In the Library [Attn: Craig]

[Julio]

Ravak had gone for a moment, and returned with a quill and two stones. Well. Now to get started. "I suppose you're slightly confused as to how you'll be able to use this Ter'angreal. You likely think of all Ter'angreal as Active Ter'angreal, which require channelling to activate. Some of those can be modified with a "standing weave" which allows non-channellers to use it. I am making a passive Ter'angreal. It does not require any channelling whatsoever after it has been created. The weaves change shape when certain conditions are met; or, in this case, fallen short of. This causes the rest of the weave to activate."

"Now I am making it. You will likely see nothing at all, until it is done."

Daelar took one of the stones, and seized Saidin. He formed it into an inkwell. He then did the same with the other.

After checking over his diagram, he got to work. He wove a small, tight orb of earth and water. This would detect when the quill was empty. He attached this to a long thin curling braid, of water, earth, and air, which went from the orb in the quill to the stone inkwell. He added a tiny lattice of earth and water to the ball in the quill, this being the weave that would regulate the flow of ink. He then finished by tying the orb, lattice, and one end of the braid to the quill, and the other end of the braid to the inkwell, at the very bottom.

He released the weave, a flash of light coming from the quill and inkwell. He did the same to the other quill and inkwell. He felt slightly tired now, but that was to be expected. Then he looked up and spoke to the Drin, "Now we will test them. I have some ink here, will you fill the inkwells with it? This Ter'angreal ought to not be very dangerous at all."

He took the ink from his pocket and passed it to Ravak. He then took a couple small scraps of parchment and spread them out. Glancing at the Ter'angreal, he saw that they, as expected, looked different. The quill glistened, all of the colours very distinct. The inkwell was now clear like glass, and looked smoother.

[Craig]

Ravak Darrow

Rav jumped in his seat slightly, when Daelar transformed the stones into inkwells. There was nothing to see as far as the crafting went; the Dedicated held the stone in his hand, and then it was reshaped. It was a little eerie to know, or to not know, that the One Power could be used around him, and he would be unaware if there was no tangible effect.

It was one thing to realise that he didn't know something, but it was another to know that he could never know something. Daelar spoke of weaves and ter'angreal with a familiar casualness that he would never obtain. The One Power was being used around him, and he didn't understand how any of it worked, and he never would. He scratched at his head with indignation, and watched the table as the Dedicated worked

Then the work was apparently done. "Now we will test them." There was a touch of fatigue in the Seanchan's voice, an added emphasis on the drawl. Rav filled the inkwells as instructed, noting that the stone had been replaced by glass. Or was turned to glass. Burn me, maybe I should have been watching. He placed his inkwell by his left hand. The two quills were also markedly different, although they hadn't been transformed. They simply shone in the light, the surface pearly and possibly opalescent. The Fal Daran examined it in curiosity, before moving the nib towards the inkwell. Before the tip touched the surface, the black pool moved, a tendril of ink clasping onto the quill. Ink ran up the hollow shaft of the feather. He moved the quill away, and the tendril detached, dark droplets making ripples as they landed.

"You did this?" It was not really a question, but an exclamation of reverence. Maybe in the grand scheme of things this was trivial; no, it was a marvel. It's a genuine flaming marvel! "Light, and all you need is a quill and a stone?" Rav examined the quill - no, the ter'angreal. The black ink was visible through its shimmering surface. He tentatively took one of the scraps of parchment, and tested the ter'angrael. Made of the One Power or not, it did nothing to improve the Drin's ungainly handwriting. He copied out part of a story from a childhood tale, then put the quill down with satisfaction when it was near empty. "Was this what you hoped to achieve?"

[Julio]

Daelar watched gladly as the man wrote, his face alight with wonder. Daelar had felt similarly the first time he had made one on purpose. Ravak's handwriting was terrible; but then, the Ter'angreal wasn't made to fix that. "Yes, this was what I intended to make. My least favourite part of writing at any time is having to dip my pen. I am all too likely to fill it too much, and therefore make a mess of my paper. This is especially annoying when making weave diagrams, because my lines are interrupted when I run out of ink, and they have spots on them. You notice that your writing has no blots; I designed it that way."

He smiled slightly, as blotting was a horrible annoyance to him. "I intend to make five more for myself, so that I can draw weave diagrams easily. Now that I think of it, I should have added a weave that keeps the ink fresh. No matter, really, I can just cork it up like normal. Perhaps I'll add that to the others."

Daelar rolled up his diagram, putting it into his pocket. "Your book was quite useful, as it told me how I should use stone instead of pewter for the inkwell. For all your help, and as I promised, one of these Ter'angreal is yours. It is your choice as to which you take."

After Ravak had chosen one of the sets of quill and inkwell, Daelar took the other and placed it carefully in his jacket. He put all of his other equipment away, took his book out, and then asked Ravak, "I hope you do not mind me reading at this table now."

He reopened his book, A Treatise on the Legend of the Horn of Valere, and was actually able to read it now.

[Craig]

Ravak Darrow

When he had first encountered Daelar in the training yards, Rav thought the Dedicated was gruff and mistrustful, and he had suspected that was all to do with being Seanchan. Rav was no longer sure if the Seanchan aspect applied, having found next to nothing useful in the books on Artur Hawkwing and his armies across the sea, but he was confident that Daelar was gruff and mistrustful. To the red-haired Fal Daran who wore a frown whenever he wasn't thinking about his expression, that wasn't an unfavourable comment. Daelar was wary, and that was fine. Actions spoke louder than words, and the gift of a ter'angreal proved that Daelar was not so untrusting that he should be avoided... or reported.

Ravak took the quill and inkwell he had been offered to him with great care. Daelar could be easily offended, and now that he had broken through that barrier of distrust, he didn't want it sealing up again. When Daelar asked if he could continue reading, although Rav suspected his answer wouldn't change the Dedicated's response, he nodded in agreement. After all, the Drin could do with more friends in the Tower. And there's still that other sanctum, he thought with a satisfied smile. He took up Pre-Breaking Relics once more and started to read, contented in the renewed silence.