The three (not so) wise men (Attn: Geirrin, Martyn and Kassian)

[Covai Seriba]

Covai sat on the stump of a tree at the edge of the training grounds. He was still in a foul mood from yesterday, although his temperment had eased somewhat. He didn't blame the soldiers themselves for bringing this mood about, Covai knew it was his own way of thinking that had turned his mood dark, something he wasn't completely regretfully about. It had a habit of making him serious and focus attention when he needed it the most. Guardians had their ideals to defend as well.

 

Nodding silently in acknowledgement as each of the three soldiers turned up, Covai was pleased to see not a smiling face amongst them. Either they realised what was happening, or they were just too scared to appear unfocused. Either way would do this morning.

 

"Like I said yesterday, each of you is going to learn to kill, and I'll be the one showing you how. I will show you how to end the live of another living being, both those who can fight back, and those that can't." Covai could feel his gut turn at the latter. It probably sounded heartless to the men before him, but Covai was referring to striking before your opponent could defend. Still, if they took his meaning in a darker meaning... so be it."

 

"There are five elements to Saidin. Fire, Earth, Spirt, Air and Water. The first are an Asha'man's strongest allies. The latter, the weaker. I don't know how much experience or exposer to killing you three have, but you'll have more than you'll care to soom enough, so get used to the idea. It may just save your own life on day."

 

"Now I want each of you to give me a method to kill someone with each of the five elements. Simple or creative, it doesn't matter, as long as they're dead in the end. If you don't know the weaves it doesn't matter, just think of each element as its own inspiration. If you can't think of one element, move onto the next. I wont except poor imagination as an excuse for failure"

 

OOC: Lets see what you guys can come up with.

[Talavin]

OOC: Oh, if only Ze'el were openly evil, I could have so much fun with this ;)

 

IC: Ze'el had no problem with killing, whether it be those who could defend themselves or those who couldn't. After all, he had killed the boy that tormented him, and his father, both of whom could defend themselves. After which, he killed his mother, who could not defend herself. He had plenty of experience in killing, and enjoyed it quite a lot. Unfortunately, Kassian did not have experience in killing, and was meek and afraid of hurting someone. Supressing a sigh, Ze'el listened to his instructions.

 

Ze'el could think of many destructive and enjoyable ways to kill someone with all of the elements. You could burn them, crush them with earth, drown them with water, club them with air... He wasn't quite sure what you could do with spirit, but surely there was some way- he just didn't know enough about the power. You could throw lightning at them, suspend them from three house lengths above the ground and drop them, boil their insides, stab them with weapons of air, fire, and earth. There were so many ways to kill a man with the power that it was unimaginable to choose just one. Unfortunately his mask, Kassian, would not be so inventive, and so he had to think of the most boring way to kill someone.

 

Kassian had experience with burning, after all his parents supposedly perished in a darkfriend's flames. Using this to his advantage, Ze'el answered the Asha'man's question. "I-I supose you could... could burn them... using Fire." Ze'el spoke hesitantly, wanting to appear as if he was adverse to the idea of killing someone. 

[Sieve]

After yesterday Geirrin wanted to make sure that he was not the object of the Storm Leader's attention.  His listened as the Storm Leader spoke of what they would be, of what they would do in service to the Black Tower.  He had never killed anyone let alone thought of killing anyone.  He grimaced when Covai mentioned killing someone who couldn't even fight back. 

 

"There are five elements to Saidin. Fire, Earth, Spirt, Air and Water. The first are an Asha'man's strongest allies. The latter, the weaker. I don't know how much experience or exposer to killing you three have, but you'll have more than you'll care to soom enough, so get used to the idea. It may just save your own life on day."  Light would he ever be comfortable with killing someone.  He did not think killing shadowspawn would be an issue but what about another person. 

 

"Now I want each of you to give me a method to kill someone with each of the five elements."

