Combat Weaves 1

[Quibby]

As the students for her class came into a cordoned-off section of the White Tower grounds, Janine lit her pipe and took a long pull from the smoldering Two Rivers tabac. It had been a good crop that year, and the smoke was as smooth as silk. Janine held the smoke for a moment, savoring the flavor, then breathed out, expelling a cloud of whitish smoke that dissipated into the light breeze. She then began to examine her students for the day. Many of them wore the banded white dresses of Accepted, though there were a few women wearing more elegant fare: Aes Sedai who had chosen to attend the class to further their own education in the field. And to think that they're all going to be under my authority! I'm surprised that the Tower is allowing me to actually take charge like this. Immediately, her mild paranoia added, What are they up to?

 

As the arrival of students slowed to a trickle, then finally stopped, Janine took the pipe from her mouth and said, “Good morning, everybody. For those of you who don't know me, I am Janine Alastarn of the Green Ajah, and I'm here to teach you the basics of combat weaves. This will take place over four weeks, beginning with basic weaves that everybody should be able to do, then moving up to more and more difficult weaves. Even if you are not able to make a weave work, knowing how the weave is constructed will allow you to see when it is being used, then counter it. Therefore, I will expect everybody to at least try to create the weave; these weaves are pretty safe, so if you can't make it work, they should simply collapse into nothingness.”

 

Janine paused to take another pull from her pipe, then continued. “Today, we will be covering a few basic weaves, starting with this one.” Setting her pipe aside, Janine embraced saidar allowing a small trickle to fill her, then slowly created a simple weave of Earth, setting it on a bare patch of ground. Tying off the weave, Janine then used Air to lift a hay bale that she had gotten from the stables. Moving it over the weave of Earth, she dropped it. When it hit the ground, it immediately sank down about half its length into the earth. “This weave is generally known as Quagmire, though I prefer to call it Quicksand. It is generally used to slow and potentially trip enemies. This is useful when dealing with more than one person. It is simple, so it is easy to set quickly, if necessary. While your opponents are struggling to free themselves, they are rendered helpless. Of course, there are little tricks that one can perform with this weave. One of my favorites is to use it, then when the target is mired down...” Janine untied her weave, then waved the waiting stable boy to the bale. Taking hold of it, he tried to lift it. “As you can see from our friend's efforts, the bale is now trapped in the ground.” Nodding to the gathered women, Janine said, “Now, you try it.”

 

When the last of the gathered women had worked out the weave, Janine continued. “Next, we will work with a combination of weaves. I want you each to pair off, facing each other.” As the women began pairing themselves, Janine continued speaking. “These two weaves are similar to each other. One is a simple club made of Air.” Janine again wove slowly, letting everybody have a chance to see what she was doing. “This is a simple weave, though it can be devastating. A light blow can inconvenience an opponent, while a heavy blow will devastate one.” With that, Janine struck the hay bale, still trapped in the ground, with the weave. The impact blew the bale apart, leaving a slow rain of hay to fall around the yard. “The other weave is a slightly more difficult weave of Air, though still simple enough to weave quickly.” Weaving the shield in front of her, Janine smiled towards one of the Aes Sedai. “If you would be so kind, use the Air Club weave to strike the shield.” The Aes Sedai complied. “This shield will stop any weapon from striking you, and it will also defend from many weaves. Now, you will practice making the shield first. When you think you have it figured out, then your partner will strike it with the Air Club. You will then switch.”

 

Standing back, Janine continued to smoke her pipe while watching the women. When they finished, Janine said, “Good. Now we move on to some more dangerous weaves. Accepted, if you do anything with these weaves aside from what I tell you to do, you will be sent to the Mistress of Novices and punished severely. You are also not to use these weaves unless you are in training with them. Do you understand me?” After several answers in the affirmative, Janine said, “Good. Now, this weave, Air Razor, creates a fine line of Air far sharper than anything man-made.” Janine created the weave perpendicular to the ground. Then, taking another prop from the table- a small log- Janine added, “Watch.” Holding the log over the weave, Janine dropped it. After passing over the weave, there were two thumps as the bisected log struck the ground. Releasing the weave, Janine lifted one half of the log and handed it to one of the women near the front of the group. “You'll see that the cut is perfectly smooth, no splintering. This weave will do this to most anything, including stone and steel, if it is woven strong enough. The weave can also be swung. For now, you will simply create the weave and use it to cut the stick that will be provided for your use.”

