Delving Lessons (ATTN: Gareth)

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Eve
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Delving Lessons (ATTN: Gareth)

Post by Eve » April 11th, 2016, 5:54 am

Top-tap, top-tap, top-tap…. Footsteps echoed softly off the cold stone floor as the Dedicated moved through the hall at a pace neither fast nor slow, each placement of hard heel producing the sharp top followed by the swift and lower tap. The boots producing the sound shone with an ebony hue, polished until they reflected their surroundings in the black depths of their color. The swish of equally black pants was a silent caress in the otherwise quiet hall, crease in the pants so sharp it could have been etched with a blade, no skin showing between where the low boots ended and the pant cuff began, the black socks blending all together like a second skin. The Dedicated Coat was in perfect shape, spare threads trimmed, cleaned and equally pressed. Even the buttons gleamed in the sunlight from the windows. The cuffs were a touch long, however, despite the fact that the coat fit perfectly. It would not have been erroneous to presume the cuffs had been let out a touch, until the cloth touched the back of his hand and the bottoms of his palms instead of the wrists. Every button of the coat was fastened, bringing the starched collar stiffly up against the man’s jawline, sword pin shining as brightly as his shoes and buttons. Every inch of the man was well groomed, the lines perfectly straight, the gait of his step perfectly in line.

Above the stiff, raised collar was a face of chilly beauty. Once an Indigo Sitter by the name of Latonia Svan had wondered these halls with features like these, though hers had seemed the blush of summer youth, while his seemed the frozen pools of winter. But his sister had disappeared mysteriously years ago. Caddoc, barely raised to the sword pin, had disappeared along with his twin…and only he had returned. His skin was as fair as any Tairen, his hair long and black and straight, parted in the middle and held behind his head with a ribbon of the brightest yellow. It was the only color in his entire outfit. He missed his frocks, the lace at his throat that had allowed him to unbutton his collar instead of baking inside this jacket…but a uniform was a uniform, and he was now a Dedicated once again, returned, for better or worse, to the work that he had dedicated his life to. Besides, baking was better than unbuttoning the stiff collar. His emerald eyes were focused directly before him, moving neither left nor right as he passed others by. He made no pleasantries, nodded at no one, gave none a friendly smile…and none did the same to him. Those that knew him stepped out of his way quickly, those that did not may have stared at his face, but they shuddered at his eyes. They were so cold, so distant. He looked at those his eyes accidently fell upon like they were an interesting form of insect, and nothing more. But there was something more, something beneath the chill and the disdain, something deep down that laughed and spun and cavorted. Something that cackled in the night and lit itself in his gaze sometimes for no reason.

His feet brought him to a stop in front of a classroom door. Within, he knew, was the teacher he had requested. Of all the Tower, there were few in the Infirmary that he respected. He had not met Gareth Asha ‘man, but he had heard of his skill with Healing, and that was all he was interested in. Too many of the others were useless, weak. They should have been culled into other Ajahs long ago. Oh, he supposed they worked if one had no other choice, but truly they would have done better with a bit more…selective weeding. Lifting his hand, he paused before the door, reflecting on what he had heard of the other. His personal traits, his habits, none of these things Caddoc had the faintest clue about, and he did not care. But he had heard the man had talent, that he was good at Healing, that he was one of the best. And that was all Caddoc cared about. Already he surpassed many of his teaches. In his first weeks, so long ago, he had attended the Classes on Healing…despite the fact that his Teachers taught him nothing new. Such was his time here. He hoped today would be different… Inwardly he sighed, outwardly he was as stoney and cold as always. Quietly, he brought his knuckles against the Classroom door and waited for an answer. When given, he moved into the room and bowed. “Dedicated Caddoc Svan.” He announced himself in a monotone that was both emotionless and, somehow, haughty all at once.
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Re: Delving Lessons (ATTN: Gareth)

Post by Bella » April 13th, 2016, 10:40 pm

Day One Gareth Tomason took it upon himself that as much as many hours in the Infirmary was part of duty to the Yellow Ajah, so was teaching. As he was highly skilled at what he did, if little else when it came to the One Power, he was not infrequently requested for this task. This was what brought him to the small private classroom today, to teach a Dedicated about Delving.

