by Vistra » Sun Nov 05, 2023 8:14 am
This was originally posted in the White Tower Library and I was told that was probably not the best place to put it, so I am relocating it to here.
Summary: Ashlynn Sedai teaches wearied novice Vistra about the fine points of the locate object weave. First and foremost this is from Ashlynn Sedai's point of view because Vistra was unable to log the encounter. Editing and Rplization done by Vistra. The entire lesson occurs in a secret location of the Yellow Ajah.
Main Actors: Wearied Novice Vistra and Ashlynn Sedai of the Yellow Ajah.
Guest Appearance: Reyl
Vistra curtseys before Ashlynn.
Ashlynn nods at her.
Vistra says 'Good day Aes Sedai'
Ashlynn says 'A good evening to you!'
Ashlynn says 'How are your studies going?'
Vistra says 'Thank you for making time for me.'
Vistra says 'They are going well Aes Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'Anything of particular note that you have learned recently that you would like to share?'
Vistra says 'I have been working on getting the flame strike weave to hit in between swings of my
staff.'
Vistra says 'It take a great amount of concentration.'
Have you reached a personal best for consecutive successes?
Ashlynn says 'It does. I am afraid I am not particularly great at that, but then again, I do not often
find myself fighting other channelers. Have you reached a personal best for consecutive successes?'
Vistra says 'I was able to get up to 4 consecutive in between swings. '
Vistra blushes.
Ashlynn claps her hands together.
Ashlynn says 'That is good! I do not recall my own personal best. I only did it as an exercise to receive
some merits from the Red Ajah when I was an Accepted.'
Ashlynn says 'I think I was able to do three or four.'
Ashlynn shrugs.
Vistra says 'It was hard to get to 4.'
Ashlynn says 'Keep practicing, and you should continue to improve. It is important, as it may save your
life one day, whether you decide to join one of the combat oriented Ajahs or not.'
Ashlynn says 'Have you taken any time to learn more about some of the topics and history provided by the
other Aes Sedai? Romanda Sedai, here in our own Yellow Ajah wing, has some lessons about various
topics.'
(Reyl makes an appearance after heroically fighting darkspawn for some healing before heading back out to defend the light. Ashlynn Sedai demonstrates the love of the health of others as she quickly prepares Reyl for the battle ahead while giving Vistra a lesson on the finer points of the health of other. Now back to the topic of locations.)
Ashlynn says 'Okay, now that is done'
Ashlynn says 'Now where was I... Oh yes.'
Ashlynn says 'I was wondering if you had taken any time to learn about the various topics the Aes Sedai
provide lessons on. Our very own Romanda Sedai has some interesting lectures.'
Vistra says 'I have studied with some of the Ajah's Aes Sedai.'
Ashlynn nods at her.
Ashlynn says 'If you have not yet, I suggest taking some time to listen to Romanda Sedai's lectures. She
is located in her apartment, just north and west of here.'
Vistra says 'Of course Aes Sedai. I will as soon as our meeting is over.'
Ashlynn says 'That is good to hear. Many of the girls do not realize that when some of us Aes Sedai are
not around, there are always other Aes Sedai around to provide some form of instruction or lecture.'
(Ashlynn Sedai spends some time conferring with Corele Sedai)
Vistra says 'It seems there is always something to learn. The Aes Sedai have so much knowledge of
the world.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'We do have a lot of knowledge. We do not have all of it. That is why the Brown study and
research tirelessly.'
Ashlynn says 'In fact, this lesson I will be giving you today is based on research by several Brown
sisters.'
Ashlynn says 'Now, let us begin. Locate Object!'
Ashlynn says 'Locate Object is a fantastic weave.'
Ashlynn senses Vistra connecting to the True Source.
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'With it, we are able to detect items throughout the world. This, of course, comes with
several requirements and caveats.'
Ashlynn says 'First of all, the requirements.'
Ashlynn says 'The weave requires threads of Earth, Air, and Spirit.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Earth, I believe due to the fact that we are attempting to find items. All items are
composed of matter, and generally it comes from the earth in some way or other. Whether it's the
iron used to make a steel sword, or the wood used on the haft of an axe, we need to be in tune with
the ground in order to sense it.'
Vistra says 'That makes a lot of sense Ashlynn Sedai. I never thought of it that way.'
Ashlynn says 'Air, I believe due to the fact that we are reaching out to find these things. It makes most
sense to me that we must use the winds to reach these farther distances and detect whatever item we
are looking for.'
Vistra face shows deep thought.
Ashlynn says 'And finally, many weaves require a component of spirit. '
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'I am not entirely sure the reason for this. Spirit can be used for many things, including
enhancing and repairing the body through things such as armor or healing. We all have a soul I
suppose.'
Ashlynn feels the flows of saidar coursing through her body.
Ashlynn carefully weaves four thick threads of Earth. She then pulls together two threads of Air, and
finally two fine threads of Spirit.
Vistra says 'Hmm. That is very interesting. I guess we do need souls if we are to be reweaved into
the pattern.'
Ashlynn weaves the threads together gracefully into one flow, and begins to attempt to sense an object.
Ashlynn emote: Ashlynn weaves the threads together gracefully into one flow, and begins to attempt to
sense an object.
Vistra watches intently.
Ashlynn says 'Four Earth, Two Air, and Two Spirit are the requirements.'
Vistra says 'I have the required abiliities in those elements Ashlynn Sedai.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Vistra says 'Do you mind showing me one more time? I believe I can put those weaves together.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn feels the flows of saidar coursing through her body.
Vistra brows furrow as she looks on.
Ashlynn repeats the weave, creating four strands of Earth, two of Air, and two of Spirit, before deftly
combining them into the locate object weave.
Vistra says 'Oh I see them. Do you mind if I give it a try?'
Ashlynn says 'Of course. Practice makes perfect. Try to locate a fountain. You have to think of the
object in question.'
Ashlynn says 'Carefully imagine the fountain at the Tower Square, and see what you find!'
Vistra begins concentrating as she begins to pull the flows of Earth, Air, and Spirt. Trying to
weave them together she falters and the weaves dissipate.
Vistra groans loudly.
Ashlynn motions towards Vistra, as if to say "Again!"
Vistra says 'I am sorry Aes Sedai.'
Vistra starts over pulling the weaves together and they wobble as she concentrates and then they
meld together.
Vistra says 'I can feel its presence. I also feel multiple others.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Vistra smiles happily.
Ashlynn says 'How many do you sense? I think I am able to sense sixteen or seventeen.'
Vistra frowns.
Vistra says 'I only sense 12.'
Ashlynn says 'That leads to the next point about this weave.'
Ashlynn says 'The weave is dependent upon your age, or rather, your worldly experience, so to speak.'
Ashlynn says 'While you have the equivalent experience to thirty-eight girls, I have that of fifty-one.'
Ashlynn says 'We also may have learned the weave to different proficiencies.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Do you happen to recall what percentage mastery you have learned?'
Vistra says 'I believe I am about 75% proficient with the weave Ashlynn Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'I have learned it about ninety percent of the way.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'That would explain the differences in what we have sensed. I am more traveled and
proficient than you are, and so I was able to sense additional fountains, likely farther away, which
is my next point.'
Ashlynn says 'Distance is measured in approximations with general language'
Ashlynn says 'You probably sensed three fountains "around here".'
Vistra says 'Yes Aes Sedai I did.'
Ashlynn says 'That would be the fountain at Coulin, the fountain at Merchant's Square, and the one at
Tower Square.'
Ashlynn says '"Around here" means it is within the same zone.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Or, rather, let me backtrack.'
Ashlynn says 'Zones are on a grid. Think of it like an ethereal plane below the ground that we cannot see
or travel within.'
Ashlynn says 'Each area is affixed atop this plane.'
Ashlynn says 'Most zones are on their own specific point on this grid.'
Vistra says 'I am grasping the concept.'
Ashlynn says 'However, I believe that the Tower itself, and Tar Valon city proper, is on the same
specific point.'
Vistra smiles in understading.
Ashlynn says 'For an example, when I was locating the shadowspawn, I sensed them around here. However, as
Aes Sedai, I also have a keen sense for telling if shadowspawn are in my immediate area. When I type
Ashlynn I can sense them.'
Ashlynn says 'But, I could not sense them here!'
Ashlynn says 'Locating an object they both carried revealed they were "around here", so I could safely
assume they were in the city proper, and not on the Tower grounds.'
