[pfsb]

[acrookedpath]

The lantern is done. It's a momentous achievement; a culmination of all of Wei Wuxian's work since he first arrived at the inn...

And now it means he doesn't have a project to work on anymore. The agony!

He'll think of one soon enough. In the meantime, he's settled for sketching out an update to the Compass of Evil, whittling away at a block of wood Madam Bar provided him. If he has all the tools of a thousand worlds at his disposal, it should be no trouble at all to fine-tune the instrument.

Comments

[blue_ajah]

"That is not precisely how it works," the Aes Sedai tells them. She considers them both.

"Would it be useful to you to see?"

[acrookedpath]

...Who is this woman and what has she done with the closed-off, secretive Moiraine they knew? Wei Wuxian is so taken aback that it takes him an extra beat to respond.

"Yes," he says. "If you are willing, then we'd like to see."

[blue_ajah]

Lan Wangji's expression remains impassive, but Wei Wuxian's surprise is impossible for her to miss. It does not, however, surprise her to see his reaction. She has often found it useful to demonstrate something that might be perceived as an expression of trust, when needed - and her need is great.

"Very well." She embraces saidar, and cannot fail to notice how Lan Wangji comes to immediate, intensely focused attention, watching her every move. She arches an eyebrow at him. "Perhaps I should begin with a training exercise?" she inquires, calmly.

[acrookedpath]

Of course he cannot miss how Lan Zhan draws taut as a tensed bow, ready to spring into motion at the slightest hint of trouble. He suppresses a sigh -- albeit more fondly than when they were in their quarters.

"That may be best," he agrees.

[blue_ajah]

"Very well." She holds out a hand in front of her, palm up. Light blossoms at each fingertip, transmuting into thin strands of five separate colors, which come together over the center of her hand to form a complex braid. All the while, the faint golden glow around her never wavers.

"As Aes Sedai, I channel and weave saidar," she explains. "It is comprised of five separate powers which together invoke all that is created: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit."

As she speaks, each colorful thread brightens in turn to a shimmering green, golden yellow, brilliant red, deep blue, and a silvery white.

[acrookedpath]

Ah, if only he could light the energy-revealing lantern and shine it on Moiraine! Though, he thinks wryly, no matter how transparent she may be at the moment, he doubts she would ever willingly be that transparent.

He leans a little closer, studying the interplay of light on the tips of her fingers, and taps the side of his nose in thought. "I am still curious why air and spirit so often replace metal and wood," he muses to himself. "I've heard that list of elements from others here before."

[blue_ajah]

"Is it a direct replacement, do you think?" She tilts her head very slightly as she considers, and holds the weave steady for him to examine. For both of them, in fact, although Lan Wangji appears content to observe, at least for now.

"Metal and wood may be manipulated with weaves of Earth. Spirit... well. Spirit is often used in weaves involving sight and will, among other things. Not all channelers are equally skilled with each of the five powers, however."

[acrookedpath]

"Not direct, no," he says, shaking his head. "And -- hm. I suppose because metal and wood come from the earth, it holds dominion over them instead, in your world? Does Water hold sway over wine, or blood, as well as the oceans and rivers?"

[blue_ajah]

She inclines her head in assent. "All that and more," Moiraine tells them. "There is essence of water in wine, and in blood, and in many other things as well. It is also possible to combine the powers for different purposes in different weaves. For example--"

Moiraine raises both hands, allowing the braid to dissipate, and forms a small, quick weave of Air and Water. A little cloud forms in the middle of the room. She adds a flicker of Fire, and lightning cracks from one side of the cloud to the other.

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian's eyes widen, and he breaks into a delighted grin at the display.

"Of course!" he says. "As combining elements in a talisman might do the same thing."

He sketches a line of glowing red characters in the air: water, fire, elements to disperse the water to a fine mist and condense the fire into hard flat spikes of lightning. A second cloud joins the first, a bolt of lightning arcing to its compatriot.

[lightamidchaos]

He still does not entirely trust this woman, but he cannot repress the swell of fondness that rushes through him at Wei Ying's bright joy in having found something new to explore. If he must tolerate the Aes Sedai for that, well, it is not the hardest thing he has ever done.

"Precisely so," Moiraine says. "And the effect can be retained so long as one holds the weave ... or for a time longer, if it is tied and set. Like so."

