Improving a Weapon

[Julio]

Daelar came back from the warder yards, dissatisfied with his hands. Indeed, he could beat almost any Drin, as well as most Ji, whatever weapon they chose, with his bare hands. He could even beat many warders in an unarmed sparring match. He wasn't dissatisfied with that.

What he was dissatisfied with, however, was his ability to fight Trollocs. He had never faced one, outside of the plant sculptures in the gardens, but he knew something about them. The most important of this knowledge, at this moment, was that they were large and strong. No doubt he could defeat one, but it would be difficult, as he couldn't use many of his preferred techniques. It would do in a pinch, but he wanted to have something more deadly.

He stepped into his room, falling into his chair. What could he do? Learning a new weapon would be much too time consuming, especially since it takes a polearm to be easily effective against trollocs. A different weapon would work, but only in the hands of an expert. A few weeks ago, when on a patrol, he had made a glove of stone. That had taken a bit of energy, but the idea was sound.

Daelar stood up, pulled his chair over to his desk, and sat down again. He moved his five Ter'angreal inkwells, black, green, yellow, blue, and red. He pulled a piece of parchment over, and went to work. He drew, calculations running through his head. A weave of fire, with earth and water, to protect his hand. A net of air to make the object lighter, and another to make the opponent lighter. Yet another net of air, earth, and water to hit harder and knock farther.

He finished the effects, and came to a roadblock. What exactly could he do to activate it? He certainly didn't want it constantly active, as he could accidentally injure his friends. Having to channel into it would be less useful.

He blotted his parchment, corked his inkwells, then rolled the parchment up. He stood, and began his walk to the Indigo Ajah quarters. Perhaps Asha'man Timbal would have some advice.

Daelar passed a few Indigo Asha'man and Aes Sedai, none surprised to see him. He was here often. He knocked on the door, and a moment later it was opened. “Hello!” Came the squeaky voice of the Asha'man. “What are you working on today?”

His voice often made people think of him as harmless and weak, just somebody who reads books all day. While he most certainly read books a lot, the rest was very inaccurate. His area of expertise, which he loved, was destructive Ter'angreal. He had created Ter'angreal to cause explosions in many different ways, with sound, air, heat, water, and other more convoluted things. He had Ter'angreal that could cut through stone easily, others that make immobilising people effortless, yet others that shot lightning horizontally, and many, many more. At least, he had made diagrams. Daelar had never seen him actually make such a ter'angreal.

Pulling the door closed, Daelar answered. “I'm creating a Ter'angreal to amplify my ability to fight without weapons. I have designed it as a glove, but cannot think of a good way to activate it. Additionally, I would very much like some advice as to what material to make it of.” He pulled a chair from the desk, sat down in it, and spread his diagram out.

Asha'man Timbal came over, taking his own chair. After a few minutes he spoke. “It looks very good, very good indeed. However, it isn't legal to make Ter'angreal weapons in the tower. I'd happily put it with my other diagrams, but I can't allow you to make it.”

Daelar sat back, annoyed. “Well, what can I do? Trollocs are dangerous. Too dangerous for me to fight without any weapon.”

The Asha'man sighed, standing and walking to the other side of the weave. “I have a few useful weaves that I think you could use. They aren't Ter'angreal, but they are useful. I understand the draw of having a weapon that doesn't require channeling, but they are illegal to make. I chose to instead design weaves that I could use. When you are fighting Shadowspawn, it is perfectly legal to use the one power.”

He handed him a rolled up parchment, many weave diagrams on them. Daelar stood, thanked him, and left. He was disappointed, but it would be worth looking at these weaves.