What will get us first?

[_Kynwric_]

Kyn wrapped his arms around her in return. "You want me to discuss tactics with an Aes Sedai greiving her Warder? Do you know how insufferable they are... prone to weeping at nothing or worse, being angry at the slightest... its almost like a pregnant woman." He pressed a kiss to her lips and released her from his arms and ducked out of the tent to do his tour.

[U4ea]

Loraine's lips quirked in response, but she didn't say a word as he ducked out of the tent. She shook her head slowly and moved to the cot, stretching herself out on it and hoping sleep would claim her soon.

 

~Loraine

[Rasheta Ardashir]

Rasheta was barely listening, to Kathleen, she was concentrating on eating and scanning the area. She knew they weren't that far from the Tower yet but you never knew what could be waiting for you outside of the tower, or even within it for that matter. She took another bite and Kathleen said something that caught her attention.

 

"But I do ask to be told if there is more to this journey than my training?"

 

Rasheta was going to answer but Loraine beat her too it. Inwardly Rasheta grimaced and mentally said "of course there is more to this trip silly child. Life is not all about you." Rasheta then chastised herself for the thought. She liked Kathleen and she was new it wasn't her fault she wasn't sure what was going on. Loraine told her that they were going to retrieve something and if Loraine didn't make it Rasheta would make sure the mission was carried through. That was true, Rasheta was fiercely loyal to the Green Ajah and she liked Loraine, she would try and make sure the other made it through the mission. Rasheta yawned then and stood up and moved away from the fire just enough that she wouldn't get sparks on her blanket and she told Visar. "When its my turn for watch wake me." He nodded and she went to sleep.

 

The next days passed more or less easily, no one ambushed them and the Warders and Arath seemed to have come to some kind of understanding about each other. She wasn't sure what had happened but she wasn't about to ask. When they made camp again Rasheta took several pieces of meat from the stock they had and then called Kat to attend her. The two moved away for another lesson in Battle Weaves. Kathleen had been practicing the other Weaves for several days and it was time to move onto something else. Rasheta told her to practice all of them over the next several days till Loraine decided to teach her again then she said.

 

“For the next several days we will be learning water weaves, I am particularity good with these, water is one of the elements that women are stronger in. However, do not be worried if you do not get these on the first try. They all take practice."

 

Embracing the source she began to speak, “The first weave we will be learning is called Boil and I’m sure you can imagine what it does. I learned how to do this weave with a large piece of meat and I find that it is accurate way to work with it.” She thew the meat she had brought down and then backed up and pulled Kathleen with her. "Now watch closely!" She said to Kathleen. Rasheta wove water into the meat until it flowed freely through the veins and arteries inside of meat. With that she began to feed fire into the weave and increase the amount until you could actually see the meat cooking as well as smell it.

 

She turned back to Kathleen and said “I’m sure you can only imagine what this would do to a Trolloc, I have found it to be a valuable aid in any battle. In fact I have used it before and it does wonders for saving your life or that of your sisters or warder.” She stepped aside and gestured at a fresh piece of meat for Kathleen to try…

 

 

Ooc- Boil: Fire 2, Water 2, Skill…27!

[Kathleen]

Kathleen tried not to complain during the next days' ride but the more they rode the more tender she seemed to be. She remembered a time as a child where she could ride for days with no tenderness and very little stiffness, but those were long years before. She had a feeling that she would be used to it once again when she was fully Green and free to ride off where and when she wanted to, but those days seemed years away still. She thought more than once on channeling some comfort but while she was Aes Sedai and free to channel as she pleased, she knew it wouldn't reflect well on her when the others saw how she babied herself. She was a going to be a Green and such she had better get used to living in uncomfortable situations, some day when she was in the blight with Trollocs on her heels this would seem a dream of higher living and so she tried to act as if her back and bottom weren't as sore as they felt. Complaining couldn't change things and so she didn't.

 

They finally set up camp again and Kathleen was summoned to meet with Rasheta. The girl grinned with the realization that she would be learning more. She had been practicing the Air Weaves and she was feeling much more comfortable with them, she was ready for something new. She met up her night's teacher and tried not to look as excited as she was. Rasheta explained that she would be teaching her water weaves and Kathleen watched carefully as the other Aes Sedai showed her the first of the weaves. The theory was simple enough, but one Kathleen was sure she wouldn't have thought of on her own in the heat of the battle. She cringed at the thought of how it would feel to have water forced into your veins and then heated up from the inside out.

 

Kathleen let out a nervous breath and calmly embraced the source. She hated being watched, especially when doing something for the first time, and especially when she had just been shown, but she knew it was necessary so she focused and relaxed and began to weave water into the new piece of meat. On her first attempt she broke a vein and the water pushed out into the rest of the meat, she assumed that it would still work if she continued but she wanted to show that she could do it precisely as it was meant to be done so she pulled the water out and started again. She forced the water in to the tight veins and watched as the meat swelled slightly and then began to weave fire into it as well. She slowly changed her weaves of fire to increase the heat and intensity and when the meat began to boil as Rasheta's had Kathleen smiled and looked to Rasheta to see if she should stop or keep going, but the woman nodded approvingly and Kathleen let the weave go.

