Aiel Take it From Here (Craig)

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Welcome to the Warder Yards. This is the place for Warder and Trainee roleplays. Informal non-training interactions take place here, as well as some extended role plays. Yet these events may take place at any area of the Tower, and sometimes outside of it, since the images to the left merely serves as inspiration towards the sceneries of your stories. Channelers are always welcome, and might even find his or her bondmate through the threads that are displayed below.
Sunny
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Aiel Take it From Here (Craig)

Post by Sunny » February 11th, 2017, 4:00 am

Dax
Dax stood in the shadow of the Warder Halls, arms crossed over his chest and head bowed. He had stripped to the waist to ease the heat of the summer sun that beat on the practice yards, and now he could feel the bite of each individual brick against his bare shoulders like a personal insult. He could be sleeping. Or drinking. Or playing at cards. Instead, he escaped the prying presence of other Gaidin between training bouts and considered, for the ten millionth time, leaving the Tower entirely.

He became aware of voices as he stood there. They came not from the windows above, nor the Yard around the corner, but instead from the trees to the north. He arched an eyebrow, but did not move. No business of his what people got up to in the forest, after all. He pulled his flask from his belt and took a swig, the fiery liquid burning its way down his throat. As he replaced the lid, he realized that one of the voices he heard was female.

Still not my problem.

And yet, somehow the Tairen’s feet carried him north, rather than west, creeping slowly forward until he could see a small clearing where two men in light gray faced a woman in white. By color and height she could only be Aiel, yet the novice held a wooden practice sword in her hands. Stranger things have happened, I suppose, than an Aielwoman with a sword. He couldn’t think of many.

“Come on you said you wanted to learn to fight,” one of the men said, his tone mocking. “What, are you afraid you might get hurt?”

“I’m not afraid,” the girl spat, shifting her stance a little.

“Just hit me, you bloody savage!” The second walked forward, tapping her sword with his. “It’ll be fun, come on.” As Dax watched, the two continued to walk a fine line between teasing and bullying as they coaxed the white-clad woman to strike at them with the sword. It quickly became apparent that they had no interest in teaching her anything at all.

“This is boring,” the taller man said eventually, “I’ve better things to do with my time.” He turned as if to walk away, and came up short against Dax’s chest. “Oh. It’s just you.” He sneered a little as he spoke.

The Tairen lifted his hands over his head and stretched lazily, then brought them back to his sides without breaking his gaze from the Drin’s face. “Indeed. It’s me. I believe there are stable stalls waiting for your ministrations. If I don’t hear from the head stableman that you spent the next week covered in muck, you will spend a month running around the Tower Grounds every morning with 'just' me. I will personally make certain of it.”

The two men dropped their practice swords and scattered with muffled oaths. Once they had gone, Dax turned his gaze back to the girl. She had lowered the wooden blade, but otherwise hadn’t moved. “Have you ever held a sword before?” The Gaidin asked. "Why start now?"
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Re: Aiel Take it From Here (Craig)

Post by Craig » February 14th, 2017, 1:08 am

Zarayne
Across the clearing, Zarayne stood limply, gazing down at the Gaidin's boots. She barely held onto the wooden sword in her hand, but most of the weight was already being supported by the ground. She felt like a fool, dressing in white, trying to fight with the Drin. She wasn't apprenticed to the Gaidin, which in turn would make her an apprentice to her own father. That flicker of weirdness brought a slim glimmer of levity to this otherwise dour moment.

She lifted her head up, her gaze following. It travelled from the Gaidin's soft leather boots to his brown trousers, then to his waist. There was no scabbard for a sword nor a loop for an axe. There was a knife, but it hardly seemed the sort of blade one would use to fight with. She wondered what sort of weapon he used, if any at all. There were odd markings on his forearms, but she didn't recognise them. Thankfully it wasn't the golden sinuous markings of a Aiel clan chief: the Tower already had one too many of those.

