much as she was, feeling the warmth of its rays flow into her...

 

Feeling the warmth...

 

Warm...

 

A somewhat odd sensation made her pop her eyes open just in time to see some of the parchment she had brought into class with her burst into flame, causing her to fall backward with chair and all to hit the ground with a dull thud, and reach for the back of her head with both hands.

 

- "GYAH! Ow ow ow ow..." >_<

 

Just then, she froze, realising just what exactly had managed to startle her. Jumping up, she looked at what had caught fire just now, and started to try and beat out the flames, only managing to send scraps of burning parchment drifting through the classroom.

 

- "NOOOOOO!! I was still supposed to copy those for Halima Sedaaiiiii!" o.O;

[Elgee]

Larindhra meandered slowly between the novices, droning her instructions, and now and then stopping by one and whispering corrections or encouragement.  Unsurprisingly, the young Masuko was the first to come close to opening to the source.  She had found that the older a girl was, the harder it seemed for her to surrender. She herself had struggled for many weeks, before being able to. Leaning down, she whispered to Masuko, keeping her voice even so as not to startle her. “That’s right, feel the flow through you, the flow of the Power …” Maybe she’d been whispering too softly, since Masuko asked her to repeat what she had said.  It was enough to distract her momentarily from the others, at just the wrong moment.  She felt someone actually channelling and whipped around in time to see the parchment in front of Jerinia burst into flames, and the girl herself toppling backwards, hitting her head on the floor with a thump.

 

Larindhra bit off an oath, more at herself than at the novice: these things happened, if the Aes Sedai teaching didn’t pay close enough attention.  She flung a shield at Jerinia, cutting her off from the Source just in case she tried something else in her panic, but left the papers to burn.   “Leave those be, child,” she barked at the girl as she deftly smothered the fires, then gathered the bits of parchment to her with flows of Air. “Well, there is still a bit that’s legible here and there, but I think you will have to pray to the Light that Halima Sedai has another copy somewhere, or remembers what exactly was in this one.” She handed the charred bits to Jerinia, then addressed the whole class:

 

“None of you will be able to distinguish the flows yet, but I’ll explain what I did nevertheless.  I could have used Water to extinguish the fire, but that would have destroyed the parchment completely, so I used Fire and Spirit to draw the heat away. All of you pay attention: Never never EVER try to draw fire or flame into yourself – you’ll be lucky if you just burn severely.  You draw the heat away into something ELSE, as you would dump a bucket of live coals into a fireplace – you would never pick the coals up with your hands, would you?”

 

Turning back to Jerinia, she softened her tone slightly. “You have done well in opening to the Source, child – I hope you understand better now why you must NEVER try this without proper supervision? I hope you all understand this?” She collapsed the shield around Jerinia. “Now, let’s all try this one more time, but remember: do not try to do anything with the Source, just allow it to fill you!”

 

Larindhra Reyne

Mistress of Novices

 

OOC: I will post once more after everyone else has posted once, stating that we will resume on the morrow.  Please work into your post whether you were able to touch the source or not - those who weren't able to, will have to succeed in a private lesson with their Mentor, or after my final post as if it were during a following lesson.

 

[Elgee]

Esther hurried to the classroom as fast as she dared, fuming at the scolding she’d just received from an Accepted about the mess in their bedroom.  Flaming Deanne and her flaming … Light, now she has me swearing like a stablehand! There had been nothing for it but to clean up after Deanne, but they were going to have words.  Oh yes they were! How anyone could create such chaos out of nothing was beyond her! Skidding to a halt by the door, she entered at a more sedate pace, only to spot the … cow … already seated and looking smug as … Esther ground her teeth, wishing she had the courage to walk up to the girl and slap her silly.

 

Flinging herself down in one of the front seats, she took some deep breaths to try and calm herself, just as the last members of the class filed in.  They were hardly seated, when the shutters banged shut, then the candles abruptly went out. Esther squeaked just as loudly as the others, following that up with a gasp as balls of light suddenly appeared out of nowhere.  Her mouth, which had just begun to close, fell back open as Larindhra Sedai appeared out of nowhere in one corner of the classroom. Esther stared at her in awe; she had heard of wondrous things done with the power, but she’d not seen much of it thus far. She nodded eagerly along with everyone else, then fell to studying the roses in front of her. 

 

Of course, Larindhra Sedai HAD to mention Deanne’s name, fanning Esther’s anger yet again.  Gritting her teeth, she set about following the instructions, breathing deeply and evenly, relaxing her muscles, picturing the rosebud unfurling. Again and again, she tried, imaging the light filling the opening petals, striving … A loud thump and a yell made her jump in her seat, head swivelling around to see a clump of papers burning on a desk, and a novice on the floor. Esther stared wide-eyed as Jerinia wailed about having to copy that for someone, but abruptly the flames winked out in mid-air, and soon everything was returned to calm again. She nodded vigorously when Larindhra asked if they understood now why they shouldn’t try this without supervision: she wouldn’t even THINK about it!

