The Ties That Bind {Attn Arcon}

[TaiDashan]

Shadar dressed hurriedly in near dark of the early morning. Arcon had sent someone to meet with him in his room and said that he wanted to continue his training. Shadar had been at the fortress for about 2 weeks now and mostly had stayed to his rooms save when he needed a meal. He had been practicing with Arcon, the Adept asking him to try things increasingly more complex. He still struggled to seize Saidin when he desired, and still fumbled weaves. Shadar suspected there was something of a testing or measuring quality to their sessions, however he was learning quickly and that was enough for him so far. Most people here seemed fairly content to keep to themselves and Shadar was ok with that. He was quiet and really did not like people as a general rule. He had taken a liking to Arcon however. The man had earned his respect at least as far as most people had in a long time and worked hard to train him.

 

Quickly making his way through the hallways he practiced moving silently as he sometimes did when alone. He prized making himself as silent as possible. Walking on the balls of his feet and keeping close to the walls he sidestepped quickly, one foot crossing over the other. He was sure it was early enough that he would not encounter anyone, and walking quietly had its advantages. Coming into the courtyard he slowed to a more reasonable pace and walked in a more normal fashion. Pulling his cloak tighter around him against the chill, wet morning air he walked to where Arcon Waited for him. Inclining his head slightly as he had taken to doing, he spoke from beneath his hood.

 

"Good morning too you Adept Arcon. I am here as instructed."

 

He watched the man silently and waited for his lesson. Already Arcon had brought him far. He would take him farther if Shadar had any choice in the matter.

[Kura]

Arcon smiled as Shadar approached, the man had come very far in such a short time, but still, the man was no where near complete in even the Acolyte stage of his training. "Good morning Shadar. It is time to teach you the basics of weaving the one power." He waited for a moment, letting those words sink in. yes, the man had come astoundingly far for the time he had been here, but he wasn't even out of the basics yet.

 

"You've done pretty well for how long you have been here Shad, but its time to train you how to really become a channeler of the shadow." With that Arcon seized the source, weaving slowly he made several variations of offensive air weaves. Clubs, nearly blunt air razors, and the like. He was showing off, holding 5 weaves at once. "I have shown you two basic shields, earth and air. Use one to guard yourself." With that, Arcon sent an Air Club spiraling towards his mentee. The purpose of this was easy, teach him to grasp the source whenever needed, and use it immediatly.

 

Arcon full expected to have to heal Shadar after this session.

[TaiDashan]

"Good morning Shadar. It is time to teach you the basics of weaving the one power."

 

Shadar looked at the man consideringly. He had suspected that he was no where near competent in his control of Saidin.

 

"You've done pretty well for how long you have been here Shad, but its time to train you how to really become a channeler of the shadow." Arcon seized the Source and slowly wove flows of Air. They were fairly basic but before the weave could make sense Arcon spoke again. "I have shown you two basic shields, earth and air. Use one to guard yourself." With that he struck, multiple weaves flying towards Shadar at once.

 

He had not even been in the Void, waiting for the command to seize Saidin first. He floated in the Void as the first blows struck. Long ago Shadar had learned to shut out physical pain, he didn't even grunt as one struck him a blow that made his head ring. By the time the strikes returned he was far more prepared. He fumbled for the Source as soon as he was in the Void, fumbling truly was the word. On his third try he was successful. He drank deeply and filled himself with its bone-shattering, molten, filth coated life. Two more clubs of Air caught him, one in the ribs and another to the jaw before he could throw up a shield of Air. Grim determination settled outside the Void like a dustcloak. A small piece of Shadar's mind screamed for him to strike back, to kill the man that had attacked him so suddenly. Instead he watched the weaves used against him and countered as fast as he could. Still many struck, knocking him off balance for yet more blows to fall. Not that it exactly caused him pain. Not in the sense that most people would feel it, but he was aware and not happy. The more he struggled the faster they came. He was only fending off about one third of them when suddenly they ceased. Shadar realized he was crouched slightly and calmly straightened. He gazed at the Adept warily. He would not underestimate this man again.

