Because Pherno has the Sa'Angreal on his side, the forces of the Light will be picked off one by one if they stand alone.  Do you mind if I come out with some other weavings that will offset the balance?

Ex: Combined Shield (Air and Spirit)

Salima discovered the weave during the battle on the first day.  This weave allows for the shields of individual people to combine into one large shield.  The combined shield also has the strength of the channelers added up together.  Even with Vora's Sa'Angreal, Pherno's circle will take some time to break down the shield.

The main body of forces is at Tar Valon.  Only Aes Sedai are scattered among the cities.  The novices and accepted are kept at the Tower under about 50 sisters and brothers for 'safekeeping'.  I think that, with massive active recruiting + Seanchan, the channelers at Tar Valon number around 9000.  Most of the shadow dreadlords concentrate on Tar Valon, because that is where they assume that most of the channelers are.

I volunteer Estean Aravell, a 'Wilder' to join (bump) into this skirmish while she wanders the world.  She would swing the forces into the favour of the light unless the shadow army seriously outnumbers that of the light.

It started, but it stalled.  AGAIN.

I'm tempted to request for permission to finish it on my own.  Perhaps I should do it now.  With puppy eyes.

*Puppy eyes the admins*  :)

No seriously, when are we going to get down to it and finish this?

If I'm not wrong Estean's going to link herself up with the DotNM party aka the Seanchan heir kidnap party (in the books, that is).  I'm not sure what Mat is called on DM.

That sounds interesting.  Defensive weaves....

Nenen is signing up for this class.

(OOC:  *Shrugs*  The first thing you do when you can't do anything, and something comes at you to kill you, the first thing you do it run to safety before the main army comes up.  In this case - run behind Silviana and hope she can defend you - even the hole Pherno made can do only so much to allow five or so through at a time, allowing the majority of them to gather safely within seconds behind her.  And the Bane was a one-off thing, so I take it I won't see anything like that again?

And she does have other Sa'Angreal.  They just are not as powerful to that magnitude.  But she only has so much...  Maybe four or five?  Ten at most.  They aren't easy to make, even with the rediscovery of the technique.

We really should plan out this seige, so that it becomes more interesting, with well thought out schemes and plans, instead of a "I hit you, you hit back"  kind of thing.  And in a seige, it takes weeks, if not MONTHS to accomplish victory in most cases.  You really should give us and ourselves some breathing pace instead of settling it in one drawn-out fight.)

LOLZ @ Knytiri

@ U4ea - Could you teach a cless for Nenen?  Maybe weaves specializing in battle that are taught to Accepted?  She is clearly going to be a Green.  So maybe a Green Ajah Rp would nice as well.  I can do both.

Hello all.  3rd and 4th classes are up now.  Please reply if you are still interested in continuing this rp.

*Shrugs*  Ok Arath.

(OOC:  Lets just say that there's a flaw in the weave that allows for travelling from inside to out, but not from outside to in.  The Light certainly did not expect for Pherno to be blasted into the city itself.  Anyway, the attack would be a disaster.  You really should read the series again, Blackhoof, because I sincerely doubt that only two dozen channelers would be able to stand against a circle of 72, aided by the most powerful SA'ANGREAL the Tower possesses.  If a strong Aes Sedai could level the city at a blow, what do you think a circle of 72 aided by this Sa'angreal could do?)

Silviana's head whipped around as an Aes Sedai screamed.  The three circles on the wall stirred, even as fire blasted off the door to the roof, and darkness flowed up.  Two different shadowspawn started to wreak havoc, even as they ran to the other corner.  Several fell before Silviana, drawing on the full power of the circle, started to weave a powerful shield of air that prevented any more casualties.  Whipping up the Sa'angreal, she drew through with the maximum it allowed, and a torrent of the One Power flooded through her, everything else paling in comparison.  There was so much of the power involved that it surely could be felt several dozen leagues out of the city.