 

"I bet these smell a lot better than the Trollocs who have been through it," Kathleen joked, "but I bet the Trollocs put up more of a fight." Kathleen hated to think about being in a battle, it was one thing to learn about it, and practice tactics and weaves, but it was quite another to really be face to face with something that was trying to kill you. She hated that she was scared, what kind of Green would she be if she were scared to fight. In principle she stood strongly for what the Greens were, and she knew when it came down to it and she were faced with the worst she would take up arms and run in head first, but until it was a now or never situation she always worried that she would choose never and she would run. She knew that she wouldn't, the past had shown her that she would fight, if not for herself than for others, be it physically or vocally she would stand for what she believed in to her last breath, but it still didn't stop her from feeling how she felt when thinking of the Blight.

[Rasheta Ardashir]

Rasheta was proud of Kathleen, the girl was throwing herself into learning the weaves as well as helping them in there travels. She would be a good addition to the Green Ajah. Rasheta called Kathleen again the next night and said, "Good work so far but we are far from done."

 

She took a couple of steps forward she began to work o the next weave as she explained it. “The next weave is called Drown. I’m sure you can figure out what that means. It’s a fairly easy weave and very effective in battle but only if you can get your enemy to stand still long enough to die.” Rasheta remembered Jaydena had chuckled at that statement but Rasheta didn't. She found it sad when you were forced to use the weave on another human. Rasheta looked around and saw a tree with low branches they were at about head height. She nodded to Kat and said "Watch closely." Again and then she did the weave. It looked like a ball of water merging around the branch. When she was done she released the weave and nodded to Kathleen saying.

 

“It might look difficult but the water weave does a lot of the filling in of holes itself, I’m sure you can handle this weave. Try it and continue practicing the others till you can do the weaves without thinking about it." Rasheta went and sat down

 

OOC: Drown, External (Water 3, Skill 13).

[Kathleen]

Kathleen had stayed up late into the night practicing her new weaves. Some of it was from wanting to perfect it, but most of it was to show the other Greens that she was working hard, hoping that somehow it would help them to judge her worthy of joining. Any little thing she could do to help her time as Initiate come to end sooner she would try. She knew enough to know that they would be well aware of what she was doing, and she knew enough to know that almost all Initiates would have done the same. This would probably not impress them all that much, but with the small chance that it would she took full advantage of it and practiced every night after she was dismissed. She made sure to stop and go to sleep early enough that she would be well rested in the mornings of course. She had to keep her strength up to pack and travel at any moment, and to help with things around the camp each day.

 

She liked working with Rasheta, and she was more comfortable with her than the others, though she hoped that would change. Having so much time to spend with Loraine and Olmena was letting her get a chance to get more comfortable with them and getting to know them much better much faster than she thought she would have had they not left the Tower. Not that Olmena was in any real state to get to know her. Kathleen did try to engage her, but often felt at a loss for words, not really knowing or being able to understand what the woman was going through.

 

She arrived for her nights lessons as directly as she could, so the other woman was not left waiting for her. She watched Rasheta form the sphere of water and must have let the concern for how complicated it looked cross her face as the Green reassured her that while it looked difficult it was quite simple and the water would do most of the filling in itself. Kathleen began the weave and smiled as it began to form in the same way as Rasheta's had. It really was easier than it looked. When she had successfully made the sphere itself she let it dissolve and began to reform it around the same branch of the tree that Rasheta had shown her on. She was a little slower to form the weave around the object but it did come together on the first try. She let it go and then tried it one more time, a little faster. When she was comfortable with it she let go of Saidar. She knew she would stay up and practice more, if she wasn't wanted for another task, and she didn't want to keep Rasheta tied up babysitting her.

[Rasheta Ardashir]

Rasheta was paying close attention to Kathleens training, she would correct her here and there but the girl learned quickly. Rasheta was proud of this, the girl had showed promise before and now that promise was being lived up to. She did wonder how Kathleen would handle her first battle, but that was a thought for another day. The next time it was time to train Rasheta called Kat for the final water weave. Then Loraine would train the girl again.

 

“Our final weave is called, Freeze, we will be using some meat as we did earlier only we will be doing the opposite kind of weave. This weave is the favorite of my Captain General when I was raised to Sister of the Green, she taught me well. I have used this in battle, although not as much as Jaydena says she has.”

