Survival of the Fittest (Attn: Sangreal)

[Talavin]

All in all it was an ordinary day in the Yards. The sun was shinning, the grass was still wet with the morning dew, and it was a beautiful day outside. It was a wonderful time to be out practicing forms, which was exactly what Arath was doing. Unfortunately everyone else had the exact same idea, and all of the good training areas had been taken while Arath was doing early morning guard duty. It was unfortunate, but he had managed to find himself a secluded spot; however, he had to share it with a trainee. The boy had been there first and so Arath didn't think it would be fair to kick him out. The trainee seemed to be doing pretty well. He wasn't cutting himself open at least. He missed his own trainee days; he used to be so close to his friends, but now it seemed like they had all drifted off apart from each other.

 

The other thing about such a nice day was that it was a time where all of the Accepted and the younger Greens would be adrift in the Yards. The young Greens were notorious for searching for a Warder to grab. Thus, it was no surprise to Arath when he could make out a green shawl in the distance. The woman was too far away to discern, but it was either someone very proper or very young, because it was mostly the very young Aes Sedai who were recently raised who wore their shawl everywhere. Arath didn't blame them, if he had dedicated decades of his life training to be an Aes Sedai, he would want to wear the shawl at every moment too. He didn't let the woman bother him though, and went on training. A couple years ago he probably would have stopped everything he was doing and waited for her to arrive, but now he knew better. She probably was just in the mood to watch someone train, and if she wanted him to stop, she wouldn't hesitate to tell him.

 

Arath stopped mid-form when he heard the Aes' Sedai clear her throat behind him. He turned around to see what was obviously a newly raised Green, for she did not yet have the ageless features that she would one day. "Hello, Gaidin, you must be very dedicated to your training to be practicing on such a day like this."

 

"Thank you, Aes Sedai, but I'm no Gaidin. Merely a humble Tower Guard. And today is the best of days to train, while the weather permits." He smiled at the Green, but didn't even bother to learn her name. The only Aes Sedai that he would even consider bonding was a certain Yellow... but that was neither here nor there. He still humored the woman, and showed her the finest respect, for she would one day fight the shadow and help save them all. When it became apparent that he wasn't really all that into the conversation, the Green merely smiled at him (obviously trying to muster up all of the Aes Sedai mysteriousness that she could) and walked away. Arath bowed to her on her way out, almost missing the trainee's reaction to her presence.

[Sangreal]

Sandre was not training today. He was torturing himself. He was practicing the forms with experimentation on weight and movement. He would slow to concentrate again on using muscles that were not normally used. A Shienar trick that took years to see any difference but that would one day set him apart from others of the same training. Concentrate, slow, fast, slow, then stop for exercise. The exercises also served that same goal. Push ups where you push hard as you can so your body goes up and hands go off the ground. Running and coming to a dead stop. Sitting deep in stances. It looked like some bizarre dance.

 

He was a little disappointed when a Tower Guard came to train in his private little area. He figured the guard would laugh at his strange ritual like ever other guard who saw it and considered it a waste of time. He was grateful that the guard said not a word.

 

His respect did not last long. A young green Aes Sedai came around to talk to the guard. Pretty young thing though he noticed it only until he saw the green shawl. A green. He seethed in anger. He had been tricked to coming here by a green. He was barely aware of the scowl he wore but she wasnt. A green, nothing more than the Tower's flipskirts in his mind, and probably one whos skirts had already seen more ups and downs than then archery classes arrows.

 

The guard made it worse. He wasnt just showing quiet respect like Sandre did when faced with an Aes Sedai. The guy was almost licking her boots. He wasnt sure the guard would say no if the Aes Sedai asked him to. She stayed only long enough to seem like she didnt care about Sandre's obvious disdain. Then gathering all the grace she could she left. Sandre sniffed as he watched her go. Maybe she wasnt the one who tricked him to be here. However he had no doubts she would have done the same had she been in in the position of the one who had.

 

He almost didnt care that the guard was looking at him.

 

 

[Talavin]

The Green Ajah was by far the most... eccentric, if any Aes Sedai could be described as such. They had a reputation but Arath could hardly say that they deserved it. All of the Greens he had met, while not as into the 'Aes Sedai perfect serenity' were very respectable. They were warriors, and so he treated them as warriors. More than that, they were his Commander; their command held more weight than that of the Captain of his Banner's, and they were to be protected at all costs. All Aes Sedai had worked for years to train themselves to be weapons against the Dark One, and so all Aes Sedai deserved the greatest of respect. Therefore, when he heard the trainee snort, and glare at the woman's back in obvious disdain, Arath felt a muscle in his eye twitch.