 

Trying to achieve the calmness of before proved impossible, though, no matter how she strived. Which turned out to be the wrong thing to do, it seemed.  It wasn’t long before Larindhra dismissed the class,  and Esther could only hope that the next day’s lesson would go better.  Surely it wouldn’t take her WEEKS to learn this? Frustration filled her as she trudged out of the class, heading towards yet more chores.

 

Esther Tremaine

Novice

 

[Jehaine]

Still rubbing a sore spot on the back of her head, Jerinia mumbled something unintelligeble as Larindhra mentioned the parchment being at least partially without hope. It wasn't until the older woman mentioned touching the Source again that she found out that the feeling that had filled her before the fire started was gone again.

 

Shaking her head softly at what she believed would be yet another trip to the Mistress of Novices' office, she gave the other students a weak apologetic smile before sitting down again. Some of them were looking a bit annoyed with her for succeeding so swiftly compared to them, but she ignored said looks and decided to just focus on that Source thing again.

 

Taking GREAT care in not having that sunlight fill her up again, she imagined the orange rose again, though every time she could start to feel the sunlight, she quickly ended the mental image of the rose, more than a little afraid to throw the class into chaos once again. Having Halima Sedai angry at her was bad enough without giving Larindhra Sedai a reason to as well.

[Taymist]

She was nervous. Her hands lay in her lap, fingers tightly entwined as her eyes remained resolutely glued on the door. Where IS she?

 

A few minutes later a familiar figure came rushing through in great haste and a smile broke across Kiyi’s face in relief. Esther was never late which was strange enough but she also looked extremely angry! Kiyi couldn’t fail to miss the hard glare that her friend aimed at Deanne and her heart sank. What’s that spoiled madame done this time? There was no time to talk though. Just as the last arrivals hurriedly took their seats, all kinds of strange things began to happen in the class room and Kiyi’s eyes widened more with each new development. Finally, Larindhra Sedai appeared, apparently out of… well out of nothing… and the young girl was hard pressed to keep her eyes in their sockets. Would they be able to do that one day? It was a heady notion and she kept her gaze fixed intently on Larindhra, listening with care to the instructions they were all given along with the roses.

 

Relaxing was no easy feat but Kiyi shut out all the other distractions and concentrated solely on the soothing tones of the Sister’s voice while she built up the detailed picture in her mind. Gradually her muscles eased off and she could see a perfect rose, an exact copy in fact of the one cook had grown under the kitchen window at home. Imagining it opening was fairly simple too with her memory for details but she certainly wasn’t feeling anything war…

 

“OH!” she exclaimed involuntarily, shocked as she was suddenly filled by a new and wondrous feeling. It was like having her whole being flooded with light ….  and then it was gone again just as quickly, leaving her bereft. Crestfallen, Kiyi began to focus on creating the rose picture once more, determined to succeed and experience that incredible sensation for longer. A loud thud and a startled yell scattered her thoughts however and she turned to see what was going on to her right. Her jaw dropped as she spied the burning papers and realized that one of the other novices was responsible.

 

The Mistress of Novices quickly restored order and calm before addressing the entire class. The various faces showed that the warning had been heeded, backed up as it was by a lingering smell of smoke on the air. It made Kiyi take far more care on her next attempt but try as she might, she couldn’t duplicate her first success.

 

As the class came to an end, she trailed Esther out of the room berating herself about trying harder but with a glimmer of hope still remaining from her initial sense of Saidar, finally believing that she did truly have the ability to learn about this amazing power.

 

 

 

[Elgee]

Larindhra took the novices through the simple exercise a few more times, until they all looked exhausted.  It would take time for them to build up their stamina and learn perfect control of their powers. The important thing now was discipline: they had to learn to obey instructions, in full and to the letter, and not a thing more. Worse things could happen than a parchment burned, otherwise.

 

“That will be all for today, children.  We will be repeating this exercise daily for the following weeks, until you can all manage it without effort.  And remember what I said about not trying anything without proper supervision!” She gave them a stern look, then waved them out. She pulled Jerinia aside as the girl drew level with her.

 

“Child, I know you are trying very hard, and most of your … mishaps … seem to be unintentional, but you have to learn to concentrate!”  She sighed, looking at the woebegone face before her.  Jerinia really did try. “Maybe raking patterns in the garden paths will help you.  Fifty Aes Sedai symbols per path should do it.  We’ll see how your concentration has improved after a week. And don’t forget to report to Halima Sedai.”  She dismissed the novice with an encouraging pat on the back.

 

 

Larindhra Reyne

Mistress of Novices