Let's play with blocks (ATTN: Martyn)

[Arath Faringal]

Arath watched his class dismiss, the soldiers mostly in high spirits, the dedicateds with looks of disgust for the extra running they were required to do.  As the students all filtered away for their various destinations, Arath caught the eye of one of the soldiers, Martyn Stonebridge, and motioned him over to where the Attack Leader stood.

 

"We need to speak," Arath said simply and quietly, and with that turned around and began the short walk back to his own house.  He never bothered to look and see if the soldier was following him, but he knew that he was.  Martyn was a good soldier from all he could see, but wasn't yet amounting to much as a Soldier.  Something would have to be done about this.

 

As they reached the front door of the Attack Leader's spacious home, Arath unraveled the ward that sealed his front door against intruders.  Pushing the door open he walked down the hallway to his office, and motioning Martyn inside.  "Have a seat," he said, taking his own padded chair behind his desk.  "You probably know why you're here."  He waited a moment, and when Martyn didn't respond he continued.  "I never once saw you channeling today.  I wasn't particularly looking for it earlier, but while I observed the last part of the lesson I noticed.  What's the problem soldier?  As I recall, you came to us to learn how to channel?"

 

OOC: Probably gonna be a lot of dialogue in this one.  Short posts and responses are fine.

[Jehaine]

"We need to speak"

 

Martyn simply nodded before walking after Arath. He didn't know where the two of them would be heading, nor did he care. An officer gave an order, and he would obey, it was as simple as that. As they reached the house, he waited until he was offered the seat before sitting down, awaiting what would come next.

 

As Arath stated the source of his concern, Mrtyn couldn't help but take a deep breath. His own attempts at channeling had been met with nothing but failures, and if it hadn't been for the light in the Void, and the fact that he looked roughly sicty years younger than he actually was, he'd have been convinced he couldn't channel himself. Folding his hands together, he searched for the right words to use before finally replying.

 

- "I'm... having trouble. Where i come from, Aes Sedai are held in high respect, but male channelers are all but seen as incarnations of the Dark One. Every time i see someone here, i have to forcibly ignore the fact that they can channel, suppress the urge to cut them down before they turn into false Dragons."

 

He bit his lip, and looked up to Arath. Though he meant no offense, he was quick following up, just in case the Attack Leader misunderstood. After all, he could channel saidin as well, and was quite a bit more experienced at it than most other people here.

 

- "Don't get me wrong, i'm not going to draw my sword on anyone. It's just that... This has been so ingrained since youth, so much a part of who i am, that i simply cannot bring myself to channel. I know i can, and i want to learn how to control this, but the mental barrier i have to pass feels like scaling a fortress wall."

 

He sighed again, trying to suppress his frustrations. Though his words were chosen so that they would fit both himself as well as his alias as Martyn Stonebridge, he was fairly confident he had managed to convey the source of the problem. Now, there was nothing he could do but wait...

 

 

Martyn

Has an entire blockade

[Arath Faringal]

Aes Sedai were held in high respect?  That didn't sound like any Andoran town that Arath was familiar with.  More like the Borderlands.  Maybe the Aes Sedai were respected in the far north of Andor though, being that much closer to Tar Valon.  But Arath let his question go un-asked. 

 

"If I'm to help you, I need to know everything I can about the problem.  And your history with channeling."  He racked his brain for a moment, trying to remember his conversation with Martyn when he had first arrived at the farm.  "You say you went to a stedding after the first time you channeled.  What did you do?  And how did you know that it was you channeling?"

[Jehaine]

Martyn nodded, more to himself than to the Attack Leader. He still couldn't to tell the truth about who he really was, and as much as he wanted to tell the man who he was personally, he knew that for the safety of his family he could not. Let them die in peace, believing him dead. It was a better alternative than watching him go mad and die in any case, and ruin everything about him Jerinia looked up to. Destroy everything Masura loved about him. That was his fate, his duty, and like any good soldier he'd be damned if he was unable to carry the weight of those consequences up to the moment of his death.

 

- "Yes sir. One day during a patrol, my unit was attacked, and we ended up spread out. I was alone when... it happened. Spikes of Earth impaled my opponent as he tried to kill me. I found it hard to believe myself, but it couldn't have been anyone but me."