Ashlynn says 'This is how I knew we were safe, for the most part, unless they came looking for Reyl. That
is why I allowed him to seek refuge and receive healing before sending him on his way.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'If they would have came in after him, they would have had to unlock the door somehow, and
then fight three of us, including anyone present in the room such as Corele Sedai here.'
Ashlynn says 'Anyway...'
Ashlynn says 'Do you sense any of the fountains "far" away? I think I sense five fountains "far south".'
Vistra says 'I sensed five "far south" and two "far north"'
Ashlynn says 'As did I.'
Vistra smiles happily.
Ashlynn says 'The ones far north I am not entirely sure about their whereabouts, but I think the five far
south would be in Caemlyn. There are four in the Palace, and one in the square.'
Vistra says 'I have only been there when passing through to come to the tower. I do not have very
much knowledge of the city.'
Ashlynn says 'This leads me to an assumption about the level dependency. I suppose that those further
fountains I sense are the ones you are not sensing, due to your proficiency level and experience
level.'
Ashlynn says 'Are you able to sense any fountains "very far" away?'
Vistra says 'Just a couple west of here.'
Ashlynn says 'Of the 17, it appears you can sense the ones around here and far away, but not all of the
ones very far away.'
Ashlynn says 'Very far west, two of them?'
Vistra says 'Yes Aes Sedai. I can sense two very far west of here.'
Ashlynn says 'Based on this and the fact that I also sense others very far away, do you think that your
proficiency in the weave itself is handicapping you, or do you believe it is your experience level?'
Vistra says 'I believe that it might be more of my worldly experience. '
Ashlynn says 'I would agree that is probably the reason too.'
Ashlynn says 'Now, I have not tested this extensively, but I believe the reason I only see seventeen
items is because that is actually the amount of fountains within my range. I believe you can sense
more than seventeen items at a time, if they are numerous enough.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'What else could affect your results? Pay close attention to what you saw when you tried to
sense the fountains.'
Ashlynn feels the flows of saidar coursing through her body.
(some snacks and drinks were had during the lecture)
Vistra thinks hard.
Vistra says 'Could the amount of Saidar you can hold at once affect it?'
Ashlynn says 'Who is to say? I do not think so.'
Ashlynn says 'Try again. Pay attention to the differences in the fountains.'
Vistra says 'Could it be the type of fountain. One of the fountains I am sensing seems to more
elaborate than the others.'
Ashlynn nods at her.
Ashlynn says 'Very good.'
Vistra smiles happily.
Ashlynn says 'Specificity is an important tool that we can use when weaving to discern between generic
objects and the ones we may be looking for.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'As an example, try locating some coins.'
Ashlynn senses Vistra connecting to the True Source.
Vistra says 'Oh wow. I can actually feel the difference in denomination of the coins and the amounts
each person is holding.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Vistra smiles happily.
Ashlynn says 'By using a generic term, you can sense the coppers, the gold crowns, and even Tar Valon
silver marks if anyone were holding them.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Now try the same, but this time use crowns.'
Ashlynn senses Vistra is channeling saidar.
Vistra fails to pull together whatever flows she was trying to weave.
Vistra says 'I am feeling some mushrooms also.'
Vistra ponders life, the universe, and everything.
Ashlynn says 'I didn't even think about that.'
Ashlynn says 'The crown of the mushroom is a keyword for them.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Fun fact: a mushroom that responds to crown is not poisonous. I think it might also respond
to queen and maybe king too.'
Ashlynn says 'Anyway, my point stands. By using crown, you are able to discard the copper pennies that
you sensed.'
Ashlynn says 'Therefore, we can use specific keywords to locate items that might be more useful to us.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Aes Sedai and Accepted often learn a weave called Travel. We will not go into that, as you
are still a Novice, and restricted from leaving the island.'
Ashlynn says 'You may have noticed that when you sense objects, each has a corresponding code of what
s to you like gibberish.'
Vistra says 'Oh so that is what it is used for. Thank you for explaining that Ashlynn Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'This gibberish is actually a sort of encrypted code that can be used in tandem with the
Travel weave to travel towards the room the item was located in at the time of locating.'
Ashlynn says 'I will add in two more things about Travel, despite your current rank preventing you from
using it to it's full extent.'
Vistra says 'So the importnce is we can locate an object that we are needing then travel there using
that code.'
Ashlynn nods at her.
Vistra smiles happily.
Ashlynn says 'The first and most important is that if you use locate object or locate life to detect
earth codes for Traveling, you MUST be sure to practice MORE Travel weave than your locate weave.'
Ashlynn says 'If the proficiencies are juxtaposed, that is, if you can sense farther than your skill in
Traveling, YOU WILL END UP IN A RANDOM PLACE!'
Vistra shivers uncomfortably.
Ashlynn says 'It is better to be able to Travel farther than you can locate, as this will minimize the
possibility of what is called a "misport".'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'The other important tidbit about Traveling is thus: You must remember that when the month
changes, so do the earth codes.'
Vistra says 'I will remember Ashlynn Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'If today is the 27th of Tammaz, and you note an earth code to Travel to Caemlyn, within the
next two days (about an hour's time) it will be the 1st of Maigdhal, and you MUST fetch a new earth
code.'
Ashlynn says 'If you were to try to Travel on the 1st of Maigdhal using the old code, you would end up
somewhere else.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Many Accepted and Aes Sedai do not Travel, but if you ever were to use it, you should keep
it in mind. I am done with this tangent. Back to locate object.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Let's try one more exercise in specificity.'
Ashlynn says 'Try locating a ring'
Ashlynn senses Vistra connecting to the True Source.
Ashlynn says 'You will see many, as we are in the Tower after all.'
Ashlynn senses Vistra is channeling saidar.
Vistra says 'Yes Aes Sedai. A lot of great serpent rings.'
Ashlynn feels the flows of saidar coursing through her body.
Ashlynn says 'Now try sensing for "worked"'
Ashlynn senses Vistra is channeling saidar.
Vistra says 'Oh there is one that much nicer than the rest somewhere around here.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn stops using a beautifully worked great serpent ring.
Ashlynn shows a beautifully worked great serpent ring to Vistra.
Ashlynn says 'That is mine.'
Ashlynn slides a beautifully worked great serpent ring on to her right ring finger.
Vistra says 'That is beautiful Ashlynn Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'Now you can apply this in other ways... If you are sensing trollocs, you could try
"claymore" instead of "sword" or "axes" instead of "axe" as that will give you a specific type of
sword instead of all the swords on the guards. Or the rare pair of axes instead of all the long-
handled war axes carried by hideous trollocs.'
Ashlynn says 'Now, moving on.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'We've covered some of the basics about how to weave it and get the results you want. We
will now talk about using the weave in practice.'
Ashlynn says 'What are some uses for the weave that you can think of?'
Ashlynn says 'We talked about getting earth codes for Travel, so no need to go over that.'
Vistra says 'The one that jumps to the front of my mind is to make sure that there is nothing
dangerous around.'
Ashlynn says 'Excellent, yes, that is generally what it is used for. There is at least one other reason I
can think of. Do you think you know that reason?'
Vistra says 'We can look for daggers and see if there are any trollocs or fades.'
Vistra thinks hard.
Ashlynn says 'That is more like your first answer. I am thinking something different. Not necessarily
related to bad guys.'
Vistra says 'If there is an item that we need then we can try to locate it.'
Ashlynn says 'Aha! Yes.'
Ashlynn says 'It is often useful during exploration and questing, however, you must note that for the
latter it can often turn out to be useless. We will go over that and the reason why later.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'The typical use of the weave is for locating dangerous people and shadowspawn.'
Ashlynn says 'The weave tells us many different things, including the item's specific name, the earth
code, the relative distance from the channeler, and a generic description of who (if anyone) is
carrying it.'
Ashlynn says 'Knowing this, and using a little ingenuity, we can locate objects that most players carry,
in order to see if they are anywhere nearby.'
Ashlynn says 'What are some items you can think of that all players might carry and we could locate to
view relative strength'
Vistra says 'Rings and daggers.'
Vistra says 'I have noticed that every one once in a while it will say carried by a none. What does
that mean?'
Ashlynn says 'I am not sure. I think that the way it works, there are several different types of "mobs"
and players.'
Ashlynn says 'There are humans, animals, humanoids, seanchan, trollocs, myrddraal, dreadlords'
Ashlynn says 'Aiel'
Vistra says 'I think that the different assortment of trinkets can be used to show the strength of a
character.'
