Gee, I wonder if this is going to hurt... *smiles* (Attn Sylos)

[Nynaeve]

Evelyn sat on the ground in the training yard, muttering to herself. It was bad enough that she had to teach the basic training class to a group of recruits, but now she was required to give private lessons?! Not that she didn't enjoy the occasional recruit bashing, but it seemed to be more enjoyable in a group formation. When it was a one on one lesson, taking out her student meant the lesson would have to be prolonged further for it to be finished. Evelyn could not have that.

 

So she waited until the set time she was told to be there. Eyeing every person that passed by, wondering if it was Sylos. That was the name she was given. She had no idea who he was specifically. At the end of the day, all the recruits looked alike. But beyond that she had no interest in getting acquainted with any of them. She just wanted to give the classes and be on her way. That promotion better arrive soon...

 

Eventually, a young man approached her. Evelyn stood up and dusted her pants."Morning, Sylos. Thank you for taking the time to join me today." The sarcasm rang clearly in her voice. "It is a lovely morning, is it not? Enjoy it with a run. Yes, you heard me right. Start running in circles around me. Wide ones, though. I love my personal space." Evelyn spoke loudly as Sylos began running. "I will be your instructor today. My name is Evelyn. Though there are many cute nicknames I seemed to have accumulated. I'm sure you will learn of them soon." Evelyn smiled to herself.

 

"Today you will learn about SCRAB. Stamina. Courage. Resistance. Agility and Balance. Traits you are expected to either possess or attain. You made the first step of joining the Children of the Light. But you have yet to prove whether you deserve to be here or you're better off running back to your mommy. I will be the judge of that. So, what I want to see is determination. Drive. I want it to be abundantly clear that you want to be here. If you have any complaints, worries or concerns... I don't want to hear about them. I'm not your mother, your father, you sister or your lover. I'm not here to cuddle you and tell you it's going to be okay. I'm here either to break you or make you stronger. Make your bloody pick."

 

Evelyn seated herself on the ground. "Your stamina is put to the test. You run until I say otherwise. If you falter, that buys you an extra hour of running. So just a fraction of a second before you decide you cannot continue and you're about to fall on your face... do yourself a favor and... refrain from doing so."

 

 

 

OOC: Okay, Sylos! It's a hot day, which makes this task harder *wink wink*

RP your character's emotions and thoughts. You can have him talk with Evelyn through it if you like (or himself). Whatever you feel like :)

 

 

 

 

Evelyn

The terminator

[Erathian Avenger]

Having woken up early that morning and eaten a large breakfast, Sylos found himself with a great deal of energy and no apparent channels for it. Returning to his quarters, he found a note on the door adressed to him, telling him to report to the training yard alone. While rather confused by the order, the Light knew he had nothing better to be doing, so he did so. He was greeted by an order to run from a woman who looked to have wasted a great deal of time waiting already.

 

Sylos took off running when ordered, not particularly curious as to why he was being ordered to run. Long months traveling by foot had given him endurance, though he suspected the heat of the day would quickly wear much of it away. Running round and round and round the instructor, he kept a wide distance as suggested- despite the fact that it was very tempting to dart quickly and leap over her head. So tempting, in fact, that it quickly became a struggle not to do exactly that.

 

"I was told to report here on my own. Do you mind telling me why I am taking basic training courses on my own rather than with other recruits? I know I'm not the only new one here." Sylos questioned the instructor respectfully, knowing rudeness would get him know answers. He also hoped it might distract her just enough for him to get away with his instructor-jumping plans.

[Nynaeve]

"I was told to report here on my own. Do you mind telling me why I am taking basic training courses on my own rather than with other recruits? I know I'm not the only new one here." Evelyn yawned. She was never too pleased when they spoke. Especially when it was directed at her. She remembered the discipline back when she was a recruit. Things were different then. You'd be terrified of breathing too loudly, afraid it might disturb the instructor. But she supposed those days were gone and there was no point in dwelling on them. All she could do was follow her own path, pushing other people out of her way if necessary.

 

"That is a very astute observation. Lets put our heads together and figure this out. You enlist the CotL. The basic training class that is being held is already too advanced for you. There are no new recruits at the moment so that leaves... you. However, if you're displeased with such an arrangement, I'll be more than happy to speak to the Master of Recruits and have him delay your training until further notice. Which between you and me, doesn't sound half bad."

 

Though Evelyn knew the Master of Recruits would hear none of that. Getting rid of loose cannons was the first priority when it came to new recruits. There was no time to waste on failures. Though she enjoyed giving those the little push they needed.

 

 

 

 

Evelyn

Efil

[Erathian Avenger]

"Well, then, I suppose I will have plenty of time to get acquainted with you and your lovely personality, sir." Sylos said, keeping his tone somewhere centered on the line between respect and insubordination. He continued running without fail, fighting hard the temptation to jump the sitting instructor.

 

Two hours of running later, his willpower was waning almost as much as his endurance. The heat had him sweating like mad, so that he very nearly looked like he had been swimming rather than running, and the constant running had his legs aching with every step. While he had become used to travel, maintaining a running speed for so long was nowhere near the same level of exertion as walking for almost a whole day. Sylos had expected it to be easier. It was, in fact, much, much worse. He knew he likely had far worse to look forward to, but he couldn't help but feel that he had to draw the line somewhere.

