Into the Jaws of the Dragon -Learning Saidin- {Attn: Toram}

[TaiDashan]

Walking out the front door of Faringal Manor Tai noted Arath heading back in. Waving to him he was about to walk past when Arath grabbed his arm.

 

"Another training assignment for you Tai." Arath grinned as he saw Tai's eager reaction.

 

"Who and where Arath." Tai rolled his eyes jokingly

 

"Names Toram, meet him at the training grounds. And Tai?" Arath looked at him meaningfully. "Be easy on this one eh?"

 

Tai nodded. Grinning he set off for the training grounds. He chuckled to himself at the refrence to his last mentee. His brother Dazar. Tai paused before turning the corner and straightened the blade at his side. Silver worked vines climbed the scabbard and rolled up the hilt. He touched it with pride and smoothed his black velvet coat. Satisfied, he rounded the corner and crossed the yard to the training grounds. Noticing a man in soldiers garb looking slightly lost he briskly strode over. Thrusting his hand out he smiled warmly.

 

"Soldier Eldin? Toram Eldin? I am Dedicated Tai'Dashan, welcome to the Black Tower. Shall we begin?"

[Dragon420]

Toram noticed a man with one of those silver sword pins on their collar coming towards him. smiling and putting his hand out he said, "Soldier Eldin? Toram Eldin? I am Dedicated Tai'Dashan, welcome to the Black Tower. Shall we begin?."

 

Toram smiled back at the man and took his hand. "Yes sir. Just let me know what you want me to do," he replied nervously.

 

OOC: Sorry about the short post i cant think of much else for him to say.  :)

[TaiDashan]

"Yes sir. Just let me know what you want me to do."

 

The man sounded nervous and it made him think back to the first time he had been around a dedicated. Unsure what to do, how to act, or what to say. Clapping the man on the shoulder and grinning he said:

 

"You don't have to call me sir. You can just call me Tai. As long as I can call you Toram, deal?" He waited for the man to nod before continuing. "I have a place just south west of here that I like to do my training in. It is quiet and not many go there."

 

~It is also far away from any potential casualties.~ grunted the voice sourly.

 

Tai's grin never faded and he gently started the man in the right direction. They skirted around the training grounds ignoring the explosions and showers of stone splinters as best they could. Truth be told, Tai had gotten fairly used to it. The Soldier however, looked on with a mix of what looked like anxiety and awe. Chuckling he walked on.

 

"So what brings you to the Farm Toram?" Tai asked casually as they walked towards the trees bordering the grounds. Down a seldom used path and through the trees lay the little clearing he had made his so long ago. It was a special place to him. Not many knew about it and fewer went there. "Most folks come with tales of murdered family, some reason or another to fight the Shadow." He continued. Tai looked at the man as they walked, wondering what he would have to say.

[Dragon420]

"You don't have to call me sir. You can just call me Tai. As long as I can call you Toram, Deal?"

 

Toram nodded his head yes starting to like the man who would be training him. "I have a place just south west of here that I like to do my training in. It is quiet and not many go there." As Tai started to lead him away from the training grounds he was noticing all the other people and gaping in amazement. Light! I knew that people could do THINGS with the power but throwing fire? and earth flying upwards into spikes? How can they possibly do those things? Well I guess I'll be learning soon enough. I just hope that I'm not one of those numbers the Attack Leader was talking about...

 

"So what brings you to the Farm Toram?", Tai asked of him. "Most folks come with tales of murdered family, some reason or another to fight the Shadow."

 

"Well it's nothing as bad as that you see. My life at home was pretty boring as an innkeepers son, so I wanted to see some of the world and I went to Cairhien, then Illian, and wound up in Tear, Where I was tested by an Asha'man I met and I found out that I could channel, so I decided what better way to find adventure than to become part of the Lord Dragon's personal army. So What about you Tai, what brought you here?" Trying to lose his nervousness he started to look around at all the buldings he was passing. He even heard a blacksmith at work somewhere even though he couldn't see where the sound was coming from. It's just like a village. With their own personal Power Wielding army! I read about channelers before but I never thought I would be one of them. Not that it's bad it is.... exciting..