Ashlynn feels the flows of saidar coursing through her body.
Vistra says 'I was wondering if the none could be the special mobs.'
Ashlynn says 'None I think is just another type that doesn't fit in with the other categories'
Ashlynn says 'Undead is another type'
Ashlynn says 'Possibly spirit'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'For ghosts and what not. You may have run into them somewhere before'
Ashlynn isn't in touch with saidar to release anything.
Vistra says 'I have heard of them, but never been in the presence that I know of.'
Ashlynn says 'I don't think that none means they are special. Probably just an oversight '
Ashlynn isn't in touch with saidar to release anything.
Ashlynn says 'Now, back to your answer. Rings and daggers are two of the most commonly used objects for
locates.'
Ashlynn says 'Everyone who is prepared should carry a dagger, and there are not too many mobs that carry
daggers.'
Ashlynn says 'And anyone who is properly equipped should have two rings.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'There are some trolloc packrats who should be watched out for, though. They like to carry a
sack with as many rings as they can fit in it. This could cause confusion and throw off numbers,
making it more difficult to efficiently communicate the actual numbers.'
Vistra says 'That is very tricky of them. I did not think trollocs were that intellegent.'
Ashlynn says 'Try locating ring again.'
Ashlynn senses Vistra connecting to the True Source.
Ashlynn says 'I would like to demonstrate something else.'
Ashlynn senses Vistra is channeling saidar.
Vistra says 'I am sensing them Aes Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'You may have sensed some rings north of here. Gold carved with ivy.'
Ashlynn says 'You may also have sensed my ring again, and a gold ring.'
Ashlynn says 'Look at me.'
Ashlynn says 'My hands, specifically.'
Ashlynn shows her hands, so Vistra can see the rings she is wearing.
Ashlynn emote: Ashlynn shows her hands, so Vistra can see the rings she is wearing.
Vistra looks at Ashlynn.
Ashlynn says 'Now knowing the output of the locate weave, what do you think you can surmise about the
information?'
Ashlynn puts a pair of slim riding gloves on her hands.
Vistra says 'One is that you are a human. Two is that you show up twice on my list.'
Ashlynn says 'I do, because I am wearing two rings.'
Ashlynn says 'Anything else?'
Vistra says 'I am not sensing your gold ring but not your serpent ring.'
Ashlynn thinks really hard.
Ashlynn says 'Perhaps it is due to your level.'
Vistra says 'Nope I just glazed over it.'
Vistra blushes.
Ashlynn says 'Did you also sense two gold rings carved with ivy far north of here?'
Ashlynn says 'Or north of here rather'
Vistra says 'I did not see those.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Okay, well, if you did, here is my point.'
Ashlynn says 'Often, if you sense something like a ring, you will notice that they are grouped together.'
Ashlynn says 'If someone is wearing two rings, they typically output as one next to the other.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'So the beautiful serpent ring and the gold ring I am wearing ought to be one after the
other on the output from the weave.'
Ashlynn says 'I haven't verified it myself, but it appears to be true in almost all instances.'
Vistra says 'I and seeing them together also.'
Ashlynn says 'To recap, most people will wear two rings. We can take the number of rings on trollocs and
divide by two to determine relative numbers.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Excellent.'
Ashlynn says 'What else might we tell by the rings we sense?'
Vistra says 'Some rings give better abilities than others, so we can tell relative power level
through rings.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Exactly. We can also generally make a guess as to the style of combat they prefer.'
Ashlynn says 'For example, emerald or gold rings denote someone using a dodge set up.'
Ashlynn says 'A gold ring carved with ivy is generally a person using heavy weapon and armor.'
Ashlynn says 'Silver rings are generally the same.'
Ashlynn says 'Gold ivy rings might be used by people using a combination of equipment, though. Something
to remember.'
Ashlynn says 'Now as you were saying, we can also get relative numbers by using dagger as a keyword.
Players use daggers for numerous reasons. Whether to dress a kill so they can eat, or to sever their
opponents head. Rogues and others might use them to backstab. Using dagger, we can generally get a
reliable number count easily, and determine if any stabbers are in the mix.'
Ashlynn says 'It's also a good one for detecting Children of the Light, as many of them use backstab.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Knowing specific patterns of behavior for Children of the Light is useful in detecting
them. Some of them wear their cloak proudly, so if you detect their bright white cloak you can know
one is nearby. Others are more cowardly and hide their affiliations.'
Vistra says 'That makes a lot of sense.'
Ashlynn says 'There are other items they often wear. Upon reaching rank five they are given a pair of
silver lightning bolts. You can try locating bolts to see if one is wearing this shimmering obsidian
pendant equivalent necklace.'
Ashlynn says 'They do not always wear them, though.'
Ashlynn says 'I don't think it's a requirement.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Some of them are able to wear different armor than the typical armor you see. Usually it's
bright white linen tunics instead of bearskins, and shining chainmail. These are retools. If you try
to locate tooled for silver tooled boots, you might see shining chainmail boots instead.'
Ashlynn says 'Since the retool renames it, it should show the retool name on the output of a locate.'
Vistra says 'There are many amazing uses for this weave I did not think about.'
Ashlynn says 'As we talked about briefly before, the weave can be used to find objects of note that you
might need.'
Ashlynn says 'Some examples include a sandstone to mend your staff, or water should your skin run dry and
you find yourself in the wilderness.'
Vistra says 'Those are wonderful examples.'
Ashlynn says 'Finally, an often used but not often thought of use by novices is as such: locating scalps
and corpses.'
Ashlynn says 'By locating scalps or corpses, we can see if anyone has been killed or if someone is
leaving a path of destruction along the carriageways.'
Vistra shivers uncomfortably.
Ashlynn says 'For example, if you were to locate corpse, and see the corpses of several wolves, but no
one using rings, we might be able to guess that a gray man is roaming the lands.'
Ashlynn says 'As gray men are not detectable in most circumstances.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Any questions? If not, I will use that to segue into the next topic.'
Vistra shakes her head.
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Vistra studiously scribbles down notes.
Ashlynn says 'Locate object is great. However, it has some pitfalls.'
Ashlynn says 'One of these is that some objects are unable to be located.'
Ashlynn says 'Revisiting what we discussed earlier about using the weave in exploration and questing,
many smobs and quest items are not able to be located for one reason or another.'
Ashlynn says 'Generally, a smob is not locateable because the room it is inside is not locateable.'
Ashlynn says 'While on the other hand, quest items themselves are generally no locate.'
Ashlynn says 'Some other items are not locateable, such as herbs'
Vistra ponders life, the universe, and everything.
Ashlynn says 'In addition to rooms that are not locateable, some entire zones are not locateable. Have
you ever heard of the Stedding? Or the Guardian ter'angreal in Far Madding?'
Vistra says 'I heard of the stedding from listening to a Brown Ajah lecture on Ogiers.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Very good.'
Vistra says 'I do not know of the ter'angreal though.'
Ashlynn says 'The Stedding were created with some mechanism that does not allow the One Power to be used
at all. As a result, it is invisible to our attempts to locate objects and people within it.'
Ashlynn says 'The Guardian is a ter'angreal that acts like a Stedding. Far Madding itself is covered
completely by this ter'angreal, making it impossible to channel inside, and thus again not locate
anyone or anything inside of it.'
Vistra boggles at the thought.
Ashlynn says 'So if you lost your pack of gold in Far Madding, and try to locate it, you are not going to
be able to sense it. The ter'angreal will block your weave, so to speak, making it impossible.'
Vistra says 'That would be frustrating.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Another place that you cannot locate is the Ways. You may have heard of them before.'
Vistra says 'I have heard a little about the ways. They seem very dangerous.'
Ashlynn says 'No one really knows how the Ways were created. It's almost like another dimension of
existence. I don't think it's on the grid with the rest of the world, and therefore you cannot
locate anything inside them. However, if you are inside the Ways, you may be able to locate things
inside the Ways. '
Ashlynn says 'Yes, they are very dangerous, although with that risk comes a reward in being able to move
vast distances quickly. With some practice and attentiveness it becomes a lot less dangerous
overall. I would not recommend visiting them, even when you become Accepted.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Obviously, if the item is out of your range, or none are around, you will not be able to
locate it. That should go without saying.'
Ashlynn says 'Often we may find that we think we are using the correct keyword when we are really not...
