Class III: Time to Stretch your Wings

[Jehaine]

Much to her surprise (and relief), Jerinia wasn't feeling as nervous as she had felt at the start of her first two classes. Much like her students were getting used to the One Power, she guessed she was just getting used to teaching them about it. She shifted her seat, mentally going through the list of things she could teach them, and her desk held an assortment of items of all shapes and sizes, making it appear somewhat cluttered.

 

As her students started to drip in, she would greet them a little more enthousiastically than she normally did, which in all effect meant downright giddy for anyone else's standards. She'd wait until they were all seated, after which she would stand up again to walk in front of her desk as always, only this time having to move a couple of objects before she hd enough room to sit on the edge of the desk.

 

- "Good morning, i hope you all managed to get the threads under control, because i've got something special in mind for today's lesson. Remember last week, when i said you probably wouldn't be able to make any actual weaves? Well, today i'll be showing you a couple of simple ones. First though, i'll need you to show me how far you've progressed, so i have an indication of what elements you're all strong in. Any volunteers that feel up to going first?"

 

She beamed a smile at her students, waiting for the first person to come up. Would it be Allriane again? Or Katiana? Or perhaps her own mentee? Either way, she'd look at how well they could control their threads and pick simple, utilitarian weaves for them accordingly. The items she had on the table would help as well, acting as targets for them to unleash their weaves onto.

 

 

Great Teacher Jerinia

Calls for a hands-on lesson!

 

-----

 

((OOC: Look at this page and pick anything with a requirement of 10 Skill or below except Elemental Blades, Grenade, Quagmire and Air Shield. The objects on the table include large bowls of earth, a small pile of stones, some candles, a bucket of water and a stack of parchment (which Jerinia won't allow you to set fire to -- been there, done that :P). At your current ability they are all completely harmless, so practise a bit and have some fun.))

[Cleopatra Narisse]

Satin chose the center, front desk as usual. This left nothing to distraction for her. Well, except for any whining outbursts.

 

Jerinia called for the first volunteer to come up and learn their first weave. Satin stood right up and came up to Jerinia. Her eyes, relaxed as she stared at the imaginary dot on her Mentor's forhead. It was the best advice she had had from her.

 

"I would like to learn Create Fire."

 

She was not an anxious person but she did have a slight gleem in her eye for learning their first weave.

 

She had hoped also, that Jerinia would see that she is stepping up to do her part in class and a participant instead of observer. She loved to observe, everyone and everything.

[Jehaine]

Jerinia nodded, smiling as she heard Cleopatra bring up a Fire weave. She didn't know how much of that had to do with the girl's own training with the Five Threads and if she had perhaps been influenced by her talking about the element, but there it was. By the end of class, she figured there'd be plenty of chances to learn more.

 

- "Sure! Right, i'm going to do this extra slow, so pay attention and try to copy what i do. Please take hold of the Source so you can see for yourself -- Katiana? Allrianne? This goes for you as well, so you'll know what to expect when you're up for this."

 

A single red thread appeared, one that all three Novices would know it was Fire even if they hadn't heard Satin ask about it. The Accepted picked up a candle -- no use in making things unnecessarily difficult by using several weaves at once -- and held it out in front of her, allowing all three Novices to see it. The Fire thread seemed to slowly curl in on itself in a clockwise spiraling pattern around the wick, and after a few seconds smoke started to come off of it. A small flame appeared shortly afterwards.

 

- "This weave is called 'Candle Fire' for obvious reasons. Making the weave spiral counterclockwise makes it radiate heat outward rather than inward, and that would make the weave we call 'Heat'. Sorry ladies, no fancy names here like the boys in the Yards tend to call their sword forms."

 

She winked at that last bit, the amusement clear on her face as she thought back on overhearing a couple of Warders teach some forms to new arrivals. 'Kingfisher Takes a Silverback', 'Grapevine Twines', 'Boar Rushing Down the Mountain'... It all sounded a bit too flowery for her when in the end, it was just people trying to stab other people with pieces of metal. The One Power was much more fun. And easier to remember.

 

- "Right, now you might wonder why i showed you those two weaves first. Well... 'Create Fire' is basically a combination of the two. By having heat radiate inward like so... And outward as well using a second thread in the weave like so... The heat will continue to build up until..."

