Ah, yes, that rp, I will get on it tomorrow...

ooc: Hey Drenn, if Muir does not show up, I could always take his place...

ooc:but it is, lest finnish this off ok Drenn? Oh and thanks for the tip about japanese fighting, I knew there was a name flowting about somewere, but I'm not going to swich to ken-jutsu, but more of a korean style. And for arabic, its acutaly realy simple, high form, down angled cuts and once one good blow is landed, close in and use the curve as a bit of a saw to cut the chest.

IC: Brand wiped the sweat from his face. Andar was a realy good swordsman, outclassing Brand by far. "Are you ready Brand? I'm going to kill you now..". Grinning himself, Brand nodded and rased one eyebrow. "Realy Asha'man Andar, I though death was only good for those that happen to fight me." Changing his form, Brand raised his sword over his head, left arm extended and tip of the blade resting on his extended arm. His lower body was completly open.

Andar charged forward and hit Brand square in the chest with a powerfull hit. Brand's body screamed in pain, but he fought it off. Smirking, he lifted again his eyebrow. "Sheathing the Sword..." With a fluid movement, Brand brought his sword back then down the a blow aimed at Andar's shoulders.

ooc: You can pull off a block on me if you want, its your choise, I just though it might be interesting if we brought out that philosiphie...

ooc: anyone mind if I bring my self back into this rp?

IC: Brand frowned at the asha'man instructing the class. Play pranks on the others? That was not Brand's type of personality, but if he must do it, he would. Setting off back towards his barracks at the end of the training day, he spent the rest of the night thinking of this to pull on people.

Wayking early in the morning, Brand set out to start pranking. First off he used a weave of earth to dig a deep hole then covered it with an ilusion right in front of the main door to the barrack across. Then at one of the side doors he wove an illusion of a commical spoof of a trolloc that screamed "ZOOB ZOOB" the moment anyone opened the door and on the other side door he created an illusion that made anyone walking through the door feel like they walked into a wall of fire.

Snikering evily, Brand turned to jog off to the class meeting place, but as he turned bumbed into the chest of another man. Stepping back a few paces, he let out a groan. The man was an Asha'man. "Funny pranks there dedicated. I am wondering why you are doing them, maybe you can answer me, yes?"

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

It was well into the class when Brand finaly made it there. Limping in, the whole class stared at him. "What? Oh, yea, I got caught, but was not reported...only because I accepted to duel and Asha'man. Bad choice..." Brand rubed the bruses on his cheek and hip.

The class went on for half of the day and finaly, the dedicateds were given the rest of the day off. Sighing, Brand truged off to his favorite clearing in the forest behind the barracks and sat down. The ground was quite muddy and that gave Brand an idea. Quickly he wove Mudslide and Wave in front of him, which resulted in a rather loud explosion that knocked him backwards. Picking himself up, he tried again, this time much slower, concentraiting of getting the two weaves to connect.

After a good hour and many more explosions later, Brand watched a giant wave of mud rocket across the clearing and smashing againts the trees. Later on in the day Brand was able to create a whirlpool of mud and was able to build himself a small mud house with the help of his mudslide/wave weave, walls of earth and dry.

Bored, Brand created a fire inside his hut, then drew it into the mud, which left it brittle. Pausing for a good moment, Brand decided that it was time to head off to his room and wash up. Before he left he blew up his house, creating a large dust cloud.

Ok, first off, I have to apologies for going AWAL for like two months now, just at the height of activity, but yea, gf, rl and all that stuff decided it wanted more of me, but im going to try and make a better commitment to be here for as much time until I go off into hiding with no internet for the summer.

Um, Dali, sorry man, I know I said I would finish all of my class's, but I got side tracked. Could you all fill me in on what I have missed since I left? Promotions, events, deaths...

Brand ducked and peeled away from the branch's of a large, but now very active tree. He was starting to get anoyed by the persistant attacks, and an anoyed Brand is not a pretty thing to see. Face flushed and anger just about to bust, Brand quickly used his favorit weave and turned the ground around the tree into quicksand and another weave to bring up a large pilar of earth to beat the tree down. The tree slowly sank, its deep roots holding on and it thrashed about. A vein was pumping in Brand's forhead and his right eyebrow twiched. This was a persistant foe that did not like to go down easy. He had used every move and trick in his book to incapasitate the great tree and not to obliterate the surrounding in the process, but this was too much. Suddenly a massive pillar of fire exploded around the tree and it was emediatly turned into a bonfire, its branch's burning madly. With out realising it, Brand had started weaving and soon the ground that had been quicksand had melted and was replaced by a gurgeling mass of laval.

