Paying Respects (Attn: Ubriel Gaidar)

[Jack]

Sojin drew some eyes as he passed through the corridors toward his destination.

A few of the younger trainees and fully-grown ranks whispered among themselves as the older Warder walked, hand always near the hilt of his saber.

The silver-haired Gaidin couldn't blame them, either for the reputation he had instilled as both a trainee and as a Warder. A battle-hardened soldier when he had entered the Tower Yards, Sojin had been ruthless at first in the sparring yard, besting even some Ji'alantin and Ji'dar at the sword.

Later as a Warder, he had been bonded to Saphire en'Damier Sedai and later to a Keeper of the Chronicles. Both had ended not on the best of terms though the former relationship had briefly been rekindled.

Now, more than two decades after he had entered the Yards, he had returned home. Dressed in a simple white shirt and brown coat and leather breaches, he cut an impressive figure. Slender yet well built, he looked a man a decade younger than his 40 years.

His sapphire eyes scanned everything, catching every little detail of those that passed. Caden Ives had taught him much as a trainee, including the need to stay alive. His years with Saphire had only enhanced the need to be aware of his surroundings.

The saber at his side, a gift from the Aes Sedai, had been a constant companion since his initial departure from the Grey Tower and his return to the Band of the Red Hand and the calvary, his subsequent return ot the Tower and as House Walker's High Seat.

His father Jerid Walker had seen to the latter, burn the man. A decade of overseeing the now small house had left him with a desire to return to something he knew.

Only, he had to report to the Mistress of Training. He knew little about this Ubriel Bryne, other than she had apparently earned her rank when the Warder Council selected her to lead the trainees.

It was a position he had to respect, given the impact the Yards had given him in his life. Of course, most of his lessons had come from Lord Ives and to some smaller extent Lord Sigmund, but he still acknowledged those who oversaw the training as a critical role.

And those who hadn't learned the lesson had often ended up on the wrong side of Sojin's sparring blade. Or ended up in the Infirmary with broken bones.

But that had been years ago. If Sojin were to meet someone in a spar, it would be to improve their skills and deal an important lesson.

He entered the Administrative Hall of the Warder Halls and toward the officer's offices. A hand went up to tap on the door, three solid knocks.

And then he waited.

[Bree]

Ubriel was in the middle of a column of sums for the trainee equipment requisitions when the tapping on her door drew her attention and completely lost her count. Ubriel closed her eyes and then closed the ledger. There was no use trying to start over if there was to be a person entering her office. It was not a new recruit, not likely anyway. They were being greeted and fed and sent to her during open office hours for the most part. That meant it could be anyone really. "Come in!" She called out to the door as she opened her eyes and laced her fingers together atop the closed ledger.

The man who entered was obviously an elder of the Yards and held himself like he belonged there. He was part of this Tower and he was one of it's Gaidin. Ubriel had no idea beyond that who this fellow might be. Standing in respect to one who had earned the rank of Gaidin well before she had ever arrived at the Yard, Ubriel gestured. "Welcome, I am Ubriel Bryne. I am serving in the post of Mistress of Training. Please come in and make yourself comfortable." She gestured to the available seating across the desk from her. "What can I do for you?"

[Jack]

Entering the room, Sojin took immediate stock of everything, scanning every possible avenue of defensible space one could find useful. Sizing it all up, he found it could be a difficult proposition to launch an assault here without an element of surprise or at least a few bloodied soldiers.

Then his eyes landed on the short Gaidar in front of him. A little plump and short, most might underestimate the fair-haired Gaidar or overlook her.

But then Sojin wasn't one to misjudge another Warder no matter what exterior presented itself. Doing so could be a painful mistake ... or the last mistake.

These days he was careful not to make missteps either. An encounter with Amora en'Damier had taught him that lesson, as had his lessons with Master Ives in days gone by.

She had been in the middle of something. Sojin's sapphire eyes locked on the Mistress of Training's hands, clasped over a closed ledger. He always did have lousy timing.

Hand on sabre hilt and his other fisted over his chest, Sojin gave a respectful bow appropriate for one of Ubriel Bryne's rank.

“A privilege to make your acquaintance, Mistress Bryne,” Sojin said respectfully. “I'm Sojin Majere Gaidin, recently returned from an onerous posting from Andor's House Walker.”