There was the matter of the shadowapawn.  There were two of them, one agile and quick, attempting to shoot at them, but all were deflected by the shield of air.  Snorting in contempt, she blasted it off with a streak of lightning, even as several other weaves fought off the simultaneous attacks made by twenty four unlinked dreadlords.  Then there was the other shadowspawn that had killed around three circles before this.  She might have only 71 members, like those this thing had killed, but she had a Sa'angreal that magnified her power several times.  Channeling Air and Fire with all the energy she possessed, a bar of Fire, so thick that it was as tall as a man, struck the ... thing, blowing off its chest and sending it hurling, flying away, past the walls and crashing into the army below, killing several darkfriends and trollocs massing away from the river Erinin.

Turning her attention to the darkfriends and dreadlords, she started to smite them into pieces, extracting revenge for the fallen of the Light.  Lightning crackled and blazed, even as winds howled and swept others off their feet off the Tower, and they had several hundred metres to fall before they met a sticky end on the ground.

The dreadlords she beat off as if they were untrained children, their weaves sliced to pieces before they merited special attention.  They were severed several at a time, their panicked attempts to stop her weaves futily beating at the strength of her weaves.  Until finally, the commander of this attempt stood alone.  Drawing deeper and deeper, until whatever she did brought no more, she channeled several dozen weaves at a go.  Fire rushed around him, appearing out of thin air, even as the winds, gale force, blasted at him.  Lightning blasted from the sky, striking at him, lancing at him.  The air around him fouled, turning to carbon dioxide, depriving him of air.  The air on one side chilled as ice formed, and the other side, heat seared like the surface of the sun.

Actually I think NORMAL gateways can transport Shadowspawn.  It's DEATHGATES that don't allow for it.  Rand's normal gateway weave consists of Spirit and Fire.  Deathgates consist of Spirit, Fire and EARTH.  I think that Shadowspawn can be moved via gateways.  When Rand states that shadowspawn cannot survive moving through a gateway, I take it to mean those gateways, the deathgates.

(OOC:  I'll be posting this next class up as well.  Please post in both Class 3 and Class 4 within both months.)

Today, Nenen was in visible sight of the class, golden hair falling down her back, back straight in her chair, and surveying the gathering class with a slightly stern eye.  The last few lessons of Control had been difficult for many of them.  However, they had worked hard over the past few lessons, and Nenen was inwardly proud at the progress they had made.  It had already been a month since they started on control lessons, and Nenen had been deliberating over the past week whether to start progressing on to studying the basic weaves of the Power.  The last lesson had convinced her that they were ready.  She had made them practice gradually filling themselves up, and pushing Saidar slowly away for two hours, before she had been satisfied that they had mastered control.  She did not want any mishaps to happen in her class.

She still remembered what had happened in Wilemi's class with Esther Tremaine.  Esther was now an Aes Sedai, distant, but with a hint of expectation in her voice whenever she talked to Wilemi.  Wilemi modeled herself after Esther, although she was aspiring to be of the Brown Ajah.  But when Wilemi had been taught by Esther when Esther was an Accepted, Nenen recalled Wilemi saying that she had accidentally set fire to Esther's clothes.  Shuddering inwardly even now, she realized that Esther had been lenient.  Eqwina, Nenen's teacher, would probably have sent her to the Mistress of Novices for a spanking.

So now, when the class had all gathered, she stood up a solemn expression.  "You have all been practising control for the past few weeks.  I know that it must have been tough and boring for you, to resist the alluring power of Saidar, that beckons you to draw more.  I must say that you have done very well.  And today,"  her face broke into a slight smile, "I have decided that you have attained sufficient control to progress on to the next stage.  You will be learning about the actual elements of Saidar now, and today you will be identifying them."

"As you have been taught, there are five elements of Saidar.  Air, also known as Wind, as well as the other elements of Earth, Fire, Spirit and Water.  With the right combination of each of these powers, you will find that many things are possible that you have never done before, neither will you had you not had this ability born in you.  Can you imagine what it would be like to start an Earthquake right in the middle of an Army?  Or bring rain to a village suffering from drought?  Have you ever Healed anyone with a single touch?  Or even called down lightning to fight the forces of the Shadow?  Can you imagine doing that?  Is it possible without the touch of Saidar gracing you?"

"The first step is to identify the elements.  Some elements will be harder to identify than others."