When the knock came and was answered, the man walked in. Gareth looked up from his spot at the table and assessed the face before him, and something told him that they weren't going to like one another. The big man tried to not judge on sight, but it could be hard. The highly neat appearance and cold look in those eyes, well, it didn't make him optimistic.

"Have a seat," he said, waving at the seat across from him. "I'm sure you were made aware that I was to be your teacher today, so I will spare the introductions." Once the Dedicated was seated, he continued. "I've been told that you have some skill in Healing, but not in Delving?"

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Re: Delving Lessons (ATTN: Gareth)

Post by Eve » April 15th, 2016, 7:32 am

Caddoc was silent as the other bade him to take a seat. He turned those green eyes to the chair for a moment as if it was a foreign thing, studying it before even shifting his weight. He seemed on guard, even though there was no reason to, and he watched the chair for a moment as if it was a trap. “I did not need to be made aware of your name.” He said, finally speaking as he took the first step towards the chair. Once he began to move, his body showed none of the hesitancy it had held before. It moved with the simple grace of a swordsman, one hand always staying at his side, as he had been taught. It had been hammered into him from a young age to only be on guard, to never relax. The enemy was always around. Now was no less true than it had been then. “I requested your instructions.” The words were delivered with all seriousness, even now the haughty tilt to the Tairen’s words apparent. He slipped into the chair and crossed one leg over the knee, but sat straight backed and at the ready.

He turned his gaze towards the Asha’man and took a moment to study the man. He was taller than Caddoc, and even if it was only by an inch, this was something that surprised the other. It was rare for him not to tower over all around him. He was of a larger build than the minor noble as well, and the Asha’man’s eyes were as pale as Caddoc’s were vivid. All in all…not very memorable, he finally decided. Unlike Caddoc (to the Tairen’s mind) the man’s features did not belay the skill that it was rumored he possessed. His study of the other had taken only a moment, most of it made while he was still sitting himself. When Gareth spoke again, his features did not change, they rarely changed since it was so difficult to force himself to express, but his eyes suddenly seemed to be dancing coldly, as if he was laughing on the inside. He lifted his head a touch with pride as he responded. “To refer to my skill with Healing as ‘some’ would be doing it a great disservice…Asha’man...” Using the titles of those above him had almost always gotten Caddoc in trouble. More often than not it seemed he would address the fully raised by their names until they had done something to impress him. If he found them lacking…. Well, he had done double chores to many times to count in those instances. Gareth he hardly knew by anything but reputation, and so he had only remembered to use his title at the last moment, after a very obvious pause.

“As for Delving.” He went on, tilting his head with an almost birdlike cock to it, “It is not skill I lack, but knowledge. I have not yet been taught on the correct weaves for Delving. I have no doubt that, once I am shown, I shall be more than adept at it.” He watched Gareth closely as he spoke, eyes flickering momentarily to the exits and windows, and then settling on the other once again. He seemed to believe everything he said, the words pronounced with a cold certainty. It was arrogant, yes, but it was not pronounced that way. Instead, it sounded like he was quoting a fact, a certainty that could not be denied.
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Location: New England

Re: Delving Lessons (ATTN: Gareth)

Post by Bella » April 16th, 2016, 2:44 am

Now Gareth was sure he was not going to like this young man. By nature, he tried to not dislike anyone, and yet to his mind, arrogance was beyond what he found tolerable. He believed that people should be humble, even if they possessed gifts that would give them reason to be the exactly opposite. His teacher from long ago, Lucan Asha'man, had been arrogant in this same way.

The Wheel turns, nothing is ever new. "I will show you the weave in a moment then and you can then replicate it. However, please tell me first about how you discovered your ability to Heal without first learning how to Delve properly."