 

And, so, he drew it. Veering suddenly on his heel, he made a running start and leaped over Evelyn with a burst of laughter that took most of what remained of his breath. Landing solidly on his feet, he took off running around her again, now even farther out than before. Not only had his leap been a good way to relieve some of his own tension, it gave him a chance to judge the instructor: he was fairly sure he would be in trouble for his stunt, he wasn't at all sure how much. However, whatever the difficulty, he felt it was worth it as long as he didn't end up with any bleeding wounds.

 

His final thought on the matter was that had he been wearing his uniform-issue white cloak for training, it likely would have snagged on the instructor's head and caused all kinds of trouble for the both of them.

[Nynaeve]

IC:

"Well, then, I suppose I will have plenty of time to get acquainted with you and your lovely personality, sir." Evelyn's smooth expression gave nothing away, but indifference. But in truth, she was quite amused. She despised the extra work she had to do with recruits in order to continue climbing the ladder of ranks, but there were certain aspects of the job she felt quite good about. Crushing spirits was one of them. She could break anyone, if given enough time, but there were those few cases in which extra imagination had to be applied. And Evelyn had much to spare.

 

After approximately two hours, while Evelyn was reading through a rather fascinating book, the moronic recruit decided it would be a brilliant idea to leap over her head like an halfwit child. She continued reading through her book, mastering her annoyance and showing no visible care for his abrupt act of stupidity. She continued sitting there until she was sure she was in charge of her emotions. Then she rose smoothly. She opened her mouth to let Sylos know he could stop running, then thought better of it. He wanted to be a brat? Fine. She was going to treat him as one. Watching him as he kept running in circles, she came closer to his running route and casually tripped him as he passed by her. She surpassed a giggle as he fell forward, using his hands to break the fall.

 

"Oh, my bad. I can be so clumsy sometimes. But..." She sighed. "I suppose I can give you a break this time." It was getting harder to keep her lips from widening into a grin. "You may go rest for three hours. Gather your strength and meet me back here." With that said, Evelyn turned around and left, half flipping through her book.

 

*****************************************************************************

 

Evelyn eyed Sylos carefully before speaking. "I hope you are well rested. I was concerned that the unfortunate fall might put a stop to the training, but I'm relieved to see you're well and standing. As it were, we will be training indoors today. So follow me." Evelyn led Sylos to one of the practice halls within the fortress where she set up earlier a human sized box made of solid wood.

 

"Today we're going to cover the second letter, C. Courage. Fear can sometimes be our allay. Every person experiences fear. There's nothing wrong in being afraid and it certainly does not label you a coward. The trick is to learn how to control your fear and use other's fear to your advantage. This is where most people fall into two groups. The first would be the group of frightened little prancers. You do not want to be in that group. And than there's the warriors' group. The group you want to find yourself in if you wish to join our ranks."

 

Evelyn moved to stand by the box. "This exquisite contraption holds many surprises within it. This exercise will not be physically demanding. It will consist of you entering the box and staying confined within it for two hours. Aside from the small space, stuffy air and lack of light, you will find yourself entertaining some company as well. Conquer your fears and you will pass this test. Go into the unknown and prove that you belong here."

 

Evelyn gave Sylos a leveled stare."If you come out of the box before the time is complete, you will have to renter it and start over. I will not lock the door. You are free to run out like an ickle spoiled baby at any point. It is your decision."

 

Evelyn leaned back on the wall and crossed her arms under her breasts. "Your palace awaits."

 

 

OOC:

The box contains creatures within it. Lizards, spiders, crickets, flies and various other insects (you can make some up). Bear in mind that they will be making noises... flapping of wings...communications of any kind... which I'm sure will go nicely with some of your terrified shrieks. ;D  It's mostly a psychological test... some characters might be more inclined to be scared of the bugs, some of the lack of light, some of the closed space... I don't want to see someone who feels absolutely comfortable and overjoyed in this situation. No one would feel comfortable, even if they're not phobic of any of the things they endure within the box. So, no godmodding ;)

 

Have fun ;)

 

 

 

Evelyn

CotL

 

[Erathian Avenger]

"Your palace awaits." Sylos wondered, as he slowly crawled into the box, if Evelyn's tongue had ever gotten her into trouble. He wondered, as well, if it might not be overdue to get her into more whether it had or not. He was in the middle of thinking this when he felt a spider crawling up his arm.

 

Biting back a startled yelp, Sylos heard Evelyn close the door of the box behind him. Hearing the quiet twittering and buzzing of hundreds of insects and the hissing of small, reptilian creatures in the dark, it occurred to him that perhaps there WAS a reason that so many of the Children of the Light acted like bastards. After all, this seemed the sort of thing that could very permanently bother someone, and he had only just begun.

 

Trying to find a good place to wait in the damp wooden box, he stepped on a snake that hissed sharply. Jumping at the noise, he struck his head on the top of the box and swore viciously, going from words thrown out at random to, after some time spent stepping on more small creature, a rather complex invective hurled outwards at the instructor, and some rather unlikely comments on her parentage. He settled in, after removing the snake he had sat on before it could bite him, and waited for the horror to be over.