She embraced the Power, and channeled flows of Air, Water and Fire.  "Gather in front, and try to identify this.  The first person who identifies all the elements used here correctly will be given a cookie."  She brought out the hidden jar from under the table."  Weaving different combinations each time, she smiled as they managed to identify it faster and faster.  When she had exhausted all possible combinations, she waved them back to their seats.  "You realize that you will be able to identify the elements, not just by their colour, but also by their taste.  Who can describe the sense, or feel, of each of the flows?"

(OOC:  Some IC information.  Air/Wind is blue, Water is green, Spirit is white, Earth is brown, and Fire is red.  We are not using the colours given by the books, but Dragonmount has adapted a different set of colours.  For the feel of the flows, think about what describes each particular element.  (Eg.  Fire feels like something burning, or heat.  Something of that sort.)  And please do note that the speed at which you identify the element has nothing whatsoever to do with you elemental scores as of now.)

Anyone can join.  I'll be replying to Pherno in a moment.  And there are at least umm 100 circles of 72 in action at the moment, and about 40 from the Shadow.  The only mitigation the shadow has at the moment is that most of the circles of the Light consist solely of Novices, Soldiers, Accepted and Dedicated)

(OOC: Several Lessons have now passed between the last class and this one.)

After the last class, Nenen had decided that the novices under her care had progressed far enough to move on to the next stage in their lessons. They could now more or less embrace the source reliably by now, succeeding around nine times out of ten. She was pleased at the rate that this class had set. It was rather fast, as compared to Nenen herself. She had taken nearly three weeks to master the art of embracing Saidar. This class had taken barely two. At the same time, she was envious at their rate of progression, but suppressed that emotion, which would not help her in teaching this class in the first place.

So it was that outside the class, she watched as the last novice entered and the door swung shut, Nenen stood there, invisible for two seconds before reopening the door with a loud bang. Several startled gasps came from different mouths, and Nenen glided in, invisibility weave now discarded. She had adopted the perfect Aes Sedai posture, straight-backed, and face serene in the midst of the calm chaos that preceded her entrance. But the class quietened down quickly.

There had been once when Nenen's slight leniency had brought about a sense of complacency, until Nenen had set them straight about the expectancy of her classes. She might be gentle with them, but in return, she expected the best effort from them. It didn't matter that they succeeded, but they spent their utmost effort trying to.

Now she stood in front of the class, arms folded, surveying them with the merest hint of steel in her sky-blue eyes, indicating that she might be gentle now, but she was being serious. "I have finally decided that you have progressed to the stage where you all can now channel reliably. You have done extremely well so far, and this class has been one of the faster classes that I have taught since I became an Accepted. However, there is still a lot more that you have to learn, about Saidar and wielding it, in order for you to progress to the stage where you have mastered control."

Her gaze hardened. "Before you go around patting yourself on the back, listen. You think you have accomplished much in your first two weeks here. Know here and now that you have accomplished nothing, but the first step in your lifelong journey to mastering Saidar. Prepare to put in real effort now that you have mastered your first step. It is nothing compared to what you have to do now to control the ability you possess. Every act of channeling is an act of control. To channel properly, you must learn to control Saidar properly. This level is something that you have not achieve, nor will you if you refuse to put in sufficient effort."

She saw dismay in some faces. "What? Did you think that all there was to being Aes Sedai was learning how to embrace Saidar? You were mistaken. Learning how to embrace Saidar is only a fraction of what a proper Aes Sedai must learn and know. Mastering control is FAR more important than anything else related to the Power that you will learn. We cannot have Aes Sedai losing control of their power in the middle of channeling. The best thing that can happen is for the Aes Sedai to be killed. The worst case scenario causes burnout, and destruction to the surroundings and everything she's ever worked for."

Nenen's face was hard now, staring down every Novice in the class until they looked away. Satisfied that they had gotten the message, she nodded and proceeded on to the lesson. "Now, the first step to mastering control is to learn to push away Saidar reliably, and to limit the amount at which you channel. You must resist the temptation of drawing too much of the One Power. That way lies death and destruction. Now, embrace the source." Waiting until she saw the glow of Saidar spring up in all the novices, she moved to the desk and sat down. "Now, moving on. You have imagined that the sun is the source of the Power, now imagine that there is a cloud drifting along the sky, about to obscure the sun. Imagine it being translucent, dimming the sunlight on you, and lessening the amount of Saidar in you. Do not imagine it being opaque, but instead, allowing some of the light and warmth to still shine through."

