hi all.

I'm sorry for my absence.  I've been extremely stressed out and tired lately, but I hope that after a month or so I will be able to regain my stamina.

Thanks for you patience

Arani.

Salima Tyhar stood on the parapets of Tar Valon, her golden hair falling to her hair as she surveyed the scene before her.  Dawn was breaking over the city of Tar Valon, whatever dawn there was.  Lightning flashed through the sky, the clouds low and black.  Through only narrow cracks was it obvious that the sky was paling, and even then it wasn't often that these narrow cracks showed up.  Sighing, she looked at the ground, the sight before her was even more horrifying than the effect of the Dark One's taint on the world.  Hundreds of Thousands of trollocs, and thousands of Dreadlords.  How was the power of the Towers, the Seanchan, and even the Kin able to stand against the power of the shadowchannelers, who did not care about killing, and its moral effects?

The winds blew, and she sighed.  Even though she was of the Green Ajah, she still abhored unneccesary killing.  Her green shawl flapped around her as a wind rose, smelling of waste and rubbish, and decay.  Trying not to notice the smell, she looked and tried to concentrate her efforts on attempting to see the weak points of the army.  But Light.  It was hard.  The odds were piled against them, and it would take all their skill and ability to triumph.

A call to ALL players to PLEASE post up their posts by next monday.

I recently died off because nobody responded.

http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,50454.0.html

Advanced Saidar with Nesyer.  *winks*

Dear all, on limited activity status for 3 months.  I will be able to come and see what everybody's doing, but I won't be as active.

Ahem.  You are still welcome to post in the thread Elliara.  I just sent a PM asking everyone who hasn't posted to post yesterday.

Don't worry Mystica.  We'll always be here ;)

Seyneru watched as Wilemi combated the dreadlord, who somehow managed to smash aside her weavings with a cocoon of fire.  Tapping Wilemi on the shoulder, he moved forwards as Wilemi let control of the link flow into him.  Power welled up in him, almost swamping him.  But there was no time to let the sense of awe overwhelm him, for the dreadlord was striking back, with a vengeance.  His weariness shrugged off by adrenaline and the power that was coursing through him, he wove, not as dexteriously as Wilemi had done, but with a knowledge of how to combat the weavings that the dreadlord was making.

Drawing upon the full power of the circle, Seyneru slammed down a reverse weave of Earth and Fire.  The grounds held still, and the fires that were blasting up died and did not rise again.  Then Seyneru struck back.

Weavings of Spirit, Earth and Fire flowed from him as he wove.  The air around him warped and twisted with power that streamed forth from his hands.  All the metal within a mile radius was pulled towards him, dancing around the circle of five.  Suddenly, he threw them all at the dreadlord.  Even fire could not change the fact that the metal was porous.  And even if the metal vapourized, Seyneru would still be able to close it around the dreadlord.  The metal was unblockable.

*Raises Eyebrows*

I didn't know that Aussies got that much rain.    :P

Its not MY site.  BTW, we can rp anyway we want, as long as it isn't too outrageous.  And I'm just using the DM OP system for simplicity.

Read http://whitetower.aliciawilkerson.com/?page_id=34

Your Strength can be no more than 38 and your skill no less than 22.  And with your skill at 16, you won't ever be able to react in time to Wilemi's defenses.  At strength 51, your stronger than ALL the forsaken and the Dragon Reborn to boot.  Isn't that just a bit on the high side?

Nenen waited again, hidden once more under weaves of the Power, until the last Novice was sitting and the door was closed.  Embracing the source, she channeled Water, and the candles went out with a soft hiss.  Several girls squeaked as they were plunged into entire darkness.  Releasing those weaves, she channeled other weaves of Air and Fire, the weaves shifting about, causing globes of light to appear in midair and dance around the room, sweeping by several girls.  Tying those weaves off, she left the balls of light to dance while she wove the last weave of the Hundred Weaves test, precisely and perfectly.  Multi-coloured flecks of snow drifted down and hit the floor, and another weave of Air swept up the snow and dumped it out of the window.