 

Embracing the source she began to weave water once more into the meat that she had used earlier, this time however she began to slowly infuse the weave with air and strengthen the weave with Spirit, and before long the meat had frozen solid from the inside out. When she was done she turned to Kathleen “As you can see I used equal parts Air, Water, and Spirit. Water to attract the water in the bloodstream, and supplement it; Air to make it colder, until it froze; and Spirit to bind the weave together and lend it extra strength.”

 

OOC: Freeze (Air 2, Spirit 2, Water 2, Skill 6)

Edited February 27, 2011 by Rasheta Ardashir

[Kathleen]

Kathleen spent most of the day just waiting for her lesson. She had thought when she was raised that she would finally be done with taking lessons from the Aes Sedai. She had thought that they would be equals, and while the other's had more experience and a lot of knowledge to offer it would be picked up in other ways. At least her lessons were on the using the One Power, she didn't think she could ever become tired of learning new weaves. Still she was quite used to lessons, and these ones were far more informal than the ones she took as a Novice or Accepted. It very much seemed as a transfer of knowledge from one who knows to one who does not, and less like a true lesson in the class rooms had. The informality was welcomed, as was the guidance.

 

The last water weave had a little more to it than the others, but the theory was sound. She watched Rasheta preform the task and then took her time to repeat it. She filled with sweet warmth of saidar and wove the threads of water into the veins of the cut of meat, as she had when she was taught Boil. This time she only needed to do it once to do it correctly, and she began to slowly add in the Air and Spirit until the meat was frozen solid. These weaves all seemed so simple, but they could take a life. What a torturous way be taken out of this world. She shuttered at the though, but these weaves would come in very handy through out the years. The thought of using them on a living creature made her uncomfortable, but she knew she wouldn't use them unless she had no other choice. They would not be used unless a life was at stake, and then she would have them if she needed them.

 

She thanked Rasheta for teaching her these, though she knew the woman had no other choice. Then she sent off to get some sleep. They had a long journey ahead of them.

[U4ea]

Loraine waited until camp was calming down, watching those around her carefully. She'd asked Kyn to scout out a bit further than usual to make sure there wasn't anyone creeping up on them, as the lessons she was about to teach Kathleen this evening wouldn't be easy to hide. Fire was never easy to hide. The only thing worse was Earth weaves. She saw him move back into the line of the campfire and nod once. She smiled and barely resisted the urge to throw him a kiss before he disappeared again. She eyed Kathleen, her smile turning to the youngest Green. She wasn't sure how comfortable Kathleen was with Fire, but there was no time like the present!

 

She waved Kathleen over. "Come, walk with me?" As they moved away from the quiet chatter of camp, she twirled her wedding ring around on her finger. "How are you with Fire?" She asked quietly. She'd snuck an angreal from the Green stash, just in case Kathleen had trouble with the weaves she was about to show her. "Fire is an element women are usually not very strong with, but it's always good to know what your limits are before you start stretching them. These weaves aren't easy and they're very difficult to hide, so practicing them will be close to impossible as we get closer to the Amadacian border. However, I have a feeling you're going to need them. I'm not willing to risk..." she paused and looked away. "...anything, to be honest, just because it's not a good time to make sure you have what you need."

 

She turned back, her soft smile back in place.

 

 

~Loraine

next is the scary part... *grins*

[Kathleen]

Loraine called Kathleen away to start her training for the night and Kathleen happily joined her. "How are you with Fire?" Loraine had asked. "Fire is an element women are usually not very strong with, but it's always good to know what your limits are before you start stretching them. These weaves aren't easy and they're very difficult to hide, so practicing them will be close to impossible as we get closer to the Amadacian border. However, I have a feeling you're going to need them. I'm not willing to risk...anything, to be honest, just because it's not a good time to make sure you have what you need."

 

Kathleen shivered at the thought of going into Amadacia, the Whitecloak's still made her nervous and she was walking right into their territory. She shivered even more when the Green suggested that there was a good chance Kathleen would actually need to use the battle weaves she was learning on this outing. She had assumed that they were just teaching her as they went to get it over with, she didn't think she would actually need to use them for years to come.

 

"I am not bad with fire, actually. I am not strongest in it, but I am not as weak in it as some." Kathleen answered. She was a little concerned of making errors with fire, it could mean devastation, but she knew there were ways to handle it before anything got out of hand. I just won't let there be errors, she thought.

[U4ea]

Loraine smiled at the light of determination in Kathleen's eyes, but didn't say anything about it.

 

"Good then. I've brought an angreal with us, just in case you need a little added strength to help you practice the weaves. Sometimes it's easier to use one, as it can help keep you from exhausting yourself while you're practicing. It's here, in case you want to use it." She passed Kathleen the small bag she'd had tied on her belt, then paused and looked back towards camp to gauge the distance she needed for this training. Content that they had enough room, she twisted a weave and created a dome that stretched back towards camp at least half the distance. It wasn't a very intricate weave, but it would dampen the sound a little, at least. She turned back towards Kathleen, leaving the weave active so she could feel movement around it, just in case. She was strong enough to handle more than one at a time and she needed the practice, too.