She repeated this until all the Novices managed to do it once, before continuing. "Now that all of you have done it once, I know it must have been hard on your mind. It was on mine too. But endure the pain for now. I'll entreat with one of the Yellow Sisters to give you Healing if they consent." "But for now, we move on. Imagine that translucent cloud obscuring the sun." She waited until she was sure they managed it, with the lights of Saidar being dimmed sharply. "Now, I want you to slowly move, or thin the cloud, such that the amount of light and warmth falling on you GRADUALLY increases. Do NOT allow it to suddenly increase to full strength, or you will feel an instant headache. Try it now." She went around the class, murmuring encouragement where necessary, and coaching them such that they managed to succeed at the technique once.

(OOC:  The trollocs, fades will not be able to come over the wall, so I'll just ignore that for now.  I'll deal with the bower though.  He won't be resistant to two dozen circles of 72 channelers.  That would be equal to a Gholam, and only six of those were ever made.)

Firae realized too late that something was creating mass havoc in the Shadow army, moving towards the White Tower.  It was approaching fast, about to reach to bridges.  Firae drew on as much power as he could and blasted at the approaching seige tower.  Several other circles joined in, but were deflected as the other dreadlords started to counter their moves.  As the seige tower reached the tower, some sort of shadowspawn came charging out.  Weaves of the Power flashed, and lightning struck them.  However, they did not die, but came on, skin smoking.  Already four circles had fallen, their bodies now bloody smears on the walls.  Horrified, the circles backed away, and retreated.  Firae included.  He barked orders, and all those who were not leading circles in his area backed down the walls, leaving him and ten on one side of the ... thing, and another round dozen on the other side.

Leaving the other circles to deal with the Shadow forces outside, Firae joined forces with the leaders of the ten circles with him, working together.  With a boom, they all channeled flows of Fire.  Streamers of fire, augmented by Angreals, blasted towards it.  The Bower screamed as heat seared his body, nearly as hot as the fabled balefire.  He started to burn slowly, and retreated back, looking at the other circles, but they were ready.  Lightning blasted from their fingers, striking him full on in the head.  The thing was trapped between fire and Lightning, he looked back at forth at them with hatred, screaming in pain an rage.

Then suddenly, a red beam burst forth from the top of the Tower.  Firae looked up, and saw Silviana Brehon standing on the top of the dark, hair flying, hands outstretched, with the Tower's most powerful Sa'Angreal in her hand.  The beam struck the beast full on in the chest.  With a final scream, it vapourized, and fell back onto the river below, and the corpse was carried away by the current.

Then, together, all twenty-four circles of seventy-two struck back as one at the trolloc horde, with one single powerful weave from each, flashing in the air before them, so fast and sudden that the dreadlords below did not have time to factor in their reemergence into the fight.  Five circles wove Air, Five used Water, five wielded earth, five blasted fire, and the last four wielded Spirit.

The winds rose and screamed, louder than ever, as the circles combined their flows in the air.  Winds that were far beyond the range of hurricane forces swept down and cut a swath through the whole horde, killing hundreds.  The waters of the River Erinin rose up in fury, and came down, crashing and drowning another hundred.  The earth exploded, and cracked, flinging dozens up, and swallowing hundreds more.  Fire blasted from Firae's hand, and lightning crackled from several more, searing many to ash.  They were channeling so hard and furious that they would have been burnt out had they not been linked.

But the greatest blow was struck from Silviana's circle and those wielding Spirit.  As once, they severed four other circles of seventy-two from the dreadlord army.  The leaders faltered, and the link dissolved, and the other circles moved in to mop them up on the instant.

Yes Arath.

I'll cook it up and serve it to you :D

Cooking would be nice...  :)

OOC @ Blackhoof - Even so, the light still has thousands more channelers that the Shadow, even though most are not yet at full strength.  That equals to about three times the Shadow's channeling number.  The Shadow has the advantage of non-channelers.  The Light still holds the upper hand when it comes to channelers.

