Channelers to Fighters (ATTN: Zeveria)

[Jehaine]

This morning, Melenis uncharacteristically hadn't laid out a training schedule for herself yet. Rather, she was reading a book she had borrowed from the Tower library about Me'Arearth, the path she had followed almost since her first time lifting a weapon, and flipping through the pages in the 'Master' sections. Her training had progressed to the point where she needed to bring it to the next level, and she was trying to decide whether or not she'd go for something advanced she had no prior experience in or stick with alternatives of the ones she knew.

 

The problem was, training as it was was starting to become repetitive. While it was necessary for her to go through her forms, and jog and exercise to keep her stamina up to a fighting level that was expected for a Tower Guard, moreso one that held the rank of Defender, she found herself wanting a challenge. Not the kind that sparring Kynwric or Corwin would bring her, but one to herself by setting the bar high and see if she could pull it off.

 

There were a couple of exercises in the book she could try, of course, but one especially caught her eye. Though she knew she'd be too inexperienced at it to pull it off against people like Perivar or Jasine, who were around her level of skill, maybe she could get one of the Trainees to help her out. she started reading the chapter again, trying to learn it by heart so she would know what to do without thinking about it during training: It was hard enough as it was.

 

 

Melenis

Reading a book for a change

[Guest nephitess]

IC: Walking down the Green Ajah’s halls, Veria looked around herself. It had only been a few weeks since her raising and was still in awe that this was her home now. She was not going to let Her Ajah Head run her off without a fight. The woman was harsh…but she had a right to be. Demanding strength and courage was understandable. This was the Battle Ajah… Soldiers and warriors all.

 

Running her hands down her hips Veria wore her usual sparing outfit. Browns and blacks in hugging leather. Her whip and knifes settled and in place. This was the first time in a couple of months that she went to spar. She as only doing so because her mentor Rasheta told her it was a requirement. Veria sighed…She had to get over it sometime. She heard that Kopair had gone on a extended trip and was not around the tower right now. That piece of info was a relief at least she would not have to risk running into him. The fact that she had run from him was still a point of shame for her. Not only was she a coward…but she hurt his heart. She still cared for him but was not able to summon the nerve to contact him.

 

Veria began to hear the grunts and “thwaks” of the practice lathes as she approached the practice yard. She froze with nervousness. Would she remember all she had learned? Would she make a fool of herself? Did the other trainees know of her shame and be laughing behind their hands? Shaking her head to clear the thoughts of doubt she took a step and then another. She entered the yard and walked around the outside of the sparring area. There was an area to stow ones things and she put her pouch and other belongings there. 

 

She began her work out with some stretching and then a jog around the yard. She was a bit out of shape…and had to stop for water after a few laps.

 

Veria

Out of shape :P

 

OOC: Ok... I'll follow your lead... ;)

[Jehaine]

Melenis looked up from her book, shifting her seat a little when she noticed someone that had stopped a ways off for a drink of water. The way the woman was clothed told her that she was most likely training to be a Warder, the fact that she did not seem familiar to her that she was one of the newer Trainees. It was quite possible even with the amount of time she spent on the Yards, Jasine was more informed about new arivals than she was, bringing up new faces even before she noticed them around.

 

For a second, she looked from the book to Zeveria, then back to the book again. Maybe... she could help with that training she was trying to master? Of course, nothing for nothing, but she'd be able to offer her a couple of lessons in exchange for being her training partner for a bit. If she'd incorporate it into her own training she could even kill two birds with one stone. Approaching the woman, she nodded at her in greeting, her ashandarei slung diagonally behind her back as usual.

 

- "Good morning. I don't recall seeing you before, are you new in the Yards?"

 

Never having been one to step up to a new person to say hello, she couldn't help but feel a bit awkward at hearing her own words. Of course, she couldn't quite bring herself to offer a random person a training session or two, she wasn't that desperate to teach that she'd take the initiative and post up notices all over the Yards, but if Zeveria would bring it up herself now, then that would be another thing entirely.

 

 

Melenis

Socialising feels weird...

[Guest nephitess]

IC:  "Good morning. I don't recall seeing you before, are you new in the Yards?"