Beyond the lack of weapon, the other surprise was the Gaidin's lack of shirt. His broad shoulders and honed muscles were on proud display, and Zarayne felt no shame in giving them a casual once-over. She wasn't one of these flutter-brained novices who drooled over the training yards, but she could appreciate a shapely body that was placed in front of her.

The distraction didn't last nearly long enough as the sword slipped from her grasp and struck the ground. Zarayne quickly crouched to retrieve it, then looked the Gaidin straight in the eye. "No, master Gaidin, I..." She glanced at the other swords. "I had hoped to learn, if it was possible. I wanted to know what..." The words died on her tongue. She knew her motivations, but voicing them seemed shameful.

She shifted her feet uncomfortably. "I can return these swords, master Gaidin. I'm sorry for the disruption."
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Elan wrote:Of course, the problems with observing a chain of command arise when the one in command decides to do something unspeakably idiotic, like taking off on his own for no discernible reason in the middle of enemy territory.

Sunny
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Re: Aiel Take it From Here (Craig)

Post by Sunny » February 14th, 2017, 7:43 am

Dax
The Aiel novice wanted to learn how to use a sword….why? She wanted to know...what? None of my business. None at all. He had done his good deed by sending the boys off; this girl was safe to return to the Tower on her own, and he could go back to drinking and daydreaming. And yet...Why did an Aiel novice want to learn to use a sword? Surely that was against every precept of her culture. Had she abandoned it, as the Tinkers sometimes abandoned the Way of the Leaf? She must have.

“Shush,” Dax said, dismissing her apology with a wave of a hand. He stepped forward to put one hand around the ‘blade’ of the stranger’s practice sword near the crossguard, taking the weight from her arms. With his other he carefully rearranged her hands, placing right above left, and guiding her fingers to the proper position. Then he released the lathes to her control once more. “You should feel the weight of the sword in your left hand, but keep it balanced with your right,” he finished. “Yes, like that. I know it’s heavy- hold it for just a count of ten, then let it swing to the ground.”

He stepped back, studying her with pale blue eyes until the lathes were point-first in the dirt. “My name is Dax,” he said. “If you are simply curious about swords, I can answer your questions. If you wish to truly learn...I can help there, as well, though it will take more than a stolen afternoon to perfect.”

Why am I doing this?

Because I like it.

“What do you say?”
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False alarm- there's still a song for me; I'm just about around to sing it
There's still a chance for me...and I'm still here singing.

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Craig
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Re: Aiel Take it From Here (Craig)

Post by Craig » February 14th, 2017, 11:57 pm

Zarayne
Zarayne was a little leery as the Gaidin approached her, and the feeling only grew more intense as he took a hold of the wooden lathes and adjusted her grip. The situation felt more than a little off. 'Why are you helping me?' she asked within her head. She anticipated that there was a trick to come; that her punishment, which was entirely due, was just about to be sprung on her.

But it didn't appear.

When he withdrew, the feeling ebbed. She did as he said, keeping the sword at an angle for ten seconds, then letting it arc to rest on the ground. There was no need to make her predicament any worse off by refusing his commands.

"What do you say?" he asked in a friendly tone. Far friendly than the two Drin had been. She considered for a moment not just what he said, but what it implied. Wetlanders were bad at saying what they meant.

Zarayne looked at the sword, then looked back to Dax. Was this just an innocent curiosity, or did she really want to learn? She bit her top lip in thought. "Yes, Dax Gaidin, thank you Dax Gaidin. I would love to learn how to sword" is what she should have said.

"I..." was how she actually started, glancing down at the weapon again, as if something could be deduced from the simple sticks of wood. She lifted the blade back up, trying to keep it in the same position that Dax had just shown her. With more confidence than she actually felt, she declared "I wish to learn."

