Unto The Breach (for Lex)

[Chris]

"This is starting to get silly," Murdock muttered to himself as he limped down the corridor, his walking stick thudding softly against the floor. He understood the need for Dedicated to assist with the teaching and apparently he was supposed to be rather good at Healing, but that didn't mean that he was particularly interested in parting his wisdom, such as it was, onto trainees who may or may not be any good at Healing. Oh well. It was one of the hoops he had to jump through in order to show he was a well rounded trainee or some such thing, and when one received instructions to teach, it only seemed prudent to listen to said instructions.

That being said, it would have been nice if just for once they told him who in the Light he was going to be teaching, not just.... told him that he would be teaching, and to be in the Infirmary that following morning. At least he'd been able to have breakfast first... it was almost as if they knew that Murdock was much less personable pre-breakfast, and he needed all the help he could get in that department.

The tall man noted that the Infirmary was as quiet as ever at this time of day, which suited him just fine. He did a cursory inspection of the place, examining the patients there, and went to one of the Asha'man to let him know he would be Healing and showing a student around that day. There was an office free for private lessons, which he would be okay to use. At this point, they were used to Murdock being there and assumed he would become a Yellow should he ever be called to the Great Stairs.

It would be a shame to prove them wrong, he did like practicing his craft.

He went to sit in the office with the door open, gently sitting and setting his stick to one side. The Soldier, whoever he was, would have to come find him here but that shouldn't be a problem as long as he received the correct instructions. Was it too much to hope that he brought something to eat with him as well? A snack for a Dedicated? Murdock looked around the room and pressed a hand to his pocket, where he had a small knife. Not suited for more more than cutting dinner, he always had it to hand for these lessons. The Soldier would find out why soon enough.

[Lex]

Lexalon wandered through the plain corridors of the Grey Tower towards the Infirmary. He had been given a note a breakfast from an Asha'man instructing him to report to the Infirmary just after breakfast. The note had said what he would be doing there but he presumed it would be something to do with Healing, possibly a lesson on Healing. The though scared him slightly. He had been told early the Healing was one of the Talents that was extremely dangerous to play around with as a simple mistake could have disastrous consequences. He shivered slightly at the thought of what could happen if it went wrong. Better not to think about it he decided.

As he walked down the corridor he make sure to keep an eye on where he was going. Getting lost here was easy and he intended to make sure that he could find his way back. He was only able to get there because the note had featured directions.

After walking from a brief amount of time he entered the large infirmary. He looked around taking in the injured patients lying in beds and watching the Asha'man and Aes Sedai moving around preforming their duties. He wondered who would be teaching him for this lesson, presumably not any of the Asha'man who were out here as he guessed they would all be preforming duties related to actually healing people rather than teaching a single Soldier the utter basics. Of course he could be wrong.

He fished the note out of his pocket and checked it. According to it he was to go to a small office where he instructor would be waiting on him. Pocketing the note he made his way over to the small office near the back of the infirmary. He pushed the door open and saw a Dedicated sitting their. That surprised him. He had been expecting an Asha'man although not one of the ones from outside.

He saluted the Dedicated even as he casually said “Hello Sir.” Immediately he cursed himself in his head. While Dedicated and Accepted were not fully raised they were still above him. Some would most certainly react badly to the way he had just spoken. There might not be anything wrong with what he had said but the way he had said it was likely to cause a problem. A slightly frown of worry creased his face before vanishing back behind his usual smile.

[Chris]

Murdock gave the Soldier a look over when he walked into the office. He looked pleasant enough, a little on the scrawny side (not that the whip-thin Dedicated could really comment on that), and not very tall. Though most people were a little short to the lanky man. He offered the lad a small smile at his salute and greeting, not being the sort of fellow to get worked up about being called Sir rather than Dedicated. Some people might but he was not one of them. "Good morning Soldier. My name is Dedicated Murdock and I'll be taking you for some basic Delving and Healing lessons today. Shut the door and have a seat," he gestured towards the door, and sat up straighter as the lesson was to begin without preamble.

"I don't know anything about you I'm afraid, only that you have been sent to me for lessons. So what's your name?" A simple enough question, with a straightforward answer from the Soldier. "Excellent. Well, Lexalon, let's get started. I understand you can seize Saidin reliably and execute some simple weaves. That's all you need for the time being but do be careful and exercise caution today, more caution than you ought to normally. Healing is a delicate art, one which can go very well, or it can go terribly wrong. Some people lack the skill and that is fine - you could well be someone who is not inclined towards Healing. We shall soon see."

