The Whorl and the Wheel (Shadow)

[Chris]

“Burn me to bloody ash,” Murdock grumped, limping his way along the corridor towards the Infirmary. “Do I look like a flaming teacher? No. I’m too old for this cow swill...” the man muttered under his breath all the way there, leaning on his stick as he went. One might think from his walk or his griping that he was an old man, but really the fellow was not yet forty summer old. Older than many of his trainee peers, and he sure felt it too.

Orders were orders, and he’d been “asked” to teach some more students the fine art of Healing. Murdock apparently had quite the knack for it, something he was quietly a little proud of, but it wasn’t enough for the Asha’man. No, he had to spread the love. Fine. Murdock was always going to do as he was told, though he wasn’t a natural teacher and he never professed to be. All he wanted to do was become an Asha’man, master his craft and hide somewhere quiet with his daughters to help them grow up. Every day he spent here was another he didn’t get to spend with his children. But teaching was one step towards accomplishing this, so... teach he would.

Who was this Soldier anyway? Murdock eased his way into the Infirmary, finding a small office set aside for private lessons. This was where they had arranged to meet, and by arranged I mean Murdock sent one of the other Soldiers to find the lad the day before and let him know this lesson was happening. It was just after breakfast, no point in learning on an empty stomach after all. Murdock found a chair and sat down gratefully, his lean frame hunching a little as he propped the walking stick up on the nearby wall. The lesson was going to start in here but probably not end here, depending on how much aptitude the man showed and what he might show an interest in.

“Hurry up Shadow, if that’s even your real name,” Murdock said to the room, sitting back now and steepling his hands together. When the Soldier arrived, he would let him in to sit down on the chair on the other side of the well worn desk. From what he could discern the boy had already had his Saidin basics training, so he ought to be able to handle a few more complicated weaves. Possibly. As a man woefully average when it came to anything outside of Healing, Murdock could only assume that the lad would pick things up quicker than he did. The Far Madding man looked around the Spartan room, impatient but early so he had no real reason to be so irate. He'd be calmer, when the teaching began.

[Paradoxical]

Shadow walked through the door and entered the infirmary. He looked around, hunting on the Dedicated who was supposed to be teaching him healing. It took him a few moments to see the small office. As soon as he saw it he hurried over to it hoping that he wasn't late and that the Dedicated hadn't arrived yet.

His luck wasn't in it seemed as the first thing that caught his eye when he opened the door was the Dedicated sitting in a chair. He took a second to compose himself before speaking "I am sorry I am late Dedicated."

Now all he could do was wait and see how the man reacted. He didn't think her was late but he had quickly learned it was better to apologise first and find out he really had no need to apologise than not apologise and been given even more extra chores. He stood in the door waiting on the Dedicated approval to enter the room and take a seat all the while hoping that this Dedicated was one of the more reasonable.

While he waited he studied the Dedicated. He appeared to be old for a Dedicated but it was hard to tell. That could be good or bad. There was really only one way to tell and that was wait on the mans response.

[Chris]

Murdock looked up at the door when the Soldier finally made his appearance. Thank goodness for that, he thought he was going to die of boredom waiting here. The lad wasn’t late though, and Murdock waved a hand when he made his apology. He assumed this had to be Shadow. Tall lad, dark hair, apparently from the Two Rivers though the Dedicated had never been there, so there was no real way for him to know. “You’re on time, don’t worry about it. But now we can begin, so take a seat. And shut the door,” he added as an afterthought, nodding at the sturdy wooden door which was currently propped open.

When the lad was seated and the door fully closed, Murdock thought it prudent to introduce himself. “So my name is Murdock – Dedicated Murdock – and I’ve been asked to do some private training with you, to see if you might have any aptitude with Healing. I get that you’ve had some lessons already and can seize Saidin at will, correct? These weaves are not simple ones and it could well be that you suck at them. But that’s not a problem, because not everyone can Heal.”

“Healing is one of the most common Talents there is. That’s why there’s a whole Ajah dedicated to it. It can’t be used by everyone but those who show some aptitude end up in the Yellow Ajah. Time for a history lesson... hrmmm... traditionally Aes Sedai used Water, Air and Spirit to Heal, but since men have begun to channel in earnest men and women have worked together to find all new ways of Healing. Men can use Fire, Earth and Spirit to a similar effect, but if you have any skill you will end up using all five powers to repair people.” Smiling ever so briefly, Murdock looked past Shadow to the corner of the room. He seized Saidin, imagining Giselle was there in the room with them as he did so. His block was still in place and he needed to overcome that but for now, he worked with what he had. “Do you know much about Healing, Shadow? There’s plenty to learn but let’s start with Delving. This is when you use Spirit to check the patient and see what injuries they have.” Murdock used Spirit to create an intricate net with the power, letting it settle on the table. It dissipated to nothing, as it needed a live target to work as well as skin contact. But it was important to show the Soldier the weave. “Take a look at this, do you think you could replicate this weave? It’s pretty harmless if it goes wrong. Try settling it over my body to see what injuries I have.”

