Weaving Spells

[Wayward_fool]

The air was chilly, though the sun remained high above. It was a small village. Barely a smattering of homes, closely building together so it gave the effect as though everything had melted together in the non-existent heat. In the large courtyard that featured a bust of some long dead king, children were playing with their parents watching form the shade of nearby houses. There was an atmosphere of normality. It was a simple place filled with simple folk. And this was one of their days.

 

Skechid sighed and turned his back on the scene. Behind him a man sat on a stool with a look of terror in his eyes, his hands were clutched on his lap. The other man in the room was similarly black coated as Skechid, with a sword pin in his collar. There was not much Skechid could do under the circumstance. Testing for male channelers was what the Black Tower did and so often the ones who turned out to be able to channel were not the ones who wanted to. And this one had to be dragged to the testing.

 

"Tsorovanm'hael?" Skechid shook his head in reply. And then gestured for the Dedicated to handle it. He was heading down to the Inn. Where he hoped a good Ale would relax him a little more.

 

((OOC: I'll meet ya at the inn.))

[Nynaeve]

Nynaeve muttered under her breath as she walked briskly, her hood pulled up, casting a shadow over her face. She faced no real danger in such a secluded village, but she didn't care to flaunt her presence either. Regardless, she suspected that the visits she paid to a few families for testing most likely meant that the word of her presence had already begun to spread. Such was the case in such small communities. She felt a stab of regret for not allowing Damian to accompany her, but her stubbornness won over. What irked her the most, though, was that she was returning empty handed. Finding new initiates for the Tower would have cheered her up to some extent.

 

Suddenly, Nynaeve came to a full halt in front of an inn. Probably the only inn the village had. Her intention was to return back to Tar Valon, seeing as her business was concluded, but she didn't see the harm in having one glass of mulled wine to sooth her after a long fruitless day. Nodding to herself, Nynaeve walked casually into the common room and found the most secluded corner in it. She left her hood up and waited to be serviced. The place was bustling with customers, filling the room with noise and laughter. Eventually, Nynaeve got too impatient to wait any longer. She got up and went to make the order herself. She tapped her fingernails irritably on the wooden surface, her serpent ring visible to anyone who cared to see.

 

 

 

 

Nynaeve

Yellow Aes Sedai

[Wayward_fool]

Skechid narrowed his eyes as the light glinted off the ring on the fingers of the woman at the bar. Aes Sedai? Here? Skechid glanced at her face, but the hood had obscured most of the face. It was not unusual for women to stay hooded indoors. Especially since it helped avoid attention. Skechid could tell from the way she acted that she was impatient. Perhaps on official White Tower business. It did not concern him. He had met far too many Aes Sedai and too many of them irritated him.

 

But he assumed it wouldn't make a difference anyway. His black coat was a dead give away. Most Aes Sedai would have been briefed about the Black Tower. And what it represented. Damn Arath and his bloody diplomatic delegation. Skechid was still unsure of where he stood with Aes Sedai. Too often their smile hid what they meant. Not that it would matter to a Master of Daes Daemar like Skechid. But it grated on his nerves. He had never really trusted Aes Sedai. Most of his contact with them had been purely out of necessity rather than interested. His own ability to Heal was nothing short of miraculous in the Black Tower, and his time spent with the Yellow Sitter, Camigwen Sedai, was a learning experience indeed. There was far too much history in the White Tower, that regretfully the Black Tower lacked. Too often his focus was on how to avoid the debilitating effects of the Taint.

 

He fingered the ring on his right hand. A single white stone embedded into a smooth gold band. An angreal found from the Stronghold. Not particularly strong, but Skechid was not a weak channeler by any count, and with the angreal he did not expect to worry. Besides, the Inn had two other Black Tower members in it. A Dedicated and an Asha'man. Neither were ass strong as Skechid, but they would do. Then there were the four others whom they had found from the village. All potential channelers and all trained enough in the past few days to light a candle without causing it to explode. Skechid's Healing had come in handy for that one occasion. Nobody knew what the man had done, but the room had been inhabitable after that.

 

Skechid glanced at the Aes Sedai again. He wondered how long it would take for her to notice him.

[Nynaeve]

Nynaeve nodded at the serving woman and indicated where she was seated. She slipped her a silver coin to secure herself a quick and courteous service and seated herself back in her table, leaving behind a cow-eyed woman. No doubt the maid had never seen a silver coin before, let alone held one. Nynaeve sat her hands casually on her lap, starting to wonder if it was such a good idea to linger in this village. It was taking longer than she would have cared for. But once her eyes settled on a particular person within the common room she finally admitted to herself that it was indeed a very bad idea to remain.

 

An Asha'man. There was no mistaking him for who and what he was. She noticed she was needlessly smoothing her dress and forced her hands to remain still on her lap. It was possible he hadn't noticed her, but she doubted it. Her ageless face was covered, but her ring was visible for everyone to see and her silks marked her as an outsider. She cursed under her breath at keeping the ring on, but it was too late for regrets.

 

There was some kind of truce in place, or so word said. But if there was one thing Nynaeve knew was that there were never any guarantees in life and one had to play it by ear. She thought about simply leaving, but after waiting for so long and making an order herself, leaving at that point would seem suspicious. No, she would drink her wine and she will leave the way she came. Part of her wondered if she should stay and find out the reason for his presence in the village. Maybe he was recruiting as well. But she decided that leaving was the best option. After all, she did not know if he was alone. No, best to report the information to the Amyrlin and leave it in her hands. She would be no use to the Tower if she got herself kidnapped or killed.