 

Then he felt the spiders on his legs, and began to twitch.

[Nynaeve]

IC:

Evelyn couldn't resist smiling when she heard a loud thump from the box. She half expected the door to slam open and for Sylos to run out and start rolling on the floor frantically. Unfortunately, that did not come to pass. She waited. And waited. Until it was time to let him out. She did so reluctantly, watching him intently as he came out, seeming a bit wobbly. "You have passed this stage of the training. It grew late, so we will reconvene tomorrow morning. Until then." Evelyn spun around and walked away.

 

******************************************************************************

 

Evelyn sat crossed leg at the training yard, contemplating her training methods. The private basic training class had been running rather smoothly, if one ignored Sylos' insolent display. However, it was an isolated happening and certainly not worth over thinking. The stubborn ones proved to be the hardest to break. Evelyn's time was limited and so she did her best in finding those cracks she needed to take control. If no cracks were found, all the better for the recruit. But it meant less fun to be had.

 

A few moments later, Sylos joined her. He planted his feet next to each other and saluted. Evelyn was pleased, but her face did not transmit that. She kept it as hard as stone. It wasn't her job to cuddle. All the reward the recruits needed was remaining within the Fortress' walls. They didn't need more than that. Not if the CotL was indeed the place where they ought to be.

 

"Today we will move on to the letter R. Resistance. This lesson is not going to be easy. It will be difficult as the previous ones, only more physically demanding." Evelyn smiled, swearing she heard Sylos sigh. "I feel the need to remind you that this is not a tea party gathering. If you are displeased with this arrangement..." Evelyn pointed towards the Fortress' outer gates. "...you're more than welcomed to excuse yourself and go buy some herbal tea in the nearest inn. I hear the prices are very appealing these days. And the company ever so... fitting."

 

"However, if you choose to stay, you better pay attention." Evelyn started pacing back and forth as she spoke, her hands folded behind her back. "Resistance is a very important attribute for a warrior. It shows how much you can take before collapsing. It's true that every person has his/her limit. But the harder you push yourself, the higher that bar is and the better chance you have to survive when you're fighting for your life and the lives of others. It also means that you can undergo torture without giving away valuable information that might put us all at risk. You're expected to be capable. Strive to higher levels. You need to invest everything you have in you to accomplish this. And that's exactly what's going to be put to the test today."

 

"You're going to choose a stance. The one you feel you're most comfortable with. Keep in mind that you'll be on your feet for a prolonged time, so choose your stance wisely. Once you do so, I will use chalk to mark circles around your feet. You are not allowed to move your feet out of those circles, nor up from the ground." Evelyn walked to the right and stopped next to a pile of metal bits, each tied to straps. "These are weights. You will start with two of these strapped to you. Whenever 30 minutes pass, I will add another weight. All you have to do is stay on your feet the longest possible. I want you to find your limit, but I also want you to push it further. As far away as possible. And that requires vast concentration. That's key. Don't let your body win over your mind."

 

Evelyn waited until Sylos found his stance, marked the circles and hung the weights over his shoulders. The first few hours were to be relatively easy. The extra weight wasn't that extensive. But when the weight grew heavier and exhaustion would start to kick in, that's when the challenge really started.

 

And so Evelyn sat down comfortably, this time with her eyes wide open, observing Sylos closely.

 

 

 

OOC: My post is pretty self explanatory. Just RP your character reacting to the weight being added and the hours passing... have him collapse at some point. You can choose when you want him to give in, of course.  :)

 

 

 

Evelyn

CotL

[Erathian Avenger]

Having already gone through one test involving physical endurance, Sylos had no illusions as to the permanence of his physical strength. He had a sneaking suspicion that this was going to start getting especially ugly as the day wore on.

 

The first few hours went by slowly, but without any significant difficulty. After a few minutes of gazing at the clouds, he decided he was bored of that particular clever plan and moved on to attempts at revenge on his instructor. Having a large repertoire of travelers' and tavern songs available, and having been informed in terms varying widely in their level of politeness that he was tone deaf, he began to whistle loudly, managing to emit a sort of high-pitched warble that made a vain attempt at following each tune. His primary hope was that this would annoy his instructor as much as it had almost everyone he had met.

 

After a few hours of his going through all the tavern songs he could whistle without actually annoying himself, the usefulness of the tactic began to wane as the pain in his legs from standing in one place for so long holding up so much more weight than usual outweighed his ability to focus elsewhere. He looked about for something else to keep his mind occupied, but had rather limited luck. And so when, an hour and a half afterwards, the weight being put on led to a loud sigh and a rather noisy collapse, Sylos contented himself with rationalizing that it was not a physical failing that had defeated him, but rather the enormous weight of his boredom.

[Nynaeve]

IC:

 

Evelyn frowned at Sylos as he stood there, whistling like only a git could. She would have dismissed it as a concentration method, if it wasn't for the smug expression he held for the first few hours. Of course it faded off once he didn't have the strength to maintain it. She ignored him. The frown didn't give away her annoyance, since it seemed like she wore a frown most of the time anyway. Not wearing a frown would have been suspicious.

