Combat Weaves 2

[Quibby]

The sky was full of dark clouds that threatened rain as the trainees made their way back to the grassy spread where Janine had taken up station, a large pile of stones behind her. She glanced hopefully at the sky, willing it to rain. It would have taken no effort on her part to bring the rain that seemed destined to fall somewhere. There was no other feeling like the touch of rain as it fell onto one's head and shoulders. There are the Accepted to think of, though, Janine thought, looking at the sky once again. With a sigh, she embraced saidar and wove. It was standard practice for Aes Sedai to weave shields of Air above them in the rain, deflecting it away from them and leaving themselves dry. The number of Aes Sedai who could do what Janine did was incredibly small. As her weave spread through the clouds, they seemed to lighten, as if the rain that they brought no longer existed. Janine nodded. It would hold off for the day, which was long enough for the trainees to learn the weaves and practice them.

 

When the final Accepted arrived, Janine cleared her throat. “Welcome back. I trust that you have practiced the weaves from our last session. We will review them after we get through today's weaves. Is everybody ready?” Without waiting for an answer, Janine began to lecture, gesturing to the rocks behind her. “Aes Sedai or Accepted, I want you to heed me: the next time you see a stable boy or one of the workmen who are constantly in and out of the Tower, I want you to thank them for their hard work. Without them, this next lesson would be impossible.” Turning on her heel and extending her arms, hands cupped together, Janine wove a quick weave of Fire. Out of her outstretched hands sprang a fireball, which roared to the pile of stones, where it erupted. Fire was not one of Janine's strong areas, but the weave was simple enough that she could make it work. “This weave is the weave that will be most useful to you, should you find yourself fighting for your life. The fireball is an offensive weapon that strikes opponents at any range, though you will find it more useful at longer distances.” Demonstrating the weave again, Janine angled herself so they could see the gesture she made. “Most find it simpler to have some sort of hand motion when weaving this one, so don't be afraid to try something, if you cannot make it work.” Moving aside from the stones, Janine concluded, “Now, form lines and take your place in front of the stones. Be careful with this weave. If it falls apart, you might burn yourself. There are Aes Sedai here who can heal you, but caution is critical.”

 

As the students took their places after finishing with the rock pile, Janine said, “The One Power provides us with several ways to defend ourselves, should the need arise. However, there is the ever-present threat of the Shadowspawn. As you all know, the Three Oaths do not permit us to use saidar as a weapon except against Shadowspawn or in the last extreme defense of our lives. This weave is useful if you find yourself having to fight Shadowspawn. Remember, the One Power makes you dangerous, but not immortal. If you plan for battle, then you increase your chances. We can be nearly unbeatable if we prepare for a battle. This weave is for such a time.” The weave formed itself quickly; it was a weave that Janine had practiced nearly to exhaustion. It was taking concentration to slow the weaving to the point where those behind her could see what she was doing.

 

When it was finished, Janine placed the weave on the ground and picked up a rock. “This is called an Exploding Ward. It can be refined to detect Shadowspawn, which you should always do. Now, I have this one woven so that anything entering the ward's area will set it off.” Turning her back, Janine threw the rock over her shoulder. The sudden explosion blasted her back with heat, but she rode out the shock. “As you can see, it is not a large explosion, but it will seriously inconvenience anything that is caught in the blast.” Weaving again, Janine continued, “Now, this is the weave you will practice. This weave will make it so only a Shadowspawn will set off the explosion. We have no Shadowspawn here today, I trust?”

 

As the students wove their wards, Janine continued to speak. “This next weave will have to be practiced individually, so I apologize for the time that it will take before we do our final weave. As I mentioned before, an Aes Sedai can become a devastating force if she can manipulate the battlefield to her advantage. Never underestimate the power of confusion, chaos, and disorder. For instance...” Weaving a heavy weave of Air and Water, Janine touched the air around her. Within seconds, the entire class was lost in a fog so heavy that Janine could hardly see her own waist. Shouting to overcome the stifling nature of the fog, Janine said, “Remember that combat is not just about injuring or ensnaring your enemy. Use any advantage you can create.” Another weave, and the fog vanished as quickly as it appeared. “Now, you won't be able to make the fog appear as quickly as I did, but I want you to practice this weave. I will dissipate it after you succeed.”