Brand could almost here the tree shreack as it's base was turned to ash's and it topled over, not to move again. Panting, Brand grinned, one down, a forest left to try and kill him.

Turning, he spotted Covai and joged up to him, just as he was about to releace his weave on the tree. Quickly he wove and ropes of earth shot up from the ground and wraped them selves around the Traitor's Tree's limbs. The tree was strugeling to move and was a much easier target. Throught panting and his demonic grin, Brand called to Covai. "Fire away!"

Brand sat on a branch, high up in a tree, just between the realms of sleep and conscious. I one hand rested his finished pipe. He had up until now, not been able to sleep, and he was finally sliding into peace. As his eyes slowly slid closed, he caught a flashing from the tree next to his. Fighting off the sleep that filled him, he quietly pulled out one of his swords. His eye grabbed a hold of what had moved, and he almost dropped his sword in disbelief. What looked like a human, but impossibly smaller and covered in disgusting skin creped slowly up the tree. It had been a reflection of the moon light in his eyes that had wakened Brand.

Brand grasped a hold of Saidin and prepared to incinerate the ugly thing in a small fire storm, but it was if the creature sensed him channeling and flung itself towards him, its pike pointed at his heart. Brand had barley the chance to dodge the on coming rush and was just able to jump away. A stinging pain came from his leg, were the pike had bit into. Thrusting his blade trough the creature head as they fell together, Brand was satisfied with the cracking sound it made as his blade broke its skull. Grabbing onto a branch, Brand let the lifeless body of the thing drop to the ground.

Quickly producing a bunch of clean bands of cloth and wraped them around the wound on his leg. Brand swung down from the tree and limped off towards the farmhouse. One of the senior Asha'man would have an answer for all of this. Arriving at the traitor’s tree, Brand stopped dead and his mouth dropped. It was like it was alive and its limbs were thrashing about trying to kill people. The heads that normally hanged were floating about trying to take bites out of people. His eyes widening, he watched on of the head approach his mentee from behind. Launching himself at the head, he managed to knock it away with a blow that should have cut it cleanly in half. Not letting it the time to gather itself, Brand simply blew it up. Small parts of skin and other's sprayed about, but Brand wove a shield of air to protect him and his mentee. Turning around Brand smiled to Aldazar. "What in the bleeding name of hell is going on here? Or have we been transported to that burning wasteland already?"

Yea like Death said, im in too, since this is the last course I need to be Ashi...I think

Hey, Dali, I will send you the list later today, i'm a bit tired have just finnished a band and a drill team competition...

Right, so we are just going to continue, but update the ranks right?

ooc:Hum, were did you get your advanced offence and defence, cuz we like got promoted at the same time, and we were in the same class'... Unless I compleatly forgot about one...

OMG!

Name: Brand Ishmar

Rank: Dedicated

Class needed: Well the im in older weapons class and advanced elemental manipulation and I joined the new AEM class for the fun of it, but I, like most of the veteran dedicateds need the Advanced Offence and defence.

NOTISE TOO DALI AND ANDAR: the old weapons class has kinda died out since Andar is not around, same with the AEM, so could we pleaze finnish them off, I realy want to be an Ashi... :cry:

"Yes...There are always groups of men who think they can overwhelm merchant’s wagons, but there aren’t many people that can overwhelm a Borderlander’s group of guards. I’ve killed my fair share of brigands... As for stalking you can be surprised what some people can do I heard a rumor of Aiel who could hide in a fold of land you would think not even a dog cold hide in and from what I know of the Aiel war I would be accounted average height with their people†Brand harrumphed after Aldazar's word's. "Well I guess that’s good. At least it means that you can kill again. As for the Aiel, I have witnessed first hand what they can do. One blighter was able to get so close to me that he could reach out and touch me shoulder, but the poor sap had my blade half way through him before he felt the sting. Got to love wards..."

When Noy started to speak, all of the nice appearance that he had shown at the start faded and was replaced by his normal cold hearted emotions.

"Brand, you treat yourself like a weapon, a dispensable weapon. I understand that it is our sole purpose here to become weapons, or at least it was. But what will happen after the Last Battle, huh? If we keep eating out of the Dragon's hand, what happens after the Battle is done? Will we be put down like rabid dogs, sacrificed to the Aies' Sedai as a way to save his skin? After all, the Dragon also becomes useless after the Last Battle, what would keep him from sacrificing us to the Aes' Sedai to save his own skin?"

A small fire raged in Brand as he sought to suppress it and was just able to keep his face impassive. Guess its time to let them know about my background... Thought Brand.