[Kura]

Arcon stopped weaving, and closed his eyes. Still, he held the source, but its warmth couldn't quite chase out the chill he felt. Looks like I pushed the golden child to far. "I'm sorry Shadar. I am still new to teaching, and I thought if I forced you, you would prosper. It looks like I was wrong." With that, he walked over to the man, slicing his shield and laying a hand upon him. He wove a basic healing weave, it was never his primary skill. It was however, strong enough to rid the man of most of the aches and pains. "What you did, you fell into yourself... You took the pain. I have seen that before, when people are so accustomed to it they simply grunt through it."

 

Arcon took a few paces back, "I am sure that reflex has saved you in the past, but..." He wove, not at Shadar, but in the area. Fire and air combined to make a torrent of flame 6 feet tall, he wove earth into the ground, making small spheres form. Using air he flung them into the air, and then air and fire to force them to explode. Deftly he wove a shield of air around the pair to protect them from falling debris. "Against a channeler, your only chance is reaction. That is what I was trying to teach you. Now release, grasp, and weave something 10 times. Get used to the feeling of it leaving you Shad, and force it to come back to you whenever you desire. I don't care what you weave." With that, he turned back to face Shad, releasing the source.

 

If the man wanted to retaliate, Arcon would seize it once again, but he did not wish to threaten the man further.

[TaiDashan]

"I'm sorry Shadar. I am still new to teaching, and I thought if I forced you, you would prosper. It looks like I was wrong." Shadar watched the man approach with eyes flat as gray slate. He was not sure what he could do against the Adept should he choose to attack again, but what the man had said made sense. He tensed slightly as the man lay a hand on him and nearly struck out with the Source when he felt Arcon's Channeling.

 

"What you did, you fell into yourself... You took the pain. I have seen that before, when people are so accustomed to it they simply grunt through it." Shadar nodded slightly as Arcon stepped back a few paces. "I am sure that reflex has saved you in the past, but..." Suddenly he wove a torrent of Fire and rocks exploded over head. "Against a channeler, your only chance is reaction. That is what I was trying to teach you. Now release, grasp, and weave something 10 times. Get used to the feeling of it leaving you Shad, and force it to come back to you whenever you desire. I don't care what you weave."

 

Arcon stepped back and released Saidin. Shadar considered the man for a moment. the fact that he left himself defenseless, or as defenseless as the man was being the more experienced, spoke more for his earlier explanation than any words. Nodding slightly Arcon released. It only took a few tries before he was able to fill himself with Saidin on command, there must have been something to that little exercise after all. Weaving Earth as Arcon had, Shadar shot balls of stone into the air and turned them to dust with weaves of Fire flying from his fingers. The corners of his mouth twitched upward slighly as he wove. It felt good to redirect the pain outward again.

[Kura]

Arcon smiled as his student wove, "Good! Now, to get a bit more advanced. Weave the threads, use multiple elements. nautural law usually applies to the power. Air makes fire bigger for instance, water and earth make mud or some variant." Arcon again seized the source, pulling a stone to his hand. "This weave is called a grenade, the first of the true combat weaves I'll be teaching you." Into the stone he wove air and fire, and simply threw the rock. It landed 10 paces away and exploded into a shower of rock. "Barbaric, but effective. Most of the true attack weaves are a combination of earth, fire, and air. Of course the others can be used as well, but these are the simplest."

 

Arcon wove fire and air together, causing a globe of light to form in the air. "Another utility weave, even though we serve the shadow, we lack the night vision of the Fades. Though with more strength, "He wove thicker strands of fire, with a touch more air and the ball ignited. "A fireball, as useful a destructive device as any I'd say."

 

Arcon looked over the Acolyte, and nodded his head. "Though in truth, you've got the basics of weaving down, and over the next couple weeks I will pound so many weaves into your head, it'll be a wonder if you remember them all on the first try. I want to teach you something more today, how to make a weave last." With that, he again wove air and fire, bringing a globe of light to bear, and twisted the ends together, tying off the weave, and then released the source. Of course, the globe remained. "Try it, it'll be another thing to practice, along with something I know you have wanted."