 

When the last trainee had completed the weave and gone to get the lunch that Janine had ordered brought out, she said, “Well done. Now, our last weave for today. This weave can be anything from a nuisance to a deadly barrage.” Again turning to the pile of stones, Janine wove into the ground. From out of the ground burst a barrage of flying stone, which struck sparks off of the pile of stones in the middle of the yard. “Use this weave carefully, as too much power into it will kill or maim, thus breaking the Third Oath. When you have completed this weave, you may go.”

 

Weaves covered:

 

Fireball

Explosive Ward

Fog

Earth Projectiles

 

You can find a weave table and descriptions here.

[Guest]

A whole week had passed since Myrrhi's first lesson about combat weaves. Today, she was supposed to follow the second part of that wonderful class. She had woken up early, rushed through her chores, and had not even read a page of the book she was currently reading. She was way too excited to focus on anything.

 

When Myrrhi went out of the Tower, she didn't immediately notice how cold it was. It was only after a couple of steps that she looked towards the sky. It was grey and heavy with dark clouds. Rain will come soon...  Myrrhi thought shivering. I should have taken a cape with me.

 

Oh no! thought the Accepted, when a couple of seconds later she felt little drops of rain landing on the top of her head. There was no way for her to protect herself from the cold nor the rain. She had not learned the necessary weaves yet. She didn't have the time to get back to the Tower to get something to cover her hair either, the lesson was supposed to start very soon. Well! I think I have no choice. Myrrhi raised her chin high and advanced towards the meeting place. It was hard not to react to the water that was running down her cheeks and her back. She wanted to scream or at least express her anger at being wet. But, she knew it was not something she could do. She was supposed to show herself as a resilient person. She was supposed to make efforts to imitate the fully raised Sisters when it came to weather.

 

To her biggest surprise the area around Janine Sedai was dry. The woman had channeled a strange kind of shield that kept the clouds at bay. The shield was slowly amplified thanks to the intervention of the other Aes Sedai who were supposed to participate to the lesson. Myrrhi smiled and took some time to study the weaving. I will have to try to practice that one, one day! She nodded to herself. Weaves that had nothing to do with fighting were not on her list of priorities but she didn't like the rain nor the cold. Such weaves will be useful, she thought. When I will be traveling for my missions...

 

“Welcome back" started Janine Sedai. "I trust that you have practiced the weaves from our last session". Myrrhi nodded eagerly.

"We will review them after we get through today's weaves. Is everybody ready?”

"Yes!" replied the Accepted, with the other students.

 

Janine came to sit on a rock. Instead of opening herself to Saidar, to start the lesson, she explained to all present that they should thank the servants and stable boys their hard work. It made sense to Myrrhi, even though she still had bad memories of the time she had had to clean a horse. Back then, she had still been a Novice. The stable boy she had met had been far from nice. He had even left her all the hard work!

 

When the Aes Sedai was done with that first part of her lecture she quickly wove a thread of fire, which turned into a fireball. Myrrhi bit her lower lip. Fire was not her best Element, far from it. She still listened to Janine's comments about the weave and its usefulness, hoping she'd manage to reproduce it. Then, came the time to practice. Myrrhi did her best. She took the time to watch what her classmates were doing and to concentrate. Still, her weaves were not as good as most of the other students of the class and it frustrated her.  By chance, even if her fireballs were tiny, nothing bad happened to her. She didn't burn herself, like some unlucky Accepted who had not paid attention to Janine's recommendations.

As the students took their places, Janine went on, “The One Power provides us with several ways to defend ourselves, should the need arise. However, there is the ever-present threat of the Shadowspawn. As you all know, the Three Oaths do not permit us to use Saidar as a weapon ...

 

Myrrhi yawned. She knew already about the three Oaths. She wanted to channel again. She didn't have to wait long, though. After a couple more words, Janine Sedai opened herself to Saidar and showed new weaves that Myrrhi particularly enjoyed. The first one was an explosive ward. A special weave that would create explosions triggered only by Shadowspawn. Then, came the Fog. Something that could be very useful to trick enemies. The Accepted enjoyed Janine's tactical mind. Listening to her teacher, she understood that focusing on hurting opponents was not always the best way to fight them. The last weave was the Earth projectiles. Myrrhi really liked to weave them. For once, she managed to imitate Janine perfectly on her first try.

Janine Sedai finished the lesson by ordering her students to practice the weaves they had seen last time. Myrrhi was happy to show that she had done some catching up. All her weaves were a success, thanks to her hard, very hard work.

 

It was with a light heart that Myrrhi joined her quarters that day. She had been very happy about what she had done. There were still things to practice, but not immediately thought the Accepted. First, I will read a bit.