[pfsb] the mirrors of the wheel

[blue_ajah]

The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, and all things are part of the Pattern. There is little that she can do now but wait, guard against events worsening as best she can, and watch.

As a result, Moiraine is in the bar this evening, musing over her thoughts with a cup of tea at hand and a slender, leather-bound journal open to a blank page before her.

Comments

[blue_ajah]

There is no missing it: Moiraine's interest sharpens.

"Perhaps we are more of peers than I realized," she murmurs.

[hunted_hanza]

Yennefer picks up her cup of tea as idly as she had set it down. "In which respect?" she asks.

"Or is it all of them?"

[blue_ajah]

"All of them, as it happens," Moiraine tells her. She brushes her hand over the blue of her sleeve, deliberately. "Aes Sedai generally choose a branch within the sisterhood to affiliate with, to pursue their particular interests. I am of the Blue Ajah."

[hunted_hanza]

"Sisterhood?" Yen murmurs, not without approval. "Then you are all women?"

She notes the color of the sleeve and the title with interest. "And to what do the Blue Ajah dedicate themselves?"

[blue_ajah]

Moiraine inclines her head in assent.

"Blues pursue causes and have an interest in justice."

[hunted_hanza]

"Dear Philippa would be green with envy," Yennefer muses.

"And what is the cause you have chosen to pursue?"

[blue_ajah]

There is something briefly very wry about the expression on her ageless face. "Currently, or the one I pursued for more than twenty years?"

[hunted_hanza]

"Oh, why limit ourselves?" Yennefer flicks a hand in the air.

"Why not both?"

[blue_ajah]

"Currently, I am spending time studying different types of magic," Moiraine says.

"Previously, I sought to find and protect the Dragon Reborn, that the world and the Wheel of Time itself not be destroyed and lost to the Dark One."

She says both things as though remarking on the weather.

[hunted_hanza]

It's Yennefer's glance which sharpens now.

Verily I say unto you, the era of the sword and axe is nigh –

"And?" she asks, calm despite the volume of her thoughts. "Did you manage it?"

[blue_ajah]

“Yes,” Moiraine says, simply.

[hunted_hanza]

It isn't the same, but Yennefer is pleased nonetheless.

"And your pursuit of the study of magic?" she asks. "How does that fare?"

[blue_ajah]

“Interestingly.” Moiraine smiles at her. “I suspect you might guess what I wish to ask you next.”

[hunted_hanza]

"You might have guessed any of my questions thus far," Yennefer allows. "Allow me to extend the same courtesy and not put my words in your mouth."

[blue_ajah]

"Very well." Moiraine refills her tea cup as she continues, "I should like to hear of how magic operates in the world you are from. Will you indulge me?"

[hunted_hanza]

Remember, she tells Ciri in her memory, magic is Chaos, Art, and Science. It is a curse, a blessing, and progress.

"I would be happy to," she says aloud. "In the world of my birth, magic is everywhere and easily accessible to those who are aware, have the talent, and have been trained to do so. It comes from natural sources: earth, air, water, fire. Magicians may draw from any, but those who delve into fire magic..."

She pauses and shakes her head. "It is extremely dangerous for all but the strongest and most skilled."

[blue_ajah]

"Interesting," the Aes Sedai murmurs, and she truly does look intrigued. "I have not encountered many here who have so similar an experience."

She holds out her right hand, palm upward, as a faint golden glow shimmers into existence around her. "I channel the One Power, drawn from the True Source, which is the very force of creation itself." Thin threads of light in five colors - blue, silver-white, red, golden yellow, and green gleam between her fingers, forming a woven sphere that hovers above her hand.

"We also work with weaves of earth, air, water, and fire -- " As she continues, threads of green, yellow, blue, and red brighten in turn. "--as well as spirit." The silver-white thread brightens, and the sphere begins to rotate.

[hunted_hanza]

Anyone watching closely and who knew what to watch for might note the way Yennefer's violet eyes sharpen and then shutter at a single word: Source.

But she says nothing, only leans forward to study the sphere, even as she bites back on less worthy comments. "Very pretty," she says. "Clearly you have developed a great deal of precision."

[blue_ajah]

"It is part of our training," she demurs, even as she takes note of the other woman's sudden and quickly-hidden interest. "This is an exercise for students to practice control. It also helps to determine what weaves, what powers, one might have a particular affinity with."

[hunted_hanza]

"I see," Yennefer murmurs, thinking back to her time at Aretuza. Control was never anything Tissaia de Vries lacked. Whether she succeeded in teaching it to her students is another question entirely.

"And how do you educate your novices? Is there a single school, or do mages take on apprentices?"

[blue_ajah]

She allows the weave to dissipate, and the faint illumination around her fades.

"Those who become Aes Sedai are trained at the White Tower in Tar Valon."

[hunted_hanza]

"I see," Yennefer says, noting that this woman's world contains magic users of multiple trainings... or none.

"It sounds as though your world is rich in magic."

[blue_ajah]

"The power is there," Moiraine cautions, "but the ability to channel is a gift inborn. One cannot learn to wield it if one does not have the talent."

[hunted_hanza]

"As it is in my world," Yennefer agrees. "Although I find it fascinating that your order is made up solely of women. Can men access this Source you describe?"

[blue_ajah]

"Yes," she says, "but there were no male Aes Sedai since the Breaking of the World, over three thousand years ago. Until recently, any man who channeled risked madness and death, with the only sure way to avoid it being to have the ability to touch the True Source ripped from them."