 

"Alright, let's start with the most obvious one. Big balls of fire that you can hurl at an enemy. I'm sure you've learned something similar to this weave in basic and advanced weaves. We've just made it a little... hotter?" She smiled and twisted the Fireball weave together, carefully layering Air and Fire together until she had a rather sizable ball of flame dancing over her palm. "The size of the ball is mostly determined by your strength in Fire, so naturally it can be enhanced with an angreal. Whenever you're ready, go on and give it a shot."

 

She smiled encouragingly, helping when Kathleen needed it and backing off and letting her play with the weave when she didn't. When she was comfortable that Kathleen got it, she moved on.

 

"The next weave is a little more difficult. This one is called Combust and it pretty much does exactly what its name implies. You can cause just about anything flammable to ignite on its own." She pointed to a small bush a few feet away and then twisted threads of Fire and Spirit together, gently laying them over the bush. Since it was far from dry, it took a few seconds, but soon a fire enveloped the bush, turning it to ashes in a matter of minutes. She took a deep breath. "The usefulness of this one is pretty simple, I think. You can cause the clothes on your enemy to erupt into flame in the middle of a battle, taking out not only the person who bore the brunt of your weave, but also anyone standing nearby. It's also pretty hard to concentrate on the enemy on the other side of a battle field when you're trying to put out the fire on the guy in front of you. Makes them easier targets that way, too." She gave herself a mental shake, pushing away a memory of having used that particular tactic, before turning back to Kathleen. "Pick something that is not me and try it!" She winked at Kathleen and lifted her hand to the surrounding area. "Just try to stay within the bubble..."

 

Again, Loraine assisted when needed and stayed out of Kathleen's concentration when she wasn't. When she was confident that Kathleen had the weave down, she moved on to the last one.

 

"The last weave we're going to work on tonight will look more like a parlor trick than a deadly weave. Just don't underestimate it." She paused and twisted the relatively diffiult weave together, smiling as small flames ignited and danced among the bushes to their left. It looked like a small army of torches were bobbing along to the cadence of a moving army, if that army was about three feet high. Wherever the flames touched, the bushes erupted in fire. "This one is pretty hard to do, so try starting with one little flame and then adding more as you feel more comfortable. While it may look pretty simple, keeping that many flames dancing is really pretty hard to do. Besides camouflaging how many people are in your army, you can also use it to set small fires just about anywhere you can reach among your enemy lines. It's called Phantom Fire for a reason." She paused and smiled, letting the weave die and using a sharp weave of Air to blow out the flames she'd started. "Go on, give it a try."

 

She settled down to watch Kathleen play with that one, giving pointers and praise as the tiny lights began dancing in the brush.

 

"Very good," she smiled up at Kathleen. "I know you'll want to practice these, but I caution you about setting too many fires among the brush on our way. The last thing we need is highlighting our trail all the way to Amadacia, after all. Let me know when you want to practice them and I'll be happy to help you scout a good spot, hold the bubble so you can focus on practicing and even help you hide the mess afterwards. For now, I'm sure they have camp set up and I don't know about you, but I'm starving! Let's go find dinner before we dry up like those bushes!"

 

 

~Loraine

As always, feel free to throw Lor in helping or keeping silent as much or as little as you want. The breakdown for the weaves are:

 

 

Fireball (Air 2, Fire 4, Skill 13)

Combust (Fire 4, Spirit 4, Skill 16)

Phantom Fire (Air 2, Fire 2, Skill 16)

[Kathleen]

Kathleen really didn't have much trouble with fire, but she was not about to turn down the chance to use an angreal. It would save on her energy, but mostly it was just the chance to handle more at once that she didn't want to pass up. Kathleen did have some experience with fire balls, she even had some experience with Whitecloaks and fireballs, so the first fire battle weave was no trouble. She practiced making a few, some with the help of the angreal and some on her own, just so she could really judge just how much she do on her own and what to expect when she had only her own ability to draw on. She threw a few to see the range, making sure to stay within the dome Loraine held. She made sure to extinguish the fires before they did very much damage. She didn't bother trying to hide her smile, she was not among the rest of the tower where she had appearances to keep up, she was out in the wilderness, with a woman who she truly hoped she could just be herself around someday.

 

The second weave, Combust, looked simple enough, but it did take a few tries for Kathleen to get the proper set up for it. When she did get it she tried it a few more times just be sure that she really did have it. She hoped Loraine didn't think she was just wanting to play with the fire more, she really wasn't much for playing with dangerous things, but with the thought that she may actually need to use these weaves in the near future, she really wanted be sure she could do the weaves with out thinking about them too much.

