Rasheta was asked to train one of the newest novices a girl by the name of Nesyer Yoshan. Rasheta hadn’t done any one-power training, or any training for that matter in a long time and this would be a very interesting experience for her. She dressed herself as well as she could in a serviceable green dress cut in the Domani style. She left her hair down and ignored the thoughts that went through her mind about how unserviceable her hair down really was. She wore her Great Serpent ring on her second finger on her right hand, that way it was always visible when she folded her hands or was just talking or walking. She supposed she was a little vain about her Aes Sedai status and wanted everyone to always know of it. She picked up her shawl and left her rooms, as she walked she tried to remember the proper order of the classes she was going to teach and stopped by the library to get a few materials.

 

Rasheta got to the room where she would be teaching and noticed the girl was already there. She nodded to her and walked to the front of the room and dropped the materials she was going to be using throughout the lessons and looked over the child she was going to be teaching. She wondered why the girl was not doing the group class in Salidar training that most of the others did. The group class was a time for the Novices to interact with each other and it usually helped cement friendships within the tower. Rasheta waited a moment longer before she did what all Aes Sedai did to impress, or frighten Rasheta was never sure which, new Novices. She channeled all window shutters closed at once and then shut the door with a bang. Then she spoke in a soft but very firm voice, as was the customary first lesson. 

 

“Before I start I have instructions for you to follow. Do not, I repeat, do not, touch the Source, or channel, without supervision. What you do outside of this room is not something I can truly monitor but if any of the Aes Sedai catches you channeling you will be severely punished by the Aes Sedai who catches you and then sent to see Larindhra who I’m sure will have you crying for your mother before long.  We take this rule the most seriously because of the risk of burning yourself out.” Rasheta paused to shudder and then continued. “Since I don’t think you want that to happen follow my warning and stop yourself from channeling without an Accepted or an Aes Sedai present.” She paused again to let her words sink in then she continued.

 

"Saidar takes discipline to control which you do not have yet. This is why the rule I have just given you is in place. If you do not follow this rule and you become addicted to Saidar and draw to much of it many awful things could happen. You could still yourself, kill yourself or others. You do not have the discipline to control Saidar or to attempt to channel it safely. However, with an Aes Sedai or Accepted there with you, they can moderate the amount you attempt to handle and ensure that your flows do not lash out of control. This is for your safety, and the safety of your fellow novices. Punishment is always harsh for the violation of this rule.” Rasheta did think it a bit odd that she had to go through this every class or that any Aes Sedai did. All the Novices practiced in there rooms when they thought no Aes Sedai or Accepted were near. Most Accepted would help the girls and most Aes Sedai would send the girls to the Mistress of Novices but the girls still did it. The warning seemed to do little good however as was her duty Rasheta continued with the warning. “Consider it the most important rule you must follow while you stay here at the Tower. Now with that said let us move on. Control will come, and one day you will be comfortable with using the Power, and it will come when you need it.” Rasheta added “do not fear if you do not have control the first time. It takes years and years of effort and discipline, which will start in this course and continue even after you are raised to an Aes Sedai. Learning never ends, as the Browns like to remind us always. Remember that. Now" Rasheta said with a small smile "on to your first lesson."

 

"The first thing you need to do, before anything else, is learn about what it is you are going to be dealing with. The One Power is classified in two ways. Saidar is the female half of the One Power, Saidin the male half. Only two to three percent of all the people in the known world have the ability to touch the One Power. When a person draws from the One Power and controls its flow to produce a desired result this is called channeling. What is Saidar exactly? Well, many people would give you many different answers to this question. What it seems to be is the very essence of energy in all things, in all life around us. A Sister channeling takes threads of that energy, the One Power, and weaves them to perform various tasks. The five threads of the One Power are Air, Water, Fire, Spirit, and Earth. Those people who have the ability to channel typically have a greater natural ability to deal with one or two of the different threads. Some rare individuals exhibit a great ability with three of the threads. Even during the Age of Legends, according to tomes we have, it was extremely rare to find someone who could handle four of the threads very strongly, let alone all five elements."