First things first, it was time to look at Delving. "Before you can Heal someone, you need to know what is wrong with them. We use a weave called Delving, a simple net of Spirit which you rest over the patient to get an awareness of their condition. I'll use the weave on you, show you a few times, and then you can give it a try on me." The Dedicated seized Saidin, his dark eyes shifting to the corner of the room where his dead wife was sitting. Giselle looked a little bored, but he couldn't blame her. Teaching was not a passion of either of theirs. "The weave," he said with a cool voice from being immersed in the void, "is comprised of Spirit, like so." He began to weave the threads, intricate and gentle at the same time. The net of Spirit was easy to make and difficult to mess up once you had a knack for it, not to mention that if it went wrong it was fairly low risk. He settled the weave over Lexalon, and found that outside of the usual bumps and bruises most people had without realising, he had a scar on his arm. It had healed over and was not recent that he could tell, but at this point it couldn't be Healed. Probably. Murdock did think that ripping the fresh skin open could allow a skilled enough channeller to Heal it anew, but he wasn't going to mention that. He'd have to try it sometime though. "I can tell you have an old injury on your arm, but that's because I've had practice with this weave. For the most part you're quite hale and hearty. The perfect little trainee."

Murdock showed the Soldier the Delving weave a couple more times, taking his time to show how he interlocked the strands of Spirit. Giselle rolled her eyes, and he chose to ignore her for now. "As you can see, a simple weave. I'd like you to give it a try on me now and see what you can find." Murdock was currently unbruised and quite healthy, apart from his left leg where the deep cut had never fully recovered. It had been Healed, but was complicated enough that even now it gave the Dedicated pain. It was an excellent way for testing Soldiers to see if they could Delve him, not to mention the pain reminded Murdock of his work and what he was doing it for.

[Lex]

Once Lexalon had told the Dedicated his name he took a seat and listened to the Dedicated talk about the basics of Healing and Delving. The idea of Healing and the risks that came with it scare and unnerved him. He wasn't sure he liked the risks the seemed to come with Healing. That fact that a single slight error in your weave and that was that. The person would either be dead or mutilated for life. Once a Healing had been preformed they was no way to go back and changed it. Scary prospect that was.

He watched carefully as the Dedicated created the Delving weave from Spirit. To his eyes it appeared like a finely woven web of Spirit. It had nothing else in it which made it much easier Lexalon to watch what was happening.

Once the Dedicated had finished his demonstrations then he took hold of the Power feeling it fill him with life and power even as it threatened to destroy him where he stood. He still found the Power terrifying even though he used it so often during his lessons. Even as he embraced the source and took the void he felt any happiness and joy which he had been feeling vanished like it always did when he gripped the source. It wasn't the emotionless that came with the void but a distrust of the Power which ensured he couldn't be totally comfortable or happy using it desire how brilliant it felt and how much power flow through him.

He formed the weave from Spirit with limited difficulty. Spirit was easy for him but that only helped with a new weave so much, even one as simple as this. The weave formed neatly in front of him but it was a slow, carefully process.

Once he had finished the weave he gave the Dedicated a moment to check it over before he placed it over him. Instantly Lexalon got a feel of pain from the Dedicated's leg.

"I can feel that you have some sort of injury in you leg but that's all I'm getting so I would guess that apart form that injury you are perfectly healthy Sir" He said releasing the Source. He didn't like holding it unless he had to.

[Chris]

The weave the Soldier formed was fine, but really it was difficult to mess up a good Delving weave. It was about the application and the reading of the human body more than the creation, at least that's how Murdock felt about it. He gave a nod when he saw a slow but accurate Delving weave being made, and he felt it settle into him with a passive acceptance that came from numerous lessons of this kind.

"That's correct, I do have a leg injury," Murdock said, with a nod towards his walking stick. Anyone could have guessed at it, yes, but Murdock knew the weave had been successful. "Let's give that a few more tries, hmmm? It's important to get this right so you know what you are Healing. An accurate diagnosis is very important as you may well know." He let the Soldier take a look a couple more times, get used to the ebb and flow of the power running through him.

