Just looking

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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.
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Ashfalcon
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Just looking

Post by Ashfalcon » October 30th, 2022, 11:36 pm

Darthalien stopped at the edge of the warder yards, swallowed, and just looked. To his left, an older woman was leading a class through a familiar-and-unfamiliar dance that would teach them the basics of infighting. To his right, a dark-haired man with a pair of swords in an X across his back stalked between pairs of sparring combatants, calling out advice and abuse and reminders. At the far end, a line of people was practicing with bows and crossbows, firing at simple targets or armored straw dummies. In a roped-off area between, a man and a woman were sparring with ashandarei.

He needed to go. He was already late for his afternoon lesson with Cavros Asha'man. And yet... the lesson would be nothing but an exercise in frustration for them both. The sun was still up; Darthalien still couldn't channel. But he had other skills at his disposal, and it felt like a mistake to let them lapse. He circled wide of the combatants, found the racks of training weapons: lightweight blades made of split lathes bundled together, wooden weapons that more closely approximated the weight of steel, and even steel blunts for the more experienced students. Training armor was a little further down, but of course they'd need it -- especially for anyone using blunts.

The ones who had first let him into the Tower -- the Master of Soldiers, he now understood, and a handful of Brown Ajah familiar with the Old Tongue -- had allowed him to keep the ravensclaw dagger that he had carried with him from his homeland. Now he saw why: there were soldiers and dedicated among those training with weapons, Novices and Accepted as well.

"You're late for our meeting, Soldier," said Cavros Asha'man from behind him, and Darthalien nodded.

He should have been apologizing instead, but avoiding punishment wasn't his primary concern right now. "There are Soldiers here," he said. "Why have I not been doing this?" He didn't look around, kept one hand on the handle of a wooden dagger on the rack, kept his attention on the practice going on in the courtyard in front of him.

There was a pause, long enough for one full breath and then another. Finally Cavros Asha'man said, "I thought it was more important for you to get comfortable with Saidin, to break your Block first." There was another pause, but Darthalien didn't move. "Perhaps I was mistaken. Perhaps it would help if you were more comfortable in the Grey Tower in general. You feel more at home here?"

"Than using the dark-- than using the One Power?" Darthalien asked. "Of course. This was much of my training. A Weaver's Dagger is often just a voice, or an ear; but when need arises we are proper daggers. And on the battlefield, the Dagger becomes a Spear." What was a spear, after all, except a dagger on the end of a staff? A dagger given heft and reach for open battle?

"Very well," said Cavros, and stepped forward. He waited, caught someone's eye, then waited again as the woman approached.

"Asha'man?" she asked.

"This Soldier has some prior experience with daggers and spears. Could you arrange something to evaluate his skills?"

"Daggers?" she asked. "Not swords?"

"I had only just begun on such things," said Dathalien. "I know little of them."

She studied him, an older woman with gray hair cut short, leaning on an improbably-long staff. "But you know knives."

He nodded. "To fight with them, and something of how to throw them. And I have some skill with staff or spear -- in my land, they begin the same."

The woman nodded slowly. "Bide," she said. "I'll find you someone."

OOC: Okay, so this thread is open to anyone who wants to train with daggers, throwing daggers, or polearms; alternatively, it's open to anyone who wants to spar with the same set of weapons.

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Locke
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Re: Just looking

Post by Locke » October 31st, 2022, 3:54 am

A bug crawled down the bridge of Terric’s nose. Floating in the Void, the sensation was distant, barely even an annoyance. The growing ache in his leg, also merely a distant annoyance. He stood balanced on one leg, spear and shield forward in a defensive position. As a fighting stance, it was vastly impractical. However, the stance did its job of training balance and perseverance quite well. Terric could remember holding this pose for what felt like hours on end as a young man training to become Athen Dor.

The sound of approaching feet caught his attention. “I see you, Verona Nadier,” Terric said, watching the approaching Gaidin from the corner of his eye.

“I see you too, Terric,” she said, a tinge of amusement in her voice as she returned the traditional Aiel greeting. “If you’re not too busy, I’d like to borrow you.”

“Obviously, I am engaged in a dire task of the utmost urgency,” he said. His mouth, the only part of his body to move.