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Re: Delving Lessons (ATTN: Gareth)

Post by Eve » April 16th, 2016, 7:47 am

Sitting in his chair, Caddoc did not answer the other at first. Those green eyes were suddenly flashing in his head, looking almost wild. This wasn’t the once held madness of the male half of the One Power, Caddoc was outwardly to calm for that, but it was something strange nevertheless. He remembered Thiana, then, a figure that he could never completely forget, no matter how he tried. Each time he looked at himself while getting dressed, something he attempted to do rarely, he remembered her. Each time he was forced to unbutton his collar to be in proper dress, he was reminded of her. Each time his sleeves fell back to reveal his wrists, he remembered her. And he remembered Pallas. Her kindness, her care, perhaps even her love….He remembered, too, the thin strands of Air around her heart, and how quickly her body had dropped to the ground when they were squeezed just so….

Caddoc’s eyes focused on the Asha’man again, and the dancing slowed until they were hard and stony. When he spoke, however, there was nothing of the emotion in his eyes resting within his voice. “I did not exactly discover my ability to Heal first.” He said. “But I knew enough to know that what I did was a cousin of the talent.” He watched Gareth, not seeming to be bothered as he announced. “I used threads of Air laid upon a living body in a way similar to Healing. Of course, in this case they were laid upon the heart to induce sudden cardiac arrest, but they could have as easily been used to Heal. The method was the same, if not the weave itself or the effect it brought about. Once I arrived at the Tower I took a class… Delving was not, at the time, of my concern. Since then I have discovered the lack of this knowledge to be a blockade in my path, of course.” He gave a slow shrug and then admitted. “To tell you the truth, I meant to pursue this skill long before now, but things have…” he chose his words carefully. “Gotten in my way.”

He watched Gareth quietly as he spoke. From the way he held his body, it seemed as if this confession did nothing to stir his emotions. He might as well have been talking about a paper he had dew, something serious but not morally corrupt. Thoughts of Pallas were never far from him, however. Just one more body on the scale, just one more reason for him to do the things he did. There was no use in mourning her further, of course. It did no good, and he had done what needed to be done. Truthfully, it was a mercy, a service he had provide to ease her. She would have never gotten out from beneath Thaina’s thumb. She would have never been free, and chances were her daughter had been dead long, long ago. Had the white Tower found out about Pallas, they would have dealt with her themselves. He had done her a curtesy, really.

But this was an old argument. He had put it behind him years ago, and the only reason it had surfaced now was because of the Asha’man’s questions. He forced himself back to the present, aware that no matter his thoughts on the subject, nothing would change the past. And really, would there be any use in guilt? In tears or remorse? No. Such emotions were useless. They only made one weak, exposed to the next attack. Better to push passed it and ready your sword’s edge for the threat that came the next time around….
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Re: Delving Lessons (ATTN: Gareth)

Post by Bella » April 17th, 2016, 11:52 pm

This explanation was certainly not what he had expected, Gareth reflected. Only his many years as a channeler and healer, the necessity of keeping one's thoughts perfectly to one's self, that kept him from revealing his surprise. This man admitted to this very freely, and it was to the point that Gareth wondered if he had heard it properly.

Gareth did not reply right away, seeking to order his thoughts and the newly taken in information. The personal details of a person's life were none of his business, for the most part, but he felt he had a right to better understand the person he would be working with. "So you learned you had an affinity with the Healing weave by ending someone's life?" No emotion nor censure was in his voice or expression.

No, he kept that all in his mind and well walled-off from the unlikeable young man before him.

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Re: Delving Lessons (ATTN: Gareth)

Post by Eve » April 18th, 2016, 7:05 am

Caddoc watched the Asha’man, his eyes once again impassive, almost dead in his emotionless face. He seemed to be studying the man, never dropping his eyes as he considered his answer. He was surprised, and quietly impressed, that Gareth showed no reaction to his news. It was a credit to his rank that he did not, but Caddoc found to many these days to be far too emotional for the rank they held. None of them were truly unfit for the Dragon Pin, but some could have, perhaps, used a few more years before obtaining it. Still…compared to the teachings he and his sister had received from day one, how could others hold up?

