The First Lesson
Novice Miranna Aedori, Written by Jackson
Posted on Fri, Sep 3, 2010 22:39 pm
Her back sore, Miranna stretched out her arms, eliciting yet another yawn, reaching her hands towards the ceiling until the muscles in the back of her shoulders popped loudly. It was a satisfying sound, but the sudden feeling of a relaxed looseness that quickly rippled down her back was even more satisfying. She had felt that knot keenly when she had finally been able to tumble into bed the night before after a night spent head first scrubbing a pot in the kitchens, and when she had awoken this morning it had been burning at her even stronger, even though she wouldn’t have thought that possible last night when she’d finally drifted off into her sleep.
It wasn’t much of a surprise that the knot had worsened overnight, really, given the bed that she was expected to sleep on. She turned to look at the thing with a sour, distasteful frown curling at her lips. It was bolted to the wall and hung out taking up most of the space in her room. Not that the bed was large; rather the opposite, it was tiny and the mattress thin, but the room was almost smaller still. Miranna offered a regretful thought to her old mattress, large and straw filled, that she had left at home when she’d come to the White Tower.
I bet the girls training under the Gaidar don’t have to scrub pots into the late hours of the night while a crazed woman is spanking their bottoms with a spoon!she thought sourly.
Already, her first day in the White Tower, and she’d been assigned a penance by the Mistress of Novices for not curtseying when required to do so. She had been warned that the next time such an act occurred the punishment would be worse, and would involve being paddled or switched by the Mistress of Novices herself! Koralyn Sedai had been generous enough with a switch on their travels to the White Tower; Miranna was not excited by the prospect of discovering Candance Sedai’s methods.
Her stomach grumbling in protest, Miranna pulled on the white dress that was hanging on one of the hooks that was drilled into her wall. She had awoken this morning with a fierce hunger, but had been unable to bring herself to move out of her bed and under the small comfort and protection from chill that her thin, worn sheets offered. She had lain like that, for nearly an hour, debating if she could trust her legs to carry her weight if she was to rise; even after sleeping she was bone-wearyingly tired.
And it was only her second day in the White Tower! That thought almost had her in tears, as her future here suddenly stretched out, seemingly like an eternity to the fifteen year old girl. Light, she was going to be stuck here for life! That thought did bring tears to her eyes, which she angrily brushed away with her hands as she continued to do up her buttons, pulling on her white washed boots and attaching the white pouch to her belt. She was almost glad that there was no mirror for her to see herself in, so she could avoid seeing her tear stained face set against a backdrop of constant white.
Pushing away more tears, Miranna finished the few buttons she had left and quickly pulled her sheets into a resemblance of the bed being made. Candance Sedai had told her only yesterday that she was expected to keep her room clean: this would suffice for now she felt. She had already missed breaking her fast this morning, and new she would have to wait for lunch, she wouldn’t dare to be late to her first lesson. Giving her room a once over, Miranna gave a nod of approval and took to the hallways, glad at least that the Mistress of Novices had given them a small tour yesterday so she knew where her classroom was going to be, at least.
As she moved down the corridor, passing Zerese’s door made Miranna idly wonder if the other girl was going to be at her lesson today; the embracing lessons were meant to be one of the first lessons that novices attended after entering the White Tower. From talk last night, Miranna knew that she would be required to finish this lesson before she could move onto other aspects of novice life, such as channelling lessons. She had learnt a little bit last night from the older girls who had been in the White Tower for several years, they had spoken to her of such things during the evening meal.
Miranna moved quickly down the corridors, remembering to curtsey to Accepted and Aes Sedai, avoiding making any eye contact at all lest she look at someone she wasn’t supposed to. She was completely unsure of her position in the White Tower and where she stood in its hierarchy; so she felt it was best to err on the side of caution.
She drew quickly up to the classroom and entered, only slightly surprised to find the Mistress of Novices awaiting her. Immediately, her bottom still sore from Laras’ spoon, Miranna dropped into a curtsey for the Aes Sedai, only realising at the last minute that she should probably direct the same to the Asha’man standing beside her. He was not the first that Miranna had seen in the White Tower, but she could still barely contain a shiver as his eyes fell on her. Out of the corner of her eyes, Miranna spied Zerese and quickly moved to sit next to her, offering the girl a smile of greeting.
They were two of a few novices that were at the lesson, obviously still at the same stage as them. Once the apparently last novice arrived Candance Sedai began, first selecting Zerese to ask her knowledge, and then continuing onto a lecture of sorts that had Miranna goggling at the Aes Sedai, as the Mistress of Novices continued to talk smoothly, throwing out concepts so quickly Miranna could barely grasp the idea of one before the Aes Sedai offered up the next one and began to build on another.
Light, the woman was mad!