She allows her miniature storm to dissipate, then weaves another training exercise into a hand-sized scrap of gleaming multicolored threads. Moiraine ties off the edges of the 'cloth' and holds it out to Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji.

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian accepts it. His eyes expect it to weigh as much as silk, at most; to his fingers' surprise, it hardly has a form at all, though it thrums with the energy Moiraine poured into it. He holds it up to eye level to examine it closer, the light of its threads reflected in his eyes.

"Lan Zhan," he whispers, still delighted, and offers it to him. "Look!"

[lightamidchaos]

He takes the ethereal thing in his fingers and turns it over with care, studying it closely.

"How much longer?" he asks, looking up at Moiraine.

"It depends on the weave and how the tie is made," she says, calm and unruffled. Lan Wangji thinks that her cadence is not unlike that of a teacher explaining a technique. "For this, some few minutes, perhaps a quarter of an hour. For a gateway, it may persist some longer, but eventually the weave will dissipate due to the strength required to hold the portal open."

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian makes a small, intrigued noise, continuing to eye the weave. "And when a weave is acting against a force as strong as a portal to Diyu, I suppose it wouldn't last long at all."

[blue_ajah]

She inclines her head. "A tied weave can also be broken more easily than when one is held."

[acrookedpath]

"Can it be held by something else, then?"

He cocks his head.

"Another source of power?"

[blue_ajah]

"By the channeler," Moiraine clarifies. "That is what is usual. There are some few ter'angreal that serve as set portals, and there are some Portal Stones, but those are ... far from safe."

Her voice is very, very carefully controlled.

"For this - to open a gateway, it is necessary for the channeler to know the place where they are. From there, it takes strength and time to open the passage in the first place, and the duration of the opening depends on the strength of the one holding it. Are you ready to see one?"

[acrookedpath]

Moiraine is hard to read, even at the best of times, but the level of control she exerts now -- well. It is not unlike the ruthless control he's seen his husband maintain over his emotions.

Quietly, he makes a note in the back of his mind, but he does not pry.

"I believe so," he says, glancing to Lan Zhan to see if he agrees.

[blue_ajah]

"Mn," assents the man who Moiraine cannot help but think of as Wei Wuxian's warder. She nods to them both and stands in a graceful swirl of her skirts.

"Do not touch the sides of the portal, when it is open. They are sharper than any blade," she cautions. Moiraine flicks her fingers as the aura around her brightens, and a shining silver line of light appears in the middle of the room. It brightens, then splits to either side, not unlike opening a scroll, to reveal a cove at the side of the lake.

"You may pass through, if you wish."

[acrookedpath]

Rising from the couch, Wei Wuxian tucks his hands behind his back and peers into the portal. "So that is Twin Peaks?" he asks.

At this point, it seems unlikely Moiraine plans to send them to an unknown world and slam the portal shut behind them... but if Wei Wuxian is thinking it, Lan Zhan almost certainly is. Best to ask for both their sakes!

[blue_ajah]

"No," she says, mildly. "We will enter Twin Peaks from the front door. This is a cove on the other side of the lake outside this very building, near one of the riding paths."

Lan Wangji eyes her carefully, but cannot detect any deception in her manner.

[acrookedpath]

A soft ah of understanding. And, well, if Moiraine is bound to speak the truth --

He glances to Lan Zhan, flashes him another brilliant grin, and jumps through the portal.

[lightamidchaos]

Lan Wangji lets out a startled breath as Wei Ying dashes through the gateway, and is on his heels without even a moment's thought.

True to the Aes Sedai's word, they are standing on the far side of the lake, as simply as if they had stepped through a window from one to the other.

Moiraine crosses through behind them, but keeps the portal open and waits for their reaction.

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian turns in a circle, taking in the view as if he were seeing it for the first time. There is the lake, glittering and serene; there, a path dipping deep into the forest that he hasn't explored yet. Over Lan Zhan's shoulder he can see the distant shape of the inn.

"Impressive!" he says. "And very useful indeed."

[blue_ajah]

"It can be, yes," the Aes Sedai murmurs. "And from this place, it is possible to cross worlds with it, as well as to move between the Mirrors of the Wheel."

She tilts her head toward the gateway, inviting them to return through it.