 

Not many men came to the Tower that disapproved of Aes Sedai. Fewer remained. He didn't know what this trainee had against the woman, and he didn't know if he had some sort of history with the Green, but all he cared about was that the boy would show the proper respect. He stared at the trainee pointedly, hoping that the fool would get the notion and look over, and return to his training. If he dropped whatever sort of grudge he had right now, then Arath wouldn't do anything, and let Thera beat it out of him when she found it out. However, the trainee did not realize that he was being stared at, and Arath found himself getting more and more irritated by the second. The light-blinded fool obviously didn't realize that Aes Sedai were the only people keeping the world safe from the Shadow. Even the borderlands would have fallen a long time ago if it weren't for the White Tower. In fact, the southern lands probably would even forget that the Dark One existed if it weren't for the Aes Sedai making sure that everyone remembered the Judgment Day soon to come.

 

Finally, Arath had enough. He stalked over to the trainee quietly, making sure that he wouldn't notice him until he was close enough. When he was a short distance behind the boy, he stopped and said a few words. "You shouldn't look at an Aes Sedai that way. Your entire purpose and your future is to protect and serve Aes Sedai. You aren't making a good impression staring at one like she is the Dark One himself," Arath scolded, crossing his arms and staring down (or rather up, for he was at least a hand shorter than the trainee) at the trainee.

[Sangreal]

Sandre did not show his surprise that the guard was behind him. As intense as he was looking at that Aes Sedai a rampaging herd of cattle could have ran behind him and he would not have noticed.

 

"You shouldn't look at an Aes Sedai that way. Your entire purpose and your future is to protect and serve Aes Sedai. You aren't making a good impression staring at one like she is the Dark One himself,"

 

Sandre turned. He had not quite regained control of his temper yet. Since he had been training here he found more reasons to hate Aes Sedai yet not one to like them.

 

"And how do you know she is not? Had there been some great army of Aes Sedai in the Borderlands fighting the Dark One and his minions I think I would have heard about it. All the power they wield and influence they carry and they are too busy conspiring against each other and manipulating those they claim to protect. You think they are preparing? Their numbers dwindle every year, how long will they waste the power the Creator gave them preparing while they become fewer and fewer? Name one General who conquered his enemies by sitting on his arse."

 

Sandre eyes were glaring but he was not seeing the guard in front of him.

 

"So you tell me. Having the power to change the world for the better but squandering it to manipulate and destroy all but the Blight, how much closer can you get to the Dark One short of swearing yourself to him? Protect Aes Sedai? Its the people of Tar Valon who will be in the path of those who would kill to get to the Aes Sedai that I protect with all my heart. The protection I extend for an Aes Sedai goes only as far as ordered."

 

Every word he knew would bite into this boot licker. He did not care if he survived this day at this point as long as he shattered this man's perfect little glass world of all the light blessed Aes Sedai he saw.

[Talavin]

As the trainee rattled on and on, Arath got closer and closer to snapping and stabbing the fool through the gut, but somehow (light be thanked) he managed to refrain from doing so. If he had just kept his speech to the last line Arath wouldn't have been so angry. As long as the foolish trainee followed orders, Arath couldn't really complain about him. But the boy decided to talk about how they were wasting their gift, squandering off and plotting against each other. He might as well go off and enlist as a White Cloak for all of his idiocy. Honestly was this boy a fool? Aes Sedai were the only people who could fight the Dark One, and they were the world's only hope at the Last Battle. They couldn't afford to waste all of their ranks in a futile battle against the blight.

 

"Boy, do you honestly think that the Aes Sedai do nothing in the blight? They send what aid they can afford! You say that Aes Sedai are dwindling. That is true, but do you have any idea how long they live? You've never seen any Aes Sedai army because they need to save their full strength for the Last Battle. But to say they do nothing is the most ignorant statement I've ever heard. The Grey Ajah has stopped more wars before they started than you could count. The Brown Ajah has discovered so much lost knowledge about the age before us, and led the fronts of all sciences. The Yellow Ajah has healed so many people who would have died without them. The Green Ajah has fought more battles in the blight than you will ever. The Red Ajah has brought down more insane male channelers and False Dragons than you can count on ten hands. The Aes Sedai have done more in the past three thousand years than you will ever do in your lifetime, nor your children will do, nor your children's children..."

