Board Intro/Sign Up!
Welcome to Word Manipulation! This class is open to all learning ranks. In this class you will learn all about how to get around the truth without telling a lie. Please signup at the signup thread to let me know you are starting the class and then go on to your first lesson. You do not have to wait for a pass before continuing to the next lesson, however please keep in mind that some lessons may require a small RP before the Pass is given. The class is being taught by Serrah Sedai. If you have any questions about the class you may contact her via e-mail. Welcome to the class and have fun.

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And then have fun!

In the Light,
Serrah al'Brennan Trimak
Mistress of Novices
Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah
Wife and Bondmate of Riven Trimak

Lesson 1: Getting Around the Truth
Lesson 1: Getting around the truth-
An introduction to the basics of word manipulation.

Serrah al'Brennan Trimak, the Mistress of Novices, sat behind her desk in the front of the empty classroom going over her notes for the coming class. She had planned a 7 week class based on her teachings so she hoped she could keep the interest of her students. She knew there were going to be all ranks of people coming in to take the course so she secretly crossed her fingers that it wouldn't become tedious and boring to her students.

Serrah looked up from her notes and noticed her students filing in through the door. She noticed that a few poked their heads in hesitantly so she decided to speak, ? Please come in and take a seat. Class will begin shortly.? She stood up as the last student took their seat and moved to the front of her desk.

"Welcome to Word Manipulation. I must stress to each and every one of you that this is a non-channeling class. To ensure none of you can channel we have a special ter'angreal from the Indigo Ajah loaned to us. It works best if no one channels." Serrah scanned the class and noticed a Soldier had his hand raised, "Yes Soldier?"

"What does this ter?angreal do exactly, Aes Sedai?"

"All in good time my good man but first I would like to give you all an overview of the class and what I will be teaching you. This class will last for seven weeks. There are six lessons and then a final exam where you will have to show me that you have learned everything I have taught you. The class as you know is Word Manipulation, we will learn how to twist words, get around the truth, and lead people astray without ever speaking a lie. The lessons will be learning to speak vaguely, telling only half the truth, speaking with confidence, changing the subject, and the best for last, how to lie despite the oaths." Serrah heard a few of her students gasp at that.

"Now please hold all of your questions until the end of class. Just so you know I will never speak of that lesson again until the end of this course. And even then only those that pass the first five lessons shall get to learn it. Now back to the question about the ter'angreal. We will be putting the lessons into practice in this room. Now obviously it is easy to lie when you don't have the oaths on you. That is why, for the purpose of practicing, the ter'angreal will act like you have sworn that oath when you are in close proximity to it. Meaning you can not lie."

"Now I think that's all the lecturing I'm going to be doing for this lesson. Now for your assignment. What I want you to do is think on what you will be learning in this class. Then I want you to come up here one at a time and answer a question without telling me all of the truth and of course without lying. You're question is of course what did you do today before coming to this class."

Serrah walked back behind the desk and sat down as the students started filing up to answer.

OOC: Now what I want you guys to do is supply me with a post of at least 200 words. I want you to think on what your character might have done before coming to class (meaning type it out as thought, and maybe add some mischief or fun in there) and then come up and describe it to me with as little detail as possible. Depending on how your post is worded I may pass you or do a short RP (of 2 posts each) before passing you.  


Lesson 2: Vagueness
Lesson 2: Vagueness- Learn to speak vaguely. Being specific can cost you.

Serrah entered the classroom early to help prepare herself. She thought the first lesson had gone well and hopefully each of her students would be returning for the following lessons. Shortly after taking her seat at the desk she noticed a few novices and soldiers all ready starting to trickle in. She listened to them with half an ear and caught some grumbling about their other classes or the punishments they got for being caught. She had to smile to herself.

It would appear more than half of my class is going to complain today. Light I hope it doesn?t get out of control. She thought to herself as the last student wandered in from the hall. She stood up and began the class.

"Welcome back everyone. Now today?s lesson is on being vague. It's especially important to not be too specific when answering certain questions. The most important time for this is if you are talking to someone from outside of the tower while on tower business. There are many ways to be vague. But be careful because if you're too vague you might be asked to be more specific."

She moved a lock of her hair from her face before continuing, "Of course you could just tell them to mind their own business but basically we want people to be put at ease that we are not meddling in their lives. Regardless if we are or not."