 

As she talked, a second thread appeared from her hands, both threads forming into the two respective weaves. The air started to shimmer in the center of where the two weaves overlapped each other and the air started to shimmer as the heat did indeed seem to build up. Then, a small flame seemed to pop up, appearing to hover there, though anyone able to channel saidar would be able to see the framework keeping it in place.

 

- "And there's your 'Create Fire' weave. Please keep in mind that you should not try to touch it without weaving Air around it to keep from burning yourself on your own Heat weave, but if you want to move it around, all you need to do is move the weave and the flame will follow. Move too much however and the weave will break apart in 'Candle Fire' and 'Heat' again, and the flame disappear."

 

She would help Satin by talking her through the process, telling her to master one weave at the time rather than to try and do both at once, and help her along by using her own strength in Fire to 'nudge' the weave in place if it threatened to slip out of control. After she would show at least a decent grasp on how to form weaves, she would send her back to her desk with some candles and a bowl of water to practise.

 

- "Right... Who's next?"

 

She looked at her two remaining students, Allrianne and Katiana. If she recalled correctly, Katiana seemed to have some strength in Fire as well, though there was really no way of telling which elements they would be interested in before they'd tell her what they wanted to learn.

 

 

Great Teacher Jerinia

Is on a roll tonight!

[Cleopatra Narisse]

Satin watched her Mentor without reservation and full intensity. She thought that during classes she could fully be herself without embarassing anyone.

She thought that learning two weaves was a bounus and was eager to learn them. As Jerinia opened herself to the source, Satin felt an awe and a pinge of jealousy at the same time. Her first excursion into practicing the One Power was quite exhilerating though, no one would have guessed it from watching her. She was internal. Everything harbored beneath the surface or if not there, exuded from her eyes.

 

The thin read thread caught her breath. It was a weave that she had seen before! It was during one of the boring and yet deeply suspicious gatherings between her mother and those... women. Those women must have been Sisters!

 

It dawned on her that all those meetings... all those women, were always Aes Sedai!! She wondered if the tower would know of her mother and if this in any way, would effect her relationship within the tower.

 

...- "This weave is called 'Candle Fire' for obvious reasons. Making the weave spiral counterclockwise makes it radiate heat outward rather than inward, and that would make the weave we call 'Heat'. Sorry ladies, no fancy names here like the boys in the Yards tend to call their sword forms." The last few words came rushing into her ears. She needs to pay attention here. These questions would never be answered here.

 

She listened to all else she had to say and making sense of it was easy enough. When Jerinia had completed her lecture and showing of the weaves.

 

Satin stood and met Jerinia with her eyes. "I am ready to try the first weave."

 

 

 

 

[Tigara]

Allrianne watched with interest as Jerinia showed Satin how to light candle with the Power. Well, that seems quite practical. How could the Power be evil if it can be so useful to someone as clearly in the Light as me? After  Satin was done, she stood up and wandered over to the candle.

 

She quickly reviewed what her teacher had said and mentally prepared herself to  replicate it, if possible. A usual, she dug her fingernails into her forearm and raked down with as much pressure as she could do without being woefully obvious about it. She didn't even notice that she had caused herself to bleed. She was too enthralled with the heavenly feelings that holding the Source gave her.

 

She reached for the reddish thread that always felt nice and warm and guided it to the wick. She began to wrap it around, but she lost her hold on it and it just vanished. She furled her brown and took hold of it once again. She went slower this time and slowly wrapped it around. She gave a little squeak when the candle suddenly had a small flame above it. She was speechless. She actually did it!

 

Allrianne Viventi

Still blocked

[Cleopatra Narisse]

She watched the instruction, and asked once more to see it. The candle was lit twice and on the uptake of it going out, Satin threw her soul into the lighting of it. The sinuous lines of the weave fluttered around in a ball, growing and pulsing. She pinpointed the ball into a the shape of an egg and further pinched the end until it was as sharp as a razors edge. She lightly gave it a shove in her mind as it floated nearer to the candle. It touched the wick and lit.

 

Her stomach lurched in butterflies. She could feel her smile burst open but couldn't look away from the weave just yet. She let it diminish as the pangs of loss took over. The One Power was something that she and all the other would have to tame. Or be burnt.

