A first for both of us.... ((tbcb Damien))

[Nojanath]

Noj sighed as he sat and waited for the Soldier he was supposed to teach arrived.  He knew that it would happen at some point, him being saddled as a teacher and all.  And at this point he was getting a bit tired of waiting as well.  It wasn't that the guy was late, but Noj had made it in his head to be there early.  It was one thing if a student was late, and another one completely if the teacher was.  All and all though, he was enjoying himself a bit.  It was the same hill just outside of the grounds that Timin had taught him to channel at, which was evident by some of the still visible holes in the ground.  How long ago was that anyway?  At least a few years by his thinking... 

Throwing away the thoughts, Noj looked through the basket he brought with him.  All it had was some bread cheese and water, but in all likelihood the Soldier would still think it was as valuable as gold during the lesson.  All hard work, and especially channeling, gave one hunger and thirst, and depending on how astute the man was, they could be on that hill for a while. 

Noj smiled when a thought occurred the thought of the Soldier already knowing who he was occurred to him.  At this point, Noj was already pretty well known.  First he was dragged to the Tower shielded and under the suspicion of being a Darkfriend, then he got drunk and striped at the Gholam Inn, then he ran off with his estranged father who ended up being a Darkfriend himself and attempted to kill Noj, only to die in turn and cause him, the technical heir, to inherit the House.  Not soon after that, he almost burned down his barracks, and THEN he got in a fight with another Dedicated, tore ANOTHER barracks in half, and almost threw it at the poor man.  Plus Noj's long white hair and tanned muscular appearance didn't help.  In all truth, at this point most Soldiers and even Dedicated stepped lightly around him, which didn't quite bother Noj.

Laughing quietly to himself, he sat down on a nearby rock, crossed his legs and sought out the Void in his own form of mediation in wait for the Soldier to arrive.

[Scott]

Damien’s lips were fixed into a frown as he wandered around outside of the tower grounds, completely lost. He was supposed to meet his instructor, one “Noj”, though he was told to use the title Dedicated in place of the man’s name. In Damien’s two days at the Black Tower, he had been given nothing but orders and instructions. One that had been stressed above the others was to respect those above him, and to call Dedicated and Asha’man by their titles. He had also been told to remain within the tower grounds at all times, followed minutes later by instructions to meet the Dedicated who would be teaching him outside of the grounds.

Having already learned what disobedience and tardiness both brought, Damien had left for his lesson fairly early, wishing to start the day on a good note. As it was, Damien was walking about aimlessly without the slightest clue where he was in relation to the spot where he was supposed to meet Noj. He was wearing the new clothes he had been given, which weren’t very different from those he arrived in, and had already gotten them fairly damp. Damien’s body hadn’t adjusted to the warmer climate this far south, and he was covered in a layer of sweat from head to toe. He was also still missing the bells normally fastened to the ends of his braids, and didn’t have his swords fastened across his back. All of this had added up to make Damien feel incomplete, which only had him more out of sorts.

After several more minutes of wandering, Damien thought he spotted a figure sitting on a hill. He hurried towards what he hoped was his teacher with renewed vigor. As  he reached the hill, he did his best to walk up it without showing a great deal of effort, though the heat and his getting lost had already taken a toll on him. When he got to the top, Damien bowed to the sitting man, who he assumed was Noj, and then stood upright, hands at his sides, as he awaited some sort of instruction. Training to become a soldier had taught Damien to respect authority, and after his first hour at the Black Tower he had realized continuing to do so would be a wise decision.

[Nojanath]

Noj heard the man walk up the hill, heard him breathing a little heavily, but didn't see him due to his eyes being shut.  Then nothing, his breathing slowed, so that wasn't audible, and he wasn't walking around....  He let a few minutes pass to see if the Soldier would speak up for himself before chuckling and opening an eye to look the man up and down.  His eye first went to the collar of the coat, which seemed...damp, must be from up North, and didn't see a pin, so he was definitely a Soldier.  The second was to his brow, which was damp with sweat, and he seemed way too stiff...  Not bothering to ask Noj leaned over, grabbing one of the few water skins he brought along with him and tossed it to the Soldier.  "So I guess you're Damien right?"  He didn't wait for a response.  "Well, I don't know what whoever sent you here said, but you can call me Noj, and just that, unless you absolutely feel as if you must call me Dedicated."  Using that title for himself still sounded strange in his ears.

