Kaci Taravin's Enlistment Interview

[Bree]

Ubriel had managed to get all of the new enlistment interviews directed to her afternoons finally. She was able to get in some training and visit Peach and teach her classes and still had time to attend to her official responsibilities. Things were running much smoother for her now that the schedule was sorted.

Today she was expecting to interview and enlist a new Drin'far'ji who, she had been informed, had a brother already in the Tower as a Dedicated. In anticipation of the interview, she had opened the enlistment ledger to the next open spot and had a room assignment and class suggestion sheet at hand. She also had a copy of the Warder Yard Guide Book which she offered to each new Drin.

With all in readiness for the interview, Ubriel poured herself a cup of blackberry tea and took her seat behind her desk feeling content and self-satisfied. She sipped her tea and frowned as she remembered that she very much disliked waiting.

WY Guide Book
http://www.grey-tower.net/Wiki/index.ph ... r_Trainees

[Steven]

Kaci Taravin Kaci stood outside the door to the office of this...Mistress of Training. For nineteen years she was the Lady Kaci Taravin, granddaughter of the second most powerful woman in all of Andor. Then, for another year and a half, she was the Commander of the Freedom Guard in Hama Valon. Even now, her men were hard at work building a Freedom Guard garrison for a permanent base of operations, the Lion's Rest Inn no longer suitable for their growing size and Kaci no longer leading their day-to-day.

Now here she stood, pacing in front of some woman's office, a woman who had the ability to turn Kaci into a living weapon and not just a girl who carries one. She had no doubts that training at the Tower was the right choice. It was the only choice. Especially after what happened. The memory of her death came upon her in a flood, as it has nearly every hour of every day since. She channeled the fear that the memory brought with it into hardened determination. This was the right path, not only for her but for Keiran as well. He saved her life, as if you could somehow call it that and say no more. No, he changed the bloody pattern for her. The least she could do is swallow her pride. Kaci stopped pacing, she wiped the sweat from the palm of her hands on her shirt sleeves. Even if I have to bloody bow and scrape for awhile, it's worth the cost.

Kaci straightened, pushed her shoulders back, and knocked firmly on the door. She was wearing a pair of crimson leather pants today, corded up the sides in the style her and Keiran always wore. Her boots were black, coming up to just below her knees, flared out at the top. A thin line of bronze etching flowed like a wild vine up the sides of the boots and all the way around the flared tops. Two hand-long daggers poked out of the tops of her boots, plainly hilted in bronze and wrapped in black leather. Her favorite sword, the one given to her by her Father, hung comfortably from her left hip. The pommel was a thick bronze disc, a raised and Oak and Owl of House Taravin clearly visible. The bronze cross guards were notched, and slightly bent towards the blade. She had to buy a new scabbard for this blade though, as the one her Father had given her was more portentous than the Queen's ceremonial scabbard. The one she wore now was solid, plain black leather, with a bronze locket and chape to match the sword. Kaci's shirt was bleach white wool, not even a splash of color. Tucked into her pants and left baggy at the waist. Her sleeves were tied up, baring just the tiniest bit of her shoulders. The ties around the collar were loose to a point a hand width beneath her neck, not quite low enough to show any bosom.

A voice came from the other side, beckoning her in. Kaci entered, shutting the door behind her. The woman seated behind the desk wore a nondescript frown that instantly made Kaci a little uneasy. Was she late? She thought back to the bells she heard, wondering if maybe she miscounted. Or maybe she didn't approve of Kaci being armed in her office, when being initiated for training? Light! The politics... Kaci had seen no need to play the Game since leaving Caemlyn. It certainly didn't seem to exist much in ordinary life in Hama Valon. This was the Tower now though, Kaci silently reminded herself to be more watchful.

Kaci curtsied, simultaneously bending at the waist in a bow, her left hand resting on her sword pommel, her other extended to her right, open handed and palm facing front. "Mistress Bryne, I am Kaci Taravin, here to submit myself for training." Kaci held the respectful position until released.

[Bree]

Ubriel had only just begun to realize her irritation at having to actually wait when the knock came on the door. The young woman who entered at her summons was one of those pretty perky types but she moved like the sword on her hip belonged there. It wasn't until Ubriel began to smile that she realized she had been scowling. The girl was holding a perfect and highly uncomfortable bow.

