A Blade Is Guided...{Attn: Kerian}

[TaiDashan]

Tai'woke with her perfume filling his nose. He rolled over to see her face smiling at him in the early morning light. But the only thing staring back at him was the rough wood of the wall. Reality crashed in like an ice cold hammer stroke. Aria was gone, and he had fallen asleep weeping on the floor of her room again.

 

The first few nights he had awoken himself not to mention Arath with his screaming. The following nights he had brought himself here to grieve and fallen asleep exhausted from the weeping. It had been roughly five days since her death and every one lay like a white hot stripe across his soul.

 

~To burn and be consumed in the Glory of Saidin, to end the sorrow in the embrace of the end.~ Chaos lamented.

 

For a moment Chaos tried to wrest control from him. Both in Saidin and in body. Anger fueled his efforts as he slammed Choas back to the recesses of his mind. The difficult part was that part of him, maybe the part that was Chaos, agreed with him. Part of him wanted to die...

 

Picking himself up off the cold, hard wooden floor he dragged himself into his own room next door. Scrubbing a hand across his face to clear the long dried tears from his cheeks, he busied himself with clearing away the last vestiges of his mourning. He looked at himself in the mirror and cursed himself for a weak and pathetic fool. For the hundredth time he resolved to not shed a single tear more for what was lost. What was done was done, the wheel wove as the wheel willed. Besides, he had a duty to preform. Donning his brushed velvet coat, he fingered the flames embroidered along the cuffs and from collar to hem. Being an Attack Leader would have made him as proud as a popin-jay once. But it came at a time his world threatened to cave in on him.

 

Sighing he walked down the hallway and down to the first floor of the manor. Grabbing an apple from the kitchen he made his way to the Traveling Room. Opening a gateway he stepped through, not far from the clearing. Making his way through the remaining trees he considered this spot for his new home. The clearing had been one of the first few refuges to him as a Soldier, and had remained so till now. He had claimed it in a way, here just southeast of the main grounds.

 

In the Northwest corner of the clearing the trees thinned a bit opening into a trail, leading back to the main grounds. It was a fairly open clearing with a large rock formation just taller than a man in the northeast corner. From that formation came a spring that had run cold even in the dead of the unnatural summer. It was frozen over now of course, except for a small hole for the gurgling water.

 

Making his way to the center of the clearing, Tai wove Earth and pulled up two low stone benches and a ring of stones between. Flows of Air brought branches to the ring of stones, and Fire lit them. Weaving trickles of Fire into each of the benches he warmed them to a comfortably warm temperature and sat munching his apple as he waited for his new mentee. The trees where rather large here, stretching to the grey, cloud scudded sky as if holding it up. As such, the wind was mostly cut and it was soon fairly warm next to the fire. After a while his Saidin enhanced hearing picked up Karadar making his way along the trail.

 

"Ahh, it is good to see you Karadar. I trust you slept well?" Even though the man nodded, it was clear it had not been the best night's sleep he had ever had. But who could blame him? It was crowded in the Barracks and knowing about the Taint kept many boys awake weeping at nights. Many of those had kept Tai awake in his early days. "Come, sit." He said motioning to the bench across from him. "Today you will learn your purpose."

[KerianAmbrai]

Karadar awoke with a start that morning. As the sounds of the barracks began to right themselves in his ear, he could hear the whimpers of men crying. Sleep had been fitfull at best, constantly interupted by the sobs or wails of the men around him. Sitting up, Karadar realized that it was not yet light outside, yet he had been awoken by the sounds of one of the other men getting up and muttering as he tip toed to the door. Listening carefully, Karadar heard the man muttering, “Gotta get outta ‘ere. Can’t go crazy…” Karadar jumped from the bed, his bare feet landing on the wood floor. The man jumped with a start and turned toward him, “Where do you think you’re going?” Karadar asked.

 

“I’m getting outta ‘ere! I don’t wanna die!”

 

“If you try to leave, you will die anyway. The Asha’man will kill you for your betrayal,” he said, rather matter of factly, “At least here you have a chance to do something honorable with your miserable, cursed life.”