 

Martyn could feel the unasked questions from Arath. He vaguely wondered how many students he would get every month with at least one thing to hide about their identity, but he focused his attentions back to the matter at hand as soon as he felt his thoughts trail off. His story was no lie, but rather a network of half-truths, and one that the people of Kore Springs would confirm when asked. He was confident that the false identity would hold up as long as he wanted.

 

- "I did spend some time in a stedding after that, several years in fact. I am unsure as to how long exactly i was there, but suffice to say i needed the majority of that time to come to terms about what i had become. With the mental instability and depression i was going through, saidin was probably the last thing i wanted to think about."

 

Looking out of one of the windows, he tried to get an idea of how far it would be to Kore Springs from here, but was unable to make a rough estimate. He honestly didn't recognise the terrain at all, the climate and general clothing styles of the civilians the Black Tower employed were the only markers he had that placed him back in Andor.

 

- "Then, i went to Kore Springs, using my experience in the military to help train the local militia. When i taught them all i could without having to assume the Void, i said my goodbyes after setting up the arrangements for my successor there to take over. I had heard of the amnesty by then, and told them i was going to try and join the Queen's Guard, but they can confirm what i said. Past the stedding, anyway."

 

Martyn leaned back again, having told everything about his false identity. He had planned this for years, a second identity no one would be able to trace back to his wife and child should he go mad. The amnesty, once he heard of it, was an unexpected twist in his plans, but a good one nonetheless. The only real difference that it made was that he had ended up using it far more than he had counted on.

 

 

Martyn

Let's see what Arath suspects...

[Arath Faringal]

Arath let himself float in the void while he listened, picking out everything important that Martyn said.  And everything he didn't say.  'Went to Kore Springs', not 'Went back to Kore Springs'.  Not originally from Kore Springs then.  Arath quickly tried to figure out where Martyn might be from then.  Too tall for a Cairhienen, so he was either really Andoran, or from a borderlander nation.  Or Tar Valon perhaps.  They were the only areas even close to the black hills.  And close was a very relative term.  It took less time to reach Lugard than it did to reach the black hills.

 

Arath chewed his lip thoughtfully.  If Martyn had been a tower guard in Tar Valon that might indeed explain the way he felt about male channelers.  The red ajah probably made sure that the whole city loathed them.  It might also explain why he was so loathe to speak about his past.  There were no Asha'man from Tar Valon, and Arath didn't believe one would be very popular either. 

 

"Tell me more about the time you first channeled.  Your exact circumstances, who you were fighting ... everything.  And also tell me about any other time you know you've channeled.  Every block has a way of getting around it, and the more I know about you, the more I can help."  He spoke the truth, but he was also fishing for the sliver of information that would make Martyn's past easier to understand.

[Jehaine]

Martyn took a deep breath again, sifting through old memories as if trying to grasp water through a layer of oil. There were so many reasons he had had to keep those memories tucked away, whether to hide the time he channeled or to keep himself from thinking of his family, that trying to recall them now took some time. Especially because said memories were easily fifty years old.

 

- "Not much to say about it, sir, i was a common soldier. My outfit was ambushed during a patrol, and we were separated from each other. That's when it... i channeled. We won the fight though, and regrouped to report, after which i left the army and moved to a stedding to... well, to be forgotten."

 

Again, no lies there either. Though he knew perfectly well that the ones doing the ambushing were Trollocs, having let that name fall would have been a dead giveaway that he was not an Andoran, and with no chance of encountering them this far south they wouldn't be finding out how much he knew about them anytime soon. 'Martyn Stonebridge' was originally from Whitebridge though, which meant Trollocs would still be considered Borderland fables to him, so he would have to add that class to the list of those he needed to hold back on as well.

 

 

Martyn

Doesn't have a lot of classes he can be good at

[Arath Faringal]

Arath tried hard to keep his frustration in check.  He could tell it was showing in his eyes, no matter how he tried to keep his face neutral.  But this was getting nowhere, fast.  "Look.  I can't help you unless you stop dancing around my questions.  You're probably trying to protect someone by leaving out important details of your past.  Understandable.  I'd say one in five men around here do the same.  Everyone has someone or something they either want to protect or just don't want anyone else to know about.