[TaiDashan]

"Well it's nothing as bad as that you see. My life at home was pretty boring as an innkeepers son, so I wanted to see some of the world and I went to Cairhien, then Illian, and wound up in Tear, Where I was tested by an Asha'man I met and I found out that I could channel, so I decided what better way to find adventure than to become part of the Lord Dragon's personal army. So What about you Tai, what brought you here?"

 

Tai chuckled as the man spoke. Just up for some bloody excitement eh? Well he would not be disappointed. The fact that the man showed some interest in channeling was good. Growing slightly more serious he answered.

 

"I lived with my family for a long time in Mayne, my mother was a jewelry merchant. My father ran off when i was very young and i do not know much about him." Slight sadness entered his voice. "My mother was killed when i was 16." He said softly. "I continued the trade until a little over a year ago when I heard of the Dragon's Amnesty. I wanted to learn how to channel so I set off with all the money I had saved up." He swung his hand wide to encompass the Farm, rapidly being hidden behind a screen of trees as they walked deeper into the forest. "So I ended up here."

 

Both men became absorbed in their thoughts as they finished the relatively short walk through the trees. The wind was cut by the foliage and so it was not quite so cold here. Tai liked the woods. Spotting the rock that signaled the turn off the path he touched Toram's shoulder and turned off into the trees. Weaving Air he created a shield around the two that lightly pushed the branches out of the way to provide a path. No use crashing or slicing his way through needlessly.

 

As they emerged into the clearing from the west, Tai glanced around with pride. At the northeastern end was a spring coming out of a pile of rocks to form a small cold clear pond. Small enough to wade chest high across. Smiling at the man he motioned for him to join him in the center of the clearing. Weaving Earth he pulled two, stone, low-backed chairs out of the ground for them. They looked as if they had grown there. Seeing the man seated he took a seat himself.

 

"First things first," He began, folding his hands in his lap and leaning back comfortably. "what do you know of the Ko Di, sometimes called the Void? What have you learned if anything, and how experienced are you in its use?"

[Dragon420]

"I lived with my family for a long time in Mayne, my mother was a jewelry merchant. My father ran off when i was very young and i do not know much about him. My mother was killed when i was 16. I continued the trade until a little over a year ago when I heard of the Dragon's Amnesty. I wanted to learn how to channel so I set off with all the money I had saved up. So I ended up here."

 

"Sorry I brought it up. I didn't mean to make you think of those things," Toram replied. Well i suppose that not everyone's had as easy a life as me. As they walked through the trees to Tai's place of training, he thought what he would have done with his life if his parents were dead. Probably ended up running the inn with my sisters and never coming here, he thought glumly. So absorbed in his thoughts he almost walked right into his mentor's back when he stopped.

 

No wonder he likes to train here it's beautiful, he thought as he looked around. Noticing a spring at the northeastern part of the clearing and the pond it made made him think about the last time he went swimming. I'll have to come out here when I've got some free time and go for a dip. All of a sudden two low-backed chairs made of rock grew out of the ground. He stared in astonishment, then seeing Tai head to the chairs he took a seat in the chair that was apparently for him.

 

"First things first, what do you know of the Ko Di, sometimes called the Void? What have you learned if anything, and how experienced are you in its use?"

 

Ko Di? What is that? "Well seeing as how I've never heard of those two things, I would say that I know nothing about them." I guess this is where my lessons start.

[TaiDashan]

"Well seeing as how I've never heard of those two things, I would say that I know nothing about them."

 

Tai nodded to himself. Not everyone had heard of the concept. He himself had only learned of it from a town guard who had taught him the sword.

 

"The Void as it is most commonly referred to," He began, his voice taking on a lecturing tone. "is thought to be something dating back to the Age of Legends. It is a technique to teach focus. It is also something you must learn before anything else. Without it you will die faster than either the madness or mistakes can kill you. Without it..." Tai paused for effect. "Saidin will turn you to ash were you sit." Tai studied his mentee for a moment, gauging his reaction.

 

"Let us begin. I want you to close your eyes. Only my voice exists, my voice and the utter blackness you are floating in. There is a flame, small and flickering in the center of the darkness. Float toward it, feel its warmth . Once you have the flame firmly in view, I want you to push everything into it. Thought, feeling, sense. Everything. Soon all will be consumed by the flame, leaving only an emptiness. An emptiness devoid of everything. This is the void."