 

Arath stopped his rant when he realized that the trainee wasn't really listening to what he was saying. He wanted to report the boy to Thera, but he knew that the woman wouldn't do more than give him extra chores. He wanted more than that, he wanted to give the boy a lesson so that he would at least learn to keep his mouth shut. Right as the trainee was about to go into a rant of his own, Arath cut him off. "No. I can see that my words won't change your mind, nor will your words change mine. The best way to solve this is through blades." It was petty of him, to provoke a trainee into a spar, when it was more than obvious who the winner would be. But the trainee seemed like the type that was too proud to tell anyone, so as long as he didn't injure the boy enough that he would have to visit the Yellows, there wouldn't be any consequences.

 

The only downside was that he would have to hold back a lot. There weren't any training lathes around, and so he would have to make sure to only hit the kid with the flat of his blade. He wished that they had training lathes, so that he could hit the trainee as hard as he wanted and not have to worry about slicing him to pieces. Arath drew his blade and smiled mockingly at his opponent. "You can draw your blade or you can run like a coward. Your choice." From what he had seen from this trainee, there was no way he would back down now.

[Sangreal]

A duel.. with blades... which was exactly the kind of nonsense that Sandre was trying to explain to the guard that the Aes Sedai were doing. Perhaps his words had a harsh tone. First rule of a General, deception of your enemy. The anger that he had left him to be replaced with exhilaration. He had found he enjoyed battle, winning or losing. He found he enjoyed the feel of his blood pumping, the test of skill. He found that he learned more in duels. His perception seemed to slow down time and his incredible memory began to take in every movement of every muscle of the guard. He smiled as his eyes locked on to his opponent.

 

"Blades?.... petty."

 

His words seemed to have more impact now than his entire rant about the Aes Sedai. So this man wanted to vent his anger on a trainee? Fine, but Sandre would learn. Every moment of battle, every movement, ever move would make him stronger.

 

As he settled into his stance and watched the guard do the same he studied the guards weight distribution and how much he grounded himself. He also came to his senses enough to know that his tone with the guard had been disrespectful. To be deceptive this time he would need only to be honest.

 

"For my tone. I apologize."

 

The words were unexpected and Sandre siezed the moment to test what level of skill this guard had...

[Talavin]

Arath's temper flared when the trainee had the audacity to call him petty. Sure, it was true, and he had been thinking it himself only a minute ago, but it was another thing entirely when the trainee had the nerve to say it out loud. The first lesson this boy would have to learn is that sometimes the truth is the wrong thing to say. He nearly made the first move and ended it there, disarming the trainee, but instead decided to be a little more fair and let him make the first move. When the trainee apologized he felt some of his ire seep away, but the trainee was using them to try to catch him off guard. The idea of a trainee catching him unprepared was laughable, but it wasn't exactly a bad idea.

 

Arath met the trainee's slash with Low Wind Rising, his smooth, controlled movements showing the difference between them. Instead of waiting for the trainee to attack again, Arath was true to his fighting style and counter-attacked with Striking the Spark. The form was a series of quick overhand blows. He wasn't trying all that hard, so the trainee blocked most of the strikes, but he made sure that he gave the boy a good thwap on the head, just so he knew exactly what he was dealing with. He backed up, giving his opponent some room, although he was itching to swoop in and end the fight. He followed Sara'an Dieb, and so he fought by going in fast, breaking through his opponent's guard, and ending the fight in a flash, but he wanted this one to last.

 

He parried the trainee's next blow, and then kicked his feet out from under him. The trainee landed on the ground hard with an 'oomph' and Arath backed up again. "You're focusing too much on your upper body. Protecting your upper body is important but without legs you don't put up much of a fight." The words by themselves could be valuable advice, but the mocking tone they were spoken in left no room to doubt their intention. Really Arath was usually far more friendly but the trainee's words about Aes Sedai struck a chord in him. If the little hypocrite hated Aes Sedai so much then he could leave and go get himself killed in the blight or something.