Uncrossing his legs, he leaned over and ripped a fourth off a bread loaf and took a bite, idly saying after he swallowed, "I suppose I should start off simple."  Grasping Saidin he wove a four foot wide and five foot tall Wall of Air in front of Damien.  "Come over here a little closer so I don't have to raise my voice or anything."  He didn't tell the Soldier about the Wall of Air mostly as a test to see if he could even see the weave or not.  If so, he'd walk around it, if not, he'd run into it with everything but his face.  After the weaving was done he took another bit out of the piece of bread.  The speed of the lesson depended on whether or not Damien ran into the wall or not.  Though in all truth, Noj kinda hoped he did.  The longer he had to teach the longer he could stay away from that crazy Asha'man who so enjoyed throwing rocks at him during training exercises.

[Scott]

Damien blinked a few times as he relaxed, not sure if he was being tested to see if he would continue calling the man by his proper title or not. Not wanting to take a chance, Damien merely nodded and dropped his head back as he put the water skin to his lips, draining half of it in a few gulps. He drew a deep, relaxed breath as he lowered the skin, feeling much more relaxed.

Realizing he was supposed to be moving closer to Noj, Damien began walking towards him, water skin in his left hand. After taking a few steps, Damien’s right foot connected with something, hard. Since he hadn’t known something was there, Damien had been walking as he normally did, foot swinging forward, angled upwards slightly with the heel on the downward side. This caused his toes to slam upwards into the wall, a blow his stout boot only partially softened. Sucking in a quick breath, Damien tightened his jaw and kept himself from cursing.

After hitting it with his foot, Damien took a step back and frowned at the air in front of him. Reaching his right hand forward slowly, his frown deepened as his fingers felt something solid, something that wasn’t there. He closed his mouth immediately after opening it to question Noj about the solid air, assuming the Dedicated, who he remember could channel, was probably the cause of it. Focusing on air his hand was pressed flatly against, Damien slowly worked his way to the side, hand guiding him, until he couldn’t feel anything other than air in its normal, gaseous form.

Walking slowly, afraid of stubbing his toes again, Damien approached Noj. “What…was that?” he asked, having no idea what exactly channelers could do. He lowered himself slowly, sitting cross legged across from Noj, the confused and frustrated look on his face replaced with one of curiosity.

[Nojanath]

Noj chuckled as the Soldier ran into the wall.  This meant that he wouldn't have to see Asha'man Scotfield for a while.  Seeking the Void he grasped a small amount of Saidin, and lit a ball of fire in his upturned left palm, saying quite nonchalantly, "Just about the same thing as this right here."  Before putting out the fire he toasted the piece of bread in his other hand.  Though he kept the wall of Air up.  "What I just did before that you ran into was a Wall of Air.  I was just testing to see if well, you could see it or not."  Glancing back to the wall, he shrugged, "And I'm guessing you can't, so what we're going to start off doing is teaching you about the Flame and the Void.  It's quite simple once you get the hang of it really." 

Ironically though as he was talking about the state of focus, Noj's mind was wondering.  Mostly about how the rock he was sitting on was making his rear sore...  Seeking the Flame and Void, he flattened the rock and raised the back of it a little so he could lean without falling.  Bringing his attention back to the matter at hand, he brought the flame back into his palm.  "The Flame and the Void is the ultimate form of focus, or at least, is believed to be.  And that is where you will channel Saidin from.  Now, the easiest way to reach this state is to first, envision a flame like the one in my hand.  Channel all of your thoughts and emotions into the flame until there is nothing left, and maintain the emptiness.  Without thought, or emotion.  And the longer you can hold said state the better."  Ripping off a piece of the now warm and crunchy bread, after putting out the flame of course, he offers it to Damien.  "Want a piece before you start?"

