A Broken Pitcher (fic)
Posted: June 3rd, 2018, 11:39 pm
Accepted Amaranie
Amaranie approached her room in a hurry, a pitcher filled with water held in her hands. She knew she needed to move fast if she wanted to wash up before her next scheduled lesson. As the Accepted rushed into her room, she caught a toe on the door frame and fell to the floor, outstretched arms still holding the pitcher. The sound of breaking pottery echoed within her small room. Light, I hope it's just cracked, Amaranie thought as she pushed herself to a sitting position on the floor. Her head spun from the motion, and Amaranie shut her eyes to recover for a moment. When she opened them, she immediately looked at the pitcher where it still lay on the floor in a puddle of water.
The Accepted winced. It was not just cracked, as she'd allowed herself to hope. Instead, the side of its spout which had hit the floor had broken off, making pouring from the item impossible. With a lesson to attend, there was nothing Amaranie could do about it, so she cleaned up the water that had spilled before leaving her room.
She spent most of that lesson worrying about the pitcher. It wasn't that she couldn't get it replaced, but Amaranie didn't want to admit to having broken it through nothing but her own clumsiness. She knew the reaction she'd get along with the replacement would range from a scolding to an actual punishment, none of which she was eager to receive. When she was finally done with her lesson, Amaranie returned to her room to pick up the pitcher and examine it more closely. If I can somehow make it work, I won't have to replace it.
Amaranie first tried to pour the small amount of water it held from the pitcher's side, then through the broken spout, but it quickly became obvious that that was not going to work as the water splashed out of the basin. She sighed and took the pitcher and the broken piece of the spout to her bed, sitting down and wondering if she could somehow use saidar to hold the broken piece in its place. She knew it could be dangerous, and that she'd have to be careful, but it felt to the Accepted to be far less of a risk than admitting to the Mistress of Novices that she'd broken it.
Hesitantly, Amaranie reached for saidar and channeled a thin thread of Earth into the pitcher while holding the broken piece in place. The piece wiggled under her fingers, and the Accepted added more Earth until it felt a little more stable. Encouraged, Amaranie moved her hand away and poked at the piece where it remained in its place. It still wobbled, but her weaves did seem to have some effect. Encouraged, she kept working at it. Earth predominated in the weave Amaranie produced, coming to her easily when it was usually harder for her to grasp. She thought this was strange, but wasn't going to let it bother her while she continued to work. The Accepted couldn't have explained to anyone else what she was doing as she added some Fire, some Water, some Air, and a decent amount of Spirit. When she paused to look at the damaged area again, Amaranie couldn't even see where the break had been.
That didn't seem right to her, as she'd only expected to patch the broken area, but the weave still felt unfinished to her. She continued with it, coiling Earth and Spirit around the pitcher, until she added a last thread of Spirit and then stopped channeling. When she looked at it, she still couldn't tell where the pitcher had been broken. Confused, Amaranie brought the pitcher closer to her face, but even with her nose nearly touching it, it looked as though it had never been broken.
Well, I guess it's fixed now, Amaranie thought as she carried back to sit it in the basin. Once she'd placed it there, she noticed something else odd. Both pitcher and basin had been a nondescript shade of off white, but the pitcher now appeared to be a much brighter white, as though it weren't made from the same sort of clay as the basin. The Accepted blinked, but when she looked at it again, the color didn't change. What did I do to it? She picked it up again, staring at it nervously, then turned it over to pour out the few drops of water it still held.
The Accepted yelped in surprise when the liquid that dripped out was a bright purple instead of clear water. Her hand tightened on the handle of the pitcher, unwilling to risk breaking it again, and when Amaranie looked into the basin, there was no sign of the purple liquid she'd seen. More confused than before, she channeled a thin stream of Water to fill the pitcher again, and when she looked inside the pitcher, she saw only the ordinary water she'd expected. When she poured it out, however, it produced purple liquid again. Is that water? It should have been, she knew, but water wasn't purple.
What did I do to it?
Amaranie picked it up carefully, holding it tightly by the handle in just one hand. She hadn't really wanted to touch it, but after she'd seen it pour purple liquid instead of water, the Accepted knew she needed help. Light, I'm going to be in so much trouble! She hurried out of the dormitories, heading for the Indigo halls. Once she reached them, she didn't get very far before she was stopped by a passing Aes Sedai.
"What is that, child?"
Amaranie tried to explain, but the Aes Sedai frowned. "That never came from any Accepted's room." The Accepted looked at the ground. "I don't know what I did. I just wanted to fix it."
"Let me see that," the Aes Sedai demanded, and Amaranie was perfectly happy to hand over the pitcher. The woman turned it in her hands, looking it over, before attempting to pour water from it. Amaranie half expected it to somehow work normally for the Aes Sedai, but instead, what poured out was the same vividly purple liquid she'd seen in her own room.
Amaranie saw the Aes Sedai channel, cleaning up the mess, before she turned back to Amaranie, who didn't look up. "It's a ter'angreal," the Aes Sedai declared. "It appears that you have the Talent for making them. I hope you know how lucky you are not to be hurt. Talent or no, this isn't something to be played around with alone. You'll have to have lessons."