 

She spent the time flipping through a book with half interest, until Sylos finally collapsed on the ground. She got up slowly, dusting her trousers and moved next to Sylos to remove the weights and put them back in their place. "We are done for the day. You are excused. I will see you bright and early tomorrow."

 

 

************************************************************************

 

Another day passed and Evelyn could feel the strain loosing. There were only two classes left before the miscreant would be passed on to Ezekiel for the process of the oath taking. That meant she wouldn't have to put up with Sylos any longer. At least she hoped she wouldn't. All that mattered, though, was finishing up the irritating chore.

 

And so Evelyn waited for Sylos to show up. When he did, she was half disappointed. She always managed to drive a few from the cause, but it seemed that Sylos was still holding on. "Well, You finally honor me with your presence." Evelyn folded her arms under her breasts and gave Sylos a leveled look. "Today we review the next letter. A. Agility. It is both the power of moving fast and easily, while also thinking and drawing conclusions just as quickly. The information must first be processed in your mind before it is translated into action. Both have to be swift and exact."

 

Evelyn picked up her backpack and signaled Sylos to follow her. "We're going outside of the fortress. There is a rocky area in the outskirts of Amador, not too far off. A few CotL are waiting there for us, to assist with your training, and keeping them waiting is probably not a good idea. They're not as cuddly as I am. So, let us not keep them waiting more than we have to." With that said, Evelyn broke into a run, not bothering to check if Sylos was following.

 

******************************************************************************

 

Evelyn waited patiently until Sylos made it to the spot. She let him rest for a bit, while she conversed with the CotL she asked to help her out. A tall cliff loomed over them. It wasn't too hard to guess what the exercise would consist of. The element of surprise was not the challenge, anyway.

 

"Okay, listen up. Your task is very simple in description, less easy in practice. I want you to scale that cliff. And, after you climb up, you have to go down the same way. You will be tied to a rope that my good friends will be in charge of. After all, you're no use to me as a big splat. But if you slip, you start all over again. No excuses. You both act fast and think fast. Be sure you make the right choice. Don't grab a shaky rock just to go faster, though. Find your ground if need be. It surely beats starting over. However, I will not suffer you taking half a day to pull this off. Careful yet quick. That's what I want to see."

 

Evelyn nodded at one of the CotL who let her know that they were ready for Sylos. "You may begin."

 

 

OOC:

So, just RP your character going through this exercise (no godmodding, I wanna see'ya ache, sweat and get all scraped *wink*) and then I'll move us on to the last class before the oath

*hugs*

 

 

 

Evelyn

CotL

[Erathian Avenger]

IC:

 

"You may begin." The words finally broke through Sylos' haze of amusement at the implication that his taskmaster could be considered cuddly, though he had listened to the directions just well enough to understand he was expected to scale the cliff, and was not going to be allowed to splatter unless he really tried it. As he had, on one particularly memorable occasion, attempted to do just that, he had no intention of repeating that particular brand of foolishness.

 

Sylos had climbed cliffs before. It was a handy way to make shortcuts, and few people tracking him expected him to manage it. He had not, however, ever felt the need to do so quickly. He was already quite sore from the exertions of the day before, but he had the distinct feeling he could already feel the cuts and scrapes being added to his pain. With a heavy sigh, he took a good look at the rock face and lept up, grabbing for handholds he had spotted from the ground.

 

Or at least, he thought he had. He reflected, while regaining his breath and ignoring the laugher of his instructor, that it was a very good thing his head hadn't hit the rock, and his only complaint for the first failed attempt would be a sore posterior. His pride had long since been shelved, of course. He made a point of studying the rock face once more, and instead of leaping for the handholds settled for the somewhat less flashy method of reaching for them. He yelped as one of them proved to be a hiding place for a rather sharp rock, but upon determining that his hand wasn't bleeding he continued upwards.

 

He made steady progress to about halfway upwards. He had a good memory for paths and was comforted to know he could follow the same path again if he fell. He was so comforted, in fact, that he forgot to pay attention to what he was doing, and missed the handhold he had been reaching for with his left hand by several inches, instead jaimming it down on a particularly sharp rock. With a startled cry of pain, he jerked his hand back- and unbalanced himself enough that maintaining his grip with his other hand became impossible, sending him off the edge of the cliff with a startled 'ACK!'.

 

When he had finished emptying the contents of his stomach on the ground after the sharp drop to only a few feet from splattering- the retching had almost, but not quite, drowned out the laughter from the top of the cliff- he tore a few inches off the bottom of one pant leg to create a makeshift bandage for his hand. While not bleeding badly, he didn't need the blood running in his eyes or making the climb even more slippery.

 

As Sylos returned to his climbing, determined to make the third attempt the last, he found he had correctly gauged his ability to follow his path back to halfway up. He had not, however, accounted for his muscles, which decided it was a good time to remind him he had been using them a bit more than usual lately. Fighting an increasingly painful ache in his arms, he continued to climb upwards, carefully watching for stones- an attempt that failed only once, when he moved his arm to wipe sweat out of his eyes and accidentally knocked loose a shelf full of gravel, which pelted him on it's way down. By the time he had reached the top, several of the pieces had become painfully lodged in his shoe, and it was only because he couldn't actually see her very well that he didn't throw them at Evelyn as he removed them, thankful that the discipline of the Children manning the rope prevented them from doing more than smirk and chuckle at his misfortunes.