 

"You're not helping anything by hiding.  You only hurt yourself.  I can't help you get around your block if you won't tell me exactly what has brought on your channeling before.  Was your enemy about to finish you off?  Threatened a close family member?  Kicked you in the groin?  What?"  Arath gestured toward the door.  "If you don't want to tell me the truth, feel free to leave.  We're wasting my time otherwise."

[Jehaine]

Martyn looked at Arath, seeing the frustration in the man's eyes. To be honest, he was starting to feel more than a little frustrated himself at apparently not being believed.

 

- "I'm not 'dancing around your questions', as you put it. Yes, he was about to finish me off as it was an ambush. Yes, i'm leaving out some details to protect my relatives as male channelers are looked down upon where i come from. No, my real name is therefore NOT Martyn Stonebridge, nor was i born in Whitebridge."

 

He leaned forward, meeting Arath's eyes with a frustrated look of his own. He wasn't bothering to hide it much either, though, like Arath, he tried to keep his voice neutral.

 

- "Everything else however, is truth. Yes, i was a soldier. Yes, we were attacked, and i channeled when i was about to get killed. Yes, i spent a while living in a stedding before moving on to Kore Springs to train the militia there."

 

He leaned back again, crossing his arms as he gave an annoyed sigh.

 

- "You can have me swear an Oath on it here or send a man to Kore Springs to check for yourself, but out of everything i said during my time here, only the name and the place of birth have been false. If this is not what you wanted to hear then i sincerely apologise, but if i started to lie i really would be wasting your time."

 

 

Martyn

Getting annoyed

[Arath Faringal]

OOC: Martyn never brought up Whitebridge before, just so you know :D  And question, can Martyn see the flows or is he completely helpless?

 

IC:  Arath's eyes narrowed slightly at the soldier's tirade.  It was irritating having to find a way though the other man's irrational fears.  Did he think that the Black Tower regularly published the names of their recruits to the world?  Arath doubted that the names of more than a handful of them were known outside the farm.  Of course, it seemed 'Martyn's' name wasn't even known within the Farm.

 

"When you answer like an Aes Sedai, you are dancing around the question.  I've asked twice now for the exact details of the first time you channeled, and I asked for details of any other time.  And you ignored the questions.  Very Aes Sedai of you."

 

He fell silent for a moment, rubbing his temples.  "I'm giving you a choice," he said finally.  "You can either volunteer some information and help us reason out a way around your block, or we do it the old fashioned way and basically beat it out of you.  Put you through a series of potentially lethal obstacles that either force you to channel, or lose life or limb.

 

"If you want to avoid that, then tell me something.  I need the specifics.  There are infinite ways for a block to form, and infinite ways to get around them.  A man can still channel through his block under the right circumstances, so I need to know.  Maybe you can only channel when you're in great fear?  Maybe when you're angry?  All I've gotten so far is that you were about to die.  From what you've told me it could have been an Aiel, a trolloc, an ogier, or the Green Man who attacked you.  Maybe you can only channel against people who you have an overwhelming hatred for?  Who were you fighting against?"

 

OOC: If Martyn chooses plan B for getting rid of the block, feel free to have him walk out. :D  Swords can try to coax the block out of him.

[Jehaine]

OOC: Dunno, he's never been with other male channelers before, and hasn't channeled much himself. Even if he was able to see them, he wouldn't recognise them for what they are.

 

IC:

 

Martyn sighed at Arath's reply, before standing up and heading to the door. Rather than walk through it however, he closed it softly before turning around. He knew that in order for him to get around his 'block', as it was called, Arath would need to have the specifics, yet he wanted to avoid his history being known at all costs.

 

- "I swear by the light and my hope of salvation and rebirth that i will answer any and all of your questions truthfully, on the condition that the information will not leave this room."

 

He was talking more to himself than to the Attack Leader, as if trying to convince himself that he was about to do the right thing to trust the man. He didn't doubt the answers he was about to give Arath -- provided he asked the right questions, of course -- would be quite a surprise to say the least, and continued to talk to keep the momentum of his oath.

 

- "Trust me when i say that anything less than this oath would have ended up with you not believing me. Now, swear that you will not mention this to anyone, so that we may continue."

