More than the serpent ring suggests

[Armina Terrac]

Armina watched her students closely, making notes about triumphs and successes that each one moved through. For a while she just sat and watched, as she’d done in her youth when observing young men in her village and figuring out the simplest basics. The girls all had their own strengths and weaknesses: Ranai seemed to have some prior training, moving through the motions and not seeming to count her footwork. Milea certainly seemed to be focused on her training, though she appeared to be holding her breath as she moved through the motions. Amrina made a note of that to remind her. Cianwin seemed to be struggling with the flow of the moves, something that she could address easily enough if given the right attention.

Armina first moved to Cianwin, placing a hand on her shoulder to get her attention briefly. She smiled down in as friendly a manner as she could manage.

“Try just letting your body go, don’t try to control your movements, simply guide them as you would a kite in the wind.”

She moved on quickly, only offering the words before moving to Milea, the girl still going through the motions.

“Remember to breathe, your strikes will do no good if they leave you without breath to fight against your attacker.”

Lastly she moved to Ranai. The young lady certainly wasn’t automatic in her movements quite yet, but she clearly had trained in something before. Perhaps she’d taken up the yardmasters' offers before joining Armina here.

“Your instincts are carrying you through well, don’t think too hard and let your body take over.”

They were running out of time today, with maybe enough time for the young ladies to go through the forms for another ten minutes or so before they would have to go for their other classes. Armina moved back to watch the young ladies again, making further mental notes about what she could cover in the future. That was of course assuming any of these ladies would return after today. She’d had plenty of young novices and even accepted who came for a few classes before dropping off and deciding they had better ways to spend their time. She could only hope these young ladies would return, or at least take these lessons and find a way to apply them to their work as novices.

[Ranai Destine]

“Your instincts are carrying you through well, don’t think too hard and let your body take over.”

Ranai tried to take the constructive criticism to heart, but asking her not to over think was like asking her not to breathe. She ran through the motions again doing her best to clear her mind. She tried using the rosebud technique, but it was distracting having the One Power so tantalizingly close without being able to touch it. She wondered if embracing the Source would help her, or make her too aware to concentrate...or not concentrate on what she was learning. That seemed so counter-intuitive to the way she approached learning in her life.

Lost in her thoughts, she stumbled and then pressed her lips firmly together as she began again, determined to find her balance between concentration and not thinking about it.

The other girls were moving in her peripheral, but she barely saw them as she tried to focus on not focusing and letting her body take over.

[Milea Lanar]

Remember to breath. How had she forgotten that? Milea had been pretty sure she had been breathing all this time, hadn't she? Though, she exhaled in one big breath and gasped in another breath of fresh air. Perhaps, she had not been breathing as much as she had. It did make her feel a little dizzy now that she thought about it.

"Y-yes, Aes Sedai." She wouldn't have done a footrace while holding her breath so why did she think it would work in a fight? Things were never as simple as they could be, were they?

At least it wasn't scathing critiques, nor was she the only one struggling. It was that sort of camaraderie that pulled her through any embarrassment she would have had with the thought of people seeing her with her cheeks puffed out as she practiced. That was what the White Tower was all about, right? They were all in it together, women (and girls, teens and all that) working to make the world a better place in concert with each other.

Which meant she couldn't give up learning, even if that meant going to the yard every day and getting all sweaty. She hoped Ranai and Ciawin wouldn't either. That's the thought she kept in her head as she kept at the practice, focusing on focusing not too hard and doing her best to breathe. 

Funny how it was always harder when you thought about it, wasn't it?

[Ciawin Nelarme]

”Try just letting your body go, don’t try to control your movements, simply guide them as you would a kite in the wind.”

Ciawin continued the exercises until the Aes Sedai approached with advice. And while that advice sounded simple enough, Ciawin wasn’t quite sure how to do that. The others were much smoother in their approaches, even if none of them came close to the display the Aes Sedai had given them at the beginning. How on earth was she to break through the years of training of proper comportment of da’covale? Blood and bloody ashes, it was like she could hear that dried up old fossil Mieran, her father’s so’jihn. The man had made her youth as miserable as possible, and was frequently responsible for the training of new da’covale, including his owner’s illegitimate daughter, the goat-kissing leather bag in the shape of a man. Light, if he were here right now, she’d wallop him with the training sword.

That thought made it surprisingly easier. Ciawin threw herself into the exercises with renewed vigor and a savage grin. It wasn’t perfect, her form was sloppy and strikes inaccurate, but it was a major improvement over the swings that would start and stop short.

She knew already that she would continue the training, if it were allowed. She felt free, in a way that she had never quite been able to put into words And she definitely wanted to prove those fools from earlier wrong. The sword agreed with her, and she with it.

[Armina Terrac]

Armina watched her students with pride swelling at their minor improvements. Ranai seemed to struggle slightly with giving up control, but every movement became slightly more natural. Milea seemed to be pushing herself with each stroke, ignorant of the world around her, an attitude that would carry her far. Ciawin moved more naturally than she had after what Armina would have sworn was a flash of emotion, yet it was all too brief to be certain. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but whatever the girl put through her mind made her movements far more relaxed.

“Ranai, Ciawin, Milea, thank you all for your time.”

She let the girls go for a little longer before looking up toward the sun, it was just peeking over the trees now. Soon the more traditional day would begin, and the girls would be expected to be ready for their day. Without saying a word she held up her hand, weaves of air were placed near each girl for them to place their practice blade in when they were ready.

“You have all done well, but the sword is not something mastered in one day. Should you wish to continue simply speak to the yardmaster and he will inform me of your interest. If you wish to continue on your own I am certain he would be happy to let you do so. Now, you all had best be off to scrub yourselves briefly before your first classes and chores begin.”

When the swords were all collected she nodded to each one as they left, confident that at the very least the three girls would be more capable on their own. Too many relied on words or Warders for their protection, and she feared that these children would require far more to hold themselves ready for the upcoming challenges. Especially with tensions running so high.