 

Kathleen watched as the flames of the third battle weave danced away from Loraine, and for a few seconds Kathleen felt mesmerized. It would be good parlor trick, she could have some fun with that one. It did look complicated, but she took a her time starting with one flame. Even that took a few tries to go from just burning the spot she made it in to bouncing away from her. When she had the one flame going well she added another one and tried to line up the bouncing properly, and when she had them going she added another. She got up to four of them and knew that with practice she could get to smoother. Nothing was going perfect it at this point, she had figured out how to handle the weaves to do it, and the only way it would improve would be through practice.

 

Thankfully Loraine did offer to take her off to practice them. She had been practicing the other weaves still and getting better with them, but Loraine was right, these weaves would not be good to practice on her own, or every night. Between the two of them they were good to extinguish all the flames, but the ashes and burnt bushes still showed that they had been here. And the closer they got to their destination the less they wanted be noticed, and the less of a trail they wanted to leave as they moved on.

 

~ Kathleen

Initiate of the Green Ajah (hee hee)

[U4ea]

Loraine waited a few days, watching Kathleen practice here and there and helping her cover her tracks as much as they could afford. When the young Green seemed to have the basics of those weaves down well enough, Lor moved on to the next set of weaves.

 

"Are you ready for the last element?" she asked Kathleen quietly after they'd finished their evening meal. They were growing close to the border and the itch she always felt being this close to Amadacia had begun between her shoulder blades. It was almost as if a knife would get planted there, someday. She sighed and shook her head inwardly at her silliness. There was simply no time for thoughts like those. As soon as Kathleen was ready, they did their usual wandering off a little ways and Loraine set her usual bubble to mask the noise they were about to make. Earth weaves were never quiet ones.

 

"I brought this, should you wish to use it," she said softly, setting the same angreal she'd been carrying since they'd left the Tower on the ground between them. She'd noticed that Kathleen seemed to use it at first, then weaned herself off of it as she grew more confident with what she was doing. It was nice that the girl knew that without having to be explained the benefits of learning that way. She smiled and waved her hand around them. "We're about to make even more of a mess than we did last time," she said with a little laugh. Earth weaves were always her favorites. "I use these to get rid of pent up energy all the time. As long as no one's around to get hurt, they do a really good job of wearing you out and allowing you one of those few chances to take out your frustrations on something. It's particularly handy when you've been bonded for a while and your warder drives you to a bottle before he's finished arguing."

 

She grinned at that and waved it away. "Alright, let's get started. These are Earth weaves, which means we're again using an element that women are generally not gifted in. This time, I'm going to show you the weave, show you the mess it makes and you tell ME what you can use it for on a battle field." She paused and cleared her thoughts. "The first one we're going to learn is called Riven Earth. Let me show you." She drew in saidar, her nerves dancing at doing it this close to the border of White Cloak country, and slowly twisted the intricate weave together, carefully wrapping Earth and Fire together in a long chord that she then pushed into the ground twenty feet away. It took barely a second before the ground rumbled under them and dirt and rock sprayed everywhere, leaving a large hole in its wake. She turned to Kathleen and smiled. "What do you think? Useful? Come on and give it a try." She helped Kathleen get the weave right, helping when needed and stood back, letting the girl destroy another couple of patches of earth before she stopped her and moved on.

 

"Ok, the next one is called a Grenade. It has the potential of backfiring on you, if the target you're tossing it at has any idea what you're doing." She grabbed a rock and held it flat on her palm. She wrapped Earth and Fire into it again, with a slightly varying pattern, driving the weave into the rock until it tingled in her hand. Then she turned and lobbed it as far as she could and still stay within the bubble she'd created. She watched it arch and then had to take a step back when the grenade exploded in the brush, setting the bushes on fire and leaving chunks of blackened rock scattered about four feet from the impact. "That one hurts when it hits you, but then that's why we do it." She paused and looked at Kathleen. "Want to give it a try?"

 

When Kathleen seemed to have the weave down, she stepped in to do the last of the three Earth weaves. "This one is just ugly and brutal. There's not much to it, but it can cause quite a lot of damage if you do it right. It's called Pitfall. Here, let me show you." She twisted thick bands of Earth together, using no other element to enhance or tame it. "It doesn't have to be a neat weave, since the more space you have between the threads means the bigger mess you're going to make. I'm keeping mine small so we can tell the difference between my mess and yours." She laughed softly and drove the weave into the ground just to the side of her first weave. The dust shook from the force of the weave and a few seconds later the ground collapsed under it. She tilted her head, walking closer to it and motioning Kathleen to her side. "How hard you push it into the ground will determine how deep a hole you make. This one I've seen used for just about anything you can imagine, from knocking the ground out from under the enemy..."