"The Black Tower is all I have and all I know now. When I became a dedicated, they gave me special permition to leave with an Asha'man to go and look for my family. I did not find them, but I found out that they had all been killed by the Shaido dogs. Even my soon to me wife had been taken as a slave, then kill when she tried to escape. It’s clear that you don’t understand my position in this world, I live only for revenge. Revenge on the dark that killed off all of those that I loved. It is true, my sole perpause here is to be a weapon, and I don’t mind it one bit. We must follow the Dragon, I do not eat out of his hand, I had seen him once, he is barley older them myself, and he does not inspire his men very well. But he is in charge, he is our general and we must follow him."

Brand paused to regain his completion and ideas. "After the Last Battle, if we all do not die in it, I really don’t know what will happen to us. I suppose I would take all of those that follow me, and we would travel to a long forgotten land and stay till the ends of our natural lives. I would really like to start a nation, were male and female channalers can live together, and no one can fear that we go mad and kill every thing again.

I won’t go down groveling to any Aes Sedei! Best to keep one's honor by being killed in battle, then to be cut off from Saidin and left a shell of a man."

ooc: You can stay as long as you like Jasonr.

Brand soon found out that Noy had spunk as well. Brand liked spunk in a guy, it made life more pleasant and laughter was a ray of light breaking up the black that covered there lives as male channalers. "I am sorry My Lord Dedicated-soon-to-be-Asha'man Brand Ishmar Sir!" Noy's grin grew. "You know that I cannot compare to your infinite intelligence and skill." Chuckling Brand nodded for Noy to continue. "But really? Killing everything that moves, that isn't very kind."

Brand smile widened menacingly. "Of all people, Noy you would understand, we are not being trained here for the fun of it. If we do not have the mentality that we must kill living things, not only shadowspawn, but those of our own race, we can not perform up to the level that the Dragon Reborn wants." Looking up at Aldazar, Brand nodded. "Best to get the worst over first, then the rest will be ok..." Cocking his head back over to Noy. "And stop calling me a lord soon to be Asha'man. I gave up that life to become more and I would hate to see the face's of the other Dedicated’s if all of the soldiers started calling me an Asha'man before I even get to the rank." Brand paused to regain his breath. "But yes, I am intelligent, cunning, have incredible skill and am the most handsome man to ever walk the earth on which you stand on, but I don’t like to say it, since it demoralizes the men."

Both of the men that sat in front of him chucked at Brand's words, clearly reading the mass of sarcasm plainly worded.

Noy looked over to Aldazar. "Don't worry too much about 'becoming a weapon' it won't be too hard to get started. Your instructors will make sure of that." Brand nodded his support of Noy's words.

Noy turned back to look at Brand and Brand's smile and cocked head made him look much younger then he really was. "Are you his mentor, Brand, or are you just here for the fun of it?" Brand's smile slowly faded and was replaced by his smirk. "Depends..." Noy and Aldazar’s raised eyebrow's prompted Brand to continue. "...Depends on how good he is. We will see, but I like his hight, a bit of a impediment when it comes to stalking and hiding, but the bigger you are, the more umph you can put into your punch." Brand felt he needed to unstable the younger man, just to see his reacting at quick change's. "Have you ever killed a man, face to face, his blood on you?"

Brand paused to let Aldazar answer.

ooc: feel free to answer what ever you like.

Shaking his head, Brand reflected on Isha's words. "Brand, who had Jarhnas been spending time with?" Who had his mentee been spending some time with. He had only cought a glimps of him once and by pure accident as they met just as Brand was leaving Jarhnas' tent. They had brushed shoulders and Brand felt a sickening feeling at just that little contact.

"I...I think he was spending some time with an Asha'man. I think he was one of the Asha'man that spends a lot of time out side of the Tower spying and collecting information. I, dont know name and I had never seen him before I bumped into him on the way out of Jarhnas' tent. The only reason I knew he was an Asha'man was his pins. Untill know, I had only shrugged it off as, since Jarhnas was always talking about going to train with another out side the Tower, and I just thought that this man was going to be Jarhnas' new mentor once he gained Dedicated...

Trailing off, Brand beat himself mentaly for doing such a stupid thing and not inquiring about the man that was going to take under his wing one of Brand's pupils.

ooc:Bah, i'm too lazy to open Word, so there will be some gramatical errors.

Brand gathered with the rest of the Dedicated's as they waited for there class. Retaining his cool outward complexion, he waited off to a corner, leaning on the wall of the training hall. "Alright guys, there's no sense standing around talking. Obviously we're all here so let's get moving."