 

It took him a while to think of ways to kill someone with each of the elements.  "Well I suppose you sould smother them removing the air they breathe."  He tried to think of another way with one of the other elements.  He thought of someone drowning "Could you fill someone's lungs with water?" sounding more like a question.  "Using Earth I would probably just crush them.  With fire I would just shoot a bar of fire through their chest."

 

He tried to think of something for the last..."I cannot think of anything with Spirit that would kill unless you could manipulate them to hurt themselves?"  Again that was more of a question, he was uncertain if it were possible or how to create such a weave. 

[Jehaine]

Martyn didn't flinch when Covai mentioned killing, another benefit of having been a Borderland soldier so many years ago. The only difference this time was that it was all saidin-related, but he didn't allow himself to think about that little detail. The question as asked was how to die to the elements, which in itself allowed him to work around involving saidin into the picture.

 

- "You can burn them with Fire, impale them with spikes of Earth, crush them with Air, drown them with Water... and didn't that Traveling weave cut through anything? I recall having heard that was Spirit..."

 

Of the lot, he only had experience with Earth and Water. The earthen spikes was what he had used saving his life in Malkier, though he hadn't even been aware of being able to channel at the time. And he had helped interrogate Darkfriends on occasion, and one of the ways of getting them to talk was to almost drown them until they did. Cruel, true, but necessary. It didn't bother him how much creativity the others had in finding ways to kill someone. One of the favorite quotes from a Captain he had once served with was 'Knowing how to kill doesn't make you a murderer', words he was more than grateful for ever since he had discovered he could channel.

 

 

Martyn

Not an Asha'man

[Covai Seriba]

Covai nodded at Geirrin' suggestion. "It is possible to drown a man using Saidin. It's a harder weave than it sounds, considering Asha'man having a general weakness with water. I've done it once while the man was drinking so it wasn't obvious, but it took more out of me at the time than I'll care to admit."

 

"Burn with fire, impale with earth. You can basically take those as your two main weapons. Crushing someone with air is possible, but beyond the reach of most Asha'man here at the tower. There are a few who could do it though. Geirrin's more on track with smothering them, like using a pillow or such." Tapping his nose and mouth for demonstration Covai continued "These are the only two places a man can breath from, so that's the only area your weave needs to be focused on. It'll take a lot less effort, and you'll still get the same effect."

 

Covai scratched a small itch that was forming near his lower back. "To be honest, using Travelling as a weapon...its possible in theory. I've seen two soldiers cut in half due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That why the travelling ground is marked off. We don't want it happening again." Covai couldn't help but allow a small grin to appear. "To be honest though, I think you're the first to actually consider it as an attack weave. Considering the power and concentration required, I wouldn't suggest it though. I learnt from Jarron himself, and if you think about it, you need to know the location you're travelling from in order to make the weave, so I doubt it'll ever see use in combat." Covai was still impressed with the idea though. He'd have to have a word with the Attack and Storm Leaders and see if they had any thoughts.

 

"Spirit is probably the hardest to control of all, but it doesn't mean its the hardest to use. Spirit can be used to control the muscles and nerves inside the body. Our healers have used it as a form of painkiller for a while when treating injuries. A while ago an overly eager Dedicated though he'd try a variation of it on a soldier and ended up making the man's heart explodd, dropping him dead on the stop. We killed the man, but not before he hit a few Asha'man with the weave before capture. As far as we can tell, the weave was inexperienced and unrefined. One Asha'man's heart stopped beating, and two others merely reported a tingling sensation. Dalinarius told me it was an overload of the body's senses, but considering the complexity of the human body, it was too hard to control.

 

"In otherwords, as a final gambit, send a ball of spirit as big as you can into your opponent. If you're lucky, it'll either kill them, or stop them long enough to run a blade through them. Try it outside of serious combat though, and I, or any other Asha'man will have your head before you can blink."