 

"In most cases, men were more adept with Fire and Earth, while women were more talented with Air and Water. Both are equally strong in Spirit it seems. Do not let this mislead you. Many girls believe just because men are usually stronger in Fire and Earth that they are stronger over all? This is not always true. As you will learn in future classes, the powers of Spirit, Air, and Water are formidable and should not be discounted. Use of the One Power is addictive. Channeling makes the person feel more alive, such that life without touching either Saidin or Saidar seems only a pale shade of what life should be. It is for this reason that channeling is dangerous - drawing too much of the One Power can at the least sear the ability to channel out of a person, at the worst it can kill. The feeling is very sweet and powerful that you will experience. You must learn how to remain strong in the face of that temptation. That is why girls who can learn to channel are brought here. Even if they do not desire to rise to the shawl, or do not have the inner strength needed to gain it, they must still learn to control the urges lest they hurt themselves or those around them. There have been many times in the history of the Tower when Aes Sedai have been cut off from the One Power as a punishment. This process is known as severing." Rasheta handed the Novice a sheet of paper and again as she knew she would have to she said.

 

"These are the names of every Sister who has been Stilled in the History of the Tower and why. Memorize them. You may be asked later, at random, to tell me about them. I expect you will know them inside and out. If you'd like to know more you can find more information on each in the library. I encourage you to research them extensively. Only by keeping in mind our past mistakes can we succeed in not repeating them. Learn from them so you do not have to pay the price they did. Tomorrow we will begin our working with Saidar.”

 

 

Ooc: Describe how your character feels about what she’s hearing, how this lesson compares with what she was expecting Novice training to be, how the surroundings affect her, etc. (borrowed from Elgee)

 

Nesyer Yoshan sat and waited, her long black hair flowing down to her shoulders and past.  Her brown eyes were calm and composed as she sat in an empty seat right in front of the room.  In fact, all the seats in the class were empty as she was the only one taking lessons there and then.  She wondered how her cousins were faring as the only times she had seen them were when they were at chores.  And even then, if they spoke, they were dealt with by any Aes Sedai who happened to notice them stalling.

 

But musing about this was completely irrelevant to the topic that she was about to teach.  She settled down as comfortably as she could on the hard chair that she sat, which was not very comfortable, for it was stiff-backed and small.  She shifted parchment and quill and started writing down a personal journal that she kept in her rooms and added entries whenever she had the time to do so.

 

Now is my first One Power lesson, and I am the only one taking this lesson currently, because I opted to do a one-to-one session with my mentor, Rasheta.  When I first met her during my first day here, she seemed to be quite a nice Aes Sedai, though stern, as all Aes Sedai must be, or so I think...

 

Then she had no more time to write as suddenly Rasheta swept into the room, Green shawl trailing behind her shoulders, her Great Serpent ring visible on her right hand.  She dropped her materials on the desk, folded her arms, and studied Nesyer, who blushed and looked away, uncomfortably aware of that scrutinous Aes Sedai gaze measuring every inch of her.

 

Then suddenly, there was a bang as the door and all the window shutters slammed shut at the same time.  Nesyer jumped at the loud noise and stared at Rasheta Sedai in surprise, who then started to speak in a low and firm voice.

 

“Before I start I have instructions for you to follow. Do not, I repeat, do not, touch the Source, or channel, without supervision. What you do outside of this room is not something I can truly monitor but if any of the Aes Sedai catches you channeling you will be severely punished by the Aes Sedai who catches you and then sent to see Larindhra who I’m sure will have you crying for your mother before long.  We take this rule the most seriously because of the risk of burning yourself out.  Since I don’t think you want that to happen follow my warning and stop yourself from channeling without an Accepted or an Aes Sedai present.”

 

There was a pause.

 

"Saidar takes discipline to control which you do not have yet. This is why the rule I have just given you is in place. If you do not follow this rule and you become addicted to Saidar and draw to much of it many awful things could happen. You could still yourself, kill yourself or others. You do not have the discipline to control Saidar or to attempt to channel it safely. However, with an Aes Sedai or Accepted there with you, they can moderate the amount you attempt to handle and ensure that your flows do not lash out of control. This is for your safety, and the safety of your fellow novices. Punishment is always harsh for the violation of this rule.”

 

"Consider it the most important rule you must follow while you stay here at the Tower. Now with that said let us move on. Control will come, and one day you will be comfortable with using the Power, and it will come when you need it.” Rasheta added “do not fear if you do not have control the first time. It takes years and years of effort and discipline, which will start in this course and continue even after you are raised to an Aes Sedai. Learning never ends, as the Browns like to remind us always. Remember that. Now, on with your lesson"

 

Nesyer sat up straighter in her chair, took a quill in hand, and started scribbling notes as fast as she could, trying to keep up with the fast pace that Rasheta was speaking at.