 

As the last stick was cut, Janine continued with the lesson. “Now we will learn a weave generally known as Whiplash.” Creating the weave rapidly, Janine struck out at the grass, sending a spray of grass and dirt into the air with a loud snap. “This weave can be used in several ways. Obviously, you can strike somebody or something with it, and it will hurt. A lot. It can also be used like I just used it. You can spray sand into somebody's face with this, or you can snap it right next to somebody's ear, causing them to flinch. Go ahead and try it out. Only strike the ground, though.”

 

“For our last weave today, we will look at another dangerous one,” Janine said as the cracking of woven whips ceased. Going to a pile of small stones set out for this purpose, Janine chose one. “This weave takes a simple stone and turns it into a potentially deadly weapon. Weaving Earth and Fire into the stone, Janine hurled it away from her, then threw up an Air shield around the entire group. When the rock struck the ground, it exploded with a loud pop. A couple pieces of rock struck the shield around the group. “Now the rocks you will be using are considerably smaller than this, so they should not throw off so much shrapnel. When you set the weave, though, do not drop the rock! When you throw it, throw it high and away from you, then use the Air shield immediately. It is unlikely that anything will strike you, but it is better to be safe than sorry.”

 

After the final pop sounded, Janine smiled at the group. “Well done for today. Next week, we will continue with some more difficult weaves. See you then.” Without a look back, Janine strode back towards the Tower. She had been wrangled into teaching the course shortly after her reappearance at the Tower, and it was taking time from her research.

 

Weaves covered:

 

Quagmire

Air Shield

Air Club

Air Razor

Whiplash

Grenade

 

You can find a weave table and descriptions here.

Edited August 31, 2012 by Quibby

[poetstorm]

Lissandra Trelaine stood quietly near the back of the class, her brown hair tied back with a simple ribbon. Though she wore the great serpent ring on her finger, and the ageless look marked her as Aes Sedai, she had chosen to leave her white shawl behind. With the nature of this class and the outdoor location it was likely to get dirty and she wasn't one to stand on formality anyway. A few students glanced in her direction, probably wondering what someone of the WHite ajah was doing taking a class like this. It was true, they tended to stay in their own halls. But Lissandra welcomed the chance to learn something new. After all, all knowledge was important. It was never a bad idea to know how to defend yourself either. So here she stood quietly awaiting instruction from one who would know battle weaves all too well.

 

She watched intently as Janine weaved with earth, keeping a close eye on the way of the weave and committing it to memory. It was a simple weave once you'd seen it though it would not have occurred to her to use earth in that way. She continued to watch as others tried it and when her turn came she was able to repeate the weave without much trouble, having seen it now so many times. Lissa quickly stepped aside to let another try.

 

The next weave worked with air, and it made her think of her days as an accepted, practicing with other dorm mates for the test by hitting and pinching each other with air and all sorts of other distractions. She was already a bit familiar with this one, though she noted how the Green made the club, weaing it in a way to give it more strength. It was a small nuance but she picked it up.

 

“If you would be so kind, use the Air Club weave to strike the shield.”

 

At Janine Sedai's request Lissandra nodded and stepped up, forming the club of air as she had and striking at the air shield. She wove it slowly so the accepted students could see what she was doing. The weaving of an air shield was clearly one of the most useful weaves Lissandra had picked up yet and she was pleased to see the accepted students picking it up fairly quickly. She returned to her partner to practice and switch places.

 

Lissa watched with increased interest as the Green demonstrated the air razor. Intriguing. This is another idea that I would not have thought of. How useful. There was no question why the Green were called the battle ajah. They were inventive indeed, turning such simple weaves into effective weapons. A little practice and Lissa was able to get the razor weave to be very thin and sharp much like Janine's. Letting the stick fall onto the weave, she was impressed with the resuts. Picking up the stick she examined the ends. Yes, this was a very useful one.

 

 

Th next weave also used air, in fact the weave was very similar to the last one. She watched intently, silently noting the formation of the weave. Again, so simple but yet effective. Lissa tucked a stray strand of hair out of her face and carefully stepped into a clear spot so as not to harm anyone and to be out of the way of the others' weaves. Weaving the whip of air she struck out at the ground, watching as grass and dirt were kicked up and scattered.