 

She paused and looked up at Kathleen. "... to digging mass grave sites when we didn't have time for a proper burial. I wasn't joking when I said it was brutal. Everything near this hole will fall in. It may not kill everyone who lands in it, but if you aim it right in the middle of an advancing army, the ones who fall in first will get trampled by those who come behind them." She took a deep breath and waved to their right. "Go ahead and give it a shot. Try to keep the threads smaller until you get the hang of it, then try expanding them. The more focused your weave is, the easier it is to drive it into the ground, so you'll find the bigger the weave is, the more you have to work to get it underground."

 

She stepped back, offering assistance where needed and then smiled as Kathleen needed less and less assistance. When she saw signs of fatigue in the girl's shoulders and called a stop to the practice and began using some of the same weaves to clean up their mess. "Just like the Fire weaves, we need to be careful practicing these, but you'll need all the practice you can get. Just make sure you grab either Rasheta or myself to build you a dome to contain the sound... and the mess..."

 

~Loraine

;) these really are my favorite ones... HAVE FUN!

 

weave info:

Riven Earth (Earth 2, Fire 2, Skill 7) – direct a weave at a spot in the ground and it erupts in a shower of rock, dirt and fire. This would be used to unbalance/topple groups of people.

Grenade (Earth 2, Fire 2, Skill 8) – invest a stone with explosive property before hurling it. FUN!

Pitfall (Earth 3, Skill 5) – hole in the ground. Size of hole depends on your strength. Even a small hole can confound an opponent pressing too close; ideally you’d swallow a bunch of enemies at once, or at least make them fall over.

[Kathleen]

They were getting closer to Amadica and Kathleen was getting more and more nervous. She knew she needed to practice the weaves she had been taught and with not having Spirit of Earth weaves even touched on she knew there was more to come, but as they got closer to the Whitecloak region, as she called it, Kathleen began practicing less and less. She wasn't sure if the other Sisters were going to post pone teaching her the rest of the weaves, but they seemed so focused on this mission and the air of alertness and almost worry never really left the air. It was coming back in full swing the closer to Amadica they went. Because of this Kathleen was not very surpised when Loraine took her off to learn the Earth weaves after supper that night.

 

They walked a good distance away from camp and as Loraine set the dome over head Kathleen couldn't but wish that it would mask the damage they were about to do as well as mask the sound of it. She knew it wouldn't but she couldn't help but wish.

 

These were the weaves she had been looking most forward to. She didn't know what to really expect of it, but she could only image the damage that could be done by changing an opponents terrain on their to her. She had often daydreamed of battle strategies where she would trick the opponent into a clearing and then have the safe ground fall away or have the ground rise out from under them. She was excited to learn if it could really be done.

 

"I use these to get rid of pent up energy all the time. As long as no one's around to get hurt, they do a really good job of wearing you out and allowing you one of those few chances to take out your frustrations on something. It's particularly handy when you've been bonded for a while and your warder drives you to a bottle before he's finished arguing." Loraine laughed as she handed Kathleen an angreal. Kathleen smiled at the thought and Loraine began the lesson.

 

"Alright, let's get started. These are Earth weaves, which means we're again using an element that women are generally not gifted in. This time, I'm going to show you the weave, show you the mess it makes and you tell ME what you can use it for on a battle field." The smile dropped off the Initiates face at the thought that she would have to identify the use of each weave. She hated being put on the spot, but she under stood that the Sister's had to know that she could think on the fly and that she had a head on her shoulders. It couldn't be too hard, and there was almost always more than one answer to every question. Surely any answer Kathleen gave, so long as it would apply would be good enough for this task even if it weren't the specific reasoning behind the weave. Kathleen simply nodded as she knew she couldn't deny the Sitter, her future in this Ajah depended on this woman, and the others who shared the Green hall, she couldn't deny them or shouldn't be one of them.

 

Suddenly the ground twenty feet away them burst, chucks of the earth hurdling out in all directions. Kathleen threw her arm up to cover her face. It was a reflex of surprise and Kathleen blushed as she realized that none had sprayed close enough to touch her. She had been too busy in her own head, focusing on the thought of not yet being Green, and she had missed Loraine channeling all together. Her blush deepened at knowing that if this had been a real battle she could have been killed, or worse, she could have gotten someone killed. She needed to be alert at all times. Alert and present.

 

Loraine showed her how to do the attack again and Kathleen explained the long time daydream she had and how this Riven Earth would be perfect to use on the calm ground between her enemy and her herself as they advanced on her. Erupting the ground under an advancing enemy army could do all kinds of damage. Then she turned the angreal around a few times in hand and tried the weave herself, a few times with the angreal and a few without and they moved on with the lesson.

 

Kathleen watched with awe and a mix of fear at the damage from the Grenade Loraine threw. "Well, I imagine it would be much like the distruption of the last weave you taught me, only much more fiery. The distruction and distraction would last longer, but they would see it coming easier. Could it be affected by wind? I can see it missing it's mark by throwing it poorly as well. Still the pay off would be greater than the risk more often than not I would think." Kathleen found a rock she could fit in one hand that she knew she could through a good distance. She spun Earth and Fire into it, after a few tries to get it to set right, then she pulled arm back and threw it forward, hoping it was far enough away that the effect wouldn't be felt by herself or the Green, but not so far that it left the dome.