 

She was glad when the serving maid appeared with a glass of wine, giving her something to fiddle with and keep her from staring at the man. It also meant that she would be able to leave soon. She tried to pace herself and sip the wine slowly, instead of galloping it all down. She frowned down at the wine, suddenly not so sure she wanted to go back. She was going to get an earful from Damian when he finds out. It would be the last of her recruiting on her own, that was for sure. She could already feel him wary through the bond, no doubt sensing the tension she couldn't help but transmit to him.

 

She put the glass on the table, relieved that there was nothing keeping her anymore and got up. She managed three paces towards the exit before a man barged into the common room, trying to catch his breath between words. "Fire... spreading.... families trapped...." Nynaeve froze and her eyes betrayed her and settled on the Asha'man. His eyes were settled on her. She held his gaze for a moment and then left the common room, following the smoke. She couldn't leave before giving aid for those who needed it.

 

 

 

Nynaeve

Yellow Sedai

[Wayward_fool]

Fire!

 

Skechid rose from his desk. The rest of the Inn's crowd were already heading outside to help. Skechid walked briskly but did not run, his mind whirling in thoughts. As expected, there was chaos outside. Someone was organising a bucket chain, but they need not have bothered. For a moment, Skechid's skin prickled icily. A sign of a woman's channeling. That would draw the other two Black Tower men. But Skechid did not wait. The smoke poured out of three houses and already sparks were setting a forth on fire.

 

Saidin raged as Skechid wove deft weaves of Water and Air. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the Aes Sedai doing something as well, but he could not tell what. With her working on one of the houses, Skechid channeled his weaves into the one next to the forth. Flows of Air stilled the sparks that flew and doused them in Water. Skechid focussed his attention on drawing the heat out of the house. While the fire lowered somewhat, but it still burned. He split his weaves and drew moisture from the air with Water and formed a snake of water that pooled above the house. One splash should do it.

 

"There's someone inside!" Skechid's head whipped around at the shout and looked back into the fire. His Saidin enhanced eyes picked out three figured croushed far inside the fire. Glancing at the other two houses, he could see similar figures inside them. From the widening of the Aes Sedai's eyes, she had seen the same. Cursing, he splashed the wave of Water on the sides of the house. Steam rose where the water had touched it, but it did not lower the fire much.

 

"Storm Leader!" Skechid turned and faced the other two Black Tower men. A Dedicated and an Ashaman. Skilled enough, Skechid supposed. "What do we do?" The Ashaman's face was calm, but his voice was filled with concern.

 

"I want you to focus on drawing the heat out. Dissipate it as far away as possible. Water to extinguish what you can. And..." Skechid glanced to the sky. Cloudless. Great. "I think we need some rain. Dedicated Charen, do what you can, but keep it light. The houses will not stand a downpour. Ashaman Markonin, I want Water and Air. Now!"

 

Both saluted fist to chest. The Dedicated raised his eyes heavenward and Skechid felt the strength of Saidin in both of them.

 

"I'm going in." Skechid shouted and made a run towards the fire. Surrounding himself with a full Ward of Air and Water, he began splitting weaves around him. Water to extinguish the flames that came near him and Air to hold the beams together. Behind him, he could feel Saidin being woven. But he had no time to check what that had achieved. His attention focussed in on the three figures. Raising his hand, he wove pure Air. A horizontal spiral whirled into existence pushing aside the flames till they became a tunnel of flames. The heat was still strong, but at least he could see the people now. It did not look good. A woman sat weakly, craddling her two children, one of whom looked badly burnt while the other was slumped forward. But this was not a place to Heal.

 

"Storm Leader." A whisper beside him startled him. But Skechid was somewhat relieved to see the Ashaman next to him.

 

"We need to move them out, then help the others. I think we might have to forget about maintaining the houses and focus our attention on saving the people and stemming the spread of the fire. I'll hold the tunnel, you help move them out."

 

The other man nodded and they both formed flows of Air that carried the three people towards them. Skechid drew through the ring on his finger. The white stone seemed to blaze as Skechid wove more Air into the tunnel that surrounded them. Around them, burning things fell in showers of sparks onto the ground.

 

Turning towards the way they came from, Skechid motioned for the Ashaman to move ahead with the people, while he continued to channel the tunnel of Air outwards.

 

They emerged. Into more chaos. But above, the clouds were already gathering. Too much clouds.

 

Skechid cursed again. "Hold the rain, Dedicated Charen!" Skechid shouted. The houses would not be able to withstand the downpour. Cloud Dancing was a remarkable Talent, but the Dedicated was new to it, and his control was not complete.

 

"I will try, Storm Leader!" The Dedicated shouted back, his eyes never leaving the sky. Skechid felt another surge of Saidin, but the Dedicated's face seemed to be paling. "I'm not sure I can. I will try to slow it down."

 

"Do it! Or mark my words, you will not have a pleasant afternoon." Skechid shouted back before turning his attention to the other houses. "There's someone else in the second house. We need Healing and..." Skechid frowned and turned to the Aes Sedai. She looked back at him and gave him an almost imperceptible nod. There was no way they could do this separately.

 

This was looking to be a rather exciting day.