 

 

Lastly came a weave that used only earth and fire. They were not her strongest elements but she watched as Janine wove the flows together into a rock. It seemed simple enough. The flows were not so much, but she was surprised when the rock exploded, showering down shrapnel that would have struck several of the students had the air shield not been constructed quickly nough. Though it had startled ehr a bit, a twitch of her eyebrow was the only outward sign. This one would have to be done carefully.

 

Holding the rock in her hand, she concentrated on weaving the flows of earth and fire into the stone, then quickly threw it as high as sh could into the air. As the rock left hre hand she wove an air shield, while keeping an eye on the other students to make sure they were all able to cover themselves as well. The rock exploded into many small pieces. It was not hard to imagine what doing that to a much larger rock or boulder would do. On a larger scale it could be deadly. Again she committed this weave to memory. One didn't expect to have to defend yourself inside the safety of the tower, and she seldom left, but she was never so much at home as when learning something new.

 

As the class wrapped up for the day and the students began to scatter to other duties she approached Janine Sedai. "I must thank you. This was a most interesting class. I truly look forward to the next one..", she said, her eyes almost glowing with the excitement of learning something new and interesting.

[Guest]

At last, a class that Myrrhi was really looking forward to. A class about combat weaves. Of course, as a passionate student, the young Accepted liked most of her classes. Even if they had no connection to war and fighting, they still gave her an opportunity to get more knowledge. It was something she really appreciated. Bur combat was slowly getting her favorite topic.

 

The class about combat weaves was given by a Sister of the Green Ajah. Janine Sedai. This was not a surprise. The Aes Sedai of that Ajah knew the most about fighting. The Reds were not bad at it. Some of them were as skilled as the Greens, but they focused too much on controlling male channelers.

 

Today's lesson was supposed to happen outside. One never knew what could happen while practicing new or dangerous weaves. On her way to the class, Myrrhi fully enjoyed the rays of the sun that were warming her. It was nice to see that winter was gone and that nice days had come. She didn't have to wear a double shift to feel comfortable with the temperature anymore. The Accepted was wearing her hair loose. It had been a habit she had kept since her first days in the Tower. And, she appreciated that there was close to no wind.

 

When Myrrhi arrived at the cordoned-off section of the ground, reserved for the afternoon, she immediately noticed her teacher. Janine was waiting for her students, smoking her long pipe. A strange sight for the young Accepted who had never seen an Aes Sedai smoking. She had heard Sisters of the Yellow Ajah commenting on the bad effects tobacco could have on one's health and Myrrhi had sworn never to smoke any. Another strange sight was the group of Aes Sedai who had joined the few Accepted who were walking near Myrrhi. Are they students? Just like us? There must have been a mistake ... Myrrhi looked around, worried. She had participated to classes along side Novices but never had she seen other Aes Sedai participating to a lesson...

 

Janine Sedai took a puff of her pipe and looked at the Accepted and the Aes Sedai as if they were equals. When the Aes Sedai settled next to Janine, facing her as students would face a teacher, Myrrhi understood that there had been no mistake. She would have to study today with full raised Sisters.

 

“Good morning, everybody. For those of you who don't know me, I am Janine Alastarn of the Green Ajah, and I'm here to teach you the basics of combat weaves. This will take place over four weeks, beginning with basic weaves that everybody should be able to do, then moving up to more and more difficult weaves. Even if you are not able to make a weave work, knowing how the weave is constructed will allow you to see when it is being used, then counter it. Therefore, I will expect everybody to at least try to create the weave; these weaves are pretty safe, so if you can't make it work, they should simply collapse into nothingness.”

 

Hearing those words, Myrrhi couldn't help herself giggling. This was exactly what she had wanted to learn since she had become an Accepted. What had happened during the Three Arches ritual still resonated in her head. She wanted to be powerful enough to prevent the death of that future Warder she'd have. She had never talked with anyone about the ritual. She still didn't know whether it was a projection of what would happen to her or it if was like a dream. Something invented from her deepest fears. She wanted to be ready, though.