Smiling at the gasps and oohs as the girls swept their gaze around, trying to pinpoint her location in the room now filled with dancing lights, for they knew that she was hiding herself with weaves of the Power.  Nenen smiled and released the weave, causing her to pop out of thin air right beside one of the girls in the class.  (OOC: Who wants to rp this novice?  ;D)  The novice squeaked and Nenen caught her on the arm with a firm grip before she fell to the floor and injured herself.  Nenen smiled at her softly as the novice blushed, then swept to the front of the class, smiling at them in turn.

"Now that's an impressive display of what you CAN do with the One Power once you learn to control it."  She said to them, and she noticed that many sat up straight with eagerness.  "And today, you are going to take the first steps towards controlling and using the power.  NO GIRL!"  she said sharply as another girl suddenly embraced the source.  And weaving a shield, she slammed it onto the novice, who gasped.  Looking at her in the eye, Nenen said sternly.  "I did not tell you to try and embrace the source.  Do NOT make a move to embracing the Source until you are told to try it."

Then she smiled.  "But your eagerness to learn how to control that power is very encouraging.  But I think you will have to wait for your friends to have their first touch before we can start on control lessons yet."  Nenen continued.  "Today, for many of you, will be the day of your first touch.  And I intend to see that all of you who haven't embraced the source yet," she said, shooting a glance back at the girl who had embraced the source, "do so today.  I will not tell you what you will experience once you embrace the source, for a surprise.  Trust me, you will like it."  She said, with an encouraging smile.  "What I described to you yesterday is nothing to what you will feel."

Some of the more brainless girls looked blankly at her, while others looked more excited.  "So now, on with the lesson!"  she said, clapping her hands briskly together.  "Each of you have three roses under your desk.  They are each of a different stage in maturity.  One is a closed bud.  Another would be a partially opened bud, and the last would be fully matured and open."  She looked around and saw some very puzzled expressions.  "Well, don't just sit there staring at me,"  she said, her eyes raised.  "Memorize what they look like.  You're going to need it.  When you become Aes Sedai, you're going to need to be able to observe things around you, and some particular things.  Nobody's going to tell you what to observe then.  You're supposed to be Aes Sedai, and fully capable of knowing what to do by then.  Your training to approach that level starts when you first enter the White Tower."

Nenen saw the gazes of the novices drop, and not a few had blushes on their face.  But they all were now studying their blossoms intently.  "Note every detail.  It will be very important."  She reminded them.  The minutes passed, and she looked out of the window to pass the time.  Then, when she judged that the novices had studied the rose long enough, she turned around.  "Ok, good.  Now that you have studied the rose,"  she noticed a few novices looking away, "Now imagine that you are the bud.  Unopened to the sunlight.  So are you as such unopened to Saidar, not touching it, not feeling the warmth of the sunlight.  Breath in, breath out.  And imagine Saidar as the sun, shining gloriously down on you.  Close your eyes if you have to, but try not to.  In the real world, you will not have time to close your eyes and embrace Saidar.  Imagine you are the bud, sink yourself into it."

"Now,"  she said, "open yourself up to that sunlight.  Imagine the bud opening to the sunlight.  As such you are opening yourself to Saidar.  Feel Saidar shining down on you.  Reach out to it like the leaves of the rose.  Embrace the sunlight and embrace Saidar."  Nenen went on and on.  Her smooth voice overlaying their thoughts.

She smiled when one of them embraced the source.  And nodded them encouragingly.  Walking over, she bent down.  "Very good.  Release the source and try again until the end of the lesson."

Nenen Kailadel

Fighter of the Five

Teacher

OOC: Write about your character’s actions, reactions, struggles – is she able to touch the Source?  If she doesn’t manage it, then rp about her struggles to do so.  One of you may lose control.  It can be your character.  But please, its not realistic if everybody loses control during the lesson.  Some of you will be able to touch the source for a only moment before losing it, never mind channeling.

