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| Illusion (Classroom); The Reality of a Desk | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 25 2005, 10:04 AM (236 Views) | |
| Sidivin Yahbree | Feb 25 2005, 10:04 AM Post #1 |
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Unregistered
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[ooc: This class was created for dedicated before I realized that we only had one... ] The shifting of paper echoed loudly in the huge room. It was entirely empty, or seemed to be so, save for a large and ornate gilded ebony desk at the far end of the room from the door. Sidivin sat at his desk at the head of the abnormally large classroom, shuffling through some papers and notes before his class. He did not necessarily enjoy teaching, but the lesson he was about to give was one of his favorites. Every year the M’hael would request that a select few dedicated take this course, and Sidivin was inevitably the one to land the job. He knew it was for the best, but he despised the hours of grueling preparation each session required. The room was used exclusively for this class because it was far too large to be practical for anything else, and therefore the tower cleaning staff usually ignored it. So, every year Sidivin would come down an extra hour early and give the place a quick going-over with the Power to clean it out a bit. An almost uncomfortable amount of dust still hung in the air, enough so that the rays of sunlight let in from the ceiling-high windows lining the walls were clearly defined by the drifting specks. But as far as Sidivin was concerned, the students could just deal with it. The shuffling of feet from the doorway announced the arrival of the dedicated. They filed in one-by-one at attention and formed a line across the rear of the room as they had been previously instructed. They were a motley bunch, ranging in height, physical stature, and age. One of them glanced around nervously, obviously confused by the room’s seeming lack of furniture. Sidivin stood, and they bowed slightly as a group, acknowledging his attention. “Welcome to my class, students. I am Rei Sidivin Yahbree, and I will be your instructor for this and the following sessions.” He motioned with his hand to the space in the center of the classroom as he sat down again. “Please, take a seat in one of the desks provided.” He resumed shuffling through his notes calmly as the confused look on the faces of the students turned to nervous shuffling. He glanced up at them. “Well? What are you waiting for? The coming of the Dragon?” An obviously anxious dedicated answered in a slightly shaky voice. “Please, Asha’man Sidivin, there are no desks.” Sidivin put down the paper he was holding and stood slowly. “Aren’t there? How do you know? How can you be certain?” The nervous student, a dedicated, was slightly taken aback. He pointed nervously at the empty room “Sir, look. There aren’t any desks. I don‘t see anything there.” “Ah! There it is! There are no desks because you see no desks, am I correct?” “Yes, Asha’man. There are no desks.” “Really?” Sidivin waved his arm across the room using a slight flow of the Power, and a single desk seemed to shimmer into existence near the center of the room. A collective gasp of surprise sounded from the group. “Would I be correct in assuming that this is a desk?” “Yes, Asha’man.” Sidivin raised his eyebrow in mock confusion. “Why?” The nervous dedicated seemed simultaneously surprised and confused. “Um -- I don’t know, Asha’man.” “You don’t know? How could you not know whether this is a desk or not? It seems a simple answer using the logic you just stated. You see it. It exists. Correct?” The nervous dedicated fumbled incoherently for an answer for a moment. Sidivin asked again, punctuating every word by slamming his hand into the surface of his ornate desk. “AM. I. CORRECT?” “Yes, sir!” “No. You are very wrong!” With that, all across the room perfect rows of desks shimmered into existence, while the lone desk in the center of the room dissolved. “This is what you have come here to learn, or rather, un-learn. What you see is not the absolute truth. The easiest sense to fool is sight, and yet you rely on it almost exclusively. “You will learn here not only to abandon your foolish overuse of your eyes, but also about the more subtle aspects of your senses, and, those of you that make it through these first few lessons, will learn how to bend reality to your will. Now. Be seated, and we will begin.” |
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| Edeleas al'Kuar | Feb 27 2005, 04:28 AM Post #2 |
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Asha'man al'Dieb Cha, Lost during the War
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Edeleas was nervously fumbling with his glasses as he tried to keep up with the other Dedicated. He had been honored when he received a letter signed by the M'Hael himself, telling him that he was chosen to take a special class for Illusion. A friend and another Dedicated, Rishid, approached him, having received a letter too, but he looked like someone had died. Edeleas asked what was the matter, and Rishid told him. He wished he'd never asked instead. The tall and muscular form of Nam stopped, and he opened a door. They all filed inside, and Edeleas hurriedly wore his glasses, blinking several times to focus his blurry vision. They stood straight and in a line, and Edeleas stared at who was to be his mentor in this special class. Rei Sidivin Yahbree looked...erm...authoritarian. Edeleas had very nearly paled at the word that came to his mind, but he could not think of anything else. The Rei al'Doon m'Taal started to speak after they had bowed to him in