A successful Delve would reveal that Murdock was mostly fine, though his leg was very obviously not quite set right and was a constant source of discomfort. But there was nothing he could do about that, so Murdock had come to accept it. The Aes Sedai had managed to actually save the leg which was more than he had hoped for after his Arches experience.

[Paradoxical]

Shadow breather a quiet sigh of relief when his apology was dismissed. He had got luck and been given one if the more reasonable Dedicated. He had never met the man before but he sounded reasonable.

Shadow closed the door as instructed before walking over and taking the seat as indicated.

He listened as the Dedicated talker through the basics of healing. He had know a little of it but most was new to him.

He felt the man seize the source and watched carefully as the web of power was woven.

Carefully he embraced the source and began to weave the pattern over the Dedicated. He had to restart twice due to errors but eventually he completed the weave and released it.

He felt the leg injury but that was all he could feel. "I felt that there was something wrong with your leg but I couldn't tell what" He said. Were they only meant to feel where the injuries were or were they meant to be able to tell what they were. Had he made the weave wrong. So many thoughts worries and queries flashed through his mind. He really didn't have a clue. He would have to wait and see.

[Chris]

Murdock was a pretty patient teacher, letting the Soldier grasp the weave in his own time. Delving was important to get right but ultimately there was no real risk getting it wrong, as it was only a net of Spirit. Even Murdock couldn’t wrangle that one intentionally if he tried (he’d given it some thought, and concluded that unlike Healing, Delving was simply a one purpose weave, too specific to corrupt).

“That’s fine. Learning to Delve, you won’t get the particulars without practice.” Murdock smiled, “but you’re quite right that it’s my leg that is having problems. The Aes Sedai and Asha’man have done what they can, of course. It’s something to think about when you deal with a patient, because once something has been Healed once, it cannot be Healed again. Now, if I had an injury, something that could be Healed... you might be able to tell.” Murdock grinned a little, “what’s the point in a Healing lesson if you don’t have something that needs Healing?”

And with that, the Dedicated took a small knife from his pocket. It was one of those which was normally used to file nails, nothing more than that. Murdock met the man’s eyes, “in the Infirmary you will see various injuries. I hope you’re not squeamish.” The man pressed the sharp edge to his forearm, scraping the knife across with a brief grunt. He bit his lip the whole time, but other than that he was quite calm as he set the knife down, his right forearm cut and gently bleeding a little. “Delve me again,” he instructed, “see the difference in my leg, and my arm. Then I’m going to show you how to Heal this.” The man's expression was a little more stern now, perhaps a little less patient because he'd just cut himself.

[Paradoxical]

Shadow watched slightly shocked at the Dedicated drew the knife and cut himself. He was pleased that he had done okay at the Delving but was slightly overwhelmed at the thought that he was going to possible need to do real healing.

He began to resemble the Delving weave, quicker than before but still not at all fast. As soon as the web of Spirit had formed fully and he had checked it over he realised it onto the Dedicated.

He felt the difference immediately. This time instead of one point he could sense two. One in the man's leg and the other in his arm where he had cut himself. He still couldn't tell the different between the kinds of wounds but he knew that they were both there.

"I found the injuries but I couldn't tell them apart" Shadow said. He knew they were both there but that was about all he had been able to determine. He couldn't feel any difference between them except that they were in different locations. But he could have told that with his eyes so the weave hadn't help that much. All he could hope is that he would get better with time.

[Chris]

The weave looked fine to Murdock, though it wasn't without some stumbling first. That was fine, Murdock didn't expect perfection straight away. But he did want his student to be fairly reliable with this weave before they moved on to basic Healing weaves. "That's good, just like that one," he said. "You'll get the hang of it with practice, and over time you'll learn to discern between injuries. Give it a few more tries."

He let the Soldier practice the weave until he was happy Shadow had it down. The Dedicated was a patient teacher beneath his grumpy bluster, probably because at the end of the day he wasn't very good at much of anything, apart from Healing. Or limping. He was getting pretty good at that.

"Okay, that's enough Delving for now. We're going to go for a bit of a walk." Murdock grabbed his walking stick and hauled himself to his feet. "There's a few patients outside who are waiting for assistance. You're going to Delve them, tell me what you find, then I will do the same. You will watch me Heal them, and then you can practice it on my arm." It seemed simple enough to Murdock, and with that he limped his way over to the door. "Hopefully none of the Yellows have beaten me to it."