"The thing about Healing," he continued, "is that once an injury has been Healed, it can't be Healed again. It's a one-shot opportunity and if you don't do it correctly, it has to be lived with." Murdock gave the Soldier a firm look, "another reason it needs to be done right. Now, that's what happened with my leg. I was Healed, but it was in a very bad state, and the Asha'man was not quite good enough to properly fix it. It was a life or death situation." Murdock shrugged, he was over the trauma someone else might have experienced because of it. "On the other hand, new injuries, light injuries, they have a different feel, and they can be Healed right away. So this is what we'll do. I'll let you see the difference between an old injury and a fresh one, then I'll show you some Healing on a few patients. Then you can see about giving it a go yourself, how does that sound?" It wasn't really a question requiring an answer though.

At this point the man took out his little knife, and rolled back the sleeve of his arm. Without comment he pressed the blade to his arm and made a small cut, an inch or so long and barely enough to draw blood. "Delve me again, and see if you can spot this cut as well. You will. You'll also, over time, work out the difference between my arm, and my leg. Give it a try." Murdock gave the lad a placating smile as he wiped the little blade, and returned it to his pocket. The pain was sharp, but not overwhelming, and he was quite used to it.

[Lex]

Lexalon listened while the Dedicated talked. He knew some of what was said but that was just from his general lessons, nothing particularly in depth but it gave him a basic knowledge. He nodded when the Dedicated asked about his plan knowing that it was a rhetorical question, he just felt it was better to answer him anyway. To show he was still paying attention if nothing else.

He winced when the Dedicated drew him knife and cut him arm. He couldn't imagine himself cutting himself intentionally, even if it was to teach a lesson. He saw no point hurting one's self even in order to teach another. Why not just use someone who was already injured, recently if it was really that important.

It was probably his soldier's mind thinking he admitted. Too long spent avoiding injuries tended to make a person careful. After all an injury in battle could mean death if you weren’t careful.

He forced his thoughts away from that and back to the present. He made the Delving weave quickly, far faster that the other times he had done it but that was just practise helped along by the fact that he was strong in Spirit. The web of Spirit formed quickly in front of him and he placed it over the Dedicated.

He felt the difference the instant his weave settled over the Dedicated. There was a feeling of dullness in the old leg injury while the newer one in his arm was sharp and crisp. It was also clearer in a sense, more defined but Lexalon thought that was probably the fact it was a single clear cut rather that an entire area which hadn’t properly been Healed.

“I can feel the difference. The cut is clearer, more defined.” He said as he let the weave dissipate.

[Chris]

Of course there was a difference, but Murdock had more experience in this matter. He nodded his approval, glad that the lad could feel it, and then he motioned for him to repeat the Delving weave a few more times. "It takes practice, and when you're in the field of battle you need to be confident and know what is wrong, so you can make those quick decisions. You won't often have the luxury of time." But that was why they operated in this sort of safer environment, so he could learn those skills. Heck, Murdock wasn't the best at identifying problems either, he could stand to learn more. The issue was that he wasn't very interested.

Grabbing his stick and easing to his feet, Murdock motioned for the Soldier to follow him. "We're going to take a look at some of the people in the Infirmary. We'll both Delve them, and then I'll Heal them. You can watch the weaves and later, see about healing this cut on my arm. Nothing major, but we'll see if you have an aptitude for it. Some people are better at destroying than putting things back together." There were many ways to hurt another, of course.

The man limped his way into the Infirmary with the Soldier hot on his heels, making the rounds as usual. There were a few patients who were left to wait until someone was free, not serious and certainly not an issue for Murdock to Heal. Sometimes they were left to wait as a reminder that they had done something particularly silly, a lesson of sorts. The first patient was a Soldier who had something stuck in his foot, a very long pointy something. Oh, a dagger, that's right. Murdock eased onto the stool next to his bed, and the stocky fellow turned to give him a somewhat wary look with his pale green eyes. "Soldier, I'm going to Delve you, and then my Soldier friend here will as well. Then we will sort out your foot, with permission of course."

"Sure," the Soldier said doubtfully, but that was all Murdock needed. He leaned forwards, gripping Saidin and drawing upon Spirit to weave the fine net to settle over him. "Hrmmm." He nodded his head, giving Giselle a look as she appeared on the other side of the infirmary bed, "yes, it looks like you have a dagger. Through your foot. This seems a little strange, seeing as daggers don't generally belong there." He gestured to Lex to give the man a delve as well and see what else he found. There were a couple of bruises, and some cuts, but nothing major - apart from the dagger in his foot of course.