perfect unison. Edeleas could not help but glance around the room. Where in the Pit of Doom are we supposed to sit? “Welcome to my class, students. I am Rei Sidivin Yahbree, and I will be your instructor for this and the following sessions. Please, take a seat in one of the desks provided.” Edeleas exchanged confused looks with Rishid, Nam, Gejieal and the others. Gejieal even had the courage to frown at Rei Sidivin, who was calmly shuffling his papers as if he had all the time in the world and that there was no trouble. Varek gave a soft whimper behind Edeleas. Unfortunately, Rei Sidivin heard Varek's wail, and he looked up at them, eyes glinting. Edeleas swallowed. Hard. “Well? What are you waiting for? The coming of the Dragon?” Nobody dared to speak. Rei Sidivin Yahbree was quite popular in the Black Tower. The silence became unnerving, and before Edeleas knew it, he started blabbering. The Light save him from damnation in the Pit of Doom, indeed. “Please, Asha’man Sidivin, there are no desks.” He was barely aware of Gejieal gaping at him like he was a madman, or Nam's frantic attempts to speak, and Rishid's muttered, "Light!". Rei Sidivin let go of the papers as he stood. Edeleas did not know why under the Light was he thinking of a king cobra unfurling itself, poising to attack. “Aren’t there? How do you know? How can you be certain?” Edeleas fought back the urge to bite his lower lip. Instead, he shuffled on his boots and pointed a badly shaking finger toward the empty space between them and the Rei. “Sir, look. There aren’t any desks. I don‘t see anything there.” But the last word was barely out of his mouth when the Asha'man cut him off. “Ah! There it is! There are no desks because you see no desks, am I correct?” Edeleas had to choke out his reply. "Yes, Asha'man." "Really?" Edeleas blinked and Gejieal frowned as they sensed the older man touch the male half of the True Source and start weaving unfamiliar flows. Nam gave Rishid a nudge and nodded to the space before them, where the air started...shimmering...and where there was nothing, now a desk and a chair stood. Edeleas did not hear himself gasp, but he did not need proof to prove they all exhaled loudly in amazement. “Would I be correct in assuming that this is a desk?” Rei Sidivin went on. "Yes, Asha'man." "Why?" This time, Edeleas blinked. He did not know the answer. "Um...I do not know, Asha'man." He replied truthfully, as he had this hypothesis that the Rei al'Doon m'Taal was a person who didn't appreciate lying. “You don’t know? How could you not know whether this is a desk or not? It seems a simple answer using the logic you just stated. You see it. It exists. Correct?” The older man went on, hammering his point as surely as any blacksmith could. Edeleas winced; Light, I would rather be with Trollocs and their cookpots, just save me! “AM. I. CORRECT?” the words cracked the air like a whip, and Edeleas very nearly jumped out of his skin. "Yes, sir!" he barked nervously. "No, you are very wrong!" Rei Sidivin cut in harshly, and as if to emphasize his point further (which, in Edeleas' point of view, did not need any more emphasizing, thank you very much), he weaved the unfamiliar flow again, and this time, numerous desks shimmered before them in the blink of an eye. “This is what you have come here to learn, or rather, un-learn. What you see is not the absolute truth. The easiest sense to fool is sight, and yet you rely on it almost exclusively. You will learn here not only to abandon your foolish overuse of your eyes, but also about the more subtle aspects of your senses, and, those of you that make it through these first few lessons, will learn how to bend reality to your will. Now. Be seated, and we will begin.” Edeleas looked at Gejieal, Rishid, Nam, Varek and the others. Varek's eyes looked ready to pop out of his head, and Edeleas knew what he was thinking. Will the chairs actually support them, or will they just pass through it and land on their backsides instead? |
![]() +Earth Singing, +Delving, -Elementalism (Earth), *Summon Shadowspawn Bonded To: Myara Anhri | |
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| Sidivin Yahbree | Feb 27 2005, 02:18 PM Post #3 |
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Unregistered
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The dedicated were hesitant about approaching the chairs, some of them actually testing it with their hands just to make sure it was actually there. It was quite comical, really. Within the space of a few moments Sidivin had shattered their perceptions of reality and replaced them with a curious distrust of the world, and he was only just getting started. “Now then. For the purposes of preserving time I will summarize the purpose of today’s lesson as quickly as I can. I know that some of you are anxious to begin the hands-on portion of this class, where you actually put your knowledge into practice, but that part is going to wait until next session.” A collective groan of disappointment sounded from the class, but it was cut short by a stern glare from Sidivin. “Do not be so anxious to dive headlong into this. Without proper preparation there is zero chance of any of you succeeding. Illusion is not as simple as bending light and inverting weaves. A first-year soldier can be trained to do that. Real illusion involves a complete and total conversion of a person’s perception of reality. “This is a difficult course. More than half of you will not make it to the next lesson. Some of you have already failed. I apologize that you wasted your time.” Several of the dedicated nervously exchanged sidelong glances, wondering silently if he was talking about them. Sidivin sighed silently to himself. It was