 

Tai watched as the man followed his instructions. Most took quite a while, hours sometimes to master pushing everything into the Void. It had taken him two days to do so. He had not had a teacher as familiar with the Void and they had all day to practice.

 

OOC: Feel free to step through it a few times, Struggle achieving the Void, just barely attain the emptiness and then have it shatter. Get frustrated, do whatever. It wont be easy and he wont get it the first few times. Use this as an opportunity to get a good sized post in. Feel free to RP Tai speaking, guiding Toram through the exercise.

[Dragon420]

"The Void as it is most commonly referred to, is thought to be something dating back to the Age of Legends. It is a technique to teach focus. It is also something you must learn before anything else. Without it you will die faster than either the madness or mistakes can kill you. Without it... Saidin will turn you to ash were you sit."

 

Turn...me...to..ash? And here I was worried about going mad, thought Toram. I guess I had better try to learn this fast.

 

Toram closed his eyes and did as Tai told him. He fed all into it. The feeling of sitting on the stone chairs, the smell of the trees and flowers, and all the nervousness and excitement that he had felt since coming to the Tower. He had thought he had it for a moment but it completly shattered around him. Trying again, he failed again. Well if it was easy then everyone would know it wouldn't they? He once again tried to assume The Void. And failed miserably. "AHHHHH!" , he screamed in frustration.

 

"Only my voice exists, my voice and the utter blackness you are floating in. There is a flame, small and flickering in the center of the darkness. Float toward it, feel its warmth . Once you have the flame firmly in view, I want you to push everything into it. Thought, feeling, sense. Everything. Soon all will be consumed by the flame, leaving only an emptiness."

 

Toram had a new feeling to feed into it. Frustration. He tried it one more time. He got further this time, it vibrated for a moment before shattering completely. Once more. This time he didn't even get it completely formed before the flaming thing broke apart into a million pieces. Light! Just let me get it!

 

A couple hours, and dozens of attempts later...

 

Okay this is it. I almost had it that last time. Toram closed his eyes and fed everything into it. All the fury that had replaced his frustration long ago, all the fellings that he never even realized that he had buried long ago, and then... Wait. Is this it? It doesn't seem to be quivering anymore, it seems almost solid. Almost. He fed more and more into it, even going so far as to make up new emotions to fuel the inner inferno that was now his being. I think that I have it now. The void is completely solid now, not even the slightest tremor. It's like the body sitting in that clearing is someone elses. I don't feel a thing. And I can think more clearly than I have ever done before. I did it!

 

"I have done it Tai. I'm in the void now," he said. Then he realized that his voice was so emotionless that it sort of scared him. But that was nothing to be concerned about now. He was in the Void!

[TaiDashan]

Tai watched the man struggle with the Void. Continually he failed and frustration was clear on his face. Hours later he watched with a small grin as the man's face went slack. He had finally held it for more than a moment.

 

"I have done it Tai. I'm in the void now." Tai nodded.

 

"Good, I want you to practice it until you can hold it like this at least three times consecutively without failing."

 

He watched Toram and aided him until the man had the right of it. It was not easy, most people took years to master it. Here at the tower they expected them to do it in hours. Seizing Saidin and weaving Air and Earth, Tai wove two stone cups. Filling them with water from the pond he floated them over and held one in front of the man until he took it. He must be thirsty. The cold, clear water tasted divine and felt great to Tai's parched throat. Talking so much made his mouth dry.

 

"Now that you can achieve the Void with some semblance of ease," He grinned at the man. "we will continue. Assume the Void."

 

Tai waited until Toram had assumed the Void before speaking again.

 

"I want you to close your eyes. Good. Now float in the emptiness. Stretch out your awareness, push it outward and feel the emptiness." Tai saw something flicker across the man's face and knew he had felt Saidin. That warm pulsing glow, almost like a pale imitation of the sun just beyond the corner of your eye. "Good, I see you have felt that light. Now I want you to stretch out and grab hold of it. But be cautious!" He warned. "Only take in a small amount."

 

Tai wove a shield, ready to slam it into place if anything should happen.