Verona Nadier squinted at him, obviously missing Terric’s brilliant joke. He thought it was funny, at least. Sighing, he lowered his leg and turned to face her. “What may I do for you?” he asked.

“I know you haven’t been back for long, but I would like you to evaluate a student’s knowledge with spears,” she replied.

“I doubt we’re coming from the same place when we mean spear fighting,” Terric said, thinking of the long two handed weapons Wetlanders used.


“No, but he’s got a similar philosophy on weapons to you,” she countered.

“Very well, I will return to my task later, lead the way,” Terric said, curious about this student. As they left, he turned and called out, “Dog Gaidin, heel!” and a large golden dog roused himself and trotted over to follow his human.




Verona Nadier led him to an Asha’man and an impossibly pale Soldier.

Nodding to the Soldier, Terric said, “I see you, I am Terric Gaidin, Verona Nadier tells me that I will be your evaluator.”
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Ashfalcon
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Re: Just looking

Post by Ashfalcon » November 1st, 2022, 12:20 am

Is that how this is done? Darthalien nodded. "I see you, Tarric Gaidin. I am Darthalien, Soldier." The spears the man held were shorter than he was accustomed to, but they looked wickedly sharp and the Gaidin moved with the grace of a hunting cat. "I am ready to be tested. I was taught something of the knives, for both close-fighting and throwing; I was also taught the staff, and the..." He gestured vaguely at the spears in the man's hand. "...long-spear?" he hazarded.

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Locke
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Re: Just looking

Post by Locke » November 2nd, 2022, 2:26 am

A small crease formed between Terric’s brows, the Aiel equivalent of a deeply furrowed brow. Every evaluator had their own way of handling these things. When he had done his evaluation, Felessan Solonne had begun with the basics and worked up. It seemed fair enough. He didn’t want to knock a newbie on their rear for no reason, and he could use fundamentals training to gauge the man’s attitude. He’d dealt with students with poor attitudes in the past, and made the mistake of letting them progress much further than they should. As a young algai’d’siswai, he had been taught that attitude had as much to do with improving as a warrior as strength and speed. He’d come to believe that in fact, attitude was the primary determination for one’s potential as a warrior.

It was decided then. Terrific slammed a fist into his palm. “Fine, choose whatever weapon you wish, then assume a fighting stance with it.”

Spoiler: show
Holy crap I think I used your class for Terric's spear eval back in the day It all comes full circle
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Ashfalcon
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Re: Just looking

Post by Ashfalcon » November 2nd, 2022, 4:08 am

Darthalien felt his eyebrows rise; the abrupt response was not what he had expected, though perhaps he should have. The Gaidin of this place were not Daggers, and -- as with Weavers and Aes Sedai -- the similarities seemed to make their ways harder to understand, rather than easier. Still...

Darthalien cocked his head. This was open ground, facing an opponent of unknown ability, for stakes that he wasn't entirely sure he understood... except that they seemed to involve his permissions to study weapons here. And his opponent, while not armored, carried three spears and a small shield: a skirmisher's kit, fast and light on the field of battle. There was only one sensible response, which was to keep the man at as much of a distance as possible.

He stepped back, and back again. When the warrior didn't move in, Darthalien turned and crossed to the weapon racks, looking for... There. It was a spear carved entirely from wood, with rounded edges but a series of small weights bound into the center of the "blade" to give it the balance of a true spear. Darthalien pulled it from the rack, weighed it in his hands, and then turned back, settling automatically into fighting stance: left side forward, point extended at about shoulder level, his right hand holding the shaft just above the butt, down near his right hip. He moved forward carefully, not wanting the rack directly behind him, with the careful combat stepping that kept his legs from crossing each other, but stopped a solid two strides back from the Gaidin. Moving any closer would only be offering the man an advantage.

Distance and timing, he thought. If they were to spar, then his only advantages would be leverage... and possibly reach. He didn't really trust that, though: those shorter spears looked as if they could be thrown, and that could make for a very unpleasant surprise. "Gaidin," he said.

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Locke
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Re: Just looking

Post by Locke » November 2nd, 2022, 3:59 pm

“Hmm,” Terric let out an inscrutable grunt. Placing his hands where the young man could see them, he said, “I’m going to approach you, don’t jump and poke my eye out.” Terric circled the man taking note of his foot placement and center of balance. The man’s stance wasn’t bad. Good situational awareness as well.

