Weaving Through the Battle (Attn: Bella)

[Leala]

Torianin had spent the whole morning readying herself for this class. Mirin Sedai had suggested rather strongly that she take a class in battle weaves, since she had had prior experience. It was the prior experience that made her nervous. After all this work to forget those days, to go into a situation that reminded her so much of it again... Well, she would just have to remember where she was, and what her purpose there was. She had done it before, and she would do it again. It got easier every time, in fact. Finally, by the time set for the private lesson, she had generally calmed her nerves, at least to where she could behave like an Accepted and not a jittery novice. She tied her hair back with a white ribbon and smiled when she saw that the frizz had calmed itself to elegant curls. All those years of teasing were finally being erased from her mane of orange hair.

Satisfied with her appearance and her spirits, Torianin left her quarters and walked toward the Channeling Yards. Upon arrival, she found a tall, formidable looking woman waiting for her. She had brown hair with small streaks of gray at the temples. She knew that if an Aes Sedai had gray in her hair, that spoke of a great amount of years. She knew of sul'dam that bragged about how ancient there damane was. She was never among their number, but their years were usually in the hundreds, and they seemed to age differently than Aes Sedai. It was not for Torianin to ask after things like that, however. This Aes Sedai had taken time out of her busy schedule to see to her needs, and she would be respectful, like she strove to be.

Something in the back of her mind tugged at her as she closed the gap of distance between her and her new instructor. She seemed familiar, but she could not remember where she had met her before. Once she finally reached the woman, she dipped a curtsy. "Thank you for seeing me today, Aes Sedai. I am Torianin. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." Torianin did not think she was late, but if her teacher was here before she was, there was always a chance...

[Bella]

Miahala Ives Sedai The small entourage of servants and guards that she had acquired after becoming the Amyrlin Seat had tried to tell her--well, they had tried to suggest--that attending a "basic weaves lesson" with an Accepted was perhaps not befitting one of her position. The reply she wanted to give was not really fit for anyone's ears, and certainly far beyond befitting her rank.

The response she did give was maybe not that much better, and they all shut up after that.

Mia needed to feel like a human again, and an Aes Sedai again. Sitting in her office all the time and signing documents and being called "Mother" was not good for keeping the mind sharp. The dance one did in the Hall of Sitters was, but it wasn't any fun. When she had learned through friends in the Green that an Accepted needed aid in battle weaves, she jumped (almost literally) at the chance.

And thus it was that she was in the channeling yards. She watched the young woman approach and make the proper greeting. Mia stifled a faint smile, having wondered if the girl would recognize her and glad that she didn't. "Not at all, child," she greeted properly. "I am glad to help. I am to understand that battle weaves are not unknown to you already?" She knew some of her history, and was as considerate as could be in her question while still gaining the truth.

[Leala]

Glad to learn that she had not kept her teacher waiting, Torianin straightened her back as she heard the Aes Sedai's question. "No, they are not unknown to me." She briefly recalled scenes where her abilities were used without her will to hurt others. The ones where she could hear screams in the distance were particularly hard to push away to return to the present, but she did it. "Before I came to the Grey Tower, I was damane," she explained. Assuming that the Aes Sedai knew what that was, she continued on. "The most common weave that sul'dam and damane use in battle is one to summon lightning." The lightning on the panels of the sul'dam's dresses weren't just for show.

"I have also woven balls of Fire and made the earth quake. It is easier for me to make weaves that involve Air and Water, so fireballs and moving the earth were not my strengths. While my bolts of lightning are not particularly powerful for that reason, I can summon them quite quickly..." She paused after she explained all these weaves. "But, I do understand that I am not to use these to harm others. I was not given a choice before my life here began, but I will abide by the rules. While I was used as a weapon before, I came here to better the world." She smiled confidently and nodded at the end of her point. It almost sounded silly to explain herself this way, but she had been raised to Accepted not very long ago, and she still felt she needed to prove herself sometimes. Besides, these weaves were dangerous. She wanted her instructor to know that she respected what they could do, and that she would not use them indiscriminately.

[Bella]

Miahala listened, not saying a thing or even making any change in expression until the young woman was done. She understood and nodded when she had finished. "It is not quite true that these weaves cannot be used to harm others," she said thoughtfully. "Otherwise they would be forbidden or useless to learn at all here in the Tower. There are just restrictions. You may use such weaves to defend your life, or that of a Brother or Sister, or a warder. And you may use them against Shadowspawn."

She paused, letting that sink in. "You would like to be evaluated in your abilities in them now then? Do you consider pursuing a path of an Ajah that might bring them to necessity?"

[Leala]

Having like to have kicked herself for not elaborating on the restrictions of the weave, Torianin simply nodded as the Aes Sedai explained how the Oaths worked. She knew that by now, but she quickly pushed the issue aside. If she obsessed about it, it would only make the lesson harder than it had to be. It was a mistake, but she would not berate herself about it. Then, her instructor asked her if she would like to be evaluated on these weaves, and if she had thought about joining an Ajah that used them as necessary. She had given thought to the Green Ajah, although not with as much fervor and enthusiasm as a lot of the novices and soldiers she had noted before she had been raised. After a while, that enthusiasm turned into serious contemplation, she had noticed. But, for her, the Ajah was more complicated than all that. She had actually experienced battle before, but not at her own will. If she had something to fight for, she likely would consider joining.

"I would like to be evaluated on them, yes, Aes Sedai," she said, her tone more serious now, as she nodded. "As far as taking the path of the Green Ajah, I have not decided which Ajah I will choose when the time comes, but the Green Ajah does hold some interest for me. I think, that if I were to choose the Green, I would be up to the task. The past is the past, and I believe I would do well in a situation where my judgment was respected and relied upon." She was a bit anxious, now out of the collar, but she felt herself getting stronger every day. A short time ago, she would have been flustered and rattled off an off-handed explanation as to why she hadn't chosen a future Ajah yet.