"Very nicely done. Go ahead and straighten up and have a seat here. You can absolutely call me Mistress Bryne if you like but I prefer to be called Ubriel unless you are in trouble. Then Mistress, no please don't hurt me, is how I should be addressed." Ubriel wasn't sure what had come over her but she was hard pressed to keep a straight face as the words spilled out. Having read the entrance application for young Kaci, she knew that the girl had grown up in and around the courtesies of nobles. Ubriel thought that must account for her ability to cover her reaction with her movement to the chair that had been indicated.

"I understand you have a brother in the Tower as a Dedicated. Is that the reason you have come to train with us? Or perhaps you are seeking your own calling here?" Ubriel always liked to sound somewhat challenging to the newcomers. On the off chance that they really were there for some silly reason like treasure or to follow their young crush, challenging them up front had the chance to turn them away before they got themselves hurt. "Do you come to us wanting to become a bonded Warder or do you simply want to earn the title of Gaidar through your training? Do you know the difference?"

Ubriel sipped her tea again and leaned back in her chair to listen.

[Steven]

Ubriel's voice was pleasant, her frown quickly turned to a warm smile. Her sense of humor was both unexpected and most welcome, banishing the apprehensions Kaci had before entering. She had thought long and hard about the answers she would give, though she really wished she could have had a chance to talk to Keiran first. Light! It's been a fortnight... That night, the Asha'man had sent Kaci away before Keiran woke. He was mumbling to himself about Shadowspawn and councils. She had sent word to Keiran at the Tower but he never responded. Maybe once she's an initiate in the Tower, she can go scope out where he his hiding. More than anything, she hoped he wasn't in trouble, or that he didn't blame her for being reckless. Even though she knew she was. Foolish, arrogant girl!

Kaci banished her thoughts, her face the very definition of composed grace. "Keiran is my brother. We agreed that I would train in the Tower with him as soon as he was told he could channel. Both of us knew his training would take longer than mine, so I have spent the past year and a half building up the reputation of the Freedom Guard here in Hama Valon. I had..." she paused a moment, "lost sight of that goal, to train at the Tower, over the past few months."

Kaci took a deep breath, and exhaled. "I made a mistake recently. I was arrogant. I got in over my head." Her gaze shifted to some place beyond Ubriel, the memory of that horrid night replaying in her mind. "I should be dead, but by the grace of the Light, I sit here before you." She met Ubriel's blue-grey stare. "There is much I have yet to learn, if you will have me."

As if almost an afterthought, she added, "Keiran and I have not spoken since his training began. We are twins, having really never been apart until he came to the Tower. Already we share a bond..." Kaci paused, surely the woman wouldn't think she meant he had already bonded her? "Not the Warder bond, but a different one that's hard to explain. Sometimes I can feel him, like a whisper in the back of my mind." She realized she was nearly rambling. Light Keiran, why has it been so long?

"What I mean to say, is that we swore to one another on our way to the Tower that I would be his Sword and he would be my Power. It sounds stupid when I say it that way, but...I feel protective of him. I always have." Kaci nodded, feeling that she got her point across.

Suddenly, as if it had just dawned on her, "Wait, women are called Warders too?" She raised her eyebrows a bit, "It's such a masculine word." Kaci eyed Ubriel's short cropped hair askance, it was pretty on her, but Kaci could never part with her own long flowing hair. Even now, tied up in a knot behind her head held with two rods as sharp as weapons, she felt the overwhelming desire to let it down and run her fingers through it.

[Bree]

Ubriel listened to the young woman as she explained haltingly the nature of her relationship with her brother. It was exactly what the relationship between a Channeler and a Warder should be. It was a pure reason for seeking training as a Warder. Ubriel nodded her understanding of the feelings that were so hard to describe. She had once been sure of her own such feelings for a Channeler herself. Her certain sureness was gone but the feelings remained, whatever they ended up being.

Ubriel found herself on the edge of mirth at the question about titles. "Yes, anyone bonded to a channeler for that purpose is a Warder. Some of the channelers who have married have bonded their spouses and so there are Asha'man who are Warders to their Aes Sedai wives and Aes Sedai who are Warders to their Asha'man husbands. I have been told that the bond gives, among its other benefits, the individuals the ability to sense each other in a way that is more profound and brings them each comfort."

Sipping her tea, Ubriel continued, "The title of Warder signifies only the bond. It does not connotate any martial ability or gender at all. The terms used to entitle individuals who have reached full rank in training here are Gaidin for men and Gaidar for women. Many Warders are first Gaidin or Gaidar as they are bonded for the purpose of protecting a channeler. However, the terms are not interchangeable. Being one does not mean that you must be the other."