 

They moved onto the last one, which Kathleen thought was great until Loraine suggested the mass grave use. Not all these weave were only useful on the battle feild, and Kathleen knew it, but this was not something she usually thought of. She knew that death was a natural part of life. She knew people died of unnatural causes. She knew that it would be expected of her to kill, and she knew she would kill in the name of the White Tower, the Green Ajah and the Light. But when she thought of killing, and killing in large numbers the dead were always shadowspawn and darkfriends, or people who stood in the way of the Light. They weren't innocent people. She knew deep down that innocent people would die too. By standers, good people in the wrong place, good people fighting good causes beside her that just didn't make it through the battle, but she had never really let her self acknowlegdge that part of it. Hopefully she would be able to handle that part of being in the Battle Ajah. Hopefully she wouldn't find out how she handled that for many more years to come.

 

A little more somberly than she had displayed the weaves before, Kathleen spun a messy weave very simialar to that of the one Loraine had used, to make the small hole and Kathleen worked it into the ground a few feet in front of her. She pushed the thought of making a grave out of her head and focused on the image of trollocs falling as the ground fell out from under them. The ground in front of her dropped away, and Kathleen began a second attempt at a bigger hole before she had time for her mind to drift back to grave digging.

 

A few more times Kathleen practiced the weave and she almost jumped when Loraine spoke, "Just like the Fire weaves, we need to be careful practicing these, but you'll need all the practice you can get. Just make sure you grab either Rasheta or myself to build you a dome to contain the sound... and the mess..." With the lesson over the two made their way back to camp. Kathleen had a good hold on all weaves and on some levels she was looking forward to using them in real battle, but at the same time she wasn't too eager to be forced to fight. She would do it if she had to but it wasn't something she was about to run out find on her own.

[Rasheta Ardashir]

Rasheta watched over Kat's fire weaves for several days, it was her who was going to teach Kathleen the final weave and give the girl her final test before she would be allowed to repetition the Ajah. After some days Rasheta stopped Kathleen from starting her first weave and said “This last weave is probably the most important one you’re going to learn, so it’s important that you pay attention closely. This weave is called Remove Taint. Its purpose is to remove the taint from a weapon wrought by the minions of the Dark One. A mydraal’s blade is deadly for more than one reason, after all. I can’t show you this weave properly, at least not until someone nearby has been cut with a blade that’s tainted, but I can show you the weave and help you practice it. This weave is extremely demanding and so also very draining. We’ll practice it today really small, but I hope you’ll practice it more afterwards so it becomes easier and easier to do.”

 

She started weaving, pointing out strands of elements and talking through the weave she was creating so that Kathleen would understand the order and placement of each thread. “First, you need large amounts of Water, Air and Spirit. They need to be layered like this.” She layered the three elements, leaving gaping holes where Earth and Fire would fill in without actually adding them. “These big open spaces will be filled with Earth and Fire, but I want you to see this part of the weave first. The placement of the Fire is probably the most crucial part, since any slip will cause more harm than good. It’s a delicate balance, but you’ll see that you don’t need as much Fire and Earth as the other elements.” She didn’t draw nearly as much of those two elements as she did the others and started weaving the Earth threads into the original knot of elements. “Earth is slightly concentrated in the center, which will be the focal point for the wound. The Fire activates the weave, which is probably why it’s so volatile.” She delicately threaded the Fire threads into the weave, biting her lip to keep the Fire from slipping or mixing with any of the other elements. The final thread of Fire went through the center and the whole weave seemed to melt together. The weave glowed brightly and hissed a little before it disappeared. Rasheta turned to Kathleen saying

 

“If we’d had a subject to work on, something for the weave to do, it would’ve lasted longer. It seeks out the taint and destroys it, bit by bit. The more taint, the more you have to work to hold the weave together. Just in case creating the weave wasn’t tricky enough, imagine holding the weave together while it’s working. You can’t see the threads, so you have to totally go on the feel of the thing. So, when you practice this one, I would recommend that you do it where you can’t see it once you’ve mastered creating it. The better you get at that, the more likely you are to be successful in what you’re trying to do.”

 

She nodded to Kathleen saying. “Now, you try it. You will be tested later so keep that in mind when you work your weave.” She watched Kathleen create the weave and waited till she had done it once successfully. She said coolly “Now for the last test.” she said, "Your task is simple, You must use one of each type of weave: Fire, Earth, Air, and Water. on the surrounding field. You must show you can work them instantly, if we were back in the tower you would attack stuffed trolloc targets as it is do what you can."

 

~Rasheta

Green Sitter, done teaching at least.

