To meet an Alpha (Attn: MoT)

[Jeremy]

Cynric walked through the halls, still in the furs he had worn during his travel, following the directions he had been given. It had been so long since he'd felt so confined, so trapped. He knew he belonged here among people and among their fighters, but he still couldn't help feeling like he belonged back in the woods with the wolves.

He finally found the door he was looking for, where he would meet one of their Alphas. He shook his head. One of their leaders. The Mistress of Training. I'm among the two-legs, I will remember their words and customs

He looked around and noticed that the hallway was busy. Trainees were coming to and from practice while servants dusted and cleaned. He took a breath as focused on pushing his thoughts and fears aside. He knocked on the door and waited for an invitation before opening and entering the room, his golden eyes searching for the person who he was supposed to speak to and learn from.

[Bree]

Ubriel was not expecting anyone. The knock at the door took her by surprise this time. She kept regular office hours as a matter of course in case any of the trainees or others of the Yard needed her but she had become accustomed to knowing more or less when someone was coming. But someone was here. She cleared her throat and raised her voice, "Enter!"

She leaned back in her seat, arms akimbo resting to either side of her on her desk. Between them lay the various reports and ledger pages that helped her keep track of who and what needed her attention. There was always more of it than there was of her. She was pushed all the way back in the lightly padded seat of her chair so leaning back had the effect of straightening her back to her fullest height. Her shoulders flattened out and rolled back against the chair back lending her petite frame a sense of density that she didn't really carry in herself. She tucked her chin slightly and drew it back giving her whole manner an alert, guardedness.

The young man who entered the office did not belong there. It was immediately apparent and Ubriel felt very bad for him. Several things went through her mind at once. The first was the randomly amusing thought that if Peach ever caught the scent of this man's furs and hide, she would roll her eyes wildly and buck for all she was worth. The second was that the young man appeared to be about to do that very thing himself. The third was that Ubriel herself really needed some air. She stood and began to move slowly but obviously and intently to the left toward the windows. "Welcome. I am Ubriel Bryne, Mistress of Training." Once she could reach the windows, Ubriel unlatched them and pushed them wide open, allowing a fresh breeze to drift in through the wide casements.

"What brings you to the Grey Tower Warder Yards?"

OOC: Keep in mind I read the bio. Try to steer uss into exploration of what you want to get out of the Tower and I will steer you to the info you need to advance.

[Jeremy]

Cynric paused just inside the door. The woman inside smelled confident and sure, like a predator and she was as at ease here as his pack was in the woods. It was refreshing to meet someone that reminded him of the friends he left to come into the city and then to the Tower. His shoulders visibly relaxed as she opened the window. He tried to make himself as unassuming as possible. He didn’t want her to think he was challenging her.
“I am” he paused as he remembered his conversation with Kaci. “My name is Cynric. Forgive me if my speech is slow in coming. It has been several moons since I’ve been around another who uses words. I have come because I was told that there would be someone here who could help cure the Golden Fever. I have seen other men be executed when it took their mind and I wish to avoid their fate.
There was a girl I met earlier, Kaci. She said that I should speak to you about that. And perhaps about these.” He gestured at the axes at his waist. “They are my tooth and claw and I would like to learn how to better use them.”

[Bree]

Ubriel took in the yellow eyes and the speech pattern. She watched his movements and considered what he said. Opening her ledger, she paused before actually making any mark.

"You are welcome here. I am not sure what fever you are describing but you can speak to the Brothers and Sisters of the Yellow Ajah in the infirmary if there is any cure to be had. The Wolf Kin ability that allows you to speak to and relate with wolves is not a fever. For that there is no cure. Those we have known here in the Tower before and still do not suffer any fever from it or other ill effects. It is a part of who they are, like being Domani or Taraboner or human or male or female. There are those here who can teach you not to fear that side of yourself.

"As for your Tooth and Claw, such things are a part of you. You can learn to use them wisely and how to anticipate the attacks of others. There are things we can show you that you may not have had reason to learn."

Ubriel nodded to herself then and began to write in the ledger, recording Cynric's name and the weapons he preferred. "If you choose to stay here and learn what we can teach you, we will want you to conform to our ways as best you can. Still you will have the freedom to explore who you are and your own talents as well. Do you think you will become interested in any of the non-combat subjects that are studied here? Perhaps history or Wilderness Lore?"

[Jeremy]

Cynric's entire body seemed to deflate when the Mistress of Training mentioned that what he had was not a fever and had no cure. He didn't catch the next few sentences, but his head snapped back up when she mentioned that there were people that could teach him more about it.

"I would like to learn more about this ability. Those in Ghealdan that I've heard about whose eyes turned gold became wild. If there is a way to live with this, for it to become a blessing and not a curse, then I would gladly learn your ways. If there is a forge here, I apprenticed under my father and can help if an extra body is needed."