But this Asha’man seemed to be quite capable, and Caddoc found hard won respect beginning to bloom in his mind for the other. He had already heard about his skill with Healing, and while he had not witnessed it himself, not *all* the rumors could be false, surely. And here he was now, calmly speaking of what many, especially Healers, would find repulsive. Instead of allowing his emotions to get in the way, however, he continued with his set course. It was admirable, really, and it led Caddoc to do something he rarely considered, or even cared about.

Leaning forward, he placed his elbows on the desk before him and his fingertips against his lips, steepling them for support. Lifting his eyes directly into Gareth’s, he stared. He was not, actually, attempting to cow the other man. What would be the use in such a motion? He was, however, trying to decide a proper course, and the other’s iron resolve seemed to indicate his desire to be a good one. After a long moment of silence, the Dedicated spoke. He did not, however, answer the man’s question. Instead, he asked one of his own. “Would it be helpful, for you, if I was completely candid about myself, Gareth Asha’man?” This time, the honorific was not hesitant or mocking. This time it seemed to be easy for the younger man to say. An adept player of Daes Dae'mar, like Caddoc, would easily pick up on such a shift in his speech and wonder if something had changed in the way the other viewed the older man.

Part of him, deep inside, quailed at his thoughts. He had not spoken of some of the things in his mind to strangers since he had spoken, long ago, to Lucan Riven Sail, the former M’Hael who had been in charge when he had first come to the Tower. It had been to him that he had been forced to tell his tale, for it had been to him that he had made his request to join the Tower. That Asha’man, like this one, had been cool and collected, a proper Asha’man with strong training and experience to guide him. Since then, Caddoc had rarely aloud gone over any of the reasons he did as he did, and only then to those close to him, like his friend Jeremiah.


((OOC: I've just found out today about the Talent Rending, which is the ability to hurt using Healing Weaves. People with Latent Healing can get up to 2 points Latent Rending if they wish (more if they're BA) You think that would be a good thing for Caddoc? I'm not meaning for it now, I know you can't make one rp about multiple things. I'm just asking your opinion)
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Re: Delving Lessons (ATTN: Gareth)

Post by Bella » April 21st, 2016, 2:13 am

The shift was subtle, but despite looking something like a block, Gareth was not dense enough to miss it. He would not make assumptions that he entirely understood what it was or what it meant, but he knew that something had changed in the younger man who sat across from him and of whom he had already developed an uncertainty of.

"Yes," Gareth said simply. "I would prefer your honesty. It it why I asked." It continued to be something of a struggle to maintain his emotionless facade, because he remained somewhat unsettled, but he managed. "However, I will note that I am not unbound by some measure of ethics. Should I find out that any wrong was committed here in the Tower walls, I would be responsible to take action.

"You are not here as my patient but as my student, so there is no expectation of total privacy." He wanted to make sure that was entirely clear, for he was a man of both pragmatism and strong moral fiber. "That being said, I would rather you be candid with me. I can better teach if you if I better know you." His grey eyes remained placid and icy as always.

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Re: Delving Lessons (ATTN: Gareth)

Post by Eve » April 25th, 2016, 7:28 am

Caddoc nodded sharply, the gesture answering both Gareth’s desire to know the truth, and to acknowledge that he was not bound to keep any of this secret. “Very well.” He said simply and leaned back in his chair. Gathering his thoughts, he chose his words carefully. “I am not like you, Asha’man. Nor am I like other men. Some have speculated that my personality is a result of trauma in my passed, or of my raising, or perhaps I was simply born like this. I, personally, believe that it is a mixture of all three.” He watched the other from this dancing green eyes, but his fingers lifted up, plucking for a moment at the sleeves that lay just a little long on his already lanky arms. For a moment he was silent again, and this was about as close to real emotion as the other seemed to show, other than those strangely glimmering eyes.