[Dragon420]

Toram drank from the offered cup as if he hadn't drank in days. "I never knew that just thinking would be so much work."

 

Now that you can achieve the Void with some semblance of ease, we will continue. Assume the Void. I want you to close your eyes. Good. Now float in the emptiness. Stretch out your awareness, push it outward and feel the emptiness."

 

Toram did as told. He stretched his mind out to feel all the emptiness that was there. Just as he was wondering what he was supposed to be feeling for there was a sense of...warmth.. It seemed like it was just over his shoulder but when he opened his eyes to look around he seen that the sun was well above them and there was nothing behind him.

 

"Good, I see you have felt that light. Now I want you to stretch out and grab hold of it. But be cautious! Only take in a small amount." Tai cautioned his pupil.

 

Toram assumed the void and closed his eyes again then he slowly reached towards the light. All of a sudden power rushed into him and he felt more alive than ever! But with it came a sickly feeling like he had drank nothing but latrine water for his whole life. He released the light and the void in a spasm emptying his breakfast and the water he just drank on the ground between his feet. He looked at his mentor in embarrasment. "Sorry."

 

"Dont worry about that it happens to most people their first time," Tai explained. "Try it again."

 

Toram assumed the void again and grabbed some of the light into himself. Now that he didnt have to empty his stomach again he could actually concentate on the feelings of this wonderful new gift. It was a constant stuggle to just hold onto it and not let it overpower him. It was like his bones were freezing as his skin threatened to ignite into flame. It was... Wonderful. And awful too. The taint was horrible. So horrible that the power was barely worth the sickness that was spreading throughout his body. He wanted more. He pulled in more and more of the power until he was brimming full of it. He was going to explode from so much power. And suddenly it was gone. He could sense it but no matter how hard he reached for it he felt as if he was running head first into a wall.

 

"I had to shield you from the source because you were drawing too much," Tai explained.

[TaiDashan]

Tai thoughtfully watched Toram feeling for Saidin. He saw the wonder of Saidin and the disgust of the Taint roll across the man's face. Tai could feel the Power racing wildly through the man and almost slammed a shield in place when Toram lost control of it. The Power winked out as the man bent, retching on the ground between them. An acrid smell hung in the air as Toram looked at him in embarrassment.

 

"Sorry." He mumbled.

 

Weaving Fire, Air, and Water, Tai cleaned up the mess almost absently and assured the man that it was a common occurrence.

 

"Try again."

 

Toram did as he was told and closed his eyes once more. Cautiously Tai watched him. He half nodded in satisfaction. Good he had learned some control of- Biting back a curse he realized that the man was filling himself with too much of the Power. The man could not hold much without burning himself to a crisp but he was fast approaching that limit. Tai quickly slammed a shield into place and shoved irritation aside. It was not Torams fault, he should have warned him against the joy of it. Warned him why he should only take in a small amount. But, what was..was.

 

"I had to shield you from the Source because you were drawing too much." Tai said flatly. "I warned you to only take in a small amount, if i had been a hair slower you would be a melted pile of char right at this moment."

 

Tai let the harsh words sink in and watched horror pass across the man's face. Too many men died here at the farm for lack of caution. He was not about to let Toram be one of them and he said as much.

 

"Men die everyday here for a foolish lack of caution. I will not let you be one of those."

 

~Are you not one who was recently berated for a "foolish lack of caution?"~ asked the voice sweetly. Shoving it out of his mind he focused once more on his pupil.

 

"I hope you understand how serious this is now." He looked pointedly at Toram to drive home his words. "If you are ready to begin i want you to try again, hold a trickle of the Source, do not try to do anything with it. Simply hold it."

 

A few more hours passed and the man had been able to successfully hold Saidin after only a few more tries. Tai had not needed to shield him once. Seems he had scared the man sufficiently.

 

"Good." He praised the man, smiling. "Now I want you to study the flow of Saidin as you hold it." Chuckling at the look of disbelief on Toram's face he continued. "Yes it is possible to do more than just hold it. The Source is made up of 5 elements." He numbered them off on his fingers.

 

"Earth, Fire, Air, Water, and Spirit. See if you can pick out the different elements. Just try to notice them." After the man could tell them flows apart in the raging torrent of Saidin, Tai had him release the Power and the Void.