 

"The first thing you need to do, before anything else, is learn about what it is you are going to be dealing with. The One Power is classified in two ways. Saidar is the female half of the One Power, Saidin the male half. Only two to three percent of all the people in the known world have the ability to touch the One Power. When a person draws from the One Power and controls its flow to produce a desired result this is called channeling. What is Saidar exactly? Well, many people would give you many different answers to this question. What it seems to be is the very essence of energy in all things, in all life around us. A Sister channeling takes threads of that energy, the One Power, and weaves them to perform various tasks. The five threads of the One Power are Air, Water, Fire, Spirit, and Earth. Those people who have the ability to channel typically have a greater natural ability to deal with one or two of the different threads. Some rare individuals exhibit a great ability with three of the threads. Even during the Age of Legends, according to tomes we have, it was extremely rare to find someone who could handle four of the threads very strongly, let alone all five elements."

 

"In most cases, men were more adept with Fire and Earth, while women were more talented with Air and Water. Both are equally strong in Spirit it seems. Do not let this mislead you. Many girls believe just because men are usually stronger in Fire and Earth that they are stronger over all? This is not always true. As you will learn in future classes, the powers of Spirit, Air, and Water are formidable and should not be discounted. Use of the One Power is addictive. Channeling makes the person feel more alive, such that life without touching either Saidin or Saidar seems only a pale shade of what life should be. It is for this reason that channeling is dangerous - drawing too much of the One Power can at the least sear the ability to channel out of a person, at the worst it can kill. The feeling is very sweet and powerful that you will experience. You must learn how to remain strong in the face of that temptation. That is why girls who can learn to channel are brought here. Even if they do not desire to rise to the shawl, or do not have the inner strength needed to gain it, they must still learn to control the urges lest they hurt themselves or those around them. There have been many times in the history of the Tower when Aes Sedai have been cut off from the One Power as a punishment. This process is known as severing."

 

Rasheta then took a piece of paper and handed it to her.  Nesyer scanned the paper.  It contained a list of names and crimes committed.  As she read, she listened carefully to what Rasheta was saying, and considered it carefully.

 

"These are the names of every Sister who has been Stilled in the History of the Tower and why. Memorize them. You may be asked later, at random, to tell me about them. I expect you will know them inside and out. If you'd like to know more you can find more information on each in the library. I encourage you to research them extensively. Only by keeping in mind our past mistakes can we succeed in not repeating them. Learn from them so you do not have to pay the price they did. Tomorrow we will begin our working with Saidar.”

 

At this Nesyer felt a thrill of excitement at the prospect of starting work at embracing Saidar and learning to control it.

Rasheta waited for a long moment to see if the mentee she had been given was going to ask her anything. When the girl didn’t Rasheta wondered about that, many of the girls coming to the tower had all kinds of questions, she certainly had. She shrugged her shoulders however and wove a binding weave keeping the novice in her chair. She wanted a slight reaction and when she got it she smiled and then let the weave go.

 

“That was a binding weave; I use it to keep those in place who could otherwise kill me. Would you like to learn how to do that?” The girl nodded and Rasheta nodded back she went and picked up a few flowers she had gotten on her way to class and placed them in front of her mentee.  “Before you can do any weaves, you first need to learn how to open yourself to the Source. Shall we start?” A quiet “Yes Rasheta Sedai” echoed around the room. Smiling, she reached down and pointed to the three different flowers and as she explained she touched each on for emphasis. and started handing them out. “Note that they are in the three stages of development: a closed bud, a half-open one, and a fully open one.  I want you to study each one, until you can see them with your eyes closed, every single petal.

 

She walked slowly back to the front of the class and sat down, waiting a few minutes as Nesyer studied the flowers before her.  “Just as the bud opens its petals to allow the warmth of the sun to suffuse it, so you will learn to open yourself to the light of Saidar.  Close your eyes, breathe in … hold that breath … now breathe out slowly … breathe in… that’s right, you are all doing well.  Now, every time you breath out, I want you to imagine your muscles relaxing – a little more every time you breath out.“ Rasheta repeated the simple exercise until Nesyer looked totally relaxed and almost asleep. “Now imagine yourself as the bud. Allow your petals to open, slowly … ever so slowly … allow the warmth and light in …” Rasheta let her voice drone on, soothing and low, all the while watching her mentee curiously to see if she would actually be able to touch the true Source.