 

Standing up, Covai motioned to the six manikins behind him. "There are two manikins for each of you to practice with. We'll be starting with Earth, one of a Guardian's greatest strengths. I want to see your technique, speed, and power. At my signal, and NOT before..." Covai emphasised his point strongly "...seize the source and impale the manikin with a spike of earth. You won't always be wrapped in Saidin when you're attacked. Just as a swordsman who can't unsheath his sword, an Asha'man who can't use his greatest weapon readily is useless. Arrows and blades can still kill you, One Power or no."

 

Waving the men into a line, Covai waited quietly as the men watched him. Waiting for a few minutes to unsettle the men, Covai barked his first command. "NOW!"

 

 

 

OOC: Take turns with this guys. If any of you have a block, or want to RP some difficulty seizing Saidin, now's the time to do it. Covai wont be impressed, but he wont kill you either ;P Hopefully you'll like what I have planned for fire afterwards :D I'll need one volunteer who can channel well.

 

[Sieve]

Geirrin listened as Covai spoke about their answers.  He gave other examples and explained how ine might accomplish the methods which that had each brought up.  Geirrin tucked all the information away, they were being made into weapons so this information would certainly come in handy.  Geirrin was enamored with the one power,  he wanted to learn it all yet he did not know about all this business about becoming a weapon for the light.  He had never used a weapon before let alon on someone else though he was being moulded into one.  He could destroy a manaquin like nobody's business though had never really though about the fact that one day it would not be a manaquin, how would he feel then, would he care?

 

Travelling, now that was something that he wanted to learn.  He would have to ask about that, from Covai's description of it it required a lot of power and concentration, so that meant it was probably restricted to Asha'man.  Once he learned though he could travel anywhere.  Imagine suddenly appearing on the docks in Tear or back home.  Light he would have to be careful with that he thought as Covai spoke of seeing two soldiers cut in two.  As mysterious as saidin was it was also very dangerous.  He had be reminded of that often enough.  Several mishaps in his own training had left him in need healing.  Mishaps happened but being foolish with the power led to swift punishment.  Losses were expected but unnecessary losses were frowned upon.  The more weapons that made it to the last battle the better. 

 

Something else he would have to ask Covai about.  The Storm Leader had met Jarron himself, The Dragon Reborn, the man responsible for the Black Tower and the amnesty on men who could channel.  Geirrin wondered if he would ever meet the man.

 

Geirrin paid special attention to Covai as he explained the possible uses for Spirit since Geirrin could not really think of anything.  Light he would love to learn healing though Covai said that a Dedicated recently made another man's heart explode.  How would he feel if he accidentally killed a fellow Soldier or Dedicated.  Even so it was good to know the possible pitfalls, it made him take extra care when practicing certain weaves.  So far he was strongest in Earth, Fire, and Spirit so it would be good to know some uses for spirit.  Throwing a large flow of spirit at a person seemed like it could have any number of outcomes, none of which seemed pleasant to the recipient.  After hearing Covai's warning Geirrin would make sure not to use it except for the ways Covai mentioned.  Another trick to tuck away in case he needed it.  That made him think of another question, another weave that was rumored to be taught to Asha'man, Severing.  He was so enamored by Saidin that he could not imagine being cut off from the source. 

 

Geirrin lined up waiting for Covai to give the word, the nervous anticipation of their training made him eager to begin.  He could sense the source but could not yet touch, not until Covai gave the order.  His skill channeling saidin was increasing ever since Covai had given him an exercise to practice.  He thought of the small rock that sat in his pocket, the nearly perfectly round stone a reminder of his progress.  The exercise had taught him control, every day now he picked up a new rock and shaped it to continue to increase his skill.  Another trick he had learned was using small flows of fire, air, and water to polish the stone.  This had increased his skill with four of the five elements though in theory it should have the same result with the reaming element, Spirit.   

 

He was so on edge with waiting to embrace the source, lost in thought trying to fight the urge to reach out and grab Saidin that he was caught off guard when Covai gave the command "NOW!"

 

Geirrin was a hair slower to embrace the source than he should have been though he deftly wove the spike of earth hurling it through the manaquin with devastating results.  The sickly sweet sensation of the taint made him want to double over though the joy of holding the source overpowered the negative effects of the taint.  Much to his disappointment he released the source, he felt as if something had died within him, things seemed more dull without Saidin.