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Or we use a keyword and find something other than what we were expecting. It can be fun and
exciting to discover these new keywords, but also annoying and troublesome if we are not able to
find what we want.'
Vistra says 'Like crown being used for a mushroom.'
Vistra snickers softly.
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Exactly.'
Ashlynn says 'There is also another zone, so to speak, that can cause mischief with locates.'
(tic_timer): Tic in 7 seconds!
Ashlynn says 'There is a fade called Blodfest. He manages a camp of trollocs that roam about the world.
This camp is not on the grid in a traditional sense either, so you are not able to sense if the camp
is nearby by locating objects within it.'
Vistra listens intently.
Ashlynn says 'The locate weaves should work while INSIDE the camp, however.'
Vistra boggles at the thought.
Vistra says 'It is good that you can use it in the camp, but the fact he can move it around at will
is terrifying.'
Ashlynn says 'There are also some other things that will make it impossible to sense items.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'One thing you may have noticed, is that items in the barrels in the square cannot be
located.'
Ashlynn says 'While items in a backpack might be locateable, items in some containers cannot be located.'
Vistra says 'Interesting.'
Ashlynn says 'One such container is an oilskin bag. You will often see it used during events with special
loads of valuable equipment. The bag will be used by a mob, and to prevent others from abusing the
weave to quickly find the rare item, the bag itself prevents the weave from locating the bag or item
within.'
Ashlynn says 'I believe you can buy these bags somewhere. Maredo Village maybe? I do not recall.'
Ashlynn says 'They cannot hold too much, though.'
Ashlynn says 'If memory serves me correctly.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Many other stationary containers do the same thing. Some people have hollowed out tree
trunks to cache supplies in the wilderness. We cannot sense the item in the tree trunk, only the
tree trunk itself.'
Ashlynn says 'When you are able to leave the city, always examine things you find if you are not in
danger. You might be surprised at where you can hide things.'
Vistra says 'I will do that Ashlynn Sedai.'
*********** NEW MONTH - FADE/TRAVEL CODES RESET ***********
Ashlynn says 'There is one last thing on my outline about no locates'
Ashlynn says 'And on another note, the month just changed.'
Ashlynn says 'I do not know if you saw that, but if you have a script that clears earth codes, you
generally get an echo that says "NEW MONTH TRAVEL CODES RESET"'
Ashlynn says 'When you see the Wheel of Time turns towards the Light/Dark/Seanchan, that generally means
the month has changed.'
Vistra writes down get script for travel codes.
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'This means that the Wheel has determined the results of the struggle for the month, and
begun tallying for the next.'
Ashlynn says 'Type view struggle to see what I am talking about.'
Ashlynn says 'Anyway, that is funny that it just so happened while we talked about it not long ago.'
Vistra smiles happily.
Vistra says 'It is.'
Ashlynn says 'Back to no locates! There are many objects that people and shadowspawn can wear or carry
that make them unable to be located.'
Ashlynn says 'One of these is a rare medallion, a silver medallion.'
Ashlynn says 'Those who wear it not only get a great boost to their defense, they are unable to be
located by weaves, whether object or life.'
Ashlynn says 'Besides that item, there are items that you can carry that make you impossible to locate.'
Ashlynn says 'One of these is used by humans and seanchan. It is from the jeweler in Tanchico, I believe.
It is a gold-inlaid crystal disc.'
Ashlynn says 'Another item often used by shadowspawn is a crimson splintered skull.'
Ashlynn says 'They can buy them from their commisars.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'One other item I can think of is the gleaming horseshoes used by fades on their shadow
stallions. These make it impossible to detect the shadow stallions, and at the same time I suppose
if a fade held one or had one in their pack, they could not be located either. I don't think they
generally do that in practice, though.'
Ashlynn says 'We are getting close to the end of the lesson.'
Ashlynn says 'I have one more topic to go over, and that is gauging distance.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Unless you have any other comments or questions about no locates?'
Vistra shakes her head.
Ashlynn says 'Good, good.'
Ashlynn says 'Gauging distance can be difficult.'
Ashlynn says 'I still struggle with it sometimes.'
Ashlynn says 'It is something that you will get better at with experience and practice.'
Vistra breathes a sigh of relief.
Ashlynn says 'We will always see a general indicator of distance.'
Ashlynn says 'The four cardinal directions are always provided, unless it is within the same zone or the
zones share the same place on the grid.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'We can also see in between, such as if something is southeast of us, or northwest. And so
on.'
Ashlynn says 'The distances are described as "around here", or adjacent which would be just the
direction, "west" i.e.'
Ashlynn says 'The next stage would be "far" This is generally two or three zones away, I believe.'
Ashlynn says 'Following "Far" is "Very Far" which is generally three or four, maybe five zones away.
Apologies as I have not verified this independently. '
Ashlynn says 'And last but not least, "Extremely Far" which is even farther. Five, six, or more zones
maybe.'
Vistra boggles at the thought.
Vistra says 'It is amazing that we could sense something that far away.'
Ashlynn says 'I cannot tell a lie, as I have sworn the Three Oaths. I have made my outline based on a
class Callesa Sedai taught fifteen years ago.'
Ashlynn says 'She is a wonderful woman, and quite knowledgeable. I suggest if you wish to learn more
about locating objects or lifeforms, to contact her with any questions.'
Vistra says 'I am sure that hopefully one day I will be teaching a class that I made an outline from
Ashlynn Sedai.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn grins at her.
Ashlynn says 'Now, remember I told you about the grid...'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Well, the Creator has seen fit to make sure every zone is on the grid in a manner that is
most logical. However, over time, the Creator may have got weary eyed, and may have made some boo
boos'
Ashlynn says 'In my experience, I have noticed some of this wonkiness down near Cairhien.'
Ashlynn says 'Do note that in most cases, the grid is correct, but in some places, it may be difficult to
understand what is going on with it.'
Vistra says 'Yes Ashlynn Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'I remember at one point I was using locates to triangulate something. Do you know what that
means?'
Vistra says 'To narrow down the location. Basically pinpointing it.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Think of a triangle, three sides, three points, three angles.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'We take a locate for the same object from three different points. We can guess in general
that object is located based on this.'
Ashlynn says 'Well, I was searching for something in Cairhien, and I used this method. But the output of
the distance and direction led me to believe the object was not within the triangle.'
Ashlynn says 'Eventually, I believe I found it, but I ran back and forth two or three times trying to
figure out what was going on before I discovered that the zones, some of which were implemented much
later than the others, were not in line with each other.'
Vistra follows along with the conversation.
Ashlynn says 'This is always a possibility, but in general it is not going to be a worry or something
that affects our use of the weave to determine enemy troop counts and movements.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'The weave costs twelve saidar points to weave, by the way'
Ashlynn says 'Meaning you need at least twenty-four saidar points to weave it.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'I am not sure on the length. You must not be in combat, as it requires much concentration.'
Ashlynn says 'It is best to do it from relative safety, such as a no hide or hard to hide room, or with a
big patrol.'
Vistra says 'It would not be good trying to locate a dagger to only find it in your back.'
Ashlynn nods at her.
Ashlynn says 'If you are providing support, you may want to run it periodically. Depending on whether PK
is happening or not, anywhere from every few minutes to every fifteen or so.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'If you find something, and no one is PKing, a general courtesy is to rpish narrate that you
are sensing such and such in so and so direction'
Ashlynn says 'If you don't find anything, you may do it more infrequently'
Vistra says 'Yes Ashlynn Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'if you do find something, frequently running the weave will allow you to discern the
enemy's movements and where they may be headed.'
Vistra says 'So we can use it kind of like a tracking system.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Now, if you will, I have a task for you, to use your new found knowledge. '
Ashlynn feels the flows of saidar coursing through her body.
Ashlynn says 'Using the keyword "key", I want you to draw a map that shows where the keys you sense are
most likely located, and their distance from Tar Valon.'
Vistra says 'Yes, Ashlynn Sedai I am ready for a task.'
(Ashlynn Sedai gives Vistra a task to complete)
Vistra says 'Am I dismissed Ashlynn Sedai?'
Ashlynn says 'Yes, you are dismissed. See to it that you complete your task and report back when you are
finished.'
Ashlynn gestures with her hand.
Vistra curtseys gracefully.
The door smoothly swings open.
Vistra says 'Thank you Ashlynn Sedai.'
(Vistra leaves pondering all the wonderful uses of locate object and the amazing knowledge Ashlynn Sedai imparted)
This was originally posted in the White Tower Library and I was told that was probably not the best place to put it, so I am relocating it to here.