 

Not looking forward to returning down the rock face, he sat to catch his breath, contemplating that this might, after all, be revenge for his consistent attempts to annoy his instructor- though they seemed not to be working. As the sun began to rise higher, however, he came to the conclusion that soonest was best, and began his climb back down.

 

It turned out Sylos had waited a bit longer than was wise, as the minor scrapes and bruises he had not felt himself recieve had been given time enough to make themselves known, and constant twinging threatened to unbalance him- and, twice, sent his hand right into rocks that were thankfully not sharp enough to cause serious bleeding, though they certainly hurt. Halfway down he paused to rest, holding tightly to the cliff face and very carefully wiping the sweat from his face, before looking down. He had, he realized, drifted significantly from his previous path, and there were no handholds to be found below him. It was sheer luck that he had stopped when he did. Swearing under his breath, he climbed several feet back up towards the top, carefully watching his path as he righted himself and continued down on the proper course.

 

He succesfully maintained his pace until he reached what was, by his count, the last foothold before the ground. It was here that his leg, sore from previous exercises, banged and scraped from the climbing, and suddenly forced into alarmingly sharp contact with the rock face by a bad step, gave out. Screwing up his eyes as he felt himself began to fall, Sylos did the only thing he could and leapt from the rockface, making it out to be a deliberate as best he could, and struck the ground hard, rolling several feet untit he felt his head hit something. He realized, as he opened his eyes and found himself gazing upwards at his instructor, that it was a shoe.

 

"Please. I am begging you. Tell me that counts." Was all he said, to terrified of making the climb again to even manage any of his usual insubordinate voicing.

 

OOC: Oh what fun. Cliff-climbing with the COL. Hope you liked it!

[Nynaeve]

OOC: Was a great post!  ;D

 

 

IC:

 

"Please. I am begging you. Tell me that counts." Sylos' expression looked genuinely distressed at the prospect. Evelyn considered it for a moment but then decided against it. Thy boy was already fairly injured and she needed him to heal quickly so they could move on to last lesson before the oath taking.

 

"It will do, I guess. After all, I don't want to have to drag you all the way back to the Fortress. Might stain my uniform." Evelyn dusted her pants and indicated Sylos that they were going to meet for one last lesson in a few days. She also informed him that his first stop in the Fortress had to be the infirmary. With that, she was gone, not bothering to stick around to see Sylos back to the Fortress.

 

 

***************************************************************************

 

Evelyn eyed Sylos as he stood before her. He wasn't completely healed, she could tell, but it was close enough. "I hope you are well rested. Because every bit of energy you've gained will be exhausted in matter of minutes. Now, we're going to end with B.

 

Evelyn led Sylos to a contraption that was standing in the middle of the arena. She built it herself for the class. It consisted of a thick log sustained above the ground by support of additional logs in every end. "As I was saying earlier, we're at the letter B. Balance. Which goes hand in hand with coordination. In the battle field the enemy isn't going to wait until you tie your shoe laces, before it attacks. You are expected, as a soldier, to have coordination skills...to a certain extent. Multitasking is important in every aspect in life, but today I will only be testing you on one."

 

"Today your task is to remain on the log as long as possible, while remaining alert as well. Alert to what, you wonder?  oh, just stones thrown in your direction.... by me. You have to keep it up at least until you manage to evade twenty throws in total."

 

Evelyn's smile reappeared. "So, shall we begin?".

 

 

 

Evelyn

Kickass trainer

[Erathian Avenger]

Sylos looked down at his boots for a moment, wondering if there was some approopriately snarky comment to be made on the fact that he had no shoelaces- then he considered that riling his instructor right before she started throwing rocks at him might go down on his list of very bad ideas. So he simply smiled- here, at last, was something he wouldn't have too much trouble with. He had no doubt that Evelyn could aim her throws very well, but one didn't get to be much of an explorer- especially in rocky terrain- without being able to keep one's footing. Not to mention, he thought sourly, that the last exercise ought to have counted for balance as well. He stepped up and jumped onto the contraption, turning to face his instructor with a cocky grin that he could almost guarantee would get him in some kind of trouble.

 

He was right, though he supposed Evelyn would have thrown the rock before he settled in properly with or without the grin. He had little difficulty stepping out of the way, but his foot caught a depression in the log and he nearly tumbled backwards off of it- not a pleasant proposition after landing on his backside mountain climbing not so long ago. He looked down, expecting to find that holes had been carved in it to make the task harder, and just barely had time to register that it was an isolated defect in the wood before the second rock narrowly missed taking off part of his left ear. He yelped, jumped a foot in the air, and came back down with the heel of one foot caught squarely in the depression.