 

 

She smiled at her Mentor and returned to her seat. The next student went up, Tigara.

 

 

 

 

ooc: sorry this should have been before you

[Quisalas Selene]

Katiana rested her chin on her palm and scowled as first Satin and then Allriane approached their teacher and both learned the same weave.  She could wee what Jerinia had done from here, she didn't need to ask to see it over and over again.  Can't they teach us anything interesting?!  Fire was such an easy element to use, she had felt its eager willingness when she untangled the threads of Saidar for the first time, she couldn't see how lighting a candle, something any fool with a match could do.

 

She stood up and slunk to the front of the class as Allriane took her seat once more.  The two of them were practically beaming with happiness.  Katiana enjoyed holding Saidar, but she didn't see what got the witches all excited about a little fire.  Katiana was nearly as strong in Air as she was in fire so she decided to challenge herself with her weaknesses instead.

 

After speaking to Jerinia for a few moments about what she wanted to do, she was shown the weave.  Ripple would cause the soil in the large bowl to move to her will and reshape itself.  After watching the weave done once, and then twice, she took hold of Saidar.  In spite of her near-constant scowling, her face softened and she let go of a soft sigh as she felt the warmth and sheer joy of holding Saidar.  This is what she was here for, this sensation.  She didn't lust for the power of an Aes Sedai's political ties and she had a rather remarkably low interest in helping her fellow man - most of them were too stupid and unimportant to even bother thinking about.  But this sensation right here, the holding of Saidar and feeling the very magic of life flow through her, made her feel complete.

 

She wove Earth, concentrating hard.  She got the feeling that she ought to be able to do this, but she just couldn't make the stubborn element bend to her will.  She formed the weave carefully, noting every bend and tie in the pattern and making sure it was perfect.  As the weave touched the soil her eyes went wide.  It swelled up and then receded, leaving a perfect circle of raised ridge about half an inch high in the bowl.  It was perfectly precise - and terribly small.  She pushed further with the weave, trying to make the ripple move out further but the weave dissolved and dissipated even as she pushed. 

 

She sighed  as she let go of Saidar and scowled at the bowl, letting her frustration aimed at the inanimate Earth rather than at herself or her teacher.  She looked up when Jerinia spoke and nodded her head very briefly.  She'd formed a weave and held onto Saidar, it would have to be good enough for now.  The weave had even worked, to a degree.

 

She'd just have to get stronger.  She knew she was weak in Earth, anyway.  If she'd tried to do something with Fire, she probably could have set Allriane's pretty little hair on fire.  If she'd wanted to, anyway.

[Jehaine]

Jerinia watched as the students tried to master the basic weaves. Though her own lessons back when she was a Novice hadn't included actively channeling until she had spent at least a couple of months in the Tower, she didn't really think anything could go wrong with a class this small. Not in the way hers had gone wrong, anyway, with weaves flying left and right and--

 

Giving herself a mental slap on the wrist for having her thoughts trail off, she looked at the Novices sitting in class in front of her. She didn't say anything unless she felt she needed to, allowing them to improve their weaves through trial and error. Channeling hadn't really made any sense to her up until the moment she had first channeled, and she believed it for the best if 'her' Novices would have a small head start under her supervision.

 

She still kept a shield at the ready in case something went wrong, but it looked like everything went according to plan, them too focused on their own channeling to be distracted by each other. One could hear a pin drop. After a few more minutes, she softly tapped her nail on the wood, the sound meant as a gentle way to attract attention without startling anyone before she started to speak again.

 

- "Great job everyone! Though it's good to see you all so eager to learn, i doubt any of you would want to miss dinner over it, so i'd say Class is over now. There's still about... ten minutes to go before the bell rings, but you've earned the chance to get to the dinner hall early. See you all next week!"

 

After she had finished, she moved to collect the bowls, candles and parchment that were still sitting next to her desk, leaving the objects her students had been working with for last. If anyone wanted to spend some additional time studying she wouldn't stop them, though in her experience channeling could work up as much an appetite as swinging a sword in the Yards did. Not that she'd ever been in the Yards, of course... But she had spent a penance or two working in the kitchens, and knew the Warders certainly ate as much as the Novices and Accepted.

 

 

Great Teacher Jerinia

Just ended class