Summary: Ashlynn Sedai teaches wearied novice Vistra about the fine points of the locate object weave. First and foremost this is from Ashlynn Sedai's point of view because Vistra was unable to log the encounter. Editing and Rplization done by Vistra. The entire lesson occurs in a secret location of the Yellow Ajah.
Main Actors: Wearied Novice Vistra and Ashlynn Sedai of the Yellow Ajah.
Guest Appearance: Reyl
Vistra curtseys before Ashlynn.
Ashlynn nods at her.
Vistra says 'Good day Aes Sedai'
Ashlynn says 'A good evening to you!'
Ashlynn says 'How are your studies going?'
Vistra says 'Thank you for making time for me.'
Vistra says 'They are going well Aes Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'Anything of particular note that you have learned recently that you would like to share?'
Vistra says 'I have been working on getting the flame strike weave to hit in between swings of my
staff.'
Vistra says 'It take a great amount of concentration.'
Have you reached a personal best for consecutive successes?
Ashlynn says 'It does. I am afraid I am not particularly great at that, but then again, I do not often
find myself fighting other channelers. Have you reached a personal best for consecutive successes?'
Vistra says 'I was able to get up to 4 consecutive in between swings. '
Vistra blushes.
Ashlynn claps her hands together.
Ashlynn says 'That is good! I do not recall my own personal best. I only did it as an exercise to receive
some merits from the Red Ajah when I was an Accepted.'
Ashlynn says 'I think I was able to do three or four.'
Ashlynn shrugs.
Vistra says 'It was hard to get to 4.'
Ashlynn says 'Keep practicing, and you should continue to improve. It is important, as it may save your
life one day, whether you decide to join one of the combat oriented Ajahs or not.'
Ashlynn says 'Have you taken any time to learn more about some of the topics and history provided by the
other Aes Sedai? Romanda Sedai, here in our own Yellow Ajah wing, has some lessons about various
topics.'
(Reyl makes an appearance after heroically fighting darkspawn for some healing before heading back out to defend the light. Ashlynn Sedai demonstrates the love of the health of others as she quickly prepares Reyl for the battle ahead while giving Vistra a lesson on the finer points of the health of other. Now back to the topic of locations.)
Ashlynn says 'Okay, now that is done'
Ashlynn says 'Now where was I... Oh yes.'
Ashlynn says 'I was wondering if you had taken any time to learn about the various topics the Aes Sedai
provide lessons on. Our very own Romanda Sedai has some interesting lectures.'
Vistra says 'I have studied with some of the Ajah's Aes Sedai.'
Ashlynn nods at her.
Ashlynn says 'If you have not yet, I suggest taking some time to listen to Romanda Sedai's lectures. She
is located in her apartment, just north and west of here.'
Vistra says 'Of course Aes Sedai. I will as soon as our meeting is over.'
Ashlynn says 'That is good to hear. Many of the girls do not realize that when some of us Aes Sedai are
not around, there are always other Aes Sedai around to provide some form of instruction or lecture.'
(Ashlynn Sedai spends some time conferring with Corele Sedai)
Vistra says 'It seems there is always something to learn. The Aes Sedai have so much knowledge of
the world.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'We do have a lot of knowledge. We do not have all of it. That is why the Brown study and
research tirelessly.'
Ashlynn says 'In fact, this lesson I will be giving you today is based on research by several Brown
sisters.'
Ashlynn says 'Now, let us begin. Locate Object!'
Ashlynn says 'Locate Object is a fantastic weave.'
Ashlynn senses Vistra connecting to the True Source.
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'With it, we are able to detect items throughout the world. This, of course, comes with
several requirements and caveats.'
Ashlynn says 'First of all, the requirements.'
Ashlynn says 'The weave requires threads of Earth, Air, and Spirit.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Earth, I believe due to the fact that we are attempting to find items. All items are
composed of matter, and generally it comes from the earth in some way or other. Whether it's the
iron used to make a steel sword, or the wood used on the haft of an axe, we need to be in tune with
the ground in order to sense it.'
Vistra says 'That makes a lot of sense Ashlynn Sedai. I never thought of it that way.'
Ashlynn says 'Air, I believe due to the fact that we are reaching out to find these things. It makes most
sense to me that we must use the winds to reach these farther distances and detect whatever item we
are looking for.'
Vistra face shows deep thought.
Ashlynn says 'And finally, many weaves require a component of spirit. '
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'I am not entirely sure the reason for this. Spirit can be used for many things, including
enhancing and repairing the body through things such as armor or healing. We all have a soul I
suppose.'
Ashlynn feels the flows of saidar coursing through her body.
Ashlynn carefully weaves four thick threads of Earth. She then pulls together two threads of Air, and
finally two fine threads of Spirit.
Vistra says 'Hmm. That is very interesting. I guess we do need souls if we are to be reweaved into
the pattern.'
Ashlynn weaves the threads together gracefully into one flow, and begins to attempt to sense an object.
Ashlynn emote: Ashlynn weaves the threads together gracefully into one flow, and begins to attempt to
sense an object.
Vistra watches intently.
Ashlynn says 'Four Earth, Two Air, and Two Spirit are the requirements.'
Vistra says 'I have the required abiliities in those elements Ashlynn Sedai.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Vistra says 'Do you mind showing me one more time? I believe I can put those weaves together.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn feels the flows of saidar coursing through her body.
Vistra brows furrow as she looks on.
Ashlynn repeats the weave, creating four strands of Earth, two of Air, and two of Spirit, before deftly
combining them into the locate object weave.
Vistra says 'Oh I see them. Do you mind if I give it a try?'
Ashlynn says 'Of course. Practice makes perfect. Try to locate a fountain. You have to think of the
object in question.'
Ashlynn says 'Carefully imagine the fountain at the Tower Square, and see what you find!'
Vistra begins concentrating as she begins to pull the flows of Earth, Air, and Spirt. Trying to
weave them together she falters and the weaves dissipate.
Vistra groans loudly.
Ashlynn motions towards Vistra, as if to say "Again!"
Vistra says 'I am sorry Aes Sedai.'
Vistra starts over pulling the weaves together and they wobble as she concentrates and then they
meld together.
Vistra says 'I can feel its presence. I also feel multiple others.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Vistra smiles happily.
Ashlynn says 'How many do you sense? I think I am able to sense sixteen or seventeen.'
Vistra frowns.
Vistra says 'I only sense 12.'
Ashlynn says 'That leads to the next point about this weave.'
Ashlynn says 'The weave is dependent upon your age, or rather, your worldly experience, so to speak.'
Ashlynn says 'While you have the equivalent experience to thirty-eight girls, I have that of fifty-one.'
Ashlynn says 'We also may have learned the weave to different proficiencies.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Do you happen to recall what percentage mastery you have learned?'
Vistra says 'I believe I am about 75% proficient with the weave Ashlynn Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'I have learned it about ninety percent of the way.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'That would explain the differences in what we have sensed. I am more traveled and
proficient than you are, and so I was able to sense additional fountains, likely farther away, which
is my next point.'
Ashlynn says 'Distance is measured in approximations with general language'
Ashlynn says 'You probably sensed three fountains "around here".'
Vistra says 'Yes Aes Sedai I did.'
Ashlynn says 'That would be the fountain at Coulin, the fountain at Merchant's Square, and the one at
Tower Square.'
Ashlynn says '"Around here" means it is within the same zone.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Or, rather, let me backtrack.'
Ashlynn says 'Zones are on a grid. Think of it like an ethereal plane below the ground that we cannot see
or travel within.'
Ashlynn says 'Each area is affixed atop this plane.'
Ashlynn says 'Most zones are on their own specific point on this grid.'
Vistra says 'I am grasping the concept.'
Ashlynn says 'However, I believe that the Tower itself, and Tar Valon city proper, is on the same
specific point.'
Vistra smiles in understading.
Ashlynn says 'For an example, when I was locating the shadowspawn, I sensed them around here. However, as
Aes Sedai, I also have a keen sense for telling if shadowspawn are in my immediate area. When I type
Ashlynn I can sense them.'
Ashlynn says 'But, I could not sense them here!'
Ashlynn says 'Locating an object they both carried revealed they were "around here", so I could safely
assume they were in the city proper, and not on the Tower grounds.'
