A Portrait in Green

[Ashfalcon]

Darthalien stood in the marked-off area of the Channeling Yards, quickly extending a loose net of Spirit and nodding to himself as it reached the tied off wardings that enclosed his chosen practice area. Nothing that he tried in here could damage anyone except himself, which was exactly what he needed.

He'd chosen this particular area because someone had shaped a number of stone targets from the bedrock below the field: a couple of stalagmites, a half-dozen man-sized monoliths, four pillars twice his own height, and a scattering of good-sized boulders. They'd make good targets for what he intended to practice, and he was strong enough in Earth to clean up afterwards... which would be good practice also.

He stepped back, let himself relax, and emptied his thoughts. When his mind was completely gray, he reach for Saidin and found it, filled himself with it. Then he shaped the second weave he'd ever discovered on his own: the fire-spear, shaped from Spirit laced with Fire and Earth. He looked at the nearest stone monolith, and then set himself and thrust.

The spear pierced the stone. Not all the way through, but deep enough to shatter it.

[Ashfalcon]

He spun, slicing, and the spear-tip carved a chunk from another of the stone targets. This is good, he thought. This is useful. I could fight with this.

He turned, and found he had an audience: Soldiers and Dedicated, mostly, but no few Novices and Accepted either, plus a few that he knew to be Aes Sedai or Asha'man. He let the spear vanish, then started patching the stone targets together.

"Your pardon," said one of the Asha'man, approaching him from behind. The man was probably Shienarian, given the top-knot and clean-shaven face, not to mention the curved sword at his side. "Would you show me that weave again?" He looked around, taking in the audience. "It seems to have attracted some attention."

Darthalien shrugged. "As you wish, Asha'man. Would you do me the kindness of trying to restrain me with Saidin? I am still exploring the limits of this weave."

"Of course," said the Asha'man. "I am Torito Asha'man, of the Green Ajah, and any new battle weave is of interest to me." Dar felt the sudden presence of Saidin, and then an invisible fist closed around him.

He seized Saidin and reformed the spear, this time as an Ashan'Caba, a half-sword. Twisting his hands, he brought the blade around and cut through the weaves of air that had been holding him. "It works," he said quietly.

Torito nodded, studying the weave. "Earth and Fire, but mainly Spirit. I don't know if I can reproduce that; I'm not that strong in Spirit. I might be able to do something similar with just Earth and Fire."

Dar chuckled. "Try it," he suggested. "I only came up with it because I was trying very hard not to die. If you can make it better, let me know."

[Ashfalcon]

Torito, like many Asha'man, was a swordsman. It took him several tries to mimic the weave, but armed with Earth and Fire he finally managed it. Or at least it looked like he had, since he could use it to cut stone as well as Darthalien could. Then they squared off for a few experimental passes... and Darthalien's conjured half-blade took the Asha'man's sword apart.

"Spirit," said Torito Asha'man, looking down at his empty hands. "That is quite the talent you've accidentally developed."

Dar swallowed. "It has its limits, but even the weave you modeled from it could prove useful."

"Indeed it could," the Shienarian said, and laughed before clapping Darthalien on the shoulder. "The Green may be in your debt. Have you considered which Ajah you will join?"

Dar hesitated. "I have considered serveral, and Green is among them. I'm not sure I've found one that suits me fully, though."

The older man considered that, then nodded. "The choice is harder for some than for others," he said. "There is no shame in that." He paused, looking... was that nostalgic? "Take time and take care. I'm sure you'll find your way."

[Ashfalcon]

It was a matter of feel and visualization as much as shaping the Source. The weave he was using remained much the same, and Torito Asha'man had just demonstrated that other variations of it could be formed if one were suitably skilled and so inclined; but Darthalien preferred his own particular blend, heavily laced with Spirit, and evidently capable of cutting through other weaves. He dismissed the halfblade, and channeled a staff instead. He released the weave, and this time formed a spear, then an ashandarei, and finally a bill.

He released the bill, then formed a dagger. The smaller weapons was trickier than any of the others; and, of course, if he needed a dagger and didn't have one on his person, he'd bloody well better have left it in the corpse of an enemy. Still, it was good to know he could do it.

"How in the Light are you doing that?" asked a new voice -- male, and from the sound of it young.

Darth turned to see another Dedicated looking at him, having just stepped into the training area. He was a little taller than Darthalien and a little heavier through the shoulders, but his pale skin and dark hair suggested Cairhienin ancestry. "I mean, Saidin, obviously," the young man continued. "I've just never seen a weave like that before."

Darth was still holding the One Power, half his attention fixed on the perpetual struggle it represented. "Do I know you?"

"Cavros Litherien, late of Cairhien, now a Dedicated of the Grey Tower," the other man said, and offered a dramatic vow. "I saw your blade dissolve the Asha'ma's sword. Could you teach me to do that?"

"I don't know," Darthalien admitted. "Darthalien -- no patronymic -- also Dedicated. I'll show you the weave, though."

In the end, Cavros turned out to be rather stronger with the One Power -- and with Fire in particular -- than Darthalien was. His blade was Fire locked in Air, and like the Asha'man's it dissolved when it clashed against Darth's odd Talent. By then, however, the two of them were well on the way to becoming fast friends.

[Ashfalcon]

Keep this thread for raising -- or possibly a Talent?