[Scott]

“Ah, oh, um…no, thank you, ah…Noj,” Damien spluttered out, his mind reeling about the whole Flame and Void business. Not exactly sure how to begin, he closes his eyes and tries to picture the flame that had been floating above Noj’s hand. The flame appears, though it is accompanied by Noj’s hand beneath it as well as a multitude of other images and thoughts, making it nearly impossible for Damien to focus solely on the flame. As Damien focused his mind more around the flame itself, and not what had been surrounding it when he saw it, a few images disappeared, though dozens still remained, along with random thoughts that kept popping into his head about various things. Why would I be thinking about that woman now!? He thought, which only server to distract him further. Realizing this, he took a deep breath, unaware of the frown on his face.

Since trying to simply focus on the flame wasn’t working, Damien tried to recall his training in Shol Arbela. It had always been stressed that, while in combat, your mind had to be completely clear of other things. Granted, you had to remain aware of your surroundings, but everything else had to be forgotten. Idle thoughts caused distractions that could prove deadly when battling Trollocs, they were certainly fatal if you were battling a Fade, assuming you managed to hold your own against one long enough to have idle thoughts in the first place. It worked at first, though in order to use the method properly Damien was envisioning the flame as an opponent, which triggered his mind to make sure he was aware of his surroundings, causing a bleak, random landscape to surround the flame in Damien's mind, which ruined the entire effect.

Letting out a loud, frustrated sigh, Damien continued to try thinking of the flame as an opponent that had to be the focus of his concentration. He also continued to fail to attain the Flame and Void. By this point, sweat had broken out on Damien's face and neck once again, and the intensity of his concentration made him feel as if he were burning up. He continued to struggle though, until he realized Noj had suggested he try a different method before he even began.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Damien slowly relaxed his body and pictured the flame as he had the first time. Once again, a multitude of other thoughts and images sprang into his mind along with it. Damien pictured various things being thrown into a fire, disappearing as they fed it. As he did so, the random thoughts cluttering his mind began to disappear, allowing him to gradually concentrate on the flame more and more. However, as Damien continued feeding his thoughts into the flame, the image of the flame, in his mind, grew larger. Damien's natural thought process was that, as fuel was added to a fire, it grew. As the flame grew to an enormous size, Damien began panicking. Is the flame supposed to be getting bigger? Am I still doing it wrong!? The added thoughts only added to his now deteriorating concentration and, before he knew it, Damien had completely lost the image of the flame, his eyes were open again, and he was panting as if he had just run ten miles.

[Nojanath]

Noj just sat and watched, still idly taking bites out of the bread loaf and slowly chewing.  The first attempt at the Flame and Void was always the most difficult.  And it didn't help matters that the more one failed to attain the Void, the more frustrated they were, and over all, the more difficult it was to attain.  After a little bit, it seemed as if Damien almost had it too, but then it was gonna and he was panting for breath...again.  Maybe the guy had a fear for fire or something. 

Making sure that he caught Damien's eye, he gave him a look that said pay attention.  Closing his eyes, he inhaled very deeply, and slowly began letting it out, lowering his down turned hands from his chest to his waist.  "That's a cleansing breath.  Good for getting rid of frustration.  After you've calmed your pulse a bit, try again.  It'll come in time.  And don't be afraid of the flame either.  All you need is too control your inner fire, so that you can control an outward one, like Saidin."  Seeking the Void himself, he grasped and wove a few thick strands of Fire, and with a motion of his hand, sent the fire out over the grass.  By all sense the grass would've been roasted, but when the flames went out, it was unharmed.  "You see, control is everything.  Especially with Saidin.  One thing you must always keep in mind is that if you give in to Saidin even for a moment, then it'll destroy you.  That's why learning how to use the Flame and Void properly is so important.  One thing that is always true is that Wilders who spark outside of the Tower rarely survive.  This fact is more so true for male Wilders, for they not only lack the focus, but the strength to handle Saidin.  In a battle for their life, a male channeler always is fighting two equally deadly foes.  A physical one, and a meta-physical one, so complete and utter focus is always the most important thing you can have in a battle.  Now, try again when you're ready, and don't get frustrated if you can't get it even on the second attempt."  Again, he took a bite out of the loaf of bread. 

