Saline and her group came upon them earlier than expected; they’d been following the shadowspawn spore for a day and a night before it suddenly veered in direction. A group of twenty disshelved, exhausted trollocs. They’d hardly been any sport. The Saldaean guards had overcome them quickly, using a thicket to remove the trolloc advantage of size and strength. Even so, three of their own number had perished. They were now an even score.

Cavil, the leader of the Saldaean troop explained the behaviour to Saline, who had no real understanding of the situation: “No Myrddraal see. It’s fear that keeps them in order. They were sent to do something and by the Creator they went at it avidly enough until they were exhausted. We can assume a Myddraal sent them but is now too far away to reinforce his commands. I think we would be wise to double back and follow their original course.”

He answered her unspoken question, “Myrddraal and trollocs are linked. I’ve no idea how it works and I don’t care; all I know is a Myddraal can kill a trolloc without touching it. I’ve seen it happen in . . . captivity.”

Saline found it highly entertaining that a man named Cavil (petty objections) would be raising points finer than his curved sword. She agreed wholeheartedly, promising to stay at the back and take care of Si’, who had been her idea in the first place. They continued on their way, riding slowly and cautiously among the rocks.

They slept at dusks and rose before dawns, the Saldaeans becoming more agitated with every step. Saline had tried work out why but couldn’t think of any particular reason. She’d asked Cavil, who had replied the only thing in this direction was a vale, perfect for ambush. They didn’t know of any other patrols in the area, but if the trollocs were making for it with such haste . . .

They camped several hours before the edge of the vale, wrapping hooves, weapons and armour in cloth. The danger of a horse slipping was less than having your head bitten off by an alert trolloc--they had spare horses: three precisely.

Si’ was a liability for what came next but nothing could be done for it. Were Myrddraal around they would feel any channelling Saline did to protect the boy, which could jeopardise them all. They took him with them, commending his survival to the Wheel and the Creator . . . and loosely to Saline.

Their suspicions were confirmed as they crouched at the lip of the vale, Si’ and horses tethered a short distance away. In the very centre of the vale was a campsite. We’re talking about thirty metres below, which is around eighty feet. It was difficult to see specifics and Saline daren’t not draw upon the source to aid her.

The camp below had horses; this much was obvious. There were too many swags for campers, even stupid ones, and no wagons for a merchant (notwithstanding the difficulty of getting wagons into the vale). They had to be military but if so they were very lax to leave their fires burning long after sunrise.

Saline felt a rough hand knocking into her shoulder then pointing to the opposite lip of the vale. She stared for a moment, unsure of what she was seeing. A thick wave of black rolling down the side of the vale. She gasped as she looked around the vale, seeing numerous columns snaking down the rocky walls . . . heading straight for the sleeping camp. The vale trembled beneath their weight.

Instinctively Saline grasped the Source, vision leaping forward and bringing the black masses into focus. Shadow spawn: hundreds of them trollocs spewing down the vale rim towards . . . Borderlanders? Who looked haggard and exhausted. Hiding in the vale? Chased there? It didn’t matter, unless they were alerted it would be their grave. Upon the rim in different locations stood Myrddraal; they were watching, commanding, circled by darkhounds.

This was not going to end well.

“Shadowspawn!” hissed she, standing quickly, and “close your eyes!”

She didn’t wait to be obeyed but pulled the sweet song of the source until she vibrated in harmony with the vale. She could feel the trollocs through her feet, through her connexion to the earth.

The vale lit up like the sun reflected through a mirror directly into your eyes, a standard intermediate weave. Rocks of the vale sides began to leap and groan, rolling like the ocean and throwing trollocs too and fro: not so standard. Finally, as the masses began to close upon the Boarderlanders, the air erupted like barrels of gasoline, heat waves and flames scorching and blistering.

The sounds had woken the Borderlanders who scrambled to defence. The shadowspawn were too close, Saline could do no more from a distance, but she had barely made a dent; the trollocs swarmed over her ‘distractions’.

“We have to get down there!” she said louder than she intended. Tower etiquette could stow it.

OOC: Right. Sorry if I’ve tread on toes but I wanted to get the ball rolling. I’ve assumed the reason the trollocs didn’t just overwhelm the borderlanders is because they were herding them to a more suitable ambush spot. I also assumed the borderlanders would eventually tire and maybe seek refuge in desperation in the vale, or be pushed there. I further assumed the Myrddraal split their forces to surround the borderlanders and crush them from multiple directions so there are no survivours or escapees.