She noticed a few yawns in the classroom, "I happened to over hear that most of you were complaining about something when you came in. Of course as you rise to Aes Sedai, Asha'man, or Warders you will know better than to complain within earshot of others. But in the event that something you said is overheard by the wrong person, it is wise to cover it up very quickly. An example could be a novice complaining about a chore or punishment they had to do and the Aes Sedai they did it for over hears it. The Aes Sedai might ask her if she thinks the chore or punishment was too harsh. A good, yet vague answer for the novice could be something like, ' The work was hard and I do not feel I was given adequate supervision.' The novice hasn't lied, for most punishments and chores are hard and do require adequate supervision. But she did not answer the question about harshness, nor indicate her complaint, or how she thought it could have been handled better. Now onto you're assignment. I want you to think of a complaint you made about someone or something, and what you may have said if it was overheard. But remember there are different ways of handling these situations, but since we're studying vagueness make sure your response to the eavesdropper are vague. When you are finished bring your paper up to me and we will discuss it."

OOC: 200 words or more please.

Lesson 3: Speaking Half-truths
Lesson 3: Speaking half truths-
If you must give information, never give everything away, leave room for assumptions.

Serrah stood in front of her desk watching her students walk in. They all took their seats quietly and Serrah had to smile.

Guess they remember the last lesson. Good. she thought.

"Good morning everyone. Today will be on telling half truths, or as some call it, lies by omission. Often times when you don?t tell the whole truth you leave a lot of room for assumptions. Sometimes a person may assume the wrong thing which means they may come back and call you a liar, even though you haven't lied, you simply didn't tell them everything. There will be many times when you are fully raised when you may need to use this skill. So practice it and perfect it now so it will seem like second nature."

Serrah took a sip of water from a glass sitting on her desk and continued, "As an example, when you are out on Tower business you may not want someone to know you are from it. So you will introduce yourself as someone else. Now obviously you can't say your name is Alanna when it's really Tira, but you can say you may call me Alanna. This leads the person to believe your name is Alanna, even though you never said it was. Another situation we can all relate to is chores. You may be asked one day to make your bed. Later on you get asked if you made it. Well you may not have made it today but you have done so in the past I?m sure. So you can say yes without actually lying. And all because you didn't say when you made it. Unless of course you were asked if you had made your bed today in which case I suggest having actually made it or trying to change the subject which we will learn later."

Serrah paused to make sure everyone had taken in the lesson and continued, "Now for your assignment. I want you to tell me of another example that you think falls under today's topic. When you are finished please bring the paper to me and we will discuss it."

Serrah sat down behind her desk and waited for her students.


Lesson 4: Speaking with Confidence
Lesson 4: Speaking with Confidence-
Learn to speak with confidence, if you sound unsure or nervous, people will know you aren't telling them everything.

Serrah came running into the classroom. She was all ready 10 minutes late and the class was staring at her when she finally got there. "I....um....sorry I'm late.....these things just happen you know, I mean....I was.... well it doesn?t matter anyway. Lets get class started shall we?" Serrah was out of breath as she spoke but then broke into a wide grin. "Now if I started my lesson like that I doubt none of you would take it seriously. Today we will be learning how to speak with confidence so I think it?s necessary to start over." Serrah said and walked out of the classroom.

Oh that was good, I scared the Light out of them for a second. she thought as she giggled to herself. She suppressed the last of her mirth and walked back into the classroom.

"Good morning class. Sorry for being tardy, now lets start the class shall we?" She said as she walked to the front of her desk.

"Often times you will find yourself in the middle of a conversation you know nothing about. It is of course very important to control yourself, and speak as if you know what you're talking about. If you hesitate too often, or use a lot of ums or uhs you will never be taken seriously and be thought of as a fool. It is also important to keep that calm if you are surprised by something, or are not prepared for something, such as arriving to class late. I assume that you remember the two ways in which I entered the class room today?"

Serrah watched as heads nodded around the room, "Good. Now the first time I was out of breath and obviously had no real clue what was going on. It may have even appeared that I was doing something I shouldn't be doing. Now the second time I was calm, collected, and said very little about my obvious lateness, preferring to press on with the lesson. Now for your assignment. I would like you to think about the last time you were caught by surprise or were late for something. Tell me how you reacted at the time, then tell me what you might do and say next time, so as to exhibit confidence. When your finished please bring your papers up to my desk and we will discuss it." Serrah sat at her desk and waited for the papers to start arriving.  


Lesson 5: Changing the Subject
Lesson 5: Changing the Subject
Learn how to turn things around so as to avoid answering what you do not want known.