Nyere hissed even as the walls were broken again, at the exact same place.  Trollocs poured in and the scene soon became a field of slaughter as even the weaker circles started to back away.  Nyere glanced around.  There seemed to be fewer circles than there should have been.  The parapets should have been packed with Novices and Accepted, Soldiers and Dedicated.  Where had the other circles gone to?  Nyere shook her head and ran down the stairs, her circle following.  Other circles had also joined their attention to the breach, leaving the others to mainly shield the city from exterior attacks, not fighting, but defending.  The forces of the Light were now on the defensive.

Channeling furiously, Nyere wove flows of Spirit and Fire that seared away the bodies that stumbled over the wreckage.  More and more flooded through as the forces of the Shadow pressed in.  Then suddenly, there was a rumbling sound, and the trollocs suddenly started to back away in fear, looking outside the city.  Puzzled, Nyere moved several steps closer...

And regretted it immediately as a literal wall of water came and swept away most of the threatening horde, giving the forces of the light a momentary breather.  The tidal wave was nearly as high as the wall around, and Nyere had to shield the wall to prevent the water from spilling into the already drenched crowd, and prevent unnecessary deaths by drowning.  Taking advantage of the stunned silence that followed, Nyere worked together with another Asha'man to rebrick the wall stone by stone, healing the wall such that it was as if the wall had never been broken.  Joining their wills together, with flows of Spirit, Earth and Fire, they melded the wall into one solid piece, stronger than ever.

The Shadow would not be able to break the wall so easily any more.

Of course, there was a matter of the irritating dreadlord.  But Nyere had deduced, since the wall of water came crashing down, that many of the circles had been preparing this attack, and now would soon be rejoining them.  Not unexpectedly, gateways soon began to appear in the air just above the walls of Tar Valon, the hundreds of people flooded through, Novices, Accepted, Soldiers and Dedicated, returning from the mission they had been sent to, tired, but pleased with their handiwork at eliminating at least several thousand trollocs at one blow.

Mememe!

Estean STILL hasn't been involved in anything yet...

I need some purpose for her!

I need someone to help me kickstart my RPing again

Seyneru is a Soldier.  Wanta teach him something non-Saidin?

(OOC @ Blackhoof:  You're not the Creator, you know.  Even with the power of an Angreal you won't be able to stand against the power of at least 4 circles of 71 or 72... Even if you link.)

Eareth gasped, his black robes swirling as he spun on the spot, erecting a shield of air that prevented most of the debris from hitting anyone other than at the immediate area.  There was a lull in the fighting as everyone stared, then Eareth beckoned, and they scurried down to the breach.  Drawing upon all the power that the circle could wield, Eareth looked around for the mortar.  Burning debris littered the ground, surrounding the area.  Nothing had gone far thanks to his wall of Air.  Others had also contributed, and the result was a pile of rubble where the gates had stood.

As trollocs started to pour in, Eareth decided to act fast.  Weaves of Air placed the stones in a rough position, and Earth and Fire started to melt them back into one singular wall.  Behind him, he felt lightning blaze and blast away any attempts to reach the city, and trollocs and shadowspawn alike were driven back into the river whence they came, many drowning in their attempts to flee, capsizing their boats and their steersmen.  Behind him, as he looked, stood Romanda Cassin, her face white with anger and determination.  Weaves of Spirit emanated from her, and she killed the trollocs silently, with the power of a circle of 71 to back her up.  The trollocs stood no chance with her weaves of death.  They did not spasm on the ground, but fainted as though they rested.  The shadowspawn and darkfriends stood no chance as Eareth started to block up the remainder of the hole.

As the last of the hole was blocked up and reinforced with a warding against the One Power, Seyren turned to look around.  Accepted were going around, Healing who they could.  Some like Sharina, were supervizing the linking of circles.  Several Aes Sedai and Asha'man had been killed, and now the most senior of the Accepted and the Dedicated had to take over.

Sighing with relief as the breach sealed with the aid of several circles of 72, Silviana turned her immediate attention to the dreadlord who had fired the weave.  At her request, another circle of 72 had joined them at the top, and the topmost part of the tower was becoming crowded.  She ordered all to go below, at the floor below, to free up the area, and give some space for her and for her companion, Myrelle, some time to look and survey the damage.