Stoning in bookstores for hours at a time reading and reading....

It's complete bliss  ;)

"Watch out."  Nenen shrieked, as several bodies were somehow restoring themselves.  "The dreadlords are somehow reviving the Trollocs who haven't been ripped into bits!"  She yelled at Wilemi, who gasped.  Nesyer came over in a run, followed closely by Eshara and Seyneru.  "We need to do something more drastic to the Trollocs, or they will be revived the instant they are killed."  Nenen said, more calmly, as the trollocs came.  "We need to make their bodies disappear."

"That's easily arranged."  Wilemi replied.  Nenen looked at her warily as Wilemi raised her arms to the sky.  The winds came sweeping down again, and lightning crackled and blazed across the sky.  Suddenly, with the sweep of her arm, Wilemi gestured, and the lightning blasted down from the sky, the clouds above churning and raging with the winds that howled across the plain.  It came and went, striking the trollocs and wiping them off from the face of the earth.  All of them that had been resurrected, blasted into oblivion.  There were no bodies left on the scene.

Nenen watched all this in admiration for Wilemi's skilled weaving, and turned back to the two dreadlords.  Then she gasped.

The dreadlord, the first one, the mad one who sung, had blasted himself into the sky with a weave of fire that propelled him and kept him up in the sky.  Then suddenly, fire swirled around him and all manner of fire weaves came spinning towards them.  Arrows, Spears of Fire came whistling through the air.  Massive fireballs, waves of heat that approached rapidly.  Instantly they slid into a link, with Wilemi leading the circle.

Nenen felt Wilemi draw on all the strength of the circle, and felt the rush of power surge through them.  The Angreal that each of them had blazed, shining brightly.  Each of them were coated with a different light.  Wilemi was surrounded by a golden glow not unlike the halo of Saidar around her.  Nenen was bathed in blue light, while Eshara red, Seyneru green, and Nesyer a pure white light.  They shone multicoloured in the scene a variety of colours that gave hope to all who saw them that the Light could and would triumph against the oncoming blackness.

As the flames approached, Nenen felt the earth not far from where they stood become glass.  Wilemi was weaving Saidar, and a shield appeared.  So strong that all the weaves simply shattered off it again.  Not really surprising, since they were five, and angreal augmented to boot, while he was only one, even if he had an Angreal, which Nenen suspected he had.  Even the Dragon Reborn had not been able to throw around such weaves so easily.

The amount of power that Wilemi was wielding frightened Nenen, even as she desired to channel it for a while.  But she willingly let Wilemi handle it, for her skill among the Aes Sedai was legendary, able to match the Forsaken, if she had enough strength anyway.

Then Wilemi struck back, and Nenen could only gape at what happened.  There were simply so many weaves flying from her she would not have believed it had she not seen it.  Lightning stormed down from the sky, as fire shot from Wilemi's hands.  Tornadoes roared and spun around the dreadlord, and winds shrieked at him as he hovered on his perch in the sky.  The fire took the shapes of arrows, spears, bars, balls.  Rain roared down and attempted to quench the fire as water roared up from a nearby river, swirling and churning as it rose higher and higher into the air.  Wilemi's eyes were alight, glowing with fire and light, her face contorted with strain, and Nenen knew that she was throwing everything into the fight against the dreadlord.

Wilemi gaped at the old man's news after Eshara had question the gleeman.  But before they could react, suddenly a gateway appeared, and hundreds more Trollocs and Fades were vomited out of it, like a flood.  With a hiss, Wilemi immediately wove Air and Fire...