Ashlynn says 'This is how I knew we were safe, for the most part, unless they came looking for Reyl. That
is why I allowed him to seek refuge and receive healing before sending him on his way.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'If they would have came in after him, they would have had to unlock the door somehow, and
then fight three of us, including anyone present in the room such as Corele Sedai here.'
Ashlynn says 'Anyway...'
Ashlynn says 'Do you sense any of the fountains "far" away? I think I sense five fountains "far south".'
Vistra says 'I sensed five "far south" and two "far north"'
Ashlynn says 'As did I.'
Vistra smiles happily.
Ashlynn says 'The ones far north I am not entirely sure about their whereabouts, but I think the five far
south would be in Caemlyn. There are four in the Palace, and one in the square.'
Vistra says 'I have only been there when passing through to come to the tower. I do not have very
much knowledge of the city.'
Ashlynn says 'This leads me to an assumption about the level dependency. I suppose that those further
fountains I sense are the ones you are not sensing, due to your proficiency level and experience
level.'
Ashlynn says 'Are you able to sense any fountains "very far" away?'
Vistra says 'Just a couple west of here.'
Ashlynn says 'Of the 17, it appears you can sense the ones around here and far away, but not all of the
ones very far away.'
Ashlynn says 'Very far west, two of them?'
Vistra says 'Yes Aes Sedai. I can sense two very far west of here.'
Ashlynn says 'Based on this and the fact that I also sense others very far away, do you think that your
proficiency in the weave itself is handicapping you, or do you believe it is your experience level?'
Vistra says 'I believe that it might be more of my worldly experience. '
Ashlynn says 'I would agree that is probably the reason too.'
Ashlynn says 'Now, I have not tested this extensively, but I believe the reason I only see seventeen
items is because that is actually the amount of fountains within my range. I believe you can sense
more than seventeen items at a time, if they are numerous enough.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'What else could affect your results? Pay close attention to what you saw when you tried to
sense the fountains.'
Ashlynn feels the flows of saidar coursing through her body.
(some snacks and drinks were had during the lecture)
Vistra thinks hard.
Vistra says 'Could the amount of Saidar you can hold at once affect it?'
Ashlynn says 'Who is to say? I do not think so.'
Ashlynn says 'Try again. Pay attention to the differences in the fountains.'
Vistra says 'Could it be the type of fountain. One of the fountains I am sensing seems to more
elaborate than the others.'
Ashlynn nods at her.
Ashlynn says 'Very good.'
Vistra smiles happily.
Ashlynn says 'Specificity is an important tool that we can use when weaving to discern between generic
objects and the ones we may be looking for.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'As an example, try locating some coins.'
Ashlynn senses Vistra connecting to the True Source.
Vistra says 'Oh wow. I can actually feel the difference in denomination of the coins and the amounts
each person is holding.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Vistra smiles happily.
Ashlynn says 'By using a generic term, you can sense the coppers, the gold crowns, and even Tar Valon
silver marks if anyone were holding them.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Now try the same, but this time use crowns.'
Ashlynn senses Vistra is channeling saidar.
Vistra fails to pull together whatever flows she was trying to weave.
Vistra says 'I am feeling some mushrooms also.'
Vistra ponders life, the universe, and everything.
Ashlynn says 'I didn't even think about that.'
Ashlynn says 'The crown of the mushroom is a keyword for them.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Fun fact: a mushroom that responds to crown is not poisonous. I think it might also respond
to queen and maybe king too.'
Ashlynn says 'Anyway, my point stands. By using crown, you are able to discard the copper pennies that
you sensed.'
Ashlynn says 'Therefore, we can use specific keywords to locate items that might be more useful to us.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Aes Sedai and Accepted often learn a weave called Travel. We will not go into that, as you
are still a Novice, and restricted from leaving the island.'
Ashlynn says 'You may have noticed that when you sense objects, each has a corresponding code of what
s to you like gibberish.'
Vistra says 'Oh so that is what it is used for. Thank you for explaining that Ashlynn Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'This gibberish is actually a sort of encrypted code that can be used in tandem with the
Travel weave to travel towards the room the item was located in at the time of locating.'
Ashlynn says 'I will add in two more things about Travel, despite your current rank preventing you from
using it to it's full extent.'
Vistra says 'So the importnce is we can locate an object that we are needing then travel there using
that code.'
Ashlynn nods at her.
Vistra smiles happily.
Ashlynn says 'The first and most important is that if you use locate object or locate life to detect
earth codes for Traveling, you MUST be sure to practice MORE Travel weave than your locate weave.'
Ashlynn says 'If the proficiencies are juxtaposed, that is, if you can sense farther than your skill in
Traveling, YOU WILL END UP IN A RANDOM PLACE!'
Vistra shivers uncomfortably.
Ashlynn says 'It is better to be able to Travel farther than you can locate, as this will minimize the
possibility of what is called a "misport".'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'The other important tidbit about Traveling is thus: You must remember that when the month
changes, so do the earth codes.'
Vistra says 'I will remember Ashlynn Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'If today is the 27th of Tammaz, and you note an earth code to Travel to Caemlyn, within the
next two days (about an hour's time) it will be the 1st of Maigdhal, and you MUST fetch a new earth
code.'
Ashlynn says 'If you were to try to Travel on the 1st of Maigdhal using the old code, you would end up
somewhere else.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Many Accepted and Aes Sedai do not Travel, but if you ever were to use it, you should keep
it in mind. I am done with this tangent. Back to locate object.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Let's try one more exercise in specificity.'
Ashlynn says 'Try locating a ring'
Ashlynn senses Vistra connecting to the True Source.
Ashlynn says 'You will see many, as we are in the Tower after all.'
Ashlynn senses Vistra is channeling saidar.
Vistra says 'Yes Aes Sedai. A lot of great serpent rings.'
Ashlynn feels the flows of saidar coursing through her body.
Ashlynn says 'Now try sensing for "worked"'
Ashlynn senses Vistra is channeling saidar.
Vistra says 'Oh there is one that much nicer than the rest somewhere around here.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn stops using a beautifully worked great serpent ring.
Ashlynn shows a beautifully worked great serpent ring to Vistra.
Ashlynn says 'That is mine.'
Ashlynn slides a beautifully worked great serpent ring on to her right ring finger.
Vistra says 'That is beautiful Ashlynn Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'Now you can apply this in other ways... If you are sensing trollocs, you could try
"claymore" instead of "sword" or "axes" instead of "axe" as that will give you a specific type of
sword instead of all the swords on the guards. Or the rare pair of axes instead of all the long-
handled war axes carried by hideous trollocs.'
Ashlynn says 'Now, moving on.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'We've covered some of the basics about how to weave it and get the results you want. We
will now talk about using the weave in practice.'
Ashlynn says 'What are some uses for the weave that you can think of?'
Ashlynn says 'We talked about getting earth codes for Travel, so no need to go over that.'
Vistra says 'The one that jumps to the front of my mind is to make sure that there is nothing
dangerous around.'
Ashlynn says 'Excellent, yes, that is generally what it is used for. There is at least one other reason I
can think of. Do you think you know that reason?'
Vistra says 'We can look for daggers and see if there are any trollocs or fades.'
Vistra thinks hard.
Ashlynn says 'That is more like your first answer. I am thinking something different. Not necessarily
related to bad guys.'
Vistra says 'If there is an item that we need then we can try to locate it.'
Ashlynn says 'Aha! Yes.'
Ashlynn says 'It is often useful during exploration and questing, however, you must note that for the
latter it can often turn out to be useless. We will go over that and the reason why later.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'The typical use of the weave is for locating dangerous people and shadowspawn.'
Ashlynn says 'The weave tells us many different things, including the item's specific name, the earth
code, the relative distance from the channeler, and a generic description of who (if anyone) is
carrying it.'
Ashlynn says 'Knowing this, and using a little ingenuity, we can locate objects that most players carry,
in order to see if they are anywhere nearby.'
Ashlynn says 'What are some items you can think of that all players might carry and we could locate to
view relative strength'
Vistra says 'Rings and daggers.'
Vistra says 'I have noticed that every one once in a while it will say carried by a none. What does
that mean?'
Ashlynn says 'I am not sure. I think that the way it works, there are several different types of "mobs"
and players.'
Ashlynn says 'There are humans, animals, humanoids, seanchan, trollocs, myrddraal, dreadlords'
Ashlynn says 'Aiel'
Vistra says 'I think that the different assortment of trinkets can be used to show the strength of a
character.'
Ashlynn feels the flows of saidar coursing through her body.