Myrelle took over the shielding of the sky.  Although she did not have a Sa'Angreal like Silviana's circle did, all of Myrelle's companions had Angreal, augementing their abilities multiple times, and the end effect allowed them to better take over the shielding of the city from the rain of fire.  So far, their weaves had been successful, and now that Myrelle had taken over, Silviana could now concentrate on that light-cursed dreadlord who had shattered the gates.

Drawing upon all the power that the Sa'Angreal offered, Silviana channeled.  Saidin and Saidar surged in her.  Logain held another Sa'Angreal below, and together, Saidar and Saidin pushed and melded together in the weaves she was now creating.

Dividing her flows several ways, Silviana channeled lightning, wind, and several other things, then aimed right at the dreadlord who was now descending from the sky.  Energy crackled around her as the weaves manifested themselves.  Lightning swirled around her body, and winds blasted through the pinnacle of the Tower.  Fire blazed around her hands as she pointed.  Attempts to cut the weave were futile.  The weave was right next to her, and all she had to do was to use a thin, but sharp, trickle of Spirit and Fire, and the weaves threatening hers were obliterated on the instant.

The winds howled and blasted, swirling her hair even as she threw bolts of lightning thick as trunks of trees at him.  Hurricane force winds swirled around her, gaining momentum, and scattered the trollocs like ninepins as it rushed towards him.  Fire gathered on her hands, mingling with the lights of the lightning as Cutting Lines of Fire spun, doing a merry dance around as they concentrated themselves onto the dreadlord.

Silviana Brehon stood calmly as she watched the swarm of darkfriends, shadowspawn and dreadlords surge towards the city.  Around her stood 70 channelers, 35 men and an equal number of woman.  All were the strongest that could be found in the ranks of the Tower.  They outnumbered the dreadlords in terms of sheer numbers, but most of their number were Novices, Accepted, Soldiers and Dedicated of the Tower.  It was strange how desperate times could push people together, and together, they would be a formidable force that even the Shadow would not find as easy meat.  The Red Ajah still stood, and they had a new purpose - the help the sisters of the Tower find new recruits.

It was a tactic that paid off.  Several thousand more channelers had been gathered, and sworn to the Light.  Now, they were organized in circles of 72 or 71, far more in number than those in the Shadow.  but they still had to counter the shadowspawn and the normal range of Darkfriends.  Even now, as she stood on the top of the White Tower itself, so high that many sisters found themselves dizzy from the height, she looked calmly at the scene below.  Egwene had not left her unprepared for something like this to happen before she and most of the Sisters and Brothers of the Tower had gone off to the different cities to fight the Shadow.

She looked down at her hands and gazed at Vora's Sa'Angreal.  The most powerful Sa'Angreal the tower had possessed for over three thousand years was in her hands, and she intended to use it well.  Dangling from the bun of her hair was another Ter'Angreal that would disrupt any weaves flying her way.

"They're channeling!  Fire's coming down soon!"  Barked Logain, the Asha'man beside her.  She nodded and wove a barrier of Air above her, drawing on the power of the Linked circle of 71.  Saidar and Saidin thrummed in her.  She was a well of power, further amplified several times by the Sa'Angreal that was in her hands.  Even as the sky rained fire, boiling and churning, lightning streaking and flashing across the sky in outrage, the barrier of air held firm.  Slanting slightly such that it tilted down out from the city and devastated the hordes below with fire created from their own side.  Below her, the blazing lights of Saidar told her that the circles of Novices, Accepted, Soldiers and Dedicated were at work,, working together to bring down the opposition.

However, even Silviana's barrier of Air could not hold all the fire, and she had to draw even deeper into the circle, weaving flows of Air and Water to snuff out the flames even as they lit, beating down the flames until they were non-existent.

Airaya hissed even as the flames struck the barrier above her and fell onto the shadowspawn army below.  Deaf to the screams and shouts of those below the wall outside the city, she looked around at the group of Kin, Novices, Accepted and Dedicated around her.  Most looked terrified.  The Dedicated however, mostly were standing, their faces set.  Airaya admired their strength of character and will that made their faces so calm as compared to the others in her circle.