His black eyes turned to look at the small man that spoke and he nodded in his way. Standing up, he swaggered off behind Nakor and fell in beside him. The two men walked off to were the Asha'man had told them to meet and the rest of the Dedicated’s followed them. Brand looked down at Nakor. "They follow you, not me. Let’s get this over with."

Breaking into the clearing, Brand's cool, slipped as he spotted something that made his remember painful memories. There stode a Trolloc and his cooking pot. Reacting with out thinking, Brand channeled just as Nakor weaved a fire ball. Brand turned the ground around the Trolloc into quicksand, but just as Nakor paused, Brand already had one of his swords out and was just about to charge down the Trolloc when he froze in mid step. The Trolloc was supposed to be sinking in his weave, but he just stode there, sword out and waiting. Rummaging in his coat, Brand pulled out an empty bottle and threw it at the ground near the Trolloc and watched it sink. Dropping and shaking his head, Brand sheathed his sword and stode up. Looking at Nakor, Brand grunted: "Fake, most likely Saidin. You want to try something against it?"

Coughing and spitting out ash's, Brand looked up into Isha's face. "Your mentee's body is in my house, guarded with wards. I don't think anyone would want the body, what was important to the murderer was that the boy died, if murder that be."

Brand opened his mouth to retort that it was most certainly murder, but was cut off by Isha's. "No, I believe you, but you must weigh all the possibilities. I've felt something's wrong too. Now tell me what you know of Jarhnas' death and what you two did in the woods that required so much saidin."

Wiping more ashes off his mouth, Brand straightened him self up and tottered before gaining balance. "Jarhnas' had been acting oddly before his death. He missed a few weapon training classes and one Saidin one. He did not want to go on an RnR trip into the woods, preferring to stay back here... I knew him well. He was stronger then me in Saidin, but had this urge to become even more powerful as fast as possible... If any one tried to turn him against the Black Tower, I fear that they would have had an easy time. But Jarhnas' had a strong conscious, and might have realized what he was doing was wrong. I think that he ether tried to take on who ever killed him, or was killed trying to reach me." Brand shoke his head in wonder and cleared his through before continuing. "As for what happened in the forest, Drenn had nothing to do with it, if he had not saved me, I would have probably burnt out, killed myself or wiped out a good chunk of this side of the Black Tower. I...I, lost controle of Saidin. I was not like I was trying to fight it, but when I relaxed and grabbed a hold of it, I was only using a little bit, but suddenly I just exploded in me and rushed in and I a few second I was at my max and still more was trying to get out. The forest feels weird, like it corrupted or something. Drenn felt it too. But I can’t explain what really happened, since I do not know myself. But for all theses black marking on my face, it seems that in side and out of my body got burnt up pretty badly. It seems that Saidin burnt out the color in my skin and my lungs seems to have some ashes in them..."

Trailing off Brand, wavered and collapsed to the ground. Shaking his head, he looked up at the two now lowering men. "Seems that I used up much more energy and stamina then I expected."

ooc: Man, sorry im SOOOO late on posting, but now I have like 4 days off to catch up :D

IC: Brand Ishmar lazed about his room in the Dedicated's barracks. He was tired and had been forced to stay up all night working with Drenn to regain control over Saidin. It was a rather nasty night and the self control of Brand was now back up to a deadly high. Rubbing his now black skin around his death black eyes, he slowly sat up from his chair. Growing under the stiffness, he got up and stumbled to put on his pants. Tucking in a new shirt and buttoning up his coat, he pined the silver sword to his collar and rubbed it so it shined.

Strapping on his new swords, Thunder and Lightning, he strolled out of the barracks and towards the Inn for a meal. He felt too lazy to go thought all the formalities of eating at the Dedicated's mess and the Inn was closer.

Swaggering in, his face completely blank and emotional, Brand looked about to find a place to sit. It was late in the morning and the Inn was all cleared, only a few soldiers eat in a corner, one, was most certainly a green recruit just arrived. Smiling, Brand remembered his first day at the Black Tower, a few years ago... Then it hit him. What was that job that Asha'man gave me yesterday? Oh, there was a new recruit to be coming and I was supposed to greet him. Looking at the two men, Brand shrugged. Less work for him if some one else beat him too it.