 

Rasheta Ardashir

Green Sister.

 

OOC: Write about your character’s actions, reactions, struggles – is she able to touch the Source?

 

Nesyer waited for a while to see if Rasheta was going to speak.  Then suddenly, she felt something happen.  Blinking, she tried to move, and found she couldn't.  Her mind whirled.  Obviously Rasheta was channeling.  But would she be trapped here forever?  She struggled, and found that she couldn't move a muscle around.  And suddenly, the weave was gone, and she nearly fell off a chair.

 

“That was a binding weave; I use it to keep those in place who could otherwise kill me. Would you like to learn how to do that?”

 

Nesyer nodded excitedly.  She could see where the weave could be useful in certain situations.

 

“Before you can do any weaves, you first need to learn how to open yourself to the Source. Shall we start?”

 

"Yes, Rasheta Sedai"

 

“Note that they are in the three stages of development: a closed bud, a half-open one, and a fully open one.  I want you to study each one, until you can see them with your eyes closed, every single petal."

 

For what?  Nesyer was puzzled.  But apparently this would serve a purpose in helping her embrace the True Source and channel Saidar.  So she studied it.  The petals were all purple in colour, and there were lines leading to the centre of the flower.  She studied it mentally until she could picture all the different flowers easily in her mind.

 

“Just as the bud opens its petals to allow the warmth of the sun to suffuse it, so you will learn to open yourself to the light of Saidar.  Close your eyes, breathe in … hold that breath … now breathe out slowly … breathe in… that’s right, you are all doing well.  Now, every time you breath out, I want you to imagine your muscles relaxing – a little more every time you breath out.  Now imagine yourself as the bud. Allow your petals to open, slowly … ever so slowly … allow the warmth and light in …"

 

Nesyer did not close her eyes, but imagined the flower bud in her head.  She concentrated on it until it drowned out all that she saw.  Imagination is a powerful thing.  She imagined that she was the bud, and that there was sunlight above streaming, but not touching her.  She imagined that she was attracting the light towards her.  Suddenly, the light flowed down, nearer and nearer, until it touched her...

 

Suddenly, she felt some change come over her.  She opened her eyes and found everything clearer, sharper.  She saw much more than she originally did.  Then, she felt the air caress her.  Suddenly, she noticed that the air around her was suddenly rising in intenstiy and speed.  The winds rose and swept her desk clean of paper.

 

She bent away from the wind that was howling around the room.  She gazed, panic striken, at Rasheta.  What in the light of the world was happening?

 

Nesyer Yoshan

Healer of the Five

Rasheta watched in interest when Nesyer actually seemed to be opening herself to the source. Usually this did not happen for a few tries. Rasheta quickly realized as the wind in the room picked up that the girl of course had no control. Rasheta took control of the girls weave and calmed things down. She shook her head at Nesyer and said quietly.

 

“That is what happens when you have no control over the one power. It is a good thing I was here, if I had not been who knows what you could have done to yourself or others. Were you scared?” Rasheta could already tell Nesyer had been but the girl made a valiant effort not to show it. Rasheta shook her head again and spent the next hour or more working with Nesyer getting her some form of small control. She then went on to the next lesson but not before repeating her earlier warning about not practicing things without an Accepted or Aes Sedai around to help.

 

"I will now be teaching you the basics of controlling saidar. If you are not in control of saidar, you will die!" She had said that already several times but it was good to let the minds of the young Novices picture how that could happen if one wasn’t in control of the source. "If you cannot control saidar to do what you want it to do, your weaves can snap at you or someone else with potentially fatal results. If you weave incorrectly, it may blow up in your face. If you draw on saidar too much, you may burn yourself out, which is worse than dying. You know that feeling of euphoria when you are holding the Source? When you're burned out, you can never touch it again, but you constantly have a reminder of it." Rasheta was being deliberately as harsh as she could be, and for a Green that was considerable, in order to impress the need for control on the young girl.

 

She sat down opposite of Nesyer and continued "So today we are going to practice two things. Pushing and pulling. First is pulling. I need all of you to embrace the Source." Rasheta waited till Nesyer embraced the source safly. "Good, now picture a cloud. A cute little white cloud drifting along in your sky. I want you to imagine your cloud drifting over the sun and hiding your light. Push away the warmth and joy it brings. Push so that you barely have any grasp at all." Rasheta watched Nesyer closely all through her practice with pushing "I want you to try that a couple more times, then we can take a break before moving on.