 

“I’ll take me chances with them and my cursed life then,” the man said, turning back around toward the door. Karadar reach out and grasped his shoulder with his left hand spinning the man around to face him, while his right hand lashed out in a powerful hook, driven by arms more used to swinging hammers then fists. A loud crack issued in the barracks as his fist caught the left side of the man’s face and with a thump, he crumpled to the floor. Karadar shook his hand, as if trying to shake the stinging sensation from it. He left him lying on the floor, and grasped the side of the top bunk where he had been sleeping, then said to those who had woken to the sounds of their tussel, “Let the coward lay where he is. Maybe the pain in his neck will remind him that there’s worse then fists out there to keep him here.” He could hear whispers as he laid back down, but put them out of his mind, instead trying to focus on what the day would hold for him.

 

An hour passed, and the first rays of sunlight lit Karadar’s face. He hadn’t actually gone back to sleep, so he merely jumped out of bed, dressed, and left the barracks without saying a word. As he made his way across the farm, he made sure to offer a respectful nod and “Good Morning” to the Dedicated and Asha’man who were up and moving around the farm. It wasn’t long before he found the trail, following it southeast to an open clearing. Just as he turned the corner to bring the clearing into full view, he was greeted with the sound of Tai’s voice, “Ahh, it is good to see you Karadar. I trust you slept well?"

 

He nodded and said, “Well enough, I have no complaints sir.”

 

Tai motioned toward the wooden bench sitting across from him saying, “Come, sit. Today you will learn your purpose.” Karadar sat in the place indicated and steeled himself to take his first step into a larger world. He told Tai solemnly, "I hope it won't be a problem, but I thought you should know that I struck one of the other Soldiers this morning sir. I caught him trying to leave the Barracks to run away, so I knocked him out. I figured it'd be better dealt with right there then letting it escalate."

[TaiDashan]

OOC: Hey man sorry, bleh took forever...forgive me?  ;)

 

"Well enough, I have no complaints sir." Tai nodded and waited for him to take the stone bench in front of him. He was surprised by the next man's comment though. "I hope it won't be a problem, but I thought you should know that I struck one of the other Soldiers this morning sir. I caught him trying to leave the Barracks to run away, so I knocked him out. I figured it'd be better dealt with right there then letting it escalate."

 

He sat for a moment just looking at the man. It was rare that a soldier would act in such a manner. If anything they kept their mouth shut, believing that they would die soon anyway and the poor fool deserved to run. Oh there were some who mentioned it, or helped them find the deserters. But most men just did not act in such a manner.

 

"It is fine, Karadar. I am pleasantly surprised that you showed the courage to do so. If anyone takes an issue tell them they are to direct their discussion to me personally. If I hear you have been waving my permissions around like a get out of the dungeon for free ticket though," He warned. "Your life will become most unpleasant. Do you understand?" Karadar assented and Tai nodded in satisfaction. He did not think the man would do so, but it was best to set the understanding early. "Now, let us begin." Tai had taught many introductions to Saidin, each one unique in its own way. As he alwasy did, he started with merely sensing the Source.

 

"Do you know the Void and the Flame?" When the man answered no, he began to teach him. "I want you to close your eyes. empty your mind so that you are relaxed, floating in an empty void of nothingness." He nearly grinned as he watched the man struggle with countless distractions. "Difficult, to empty your mind isn't it? Now I want you to imagine a tiny, flickering flame. Move toward the flame until you can almost feel it's warmth." The monolouge was familiar to him and he relaxed a bit in its telling. "Now start to feed the flame with those distractions, one at a time feed everything into it. Sound. Smells. Emotion. Thought. One by one sacrifice them to the heat of the flame, consuming and erasing all distraction. Eventually you will find yourself floating in a Void. In nothingness."

 

Most men took sometime to acheive the Void, and Karadar was no exception. A half hour went by in silence as the man practiced the Flame and Void. Eventually he was able to hold the Void for a short amount at a time and Tai moved on.

 

"Good. Now I want you to achieve the nothingness again. This time while holding on to nothingness, stretch your awareness outward. This will be hard at first but trust me, over time it will become as easy as breathing. The way people explain what they sense is different. Some feel a light of sorts just out of sight like the sun on your back. Others feel a pulsing, like the flickering of a candle flame. Stretch out and feel this light. Do not reach out to it. Simply sense it. Let me know when you feel that light."