 

Over and over Geirrin embraced the source channeling as fast as he could.  Each time he increased his speed hoping it was fast enough.  He knew the others were channeling though he was so intent on his own weaving that he did not spare a glance for the others.  The technique and power seemed to be there so he worked on increasing his speed with embracing the source and channeling the appropriate weave.  Covai's analogy of the swordsman unsheathing his sword hit home, being able to wield Saidin would mean nothing if you were too slow to make it of any use.  A sheathed weapon was no use to anyone, the thought made him try even harder.  He could feel the sweat forming on his brow from the effort to increase his speed.   

[Talavin]

OOC: Well, Ze'el has... pretty bad scores, so count me out of any demonstrations :) Also I should be sleeping right now so this is a shortie

 

IC: Ze'el was not very skilled with the One Power. He had just learned how to hold the Source a few days ago. He had been at the farm for only a short while, and still struggled to hold Saidin. Calming himself, Ze'el went through the motions of grabbing the Source, prepared to whether through the sickening Taint. Because he was prepared, when the Asha'man called "now" it only took him a little bit to grab Saidin.

 

He released the Source, and didn't know whether to weep or grin. Saidin... it was so sweet, like all the best things in life quadroopled; however, the Taint was terrible- the One Power was barely worth it. He wasn't as prepared the next time that Covai called out, and so it took him longer to grab Saidin. After a few tries, he found himself connecting to the One Power easier and easier. Ze'el released the Source yet again and waited for the Storm Leader's orders. As much as he disliked the man, he knew that Covai knew his stuff.

 

(Edit: Arath:  Because this is not me or your other you . . . lets not complicate things :P)

 

Edit again- sorry I was tired :P

[Arath Faringal]

Arath watched Covai's class for a while, contemplating their progress.  Covai never had seemed to care about skill level when he picked his students.  The little group in front of him, practicing with earth spikes was no different.  A wide range indeed.  He remembered some of his own classes at Covai's hands.  He'd broken a shoulder in one.  But he'd learned quickly.  Hopefully these newer soldier's would learn as fast.

 

Shaking his head, he started forward to stand next to Covai.  Reaching into an inside coat pocket, he pulled out a silver sword pin and handed it to the Storm Leader.  "This is for Geirrin, if you think he's ready.  He seems competent enough for me."  He looked toward the busy, sweating new Dedicated who wiped a muddy hand across his forhead, smearing it with dirt.  "Usually."

[Jehaine]

Martyn stopped himself in time to avoid shaking his head. There would be more channeling today, more use of a power source he was mentally unable to tap into. Oh, he had the ability allright, his mere appearance being living proof of what happened over half a century ago. But the events that transpired there paled in comparison fully knowing what that made him. People would run him through if they had suspected. Light, HE would have run himself through if he suspected. And here he was, trying to get himself to channel rather than Sheathe the Sword. That, in itself, was almost maddening, and he wondered whether this Taint he had been hearing about would make him feel even half as soiled as how he was feeling now.

 

Again, he tried. again, he failed, trying to glare the mannequin into oblivion as he tried to grasp something he did not want to grasp. Sweat beaded on his forehead, but he was spending too much energy fighting himself to spare some on saidin. He really did shake his head this time as he took a step back, realising he never even came close to channeling the One Power once again.

 

 

Martyn

Failed again

[Covai Seriba]

OOC: Arath, you've just volunteered to be my volunteer :D

 

Covai nodded to Arath as he pocket the silver pin. The man's potential was there, but Covai hadn't finished testing them yet. Sure, he'd usualy been amongst the more relaxed of instructors, but today that could wait. He'd give the man his pin at the end of the class if he kept his current progress up. Geirrin was the more skill of the three at the moment. Kassian was having some difficulty to start with, but managed to get the basics. Martyn on the other hand was having serious problems. Covai thought for a moment the focus on killing could be dragging up some painful memories for the man, but he didn't have the luxury of caring. If an Asha'man couldn't fight in the field, he was useless.

