A Pulse in the Air

A Pulse in the Air

Ia stood alone in the dark room. No sound came in. And no sound came out. Four soundweavers in light and dark blue, signifying the communication squad, stood outside, she knew. In case the two foot thick walls were not enough, they were maintaining a cancellation barrier. That way, if she did something wrong, nobody but her would be killed, and only one tool of Kandaia would be lost.

She breathed in slowly, breath making the metal veil over her face ruffle slightly, although she could not see even that in the darkness. Her task this morning was to navigate the obstacles scattered about the room. She still was not certain what they were, nor where, she had first gone into a dark room before this one and waited for all outside light to be shut out before continuing into here.

Continuing to breathe, she focused on the air around her. Eventually she would not have to, Nin, the teacher for her squad, had said, when she first began training. Almost nine or ten years ago now. She could hardly remember most of those first few months, after the summer she had turned six and shown an aptitude for Soundweaving. Even farther back was harder still. Don't think about farther back. You are supposed to be focusing. Your memories will not help Kandaia.

Ia focused on the air again, and then sent pulses of sound into it. Faint ones, nearly below hearing. She felt them coming back. That was the easy part. She continued to send pulses. She was the air. She could feel it bouncing back slightly faster directly in front of her. Something must be there. It bounced back less to her left, and she took two steps that way. More pulses. Slowly she formed something of a map. A vague, cloudy one, but enough to navigate the room.

Sound bounced back faster and faster as she passed through the room. The obstacles were probably getting tighter. She stepped forward - the sound was coming back faster from the left and right - and hit a barrier. She stifled a cry as something sharp hit her ankle. Soundweavers don't care about pain. A hammer does not cry out when it strikes the bar of iron in the forge, neither should a soundweaver cry out when she is injured while soundweaving.

She had failed. As instructed, she focused on the air once more. As soon as she felt the air, she sent a stronger pulse into it. Waited ten seconds, strong pulse. Wait ten seconds, strong pulse. She stood there doing so for a few minutes, and her mind wandered. Back to before being a soundweaver. To vague memories of playing as a small girl. Someone calling her Ialyi, the name she had once had before being a soundweaver. No. Don't think about then. It will only make you less able to do your tasks. Wait ten seconds, strong pulse. Over and over and over. She dared not let her mind wander again.

Eventually the door opened, and the four soundweavers in light and dark blue entered, holding lanterns, faces hidden by a metal veil as she knew hers was. She blinked despite herself - don't think about your eyes hurting, fool! - as the room suddenly illuminated and she saw the dozens of wooden structures scattered about. Each structure stopped two feet off the ground but stretched up to the ceiling, and each had small sharp rocks and nails embedded near the bottom. That was probably what had hit her ankle.

Nin, the teacher for her squad, stepped in after, metal soundveil covering his face as well, but he wore a red cotton shirt and yellow cloth pants, plain as all soundweavers clothing was, which marked that he was in a student's squad. Lyvia, the soundpattern for their squad, stepped in after. She was not a soundweaver, of course - no soundpattern was. She wore red and yellow as well, but the colors were in a formal red coat embroidered with yellow. She turned to Nin.

"Instruct her in what she did wrong, soundweaver."

"How were you sensing nearby objects?" Nin said quietly.

"I wasn't."

Nin opened his mouth to speak, but Lyvia spoke first. "Soundweaver, why were you not doing the assigned task?" Her voice was calm, but carried dangerous undertones.

"I was. I simply was not doing it by sensing nearby objects."

Nin paused before responding, then did so at a nod from Lyvia. "Then how were you doing it?" The pain in her ankle was still there, and had not yet gone away. She realized the nail or whatever it had been was still piercing her skin. Don't step away from it. Keep control of yourself.

"I went in the direction with the longest time until the pulse returned."

"You were instructed otherwise. Form the map next time. Navigate using that, not the direction with the longest time between pulses."

Lyvia broke in again. "Follow us out. You will be tested again later."

Ia began to turn around, and the pain in her ankle flared. She stopped, stepped back carefully, then turned around. She glanced to look at it before she could stop herself. She was not even bleeding. How weak are you that you flinched from something that hardly scratched you? Lyvia and Nin both gave slight disapproving looks, then left. Ia followed them out with the other soundweavers.

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