 

Rasheta Ardashir

Green Battle Sister.

 

(OOC: Er Rasheta this is a one-to-one lesson, not a class lesson.  You seem to think that Nesyer is several novices in you rping.)

 

Nesyer was gazing at Rasheta in panic as the wind was gathering strength enough to try to topple the table in front of her.  It would have had she not grabbed onto the table first and braced herself to prevent the wind from blowing her off her own chair.  She was concious of the One Power flowing through her.  But she did not know how to control it.  Then suddenly, something else happened in the room.  Something changed about Rasheta Sedai.  There was psychic snap with her relation to the True Source.

 

She gazed in panic at Rasheta, then realized that this was how she must feel if she were shielded.  She had read about such a thing.  She could still sense the True Source.  She could see the glow, feel its warmth.  But trying to touch it was like running into a glass wall that was a strong as brick.

 

“That is what happens when you have no control over the one power. It is a good thing I was here, if I had not been who knows what you could have done to yourself or others. Were you scared?”  Nesyer gulped, and tried not to show her fear.  Rasheta still must have seen it, because she shook her head, and after that, they spent some more time trying to embrace the source.  Nesyer managed to do it a few times more, but not always.

 

"I will now be teaching you the basics of controlling saidar. If you are not in control of saidar, you will die!  If you cannot control saidar to do what you want it to do, your weaves can snap at you or someone else with potentially fatal results. If you weave incorrectly, it may blow up in your face. If you draw on saidar too much, you may burn yourself out, which is worse than dying. You know that feeling of euphoria when you are holding the Source? When you're burned out, you can never touch it again, but you constantly have a reminder of it."

 

Nesyer shuddered at the thought.  Remembering what she had felt when she managed to embrace the source, the prospect of being cut off from it for the whole of eternity seemed well to be nigh terrible.

 

"So today we are going to practice two things. Pushing and pulling. First is pulling. I need all of you to embrace the Source."

 

Nesyer then tried to embrace the True Source.  She tried, again and again.  But had to try it several times before she felt the thrill of life fill her again.

 

"Good, now picture a cloud. A cute little white cloud drifting along in your sky. I want you to imagine your cloud drifting over the sun and hiding your light. Push away the warmth and joy it brings. Push so that you barely have any grasp at all."

 

That was rather easy.  Nesyer pictured the sun, and that she was the flower bud.  The One Power filled her until she felt that she must burst from its radiance.  Then she remembered what she had to do.  She pictured a cloud, a pale transparent version of it, and felt the amount of Saidar in her lessen slightly.  She tried to imagine it thicken, and felt resistance.  She probed and probed again, trying with all her might to thicken the cloud.  Finally, she felt something in her snap, and the cloud hang over the sun, blocking out almost all of its radiance.  The amount of Saidar in her lessened until she was barely aware that she was touching it at all.

 

She then realized that she had a mental block that prevented her from considerably lessening the flow of Saidar.  She never wanted to lose its feeling.  She lacked self-control that was essential to control it.

 

Annoyed, Nesyer tried again and again, and this time, bored down with all of her will at forming the cloud as smoothly as possible.  Saidar flowed into her, and this time, she could control the amount of Saidar that she was holding at will by varying the thickness and opacity of the cloud.

 

Nesyer Yoshan

Healer of the Five

Determined and Resolute

OOC: Sorry I edited it up...not that it matters now I suposse LOL. I thought the lessons were a bit rushed so I left this one for questions then I'll finish up with my next post so this is just for break time. LOL Enjoy.

 

Rasheta watched Nesyer struggle for a time with the lesson. Rasheta had to admit the girl amused her. The child thought she could master everything on the first try and was determined to do so. After it seemed as though Nesyer had a small amount of control over the pushing part of the lesson Rasheta stopped her. "Enough child, at least for the moment. Stay where you are and you will be pampered for this one time."

 

Rasheta got up and opened the door looking around for the nearest Novice or Accepted she could send to the kitchens for some water, Rasheta knew she really should have thought to bring some tea things with her when she came but well she hadn't thought about more then simply getting through the lessons. She caught the first novice she saw and sent her off to the kitchens to bring some tea things. Rasheta returned to the room and faced Nesyer again.

 

"So child tell me how are you liking the White Tower? Do you have any questions?" The girl looked a little worried and Rasheta added "do not worry after you have rested for awhile I will continue the lessons. Till then allow yourself to rest and answer my questions."