And a weave sliced it apart.  Glancing to one side, she saw two dreadladies linked together in a circle, flows emanating from them.  Looking at Eshara and Seyneru, they nodded and went to deal with the Dreadladies.  "Stay behind us."  Wilemi warned the gleeman.  Then, turning to the army of Trollocs, she spotted two dreadlords mingling with the Trollocs.  "Oh dear.  We have more company."  She muttered to Nenen and Nesyer.  They followed her gaze, and saw arrows of Fire that blasted towards them, whistling through the air, overtaking the charging trollocs.  Drawing on her Angreal, Wilemi wove an incredibly strong shield that shattered the attack with contemptuous ease.  Tying off the weave, she struck back, the sky billowed and churned as the clouds boiled and hissed.  A wind, unlike anything that had ever been seen before on this plain, roared down around the hill and hurled the Trollocs back.  Lightning roared and blazed down from the sky then, hurling bodies everywhere.  Most were simply seared, simply charred lumps, then vapourizing, with the strength of Wilemi's weave.

Then, there was violent channeling to her left, and Wilemi felt Nenen channeling large amounts of Earth, her face narrowed in pure concentration.  The ground opened up into a ravine, and half the remaining trollocs fell in, never to be seen again on the face of this earth.  The rest of the trollocs puased, their eyes fearful, as Wilemi channeled and eliminated the rest of the trollocs with a burst of pure flame and fire.

A boom nearby made Wilemi head whip around.  Eshara and Seyneru were lying face down on the ground, the dreadladies walking towards them, weaving several very nasty weaves.

There was a shriek of "NO!" on her right, and Nesyer ran forward, her black hair flying in the wind.

Nesyer had been struck dumb the moment that Eshara and Seyneru were caught off guard and sent flying through the air as though struck by a wall.  She ran forward, her eyes wild and unseeing, as she felt Saidar drain out of Eshara.  Seyneru tried to stand up, but fell, even as the dreadladies advanced upon them.  Nesyer gritted her teeth and met them head on, her weaves of Spirit slashing the dreadladies' weave.  They grunted and Nesyer took the opportunity, and channeled more flows of Spirit, drawing on the full strength of her Angreal, and spinning several more weaves in the process.

They struggled back and forth as Saidar made burning halos around them, the light blazing forth in fierce waves, swirling and churning around them.  Flows were made and cut, and Nesyer's Angreal strength was match perfectly with the skill and dexterity and precision that the circle gifted the dreadladies.  Nesyer's black hair flew in the gale that Wilemi had summoned, touching her and yet not touching her, for it reserved its fury for the dreadlords and the trollocs.  Waves of weaves surged back and forth, colliding in burst of light and coloured steam, surrounding the vicinity with a general haze of light and colour, especially when lightning blazed across the dark sky.

Nesyer's face was grim and cold, her brown eyes were like stone as she stared over at the dreadlady who was leading the circle, whose face was contorted into a perpetual snarl of frustration of Nesyer refused to yield.  Her pale face was even whiter than usual with strain and worry about Eshara and Seyneru.

Then suddenly, there was a rumble and a roll of earth.  Looking to her right, she saw that Seyneru was back on his feet, his arm outstretched, despite his bleeding head, his face blank and stony.  The dreadladies did not even have time to do anything before the earth opened up and swallowed them whole, before closing in on them.  Seyneru collapsed on the ground again, exhausted.

Nesyer looked at Seyneru and Eshara, and ran towards them, weaving complex Healing weaves that she had learnt from Sumeko and Nynaeve.  Seyneru stirred and awoke, and Eshara moaned as the Healing sank into her and was finished.  With a sigh of relief, Nesyer turned her attention back to the pair of dreadlords, whom Nenen and Wilemi were now walking forward, about to do battle with.

Seyneru frowned at the piece of paper that the dedicated had now passed to him.  Fortunately, his hands were now untied after the first task had been completed, and now it would be easier for him to look at what he had to do next.  As the Asha'man marched off, Seyneru sighed.  The instructions were written on the piece of paper, and it was their job to do find out the instructions.  Dedicated were hovering around so as to ensure that no cheating would take place, whereby where one finished, the rest would follow.  And so they had no choice but to ensure that they were able to complete the task.  Seyneru grumbled inwardly.  The paper was so much mulch now, and it would take a dexterity that he had not yet mastered to unravel the mystery without the ink seeping out with the paper.