commonplace for most of those selected for this class to fail; A person needs a certain kind of mind to fully appreciate the art of illusion, and just by some of the dedicated’s reactions and attitudes he could tell they did not possess the required personality. After the session Sidivin would quietly leave Zekiel a note with the list of names, and next session they would be somewhere else. “Now, then. Today we will discuss the theories behind illusion. First off, I would like to begin with this question: Is there any knowledge in the world which is so certain that no reasonable man could doubt it? That is, is there any man who holds a belief, any belief, that is so hardened in his mind that by no amount of effort can it be affected by an outside force? I warn you, this question may not seem difficult at first, but you will soon come to realize that it is one of the most difficult questions that can be asked.” |
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| Edeleas al'Kuar | Feb 27 2005, 05:18 PM Post #4 |
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Asha'man al'Dieb Cha, Lost during the War
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Edeleas felt foolish as he came forward with his friends toward the desks. He extended out a hand to knock the table before him, but he resisted the urge to, because he noticed Rei Sidivin watching them very closely with an amused smile on his lips. Instead, he pulled up the chair and sat down, steepling his fingers together and putting them onto the table. Now he looked prepared. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Rishid knocking the table, while Varek was shifting uneasily on his chair. Light, they have to stop that or... he thought. Rei Sidivin started speaking again. “Now then. For the purposes of preserving time I will summarize the purpose of today’s lesson as quickly as I can. I know that some of you are anxious to begin the hands-on portion of this class, where you actually put your knowledge into practice, but that part is going to wait until next session.” Edeleas felt disappointment sink into his chest. He remembered something a Novice from the White Tower told him, You like learning so much that if you'd been female, I would not be surprised if you become Brown Ajah or even White Ajah. Again, he could see Gejieal shaking his head. Want to learn so much? Ha! My 'curiosity' would pale beside Gejieal's! Edeleas very nearly smiled with glee. Aside from himself, Gejieal probably held the current record of having the most reprimand visits to the Master of Soldiers' office for being 'too curious'. It was only then that he became aware of what Rei Sidivin was already saying. “This is a difficult course. More than half of you will not make it to the next lesson. Some of you have already failed. I apologize that you wasted your time.” Edeleas felt his heart beat faster, and his right hand actually clenched into a fist. A small frown appeared on his face. No way. I WILL try my best not to be kicked from this class. The Light knows how useful Illusion will be once I become Asha'man and... he left the thought hanging in the air, what he experienced from the Three Arches coming back to him. He forced the memory aside. “Now, then. Today we will discuss the theories behind illusion. First off, I would like to begin with this question: Is there any knowledge in the world which is so certain that no reasonable man could doubt it? That is, is there any man who holds a belief, any belief, that is so hardened in his mind that by no amount of effort can it be affected by an outside force? I warn you, this question may not seem difficult at first, but you will soon come to realize that it is one of the most difficult questions that can be asked.” A thoughtful silence ensued in the class as they each started formulating their answers. Edeleas strained to think, but he could not find anyone he currently knew to fit in the category. He shuffled through his own memories, of the books he'd read, and then his mind stopped at the word History. After a few seconds he recollected all of the facts and trivias he'd read from the books back in Cairhien all those years ago, and then, his memory gave him a sort of an answer. He wasn't sure if this answer of his was correct, but he had to try. Mahdi al'Tain Rialt Erydinan often told him there was no harm in trying, just don't try too much. Slowly, Edeleas raised his hand. Rei Sidivin met his eyes and then nodded acknowledgement. Edeleas stood, shifted on his feet and cleared his throat. "I have read from a history book back in Cairhien about such a man, Asha'man Sidivin. We all know him; he was quite popular before, during and after the Time of Illusions. He was first known as Elan Morin Tedronai in the Age of Legends, Ishamael in the War of Power and Moridin in the Time of Illusions." A ringing silence answered him before Rei Sidivin said, "And why do you think Ishamael is such a man?" "He believed he was the Dark One, sir." Edeleas explained. "That belief was so hardened in his mind that it drove him mad. He was convinced by his own philosophies that he was indeed the Dark One, and being half-sealed into the Bore did no good for him. He touched the world, manipulating, instilling that belief further, hardening it like clay, that even until his death by the hands of the Lord Dragon he refused reason and maintained that he was, indeed, the cursed being trapped in Shayol Ghul." |
![]() +Earth Singing, +Delving, -Elementalism (Earth), *Summon Shadowspawn Bonded To: Myara Anhri | |
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| Sidivin Yahbree | Feb 27 2005, 06:49 PM Post #5 |
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Unregistered