Vistra says 'I was wondering if the none could be the special mobs.'
Ashlynn says 'None I think is just another type that doesn't fit in with the other categories'
Ashlynn says 'Undead is another type'
Ashlynn says 'Possibly spirit'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'For ghosts and what not. You may have run into them somewhere before'
Ashlynn isn't in touch with saidar to release anything.
Vistra says 'I have heard of them, but never been in the presence that I know of.'
Ashlynn says 'I don't think that none means they are special. Probably just an oversight '
Ashlynn isn't in touch with saidar to release anything.
Ashlynn says 'Now, back to your answer. Rings and daggers are two of the most commonly used objects for
locates.'
Ashlynn says 'Everyone who is prepared should carry a dagger, and there are not too many mobs that carry
daggers.'
Ashlynn says 'And anyone who is properly equipped should have two rings.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'There are some trolloc packrats who should be watched out for, though. They like to carry a
sack with as many rings as they can fit in it. This could cause confusion and throw off numbers,
making it more difficult to efficiently communicate the actual numbers.'
Vistra says 'That is very tricky of them. I did not think trollocs were that intellegent.'
Ashlynn says 'Try locating ring again.'
Ashlynn senses Vistra connecting to the True Source.
Ashlynn says 'I would like to demonstrate something else.'
Ashlynn senses Vistra is channeling saidar.
Vistra says 'I am sensing them Aes Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'You may have sensed some rings north of here. Gold carved with ivy.'
Ashlynn says 'You may also have sensed my ring again, and a gold ring.'
Ashlynn says 'Look at me.'
Ashlynn says 'My hands, specifically.'
Ashlynn shows her hands, so Vistra can see the rings she is wearing.
Ashlynn emote: Ashlynn shows her hands, so Vistra can see the rings she is wearing.
Vistra looks at Ashlynn.
Ashlynn says 'Now knowing the output of the locate weave, what do you think you can surmise about the
information?'
Ashlynn puts a pair of slim riding gloves on her hands.
Vistra says 'One is that you are a human. Two is that you show up twice on my list.'
Ashlynn says 'I do, because I am wearing two rings.'
Ashlynn says 'Anything else?'
Vistra says 'I am not sensing your gold ring but not your serpent ring.'
Ashlynn thinks really hard.
Ashlynn says 'Perhaps it is due to your level.'
Vistra says 'Nope I just glazed over it.'
Vistra blushes.
Ashlynn says 'Did you also sense two gold rings carved with ivy far north of here?'
Ashlynn says 'Or north of here rather'
Vistra says 'I did not see those.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Okay, well, if you did, here is my point.'
Ashlynn says 'Often, if you sense something like a ring, you will notice that they are grouped together.'
Ashlynn says 'If someone is wearing two rings, they typically output as one next to the other.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'So the beautiful serpent ring and the gold ring I am wearing ought to be one after the
other on the output from the weave.'
Ashlynn says 'I haven't verified it myself, but it appears to be true in almost all instances.'
Vistra says 'I and seeing them together also.'
Ashlynn says 'To recap, most people will wear two rings. We can take the number of rings on trollocs and
divide by two to determine relative numbers.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Excellent.'
Ashlynn says 'What else might we tell by the rings we sense?'
Vistra says 'Some rings give better abilities than others, so we can tell relative power level
through rings.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Exactly. We can also generally make a guess as to the style of combat they prefer.'
Ashlynn says 'For example, emerald or gold rings denote someone using a dodge set up.'
Ashlynn says 'A gold ring carved with ivy is generally a person using heavy weapon and armor.'
Ashlynn says 'Silver rings are generally the same.'
Ashlynn says 'Gold ivy rings might be used by people using a combination of equipment, though. Something
to remember.'
Ashlynn says 'Now as you were saying, we can also get relative numbers by using dagger as a keyword.
Players use daggers for numerous reasons. Whether to dress a kill so they can eat, or to sever their
opponents head. Rogues and others might use them to backstab. Using dagger, we can generally get a
reliable number count easily, and determine if any stabbers are in the mix.'
Ashlynn says 'It's also a good one for detecting Children of the Light, as many of them use backstab.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Knowing specific patterns of behavior for Children of the Light is useful in detecting
them. Some of them wear their cloak proudly, so if you detect their bright white cloak you can know
one is nearby. Others are more cowardly and hide their affiliations.'
Vistra says 'That makes a lot of sense.'
Ashlynn says 'There are other items they often wear. Upon reaching rank five they are given a pair of
silver lightning bolts. You can try locating bolts to see if one is wearing this shimmering obsidian
pendant equivalent necklace.'
Ashlynn says 'They do not always wear them, though.'
Ashlynn says 'I don't think it's a requirement.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Some of them are able to wear different armor than the typical armor you see. Usually it's
bright white linen tunics instead of bearskins, and shining chainmail. These are retools. If you try
to locate tooled for silver tooled boots, you might see shining chainmail boots instead.'
Ashlynn says 'Since the retool renames it, it should show the retool name on the output of a locate.'
Vistra says 'There are many amazing uses for this weave I did not think about.'
Ashlynn says 'As we talked about briefly before, the weave can be used to find objects of note that you
might need.'
Ashlynn says 'Some examples include a sandstone to mend your staff, or water should your skin run dry and
you find yourself in the wilderness.'
Vistra says 'Those are wonderful examples.'
Ashlynn says 'Finally, an often used but not often thought of use by novices is as such: locating scalps
and corpses.'
Ashlynn says 'By locating scalps or corpses, we can see if anyone has been killed or if someone is
leaving a path of destruction along the carriageways.'
Vistra shivers uncomfortably.
Ashlynn says 'For example, if you were to locate corpse, and see the corpses of several wolves, but no
one using rings, we might be able to guess that a gray man is roaming the lands.'
Ashlynn says 'As gray men are not detectable in most circumstances.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Any questions? If not, I will use that to segue into the next topic.'
Vistra shakes her head.
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Vistra studiously scribbles down notes.
Ashlynn says 'Locate object is great. However, it has some pitfalls.'
Ashlynn says 'One of these is that some objects are unable to be located.'
Ashlynn says 'Revisiting what we discussed earlier about using the weave in exploration and questing,
many smobs and quest items are not able to be located for one reason or another.'
Ashlynn says 'Generally, a smob is not locateable because the room it is inside is not locateable.'
Ashlynn says 'While on the other hand, quest items themselves are generally no locate.'
Ashlynn says 'Some other items are not locateable, such as herbs'
Vistra ponders life, the universe, and everything.
Ashlynn says 'In addition to rooms that are not locateable, some entire zones are not locateable. Have
you ever heard of the Stedding? Or the Guardian ter'angreal in Far Madding?'
Vistra says 'I heard of the stedding from listening to a Brown Ajah lecture on Ogiers.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Very good.'
Vistra says 'I do not know of the ter'angreal though.'
Ashlynn says 'The Stedding were created with some mechanism that does not allow the One Power to be used
at all. As a result, it is invisible to our attempts to locate objects and people within it.'
Ashlynn says 'The Guardian is a ter'angreal that acts like a Stedding. Far Madding itself is covered
completely by this ter'angreal, making it impossible to channel inside, and thus again not locate
anyone or anything inside of it.'
Vistra boggles at the thought.
Ashlynn says 'So if you lost your pack of gold in Far Madding, and try to locate it, you are not going to
be able to sense it. The ter'angreal will block your weave, so to speak, making it impossible.'
Vistra says 'That would be frustrating.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Another place that you cannot locate is the Ways. You may have heard of them before.'
Vistra says 'I have heard a little about the ways. They seem very dangerous.'
Ashlynn says 'No one really knows how the Ways were created. It's almost like another dimension of
existence. I don't think it's on the grid with the rest of the world, and therefore you cannot
locate anything inside them. However, if you are inside the Ways, you may be able to locate things
inside the Ways. '
Ashlynn says 'Yes, they are very dangerous, although with that risk comes a reward in being able to move
vast distances quickly. With some practice and attentiveness it becomes a lot less dangerous
overall. I would not recommend visiting them, even when you become Accepted.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Obviously, if the item is out of your range, or none are around, you will not be able to
locate it. That should go without saying.'
Ashlynn says 'Often we may find that we think we are using the correct keyword when we are really not...
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Or we use a keyword and find something other than what we were expecting. It can be fun and
exciting to discover these new keywords, but also annoying and troublesome if we are not able to
find what we want.'