Ubriel waited to be sure the significance of what she said was not lost on Kaci. Then, she leaned forward and set down her tea cup. Picking up instead the pen on her left, she asked, "So I am understanding that you do have hopes of becoming bonded by your brother when you have both reached the end of your training." Ubriel made a note in the ledger. "What are your primary and secondary weapons interests? You may of course decide to study another but we always recommend that you choose at least two besides unarmed combat techniques.

"We also offer a variety of academic courses like history, strategy, mathematics, philosophy, even a class I teach on basic horse training. We encourage all of our trainees to explore the possibilities of studying those classes as well. We find that it tends to make for a happier and more relaxed student if you have other interests." Ubriel tapped the book she had lain on her desk facing the other woman. "This Guide Book will give you a little more detail. It talks about the rank structure here and what is expected of you to advance from one to the next."

Ubriel paused to wait for Kaci to pick up the book and to answer her.

[Steven]

Kaci nodded as she listened. She felt a little foolish for her question, but how was she to know the difference between a Warder and a Gaidar? She picked up the leather bound book that Ubriel pointed out on her desk. A little light reading couldn't hurt, she grinned inwardly.

"I have always loved using my bow, though I have had little use for it over the past year. Most of the combat I've seen recently has been in strictly tight quarters." She pursed her lips in though a moment before continuing. "I like the speed of holding a dagger in each hand, but a good grip on a sword in a solid stance gives more power and control. I would like to hone my skills with my sword first, I think."

Kaci shook her head, fingering the bronze pommel at her hip. "The bow is still my favorite weapon though." She grinned at Ubriel. "I didn't see many trainee's practicing archery in the fields. You do teach it? Or do we mainly focus on close combat, intending to leave the range to the Aes Sedai and Asha'man?"

[Bree]

Ubriel lowered her face to hide the unconscious grimace on her lips at the choices of bow and sword. She knew she did it and she tried not to let it show to her recruits; at least not to any but those who were in her war axe or quarterstaff classes. She made a quick note in the ledger of the weapons choices and on a separate sheet she copied the names of a few instructors and information about their classes for Kaci. She said, as she wrote, "There are classes for many things and tutors for others if you can't find a specific class. Archery, however, is a class offered regularly. The sword, being a class of weapons with many types of techniques, is best learned from a tutor. Depending on the style you are interested in, there may also be a class available."

Ubriel looked up again and continued, "There are many other weapons and combat styles to choose from. Fighting with daggers in the hand or thrown is one option you might pursue here. We can take a short tour of the Warder Training Yards in a moment. First, I still have enough space in the barracks to allow you to choose if you prefer to have a roommate or if you would like to bunk alone. What would you like?"

Writing down Kaci's answer and assigning a room, Ubriel passed the pen to Kaci. "Just sign here to indicate that you agree to abide by the code of conduct for the Warder Yard and that you are seeking training here." Ubriel indicated a blank line and waited for Kaci to sign before sanding the page and closing the book. She stood and handed the other sheet of paper to Kaci, "I have written down your room number and a few suggestions for classes and instructors to look for. Again, take the time to look into some of the academic, non-martial classes offered."

"Now if you will follow me, please.” She led the way out of the building into an expansive yard with hard packed dirt and sparse grass where trainees and teachers were sparring or practicing or simply exercising in small groups, pairs or occasionally alone. “In these yards you will be tested and trained and beaten and built back up. You will need medical attention and you will cause others to need it. But you will learn.”

Ubriel led them over to a group practicing unarmed combat styles. “One of the required lessons for all of our trainees is Unarmed Combat. A class is offered to get you started.” She gestured around at the other types of training happening loudly all over the yards. “You will need to choose another fighting style to train in. We recommend that you begin with the weapon that you intend to use as your primary. For you that will be the bow and the sword.” She watched as her charge surveyed the women and men fighting with long quarterstaves and other distance weapons and the group doing target practice with their ranged weapons. There were several groups of trainees practicing sword and shield melee as well as a few performing advanced techniques with more exotic weapons like axes and fans.

OOC: Don't forget to answer each of the technical questions and then feel free to expound on her impression of the Yard. The remainder of your interview will involve a short tour and answering any questions you might have. The Archery class is at http://www.grey-tower.net/Board/viewforum.php?f=54. Any other questions you might have, feel free to ask. I am around alot.