Saline turned the water glass in her hands, then grudgingly admitted, “I like teaching you lot.”

The introduction to saidar lessons had been coming along quite nicely. Once more the novices were ready to move onto the next phase, having worked with saidar long enough that they were able to see the tell-tale glows around each other. This session, however, they would actually be using the one power.

“There are five powers, or elements within the Source: air, earth, fire, spirit and water. Your strength in each will vary, as you will find some elements easier to handle than others. Women tend to be stronger in air and water while men are typically more proficient in earth and fire, and spirit seems to be distributed equally, although this is not always the case. As I said, your affinity for each power will vary. I myself am strongest in earth. But first, I want you to take saidar and observe.”

“This is a simple weave. Weaves are when you use more than one element, otherwise the term we use is thread.”  When everybody was holding the power, Saline created a single blue flame in the air and let it die. “You see how the two threads I used, air and fire, are dissipating? You must never, no matter what, pick at these threads. If you do the weave will unravel and more than likely kill you and everybody close to you in the process. That would be disastrous, so don’t do it, ok?”

Saline pushed the glass of water forward, continuing “first you should know the elements when you see them. Channellers sometimes see the colors differently, but most common is, fire as red, water green, earth brown, air blue, and spirit silver. I want you to look carefully at which thread I am drawing out of the glass.”

The next two weeks saw a great deal of practice and, subsequently, improvement in the classroom. During that time, the novices were able to touch saidar with a reasonable amount of reliability without the attempt becoming too much strain. Salandrian took charge of the ones who caught on, while Saline worked with the ones who were having problems accessing the Source. To the few novices still struggling to maintain a steadier hold on saidar, she advised patience—not to push themselves or worry too much. After all, it had taken Saline time when she to gain control over saidar. If it could not be done to-day, it would come. And soon enough, the moment came.

Saline said, “please close your eyes, clear your mind of everything but your rosebud. You are the rosebud. Nod your head when you feel ready to move on.“

Every day for fourteen sessions, Saline waited as the novices practiced the same exercise for touching the Source over and over. But, for the first time in two weeks, the group as a whole appeared ready to tackle more.

Saline was able to continue. “I want you to imagine the sun and its warmth touching you, the rosebud. Let that light fill your senses, pull more light toward you. As you bathe in the sunlight, the rosebud begins to open, embracing the warmth.”

“I want you to release the Source, do not hold on to it. Now open your eyes.”

Some eyes snapped open immediately, others blinked sleepily.

Smiling, Saline scooped a single half-opened rosebud (she had sent Salandrian to the private Red garden earlier to cut it) up from the table and held it out for the class to see. “This was you! How did it feel to have drawn more from the Source?”

OOC: This new technique is called pulling. When you are done with this, we will practice pushing.

Sensing the girls channelling here and there, Saline took the attendance sheet and carefully paired a new set of names to the names on the sheet. Though the red still offered advice and stopped what she was doing to help the girls through the exercise, she mostly focused on her own thing while Salandrian led the novices. It seemed every time Saline came back to the Tower, there have been marked improvements on the part of the accepted. And it was a change that the red welcomed in the accepted.

But another voice diverted that of the class leader.  

Looking up from her task, Saline wondered with some dismay if it would become a block. When Maryam sang, a steady glow enveloped her. But her hold on saidar passed as soon as the novice stopped singing, as she sat blinking her lashes at the startled class and Saline.

“That tune that you were humming to yourself is very pretty. I don’t think I have ever heard it before, but you have the voice for it“ Saline said, adopting a quiet smile, “and that was good touching the source, Maryam. You followed Salandrian’s directions, relaxed, and here we are.”

She handed the list back to the accepted and then surveyed the faces around her showing various aftermaths of their first conscious attempts at touching the Source. When the power is taken away, they will face temptation.  

“This marks the first time you consciously touched the Source. If anybody has already taught you to touch the Source in the novice quarters, you will refrain from doing so again. Unless an accepted or sister is present, and you have their permission to touch the Source. If you ever break this rule, you will go to Pia Sedai at once.”

“The reason for this is because of how addictive the Source is. It enhances your senses like nothing else in this world. Even as you touch it, you must resist drawing more than you are able to handle. You risk burning out your ability to channel, even death.”