[Scott]

Watching silently, Damien nodded at Noj as the man finished speaking. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply and then repeated the motion the Dedicated had made, lowering his hands from chest to waist as he gradually exhaled. He repeated this several times, trying to completely calm himself, which wasn’t easy. His first failure with the Flame and Void had left him extremely stressed.  Finally, though, he felt relaxed again and began his second attempt, determined to remain as calm as possible.

Picturing a flame in his mind, Damien began feeding all of his idle thoughts into it, clearing his head of everything except for the flame. As the process continued, Damien felt himself becoming excited, which brought on a bit of anxiety as well. Taking in and letting out a deep breath, he tried feeding his emotions into the fire as well. The whole while, Damien took extra care to keep the flame’s size constant, ignoring his mind’s protest that a flame had to grow as it was fed. Eventually, he stopped ignoring the thought and simply fed it into the flame as well. Then, there was the flame. Nothing else, no other thought or emotion surfaced in Damien’s mind; there was only the flame. It was then that Damien once again lost his concentration. What was he supposed to do next? He saw the flame and felt calm, but was there supposed to be some sort of feeling that made him aware he had actually attained the Void? These thoughts quickly obliterated the calm state Damien had achieved, and his eyes were open again, though he wasn’t sweating this time.

Damien looked up at Noj with a sigh, shaking his head, ‘I think I had it. But then I wasn’t sure if I did, and I started questioning it…” he said, disappointment thick in his voice. He took a deep breath and let it out, waiting to see if Noj had any more words of wisdom.

[Nojanath]

Sitting on the rock, Noj watched Damien go through the exercise, with considerably much more ease than before.  His mind wondered briefly back to when he first learned how to use the Flame and the Void.  In all truth it only took him a few tries to get it down, since Noj had crafted his own albeit crude way of channeling, and the Void wasn't far off of what me made on his own.  As Damien finished his next attempt, Noj stretched his neck to the side, nodding a little.  "That's understandable.  You reached the Void, but didn't know where to go.  You just stay there.  Devoid of thought, anything, just feed everything to the Flame, even the Flame itself once there's nothing left.  After you can manage that you should work on your endurance with the technique.  There are a few Asha'man who completely disregard themselves as a person and live wholly in the Void...not that I'm saying you should do that though."

Leaning back, he continued a little more, "And when you feel as if you can attain the Void more easily, we're going to test it.  It's most important to be able to keep it up during stress, like battle.  So before I teach you to reach out to the Source, we're gonna spar a little bit with practice blades, when you're ready of course."  Noj was probably gonna throw in a few really loud noises too...but he wasn't about to tell Damien that, it would ruin the surprise, and the fun.  Breaking himself from the thought, he grabbed one of the wooden lathes with a strand of Air and moved it beside Damien.  "And also, after this lesson, be aware that you are expected to do everything with the power.  Heat your food, make your bed, put on your clothes, feed yourself.  Everything...well, almost everything.  You don't have to worry about using it to relieve yourself of course.  Not unless your future instructor takes his position way too seriously."

[Scott]

Nodding, Damien closed his eyes yet again and tried to attain the Void, picturing the flame once more. He found it slightly easier to feed his thoughts into the flame, and the process went a bit faster. He did face a potential problem when he realized this, however, as it sparked a great deal of excitement, which he struggled to feed into the flame. Pushing thoughts of the possibility he was already improving into the flame, Damien began to feel a sense of calm, and at the same time, nothingness. As his consciousness settled into the Flame and Void more completely, he let out a content sigh, one he was not aware of. His body was no longer his. Damien was still aware of his body, of course, but it was a vague thing.