 

Remove Taint (Air 6, Earth 3, Fire 3, Spirit 6, Water 5, Skill 28) – used to heal wounds from a Myrdraal’s weapon or other tainted items.

 

Final: use the weaves you’ve learned from each lesson (e.g. however many you want, but at least one each of Air, Fire, Water and Earth, in whatever order you want) on the surrounding field.

[Kathleen]

The night was closing in quickly, but once again Kathleen excused herself from the crowd. It was slowly being less unnerving to excuse herself from the other Aes Sedai, and it was becoming easier to see herself as equal, at least in that respect. She didn't think she would ever truly be their equals, but she was an Aes Sedai and she was becoming more comfortable acting as one. It was still a fine line to play between showing the confidence of her station as Aes Sedai but not over stepping her place as Initiate to the Greens. Perhaps it was freedom of being away from the Tower or maybe it was just that she was truly settling into all the changes since she took her oaths. What ever it was it gave her more comfort and more confidence and she really did feel like she finding her way. She had taken to practicing the weaves she was taught every night, not enough to drain her, she needed to be ready to ride hard and be useful each day, but enough to sharpen her hold on them. She didn't have the traditional learning aides and she wasn't sure if she was being rushed through or behind the norm, so she just gave it her all to impress the Greens.

 

She had gone off to practice once again this evening but just as she embraced the source to begin her review she was caught off guard as Rasheta appeared and stopped her. She wasn't expecting a lesson, but she took it just the same. Removing taint. A weave Kathleen hoped she would never need to use, more than the others, but one she knew she would need to know better than the others just in case it was needed. She watched intently as Rasheta slowly formed the weave and was thankful for the directions the whole way through. When the Green was done Kathleen tried to copy her and she talked out the process as she wove each part together, making sure not to miss any steps. It took a few tries but eventually Kathleen wove large amounts of Water, Air and Spirit and layered them just as Rasheta had making sure to leave the right size and amount of gaping holes where Earth and Fire would fill in. Using less Fire than the other elements before it, Kathleen carefully and slowly added the them into the weave. Then ever so carefully she added the earth into weave just as Rasheta had. Then she delicately threaded the Fire threads into the weave, biting her lip to keep the Fire from slipping or mixing with any of the other elements. The final thread of Fire went through the center and the whole weave seemed to melt together. The weave glowed brightly and hissed a little before it disappeared. Kathleen jumped as the weave hissed and disappeared. She had done it. It had been tricky and took a while, but she had done it. She would need a lot of practice but she would do it.

 

Kathleen turned to her teacher and asked, "Rasheta, how long do you have to get to the person? If someone was hit, how long do they have? How long after they are infected does this work? I know healing must be done right away. Is this the same?"

 

When Rasheta answered her questions she informed Kathleen that the lesson was not over. It was nearly over, but at the same time it was just beginning. It was time for the test!

 

************************************

 

Rasheta took Kathleen to an open feild and explained the next task. She would make a ball of light appear on the field, Kathleen would need to use on the weaves the Greens has shown her on this journey to 'attack' the ball of light as if it were an enemy. Rasheta wouldn't hold the light in one spot for very long so Kathleen would have to react quickly. Not only seeing where the danger was going to be coming from as the light jumped around the field, but to use one of the new battle weaves she had been practicing to eliminate the danger.

 

When the Green had finished explaining she asked Kathleen if she was ready. The Initiate nodded and the two turned to the field. Rasheta stood behind Kathleen so the girl couldn't see where the Green would aim the light. Kathleen embraced the source as the first small light appeared on the right of the field.

 

Kathleen quickly wove the thread of air into Air Razor, the first Battle Weave she had learned, and thus the one she had practised the most. Both girls knew it would have sliced right through the center of the light.

 

The light blinked out and appeared on the far left side of the field not to far in the distance from where the girls were standing. Kathleen didn't have time to smile at her success with the first on as she weaved together the threads for Freeze. It didn't really have an effect on the light, but it was clear she had formed it quickly and accurately. It probably wasn't the best choice to use on a moving target, but she had been told to use at least one attack from each of the elements she had been taught.

 

Kathleen thought that the light would appear at the far back of the field and jumped when it showed up just in front of her face. She quickly threw up a Air Shield big enough to protect herself and Rasheta, then quickly ran though her options. It was too close to use fire, and she had done air, the earth ones would throw dirt back at them, she didn't have time to think! She made a club of air and swung it at the light. It may not have been the most practical, but it seemed to be enough. The light blinked out and reappeared in the back of the field.

 

Kathleen wove phantom fire together and as the tiny flames danced around the field she used Riven Earth directly under the light. Dirt spayed out around it. And the light moved on again.

 

As the light danced around the field Kat used weave after weaved to chase it away. She hoped they weren't attracting too much attention, but mostly she just hoped that she was doing well enough to meet what ever standard Rasheta was looking for. Aes Sedai were so hard to read!