Discoveries (ATTN Dan)

[Marc]

The gardens were quiet and eerily empty as Ladin wandered to one of his usual haunts. His mind- usually so quiet and calm- was spinning. He had just finished another class, and his mind was full of ideas. He was brainstorming new things he could make with his natural abilities- he did this quite often in his spare time. When he was allowed to actually channel without supervision, maybe he would actually put some of his ideas into action.

Still, he was proud of himself. After many, many months he was finally starting to learn how to play the game of these Aes Sedai. After his class with the M'Hael and his aid, the demand of the Aes Sedai for him had only grown- and now it was becoming infuriating. He had finally decided to begin fighting back- something which had not been helped by the sudden disappearance of Landrin and the imposition of a new Master of Soldiers. Seth was a good man... and Ladin had a feeling that Landrin had passed him instructions on how to handle him, because Seth had been treating Ladin in a manner quite similar to Landrin's. And yet, Seth had been a little more firm with Ladin, and Ladin had finally decided to fight back.

He had started small. He began to follow instructions to the letter, in almost all of his classes. He would refuse to do anything extra, and he didn't show off any of his talents any more. He could, of course. And when he was instructed to make a specific ter'angreal, he did so without question- but he was very careful to only make the ter'angreal which his teacher had wanted, and not to add anything special to it, nor to make it more efficient. He could tell that it vexed his teachers to no end- until they had started asking him to design his own ter'angreal. they would not, of course, allow him to make them- they had him orally explain his ideas, then would have him do something unrelated.

So Ladin had rebelled in a different way. He had spent weeks in the library, working for hours of his personal time, until he had developed a code for himself. He had, secretly, of course, developed a way of writing down specific instructions for himself on how to produce a specific weave. He had learned that by channeling even a little bit of the power he could focus his mind and, with immense concentration, write out instructions for a weave instead of weaving it.

He hadn't told his teachers this, of course. Many of them had seen the small journal, but they thought that it was nothing more than class notes. The few that had looked into it had assumed it was nothing more than a sketch book- the system Ladin had developed used pictures and lines to convey weaves, shapes, and uses. It was, he had to admit, a little brilliant.

Esrae, of course, had been an enormous help in developing the script. She had done almost as much as he had- and nobody knew that she had. Most people at the tower though she was completely incompetent, but Ladin knew better. She was brilliant in her own way. Ladin was still impressed by how specific the system they had developed was- and how easy it was for them to utilize it. Because of their immense talent in creating ter'angreal, Ladin had a feeling that only they (or any other person of comparable talent) could ever utilize the notes in his journal.

He put his mind to rest with a meditation exercise from his youth as he arrived at a spot in the gardens where he often came to exercise. The Aes Sedai had been keeping him so busy that he had no time to go to the yards- in fact, the last time he had tried to go he had been told that he was not welcome. He thought it was likely one of his teachers. With Landrin gone, Ladin had no one he could go to to ask for help- Riven was ever more distant, and he hardly even saw Jenna any more. Esrae was his only real friend left, and he had heard rumors that she may soon be needed elsewhere.

He began to move into a warm-up form, then froze, noticing something new in his spot. There was a small mound of disturbed dirt not ten feet away, where previously (weeks ago?) there had been none. The dirt was clearly churned and moved- someone had hidden something in that spot. Ladin hesitated before moving to the patch of disturbed earth and channeling, probing the spot with a thread of spirit to detect any traps. Nothing happened. He wasn't sure what he had expected- he had only seen an Aes Sedai do this once, and he hadn't really seen what she had actually done. He knelt, however, satisfied that whatever was within was not trapped with the power, and began to dig with his hands. Instinct egged him on- something was hidden beneath the earth here.

He did not need to dig far. Perhaps a foot under the ground he felt cloth scrape against his fingers. He gripped it and pulled, removing a large sack from the ground. It clinked- the sound of glass striking glass- and a gentle sloshing sound told Ladin that the sack contained liquids.

He timidly pulled open the lip of the bag, reached inside, and pulled out a bottle.

He nearly dropped it.

It was a vial of brown, viscous liquid. Ladin did not need to read the label (who would label such a thing?) to know that it was steeped rattlesnake venom- a dangerously potent poison. He reached inside again, withdrawing another vial, one that made his skin go white and made his body tremble with memory. The label read "Mountain King Venom," and the vial contained a watery yellow liquid. There were only a few drops in the small vial- enough to kill at least three people. It had almost killed Ladin, years ago- he would never forget the feeling of that poison entering his body, the seemingly innocent nip at his ankle that had so nearly spelled his doom.