Vistra says 'Like crown being used for a mushroom.'
Vistra snickers softly.
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Exactly.'
Ashlynn says 'There is also another zone, so to speak, that can cause mischief with locates.'
(tic_timer): Tic in 7 seconds!
Ashlynn says 'There is a fade called Blodfest. He manages a camp of trollocs that roam about the world.
This camp is not on the grid in a traditional sense either, so you are not able to sense if the camp
is nearby by locating objects within it.'
Vistra listens intently.
Ashlynn says 'The locate weaves should work while INSIDE the camp, however.'
Vistra boggles at the thought.
Vistra says 'It is good that you can use it in the camp, but the fact he can move it around at will
is terrifying.'
Ashlynn says 'There are also some other things that will make it impossible to sense items.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'One thing you may have noticed, is that items in the barrels in the square cannot be
located.'
Ashlynn says 'While items in a backpack might be locateable, items in some containers cannot be located.'
Vistra says 'Interesting.'
Ashlynn says 'One such container is an oilskin bag. You will often see it used during events with special
loads of valuable equipment. The bag will be used by a mob, and to prevent others from abusing the
weave to quickly find the rare item, the bag itself prevents the weave from locating the bag or item
within.'
Ashlynn says 'I believe you can buy these bags somewhere. Maredo Village maybe? I do not recall.'
Ashlynn says 'They cannot hold too much, though.'
Ashlynn says 'If memory serves me correctly.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Many other stationary containers do the same thing. Some people have hollowed out tree
trunks to cache supplies in the wilderness. We cannot sense the item in the tree trunk, only the
tree trunk itself.'
Ashlynn says 'When you are able to leave the city, always examine things you find if you are not in
danger. You might be surprised at where you can hide things.'
Vistra says 'I will do that Ashlynn Sedai.'
*********** NEW MONTH - FADE/TRAVEL CODES RESET ***********
Ashlynn says 'There is one last thing on my outline about no locates'
Ashlynn says 'And on another note, the month just changed.'
Ashlynn says 'I do not know if you saw that, but if you have a script that clears earth codes, you
generally get an echo that says "NEW MONTH TRAVEL CODES RESET"'
Ashlynn says 'When you see the Wheel of Time turns towards the Light/Dark/Seanchan, that generally means
the month has changed.'
Vistra writes down get script for travel codes.
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'This means that the Wheel has determined the results of the struggle for the month, and
begun tallying for the next.'
Ashlynn says 'Type view struggle to see what I am talking about.'
Ashlynn says 'Anyway, that is funny that it just so happened while we talked about it not long ago.'
Vistra smiles happily.
Vistra says 'It is.'
Ashlynn says 'Back to no locates! There are many objects that people and shadowspawn can wear or carry
that make them unable to be located.'
Ashlynn says 'One of these is a rare medallion, a silver medallion.'
Ashlynn says 'Those who wear it not only get a great boost to their defense, they are unable to be
located by weaves, whether object or life.'
Ashlynn says 'Besides that item, there are items that you can carry that make you impossible to locate.'
Ashlynn says 'One of these is used by humans and seanchan. It is from the jeweler in Tanchico, I believe.
It is a gold-inlaid crystal disc.'
Ashlynn says 'Another item often used by shadowspawn is a crimson splintered skull.'
Ashlynn says 'They can buy them from their commisars.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'One other item I can think of is the gleaming horseshoes used by fades on their shadow
stallions. These make it impossible to detect the shadow stallions, and at the same time I suppose
if a fade held one or had one in their pack, they could not be located either. I don't think they
generally do that in practice, though.'
Ashlynn says 'We are getting close to the end of the lesson.'
Ashlynn says 'I have one more topic to go over, and that is gauging distance.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Unless you have any other comments or questions about no locates?'
Vistra shakes her head.
Ashlynn says 'Good, good.'
Ashlynn says 'Gauging distance can be difficult.'
Ashlynn says 'I still struggle with it sometimes.'
Ashlynn says 'It is something that you will get better at with experience and practice.'
Vistra breathes a sigh of relief.
Ashlynn says 'We will always see a general indicator of distance.'
Ashlynn says 'The four cardinal directions are always provided, unless it is within the same zone or the
zones share the same place on the grid.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'We can also see in between, such as if something is southeast of us, or northwest. And so
on.'
Ashlynn says 'The distances are described as "around here", or adjacent which would be just the
direction, "west" i.e.'
Ashlynn says 'The next stage would be "far" This is generally two or three zones away, I believe.'
Ashlynn says 'Following "Far" is "Very Far" which is generally three or four, maybe five zones away.
Apologies as I have not verified this independently. '
Ashlynn says 'And last but not least, "Extremely Far" which is even farther. Five, six, or more zones
maybe.'
Vistra boggles at the thought.
Vistra says 'It is amazing that we could sense something that far away.'
Ashlynn says 'I cannot tell a lie, as I have sworn the Three Oaths. I have made my outline based on a
class Callesa Sedai taught fifteen years ago.'
Ashlynn says 'She is a wonderful woman, and quite knowledgeable. I suggest if you wish to learn more
about locating objects or lifeforms, to contact her with any questions.'
Vistra says 'I am sure that hopefully one day I will be teaching a class that I made an outline from
Ashlynn Sedai.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn grins at her.
Ashlynn says 'Now, remember I told you about the grid...'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Well, the Creator has seen fit to make sure every zone is on the grid in a manner that is
most logical. However, over time, the Creator may have got weary eyed, and may have made some boo
boos'
Ashlynn says 'In my experience, I have noticed some of this wonkiness down near Cairhien.'
Ashlynn says 'Do note that in most cases, the grid is correct, but in some places, it may be difficult to
understand what is going on with it.'
Vistra says 'Yes Ashlynn Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'I remember at one point I was using locates to triangulate something. Do you know what that
means?'
Vistra says 'To narrow down the location. Basically pinpointing it.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Think of a triangle, three sides, three points, three angles.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'We take a locate for the same object from three different points. We can guess in general
that object is located based on this.'
Ashlynn says 'Well, I was searching for something in Cairhien, and I used this method. But the output of
the distance and direction led me to believe the object was not within the triangle.'
Ashlynn says 'Eventually, I believe I found it, but I ran back and forth two or three times trying to
figure out what was going on before I discovered that the zones, some of which were implemented much
later than the others, were not in line with each other.'
Vistra follows along with the conversation.
Ashlynn says 'This is always a possibility, but in general it is not going to be a worry or something
that affects our use of the weave to determine enemy troop counts and movements.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'The weave costs twelve saidar points to weave, by the way'
Ashlynn says 'Meaning you need at least twenty-four saidar points to weave it.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'I am not sure on the length. You must not be in combat, as it requires much concentration.'
Ashlynn says 'It is best to do it from relative safety, such as a no hide or hard to hide room, or with a
big patrol.'
Vistra says 'It would not be good trying to locate a dagger to only find it in your back.'
Ashlynn nods at her.
Ashlynn says 'If you are providing support, you may want to run it periodically. Depending on whether PK
is happening or not, anywhere from every few minutes to every fifteen or so.'
Vistra nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'If you find something, and no one is PKing, a general courtesy is to rpish narrate that you
are sensing such and such in so and so direction'
Ashlynn says 'If you don't find anything, you may do it more infrequently'
Vistra says 'Yes Ashlynn Sedai.'
Ashlynn says 'if you do find something, frequently running the weave will allow you to discern the
enemy's movements and where they may be headed.'
Vistra says 'So we can use it kind of like a tracking system.'
Ashlynn nods in agreement.
Ashlynn says 'Now, if you will, I have a task for you, to use your new found knowledge. '
Ashlynn feels the flows of saidar coursing through her body.
Ashlynn says 'Using the keyword "key", I want you to draw a map that shows where the keys you sense are
most likely located, and their distance from Tar Valon.'
Vistra says 'Yes, Ashlynn Sedai I am ready for a task.'
(Ashlynn Sedai gives Vistra a task to complete)
Vistra says 'Am I dismissed Ashlynn Sedai?'
Ashlynn says 'Yes, you are dismissed. See to it that you complete your task and report back when you are
finished.'
Ashlynn gestures with her hand.
Vistra curtseys gracefully.
The door smoothly swings open.
Vistra says 'Thank you Ashlynn Sedai.'
(Vistra leaves pondering all the wonderful uses of locate object and the amazing knowledge Ashlynn Sedai imparted)