Walking over to the table, he smiled and waved at a quickly straitening Nay. The other man just froze in mid movement of putting his fork into his mouth. Grabbing a chair and sitting down, Brand cocked his head. "How many times must I repeat it, I only like formalities when it comes to two things, a parade and out on the battlefield. So relax, I did not come here to be caught up in formalities, if I wanted that, I would have just gone to the mess." Turning his smiling face, Brand looked at the recruit. Eyebrows slowly rising, Brand quickly calculated the mans height. Brand was pretty short, a bare 5,8" and this man was huge, towering over him by a good foot. Yet the man flinched when Brand directed his gaze at him. Hum, still get the same reaction these days about my eyes as ever...

Extending his hand in welcome, Brand continued to look the recruit in the eyes and surprisingly he held his gaze. "I like you, you have spunk. Dedicated Brand Ishmar at your service. Former Cairhien lord, turned weapon. Age: now 24, hobby's: Killing any thing that moves." Brand smirked. "You?"

ooc: Brand is realy cocky and pompuss, and view pretty much every thing as a chanlange. Hope this introduces my character well. Oh, Brand's eye and the skin around his eyes (eye lids ext.) have been turned black by Saidin, and most people are nervous and have trouble keeping and returning his gaze. He also has a thing scar running from his left eye brow down to his lip as well as one on his right cheek.

Handle: TheWitchKing

Black Tower character: Brand Ishamar

Rank: Dedicated

Um special title? er, The crazy? or maybe the mentally unstable...

Oh: AKA Philip Wright, um... (French) student extraordinaire, extreme LARPer and Reenacter and computer wiz.

Well, the weaves that require more skill then Brand has, around 28 or something, are most certanly more complex, and would take a lot longer to make, so it would be kinda normal that Brand could master lighting fast weaving for those that he know's and is able to perform.

Alright, so I have finally got off my lazy a$$ and decided to write out once and for all Brand's fighting style and use of Saidin. It would be helpful if you guys posted comments, since I am trying to make the best out of my relatively low One Power level.

"Physical Fighting style"

Alright, so here's the scoop, Brand broke his sword (again (for like the 3ed time)) and the master sword smith at the BT is got pissed and made him a new sword. Using the proper techniques, the smith made him a Korean like straight bladed wakisashi (shorter version of a katana) and as a side arm, a tanto. So this change's completely Brand's style of heavy blow's and strong defense (not like I mind, it was getting boring and hard to write about anyway). So, following his use of Saidin, I decided that he is now going to use a very fast style of fighting, hitting only the vital body parts and dodging most attacks.

I created a fun little technique, "Fast step" which involves Brand using what little he knows about Air, to blur the out-lines of his body, and give him a lot of back draft, increasing greatly his speed as well as making his opponent think he almost completely blurred when moving.

Brand also likes to cheat using Earth and Saidin to give him advantages in battle, be it using walls of earth to block blows, using pillars of earth to push him up into the air, or creating lots of obstacles such as great spikes of earth or rivers of fire to hinder his opponent.

Brand also takes a very calm mentality into a fight, and some times goats his opponent into a rage, so that he is blinded and Brand can beat him easier.

"Use of Saidin and its use in Brand's combat"

Ok, so lets face it, Brand is not the strongest male to ever channel on the face of Randland, but he can make up for that loss by the speed of his weaving. Being that he is only reduced to the lower skill weaves, it would be fitting that he could spew them out at a high rate and he would have a better stamina, since the weave's only require a medium amount of skill.

Looking at Brand's OP chart, he is weak in both Air and Water, but very strong in Earth, Fire and Spirit, so most of his moves center around Earth and Fire, creating fire storms, and crushing opponents with earthquakes. Brand likes to use physical weaves, so none of the internal affecting one's. He likes to use the earth to wound the opponent, since a direct attach would be less affective, and when Brand see a chance, he will try and turn the ground around him into quicksand or try and swallow the opponent into the earth.

Any Asha'man can tear down a city, but Brand prefers to use his quicksand technique to sink the walls, more of a physiological and moral blow then anything, for the defenders to see there best defense sinking into the ground.

Once (hopefully) Brand reach's Asha'man, I will be able to get the Talent of Earthsinging, which will make Brand more deadly in battle, as he will be able to control the earth even easier.

Right now Brand is hesitant to use Saidin, since he lost control of it (see the thread relating the investigation’s, and use’s an even calmer, but greatly concentrated approach to channeling. He is especially reluctant to use Saidin around Drenn, his good friend, after he was defeated by him and shielded for a few minutes.

In all Brand try’s not to use Saidin most of the time when in closed space’s or beautiful area’s, since his style cause’s a lot of destruction, but he will not think twice to use it if one of those he holds dear to him is endanger, being very loyal of nature (yet an airhead and a pompous fool most of the time outside his duties.