 

Tai sat back and waited for the man to sense Saidin for the first time. The look of wonder on most men's faces was enough to make this worth it, it always paled in comparison to when they actually took hold of it.

 

OOC: Sorry again about the delay. I assumed that as a blacksmith he wouldn't know the Void, let me know if I missed something in his bio and I will edit.  ;D

[KerianAmbrai]

OOC: Only if you forgive me as well!

 

Karadar sat with his eyes shut, in resolute silence, trying to empty his mind of all distractions. For him, that was no easy task. He had never been one to simply empty his mind. Even when he was working at his forge, his mind had been a constant stream of thoughts. He would prepare, rehearse, and plan for the worst all inside his own mind while he forged whatever he was working on that day. He imagined the flame, and before long he could see it before him. He could feel the edges of its blistering, all consuming heat lightly touching his skin.

 

Slowly, he began to feed the flame with myriad of stray thoughts entering his mind. A random thought about the weather, into the flame. A thought about his old forge, into the flame. The sound of rapid cooling steel bubbling in the blood of a noble, into the flame. One by one, he tossed each and every thought in. It wasn’t easy, since many of the thoughts would come unbidden back, and once he figured out how to stop that his mind would begin to manufacture new things, before too long he was finally able to hold that void. Devoid of thought for a moment, he was surprised when he heard Tai speak again, “Good. Now I want you to achieve the nothingness again. This time while holding on to nothingness, stretch your awareness outward. This will be hard at first but trust me, over time it will become as easy as breathing. The way people explain what they sense is different. Some feel a light of sorts just out of sight like the sun on your back. Others feel a pulsing, like the flickering of a candle flame. Stretch out and feel this light. Do not reach out to it. Simply sense it. Let me know when you feel that light."

 

Getting a little better at it, Karadar took a few minutes to clear his mind, and then sat there, holding onto the void. In a moment he felt it, a spattering heat on his back as if he were standing with his back to the ocean, being sprayed by light instead of water. He wasn’t sure how to explain it but he instinctively looked towards the source and found the cause. His mouth gaped open in astonishment as his attention was consumed by the flood of pure light, just beyond his reach. It was torrential, like a raging rapid that could consume the mind. His eyes snapped open as his thoughts began to race forward to the forefront of his mind. He tried to stand, but had forgotten how he had been sitting on the log and instead fell backwards over it. As he picked himself up off the ground, he looked to Tai, “What was that!?”

[TaiDashan]

Tai released the shielding weave he had prepared and chuckled as the man tumbled backwards over the bench.

 

“What was that!?” The man asked, his eyes wide. Tai remembered his first brush with Saidin, it was for that reason he had held the shielding weave ready.

 

"That," He began softly, "was Saidin. The Male half of the Power that drives the very Wheel of Time. The wheel that weaves the Pattern of existence as we know it." He could see the astonishment in the man's eyes. Saidin still made him feel that way, even after channeling daily for as long as he had. He couldn't help but chuckle when he thought of what the man had yet to experience, he had only sensed the Source. Tai could imagine his wonderment at actually seizing hold of it and feeling it coursing through his body.

 

"Now," He continued. "I want you to continue practicing the Void, along with sensing the Source. I want you to grow comfortable with it's presence in the nothingness. Once you have grown a little more accustomed, we will continue." Tai felt it was a good idea for a man to at least feel comfortable with Saidin simply being there before he took hold of it for the first time. It had proved for some to make the experience easier. Almost like preparing yourself to grapple with another man at feastday. It was always easier if you expected it.

 

A couple hours later, he took his eyes from the man in front of him and cast them skyward. Noting the sun nearing its zenith he spoke. "Good job. You have done well thus far." Weaving a flow of Air, he raised a sack with two apples and a bit of smoked meat. Tossing on of the apples and some meat to the man, he wove Earth and Air, forming clay mugs and filling them with water from the spring. Floating them over he wove Earth to pull a stone table from the ground between them. Setting his mug on the table he leaned his elbows on it. A hint of a grin passed across the face as he noticed the other man's expression.

 

"I think you are ready to seize Saidin for the first time. Before we move on, lets eat." He bit into the slightly wizened apple and munched happily, wiping juice from his chin. "Do you have any questions for me?" He said around a mouthful of fruit.