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Sidivin was surprised at the dedicated’s answer. “Very interesting… Edeleas, correct? You’re Rialt’s mentee, if I remember rightly. In all my years of instruction in illusion I have received that answer but one other time. In fact, I am usually answered by confounded silence. Your answer shows that you are an abstract thinker, and are not daunted by the outward appearance of a question so as to remain silent. Very good. I will remember it.” He turned his head to address the class as a whole once more. “As excellent as Edeleas’ answer was, it is also incorrect in the context and intent of the question and, consequently, irrelevant. Ishmael was, in essence, insane. His mind was twisted in ways that I do not believe any of you desire to imagine. Given that he is therefore not a normal human being, I must exclude him from this discussion.” Edeleas seemed to hang his head in disappointment. For a moment, Sidivin almost felt sorry for him. He was the most adept person in this room and was by now probably convinced otherwise. He would have to take him aside after class and speak with him; he would do well in the Doon m’Tall. “The answer I was looking for is yes, there is a belief that a man cannot be convinced to change no matter the circumstance. I’ll even go one step further and tell you what it is.” He paused for a moment and stood, making his way to the front of his desk. He channeled a small trickle of saidin and a clear glass of water shimmered into view on the dark ebony surface of his desk. Calmly, he took a drink from it and cleared his throat noisily. “I exist. Nothing you or anybody else does can make me believe otherwise. I think. I feel. I am. This is absolute truth. This cannot be changed. Everything else, from religious beliefs to a man’s very perception of the world, can be changed, altered, manipulated. These things lie in the realm of illusion. “A man experiences the world through his senses. These experiences are the fundamental building block of beliefs. Experiences are influenced by a man’s perception of the world. However, perception can be altered. With the Power it is possible to influence a man in such a way that he may experience anything, thus, believe anything.” |
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| Edeleas al'Kuar | Feb 27 2005, 07:10 PM Post #6 |
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Asha'man al'Dieb Cha, Lost during the War
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Edeleas swallowed as Rei Sidivin's eyebrows rose. “Very interesting… Edeleas, correct? You’re Rialt’s mentee, if I remember rightly. In all my years of instruction in illusion I have received that answer but one other time. In fact, I am usually answered by confounded silence. Your answer shows that you are an abstract thinker, and are not daunted by the outward appearance of a question so as to remain silent. Very good. I will remember it.” A smile had started to curl on Edeleas' lips as he sat down, but it hadn't had the chance to become full-blown with Rei Sidivin's next words. “As excellent as Edeleas’ answer was, it is also incorrect in the context and intent of the question and, consequently, irrelevant. Ishmael was, in essence, insane. His mind was twisted in ways that I do not believe any of you desire to imagine. Given that he is therefore not a normal human being, I must exclude him from this discussion.” He hung his head in disappointment. Well...the Light knows at least I've tried, but... Edeleas became aware of something at that moment; that he was liking his place; liking all the attention. Those excellence reports from other Asha'man must be getting through his head already. Again, he reached into his memory and remembered what his father taught him. Praise and accolades are all very well, my son, but do not evet let your feet leave the ground. Pride does nothing except destroy a man when he lets it rule him over. Remember this, always. "Thank you, father." Edeleas whispered just very softly. "I will remember, always." He looked up, but Rei Sidivin was already saying something else as he drank water. Edeleas blinked; he did not even sense the man use saidin. He squinted through his glasses; just what kind of flows did the Asha'man use? He could not wait to try it himself... “I exist. Nothing you or anybody else does can make me believe otherwise. I think. I feel. I am. This is absolute truth. This cannot be changed. Everything else, from religious beliefs to a man’s very perception of the world, can be changed, altered, manipulated. These things lie in the realm of illusion. A man experiences the world through his senses. These experiences are the fundamental building block of beliefs. Experiences are influenced by a man’s perception of the world. However, perception can be altered. With the Power it is possible to influence a man in such a way that he may experience anything, thus, believe anything.” Another thought jolted through Edeleas. Light...he IS right. The fact that we all exist cannot be taken away from us. Other than that...well, that is another matter. He perked up in his seat, now fully focused in the lesson. He was liking this more and more. |
![]() +Earth Singing, +Delving, -Elementalism (Earth), *Summon Shadowspawn Bonded To: Myara Anhri | |
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| Edeleas al'Kuar | Mar 24 2005, 04:37 AM Post #7 |
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Asha'man al'Dieb Cha, Lost during the War
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![]() +Earth Singing, +Delving, -Elementalism (Earth), *Summon Shadowspawn Bonded To: Myara Anhri | |
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9:38 AM Jul 11