That had put a bit of downer on things, but Saline was not about to let it last. “But, because you are here, I trust you all not to do anything so foolish as to jeopardize yourself and the others around you.”

“When we use saidar we act as its conduit and shape it as it flows through us, to guide it into performing tasks. This is called channelling.” Smiling as the warmth filled her, Saline embraced the Source for the first time upon entering the class. Tall, purple flames crackled above the palm of her hand . . . a petty, but entertaining trick for her students. “Since saidar has been spared from the taint, you can use it to restore order to a world broken by saidin. Use it prudently, and you can achieve many great things.”

“Control will come, with the turning of the Wheel. But I have kept you enough for now, you have other affairs to attend. As you leave please ask Salandrian for the names next to your own names. You each have been assigned a different name, but with a little collaborative research, you shall see what all of these people have in common. Salandrian can direct you if you do not know where the library doors are.”

OOC: Those of you who still need to post, just catch up and you're good. The rest of you can finish up the class with any thoughts about the list of burnt out channellers (feel free to make up names and their histories), and my next lesson will place us two weeks into the future. ;D

It's fine. :)

Welcome! And yes, farmboys are a danger to everybody around :)

Sure. Hijack the thread with your free unstructured discussions. On second though, discussions for N/A just took on a new meaning  :D

No to the book idea then, though I would like (if it ever becomes regular occurance) for different AS to host. Maybe it'll be classroom first, then a picnic second etc :)

Anyhow the point is to challenge children to think! So, let's revive this thread.

Invitation hosted by both the gray and white ajahs

We'll be picking either the Seven Ajahs to discuss or the Ying/Yang of saidar/saidin. Which is more appealing btw?

Haha! I stand corrected *bows*  :D

I know what you mean. It hurts when somebody you trusted believes in the worst of you without giving you any benefit of doubt or opportunity to explain. Ditch 'em, Knytiri. You deserve better

Hehe, credit where it's due.  :P

It occurs to me we could do this regularly almost like a book club session. Meaning different AS host each time (rooms, classrooms, gardens), and choose a book or topic, we think about it for a week or so (oocly) then discuss so to make the discussion or debate really interesting. What do you folks think? :)

Been good. St. Paddy's was nice. Getting ready for work! Glad you're alright. Though yon bosslady should really just pay up for that restraining order and get the proper authorities to deal with the psychotic death threats.

I think she meant her Saturday or Sunday translates to Sunday and Monday for us yanks :)

. . . You alright there? 

Yep, it's the future I've been thinking about. The current WS 10 cap isn't a mistake and should be left alone.

Lovely! Lavinya Sedai would be perfect. I'd been hoping another Aes Sedai (such as you) would jump on, and if Taei could bring in her white we'd be able to show off the tensions between the Blade and Diamond whites. But Lillian would certain appreciate an adjudicator  ;D

I agree with Lavy. A whole boatload of talent, this group of novices :)

Woohoo! So far we've got:

Amadine - yes

Knytiri - yes

Lavinya - yes

Lillian - yes

Ray-ray - maybe

Well I'd be delighted if you can come for . . . cake.

Lavinya or Pia? And you could make a case for free food in either case :)

Impressed by how well the tea with Greens is going I wondered if the White Ajah starts a sort of discussion panel where novices and accepted could practice their reasoning, sharpen their arguments would anybody be interested in signing up for it. Maybe it should be in concert with the Gray Ajah in case things get out of hand and we need a bit of diplomacy. In any case, the idea is for respectful disagreements on a variety of topics. :D

Ahh all good. And this weekend would be excellent!

I'm with Diamond. And I think James used to play Lillian as diamond too, from her experiences.

Black Ajah are not bound to the vows, so no. :)

My point of bringing up the vows is that the OP can't be used offensively in defence of anybody other than yourself, another AS, or your Warders.

Honestly it doesn't bother me. I am quite happy playing my AS without any weapon ability. But there is also no real reason to restrict them from being allowed.

We don't like the idea of a warrior AS running around maiming people. So we don't have to play one. But just because we don't want to play one doesn't mean someone else shouldn't be allowed. It opens up more RP opportunities and possibilities.

Edit: Although Greens have battle weaves taught to them and no one else.  If one ajah can fight with weapons, they all can. Exceptions would be arbitrary.

Bump. Present and waiting