Right, so leave out the mention you left your place as High Seat. Sojin shooed the thought away like a farmer might a fox from the hen house. There was no point in breaking down a whole story.

He looked at the chair and hesitated briefly. One never knew how one would react if a Warder took a seat instead of standing. Besides, it made one a vulnerable target.

Still, he showed respect and took the seat.

“I found it appropriate to check in with a ranking officer, Mistress Bryne,” Sojin said. “It would be a poor show of respect to have a Warder return, hit the sparring grounds and have awkward encounters afterward.”

His lips curved in a brief smile, there and gone in a heartbeat. There was no ego in his voice, merely a self-acknowledgement of his years as a trainee who was ruthless in spars.

The intervening years had tempered those habits, both as a Warder and as a soldier. Even as a flaming High Seat.

“And an unbonded Warder without a designated task can be very prone to … boredom,” Sojin said. “If you have any use for an old Warder still worth half his salt, I'm willing.”

[Bree]

Ubriel gave every detail of Sojin's movement and body language all the attention it deserved. His sparing use of it all gave her the impression that he was guarded in more than one sense. "I appreciate the gesture, sincerely. We have seen the return of many of the elders of the Yards recently and I am more than grateful to have their experience and skill on hand to help train our new recruits. I myself am taking advantage of the horsemanship skills of one of the recently returned Gaidar to challenge myself and grow. Yes it is a very good thing when wisdom and experience can be added to our reserves."

Ubriel stood slowly and with careful, specific movements. Bowing briefly and shallowly as she reached her full height, she then moved to her left around her desk to the small table in front of the ever-open window. From their height on the second floor, the Yards were visible laid out below, full of activity and noise. It was oddly comforting to her to be able to look out there and see that everyone was well and active. She dropped her gaze down to the table surface and focussed on the silver pitcher and goblets there. The chilled punch was tart with it's sweetness and she poured two goblets. Sojin could drink or not but she would give him this courtesy as he had given her the courtesy of acknowledging her rank. In a place such as this, rank seldom meant much once one was no longer a trainee.

Leaning against the forward edge of her desk, Ubriel crossed one ankle over the other and sipped her punch. "There are not many raw recruits with a specific need at the moment but I will absolutely let you know the moment you are needed on an individual basis. No, the thing I would like to ask you is, would you be willing to present a bit of a challenge to the more mature students and full ranked members of our Yard?" Ubriel knew there was a bit of a twinkle in her eye now and she couldn't do much about it. The idea made her happy. "I have long wanted to rotate the guard that went out to do the security checks of the outposts in the Blight. There are and should be the Quads, permanent teams of four, but I want to add another group of fresh muscle from the Yard instead of another Quad to each patrol." Ubriel sipped long and slow at her punch. Then slipped back around her desk to give Sojin is space and to take her seat there once more.

This project was one that she had been pondering for a long while. Sojin's arrival was perfect. He of course might not care to make the patrol once each month, but if he was still the same man that the records of the Yard had described for her, she was hoping that the occasional jaunt with what would likely be rowdy team members would interest him.

OOC: It really is a project I have been working on and if you aren't interested in heading it up, I completely understand. However, if you have any thoughts, ideas, concerns or otherwise to share about such a proposed 'non-class', I would love to explore that here IC.

[Jack]

Sojin accepted the punch with a modest nod of thanks. In days past, he might have declined the offer simply because it seemed to … revealing or weak.

If serving as High Seat of House Walker had taught him anything, it was better to simply treat every offer as a possible opening for either an alliance or to tell an opponent's weakness.

Light, but the Game has worn off on you more than you'd like, Sojin thought to himself as he sipped the drink. A little tart for his liking but then he had become used to a great many things in his life.

Years of living on horseback had taught him that much.

Uriel's words caught his interest as he cradled the goblet in his hand. It certainly was an ambitious goal she proposed. It sounded more like a strike team than anything else. He had done his fair share of rotations to the Citadel in the Borderland as a trainee, especially when circumstances particularly demanded it.

Permanent squads had its advantages, but it could also make people jaded or complacent to the dangers.

And as the Shadow extended its reach and more towns fell each year and month, the Tower's trainees needed to have more experience.

But to place troops under his command?