Sucking out the water from the paper was not a very clever option, because that would perhaps cause the ink to flow out if the weave were to be too strong.  But it WAS an idea, so he decided to try it anyway.  Weaving fine flows of Water, he placed them on the sheet of paper.  However, before he lowered the weave onto the paper, the weave fizzled, and disappeared.  With a grumble, Seyneru tried again.  This time, the weave was woven exactly as he had been shown several days ago.  But it took him quite a while, for his spinning of the weave was slow and meticulous.  Seyneru was not skilled, and it took most of his concentration to make this weave, seemingly simple, yet deceptive in its appearance.

The weave was placed onto the sheef of paper, and the water was drawn out.  However, when he looked at the sheet of paper, the message was almost illegible.  He could only see the following few words.  "Run along th...(gibberish)... and meet a... (blank spot)"  Seyneru cursed inwardly.  He had wiped out the most important part of the message that told him where to meet.  With a sigh, he took another sheet of paper, and tried again, but keeping the words that he had seen in mind.  He embraced Saidin again, the taint filling him with revulsion, whilst the sweetness of life upwelled in him once more.  He had to still himself from filling it to the max, to draw in every ounce of that reservior.  He only took what he needed.  No more.

But it still was an exercise in self control nonetheless.

Seyneru then lessened the amount of Saidin he held until he barely held it.  It was more than he held just now when he was trying to thread the needle, but still only the merest trickle.  Carefully he wove Air and Fire laborously, thread by thread.  Even now, he was becoming more skilled and so.  Seyneru smiled as the threads fell into place, quicker than he had ever manged before.  They glowed with a faint light, showing just how little of the power he was using now.  It was a weave of Heat, but in this case, only some heat, enough to dry the parchment, would be used.  Or at least, Seyneru hoped so.  He hissed in impatience as the paper started to heat up.  Using this little of the power was necessary, but slow.

Slowly the paper heated up, and the water evapourated.  Seyneru made sure that the water evapourated and did not trickle out of the parchment.  He smiled as he finally managed to dry it completely, and opened the piece of paper.  Run one stretch of the walls, and meet at the fallen tree just outside the gates.

Seyneru nodded slowly as he read the instructions, then left.  Running at a brisk enough pace, he ran as the snow fell around him, coating his hair even as his hair flew in the wind, shaking off the snow.  His black coat was flying in the wind as he ran, and without too much hassle, he reached the gates.  A few of the soldiers were converging there as well, and they reached the tree at roughly the same time, as Daevis stared at them impassively.  Seyneru guessed that he had used a gateway to come here, and inwardly sighed at Daevis' physical laziness, then waited for instructions.

"Excuse me Accepted, I’d like to know if stilling can be practised on someone who does not want to become Aes Sedai? That way they would never be in danger to themselves or others"

Nenen blinked.  Had she really heard that question?  She turned slowly, her face quite blank.  When she spoke, her voice was ice cold, and hard.  "We would NEVER still someone who does not want to become Aes Sedai unless they have committed atrocities or severe crimes.  Why would do we take in all those who can learn to channel?  Even if they cannot become Aes Sedai, or do not want to, we will NEVER let them go until they have learnt sufficient control."  She turned to stare at the Novice in the eyes.

"Why on earth,"  Nenen continued, "would we show them the gift that they possess, what they can do with it, only to take it away if they cannot achieve Aes Sedai status?  The loss of the Power,"  she said, now staring at each of the class in turn, "Is more than most people can bear.  The effects of Stilling include depression and a loss of will to live.  We are not cruel people.  We do not sentence people to die in such a horrible manner.  Yes, they usually pass on after a year or so.  Death would be preferable compared to Stilling.  This is why stilling is practised so rarely."

"Now,"  she said turning back to the class after surveying the board.  "If no one has any questions, you are dismissed.  "Tomorrow," she smiled.  "You be learning how to work with Saidar."