Damien remained in the Void for several minutes, feeding his questioning thoughts of what to do into the flame as they sprung as. He was still having some difficulty feeding the flame into itself though. Not entirely sure how long Noj had wanted him to remain in the Void, Damien opened his eyes and looked at Noj. “I think I’ve got it,” he stated flatly, his voice lacking the slightest hint of emotion. Damien would’ve frowned had he not been absorbed in the Void; his voice did not sound right. Though it seemed a distant thing in the first place, the tone of his voice had struck him as almost hollow. Pushing his thoughts into the flame, clearing his mind once again, Damien focused on Noj, waiting for further instructions.

[Nojanath]

This was starting to get a little boring...  Just watching Damien search for the Void, sitting there not moving.  The only thing Noj had to keep himself busy was the piece of bread that he already ate.  He was tempted to toast some of the cheese onto the bread, but held back the urge.  When he heard the man speak up, Noj jumped to his feet.  "Alright, then lets test it. Pick up the practice sword I put by you, and well spar to test if you can keep this concentration."  Grasping the Power, he used Air to bring his own lathe to his hand, propping it across his shoulder, letting the Soldier ready himself, almost.

Already in the Void himself, he grasped the Power, using Air and Fire to create a large and very loud bang in front of the man.  Not bothering to ask if Damien was in the Void or not, Noj spun around to strike out at his student with the lathe.  He wasn't about to go full out on him, after all, this wasn't exactly a swordsmanship class, and Noj wasn't about to turn it into one either.  His goal right now was to make sure that the Soldier could not only maintain the Void in duress, but in the event that he lost the Void in a stressful situation, the ability to regain it as well while being pressed. 

[Scott]

At Noj’s words, Damien had nodded and grabbed his own practice sword, getting to his feet. He hadn’t used a single sword in some time, though when he first began training with blades it was with a single, practice sword. Before he could adjust himself to the single weapon, however, an incredibly loud bang sounded in front of his face, startling him despite the Void. Focusing on keeping the Void from shattering, Damien made no attempt to dodge or parry Noj’s weapon, taking a solid blow to his right shoulder that would definitely bruise. Expecting to feel pain from the smack of the weapon, Damien was surprised to find it was a dull, far off thing. Knowing that he would not be able to compete with Noj under the circumstances, and still trying to hold the Void together, Damien began retreating, his practice sword held out before him, ready to parry.

His backwards walk to get away from Noj nearly caused Damien to trip and tumble down the hill. In his deep concentration to remain within the Void, and at the same time be ready to parry any further attack Noj made, Damien had forgotten that they were even on a hill. When he was confident he had a firm hold on the Void again, Damien planted his feet and felt a deadly calm settle over him. He felt as if his senses were heightened, it was as if everything was a bit clearer to his eye and mind. In this state, Damien was certain his swordsmanship would far surpass his regular skill, though he was not foolish enough to think he could truly face Noj, who had much more experience in the Void than Damien.

[Nojanath]

Somewhere outside the Void, Noj sighed, Damien took his shot straight to the shoulder.  Then the Soldier tumbled backwards down the hill... Had he overdone it?  In any case, he'd have to congratulate Damien for taking the shot so well and being able to stand after tumbling backwards down the hill.  Anyway, the purpose of the sword play was for the Soldier to keep up the Void while being pressed.  Running up to the wall of Air, he pushed it over and slide down the hill a few feet before jumping off, across from Damien.  Immediately, he began the swordplay to press the Soldier on his heels.  Noj wasn't taking advantage of any openings he saw, just focused on pressing his opponent back. 

In all truth, Damien wasn't doing too bad, most likely he had experience fighting with a blade before, or something similar.  No matter what weapon one fought with, as long as the range was similar, then they could fight with another.  Like a staff master would still be pretty good if a sword was placed in their hands, and vice versa.  Minutes passed, along with many other loud bangs that were caused by the Power, until Noj was pleased with Damien's performance.  Propping the sword across his shoulder, he motioned for Damien to follow him back to the top of the hill.  "Now, I think you'll find that after holding the Void during that practice, just sitting here and doing it will be much easier."  Turning around, Noj sat back down on the rock after dropping the practice sword.  "Alright, I'm going to teach you how to reach out to the Power.  Again, don't worry about failing on your first attempts.  And don't reach out to it the first time you see it.  First we just want to make sure that you can see the Power at will.  All you need to do is reach the Void, and the Power should seem like a sun just over the horizon, a light just beyond your reach, something similar.  Everyone views it differently."