 

A little startled Veria stood up with the water spoon still in her hand and looked at the new comer. She finished swallowing and wiped her mouth with her other hand. Veria tossed the water spoon back into the bucket and grinned at the nervous looking woman.

 

“Well I am and I am not.” Veria winked at the woman. “It has been a few month since I as here. I have been to busy in the tower. My name is Zeveria Sedai. You can call me Veria.”

 

Veria held out her hand in a offer to shake hands and waited.

 

[Jehaine]

Melenis frowned, hearing an answer she did not expect. While she was aware that Aes Sedai came to the Yards on occasion to visit their Warders (or find new ones), it was another thing entirely to have them try and get some weapons training. The way people talked about the One Power, and from what she had seen, she didn't doubt an armed fighter would stand no chance whatsoever when facing a fully trained Aes Sedai, though she wasn't about to object. After a second of hesitation -- Zeveria would likely guess the reason from the puzzled look on her face -- she took the woman's hand and shook it.

 

- "Ah, my apologies, Veria Sedai. Your pardon, but... I wasn't aware that Aes Sedai would use the Yards for weapons training. I always figured that's why they Bond Warders."

 

There was another thing she knew about Aes Sedai from her talk with Loraine, way back when she was still a Trainee. Aes Sedai were blessed with a very, very extended lifespan. Given that a Tower Guard somewhere in his thirties could be awarded herons, she couldn't help but wonder why the Aes Sedai -- the ones that trained -- wouldn't be known for their near-legendary skill with a blade. Yet, judging by what she'd seen so far Zeveria didn't appear to be anywhere close to her level of stamina, which was pretty much a requirement for knowing ones way with a weapon.

 

- "Forgive me for being forward, but i was wondering how skilled you are with a blade?"

 

 

Melenis

Puzzled

[Guest nephitess]

IC: Veria chuckled and leaned her back against the wall they where standing by. Resting a foot on the wall as well she crossed her arms.

 

“I have not worked with the sword yet. But I am good with throwing knifes.” Veria grinned… “ I have done about 6 months of hand to hand training… but then I had pressing things to deal with in the tower. I have not been in the yards for a good three months. I need to get back into shape.”

 

Veria sighed and then looked at the girl…

 

“So what is your name and where you from?”

 

Veria

Wondering who this person is… lol

[Jehaine]

Melenis felt the urge to smack herself on the head. She had been caught so off guard by learning Veria was an Aes Sedai that she forgot to introduce herself! Taking a deep breath, she bowed respectfully before answering the woman's question.

 

- "My apologies once more, Veria Sedai. I am Melenis Stormgate, from Far Madding. ... Get back into shape, you said? I might be able to help with that..."

 

She was back in control of herself again, her mental defenses restored. If the Aes Sedai wanted to train with a weapon, she would of course do her best to comply. And if part of that training would end up with the training she had set out for herself, there'd be a benefit to the both of them at the end of it. Tapping her chin in thought, she considered the effectiveness of such training, and saw that it was probably the best approach for the both of them. First though, she'd need to stop seeing Veria as an Aes Sedai, but rather as a Trainee, or she wouldn't be able to get any kind of training whatsoever done.

 

- "Very well. What kind of training would you prefer? Hand to hand, the sword, or did you have something else in mind first?"

 

 

Melenis

So she wants training, eh?

[Guest nephitess]

IC: Veria was amused by this woman. It would be interesting to see where this training she proposed would go. It could not hurt to work with her… she looked well trained and could teach Veria some things.

 

With a nod of agreement Veria said “ok I’ll take you up on your offer. I think some basic fitness right now would be a good start. I need to get in better shape…I can’t run half as far as I used to be able.”

 

Veria

Needs to sweat.

 

[Jehaine]

Melenis nodded. The reading she had done meant she was running behind on her training schedule as well, so she saw no reason not to join whatever training she would set out for Veria herself. Remembering that her training now might be a bit too hard on the girl, she tried to recall the training she had been going through back when she first joined the Warders. How many laps did she have to run again...?

 

- "Allright, we're going to start off easy with five laps around the Yards. Be sure to pace yourself, but i want you to run the last lap full sprint."