 

 

Martyn

About to surprise

[Arath Faringal]

Arath simply stared at Martyn for a moment.  What in the light was he up to?  That oath meant that he could trust anything that the other man said, so long as he wasn't actually a darkfriend.  Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke, "Under the light and my hope of salvation and rebirth, I will not share the information you reveal to me, so long as this information is not dangerous to the Black Tower or any of its initiates."  He paused for a moment, considering the oath he had just sworn, then wove a complex weave of spirit around the room, warding them from eavesdropping.  "Nobody can hear us now.  I have the room warded.

 

"So, since you've outright stated that you aren't who you said you were, who are you and where are you from?"

 

Arath

About to be surprised  :o

[Jehaine]

Martyn nodded as the words were spoken, already knowing the oath Arath would pick. Given the one he had just given, the Attack Leader would practically have little option but to match it with one of his own. Satisfied, he walked back to the chair, calmly sitting down as he listened to the first of Arath's questions.

 

- "My name is something i fear i cannot give, but i'll be telling you why in a moment. As for me... I was born on Maighal 11th of the year 916 NE, in one of the border fortresses in the province of Jenaan, Malkier. And yes, this means i am eighty-four years old."

 

His voice was steady, his tone that of someone simply telling him whether he believed it would start to rain or not. What he was saying now was the pure truth, yet he was well aware that anything less than the oath he had just given would have caused the Attack Leader to have him tossed out of his office, believing him to be a liar -- and subsequently an oathbreaker.

 

He still wasn't quite certain the man wouldn't be doing that anyway, but he remained where he was, awaiting the next question. Aware that what he just said was more than enough to fuel a hundred questions -- 'Hi, i'm old enough to be your great-grandfather' tended to have that effect -- he simply waited for now, letting Arath dictate the direction of the conversation. There was no need to hurry.

 

 

Martyn

Bet you didn't know THAT ;)

[Arath Faringal]

Arath had been prepared to hear any number of things after that particular question.  He had not, however, expected to hear that the man in front of him was an 84 year old Malkieri.  He thought he did a decent job of containing his surprise.  His jaw didn't drop too far, or his eyes open too wide.

 

He could certainly see why Martyn didn't want to share that information.  No male channeler could live to that age in this age.  He must have spent a substantial amount of time in the stedding.  "Eighty-four ... you spent more than 50 years on a stedding?"  Arath shuddered.  Even to extend his life, he couldn't imagine spending that long without being able to feel the Source.  Come to think of it, Martyn shouldn't have been able to either.  "You couldn't have stayed there the entire time.  Recruits from Far Madding report that the Guardian made them feel uneasy even before they knew they could channel.  How often did you leave?  And what did you do when you channeled?"  Tempted as he was to get every scrap of information he could from Martyn, Arath tried to limit his questions to those that would help him get past this block.

 

Shock-eth-ed to the core

Arath

[Jehaine]

Martyn shook his head at Arath's comment. While it was true that he had spent a lot of time in a stedding, he did not spend fifty years there, given that that wouldn't account for the time setting up his alias.

 

- "Forty actually, i spent another ten in Kore Springs setting up my alias. Though i left the stedding on occasion, i'd have to say being able to channel made me feel more uneasy at the time than the stedding ever could. The lesser of two evils, so to speak."

 

He took a deep breath, before continuing, trying to recall more of his previously suppressed memories.

 

- "Let's see... After figuring out saidin was in the Void, i spent my time there unlearning to use the Void, among other things. I helped the Ogier, and they got me supplies in return by trading sung wood with the occasional peddler."

 

He paused for a second, before realising he had skipped one of Arath's questions, the one about when the first time he had channeled. Shifting his seat uneasily, he started talking about the event that had pretty much turned his life upside down.

 

- "As for the first time i channeled... We were ambushed, yes. It was during the Fall of Malkier, back when the Trollocs were making their push to the south. We gathered the survivors and rode south to meet up with Arafellin, Kandori and Shienarian armies. Some stayed with them, others traveled south in search of their families. I went to a stedding myself, the Black Hills are practically on the way."

 

He then waited again for Arath to ask more questions. To be honest, he had a feeling what would be the next question after the initial shock had sunk in, but he reminded himself that he wasn't being open about this for fun. He would give answers, but only to the questions asked, and it would be up to Arath to ask them.

 

 

Martyn

Round three?