 

"Alright, that'll do for now." Covai motioned for them to relax. Inspecting each of the manikins, Covai spoke to the men behind them. "You'll come to rely on basic weaves like this quite often. They're not pretty, they're not classy, but they work, so be grateful." Covai's eyes passed Martyn's without saying anything. The man seemed to take the unspoken reprimand him his comments. He'd have to work with the man later to bring him back up to scratch.

 

"Now, we're moving onto something different. Attack Leader Arath has kindly offered to assist us with this next step as well." Covai didn't mean to drag the man into it, but he was better for this demonstration than the others assembled. Besides, it would be like old classes all over again. Covai had to make a concious effort to keep the grin from his face at the thought. He'd have to careful incase the Attack Leader tried to upset the control he had on the class. Arath would never directly usurp his authority as Storm Leader, but as a friend playing a prank on another....well stranger things had happened. Passing the Attack Leader, Covai spoked quietly so the others couldn't hear "Just follow my lead..."

 

 

"Not all your opponents are going to stand infront of you with a sword or other weapon. Archers are another problem you'll encounter. If you're range of attacks is only as far as your arms can reach, you'll be at a disadvantage. However.." Covai used a flow of air to pick up the shattered remains of a manikin's arm and raised it infront of Arath, who got the hint and took the piece in his hand, holding it up above his head. "..if you can destroy an attacker at range, the edge is yours." Within the blink of an eye a lance of fire flew from the Storm Leader's hand, shattering the limb at the wrist.

 

"Go line up at the edge of the field. Attack Leader Arath and I will create some more manikins for your practice. I want to see you use both killing blows, and disarming ones. I don't care which order, but I want to see both." Abruptly turning his back to the three men, Covai waved Arath over.

 

"Sorry if I got dirt in your hair, I'll buy you a drink later to make up for it" True, Covai was still in combat attitude, but his attitude was directed towards the soldiers. Besides, he'd be need Arath's help again before the end of the class.

 

Forming the manikins as as boring a task as ever, but Covai opted to change their postures a little. Each man had two targets, one with a blade raised above their head as if they were swinging downwards, and the other was standing with its arms and legs stretched out. That should give them a chance to aim for the arms and legs rather than the main body

 

Stepping back with Arath, Covai stood to the side to watch. "So Arath, what do you think of the other two's progress?"

 

OOC: Have fun with some ranged attacks guys :)

 

(EDIT: If you haven't learnt any ranged attacks, feel free to say so and Covai will demonstrate. Or you can just assume you've been shown and get to practicing)

[Talavin]

IC: Ze'el frowned as he listened to the excersize; he knew only one weave but it was largely dependent on his pysical aiming skills. He pondered the merits of using the weave, but then turned to Covai and asked for assistance. The eccentric man willingly showed him a couple weaves, called Air Club and Riven Earth. Out of the two weaves, Air Club was definately more subtle, and it was still very blunt. It was also a lot easier to weave, and so he began with that one. It was simple, just one element in small amounts, but channeling at a distance was difficult, and his first try missed completely.

 

After a while, he managed to hit the dummy, but it only rattled a little- obviously he was not putting enough strength into the weave. Ze'el worked on that for a while, until he was jarring the dummy quite a bit. He used this weave on the dummy with the sword because it was far more precise. Deciding that the results would be incapacitating on a real person, Ze'el moved onto the next weave. Riven Earth was far more complex. Not only did it involve two elements, but both elements were in greater quantity than Air Club. Luckily he was stronger in Earth and Fire than he was in Air. Ze'el slowly wove the attack; the first time it collapsed into nothing and failed, but the second time he got it to work. He was shocked as the earth errupted into fire and rock. Unfortunately it was about three paces in from of the dummy.