 

Unlike some of her teachers at the time, she started running next to Veria as the woman took off, easily matching her pace during the run. She needed to get a general indication of just how much out of shape the Aes Sedai was before moving on to the real training, and perhaps find one or two points that needed some work along the way.

 

 

Melenis

Keeping up easy

[Guest nephitess]

IC: Veria followed Melenis’ instruction and started to jog the first lap. Veria was happy to see Melenis joined her and kept her eyes where she was going. Veria was know to trip at times…with a silent laugh Veria thought that maybe this training would improve her grace as well. After the first lap was done in silence Veria looked at Melenis out of the corner of her eye and asked…

 

“So how long have you been a Tower Guard?”

 

Veria…

Getting to know a new friend?

[Jehaine]

Melenis looked to her side as she ran, she had been running laps here for so long she knew the course by heart by now. Still, if Veria wanted to make some casual conversation while the two of the ran she saw no harm in it. Getting to know 'her' Trainee would only be a logical part of being a teacher, she believed, much like the time she had been drinking with Kynwric, Loraine and Thera back when she had still been a Trainee.

 

- "Me? Not that long, a few years at most. I've had training back home though, and joined the Yards relatively late compared to some of the others, so i might not be too accurate of an example. How long have you been an Aes Sedai?"

 

Melenis asked the question more out of curiousity than anything else, she knew from experience that Aes Sedai aged very slow, and even though she could generally guess someone's age by looking at them the slowed aging of Bonded Warders as well as the almost nonexistant aging of Aes Sedai kept throwing her judgment off. Looking at Veria again, she tried to estimate by how far the ageless look had developed what the woman's age would be, but came up at a loss when grasping for an actual number.

 

 

Melenis

Right back at you

[Guest nephitess]

OOC: sorry this was so long in coming. :P

 

IC: Veria smiled and kept her eyes on the track as they spoke. The young woman still seemed nervous. Veria did not know what to do to put her at ease except to be friendly as she was being.

 

“How long have I been Aes Sedai? Well not to long actually. About 3 months.”

 

[Jehaine]

OOC: No probs ^^

 

IC:

 

Melenis seemed to relax a bit at hearing Veria hadn't been an Aes Sedai for long. Though she tried to hide the relief she had felt at hearing her judgment -- and ability to spot an Aes Sedai when she saw one! -- wasn't that far off after all, it was still showing somewhat. Schooling one's face was a bit harder to do whilst running laps, even if she'd been doing those same basic exercises for years. Speaking of...

 

- "Right, final lap coming up. Full sprint please, and we'll see where we go from there."

 

She was aware that a lap during full sprint might be a little too much to ask of Veria right now, but she wanted to find out where the Aes Sedai stood in terms of stamina. Not to mention of course that it would make a great training exercise later on. Looking at how she was holding up, she tried to make an estimate about how far along the lap she'd be forced to stop.

 

 

Melenis

Thinking up a training exercise

[Nephitess]

IC: Veria Started to sprint and about half way through she started to slow. SHe did not stop but pushed herself to the end of the track.

 

She slowed down at the end and came to a stop. She bent over and was breathing hard. She started to laugh a bit once she got some breath back.

 

"I thought i was going to stop half way through... but I was not going to let myself."

 

Veria went a got a drink fromthe water barrel... and offered some to her running partner. Then with a grin she said..

 

"So what next? It feels great to be active again"

[Jehaine]

Melenis watched as the woman pushed herself, seeling a hint of satisfaction to see her not wanting to give up until she had reached the end of the lap. She waited for Veria to catch her breath again, before laying out what she had planned given what she had seen. Her 'trainee' was determined enough to go through with whatever training she would lay out, which was always a good thing. The unwiling were hard learners.

 

- "Nothing actually. That's one of the first exercises a Trainee is given. Now, i want you to run ten laps every day, for the next two weeks. The most important thing to a fighter is stamina, without that to build on they just end up being flawed."

 

Giving a polite bow to Veria -- she was an Aes Sedai after all! -- she bade her farewell and started off on a couple of laps of her own. The pace was quite a bit higher than Veria's had been, but that much made sense as most Trainees would have dropped dead from exhaustion if they'd do what a Defender considered training.

 

 

Melenis

Off for more