The Roundish Blob

Novice Kaia Ariasca, Written by Jenn
Posted on Tue, Aug 10, 2010 10:56 am

 

Green eyes went to each new Novice speaker as she listened carefully to the differing voices that shot over her and around her.  The Water lesson was off to a promising start, Kaia glad that there was more to this class than breathing and counting stairs.  She understood that one must crawl before they could walk; walk before they could run, but the release of actually doing something was a relief.  The Domani filed away the useful tidbits of information, in particular the talents that both Yasmene Sedai and Asha’man Daine mentioned.  Cloud and Wave Dancing she had heard of; according to the Brown Sister who had droned on in Kaia’s introductory lessons, those two Talents were quite common amongst Aes Sedai.  Delving and Spinning Earthfire were new though, and she didn’t recall any mention of those.  The discussion continued and while she had wanted to participate, she wasn’t confident in her knowledge of what Yasmene Sedai meant.  Kaia hadn’t been in Cassandra Sedai’s Fire class and aside from the obvious differences between fire and water, she wasn’t sure what the answer was.  Rather than risk looking foolish, Kaia opted for silence.

That the White Tower valued skill over raw strength in the One Power was an enlightening revelation; however, Kaia had a sneaking suspicion that strength did matter in some fashion.  She was not a political genius like those who played the Great Game in Cairhienin; however, she was Domani and all Domani women were taught to notice the undercurrents of deference and superiority in the very way someone stood.  She did not have the gift for it like her mother, but Kaia was clever enough that she got by reasonably well.  It was so bloody difficult to read body language with Aes Sedai and the Gaidin, but there were unmistakable undercurrents moving between these powerful women who wielded saidar and only a fool thought otherwise.

Kaia was pulled away from the strange turn her thoughts had taken as the telltale glow of channeling surrounded Yasmene Sedai.  The pang of not being able to embrace when she wanted to was becoming familiar, as was the self-control that had to be exerted so that she would not break one of the cardinal rules of Novicehood.  The weaves were too quick for green orbs to catch, but like many of the other female Novices, Kaia craned her neck back to watch the web that spanned the length of the ceiling, a breathy noise of surprise issuing forth from her lips as a large, fat raindrop splattered on her forehead.  As rain – rain indoors!! – showered down from the ceiling, Kaia exchanged wide-eyed looks with nearby classmates who were as wet and grinning as she was.  As soon as the weave disappeared, Asha’man Daine must have done something, for the boys in the room instantly came alive.  There was the strangest sensation of heat emanating from her clothes and just like that, Kaia was dry, if somewhat rumpled.

She shook her head slightly as Yarren appeared again, this time entering the room with buckets of water.  Light, she hadn’t even noticed him leave.  The dark-skinned man held up the water buckets and with a good-natured grin, whispering to Kaia and the others that he was merely being used for slave labour.  She couldn’t stop the inappropriate giggle, a slight flush moving beneath coppery skin as silence followed.  Kaia hadn’t been the only one to laugh, but the majority of the Novices were looking at the Warder warily like he was going to leap over the desks at them and throttle them where they sat.

Yasmene Sedai cupped her hands in front of her, at about chest level, the telltale glow of saidar coming again.  Kaia watched the strands of Water being woven together, somewhat dismayed at how quickly the Aes Sedai was going.  The weave became bowl shaped, the tattooed hands slowly filling with water.  Green eyes widened.  More water weaves were added, the bowl becoming a ball.  “This is what I want you to do. Create the bowl first – I’ll repeat the weave slowly in a moment – and then when it’s almost full, finish off the ball.”  The ball of water floated to one of the buckets before dropping down into it with a noisy splash.

Kaia went with the other female Novices as they were divided up, the clamour of chairs being scraped back filling the room.  Not being able to see over some of the taller Novices, the Domani politely elbowed her way to the front of the group, a rueful smile and a murmur of apology soothing away most of the ruffled egos.  Yasmene Sedai created the weave again, this time without using her hands.  Kaia could feel the collective intake of breath as the bowl filled with water, green eyes committing the weave to memory.  The Aes Sedai demonstrated the weave two more times before sending them back to their seats with a stern warning not to lob balls of water at one another.  When they were finished, they were to deposit the water in one of the buckets, as she had done.  Kaia returned to her seat feeling somewhat confident.  The weave didn’t look all that difficult.  She embraced the Power as the others were doing, a delighted smile coming to her face as she took a moment to simply revel in the saidar’s song.  Content now that she held saidar, she began on the task to replicate Yasmene Sedai’s bowl weave.