Absolutely blown away, Miranna was still slight shell-shocked when it came to her turn to answer the woman’s questions.
“I…I think I’ve channelled before, Aes Sedai,” she added the title quickly lest Candance Sedai think she wasn’t going to, “Koralyn Sedai hinted that I had done so when my temper flared. The first time, I think, was when I blew my family’s door off its hinges.”
In reply to Embrace & Seize: For New Novices![show]/[hide]
A knock at the classroom door brought Candance to her feet, her grey skirts falling neatly to the ground, no wrinkles evident. Slowly she crossed the room, carefully checking that all of her greying hair was pulled back into the bun at the back of her head before she opened the door, finding a black clad man awaiting her on the other side.
“Candance Sedai,” he said respectfully, knuckling a fist to his heart.
“Thank you for joining me, Asha’man Roran,” she said formally, pulling open the door to allow him to enter.
“It is my pleasure. I find that I am quite enjoying life in the White Tower, if I am honest. It is drastically different to the Black Tower.”
Candance knew that to be true, having visited the farm once with Melina Sedai, before she was raised to Amyrlin Seat.
“The novices will be here soon, I told them to be here by morning bell, which is only a minute or two away.”
Candance was proved true when, within a few moments, the first novices began to arrive to the lesson. The girls dropped into a curtsey, the boys a bow, directed first at Candace and then at Asha’man Roran. She knew that the novices would be on their best behaviour, for a lesson taught by the Mistress of Novices.
“Welcome,” she began, once they were all present and seated on the cushions she had scattered on the floor of the classroom, “to you first lesson involving the One Power.”
“You all know who I am,” Candance said smoothly, a small smile playing at her lips, “and I know who all of you are.” She wondered how many of them were afraid of her; already there were a few she had had in her office for a penance, even though their time in the White Tower was relatively short. “But introductions are still in order. This–” she gestured towards the Asha’man who stood silently behind her, his face impassive “–is Asha’man Roran. He will be teaching the males of the class. When the class breaks up and he begins to guide you, I would have you introduce yourselves to him.”
Candance did not feel that she needed to add that the novices would treat his word as if he were Aes Sedai – even after a short term in the White Tower, her novices knew how they were to treat Accepted, Aes Sedai and Asha’man.
“You are here to begin to learn how to wield the One Power; one of the most important lessons you will learn is that there are differences between males and females. Females embrace saidar, while I’ve been told the methodology that males use is akin to seizing hold of saidin. A man cannot teach a woman anymore than a woman cannot teach a man, it would be like a fish teaching a bird to swim, or vice versa. For that reason, in all channelling classes you attend there will always be both a male and a female teacher. Tell me child,” she said, directing her question at one of the novices, “how much do you know of the One Power?”
“I...I know some, Candance Sedai.”
“Some is not enough, but this is easily remedied. The True Source is the force that was made by the Creator to turn the Wheel of Time; it is, effectively, the driving force of creation, ensuring that time continues to progress throughout the Ages. It is from the True Source that women and men are able to draw on the One Power.
“The One Power is what provides the force that the True Power needs in order to push the Wheel of Time; broken up into saidar and saidin, which work with each other, but at the same time they work against each other, pulling and pushing at each other, to turn the Wheel. Not everyone has the ability that we have, only a few can learn the touch the True Source and use the One Power.
“There are those, quite rare, who are born with the Spark – an innate gift that will mean that they will eventually touch the One Power, even if they are never taught by another. Most who can touch the One Power, however, need to be taught to do so; if they are not taught then would never naturally touch on the One Power. Those that I mentioned before, born with the Spark, may never realise what they are doing. It may be some odd occurrences that happen – doors slamming themselves in a temper, a baby healed from a fever – but most of the time if they are not taught control over their ability they will die. Some will survive, developing their own rudimentary control over the One Power applied to their daily life, perhaps as a Healer, possessing an amazing skill to cure even from the worst disease.
“Before you can do anything with the One Power, to guide it to a purpose such as lighting a candle, you must learn to first tap into the One Power. It is very important that you learn to do this well, so that you can draw on the One Power regardless of the situation you find yourself in, such as periods of stress or fear. It is for this purpose that we are here today and will continue to meet most days over the continuing week. We could jump through it all quickly, but that would not develop the skill and control you need to have to be successful in the White Tower.
“I have given you only a very brief background, but more knowledge will come to you at the right time as you delve into your gift. That said, however, does anyone have any questions of what I have described to you before we begin? I have a question for you all, too. I know some of this, but I would like to know if you have touched saidar or saidin before. If not, then do not fret, your time will come soon enough.”
OOC: Welcome, novices, to an embracing/seizing lesson! =) Post at least 400 words for an introduction post, and have your novice ask a question if you want them to, or at least answer Candance’s question! Part 1 will be up on the 8th!