"But my name is Zarayne." She watched for recognition to light up his blue eyes, but he seemed unfazed. So she added, "My father is the Gaidin Captain. Is that going to cause any issues?"
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Elan wrote:Of course, the problems with observing a chain of command arise when the one in command decides to do something unspeakably idiotic, like taking off on his own for no discernible reason in the middle of enemy territory.

Sunny
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Re: Aiel Take it From Here (Craig)

Post by Sunny » February 15th, 2017, 4:57 am

Dax
The way the novice looked at the sword reminded Dax of another time and place, faded in time, when he had agreed to teach another woman to fight. He had worn Ji gray that day, probably before this girl had even been born, and She had worn an Accepted dress. They had danced there in the Practice Yard for all to see and no one the wiser for it. His blood had boiled, her eyes had burned, and- blood and bloody ashes. His knuckles creeked from the pressure of the fist he had balled his fingers into. The past is past, burn it all to bloody ash and forget about it already!

Or was it?

The Tairen’s attention returned to his unexpected student in time to catch the last bit of what she said. “...my father is the Gaidin Captain. Is that going to cause issues?” For a moment, Dax simply gaped at her. Then his gaze swept over the woman, taking in every detail of her appearance. With that information, the features that belonged to her father leapt out at him. The tilt of her nose. The crinkle of her eyes. Even her hair. How had he not noticed before? Who would expect Ravak Darrow to father an Aielwoman? Then again, the man had spent a year in the Waste, and had been oddly close-mouthed about his mission. Hadn’t he escorted-

Comprehension dawned, and Dax started to laugh, stooping to grab one of the swords the boys had left behind, before straightening to look up at her with dancing eyes. “Well isn’t that something,” he said finally. “No, that won’t be a problem Zarayne. Your father,” his lips twitched, “and I have trained together for many years. I know him well...though clearly not as well as I thought.” He laughed again at that, shaking his head. After a moment, he asked in a studied idle tone, “is your mother’s name Sinead, by chance?”

The things I will say the next time you lecture me about propriety, Ravak Darrow! The thought made his lips twitch upward again.
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False alarm- there's still a song for me; I'm just about around to sing it
There's still a chance for me...and I'm still here singing.

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Re: Aiel Take it From Here (Craig)

Post by Craig » February 16th, 2017, 12:24 am

Zarayne 'Darrow'
The laughter that erupted from Dax Gaidin was unanticipated. She didn't see the amusement in what she had said. Wetlander humour was a strange beast at times. That, or maybe Dax was strange in his own right.

Hearing her mother's name spoken aloud both startled and frightened Zarayne. As she understood it, the Grey Tower still viewed her mother as one of their Accepted, and they did not like runaways. Keeping her mother's whereabouts and identity a secret was paramount in her thoughts. The last thing she wanted was to be the cause of her mother's return to the Tower. She sought an escape, only Dax Gaidin had asked outright, and it wasn't in Zarayne's nature to come out with a bold-faced lie.

"It is," she stated cautiously, watching his face for some sign of change. There was no plan on how to stop him if he planned to act, but maybe she could reach out to her mother in the Dreaming World. Her father's sister was an Aes Sedai of the Indigo Ajah; maybe she would know more about it.

Fortuitously the black-haired Gaidin did not bound away to the Mistress of Novices. Instead he held his own sword, and seemed far more at ease with it than she herself did.

"So, what do I do?" She gripped the bottom bit tightly, doing her utmost to maintain the angle Dax had shown her. "Should I have a second sword, or do we just start with one?"
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Elan wrote:Of course, the problems with observing a chain of command arise when the one in command decides to do something unspeakably idiotic, like taking off on his own for no discernible reason in the middle of enemy territory.