 

"Follow me over here." Tai led Toram a small way off, slightly closer to the spring. "Now I want you to do something small with each of the elements. One at a time."

 

Tai showed him the basics of weaving and sat down to watch what the man would do.

 

"Spirit cannot be seen with your eyes but i will be able to see the weaves. Begin."

[Dragon420]

I could've killed myself? I don't want that to happen when I've just now found this wonderful new ability.

 

Toram did as he was told and just held the smallest amount that he could, without attempting to grab any more. He just held it and was intent upon distinguishing the five different elements. finding Fire and Earth were no problem, and Spirit was just a fraction longer than either of those, but finding the Air and Water were slightly more difficult. I wonder why those were harder to seperate? Then Tai had him release the void and Saidin and follow him closer to the spring. As they sat down again Tai asked him to do something with each of the elements. Each of them huh? I know what I could do with the others but what could I do with Spirit? Well let's just leave that for last then.

 

With water he tried to stretch a small amount to the spring and swirl it in a cyclone shape and attempted to create a whirlpool. He actually managed to get it a little bit after about half a dozen tries. Then he brought a little water up onto the dirt into a small puddle. More like a big raindrop, He thought miserably.

 

Then with earth he wanted to take some dirt and pebbles around the small puddle and dropped them into the water and pushed them together with some amount of force making a hard mudball. He managed that after only about four tries.

 

With air he tried to pick up a small twig that had fallen off of a tree close by and dropped it on top of the mudball. That was hard! I feel as if I ran a mile.

 

And now fire. Using only the barest trickle of the most dangerous element (to him) he lit the twig of fire and pushed the thread of fire all over the mudball and baked it until it became hard and shiny. But it still looks like a mudball that was left in the sun, he thought to himself dejectedly.

 

Now what in the Light can I do with spirit? Well nothing to do but try something I guess. He tried to push some spirit into the mudball but nothing was happening. Maybe if I try some more and try to wave it around. As he added more threads of spirit and waved them around a some unknown type of weave started to form then collapsed with a loud bang. "Well I guess that I can't really do anything with spirit right now until I learn some things."

[TaiDashan]

OOC: Very creative, good Job!

 

IC:

 

Tai sat watching Toram weave. He tried hard things for someone new to the Power. He was eager to learn. Watching the man weave the mudball and bake it solid he noticed the residual weaves of Fire the man accidentally left in the ball. Spirit came last and Tai watched the man forming a weave around the fire. It was almost as if he knew what he was doing. Interesting. Very interesting. Not sure of how violent a reaction would occur, Tai wove Air around the ball to shield them from debris. Moments later it exploded.

 

"I'm impressed." He said, smiling at the man. "You did well. Let me show you a trick that some don't know about. I learned it on my own and since you did something fairly close to it by accident," He shrugged. "I might as well show you how to make it work."

 

Taking his time so that the man could learn Tai pulled a fist sized stone from the ground and fed a small amount of Fire into it, heating it. Then he wrapped the Fire with Spirit, compressing it.

 

"Give stone enough Fire and it will explode. Spirit can delay the explosion, and if you squeeze it can amplify the explosion as well." Tai wove Air and the stone rose high into the air before exploding with a loud bang, showering them in stone. "You could surprise an enemy by throwing what seems to be a warm rock at them, then...BANG!" Tai smiled at the man. "You have done well, lets go to the Inn for a meal. Glancing up he noticed that the day had faded to twilight.

[Dragon420]

"I'm impressed. You did well. Let me show you a trick that some don't know about. I learned it on my own and since you did something fairly close to it by accident, I might as well show you how to make it work."

 

I was actually close to making a weave by myself? With no previous knowledge of these things. Well I guess that I'm really lucky then. Toram thought ecstatically.

 

Watching what Tai did Toram was determined to commit it to memory. I will learn all the weaves possible. Even if it takes forever. As the stone was being pushed high into the air on flows of Air, it suddenly exploded showering rock fragments down on their head and shoulders.

 

"You have done well, lets go to the Inn for a meal." Toram and Tai got up and headed out of the clearing back towards The Farm.