Stepping off to the side, Terric said, “Advance striking the air thrice. Then retreat striking four times as you move.”

“Begin,” he said, not giving the man any time to consider.
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Ashfalcon
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Re: Just looking

Post by Ashfalcon » November 3rd, 2022, 4:40 am

"What is an 'air thrice'?" Darthalien asked, looking around for some sort of target. There wasn't one, so the Gaidin probably just wanted him to show an attack, and thrice was probably a count, though he didn't recognize the number. Bloody strange language, he thought, but he lunged forward, extending the spear at chest level, then snapped it back, using its weight as a counterbalance to bring his rear foot forward and place himself back in a ready stance. He made the same lunge a second time, this time bringing his rear hand up to angle the speartip down for a strike at an imagined thigh or knee. Both of these were short thrusts, tight and controlled, so when he stepped forward the next time he let his hips and shoulders turn more fully, cupping under the haft with his left hand as he brought his right hand forward to meet it; this thrust was aimed at the head or throat, and delivered at full extension.

And retreat four, he thought, and pulled the spear back, this time swinging it to the outside as turned to put his right side forward and repositioned his hands to bring the extended butt of the weapon down in a diagonal sweep. He repeated the movement to the the other side, putting his left side forward again as his right foot carried him back, and brought the tip back up in a diagonal slice. He followed that up with a simple step to the rear, extending his right foot behind him and thrusting out with the speartip before completing the step back. For the last, he stepped through again to put his right side forward, this time sweeping the spear's tip up and back over his shoulder before jabbing down at the ground with the butt.

Darkness, I'm out of practice, he thought. But then, it has been months. Still, he remembered the movements, even if they didn't feel as smooth as they had been.

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Locke
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Re: Just looking

Post by Locke » November 4th, 2022, 2:11 pm

The man moved well, he had obviously received a degree of training. Terric squatted on his heels and watched Darthalien’s grip on his spear, the placement of his feet as he moved. There were unfamiliar flourishes and minor elements, but in the end, bodies only moved in so many ways.

“For the record, Darthalien, any student at the Grey Tower can come to the Yards and train. We do these evaluations so that we place you into classes or with instructors who are best suited to your current skill level. You’re definitely no beginner. But there is a question everybody who comes to these yards should be asked. Why? Why the spear? Why do you train to fight?” He looked up, holding the Soldier’s gaze and said, “Don’t look for the answer I want to hear, speak with your head and your heart. Why did you come to the Yards, Soldier Darthalien?”
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Ashfalcon
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Re: Just looking

Post by Ashfalcon » November 7th, 2022, 1:04 am

"Because I cannot channel," Darthalien responded simply. "Not during the day. And because this is much like what I was learning before I did channel. The weapons are part of what was home to me."

The Gaidin just stood there, looking expectant, so Darthalien swallowed and did his best to explain. "You know what a portal stone is, yes? In my world, the women who can touch the One Power are called Țesătorii. It is the word for someone who makes threads into cloth -- Weavers. And like your Aes Sedai, they have men who are stitched to them: Pumnale. Daggers, in your words, or Needles. I want to learn weapons because it is necessary to that work. Even if--" He hesitated. "Even if I learn to touch the One Power at will, it seems a..." What was that word? "Expensive skill, one worth keeping. And I like it. I like seeing how the movements fit together. I like the puzzle."

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Locke
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Re: Just looking

Post by Locke » November 8th, 2022, 1:38 pm

The small quick at the corner of Terric’s mouth would have been imperceptible to most, for for an Aiel, he was practically beaming. What a fascinating young man. He’d come from one of the other worlds.

“Worry not, young Darthalien, all skills are expensive. There is great ji in wanting to learn.” Remembering that the man was even more foreign than a Seanchan, he elaborated, “Ji means honor, but when my people say it it means that and more.”


Terric stabbed his spears into the ground and stood. “It is decided then, if you should ever wish for extra lessons, come find me. Until then, let us continue your evaluation.” He settled into a defensive stance with his buckler forward and weight lightly on his rear foot. The hand that would normally hold a spear ready to grab or bind. “I want to see what you are made of young Darthalien, land three hits on me,” the big Aielman said with a booming laugh.
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