"He'll be back.  I'm sure of it!"  Nesyer was saying, her voice tight.

"But what can we do?  He's sure to bring more dreadlords that even with a full circle, we won't be able to combat."  Eshara said.  "We should just flee."

"And leave this town,"  Nenen said, her hair flying in the wind.  "To the mercy of the Shadowspawn?  Let's just grab a few Angreal from the White Tower and be done with it."  Her eyes twinkled.  "I'll be back.  Bear with me."  And with a gesture, she took advantage of using Wilemi and Nesyer's strengths to create a gateway, having linked with them earlier.

As she tied off the gateway and disappeared through it, the rest sat down the wait.  Nesyer Healed the rest of their tiredness, and Eshara Healed Nesyer of hers.  And when Nenen came back through the gateway holding five jems, she closed it.  "Here.  I got this from Elayne.  She gave me these five jems."  She tossed the Topaz to Wilemi, the Garnet to Eshara, the Emerald to Seyneru, the Diamond to Nesyer, and kept the Beryl for herself.  "They are Angreal."  she said simply.

They sat down, and waited for the incoming attack.

Of course!  I'll add in your scores on the front page later.

Attn all!  Please post up your replies very soon!

Oh, silly, silly Aes sedai,

You can't stop me, even though you try,

I'm stronger and more skilled than you,

Come on, now, you know it's true!

Oh, silly, silly Aes Sedai,

Now it's time for you to die,

Do you think that you can win against me?

Because your trying, evidently!

Nenen raised an eyebrow at the singer, having decimated the remaining trollocs with a set of Riven Earth weaves.  There were 3 Aes Sedai here, 1 Asha'man, and 1 powerful wilder.  They all trusted each other, each having their own powerful or talented abilities.  This dreadlord was clearly underestimating their effectiveness in working together.  Her green shawl flapping in the winds, she looked around, taking stock of their surroundings.  All the trollocs and Myddraal were gone.  All that was left was the five of them, and the enemy dreadlord.  Seyneru and Eshara were halfway from her to the dreadlord.  Wilemi was flying again, her golden hair swirling, hovering on a column of air, whilst Nesyer was striding purposefully, her Yellow Shawl almost lost in the bright glow of Saidar around her.

They all moved, except for Wilemi, towards the Shadow channeler.  Nenen filled herself to the brink of burning out with the True Source, moving determinedly.  If this dreadlord was indeed as powerful and as skilled as he was claiming to be, well, they were not going to go down without a fight.  Suddenly, tendrils of Fire lanced towards them.  Some were directed at Eshara and Seyneru, others at Nenen, and some as Nesyer.  They shot towards them like an arrow from a bow...

And skittered off a barrier of Air that suddenly seperated them from the dreadlord, woven by Wilemi and Nesyer, who had linked without Nenen noticing, and woven the barrier just as the fire had lanced from the dreadlord.  But Nenen had already started to weave, with the aid on an Angreal that she had taken from an Aes Sedai who had fallen near her.  Weaves of Earth, Fire and Spirit swept down from the sky, and the trolloc's weapons, having steel in them, was attracted by her weave of magnetism.  Nenen had discovered the weave, and was one of the few in the Tower who could actually use the weave to any effect.  They rose up in the air, and flew, whistling menancingly towards the dreadlord just as Eshara and Seyneru worked together, and flames of tongue not unlike that of the dreadlord, only stronger, blasted back at him, just as the weapons of metal hummed around him.

Eshara snorted as she heard the song.  She was not even Aes Sedai.  This dreadlord apparently knew nothing.  He had not even seen Seyneru behind her, tall as he was.  He truly was mad to dismiss five channelers so easily, especially since there were enough women to link...  and although they weren't linking right now, they were able to fight on their own.  Her three granddaughters had proved that by tearing the shadowspawn army to shreds without too much difficulty.  Even now, a head flew past her, as the winds tossed trollocs apart, ripping their bodies as they bore the stress that Wilemi's tornado was having on them.