 

Myrrhi particularly appreciated that everybody in the class would have to try to recreate the weaves mentioned today. That was very different from her classes as a Novice. Sometimes only one of the students had to do the exercises proposed by the teacher.

Janine had another puff from her pipe before continuing. “Today, we will be covering a few basic weaves, starting with this one.”

 

The Aes Sedai placed her pipe carefully beside her and opened herself to Saidar. She wove threads of earth that she set on a patch of ground. Myrrhi smiled. She was very good at weaving Earth threads. The Aes Sedai tied her weave then channeled a thread of Air to lift a bale of hay. She brought it over the Earth weave then dropped it. Something very weird happened. The bale sank down about half its length into the earth. Janine Sedai told the name of the weave: the Quagmire. Immediately, Myrrhi imagined an army of Trollocs half stuck into the ground, easy targets for a group of good soldiers. She smiled even more. The teacher went on, giving more explanations. Then, it was time to practice.

 

A hay bale was brought in front of her, and as asked, the Accepted channeled a first weave of Earth. Weaving felt so natural nowadays. She tied up her first weave feeling proud of her achievement then channeled the thread of Air. She managed to channel it on her first try. The bale flew slowly towards the Earth weave and Myrrhi let it fall as soon as it arrived above it. The bale sank and Myrrhi applauded herself gleefully.

 

A couple of minutes later, when everybody had managed at least once to channel the Quagmire threads, Janine showed two other weaves. First a club made out of Air, then a shield made of the same element. Myrrhi blushed when her teacher paired her with a full Aes Sedai. The Sister she was supposed to practice with was a small woman with blond hair. Quite astonishingly, she was a member of the Grey Ajah. Those were supposed to be diplomats. Why would they want to learn about combat weaves, Myrrhi wondered. The woman glared at Myrrhi and wove the threads of Air that would form the club in the blink of a eye. Myrrhi had barely the time to protect herself with her shield.

 

"Again!" ordered the Grey Sister.

 

Myrrhi obeyed and let the Grey Sister form the club again. She managed to weave her shield faster this time. "Again!" repeated the Aes Sedai, it was clear that she didn't want Myrrhi to have a try at the club herself. Indeed, when Janine went forward with her class, Myrrhi had not had the chance to channel anything else than the shields.

“Good. Now we move on to some more dangerous weaves. Accepted, if you do anything with these weaves aside from what I tell you to do, you will be sent to the Mistress of Novices and punished severely. You are also not to use these weaves unless you are in training with them. Do you understand me?” Janine looked around to be sure that the Accepted were nodding. Myrrhi had nodded of course, like all the other Accepted.

 

The next two weaves were way more aggressive. A sharp thread known as the Razor and the Whiplash. The young Accepted enjoyed them. Channeling threads that could hurt enemies was quite liberating and made her feel powerful. She tried those weaves on the ground itself to be sure that no one would get hurt. Both worked but not perfectly. Myrrhi was still hesitant. She would have to practice if she wanted to do some real damage.

 

Time had passed and the young girl lost herself in the practice. Wiping her forehead with a sweaty hand, she noticed that the son was now lower on the horizon. She understood that the lesson would soon come at an end and that she would have to go to the kitchen to help out with the cleaning of the pots used for the midday meal.

“For our last weave today, we will look at another dangerous one,” Janine announced. The Accepted turned her full attention drawn by the introduction given by her teacher. Janine had not lied though. She showed a fantastic weave that made a stone filled with Earth and Fire to explode. Of course, a shield had been woven to protect the group from shrapnel. But it had looked so impressive that Myrrhi decided that she'd practice that weave as soon as possible... on her own to perfect it.

 

A small rock was given to her. She filled it with Fire and Earth threads like Janine Sedai  had done earlier and tried to make it explode after having thrown it in the Air. She didn't manage to do it on her first, nor on her second and not even on her third try. She seemed to lack speed or hand and channeling coordination. She had wanted to start a fourth time when the Grey Sister distracted by a nasty comment. There were no fifth try. Janine Sedai called the lesson at an end.  “Well done for today. Next week, we will continue with some more difficult weaves. See you then.”

 

Myrrhi didn't dare to grumble out loud. She curtsied at her teacher and at the group of Aes Sedai then went back to the Tower, already thinking about the next lesson.