 

There was a knock and Rasheta opened the door with a wave of her hand. A servent stood in the door way and Rasheta directed the woman where to put the tray and then sent the woman away. The woman gave the Novice a hard look but curtsied to Rasheta and left with a simple "Aes Sedai" Rasheta poured the tea for Nesyer with none for herself, she had found over the years she liked beer better. "Please speak your mind child."

 

Rasheta Ardashir

Green Battle Sister.

"Enough child, at least for the moment. Stay where you are and you will be pampered for this one time."  said Rasheta Sedai after a while.  Rasheta stood up and went to the door.  Muffled orders drifted into the room, and Nesyer was sure that Rasheta had sent a Novice to get something.  What is Rasheta going to do now?  She wondered.  And then she had no time to wonder as Rasheta came back and sat in front of her, studying her, as if weighing her.

 

"So child tell me how are you liking the White Tower? Do you have any questions?"  Then, Rasheta added "do not worry after you have rested for awhile I will continue the lessons. Till then allow yourself to rest and answer my questions."

 

Nesyer opened her mouth, about to answer, when there was a knock on the door, and a servant stood in the doorway.  Giving Nesyer a hard look, she set the tray down,  curtsied to Rasheta and left the room.  Rasheta poured some tea for Nesyer, but none for herself.  That was decidedly odd.  But never mind that now.  She had to answer the question.

 

"Well," she said, slightly hesitantly.  "I have noticed that ... umm, life in the White Tower is hard.  But I suppose it is part of the life on the journey to becoming a sister.  However, I do have a question, regarding the Ajahs."

 

"I was a Healer back in Caemlyn, before I came to the White Tower.  However, here in the White Tower, I am in a dilemma as to whether to choose the Green Ajah or the Yellow Ajah.  I like healing, but I also seek to fight the shadow in whatever way I choose.  Are there any Green Sisters with considerable talent for Healing, good enough to become Yellow Sisters?  Also I would like to know whether being good at Healing with the One Power is a neccessity in becoming a Yellow Sister."

 

Nesyer Yoshan

Healer of the Five

Hesitant

Rasheta waited till Nesyer was ready to speak and when she did Rasheta was a little surprised.

 

Are there any Green Sisters with considerable talent for Healing, good enough to become Yellow Sisters?  Also I would like to know whether being good at Healing with the One Power is a neccessity in becoming a Yellow Sister."

 

She blinked for a moment and asked coolly "Who spoke of the Ajah purposes to you? You should not be focusing on which Ajah to chose or even there purposes till you are an Accepted." She herself had heard some little bits of the Ajahs when she was a Novice but it was strongly discouraged for the girls to be thinking of such things till they were at the Accepted level. She said as much and then had a small change of heart and said.

 

"Child the Greens and the Yellows have an understanding the Greens are needed to keep the shadowspawn at bay and the Yellows heal our wounds. There are of course some Greens with the talent for healing and if they had felt the urge to go to the Yellow they could have but they have chosen instead to fight the good fight. Now" She stood up not answering the other question "Its time for your next lesson."

 

She got herself ready for this part, she found it to be the most fun.

 

"we will be learning a bit about the Five Elements, which are Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Spirit.” She embraced the Source. She took a couple threads of each element, one a bronze, one a brilliant red, one a dark blue, one an almost clear thread with a hint of light blue, and the last a milky white, and wove them into a sword like shape, made somewhat like a twisted rope. “See, each element in this weave. What you are going to do is come up to me identify each element with its color, simply point to the individual ones, and try to identify them."

 

Rasheta Sedai

Green Ajah Sitter

 

Nesyer studied the threads that Rasheta Sedai had woven.  They all seemed to be the same to her.  But when she looked closely, she saw that each thread was tinged.  Each thread was also giving off an emanation, which might be describing its personality.  Her attention was drawn first to the green thread.  This thread gave off a feeling which reminded her of the rivers flowing, it seemed to hold power that would and could wash away anything that stood in its path.  "The green thread is Water."  she said, looking up at Rasheta Sedai, who nodded.

 

Turning her attention to threads of other colours, she spotted one which was tinged red.  She studied it as hard as she could.  This thread seemed to be giving off heat.  All the time.  Unleashed, it could burn everything it touched.  Given power, it would.  But she was attracted to it somehow.  She knew that she herself would be able to control this particular thread.  However she knew, she did not know.  It was just a bone deep certainty that she could.  "The red thread is Fire."

