Fun with Fire (attn Chae)

[Kathleen]

Kathleen made her way to the store room in the White Tower and chose two angreal. She didn't truly need one, but she thought it may make Myhrri more comfortable to use her's if she needed it if Kathleen had one too.

 

She remembered her own time as Initiate and while there are truths you can't ignore, such as the need for an angreal to be able to achieve a goal, there was always that fear that when put to the test in front of her Green Mentor a poor or uninspiring showing would lead to somehow proving she wouldn't be good enough to be considered their equal and she would be turned away well and truly.

 

She remembered how much she had wanted to impress her own mentor. It was more than she had ever wanted to impress the Mistress of Novices, and she would rather fail a test because of mistake than because of her actual abilities or lack of it. She could always argue that more practice would fix a mistake, there was no argument if she just didn't have it in her to preform. If Kathleen could lessen that fear in any small way for the girl she was training now she would try.

 

Besides, fire could be more dangerous than the other elements, and the girl would need to focus on the weaves, not on the feelings of inadequacy. And there was no denying the Green's own small amount of greed to be able to draw on more of the one power. It had been a long time since she had access to anything that could enhance her own abilities. There were draw backs to being away from the Tower. She just had to convince herself she was doing it more for the Initiate, and less for herself. It wasn't a hard convincing and it wasn't long before she had chosen the two and carried them back to the Green halls.

 

She knocked on the Initate's door and waited for the reply. They had set up the time earlier so Kathleen was not surprised to see that Myrrhi was waiting for her. The two made their way through the halls of the Tower, past the floods of girls in banded and plain white dresses parting before them and dropping into curtsies all around. As they arrived to the private training area in a more or less abandoned wing of the Tower, Kathleen sealed it off to be sure no one would walk in part way through. These were secret weaves after all and she didn't know what she would do if after centuries of successfully keeping them secret she ended up being the one that let them slip into the wrong hands. She didn't know  what she would do, and she didn't know what her Green sisters would do to her if they were to come out. The room, like the rest on the hall, was almost completely vacant. The walls and floor were solid and there was nothing in the room that could unintentionally go up in flames. 

 

When she was well and sure that they would stay private she reached into the belt pouch on her waist and retrieved the angreals she brought."You may not need this, but it will help to save your energy if our lesson goes long. Which would you prefer?" she asked as she held them both out on her palm. When Myrrhi had taken her preferred gem the lesson began.

 

"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 heat radiated off it, shifting the air around it. She was sure Myrrhi could feel it from where she stood. "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 Myrrhi needed it and backing off and letting her play with the weave when she didn't. 

 

Kathleen Vandiar

Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah

 

Fireball (Air 2, Fire 4, Skill 13) 

 

[Guest]

Myrrhi had barely slept that night. As soon as she closed her eyes, she saw the forearm she had used for training, rotting and full of worm.

 

"Burn it," Kathleen had said in her dream. The young woman had tried to open herself to Saidar, but the disturbing view had prevented her to focus.

 

She had eventually decided to climb out of her bed and to read while waiting for the Senior Sister.

 

At last, she heard a knock on her door. "Good day, Myrrhi" were Kathleen's only words. Myrrhi replied, fighting not to yawn. She didn't want to show weakness in front of the Green Aes Sedai. Together, they advanced through the corridors and halls of the Tower to reach another training area. This one was not located in the Warders Yard to the young woman's pleasure. It was housed in a less populated wing of the Tower itself. As soon as they entered, Kathleen sealed it off.

 

Very well, Myrrhi thought. No one will have to witness my failures. She wasn't very skilled with Fire. It had taken a lot of time and training to match the best students of the classes that used this Element.

 

Kathleen turned towards her, at last. She opened her belt pouch and retrieved two angreals from it. "You may not need this, but it will help to save your energy if our lesson goes long. Which would you prefer?" she asked Myrrhi, as she held out the two items on her palm. "I don't know," Myrrhi hesitated for a while. "I think I'll take this one" she said before reaching for the first angreal. It was a pretty object, a green gem the size of egg.

 

"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?" Kathleen smiled and, without apparent efforts, channeled a sizable ball of flame . The ball seemed to dance over her palm. The young woman felt its heat even if she was a couple of paces away.

 

"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."

 

The Senior Sister smiled encouragingly.

 

"I will try it first without the angreal", Myrrhi placed the gem in her own pouch. She wanted to try the Weave without any kind of help first. Would she manage, Kathleen would definitely be impressed. She closed her eyes and opened herself to Saidar. Her tiredness, the bad night she had had and the fear of failure made her shiver. Come on, girl! You can do it, she cheered herself.

 

She tried to weave the Air and Fire threads, just like Kathleen had done. The result was nowhere close to what her teacher had done. Cursing, she let go of the weave and started again.

 

"It is not a shame to use the angreal," Kathleen commented after the young woman's fifth trials. She invited Myrrhi to have a break, commenting on her work so far. The young woman nodded, very frustrated about her failed attempts.

 

"I understand," the Initiate replied to the elder Sister advice.

 

She grabbed the green gem and tried the weave again. What she felt at using the agreal made her forget about all that weighted on her heart and on her mind. The sweetness of Saidar, coursing in a bigger flow through her, helped her gain the concentration she needed. This time, Fire came to her without difficulty and she managed to create a satisfying ball of fire.