The last time he had led, it had been an evacuation of refugees and House Walker armsmen from its ancestral home in the Caralain to its estate in the Mountains of Mist from a Seanchan assualt. That had been his father Jerid Walker's final order as High Seat.

And yet you have experience that most don't have.

“You must know my record, Mistress Bryne,” Sojin said calmly, peering over his goblet. “I was not exactly the ideal trainee and gave even freshly minted Gaidin and Gaidar a challenge when it came to spars.”

Too modest, but he needed to test how well she knew his reputation. When he had been a Ji'alatin, he had helped rescue Saphire en'Damier, the Aes Sedai who had first bonded him. It was balanced by the fact that he had sent nearly every one of his sparring opponents to the Infirmary.

His military record both before joining the Yards and his first departure from the Tower after gaining the fancloak spoke differently though.

Three years as a cavalryman in Mat Cauthon's Shen al'Calhar before being sent here had refined skills taught to him as a boy in Tar Valon. Another decade as a captain at the head of a hundred cavalrymen in the same army had refined his skills as a leader.

“Some of those whom might be selected might not like my way of doing things, Mistress,” Sojin said after taking another sip. “I'm early to rise even by Warder standards and when it comes to monthly jaunts to the outposts, they might not like the fact they'd be sitting on horses for at least one or two days of that mission. New muscle won't be sent out there to look and sit around pretty waiting for the fight to come to them. Active preemption has its benefits. ”

He smiled briefly, faintly.

“That warning aside, I do like your idea and it may give at least the more skilled trainees more seasoning and put some more field experience for our younger brethren who have earned the fancloak,” Sojin said with a positive tone. Warders needed to have their skills constantly honed if they were to one day protect an Aes Sedai or Asha'man.

“Tell me more.”

OOC: It sounds like a great idea and it gives the silver-haired troublemaker an opportunity for more command experience and to be more of a "team player."

[Bree]

Ubriel leaned forward, glad that her suggestion had been well received. She really only knew this man by the reputation of the sparse and spartan warder yard record. She knew the record of his name. Seeing him, his gray hair and his muscle and size, she put what she had read together with what she was seeing and she was certain that he would do well leading this endeavor. Now to sell him on it...

"As you know, there are a series of outposts just a few miles inside the official border of the blighted lands. The Quad Squads have become," she paused here not willing to say they were complacent but not finding an accurate alternative readily available. "Well, they have become less than effective. They tend toward the unobservant and ineffectual not out of lack of training but they are simply too accustomed to the sights and events that occur so readily on their patrols. Affixing another Quad Squad to the same patrol, I am afraid would not make any improvement."

She brought out a listing of the current middle and full rank warder yard members. "There are some talented names on this list. I know that many of the younger members are unknown to you but some of their achievements in training and other assignments are listed with their names." She pointed at a couple, "We have some skilled archers and equestrians, one very skilled person with a dart gun." She pushed the listings across the desk for him to take or look at as he saw fit. She gave him a moment to decide and spoke again. "If you can take two or three of these listed out on a patrol once a month, it will give the Quad Squads something to look forward to as well as people to whom they will want to show off and tell their best stories. While they are not on patrols together, they will want to do their best so as to create stories to share. While they are out together, they will want to show their skill to those trained or training as Gaidin."

Ubriel sipped her punch and then squinted her eyes at the man across from her. "I am asking you because by reputation, you are a no nonsense and exacting trainer. If anyone is qualified and skilled to maintain a group of rowdy Warder Yard initiates in a dangerous and difficult situation like a Blight Border Patrol," she grinned ruefully, "I have no doubt that your name would be at the top of a very short list for that." She smiled and nodded. "The members of your patrol group might be uncomfortable and you may challenge their abilities but honestly, they all, everyone of them, and myself often, need that challenge."

She propped her elbows on the arms of her chair and sipped her punch; studying him as he took in her words.