This was the first time she had ever tried to single out an individual element and as she picked out the element in question, the narrow ribbon of Water slipped out of her grasp as soon as she touched it.  A slight furrow appeared between raven brows.  Were the elementals all slippery like that, or was it just Water?  And was it because it was…well, Water, and therefore should feel slippery?  If that was the case, wouldn’t Yasmene Sedai have mentioned it?  Maybe it’s some kind of test…  A quick glance around showed that the Novices nearest her were having no trouble at all, water orbs of varying sizes bobbing by before plunking down into the buckets.  Her confidence deflated; it was just her, it looked like.

Turning her focus inward, Kaia reached for the slippery ribbon of Water again, struggling to separate it from the song that was the Power.  She could have sworn that it gave a merry little *twang* as slithered out of her grasp and snapped back into place.  A scowl of concentration painted her eyebrows lower and with determination borne out of sheer stubbornness, Kaia grabbed hold of the Water flow, nearly losing saidar in the process.  All she could do was pray that she wouldn’t lose both the Power and the Water thread; she wasn’t sure if she could separate it again.  When she was certain she wasn’t going to lose either, she let out a sharp sigh before resuming the task.  It wasn’t a very thick flow of Water, but it would do for now.

With painstaking slowness, Kaia cajoled and pleaded with the flow of Water to do what she wanted, part of the weave on the verge of slipping from her grasp.  She couldn’t say how long it took, or how many times she had to re-weave a certain section, but gradually the bowl began to take shape, even if it was lopsided and wobbly.  Water filled the bowl, and as it sloshed around, Kaia quickly finished off the weave before she could spill it everywhere.  What met her eyes was not quite a sphere…  In all actuality it was more like a roundish blob about half the size of her palm and Light, it was dripping water everywhere.  She was suddenly glad she had picked a seat near the front of the room.  As quickly as she dared to, she floated her blob of water towards the buckets.  Kaia winced at the water that leaked over white-clad feet as it passed by the few Novices ahead of her, full lips moving as she mouthed apologies to the eyes that shot in her direction.

As the blob dropped into the bucket with a rather unimpressive splatter, Kaia released saidar.  The sweetness fled, leaving her feeling ridiculously wrung out and tired.  She simply sagged in her seat, green eyes sliding shut as she took a few moments to catch her breath.  She was beginning to re-think her earlier grateful relief at not having to breathe or count stairs.  Please please please don’t have Yasmene Sedai ask me to do that again…

In reply to Part I: Small Spheres[show]/[hide]