 

With that Arcon seized the source and wove air and fire, and sliced the globe apart. The recoil from slicing his own weave was... odd, but manageable. He spun eleven more globes, slicing another one for demonstration, and tying off the rest. "Go ahead, slice them to bits." With that, he again released the source.

 

Arcon wanted Shad to succeed at this, for one reason. He knew he damaged his chances with being so aggressive, and needed to repair that damage. Shad seemed to need a gentle touch to push him. He'd have to quiz Terra a bit, her particular brand of manipulation seemed to fit this one better...

[TaiDashan]

Arcon smiled. "Good! Now, to get a bit more advanced. Weave the threads, use multiple elements. nautural law usually applies to the power. Air makes fire bigger for instance, water and earth make mud or some variant. This weave is called a grenade, the first of the true combat weaves I'll be teaching you." Arcon wove Fire, and Air into the rock and tossed it. It exploded neatly into a shower of dust and debris. "Barbaric, but effective. Most of the true attack weaves are a combination of earth, fire, and air. Of course the others can be used as well, but these are the simplest."

 

Shadar took it all in. The man was going on as if all were forgiven, truth be told it mostly was. The logic of the situation appealed to Shadar and he understood the tactic. One a side note, the gernade weave could be interesting. Taken to bigger scales it could turn walls into dangerous tactical locations. Not that Shadar had the strength for that, but as with everything, he filed it away for later consideration. Arcon showed him the globe of light before pushing more Fire into the weave and adding Air. It flashed to flame and burned before Arcon released it.

 

"Though in truth, you've got the basics of weaving down, and over the next couple weeks I will pound so many weaves into your head, it'll be a wonder if you remember them all on the first try. I want to teach you something more today, how to make a weave last." Arcon wove Air and Fire. He waited until was sure Shadar was watching and deliberately twisted the ends of the flows, tying them into a knot. It was a simple knot that Shadar was sure he could unravel but that was not the point. Arcon stood there after releasing, but the globe remained! "Try it, it'll be another thing to practice."

 

Shadar stood in thought for a moment. Saidin sang along his veins and cried out to be used. Weaving a web of Fire laced with Spirit, he added a small flow of Air and held it. The weaving was complex but it did not seem to do anything. The corners of his mouth twitched downward ever so slightly in what for Shadar constituted a frown. Releasing the weave he tried a few others, using all the elements and practicing the slicing he had been shown. Finally he balanced a small ball of Fire and Air on one finger, twisted the ends and knotted it. Releasing the Source he looked at Arcon.

 

"You have taught me much. For that I am thankful." He paused and considered the man. Nodding slightly to himself as if deciding something he continued. "I will do my best to learn any weave you teach me. I live to serve." Bowing he hid the briefest upturning of his lips. He had heard that term murmured in the halls one night as he was drifting off to sleep. He had liked the sound of that.

[Kura]

Again the man succeeded, that was good. He was shaping himself up nicely for Arcon's purposes. The man's glee when using the destructive weaves was evident, and his purpose was coming into mind, exactly what tool he would be to fulfill that purpose was still unclear, but it was shaping up nicely. As Shad bowed his head and pledged his servitude, it took every ounce of his training to keep himself from leaping up into a heel click.

 

Still, it had been almost too simple for the kind of devotion that this man was displaying. There had to be a trick, or a half truth. "You live to serve, hmm? Quite the statement there, and in return, I will make you ready to serve." He believed he had found the truth behind the man's statement, referring to the Great Lord instead of the Adept. Still, Arcon would gain his loyalty, at least as long as they remained useful to each other.

 

The question was though, how would he maintain that loyalty? He couldn't teach him forever, at least not in the power. What other life lessons would he need, or maybe other arrangements would be made. As Shad had his head bowed, a smiel crept over the pale features of Arcon Dadread. Yes, that would do.