Suddenly, a bolt of fire shot from the dreadlord's fingertips towards her, Seyneru, Nesyer and Nenen.  Her own death approached...

And struck a wall of Air that blocked the flames as they skittered, trying to penetrate.  Looking around, she saw that Wilemi and Nesyer had linked, combining their great strengths in Air to block the weaves, although Wilemi seemed to be straining mentally to keep the wall strong, held as it was only by two channelers, and females were usually weaker than males.  It was now time to shift from the defensive to he offensive, and take the stress off Wilemi and Nesyer.  A humming sound told her that Nenen was at work.  She knew that sound often enough and had heard it being used to great effect.  Her senses were confirmed as a blade, once a trolloc sword, now still dripping blood, hummed towards the dreadlord, followed by several other blades.

Just as Eshara unleashed a blast of fire, more powerful than the one the dreadlord had thrown at them.  Linked as she was, she felt the strain as she drew to the limits of the circle between her and Seyneru.

*Bows down head*  We are here supporting you Elgee through this hard time.

*Pats*

As the shadowspawn neared the town, a gateway appeared, and five people stepped through from the previous scene of chaos and madness.  Eshara Aravell, Wilemi Kailadel, Nenen Kailadel, Nesyer Yoshan and Seyneru Yoshan.  A gale blasted through the ranks of trollocs and a high wind whirled around the town they were about to beseige.  Lightning stormed through the clouds above as the sky darkened further.  The sky was now positively black, and the scene was only illuminated by the flashes of lightning constantly shone and blazed, ever shifting.  The winds howled and moaned, surrounding the scene as the five channelers split.

Wilemi walked forward, eyes blazing towards the trollocs, Nenen and Nesyer beside her.  Eshara and Seyneru moved apart, linked in a circle, and walked towards the male channeler who was dancing on a circle of earth and dirt, supported by flames of fire.  But now Wilemi's eyes were on the Trollocs alone.  She, Nenen and Nesyer were not in a circle, but they had Talent enough such that alone, they were as efficient as they were in a circle.

Weaving gusts of Air, Water and Fire, she caused a high gale with crackling lightning to swirl around her.  A column of wind whirled around her, and she directed it towards the trollocs.  Her brow was furrowed in concentration, her Brown Shawl whipping around her, and the column of wind blasted through the numerous trollocs, scattering them like ninepins, as Nesyer channeled, weaving Spirit and Fire, killing their minds instantly, causing them to fall over, eyes staring at the flickering sky.

But there were many trollocs, and fades in the bargain, and they were only three.  Slowly but surely the front rank advanced as Wilemi channeled continuously.  Again and again she struck, and again and again the Myddraal were enveloped in flames, or blasted from their horses with lightning, or swept up in whirlwinds that blew around the hordes and the town, never touching the town, but around it.  Air and Fire became lightning, and she threw it again and again at the horde, until it seemed that lightning was shooting continuously into the hordes.  Wilemi panted slightly.  She was incredibly skilled for an Aes Sedai.  But she was also weaker, though with an uncanny ability with Air and Fire to match.  Especially fire.  She frowned at the weave and adjusted it, and suddenly the lightning was pronged, striking down at least five with a single shot.

She divided her flows, and suddenly, the winds surrounding her pulled her upwards in a column of air.  Her dress fluttered and blew this way and that, tossed in circle, outlining her body as it was pulled flat against it.  Her golden hair whipped around, streaming out, mingling with the winds, where they belonged.  She was flying again.

Wilemi studied the weaves that Carina showed her carefully, noting each and every detail.  It was an advantage to her that she was usually observant.  In the learning of her first 10 weaves, she had not made many mistakes, and only needed to repeat the weaves twice a few times.  However, those weaves were simpler than what she was being shown now.  Saidar made a light halo around Carina's head, slightly dimmer than Wilemi had noticed before, but still sufficient for the test.  Wilemi had seen weaker Aes Sedai in her time in the Tower.  But she ignored that fact and concentrated on the weavings of Power.