Yasmene let her eyes drift across the group of novices, hiding her dismay at how many boys there were in the group. However, she was relaxing a bit and not jumping every time Daine moved, so Yarren was probably right and prolonged exposure would help her adjust to the idea that male channelers weren’t evil and insane, though she still held secret doubts that saidin was truly cleansed. “Many of you were in Cassandra Sedai’s lesson on Fire not long ago, right?” Yasmene waited for some confirming nods before going on, “Can anyone think of some of the differences between Fire and Water? We know that they are opposites, but what are some of the subtler differences?” There was a long silence before a novice finally raised a hand. “Men are stronger in Fire and women are stronger in Water?” Yasmene smiled – a girl after her own heart! – and nodded. “Though not always true, that is the general rule. Men tend to be stronger with Earth and Fire and women with Air and Water. What else? And we can think in the broader terms of Fire and Earth versus Water and Air.” A few novices raised their hands this time, so Yasmene called on a boy in the back. “Different Elements mean different Talents, and Air and Water are usually paired and Fire and Earth are usually paired.” “Again, not necessarily the rule, but definitely a trend. My Talents are both linked to Air and Water strengths.” “Whereas my talents,” Daine broke in, “are Delving, which is Earth only, and Spinning Earthfire, which is Earth and Fire, funny enough,” he winked at the novices, prompting a flood of giggles. Smiling, Yasmene called on a female novice who had her hand up earlier. “Fire and Earth are stronger than Air and Water, so men are stronger channelers than women,” she stated knowingly. Before Yasmene could correct the girl, however, another novice interrupted. “Not true! One of my teachers said that Air and Water are just as strong, they just work more subtly. She said that there isn’t a single rock that won’t be worn down by wind and water over time, or a single fire that won’t be quenched by enough water.” “He’s right,” Yasmene interjected before the girl could retaliate. Yasmene could see a rebellious flash in her eyes, but thankfully she subsided. “And yes, men are generally stronger channelers than women, but that doesn’t really mean much. They can channel more, but if they can’t manipulate the weaves they can’t do anything all that power. Even the weakest Aes Sedai or Asha’man knows how to manipulate weaves properly, and can do anything a stronger counterpart can do. They might not be able to do it as big or bright, but they can create the weaves just as well, and in some cases better, than a stronger channeler. That is something you all must keep in mind: it isn’t how strong in the One Power that you eventually become, but how well learn the weaves and how well you manipulate them. Don’t let your strength make you complacent; many Aes Sedai have been burned out because of overconfidence in their strength and lack of ability with the weaves they used.” Yasmene could feel her brother’s eyes on her back, but she ignored him. She knew he was wondering if she believed her speech, but she had to or she wouldn’t have been able to say it, constrained as she was by the Three Oaths. And it was true; as weak as she was, she had become a master of her weaves to compensate and she had one of the most delicate touches in the Brown Ajah. It had taken a long time, but she knew that strength wasn’t everything. “Now, anything else?” No more hands were raised, so Yasmene brought up the one point she was aiming for, and the one that the basis of this part of the lesson was focused on. “Look around you. Do you see any earth? Dirt or anything? Just a stone floor, right? What about fire? The room is lit by sunlight. There’s no fire here. Air? You’re breathing, so I should hope there’s some air in here. Now what about Water?” Head, which had been shaking or nodding as appropriate, were mixed this time. Some nodded and some shook in disagreement. Closing her eyes for a moment, Yasmene opened herself to the source, smiling as she did so, reveling in the rush. Deftly spinning a web that spanned the length of the ceiling, Yasmene’s smile widened into a grin at the first exclamations as rain pelted the white clad youths. She held the weave for a moment to make her point, and then released it. Almost immediately, as planned, Daine channeled, drying each novice in a heartbeat. The room remained humid though, which was a good thing, being necessary for the lesson. “As you can see, Water is everywhere, like Air. That was a very small, localized example of Cloud Dancing, which you’ll learn more about once you test for Accepted. However, anyone can pull Water out of the air, providing there’s enough.” Yarren chose that particular moment to re-enter the room, which he had slipped out of when his sister had started channelling. “To make it easier for you, Yarren has thoughtfully obtained some buckets of water, which will give enough for you to work with.” The Warder held up the buckets with a grin, whispering to the novices something about slave labour. A few of them giggled, but the rest continued to watch him warily. Cupping her hands in front of her, about chest level, Yasmene embraced saidar again, weaving together strands of Water into a bowl shape. The novices oohed and ahhed as her hands slowly filled with water. Adding to the weave, she turned it from a bowl to a ball, and to anyone who couldn’t see the weaves, it would appear that she was holding a ball of water in her bare hands. “This is what I want you to do. Create the bowl first – I’ll repeat the weave slowly in a moment – and then when it’s almost full, finish off the ball.” Dropping her ball of water into one of the buckets, Yasmene divided the group into two, sending the boys to Daine and calling the girls over to herself. She created the weave again, without using her hands to cup it, so that all the girls could see how it worked. Once she’d run through it three times, she sent them back to their seats to practice, admonishing them not to throw the balls of water at each other and when finished to deposit the water in one of the buckets at the front of the room. Daine had sent the boys back to their seats with the same warnings, and they too were quietly practicing. Satisfied that everything was going well, she moved back to the front of the class and stood beside her brother. “Okay, you were right. Happy?” she said under her breath, before rushing forward to try to prevent a novice from drenching herself.
OOC: 500 words again please, and this lesson is still open to newcomers! Also, feel free to be one of the questioning novices if you’d like. For this, make sure you work with your strengths/weaknesses; everyone will be able to do this, but you might only get a small ball, or like the aforementioned novice, get too much all at once. If you have a block, now is the time to let Yasmene or Daine know so that they can get Yarren to beat you senseless. Just kidding, of course, but definitely let one of them know, and if possible, please email me with your intentions for the lesson so we can work something out. Also, email me if you’re not sure where to go on this lesson and I’m sure we can come up with some ideas!

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