Amaranie nodded, her eyes fixed on the floor. "Yes, Aes Sedai."
"It's Lisola Sedai," the Indigo said. "I'll expect you in my quarters tomorrow precisely at High. Oh, and this will need to go to the vaults. You can tell the Mistress of Novices I said you may have another pitcher."
Amaranie nodded again and left, still confused, but looking forward to learning more about what she'd done.
The Accepted winced. It was not just cracked, as she'd allowed herself to hope. Instead, the side of its spout which had hit the floor had broken off, making pouring from the item impossible. With a lesson to attend, there was nothing Amaranie could do about it, so she cleaned up the water that had spilled before leaving her room.
She spent most of that lesson worrying about the pitcher. It wasn't that she couldn't get it replaced, but Amaranie didn't want to admit to having broken it through nothing but her own clumsiness. She knew the reaction she'd get along with the replacement would range from a scolding to an actual punishment, none of which she was eager to receive. When she was finally done with her lesson, Amaranie returned to her room to pick up the pitcher and examine it more closely. If I can somehow make it work, I won't have to replace it.
Amaranie first tried to pour the small amount of water it held from the pitcher's side, then through the broken spout, but it quickly became obvious that that was not going to work as the water splashed out of the basin. She sighed and took the pitcher and the broken piece of the spout to her bed, sitting down and wondering if she could somehow use saidar to hold the broken piece in its place. She knew it could be dangerous, and that she'd have to be careful, but it felt to the Accepted to be far less of a risk than admitting to the Mistress of Novices that she'd broken it.
Hesitantly, Amaranie reached for saidar and channeled a thin thread of Earth into the pitcher while holding the broken piece in place. The piece wiggled under her fingers, and the Accepted added more Earth until it felt a little more stable. Encouraged, Amaranie moved her hand away and poked at the piece where it remained in its place. It still wobbled, but her weaves did seem to have some effect. Encouraged, she kept working at it. Earth predominated in the weave Amaranie produced, coming to her easily when it was usually harder for her to grasp. She thought this was strange, but wasn't going to let it bother her while she continued to work. The Accepted couldn't have explained to anyone else what she was doing as she added some Fire, some Water, some Air, and a decent amount of Spirit. When she paused to look at the damaged area again, Amaranie couldn't even see where the break had been.
That didn't seem right to her, as she'd only expected to patch the broken area, but the weave still felt unfinished to her. She continued with it, coiling Earth and Spirit around the pitcher, until she added a last thread of Spirit and then stopped channeling. When she looked at it, she still couldn't tell where the pitcher had been broken. Confused, Amaranie brought the pitcher closer to her face, but even with her nose nearly touching it, it looked as though it had never been broken.
Well, I guess it's fixed now, Amaranie thought as she carried back to sit it in the basin. Once she'd placed it there, she noticed something else odd. Both pitcher and basin had been a nondescript shade of off white, but the pitcher now appeared to be a much brighter white, as though it weren't made from the same sort of clay as the basin. The Accepted blinked, but when she looked at it again, the color didn't change. What did I do to it? She picked it up again, staring at it nervously, then turned it over to pour out the few drops of water it still held.
The Accepted yelped in surprise when the liquid that dripped out was a bright purple instead of clear water. Her hand tightened on the handle of the pitcher, unwilling to risk breaking it again, and when Amaranie looked into the basin, there was no sign of the purple liquid she'd seen. More confused than before, she channeled a thin stream of Water to fill the pitcher again, and when she looked inside the pitcher, she saw only the ordinary water she'd expected. When she poured it out, however, it produced purple liquid again. Is that water? It should have been, she knew, but water wasn't purple.
What did I do to it?
Amaranie picked it up carefully, holding it tightly by the handle in just one hand. She hadn't really wanted to touch it, but after she'd seen it pour purple liquid instead of water, the Accepted knew she needed help. Light, I'm going to be in so much trouble! She hurried out of the dormitories, heading for the Indigo halls. Once she reached them, she didn't get very far before she was stopped by a passing Aes Sedai.
"What is that, child?"
Amaranie tried to explain, but the Aes Sedai frowned. "That never came from any Accepted's room." The Accepted looked at the ground. "I don't know what I did. I just wanted to fix it."
"Let me see that," the Aes Sedai demanded, and Amaranie was perfectly happy to hand over the pitcher. The woman turned it in her hands, looking it over, before attempting to pour water from it. Amaranie half expected it to somehow work normally for the Aes Sedai, but instead, what poured out was the same vividly purple liquid she'd seen in her own room.
Amaranie saw the Aes Sedai channel, cleaning up the mess, before she turned back to Amaranie, who didn't look up. "It's a ter'angreal," the Aes Sedai declared. "It appears that you have the Talent for making them. I hope you know how lucky you are not to be hurt. Talent or no, this isn't something to be played around with alone. You'll have to have lessons."
Amaranie nodded, her eyes fixed on the floor. "Yes, Aes Sedai."
"It's Lisola Sedai," the Indigo said. "I'll expect you in my quarters tomorrow precisely at High. Oh, and this will need to go to the vaults. You can tell the Mistress of Novices I said you may have another pitcher."
Amaranie nodded again and left, still confused, but looking forward to learning more about what she'd done.