 

Working on aiming the new weave, Ze'el bit his lip in concentration. He really didn't like these weaves... they were far too blunt. He appreciated much more subtle ways of killing. Blunt trauma was just so... messy. It was the only positive thing he had to say about swords- they're far more graceful than hammers and axes. Ze'el was grimacing over at his target. The other men probably thought it was because he didn't like the thought of killing, and Ze'el had no problems with letting them continue thinking that. When he finally got Riven Earth down, he decided to try the weave he already knew. It also involved the same amount of Earth and Fire, but it was a little more complex.

 

Picking up the stone, Ze'el wove the weave around the rock and turned towards the dummy. Taking aim, he lobbed the stone over towards the pseudo-man. Luckily, his aim was true, and when the stone made contact with the dummy, it errupted in an impressive explosion. When the rubble cleared Ze'el saw that a large chunk of the second dummy was missing. He had to bite back a smirk, because Kassian would never smile at such destruction. He forced a look of resigned acception on his face, and turned towards Covai and waited for their next lesson.

[Sieve]

Geirrin suddenly realized the Attack Leader's presence.  He was conversing with Covai though he had no idea what they were discussing and knew it was none of his business. 

 

He listened to Covai as he explained their new lesson and was shocked to hear that the Attack Leader was to be a part of their training today.

 

"Not all your opponents are going to stand infront of you with a sword or other weapon. Archers are another problem you'll encounter. If you're range of attacks is only as far as your arms can reach, you'll be at a disadvantage. However.."  He watched as Covai used a lance of fire to sever the hand from the manaquin's arm which Arath had been holding over his head.  "..if you can destroy an attacker at range, the edge is yours." 

 

Geirrin ran to the edge of the woods and lined up as instructed.  He watched as Covai and Arath made two manaquins for each person, each manaquin had a different pose.  When they were told to begin he embraced Saidin, everything was sharper while he was holding it.  The taint was still present though he had learned to get used to it.

 

Geirrin channeled weaving a lance of fire taking the arm off the manaquin with the arm raised.  Then he directed similar flows against the other manaquin cutting off all of its appendages.  Turning back to the one that was still standing he hurled a fireball shattering it to bits.  He waited as the manaquins were remade and tried a different set of weaves this time.  He had noticed Kassian's difficulty with the range and accuracy recalling when he had the same issues.  It all came with practice. 

 

He watched as Kassian tried a different weave, it was a fun and very dangerous one called a grenade.  He watched as the man hurled it with amazing accuracy.  The explosion destroyed much of the training dummy.  Geirrin enjoyed these exercises because they were fun, he often forgot what their training dummies were supposed to represent.  Caught in the moment he picked up a large rock.  He wove the flows of earth and fire waiting for the rock to pulse.  As soon as it began to pulse he hurled it at the dummies.  The explosion rocked the dummies shattering them to bits.  When the dirt and debris cleared there was a boulder sized crater in the ground where it had landed.   

[Arath Faringal]

"I thought you were going to cut it off, not blow it up," Arath muttered, but with a grin.  "Make it two drinks and I'll forgive you."

 

When Covai asked his question, Arath said nothing for a moment.  He simply watched as the soldiers destroyed their targets.  "Martyn is hopeless until we can figure out a way around his block.  I talked with him earlier, but ... I don't know.  He might be holding something back from us.  Something he did or saw in the past that he doesn't want to admit to us.

 

"Kassian ... disturbs me.  He seems wide eyed and innocent enough, and plays the part of a light blinded pacifist almost too well."  He watched as the soldier lobbed a grenade with perfect accuracy to take the head off of his target.  "But somehow I don't buy it."

 

He paused for a moment to remake one of the targets, this time in the hulking shape of a trolloc.  "Hard to tell how things are going to turn out though, isn't it?"

[Arath Faringal]

As Covai called in his students, one of the dedicated came running across the training grounds and delivered a message to the Storm Leader.  He quickly scanned the note and rolled his eyes.  "M'Hael wants to see me.  Can you finish here?"