 

Lying on his back on the ground, he briefly considered the irony of his early self-confidence before getting back up on the contraption, determined to keep his mind focused. Five misses by his beloved instructor later, he was feeling somewhat more cheerful. The log contraption wasn't easy to balance on, but it was more a matter of rediscovering old balance than learning it from scratch for him. Therefore, he was forced to conclude that the sixth rock was entirely unfair. It came whistling towards him as he found himself on the far edge of the log, giving him little of either room or time to react. Almost certain he couldn't dodge the throw, Sylos decided to respond in a manner he almost immediately regretted- he kicked the rock straight back towards Evelyn. Wincing already, he watched, hoping that at least she wouldn't get hit by it.

[Nynaeve]

Evelyn aimed and threw the stones, over and over, more focused than ever. Not that she was interested in causing the boy real damage, but her lips seemed to curl into a small smile every time her throw hit home. She wasn't even getting tired, to be truthful. She could go on for quite a while. Her satisfaction grew even more whenever Sylos lost his balance and fell off the contraption. All in all, she was having a good morning.

 

He was stubborn. Evelyn had a pretty good feeling that he wasn't going to break. No, not that one. However, that wasn't going to stop her from trying. Only the best made it into the CotL. Only the ones with greatest determination and drive managed to endure her training. And only those were allowed to take the oaths and join the CotL ranks.

 

Looking away for a moment to grab another stone from the sack, Evelyn looked back in Sylos' direction just in time to see a stone flying through the air in her direction. She began raising her arm to block the stone, but she noticed it too late to succeed. The stone hit her forehead and bounced away.

 

Evelyn grabbed her forehead with her hand. It didn't do anything to ease the pain, but it was at least some sort of action that kept her from visibly growing mad. Her vision was swirling and her head pounded as she slowly looked up, hand still held against her forehead. Sylos seemed unsure what to do. "Stay where you are. I'm fine. We're not stopping."

 

She picked up another stone from the pack, slowly, since the previous one dropped from her hand when she was hit. Clutching it in her hand, she threw it. The stone couldn't have flown farther away from where she was aiming. Evelyng groaned, finally letting her knees buckle. Everything went black as she hit the ground.

 

 

 

 

Evelyn

Unconscious

 

 

[Erathian Avenger]

Sylos stared as his instructor collapsed to the ground,and promptly fell off the contraption once more as he stepped forward without any thought for where he was. Swearing like mad, he brought himself to his feet as fast he could and rushed over to her. He put his hands to her neck and checked for a pulse, letting out a sigh of relief when he felt it still going strong. Pushing back her hair, he noted that while there was a bright red mark on her forehead that showed early signs of bruising, there was no blood. At a loss for what had happened, Sylos considered the irony of the fact that the only reason he knew where to take her to get medical attention was due to injuries suffered under her instruction.

 

Knowing enough not to shake someone who had just fallen unconscious, he carefully picked up his fallen instructor and began carrying her to the infirmary. He was not exceptionally strong, but fortunately Evelyn was not a particularly heavy person. Somewhat disturbed by the eerie silence that seemed to have decided to fallen upon the Fortress, he began to talk- as much to himself as to his unresponsive tormentor. "You know, some people might consider this karma for all the pain you've been putting me through." He said accusingly to Evelyn's unresponsive form. "Some people would say you deserved this. Even I would say it, if I weren't feeling rather sorry for having kicked that rock at you." Sylos continued rather sheepishly.

 

Turning the corner into the hallway outside the infirmary, he tripped over what he would later swear to himself was a loose flagstone but what he knew full well was his feet, and nearly dropped Evelyn to the ground. Fighting hard to steady himself without knocking her into the wall, he finally succeeded and stepped into the infirmary.

 

"Um... my instructor... ah... well, you see... a rock hit her. And she fell down. Um... she's unconscious, so I'm not really sure..." Usually collected and coherent, Sylos' nervousness had reduced him instantly to a complete wreck, and he had a sneaking suspicion he was just confusing the apothecaries even further.

[Nynaeve]

Evelyn opened her eyes slowly. She felt groggy and dizzy, which meant that moving wouldn't be a smart idea. So, she decided not to try quite yet. Looking around, she realized she was in one of the rooms in the infirmary. Her head was pulsing. Reaching up, she brushed her fingers against her forehead and hissed at the pain.

 

It took a few moments, but she finally managed to make out what happened. She was in the middle of a training session with Sylos. The balance one. She threw a stone and the last thing she remembered was seeing it flying back towards her face. "Blood and bloody ashes...", she muttered to herself. That brat attacked her!

 

The door opened. Sylos' head peeked in and after a few moments he let himself in. Evelyn moved her head ever so slightly to see who the new arrival was. Her eyes narrowed as she spoke one single word. "You!"

 

 

 

Evelyn

CotL

[Erathian Avenger]

"In all fairness, I'm sure someone must have told you before that bad things happen to kids who throw rocks at other Children." Sylos said in response to Evelyn's accusational identification of him, hoping her sense of humor was having a good day even though she wasn't. He pulled up a chair and sat down as close to the infirmary bed as he could without putting himself within range of his instructor.

 

"In any event, I'd like to apologize. Sort of. I'd like to say I'm sorry that the rock hit you. Because that was unintentional. I hope you'll understand that I'm rather less sorry that it knocked you unconscious and relegated you to the infirmary for a while, as I feel I owe you that much after what you've put me through. Also, before you begin formulating plans for vengeance, you may wish to keep in mind that I did get you here as fast as possible, despite the general level of concern you have shown for my well-being." Sylos managed to keep his desired level of snarkiness- minimal- throughout his explanation.