They shifted dexteriously, flows of Power melding, shifting and fading in and out of existance.  Wilemi's eyes narrowed at the 15th weave.  It was a particularly complicated weave, the most complex one she had seen so far, as of yet.  Wilemi bent all her powers of concentration on the weaves, taking them, burning them into her mind, the multicoloured lights and senses of the power burning into her eyes.  Now another weave was being shown, not as complicated, but with as little results, save for a slight appearance of mist.

10 weaves Carina showed her, and 10 weaves she memorized, burning them into her memory, storing them for a later date, to be practised, maybe in front of Carina herself right now.  "Now let's see how much of that you remember."  Carina told her.  "Remember, it is better to err on the side of caution when it comes to the One Power.  Especially at this stage in your training.  Don't get too self assured for you will not like the results of a failed weave of these ten.  And these are nothing compared to what comes after."

Wilemi swallowed and nodded.

Embracing the source, Wilemi started to channel the first weave.  It was a weave of Water and Earth, her lesser elements.  Wilemi frowned slightly, and wove them.  The strands were fine, but distinctly visible, wove with dexterity and skill.  Wilemi's eyes narrowed.  She could NOT be slightly off.  One would not be able to tell what happened when the weaves collapsed into something else, or were woven wrongly.  The weaves finally fell into place, and a wall appeared, solid looking, then disappeared.

Spinning the next weave of Spirit with something representing ease, she made a horse rear in front of her eyes.  But the third weave, though being simply of Air and Fire, was immensely complicated.  Wilemi's concentration was fixed simply on that weave, and she frowned visibly now.  The weaves curled around each other, spinning and seemingly dancing in the air.  Wiping the sweat out of her eyes, Wilemi blinked and wove as precisely as she could, which was to say that she wove everything without a fault.  As of yet anyway.  Wilemi sat back on her chair, and took a sip of tea, while she held her weaving for the moment.

"Do not take too long child, otherwise the weave WILL collapse."  Carina said, softly.  Wilemi nodded, and looked back at the weave, which was indeed starting to fray at the edges.  Raising an eyebrow at it as though it had just said something particularly rude, she continued to weave, faster than before, refreshed by the cup of tea.  The net of air fell into place, and fire burned in it, clear and unwavering, whilst small holes allowed the flame to poke through in needles.  Long sharp needles, due to her strength in Fire, and it was only her strength in Air that kept the flame from bursting out of the weaving.  And she still was nowhere near using her full capabilities in Fire.

And on the weaves continued.  Wilemi's weaves spun into being as she recalled them all from memory, perfectly.  But the weavings themselves were complex, and even with her good memory, she still had to force the weavings to be absolutely precise.  Air and Water, then Spirit.  She channeled thin strands, just enough to be useful in the test.  Why tire herself out even more when there would most assuredly be more to learn?  Fire and Water, then Earth, Spirit and Water again, then Water, Spirit and Air, then all the Powers EXCEPT Spirit, then ALL of them at one go.  She grimaced inwardly at the snarled tangle the whole thing was in, but continued weaving as she had been shown, never giving up, although she was beginning to feel the strain of holding so many threads at one go.

And so it progressed, the 15th, the 16th, up to the 20th.  The last one was particularly nasty, even more so than the ball of flame in a cocoon of air.  Especially since is was a combination of ALL five powers most of the time.  This one she went more slowly and carefully, but the weave seemed to fall into place fast enough anyway.  It was a shifting tapestry of colours that she wove without pause, slowly changing as the composition of the weave altered with time.  And she finished, perfectly, and a swirling light appeared in air, comprised of many colours, before vanishing once again.

Wilemi slumped forward in her chair, tired out by weaving the 100 weaves.  Taking another cup of tea, she drank it down and felt slightly revived.

*Sniggers*

But it's seriously good to have you back  ;D