 

Arath nodded.  "Not a problem."  He retrieved the pin he had just given Covai, and turned to the class as the other man walked off.

 

"Alright.  The storm leader showed you attack weaves involving earth.  I will show you weaves with fire.  The important thing to remember about fire, is that it can be unpredictable."  He held up his hand in front of him and wove air and fire.  A small ball of light sprang into being.  "This simple light weave is very useful to light up a small dark area, but with just a touch more fire ..." He spun more fire into the globe and it errupted into flame.  "... you have a little more than light."  He hurled the ball toward the wreckage of the training dummies, pulverizing what remained in a small explosion.

 

Raising some more shapes from the ground, Arath continued.  "Fire is an excellent weapon both up close and at range.  At range, a fireball is an Asha'man's most common weapon.  Up close, where an explosion is too risky, fire can be used in more personal ways."  He extended his hand toward one of the man-shaped lumps and wove fire and spirit.  Flames errupted from the top, engulfing the 'head' of the manequin.  Air and fire cut another shape in half, the top sliding down slightly before toppling over onto the ground.  Fire and spirit again, and the third dummy simply exploded.  Turning and facing the fourth dummy, Arath wove a fiery sword into his hands and sliced it through, splitting it straight down the middle. 

 

"The ways to kill with fire are infinite," he said, letting his flame sword vanish and starting to pull up more targets for the soldiers, "if a bit messy.  Now it's your turn to practice.  Try and duplicate a couple of the weaves I just used.  For your final target, try to come up with another way to kill it.  It's hard to go wrong with fire, but be creative."

[Talavin]

OOC: Sorry for the delay :P

 

IC: Ze'el watched as the Storm Leader was called away and supressed a sneer, he didn't like the man anyway. Looking towards his new teacher, Ze'el listened to the lesson- the Attack Leader seemed to be suspicious of him, but he was not openly disaproving like Covai was. Nevertheless, Ze'el would have to make sure that he didn't let his mask slip at all. Ze'el didn't really like working with Fire all that much, but he didn't like most of the weaves that the Farm taught anyway. He prefered a much more subtle battle than the brute strength favored by the Black Tower.

 

Still, he could see the merits of mastering the weaves, because they truely were versitile. Ze'el got started on the first one, a globe of light. He struggled with the complex (to him) weave of Fire and Air, and didn't get the weave right until his fourth try. After that, he found that the weave was extremely malleable, and he could adjust the intensity of the light and the size of the globe. More fire made it brighter, and more Air made it larger.

 

Next, he moved onto the offensive weaves and found that the fireball was actually very easy. It was just a weave of pure Fire, and the only difficult thing to Ze'el was the amount of fire necesary. Eventually fire bursted into existance above his hand, and he began to practice throwing it. His first throw went completely off target, and his next ones weren't much better. After some practice, though, he started getting closer and closer to target. Ze'el wiped some sweat off his brow and frowned- this was harder than he thought it would be.

[Sieve]

He listened as the Attack Leader to control of the class.  Now they were to go over offensive weaves using fire.  "The important thing to remember about fire, is that it can be unpredictable." the Attack Leader warned them.  Geirrin knew first hand, something that had been drilled into him when he was first taught to wield flows of fire. 

 

Geirrin went through the weaves as the Attack Leader instructed.  He started with Fireballs, he had used them often in training and liked them.  Geirrin practiced hurling them as fast and as accurate as possible.  One by one the fireballs exploded on the manaquins until those in his path no longer stood.  Fireballs were the ranged weave of choice for most channelers. 

 

Next Geirrin practiced weaving flows of fire and spirit.  He extended the flows until the remnants of the manaquins burst into flames.  He was surprised to see that he could hold multiple flows at once.  As soon as one target burst into flame he let the weave go creating another.  He also found that he could chose exactly what part of the manaquin that he wanted to ignite.  Another thing that interested him was that he could either set the target on fire or he could continue to hold the weave until it exploded.