He had to report this. This bag was full of at least a dozen bottles- it was enough to kill hundreds of people, at least. Whoever had hidden this here had obviously not wanted it found, and was likely very dangerous. An assassin? Something wasn't right.

Suddenly aware of his surroundings again, he focused for a moment on the world around him. He realized why he felt uneasy- it wasn't the poison in is hands, but because he was being watched.

He held the bag in front of him and said to the boy trying (and failing) to hide at the other end of the glade (didn't he know to never try to hide from an Aiel?), "Does this belong to you?"

OOC: Since this is my first post with Ladin in a long time, I had to give him some other stuff, not JUST what we are going to be doing. don't worry, I will be fleshing out his journal- it was an idea I bounded around months ago, but never tried. It's cool I swear :)

Take this where you will.

[Dan]

Calder Selm

"Nope, not bloody mine at all." The Soldier replied, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "What exactly do you have there?" He asked, as he approached the man. As he stepped forward, he held his hands to the side, palms open. He looked as unthreatening as a bulky bald Tearian could appear.

As he got closer, he saw the mystery man more clearly. He was a Soldier, at least he guessed by his uniform. An Aiel to boot, it seemed. Calder suddenly wished he had his sword, or even his rod with him. Hard to intimidate an Aiel while empty handed. Hard to intimidate a bloody Aiel period!

"Enjoying some shade there, friend?" He said, remembering some gibberish about Aiel and shade. He did not particularly care at the moment that he did not recall the exact saying, he only cared that the man held onto something that could cost Calder his freedom, and also a great deal of money. "You should leave things alone, friend, when things are none of your business."

Half the poisons in the satchel were probably duds by now, like the poison from the miniature octopus. The stuff had been potent enough to kill a bull with but a pinprick. But the liquid was so old, it would probably not have much effect. It had been old when he had stolen it before returning to Hama Valon, and that was a few years past.

The rattlesnake venom was still fairly fresh. He knew of a guard who collected such acquisitions for one of the Yellow Aes Sedai. The Mountain King Venom, on the other hand. While it worth a fair bit of coin, it would not be sold. Far too dangerous, far too rare, and so very bloody effective.

"Tell you what, guy," Calder said, "give me back my satchel, and I'll make it worth your while."

[Marc]

Ladin examined this boy as he approached. He walked cautiously, never taking his eyes off of Ladin, who was still in a half crouch. He was Tairen, and short. Ladin, at his full height, would tower head and shoulders above him, at least. The new man wasn't that attractive either- he had features memorable for their unattractive features. A bright read beard rested under his shaved head. Odd, indeed.

And he was being so condescending. As if Ladin were a child.

Ladin stood to his full, considerable height and fixed this newcomer with a glare that he had learned when he was almost a clan chief in the Wastes. It was a look that a commander would give to an insubordinate soldier. It was a cold, burning look that struck shame and fear into any who saw it.

Any Aiel could use this particular glare at any given time.

The man paused, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his face. Ladin then spoke and said, "Do you know what this is? It almost killed me once. I got bitten by the real thing. I would not give this to someone who could use it. There is no toh in that." Thank the light he could remember, now. Ever since his testing, he could remember all of it.He could remember the subtle rules about honor, duty, and war. And yet he didn't follow them as he once had. He was a different man, now, in a different place and a different time. He remembered all of his life, now. And he would not give this satchel up.

Then Ladin channeled. Saidar filled him, only a small fraction of what he could normally hold (even with his block) and he began to automatically weave a quick, complex series of weaves around the satchel he carried. He knew what he wanted the ter'angreal to do, and his mind knew how to make it work. Should anyone try to open this satchel without placing the correct weave on it, its contents would be destroyed. He held the weave in place with his mind, but didn't release it yet. If Calder grabbed for the satchel, or moved to injure Ladin, the weave would be completed and the fate of the poisons sealed. So Ladin would keep him talking.

"Tell me, how much trouble would you be in were the Master of Soldiers to find out that you possessed this satchel?" Ladin kept the same menacing face on as he towered over the other man. "These are not things that any initiate in this tower should have need of. Myself included. Why should I not bring this bag to the proper authorities?"

OOC: Hey Dan I submitted my raising app the other day, but I don't think its gone through yet. You know, the one I wrote for Ladin ages and ages and ages ago. So I am shifting the timeline of this a little bit. Not by much, but he has also been raised to Dedicated. I know it's kind of jumping the gun, but it gives me more to work with with him.