He paused as he considered what she said about non-combat subjects.

"I'm not sure what would count for non-combat, since many things can be used for a fight in the right setting. I would like to learn more about the wilderness and surviving in the wild. Wolves can hunt, but there's rarely a fire and figuring out what is poison by trial and error is...less than efficient." He paused to look at the book she made notes in and gestured towards it. "Do...do you think that someone here could teach me how to read and write? I know a little bit, mostly numbers, to help with running father's smithy. But the soldiers used to get orders or reply on paper. I would very much like to learn, if that's possible."

[Bree]

Ubriel made more notes. The question of the forge made her wince slightly but she nodded through it hoping he hadn't noticed. "There are forges here, a small one for repair work in the back of the armory here in the Yards and then the proper forges farther out toward the forests on the other side of the Tower proper. We will take a short tour later and I can point out how to get to them. As for being useful, put your skills to the test here. Hone and shape your body and learn to use that Tooth and Claw to a purpose greater than yourself. Let us teach you those things and you will find that we will show you ways to be useful that you may never have dreamed of." Ubriel smiled, dipping her chin lower and not showing teeth, it was semi-unconscious for her to use these movements. Somewhere she had observed that lowering her gaze and not baring teeth was less challenging and put animals at ease more easily. Wolfkin responded instinctively quite similarly.

"We have numerous classes that cover subjects from history to etiquette to math and reading. If you would like to learn some foundational reading and writing, I highly recommend you seek out the Brown Brother Rory Asha'man. He is delightful and will enjoy teaching you. He will also present you with more information than you could ever dream existed about the ability you find yourself blessed with." Ubriel tried to be encouraging and gentle. "If you like I can introduce you to him this afternoon."

Turning the ledger around to face Cynric, Ubriel said, "As for this book, this is the place in which I record your name and what brings you here. I make note of what you want to study and if there are any special requirements I need to be aware of. In your case, we need to find a wolfkin that can help you learn to accept and use your gifts. I need to introduce you to Rory and," Ubriel paused and caught her breath before continuing, "I am going to introduce you to someone who can tell you how the forges here work. His name is Zacharyn. He is a gifted blacksmith and a Soldier initiate of the Tower. Now, if you will look here," Ubriel pointed to the place where she had written his name and the date and the blank space next to it. "I need you to make any mark that is your own, sign your name or just draw two lines crossing each other there next to your name to indicate that you accept and do in fact want to begin a life here at the Grey Tower. You are not promising to stay for any specific length of time. You are not promising anything at all. You are simply acknowledging that you are here and that we are having this conversation."

Ubriel offered Cynric the pencil she had been using and waited.

[Jeremy]

Cynric looked at the ledger and nodded. It was similar, if more complex, than the one at the forge. He took the pencil and looked back to the Mistress of Training. "Thank you for allowing me to stay and learn. I will work as hard here as I have anywhere."

With that he bent down and made a mark on the page. It was a C with a line at it's center, enclosed in a circle. It was his smithing mark and all he had to mark his agreement.

[Bree]

Ubriel watched her newest recruit sign the ledger and neatly tucked it away for her records. The order for uniforms and boots and other necessities to be delivered to the newly assigned room had been written up as they spoke and would be delivered while they were off on their tour. Things weren't exactly automatic yet but she had gotten them fairly well streamlined in her time in office. "Congratulations. You are now officially of the rank Drin’far’ji. Welcome to the Warder Yard."

Ubriel stood and smiled as she gestured toward the door. "Come with me, please.” She led the way back down stairs and out of the back 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. You have your Tooth and Claw well suited to two-handed training. That is a useful and relatively versatile style. You may want to consider dual wielding as one of your fighting styles and learning the another techniques of the axe for versatility; perhaps using a shield." Ubriel paused to allow him to take in the scene of 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.

After a moment or so, Ubriel gestured to the right of them and led the way around the edge of the yard to a smaller building there. “This building is the weaponry hall. There are racks and racks of various sorts of weaponry, field and practice models, available for use. You will need to get the permission of the Master of Weapons or your mentor or teacher to remove any of them. If you want to just come in and look them over or even heft them, the hall is open during the day.” She stopped before the door and opened it, leading them inside.

The inside of the building was like a library. Instead of the stacks of books, there were rows and rows of sorted and arranged weaponry. One rack held nothing but a variety of two handed bastard swords and the rack next to it held the same sword in a practice variety. There were other racks with polearms of various types and another with axes. One held an assortment of short bows with their cousin longbows two racks over. All together they made for a shiny and dazzling spectacle.

[OOC: You can find more weapon descriptions http://www.grey-tower.net/Wiki/index.ph ... scriptions. If you are ever interested in something that you do not see a class or an available instructor for, PM me or any of the admin team and we can help you find the right way to find training.]