 

Rasheta Sedai nodded appraisingly.  "Very good!"

 

Concentrating her attention onto another weave with a different feel, she saw that this one was a pale brown.  It gave her a passive impression, whereby she felt that it would not move no matter how hard she pressed.  Like stone.  "This one's Earth."  she said.  Rasheta Sedai nodded, smiling.

 

There were only two elements, and thus only two more types of threads to sort out.  The one her eyes fell on first was pure white, with no tinge of colour at all.  At first thought it seemed to be Air.  However, she felt no emanations.  It just sat there serene.  This did not corraborate to what she had deduced so far.  "This thread is all calm and still.  It is Spirit?"  she said, half questioningly.  Rasheta Sedai nodded, grinning openly.  "Why yes it is.  You're doing very well so far.  I think you can guess what the last one is."

 

"Air."  Nesyer said without thinking.  Looking at the last type of thread, she saw that it was a light blue, like that of the sky.  It felt loose, floaty.  But it also gave her the sensation that it was powerful in its own way.  She closed her eyes, and she almost felt the winds stirring in the room.

 

"Excellent.  Now that you know the elements and the colours of the thread that represent them, I am going to ask you to point out the elements in each different weave."

 

And the weave before Nesyer's eyes disappated.  And was replaced by a new one.  It contained large amounts of green, some blue, and white.  But there was little of brown and red.  "There is Water, Air, Spirit, and some traces of Earth and Fire here and there."  she said, pointing to the respective threads.

 

And they did this over and over again.  But there was one thing that Nesyer noticed, that Rasheta Sedai seemed to like weaving Water more than Air, and Air more than the rest.  The difference was slight, but it was there.  Nesyer frowned.  Rasheta must be strong in Air, she thought to herself.

 

Nesyer Yoshan

Healer of the Five

Amazed

 

Lesson 5: Air and Water

 

IC

 

The reason Rasheta had chosen this room for the first lessons was because now the young novice would have a lesson in channelling. The small classroom was in a quiet corner rather than in a more crowded area or the gardens. Any distraction could have dangerous results, this early on. She turned her attention from Nesyer to give the room a last perusal to make sure anything potentially harmful had been safely removed. She would need to summon someone to remove the dishes that were still sitting in one corner of the room and so she got up and told the novice to wait a moment and called someone to handle the dishes. She supossed she could have sent Nesyer running to the kitchens but Rasheta wanted to get done with the lesson as quickly as she could. She wanted to go and get some sleep, she didn't sleep well these days. She turned her attention back to the Novice however and said coolly

 

“Today you are going to start learning weaves. We’ll start off with Air and Water. You are to be careful since you have not had any real experience at weaving. Watch carefully and go slowly at first.  In time this will all be easy." She gave the Novice a very serious look and her voice grew even cooller "You must promise to never pick your weaves apart, but to let them dissipate on their own. Picking apart a weave is very dangerous and it can cause severe explosions or even getting burned out.” She knew that the Novices got tired of hearing about being "burned out" but when working with the power they needed to be told the dangers over and over as most of them just wanted to run off and play with the power. She said no more about it but stood and walked to the desk where she had put down several aids when she first entered the room.

 

She pulled out a handkerchief and dipped it into the bowl sitting nearest to herself. She held the dripping wet cloth over the bowl and embraced Saidar. Weaving pure Water, she slowly drained the water in the handkerchief back into the bowl. When she was done, she held it out for Nesyer to see. “Now you saw that I used a pure weave of Water to drain this right?” Rasheta recieved a nod. “You can use Water to not only dry something, but also to gather water to you.” Rasheta took the glass she had placed on the desk and, weaving Water, she gathered moisture from the air around them and guided it to the glass. “Did you see how I did that?”

 

“Next, we're going to move on to Air. Would you please stand up?”  The Novice obliged, pushing back her chair to stand in front of Rassheta. Still embracing Saidar, she snared Nesyer in flows of Air, which snaked out and wrapped around the girl’s torso. Rasheta lifted Nesyer up off the floor rather faster then she had first intended. She realized she had been working with the battle weaves to much lately. Quick work with those was essential. She slowed down and twisted the girl around in the air and then said “Don’t worry – I won’t drop you,” Rasheta put Nesyer back down and then continued.