“I have a…” He thought a moment. “A condition, would be the best term for it. My emotions, so I can tell, are quite a bit stronger than that of the average man’s. However, much like a block from the Source, I find myself hard pressed to ever be able to translate those emotions from my mind into my actions. Some, because of this, mistake me for cold or emotionless. At the same time, there are some that I seem to be almost incapable of feeling at all. Compassion is one of those.” He tilted his head to the side, watching the man. “To make this short and sweet, I do not care about you, nor about any other member of the Tower. Your plights do not touch me.” He gave that ever so small twist of his lips. “The reason I chose Healing is for my own enjoyment. I am good at it. In fact, I excel at it. Honestly, I believe that my own personal…problems are only beneficial. I am incapable of allowing my feelings to get in the way of my job. I am a Healer, and thus I would not accidently make an error because I dislike someone. I would not freeze because I might make a mistake and kill someone. I chose the Grey Tower because it is the one place that I could be assured that I could ply my skill well. The Black Tower only cares for the Battle. The White Tower has no use for men. I allegiance is yours because you are able to give me a purpose, not because of some strange sense of belonging.” He straightened again, the smile fading. “Some call me sociopathic, but I only believe myself to be uncomplicated.”

Growing even more solemn, he did not seem to be done. “The woman I killed I will not pretend or lie. She was not a bad woman. In fact, I believe she was likely what you would think of as a good woman. She followed the Light, at least.” He pinned the other with those green eyes. “Even I believe that is important. However…she was compromised. Severely. She and I were held captive by the same Channeler. This woman did *not* follow the Light, and for several months I was little more to her than a toy to her fetishes.” He pulled back the cuff of his sleeve, and Gareth would be able to spy the scars covering every inch of the small amount of skin he showed. Fingers lifting, he pulled down the collar, and the same networks of burns, cuts, and slashes were found here. It seemed so cold how he explained this all, his face impassive, his words slow and hard. But his eyes…his eyes were hard and cruel, almost angry. “Previous to my capture… I was burned out, unable to touch Saidin…. When the woman tired of me, I was given into the hands of a Healer. Like me, she was a prisoner, though she was not held by chains, but by love. They had kidnapped her child, and or years had used the girl as leverage against her. She had no reason to believe that her daughter still lived, but she continued to do as she was told, continued to serve, to carry messages, to do deeds…. It was she that managed to Heal me, to return me to the One Power….” He watched Gareth. “And I killed her in that moment. Personally, I believe it was a mercy. But nevertheless, had I not I would have never escaped.”
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Location: New England

Re: Delving Lessons (ATTN: Gareth)

Post by Bella » April 26th, 2016, 9:55 pm

It wasn't often that classes, lessons, or evaluations were so...in depth, colored in a palette of grey shades rather than with black lines and white spaces. Something about this young man reminded him of Lucan Asha'man, which was not necessarily a good comparison. The things he said were unlike most, although not all. Few seemed to have the utter dedication to the craft, the mission itself, that Gareth did.

He had long ago accepted this fact. What did a wounded man care about the motives of his healer, so long as he was healed? As much as Gareth was a dedicated man, he was a pragmatic one. It was almost impossible to live in the world as it was without being so. Still, it didn't mean that he was comfortable with the things Dedicated Caddoc told him. He wasn't. He still didn't like him.

Gareth could emulate a lack of emotion, but did not truly feel that way. If the young man across from him wasn't lying, he didn't feel them, and that was disconcerting.

So, he had killed a woman...but a pawn of a shadow, and to escape. And not inside the Tower walls. Where did Gareth find his ethics led him? To do nothing, but simply feel unsettled and buried it. Even he had killed, when he had to. Infrequently, but he had done it when the time necessitated it. He didn't like it, not when he'd been forced to nor in the other's tale. But it was as it was.

"Very well," Gareth said simply after a moment's silent reflection. "I appreciate your candor."

The time for talking was done and he gestured at the wooden form on the other side of the room. "Seize saidin," he directed as he did the same, wrestling that viper with decades of practice. It was practically second nature as he forced the One Power to submit. "A simple weave to Delve is as follows." With that, he formed the basic weave: a tightly bound net of pure Spirit threads, which he settled over the 'patient.'

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