Sunny
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Re: Aiel Take it From Here (Craig)

Post by Sunny » February 20th, 2017, 11:01 pm

Dax
So there had been more to Ravak’s visit to the Waste than he had shared. And what had become of the erstwhile Accepted? Dax turned the information and the questions it spawned over in his head, then tucked it all away. The query had been made out of amused curiosity; the sellsword had no true use for the answer now he had it. The problem of teaching a woman taller than he was how to use a sword

A different problem faced him now, in the form of a very tall novice who clearly did want to learn how to use the wooden blade she held. The Gaidin flashed her a smile. “Definitely start with one,” he said easily. “Once you’ve gotten the idea, if you want to wield two like Ra- your father does, then you would move into a different kind of practice.”

The Gaidin contemplated her posture. “Shift your feet a little,” he said, using his sword to indicate where she should place them. Zarayne adjusted, and he nodded, then reached out and pushed her left elbow into position. “I know the Aiel refer to fighting as dancing,” he said as he stepped back. “It is actually quite similar with swords. Each set of movements has a name, even. The way you are holding the sword now is what we call The Leaf Floating on the Breeze. It’s a guard stance, nothing more, and a good place to start.”

He brought his sword around, lightly tapping hers. “See? It blocked me from hitting you. Now, I’ll take that stance.” The Tairen mirrored her. “You try hitting mine the same way. Careful- keep control of your arms. Your grip needs to be solid. Remember that a real sword is sharp- one uncontrolled touch on your body and you'll be the one bleeding.”

Dax talked her through the strike, then again how to return to the Leaf Floating on the Breeze. “Good. Now. Let’s practice exchanging blows. First you will hold that stance while I strike, then we will switch. Once you’ve mastered that, we’ll move onto something a little more complicated.”
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False alarm- there's still a song for me; I'm just about around to sing it
There's still a chance for me...and I'm still here singing.

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Re: Aiel Take it From Here (Craig)

Post by Craig » February 23rd, 2017, 11:32 am

Zarayne
The Leaf Floating on the Breeze? It sounded like a wetlander dance, not an Aiel one. Still, she wasn't one to argue with an instructor, especially one who seemed so friendly.

She rooted her slippered feet in position as Dax had placed them, but she bent her knees slightly to lessen the height differential between them. It seemed that was correct in general, as Dax took on much the same stance. He was well at ease with his wooden blade, whereas her arms protested from the weight.

Dax's next 'attack' was like his first; slow and well anticipated. She moved her sword in to block the attack, pivoting with both her arms and her waist. Force strained against her wrists as she rigidly kept her blade vertical as the two weapons clashed.

Dax withdrew his weapon, then attacked on her left flank, the wooden lathes moving quicker if not quickly. Once more she parried the blow, but his time her wrists didn't take the strain. A whine came out of her, half in pain and the rest in surprise, as she pushed the Gaidin's weapon away.

"Are you okay?" he asked sincerely.

"I will be. 'There's no progress without pain'." She was quoting Belaida, not that the Gaidin would have known.

When his wooden sword came at her for a third time, Zarayne swung into it. A loud snap burst through the air when the blades clashed, making her blink. That was all the distraction Dax needed to get his blade through her guard as he tapped her on the elbow. "Don't fight strength with strength," he admonished as he pulled his blade back into a defensive stance. "Now it's your turn."

Zarayne rubbed at her elbow even though the blow had been light. She scowled at her own mistake, looking very much like her father's daughter. The dark look was gone a moment later as she made her attacks.

She mirrored the Gaidin's attacks: a light blow to the right, foliowed by a stronger blow on the left, completed with a hard strike on the right again. Each time Dax's blade was there to intercept, twice blocking Zarayne's weapon outright, whilst on the third, her sword was deflected to the side, giving him the opening to tap her softly on the torso. Again she frowned at herself for her failure.

Returning to The Leaf Floating on the Breeze, she found the nerve to ask a question of her instructor. "You say you know my father. Is he an honest man?"
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Elan wrote:Of course, the problems with observing a chain of command arise when the one in command decides to do something unspeakably idiotic, like taking off on his own for no discernible reason in the middle of enemy territory.