 

"Air can be pretty handy when you are trying to protect yourself." Rasheta loosened the threads only to quickly wrap Nesyer back up in another weave of Air. The young woman struggled against the bonds but was totally immobile. "As you can see, or feel….you cannot move at all." She released the girl after a moment and then continued. "Not only can Air be used to protect but it can be used to attack or damage as well," She tossed a rawhide ball into the air and then with a blunt flow of Air she smashed it and sent it flying across the room.

 

"Air and Water are the two elements that are also used in weather control. Should you develop the Talent of Cloud Dancing, those would most likely be your strongest elements. Regardless, you will learn some small amount of weather control, at a later time when you are capable of it."

 

Rasheta let go of the weaves, while she wasn't as strong in Fire and Earth she enjoyed using those more then Air and Water. She was looking forward to teaching that part of the class. “Now, this is your time to practice these weaves while I can watch you.  You can use the handkerchief and bowl for it, but try with this feather for the weaves I showed you using Air. You won’t be able to lift anything much heavier than that for a while yet.” Rasheta let Nesyer pratice for awhile and then decided to call it a day and finish up the next day she stopped Nesyer and then added

 

“One more thing before you go." Rasheta came around her desk and stood in front of the child. "Remember I told you that every female channeller can see when a woman is using the Source, because a glow springs up all around them the second they hold it? I want you to try to see this glow, I will walk around the room holding Saidar. You are allowed to embrace the Source, as it makes it easier to see the glow in the beginning, but try to see it also when you are not holding Saidar.”  Rasheta walked around waiting to see if the girl could do it.

 

Rasheta Sedai

Green Sitter

 

 

OOC:

 

To do IC: Please RP seeing the glow around me, your reactions to my lecture (how did you feel when I lifted you up and held you?), and practicing with the objects I mentioned.  Does your character have a hard time with these things?  Or is it easier than she expected?  Your strengths in the various elements will now come into play. Finally, please RP seeing the glow around me and how it makes your character feel.

 

To do OOC: At the end of your RP, make a list of the weaves that were used, which elements were used in each, as well as the strength and skill required in each element. The weaves list can be found here: http://www.aliciawilkerson.com/whitetower/ (borrowed from Elgee but still required ;))

 

Nesyer watched the class as it progressed with interest.  She felt her eyes widen as she was snared in flows of Air and lifted.  But a thought cheered her up.  One day I'll be able to do the same.  I hope.  She thought.  She observed the weaves with interest.  They were intricate, a combination of thick weaves and thin, all of one element.  She was a little disappointed, having hoped to be able to have her hands on trying to weave multiple elements at once.  But she supposed that she was not experienced or skilled enough to try it as of yet.  So she shoved that aside for until later.

 

Now it was her turn to try to weave.

 

Embracing the Source, she first tried the weaves of Water that were shown, with some trepidation.  Wilemi had progressed furthest.  But during freedays, she was always spending her time under Accepted Esther's supervision with remedial Water.  She complained that her strength in Water was comparitively paltry, and that she had nearly no ability with it as of yet.

 

But as Nesyer tried to channel Water, she found to her astonishment that she was able to, with some slight difficulty, but not really anything much.  First she dipped the hankerchief into the Water, then, holding the wet cloth by the hand, she wove the required weave of Water, moving it down, and the water dripped back down into the bowl.  With some ease.  Then, she tried gathering more moisture into the near empty bowl.  It was not too difficult, but neither was it really easy.

 

Then, Nesyer attempted to weave Air.  Weaving Air, and not moving her hands, she attempted to lift the feather off the table.  To her surprise, it floated up gently and smoothly.  It was not difficult.  She supposed that either this task was easier than the first one, or that she was stronger in Air than in Water.  Looking over at the rawnball, she wove Air and attempted to lift it up.  To her immense astonishment, she could lift it up several inches into the air.  But as hard as she tried, she could not move it up any further.

 

The last activity, was to try and see the glow around Rasheta.  Studying the Aes Sedai who walked around the room, she suddenly saw a faint glow around her.  She smiled as the glow became more visible, more tangible, and brighter.

 

Nesyer Yoshan

Healer of the Five

Elated and Pleased

OOC: Blah blah.  Sorry about the delay.

 

Dry - Water: 2, Skill: 10

Create Water - Water: 2, Skill: 8

Air Lift - Air: 2, Skill: 7

Arms of Air - Air: 2, Skill: 7

Air Club - Air: 1, Skill: 4