 

He sat back, folded his arms, and waited for whatever would happen next- his money was on either an angry tirade or an attempt to murder him, but unfortunately he hadn't been in the fortress long enough to know anyone to make bets with.

[Nynaeve]

Evelyn groaned and let her head rest back on the pillow. If she was very very still, she could almost ignore the splitting headache. Almost. Sylos' words, or even his mare voice, seemed to intensify the pain. Any other trainee would already be packing and fleeing the fortress after what happened. Yet there he was, kicking her while she was down.

 

She ignored the spin of the ceiling, fighting to keep her expression smooth. There was no use in getting visibly upset, no. There was nothing to be gained by it. Raising her voice would probably do more harm to herself than to Sylos. Trying to get up was useless. Not to mention risky. And trying to pummel the boy would probably end with her flat on her face. No, this could wait for a more suitable moment.

 

"Boy, if you have any resemblance of brain left in that thick head of yours, you will remove yourself from the room." Sylos opened his mouth to speak. "Out!". Evelyn hoped he would be sensible enough to leave. Clutching her forehead, she regretted the tone of voice she used.

 

 

 

Evelyn

Instructor

 

 

[Erathian Avenger]

"What, and have you cite me for cowardice in the face of mortal danger? Nay, my dear lady instructor, that would be unconscionable." He said, smiling gently and doing his best to make it clear he was no longer mocking her. "We seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot. I'm really not nearly as annoying as I've tried to be, and I think deep down inside you're at least a little less evil than your job makes you seem."

 

"As such, by way of apology, if there is anything I can do for you please let me know. Until then, I've managed to convince the infirmary nurse to keep the moaning of the other patients as quiet as possible for you. I will leave you to your rest, and hope that you can forgive me for this mishap." Sylos spoke as quietly as he could, in deference to the headache his instructor was obviously suffering, and wasn't entirely sure she had actually heard him.

 

Having spoken his piece, he stood up and walked out of the infirmary. Once he was safely out of sight, he wiped the sweat off his forehead, thankful that he hadn't yet tamed his hair and it had hidden his nervousness. He was certainly hoping his instructor was nicer than she appeared, or her vengeance would be quite fearsome indeed!

[Nynaeve]

Evelyn groaned as the door closed. It was finally quiet in the room. Though it was certainly not quiet inside her head. All she wanted to do was scream. The frustration and anger were building inside, but she was in too much pain to let it out. Luckily, a healer came in at some point and lifted her head up a bit to sip something.

 

Minutes later, she started feeling the pain easing a bit. It was still there, but seemed more dull in a way. She was starting to feel a bit sleepy too, the thoughts that were racing through her head starting to grow fuzzy. She tried to hold on to them to no avail.

 

Sighing, she stopped fighting it. She would deal with Sylos when the time came. Oh, it was going to be highly satisfying too. How and when she'd do it was for later, though. She had to concentrate on healing first. But soon... Soon.

 

Evelyn closed her eyes, a smile decorating her face. It was unclear whether it was the effect of the herbs taking over or the creative ideas she had in mind that induced that effect.

 

Time will tell.

 

 

 

OOC: Feel free to RP Sylos chilling doing whatever... and then being summoned the a couple of days later to meet with Evelyn at the training grounds. ;)

 

 

 

 

Evelyn

CotL

 

[Erathian Avenger]

Two days after he had successfully escaped his wounded instructor with his life, Sylos awoke with a sense of general well-being and happiness. That lasted all of ten minutes until a knock on his door brought to his attention the presence of another low-ranking Child outside. The Child was kind enough to inform him that his instructor requested his presence on the practice field.

 

"Well, really! Not even a 'good luck' or 'I hope you survive' tacked onto the end there. And I thought I was making a better impression, too." Sylos said to the empty air around him as the Child quickly departed on other errands. He sighed, returned to his room and wondered how much trouble he would get in for disobeying orders. Too much, he decided, though he feared that estimate might be sorely tested by Evelyn's wrath.

 

He reported to the field a few minutes later, well-groomed, well-dressed, and as far from prepared as possible for whatever awaited him.

[Nynaeve]

Evelyn arrived late. She had no real problem with letting Sylos wait. Let him wait. Let him drown his mind with thoughts of what she had in mind for him. He would never manage to find out what her plan was, of course. No. But the worry would no doubt burn a hole in his calm. And that's exactly what she was after. She wanted to make him nervous. She wanted to make him sweat.

 

When Evelyn finally made it she situated herself in front of Sylos, not saying a word. She wore a blank expression. Her forehead was covered by a thin bandage that circled her head. It seemed to be healing up nicely. She still got headaches here and there, but there was no avoiding that. A hot shower and some tea usually managed to help ease her.

 

"In our last session we got into the last lesson there is to learn. Balance. The exercise remains the same in its basics, so there is no need for me to repeat myself and be redundant. Take your place." Evelyn turned around, suppressing a small smile. She grabbed a bucket filled with stones and rested it next to her.