Serrah waited until it was time for class to start before entering the room. She was covered in snow even though it was not snowing outside all thought it was certainly cold enough too. She walked up to the front of the room to begin class.

"Welcome back everyone," she began as several hands shot up into the air. She pointed at another Accepted, "Yes?"

"Uhm Serrah Sedai, why are you covered with snow?" She said a little uneasy.

"I am?" Serrah said absent mindedly and looked at herself, "Oh well I guess I am. Well now back to the lesson today which is changing the subject. Of course changing the subject might be a bit easier, in an everyday conversation, rather than walking into a classroom covered in snow. Because of the physical evidence the person you are speaking with will not be listening to much of what you say until their curiosity is satisfied. So to satisfy your curiosity I will tell you that I am like this as an object lesson for the lesson this morning, and now if you'll excuse me, I will go warm up." Serrah grinned and walked far enough away from the ter'angreal to channel. Quickly she warmed up and walked back into the classroom.

"Now then let's continue. When someone asks you something you don't want to answer the best way to avoid it is to change the subject. But you must do so seamlessly, and speak as if what you are bringing up is much more important than the question you were asked. It is very important to speak confidently when attempting to change the subject, so always remember the last lesson. Now for today's assignment. I am going to call you up here one by one and we are going to have a little conversation. I am going to attempt to press you for information that you do not want me to know, and you will try to change the subject."

Serrah sat down behind her desk and called her first student up.

OOC: Now what I want is a post from you of at least 100 words. Include a few thoughts in there that you don't want Serrah to know about. Maybe you thought she looked ridiculous walking in to class the way she did, maybe you regret taking this class, or it could be something totally unrelated. This is to give me a helping hand to RP with you. End the post at Serrah's desk. This will be short (2-3 posts each)  


Lesson 6: Lying Despite the Oaths
Lesson 6: Lying despite the Oaths-
Yes this can be done, and in this lesson you will find out how.

"My apologies for being late. It's good to see that you are all here and ready for the lesson today." She said as she walked to her desk and lounged back against the front, "Now then have any of you puzzled out how an Aes Sedai or Asha'Man can lie despite the oaths?" A few hands shot up. "What I want you to do is write them down and once all your papers are in I will give you the answers."

I wonder what they have come up with. She thought as she sat behind her desk and starting planning the final for the following week. Slowly her students brought their papers to her desk and soon she had them all. She then stood up and moved to the front of her desk.

"All right everyone. Now hopefully there is at least one right answer on your paper. But don't worry if you get any wrong for this is not common knowledge. One of the easiest way for an Aes Sedai to lie is to have her warder do it. Provided of course she has a warder. But that's not really her lying is it? Another way would be to remove the Oaths. So basically you would have to get a hold of the Oath Rod you swore on. But I wouldn't recommend this since it is quite painful, and quite illegal if you call yourself an Aes Sedai or an Asha'Man. Plus the Oath Rod is very hard to get to unless of course you are swearing the Oaths at your raising. Another way is if an Aes Sedai or Asha'Man who is stilled or gentled and then healed have also been removed of their Oaths and therefore can lie until they can reswear their Oaths. Again this is not a recommended way to go about things. But perhaps the easiest way to lie is to not know you're lying. If you believe something to be true, you can speak it if it is or not. Now for your assignment. I want you to write about a time you thought something was true but it turned out later it wasn't. Leave your papers on my desk and then you can go."

Serrah turned to go around to her chair and turned quickly back, "Oh and don?t forget your final exam is next week.."

Serrah finished walking to her chair and sat down to read the earlier assignment.

OOC: Please make your post 200 words, be sure you write down the earlier assignment about how you thought an Aes Sedai or Asha'Man could lie.

Final Exam!
Final Exam: A quick test to ensure you have fully understood the class.

Serrah stood to one side of the room as her students began to fill the classroom. She cleared her throat for quiet and spoke.

"Attention everyone. For your exam I am going to ask you to stand outside. I will call you in one by one and we will have a conversation. At the end of this conversation I will decide if you have grasped the basic concept of this class or not. You will receive a pass or fail. If you fail you will be asked to return next week and give it another try. You will be graded on how confidently you speak as well as your response to the questions. When you are called I want you to answer with as little true information as you can and without lying. That means if I ask your name find a way to tell me a different name than what I know you by. Now please exit the room and wait to be called."

OOC: This will be a short RP of approximately 2-3 posts a piece. I expect posts to be a minimum of 100 words. When you are called Serrah will say, "Welcome to your final exam. May I have your name please?"