 

When the boy got up he was smiling, and that made Arath more irritated. He was no where near rage, but he was definitely peeved. He gave the trainee some time to collect himself, but this time he made the first move. He started with The Boar Rushes Down the Mountain, and put the trainee on the immediate defensive. After a few more slower forms, he attacked with Cat on Hot Sand. It was meant as a fast bunch of strikes to distract and confuse the opponent, but Arath made sure a good few of them hit. The kid would definitely have some bruises in the morning. Then he followed up with The Wind Blows Over the Wall. It started with a blow to the wrist that Arath made sure landed, and then a stab at the chest; he stopped short before stabbing the trainee though. He had put more force than strictly necessary into the strike at the wrist, to make sure that he dropped his sword. If he had hit with the edge of his blade there would be no doubt about him dropping his blade, but with the flat end it was not guaranteed.

 

Arath backed up and let the trainee pick up the fallen weapon. He found that most of his anger had drained and he was left with logic. He had given the trainee bruises that wouldn't fade for a while, and his wrist would twinge for a while. He had already defeated the trainee twice, and anything more would be unnecessary regardless of the situation. "That's enough," Arath said. Honestly he was a little bit ashamed of himself for picking a fight with a trainee. That didn't mean he liked the trainee by any means, but if he just kept his head down and walked away, Arath would forget that this meeting ever happened. If he decided to do something stupid though... well, obviously he hadn't learned his lesson well enough.

 

OOC: If you want to RP using forms that's fine, but if you don't want to use forms that's also alright. Just makes sure that if you do use the forms you stick to the beginning and intermediate ones. I figured that the first time Sandre was probing him, and the second time Arath didn't give Sandre any chance to fight back, so Sandre didn't really get a chance to fight dirty yet. :)

[Sangreal]

"That's enough," the guard had said

 

"Thats enough is it? Fighting an opponent with less experience than you and ending it with a few bruises? I never knew you were so soft Guard. I do believe you must have over exerted your wrist, perhaps you should go to a Yellow to heal it?"

 

He was asking for punishment. He was also learning. Just in case though he did not give the guard a chance to go find that yellow. Rushing in again... well in about three moves he took a knock to the shoulder that was going to make it stiff in the morning. Next time he made it to four moves before a shot to the ribs that came close to cracking them took his air. The third try also made it to four before a shot to the leg forced him to pull back. He was starting to look a little ragged, feel that way too. Adrenaline allowed him to ignore the pain though. He knew that he could not match this man for skill. It would have to be deception.

 

Going in a fourth time he used a combination that would get the response he needed, for the guard to use his own sword to deflect Sandre's out wide. It would be after that the Sandre would take yet another bump, but this time before the guard had even finished his deflection Sandre pulled a training dagger and loosed it. It was dull but had a point that could still bite the flesh. Not very deep though. He did it only because he knew that Warders and Aes Sedai alike fell to arrows and daggers. He wanted to show this Guard that he can bleed.

 

OOC Up to you if you want to be hit or not. I imagine his aim is true. However if you can think of a way out besides the obvious deflection since he tied up your sword deflecting his sword, such as side stepping or rolling then you could use that. Or you can take the hit since a little blood is the only thing that may keep Arath in a fight he moments ago wanted to leave. I also want to discuss a move with you later that may force Arath to end the fight but is a darn good idea.

[Talavin]

OOC: You didn't mention where you aimed the dagger, so I just made up a place for my own convenience :)

 

IC: Arath's irritation flared once again when the trainee decided to insult him after he offered a chance at peace. Obviously he was searching for a fight, and if the boy wanted more bruises than Arath would be more than happy to deliver. Arath scowled but instead of striking first, he let the trainee come at him once again. He decided not to hit him too much at once, and instead gave him a good whack during each exchange. Even though the trainee irritated him, he had to admit that the kid was inventive, at least. He didn't make the same mistakes twice, but he wasn't good enough not to make any mistakes, and Arath exploited them ruthlessly.

 

The trainee came at him again, and Arath decided to end it again and give him another chance to back off. Arath, true to his fighting style, went inside of his opponent's guard and found that it was a mistake. The trainee managed to gain enough ground to throw a practice dagger at his head. He more reacted than though, and tilted his head just far enough to the side that the wooden blade passed him by harmlessly. It wasn't until he felt the stinging on his cheek that he realized he had a small cut on his cheek from the blade. Arath smirked and decided to extend the trainee's punishment. If he wanted to play rough...