[Scott]

After Damien had set himself, Noj had seemed to slide down the hill on…something, until they were on an even level. The Dedicated had then charged Damien again, pressing him at nearly every conceivable angle. After Noj failed to capitalize on several openings that had presented themselves, the results of rookie mistakes Damien scolded himself for making, Damien realized that the man was simply testing him. When the short sparring match ended, Damien became vaguely aware that his breath was slightly labored, though it was like observing that someone else was out of breath, not him. Before his mind lingered on the thought for very long though, he fed it into the flame that centered the void in his mind, without really intending to. His mind, it seemed, was beginning to adjust to the void and clear his head of thoughts on its own. As Noj started back up the hill, Damien gave a nod and followed. Apprehension was beginning to fill him, though he pushed the feeling away before it affected him to any extent. He’s going to teach me to touch Saidin! This is the only thing keeping me from being one of them, a male channeler, do I even want to be one!? The thoughts flashed into Damien’s mind, only to be consumed by the flame an instant later. Despite his trepidation, Damien understood that he didn’t really have a choice. Even if he received no training, they had told him he would touch the One Power. He had also been told that, without their training, he would likely lose control and kill himself when he did touch it, not to mention that anyone around him at the time could die as well.

As Noj sat down on the rock, Damien tossed his sword next to the Dedicated’s and sat cross legged on the ground, facing the other man. Nodding as Noj spoke, Damien resisted the urge to close his eyes as he wrapped himself fully in the Void, knowing that having to close his eyes in order to concentrate would be a horrible handicap. Making sure to keep his eyes open, Damien focused on the Void, trying to feel as if there was something almost there, but that he wasn’t seeing, for that is what a sun over the horizon seemed like to him. Damien’s eyes wandered around as he tried to get some sort of glimpse at the Power, taking in all of his surroundings. For a moment he thought there might have been a shimmer of something, something beyond his reach and the physical, it seemed as if it flickered through the Void, in his consciousness. But if there had actually been something, it was gone, and Damien wasn’t sure if he had imagined it. “I thought…it was almost like there was something…but…I’m not sure…” Damien frowned as he continued to concentrate on the Void, trying to see whatever it was he thought he had seen again, speaking to Noj as he did so without looking at the man.

[Nojanath]

Noj watched the Soldier with mild interest.  In all truth, Noj had never had a problem seeing the Power in his time at the Tower.  Course that was a year or so after he had sparked, and Noj had some how had fashioned a very crude way of channeling on his own.  So he probably wouldn't be that great at teaching Damien how to find the Source in greater detail if he was having considerable problems at it.  But he did notice one thing, but waited until Damien spoke up before commenting.  "It'll be much easier for you if you close your eyes for the first few times.  It might not be practical in a fight to close your eyes, but it's still a good idea.  Remember back to when you were learned to use a sword.  When you first picked up a blade, could you sheath it easily without looking, or did you have look where you were putting it?  Most likely you were watching yourself to make sure you didn't miss the sheath or prod your leg.  The same goes with the Power almost.  You want to be able to get accustomed to where it is, so that you don't have to fumble around and try to find it when you need it.  You'll have plenty of time to correct the habit before you actually are in combat.  And remember, if you see the Source, don't grab it yet."  Leaning back, he grabbed a sizable chunk from a loaf of bread, and took a bite.  "But I'd suggest finding the Void again completely if I were you.  That frown you had should be there if you're immersed in the Void.  Nor would you feel obligated to speak if you were in the Void.  You don't have to try to keep it up constantly, but just check every once in a while that you actually have it."