Fortunately, they hadn't. The Infirmary was quiet, and the few people in need of assistance were not at all urgent. Murdock made his way over to a Soldier who was lying on the bed with his hands on his stomach, sitting down on the stool next to him. "Soldier Graham? Congratulations, you will be our guinea pig today." He motioned for Shadow to come over, "Soldier, Delve our patient and tell me what you find. From the way he's lying, I daresay it's something to do with his stomach area. Internal or external, let's find out." He could well be wrong of course. Murdock propped his hands on his stick and watched with his dark eyes to see what the boy would do.

Soldier Graham, about as old as Murdock but wearing his age less well, gave a patient smile and knew better than to argue with the Dedicated. "Mornin'," he said to them both, his voice a little tight from pain.

[Paradoxical]

Shadow nodded to the other Soldier before he begin the weave. He vaguely knew him from being in the same classes. It went smoother this time although still not as well as it could have. As soon as he had complete the weave he released it over the Soldier.

Instantly he was able to determine that the Soldier's pain was in his stomach. It felt like it was deep inside of him so Shadow presumed that it was an internal injury. But it was a guess based on his instincts and he wasn't sure if he was right about it. There was only one way to find out and that was to say what he thought and hope for the best.

"I think its an internal injury of some sort inside his stomach but that's all I'm getting" Shadow said, sounding unsure of himself.

Shadow looked at the patient trying to see if he could feel anything else through the weave. He couldn't but he held the weave anyway. Briefly he wondered what would happen if he made the weak smaller and more focused but he dismissed the thought. Healing wasn't something to play around with. Ironically it could do more damage that many offence techniques or so he had been told.

[Chris]

The Soldier lay there looking a little warily at Shadow as he performed the Delving weave, but he had the sense to keep any of his concerns quiet. Murdock simply looked on, his dark eyes intent but his expression mostly placid. As long as everything went how he liked it to, which involved no backchat or arguing, then he was pretty amiable, almost going so far as to smile.

"Alright, let me see what I can find as well," he said to the Soldier's assessment. "Soldier Graham, have you taken any herbs or remedies since last night?"

"No sir," Graham replied, "just plenty of water."

"Alright. That's good to know, in case anything you take remains in your system." This was said for both men's benefit. Seizing Saidin, Murdock imagined Giselle sitting on the end of the bed and watching as he performed the Delving weave on the Soldier. His own net was performed easily enough, he'd done this plenty of times before. "Ah. It looks like there was a blow to the stomach which has caused the stomach lining to bleed." Murdock clicked his tongue and asked the lad, "have you been in any altercations recently?"

A glum nod told Murdock all he needed to know, and explained why he was not exactly high priority for Healing. But that wasn't Murdock's problem, outside of fixing the problem.

"Pay attention to what I use. For this I'm going to use Fire, Earth and Spirit, a basic weave, to Heal his injury. This is a little more complicated than you would need for my arm, Soldier, but it would work just fine. It's Healing a cut, after all." Murdock weaved the aforementioned three powers together, resting his left hand on Graham's stomach as he settled the weave into him. The stomach lining Healed over, as Murdock knew it would, and when it was done he sat back, releasing Saidin.

"Did you see what I did there? Give him another Delve, and double check that the Healing has been done. If I did that wrong, you wouldn't be able to Heal over it again, as it would have already been touched by Saidin." Murdock gestured to Graham, who was sitting up and looking like he was in much less pain now. After a visit to the Master of Soldiers he may reassess his wellbeing. "Then we'll look at some other folks in need of Healing."

[Paradoxical]

Shadow watched as the weave of Healing was formed by the Dedicated. He could see each of he flows as they melded together. As soon as the weave was done Shadow quickly began to reassemble the Delving weave. It took less time that the other three although not as long as he would have liked.

As soon as he had completed the weave he placed it on the Soldier. This time he felt nothing. Quickly he checked his weave. Satisfied that it was correct he presumed that it meant that the Dedicated's weave had worked properly.

"I'm not feeling anything. I think that it must have been fully healed." Shadow said cautiously.

He hoped that was the case. It wouldn't be good if the healing had gone wrong.

He went over the weave of healing in his mind. From what the Dedicated had said it was a basic weave. He thought that he could replicate it. He could remember it well but that didn't mean much. There were weaves which he could remember perfectly but still not get correct. He hoped that this wouldn't be one of them. Healing was something which he would like to be good at. It was usefully and would come in handy.