Sunny
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Joined: July 18th, 2014, 3:23 am
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Re: Aiel Take it From Here (Craig)

Post by Sunny » February 28th, 2017, 5:35 am

Dax
Dax didn’t specifically agree with the proverb she had quoted. Especially not the kind of pain she had clearly felt. Making a mental note to check her wrists, the Gaidin focused on the pattern of the drill, and when Zarayne erred he allowed his blade to strike, though he pulled his blows to avoid serious injury. For being Aiel, she seemed human enough...and young. It occurred to the Tairen that he had never considered what Aiel children must look like and do for fun. They surely didn’t spring forth fully-grown from the ground.

His thought process was interrupted by the novice’s question. The Gaidin shifted back to middle guard, unconsciously sucking on his lip as he considered how to respond. “Ravak has high expectations of himself and everyone else,” he said as their blade tapped once more. His thoughts drifted to Mirin and Kaira. “So high that even he can’t meet his own standards on occasion,” he added in an amused tone.

She favored one side, the Tairen noticed. His blade dipped beneath the Aielwoman’s guard once more, the tip grazing the same side he had hit before. “Your wrist is hurt,” he told her, stepping backward and lowering the wooden blade. “Come here.” He gestured until the novice approached, then set aside both their weapons and took her hand in his. He carefully rotated it about on her wrist, noting where she winced, then switching hands to repeat the examination. He dug in his pocket and retrieved the strips of fabric he usually used for his own hands. “When we’re done I’ll show you some exercises to strengthen your wrists,” he told her. “Does no good to learn the sword if you break yourself doing it.”

The blue-eyed man began to wrap his student’s hand and forearm, shifting back to her question. “I don’t think I’ve ever known your father to tell an outright lie, but he could be accurately accused of the occasional hypocrisy, as any human might be.” He tucked the end of the second strip in place.

“Better? Good. Let’s do one more round of the move you know, then I’ll show you a form called the Ribbon in the Air, and anther called the Swallow Takes Flight.” He passed her blade back to her and they crossed weapons once more.

“That's an odd question to ask," he commented after a moment of silence. "What prompted it?"
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False alarm- there's still a song for me; I'm just about around to sing it
There's still a chance for me...and I'm still here singing.

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Craig
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PC: Ravak t'Sha'hal Darrow
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Location: Scotland

Re: Aiel Take it From Here (Craig)

Post by Craig » March 1st, 2017, 10:37 pm

Zarayne
It was very strange to see a man administrating treatment. It would be made all the more noteworthy in retrospect, if only because Zarayne calmly let the Gaidin tend to her injuries. It was the men who usually made light of their pains until a woman set them to rights. Fortunately Dax's words didn't come off sounding like a scolding. He was well-mannered and insightful, the first of which set him apart from most of the full ranks she had encountered to date.

Zarayne let her sword swing to the ground when Dax asked his last question. She wasn't about to answer whilst staring him down with a weapon in hand. Biting down on her lip, she considered how much she wanted to reveal.

"I have only just met Ravak Darrow so I don't know much about him. It simply seems prudent to learn what other people think about him, so I know he isn't presenting himself as something he is not." It wasn't her primary concern that she was being lied to. Instead, it was the worry that Ravak Darrow would seek to treat her differently for any of a multitude of reasons. He couldn't make up his lifetime of absence by overcompensating now.

Zarayne looked down at her hands. The length of wooden lathes felt very foreign all of a sudden. Scowling inwardly, she gave herself a scathing rebuke. I'm the one overcompensating!

Shuffling towards Dax, she offered the blade back to him meekly. "I think I am the one trying to be someone I'm not. I'm sorry to have taken up your time, Gaidin."
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Elan wrote:Of course, the problems with observing a chain of command arise when the one in command decides to do something unspeakably idiotic, like taking off on his own for no discernible reason in the middle of enemy territory.

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