Drawing upon whatever power she had, she channeled Wind and Water, pointing her hand at the sky.  It glowed red.  A spark of fire, that turned into a flame, then a line that shot straight into the sky, arrowing into the clouds.  "Get down!"  She snapped at the group around her.  They did so, their clothes now fluttering against a wind that was rising, unnatural and strong, shrieking and howling.  She alone stood in the blast, but even then, the air avoided her.  Her hair swirled and her eyes shone like blue fire as she pointed her other hand straight at the army.

The wind whirled around her and crashed into the army, scattering them like ninepins, before coming to a halt as it skittered off another wall of air conjured up by an opposing circle.  Hissing with anger, Airaya drew deeper, and more Saidar and Saidin flooded into her.  Her whole body was now being illuminated by power that was within her, thrumming and singing within her.  The flows melded together, fining and resharpening itself as the opposing halves of the One Power fought and worked.

The amount of Power within her ensured that she could now see the features of the dreadlord she was working against.  His face was bared in a snarl as they battled.  Around him were the faces of several others, all looking out for other sources of worry.

Then a bolt of lightning struck the barrier the dreadlord was holding, causing him to stagger.  Airaya lessened the attack slightly and looked to one side.  Sumeko was there, her normally kind and plump face set and determined, though frightened.  Around her hand played a bolt of lightning as she aimed, and threw again.  "Sumeko!"  Airaya panted, making her voice as loud as possible over the noise of the battle.  "Don't aim!  Just throw!"  Sumeko looked at her, and nodded slightly.  Turning her attention back to the dreadlord, she saw him look worriedly at his companions, then hold out his hands, even as Airaya and Sumeko focused both their attentions on him.

He didn't stand a chance against two circles of 71.

Lightning created a large dent in his shield before burning through it and crashing into the dreadlord.  Immediately the remainder of the barrier disappated, and Airaya's gale force wind tore through the ranks of the circle, scattering them.

Around her, she saw that circles of the Light worked together, bringing down circle after circle of dreadlords.  Hope rose slightly in her heart, then fell as trollocs started to cross the river Eririn...

The new thread for the seige of Tar valon can be found at

http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,54748.0.html

Tar'mon Gaidon has broken all over the world, and the world has descended into Chaos.  Sunlight pentrates through cracks in the clouds, and the air carries a scent of destruction, death and decay.  Fire burn in towns and villages, and the major cities are now fortresses of light under seige.  Most of the attacks are situated in the boarderlands as the main armies try to breach the forces of the Light situated there.  But in the southlands, war has also broken out as darkfriends try to seize the rulers and the cities and massacre also those who still side with the Light, aided by trollocs and not a few channelers.  Only through sheer luck and determination have the forces of the Light kept the Shadow at bay.

But now, a final assualt has been prepared for Tar Valon, the last pure bastion of the light.  Several hundred thousand Trollocs have been arrayed outside the city, and more thousands of channelers allied with the Shadow, including the Black Ajah, have laid the city to seige.  The final tally of the seige stands as thus

FORCES OF THE LIGHT

~100,000 citizens and soldiers

~50 Aes Sedai (the rest are at the other cities defending, or at the blightborder)

~50 Asha'man (the rest are at the other cities defending, or at the blightborder)

~5000 Novices and Accepted (includes Seachan)

~4000 Soldiers and Dedicated (includes Seanchan)

~2000 Kin

FORCES OF THE SHADOW

~200,000 trollocs

~2000 Dreadlords and Dreadladies

~200 Black Ajah

Who will win?  The Light or the Shadow?  You decide.

CAPTAINS OF THE LIGHT

Silviana Brehon (Keeper of the Chronicles)

Logain Ablar (M'Hael)

Tiana Noselle (Mistress of Initiates)

Damer Flinn (Master of Initiates)

Gareth Bryne (Captain of the City Guard)

Myrelle Berengari (Green Ajah)

Lelaine Akashi (Blue Ajah)

Magla Daronos (Yellow Ajah)

Tarna Feir (Red Ajah)

Serancha Colvine (Grey Ajaha)

Ferane (White Ajah)

Saerin Asnobar (Brown Ajah)

CAPTAINS OF THE SHADOW

Alviarin Freidhein (Black Ajah Head)

Pherno (Army Captain)