 

She spoke up, suddenly, regarding Sylos. "Oh, I almost forgot to mention. I'm afraid you will have to perform this exercise as nature ordained it." Sylos stared at her in confusion. But Evelyn never blinked. "Strip."

 

 

 

Evelyn

CotL

 

 

 

 

[Erathian Avenger]

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention. I'm afraid you will have to perform this exercise as nature ordained it. Strip."

 

Sylos stared at his instructor for a very long time after she finished talking- so long he had a feeling he was skirting insubordinance. But he wasn't exactly comfortable taking his clothes off in front of women he didn't know well- and that was without the bandage on Evelyn's head to remind him that the woman wanted her revenge. He supposed she could just be planning to hurt him more by removing the limited protection of his clothes, but he had an awful, sneaking suspicion that his wounded instructor had something much more vicious in mind.

 

He tried to run through all the possible scenarios in his head of what she might be plotting. It was still quite early, so it qas unlikely she would planning on gathering large numbers of the Children here to watch- and even if she was, he could pre-empt it by failing the test quickly. He hoped. After staring at her for a little while longer, he sighed and let the uniform cloak across his shoulders fall to the ground and began pulling off his shirt.

 

"I can see a certain amount of reason behind all this, though I suspect you haven't quite forgiven me for your self-inflicted head wound there, I have a question for you before we get too much more intimate. Is there any particular reason I have to be unclothed for this activity? And for that matter a particular reason why you don't? Equality is rather a large part of the Children's ethos, I believe."

[Nynaeve]

"I can see a certain amount of reason behind all this, though I suspect you haven't quite forgiven me for your self-inflicted head wound there, I have a question for you before we get too much more intimate. Is there any particular reason I have to be unclothed for this activity? And for that matter a particular reason why you don't? Equality is rather a large part of the Children's ethos, I believe."

 

Evelyn made an effort to avoid frowning, smoothing her expression to perfection. "The ethos of the Children, as you call it, is based upon obedience. When a superior commands, you follow suit. That's all your pretty little head need worry about." Evelyn caught herself before blinking visibly. Pretty? Where did that come from?? She decided to go on, ignoring the remark.

 

"I say jump and you ask how high, recruit. Any other response is a waste of time in your already pathetic life. So do yourself a favor and keep that chatter hole sewn shot. And hurry up, I don't have all day." Evelyn never looked away as Sylos undressed. He didn't exhibit any visible sign of discomfort by her order, but he did move a bit awkwardly at times.

 

"Oh, just in time." Evelyn smiled at the approaching recruit, which of course made her twice as nervous. She handed Evelyn a bucket and bolted away after being dismissed. The bucket was filled with ice. Squares and squares of ice. Picking one up, she smiled at Sylos as he finally finished undressing. "I just thought I'd make this a little more interesting. Assume the stance, I wish to start."

 

 

 

Evelyn

CotL

 

 

[Erathian Avenger]

Several thoughts ran through Sylos' mind as he undressed, not least of which was 'this cannot possibly end well'- followed shortly by 'maybe it can, actually', as a plan began to form in his mind. He had been briefly concerned  as the female recruit showed up, but she vanished so quickly he suspected she hadn't even noticed him. He finished stripping in time to hear Evelyn say she simply wanted to make things 'interesting', and felt fear grip him even before he turned around. The ice worried him when he first spotted it, but quickly came to feature prominently in his plan he set his feet apart and balanced himself, doing his best to ignore the fact that he was naked in front of his female commanding officer. He decided, as he thought about it, that it was probably for the best that she had told him to shut up instead of going along with him- this way was actually likely to be less embarassing in the long run.

 

There were three advantages to the ice- firstly, it was much less likely to injure him. Secondly, since he had rediscovered some of his old balance the first time around, it would be much easier this time. Thirdly, and following the second, it would be much easier to toss the ice back. And given the nature of her revenge, he thought it only appropriate to do his best and make use of the fact that he had very, very good aim at short range- not to mention long practice tossing ice cubes and then fleeing his sisters' vengeance.

[Nynaeve]

Evelyn smiled. "Oh, I almost forgot. Silly me." She walked towards Sylos and hopped up the log gracefully. Grabbing her water skin, she squirted water on Sylos, leaving him dripping and with a confused, and most of all surprised, expression. She jumped off the log, landing steadily on her feet and walked back to the ice bucket without saying a word. There was nothing to be said, after all. He was going to understand what she was planning at some point.

 

She picked up the first piece of ice and threw it. On she went, throwing the ice in a steady rhythm. Sylos had improved his balance from the previous attempt for sure, but her aim was implacable and Evelyn managed to strike him quite a few times. Of course, the wet surface his body offered meant that some of the ice she threw remained attached to his body, as sometimes happened. She learned that from a foolish childhood friend that she once had who found himself stuck to a frozen tree stump by his tongue. He was never really bright, that one.

 

Evelyn's rapid throws left little time for Sylos to clear the attached ice chunks and so he was left with the option of getting hit again by clearing them off his skin or ignoring the cold and concentrating on his balance. Either way he was going to end the day with quite a few frost bites and that was all that mattered.

 

 

Evelyn

CotL