OOC: If you are interested in getting this started, I figure we can advertise for a first Patrol beginning August 1. The folks that are interested will have plenty of time to sign up. I envision a first week of easy but long riding from the Citadel to the first couple of outposts followed by a couple of small problems (typical blight animals, sickness, a small trolloc encounter) then a restful night at another outpost followed by a huge, hairy ordeal (outpost is overrun, attacked by fade and fist of trollocs, natural disaster, betrayal by one of the Quad Squad or an outpostman) and then return via Citadel and a Gateway to an end of patrol banquet scene or a dance or drinking at the Band of Brothers... Anyway, something like that so it lasts all month and the participants get a good four or six posts in it and they feel like they have had an adventure. Once you agree to it and take it over, it is all up to you how much you want to prompt them to do and how long you actually want it to take. You get to make the rules, within reason and you get to tell people if they have successfully completed a patrol. It is good for character development and adventure writing and fun. And you can be as taciturn as you like as long as you don't stand in the middle of the group IC and start screaming about raw chicken or some such...

[Jack]

Sojin took the list with one hand, his sapphire eyes scanning the list of names presented. Most were unknown to him, if simply because of his absence from the Yards. One or two he might have some brief knowledge of, but remained strangers to him. One or two others he was surprised to see on the list.

Even as he read, Sojin absorbed Ubriel's words. His assumptions had been correct then. Troops along the Blightborder had been at worst complacent and at best given into routine. Even for those who were trained in the Yards, this could be bad should Shadowspawn mass an attack.

He sipped his punch before placing the goblet on the table.

“Mistress Bryne, I assure you that my reputation has been well earned in the Yards simply because I was unyielding in spars,” Sojin said. “I was not exactly a model trainee by beating all sparring opponents to a bloody pulp, especially those who crowed about having their run of channelers to Bond.”

Sojin recalled one incident where he had nearly paralyzed a Sa’Ji’alantin guilty of such a braggart move.

“As a Warder, I tried to train those as best I could, but my style was much the same as Lord Caden Ives. His methods were … effective.”

He placed the parchment on the desk and steepled his hands.

He really liked Ubriel’s style.

“You want to get those men and women serving on the Blightborder some renewed inspiration and a kick in the rear,” Soijn said. “And I agree that everyone needs a challenge. I have to admit such a challenge would be welcome for myself, especially given years of … confinement to a High House.”

Truth was, he yearned for the field once more, to be astride a horse. He had been trained as a soldier and served as a captain in the Band of the Red Hand.

He raised a finger.

“I have conditions,” he said simply. “These will be my troops to command, mine to discipline in line with the rules of this Yard. They get unruly, I will teach them a lesson on the sparring mat. They do worse, they face either you or the Gaidin Captain depending on their rank. I will give them a free rein so long as they conduct themselves within the spirit of their training. They act out of turn, I'll brand them myself with a knock on the skull.”

OOC: Definitely interested in getting this started. I think that the list of scenarios work out well enough that there can be a lot of variety. Depending on how this goes, it could be very interesting. Besides, Sojin’s never complained about bad food considering he’s not so good a cook himself.

[Bree]

Ubriel stifled a huge face splitting smile in favor of a smirky grin. "That is very good news. I will leave it to you to put the word out. You can have authorization to gather and requisition whatever supplies you will need. I understand that you have more than adequate experience to handle this and I am gratified that you will be seeing to it."

Ubriel scribbled out a letter of commission authorizing the command under the title of "Blight Border Training Patrols". The commission granted the authorization she had promised and access to training and performance records. Handing the commission letter to Sojin, Ubriel pursed her lips. "What do you think about the possibility of inviting channelers out on these excursions? Do you think they would be more help or hindrance to your efforts with the warder yard members?"

Ubriel steepled her fingers and tapped her lips watching his face and another thought occurred to her. "Would you want to take strictly volunteers or hand out patrol duty as an assignment to those who earn it or, alternately, need it? I can think of a few of our number who are itching to get out beyond the gates but I wouldn't authorize them to leave for ten thousand Gold Marks. Particularly not to the Blight. And others would be gratified to know they are doing well enough in their training to be invited on patrol."

OOC: That's great! What do you think about the invitation versus the assignments? and inviting channelers? Like I said, it is your ball game but a little heads up is appreciated on the details like that, just so I can back you up where need be. I think if we turn it into assignments, there are going to be those who just don't respond but most of them will. If you handout assignments, I recommend sending formal assignment letters through PM and copied as a first post for them to reply to. That worked well in my MRP recently. Anyway, I think running the sign up/in in the WY forum and the actual patrol thread in the Westlands forum more generally would work nicely.
I am excited!