 

Geirrin created more targets then wove flows of air and fire to cut off parts of the manaquins.  He would start by taking limbs off then would dice up what was left of the body.  It was just a target to him, that was all.  He never really thought of it being much else.  He enjoyed the destruction though he liked creating things more.  What he loved most though was learning new things to do with the power, it was interesting to him.

 

The last thing he did was make elemental blades trying them out on the pratice dummies.  He experimented and found that there were several different types that he could make.  He had made weapons from Earth before though now he experimented with some he had seen others use.  With flows of Water and Air he made a sword of ice, with Fire he could make a blazing sword, Air and Spirit created a sword of air, and his favorite was one using all five of the elements.  This created a sword of light energy.  It seemed like it could destroy anything.  It crackled when it struck the target and he smiled. 

 

 

 

 

[Covai Seriba]

OOC: Time to end this one guys. Sorry it's dragged on for so long.

 

IC: "Well what d'ya know, you're actually getting the hang of his." Covai called to Geirrin as he returned, before addressing everyone "Class is over soldiers. Arath, Soldiers messed up. Order was for you to come along as well." Covai dismissed the rest with a

wave of his hand, but called out to Geirrin as the man turned away.

 

Reaching inside his robe , Covai pulled out a small cloth pouch he had put the sword pin in, tossing it to Geirrin. "See that you live up to our expectations. Next time you'll be pitting those elemental blades against me"

 

Leading the way, Covai got Arath to fill him in on the ten or so minutes he had missed. He also made a mental note to find that soldier later and set him on latrine duty. Wool headed fool couldn't even get a simple order right.

 

 

OOC: Good work guys. I couldn't carry on rest of this classes, but it's still covered your requirements. I'll make up for it in the next one :)

[Sieve]

Geirrin was still blushing from the Storm Leader's praise.  It was something that he had grown unaccustomed to as a child.  He spent most of his childhood getting solded, praise was a rare commodity for him.

 

He caught the small cloth pouch that the Storm Leader threw to him.  "See that you live up to our expectations. Next time you'll be pitting those elemental blades against me"  Covai said to him.  Geirrin fumbled with the drawstring as the Storm Leader and Attack Leader left the training grounds.  When he drew the contents out he gaped at it in wonder.  The silver sword pin of a Dedicated lay in his palm glinting in the sunlight.

 

With a smile on his face he fixed the silver sowrd pin to the high collar of his black coat.  "See that you live up to our expectations. Next time you'll be pitting those elemental blades against me"  The words reverberating in his head.  The former he would do.  The latter he did not look forward to doing.  With a smile his face he returned to the barracks.

 

 

 

[Talavin]

Ze'el jumped slightly after being interrupted from his Weaving. He breifly noted that the Storm Leader came back, and complimented them all on their acomplishment. Well, he complimented Gerrin, and kind of nodded at the rest of them. Ze'el sneered mentally at the man's obvious favoritism, before he mentally rolled his eyes. He didn't care what the Storm Leader thought about him, he just wanted the training that the man continued to give. He learned a few usefully offensive weaves, such as grenade, and he learned the basic weaves of fire. Unfortunately, it seemed like many of the weaves he learned were useless at his level of skill.

 

Ze'el knew that he was weaker in the One Power than the other men. He was overall weaker, and he didn't have one particular element that he excelled in. The other men around him either were just stronger or at least were tallented in one or two elements. Likewise, he was less adept with the Source than the rest of the men. Overall there was no doubt that he would not overcome any of his peers, in the blade or the Power. However, Ze'el reminded himself that even though he was weak compared to other channelers, he was still much stronger than the average person, and the Taint was a fair price.

 

Ze'el ignored the sickening, oily, feeling of the Taint, and continued practicing even as they were dismissed. The other soldiers had an advantage over him, and he wouldn't allow that advantage to remain. He practiced the Fireball weave over and over, until he realized that it would be foolish to continue for much longer. He was covered in a veil of sweat, and he needed to stop to recuperate. Frowing, Ze'el resolved to do as well as he could to master this power inside of him.