[Bella]

Mia listened, nodded slightly, and smiled even more...slightly. The fact that the woman could do so much while doing so little was really a testament to the training of Aes Sedai in matters of economy. "Yes, the Green are the most likely to need to use battle weaves and thus the ones that need the most proficiency, they are not the only ones. The Blues and Reds get in their scuffles from time to time."

She still found it so odd to refer to the Reds of the Tower, even after being back so long and gaining the stole. "The Indigos have been known to as well," she added, thinking to a few of her favorite Indigos over the years. "Should you be considering the Brown or the White, say, then you are less likely to need this knowledge." She paused to let her words be taken in.

"But, time shall tell. You are young here yet and have time to make such choices. For now, why don't you show me what you are capable of?" She gestured to the channeling yard around them, embracing saidar herself as a matter of habit and precaution.

[Leala]

Torianin narrowed her eyes and scanned the Channeling Yards. Her instinct was to show how she wove a lightning bolt first, but she would rather not set the grass a flame for that. Spotting a large rock in the distance, she embraced Saidar, just enough to make what she needed. She wove a thin pillar of Air going from the rock toward the sky. She could have made this one bigger, but the column of Fire was a different story. She wove a pillar of Fire next to the pillar of Air, this one coming to form a little slower than the other. The two pillars wove into each other, and a strike of lightning hit the rock in a flash. While it was a flash of impressive and powerful light, it was still small, compared to other lightning strikes some damane could summon.

Next, she decided to go for another weave that had become like second nature to her before coming here. Taking a weave of Air and a weave of fire, she wove them both into a ball, so that a large flame danced in front of her. Again, it was not as large as some other damane could make. It did not stretch completely across the span of her shoulders, but it got her through. It was her precision with Air that usually saved her from punishment. Taking another weave of Air, she hurled the Fireball at the very same rock that she had used to demonstrate her lightning bolt. She made sure that the fire did not hit the grass after striking.

This next one was very difficult for her to use, and her sul'dam usually only allowed her to add to what was already being done. Earth was not her strongest of the Five Powers. Taking weaves of Earth, she worked with them until they could finally fan out in front of her, and she sent them under the surface of the ground, a few feet in front of her and her instructor. She saw the ground shake, then after a moment felt it. As the weave moved through the ground, it cracked, but only once.

"I believe I had been selected to come across the sea because of my strength with Air and Water," she explained. "There was one weave that came in use, particularly on the ocean, but I would need perhaps a pond to show you that one." She had spotted a few buckets around, but she wanted to show her strength in this area.

[Bella]

Mia had watched closely, examining the expertise shown with the weaves yet without showing any of her reaction. The girl managed the three with clear competence, though it was unsurprising with her history. Then she referred to the water. She considered. "I'm afraid there's not much by way of ponds in the channeling yards," she said. "How much water would you require?" She hardly wanted to take her to the garden lake for a potential experiment. "Aside from that weave, do you know any others that better utilize Air and or Water? How is your strength in Spirit?"

[Leala]

Torianin thought on where to demonstrate this weave with water. At first, she thought of the stream in the Gardens, but she knew that some plants there had delicate schedules, and too much water would likely do more damage than she intended. "May we move to the Novice Hall's courtyard?" she asked. "I think that would do less damage to plants, and the novices may even enjoy the show there," she said with a smile. "Air is my strongest of the Five Powers. I was good at capturing enemies with it, but that was more tactical than useful in battle." She tried not to think of those scenes with people struggling in the binds of her weaves. "I can use it as a battering ram," she said as she scanned the Channeling Yards for a good target. She found a small batch of boards cobbled together to make a makeshift wall. She saw scorch marks and other signs of damage. Taking a large amount of Air, she constructed a large cylinder, capping it off like a log. Adding more Air, lining the inside and a thick weave of Air in the middle, she pushed with the enforcement threads, knocking part of the wall down. She watched as splinters flew as well as dust around the toppled boards.

"Something to the same effect is a large blade. It's nothing as finite as a sword, but it had its uses," she explained as she moved to another part of the Channeling Yards. This time, there was a group of wooden dummies in a cluster. She pushed the memories to the side. These dummies would not hurt or scream. Using Air again, she made a semi circle in front of her, this time with a razor thin thread, adding more Air to reinforce it from behind. She sent this as the dummies, and they all invariably toppled over, some with large scrapes or gashes in them.

"This next one... I particularly did not like using," she said, unable to keep the nerves out of her voice. Before she demonstrated, she set up the dummies again with multiple threads of Air. Using the razor technique, she formed a circle out of them. With another weave of Air for momentum, she sent the circle of razors spinning for one of the dummies. As the weave hit the dummy's neck, it brutally chopped off its head. She blinked for a moment after it thudded to the ground. "That one was always too uh...personal. I think I would rather like using it on a Trolloc," she concluded.

"But Spirit...I am not very strong in that one, except when it comes to Illusion, which is a different case than this. I don't remember using it in battle before coming here, though," she admitted.

[Bella]

Death spray. The name of the weave, as it was called here in the Grey Tower, immediately sprang to her mind. She had used it, or one almost exactly like it, many times. Razor Air was one of her most frequently used weaves in a fight, and so she recognized them all very clearly and was perhaps highly suited to evaluating them.

The girl did them with skill, although she clearly didn't like to. The Amyrlin kept her own uses and experience to herself.

"Our strengths are what we must use," she commented. "Air is one of the most versatile." She contemplated the problem of water again, but was not a fan of going anywhere near the Novices. This Accepted clearly had control, but still. Caution. "There is a small lake in the gardens. Would that suit to demonstrate the other weave?"