 

Arath didn't even give the trainee a chance to react before he disarmed the boy with The Grapevine Twists and then continued with Arc of the Moon towards his head, stopping before hitting the trainee, but giving him a small cut on his own cheek. "I said enough. It was petty of me to fight with a trainee, no matter the provocation. I'm not proving anything by beating you and you certainly aren't proving anything at all by stubbornly rushing to get pushed down again." This fight shouldn't have happened in the first place, but if the trainee was too stubborn to know when to quit, Arath would have to think of a way to make sure the trainee stayed down.

[Sangreal]

Sandre winced and backed off when he saw that his dagger was off and went towards the guard's head. It was not his intention to make a killing blow and he was thankful the guard had moved. He was also grateful the dagger had not gone a little lower where that cut would have been on the neck. He was not aware his own cut was a mirror to it. Sandre pulled back for a moment with his weapon at his feet.

 

"Im sorry. That was not meant to go anywhere it would actually risk seriously hurting you."

 

The concern in his eyes was not a deception. He didnt want to hurt the guard. He just wanted to learn. As soon as the words were out he noticed his own blood on his cheek and the smile returned. Kicking the sword up with is foot it met his hand. He waited only long enough to be sure the guard was ready before continuing his futile fight. Charging in his new strategy was to strike as normal. The guard had tendency to come in close. The moment he was close Sandre would go to attack rather than the usual defense he was forced to play. This had not worked before as the guard was faster and would deflect wide to be able to get a few shots in on Sandre before Sandre could recover his blade. However this time the attack was not so much important. In fact he knew it would not work. It was his offhand that did the true attack. He was not as fast as the guard but he was strong in the arms being a smiths apprentice. With the guard so close his fist had not far to travel to the guards body.

 

[Talavin]

Arath didn't really think that the trainee was lying when he apologized, but he didn't mind the potentially-very-harmful attack. In the Warders Yard they took training to a dangerous level. After all, when there was an Aes Sedai just around the corner, why spend too much time caring about safety? It was a nice change that the trainee was honestly apologizing for something, but he obviously wasn't planning on quitting though when he kicked up his sword. Arath suppressed a sigh and met the trainee's charge head on, but this time the boy did something a little more unexpected.

 

Arath had grown up on the streets, and had grown up picking fights with people stronger than him. He knew that he was too close to avoid the punch completely, but instincts he thought he had gotten rid of a long time ago kicked in and he found himself sliding with the trainee's punch. The trainee still got in a decent blow, but it wasn't as bad as it would have been. He probably would have been winded, clutching his stomach if he hadn't reacted, but he would still probably have a decent bruise in the morning. Years of experience allowed him to completely ignore the twinging of his midsection as he chuckled. The trainee would make a good Guard if he could lose his ideas about Aes Sedai. Of course, the purpose of his fighting style was to kill his opponent quickly before they could find his weakness, but the fact that the trainee had found the weakness of it was admirable.

 

He disliked the trainee because of his blatant disrespect, but it was clear that he wasn't going to give up. Arath knew that he should be the mature one and walk away, but at the same time he wanted to know what else the kid had up his sleeve. Once it became clear that he wasn't going to think of any more new tricks, Arath would leave, but until then he would see what the trainee was capable of. Of course, in the long run his dirty tricks wouldn't help him too much, but they might give him enough of an edge to win a fight against an opponent his level or maybe even a little better than him. The next time they crossed blades Arath didn't give the trainee any new bruises. He didn't want to knock him out before he had found out all his tricks. 

[Sangreal]

Sandre had plenty of more dirty tricks up his sleeve but knew his body would give out first. It was ready to already were it not for adrenaline numbing the pain of it all. The next few clashes he fared no better. He did not use any trickery in those only because he had time to study the guard a bit more and wanted to try a new combination. It was a learning experience. When space opened up Sandre took a low stance so his sword tip dragged in the sand then brought it up in arc of the moon. It wasnt meant to be done in such a low stance but the purpose was not the move but rather that his sword tip acted like a shovel hurl a face full of sand into the guards face. He straightened his legs slightly in the move to command more power from his rising up. (An opponent who cant see cant fight.) he thought. He followed the move up with Courtier Taps the Fan dropping into a low stance as he came down, dropping was not part of the move, it was added for the power. His own body weight added to the strength of a Smith's arms. If his newly blinded opponent tried to block this one, it would shatter the guard's sword. It was a gamble and his favorite part of the fight. Trust instinct or block or ignore it and dodge? Sandre hoped for the block but prepared for the dodge.

[Talavin]

Arath was purposely letting his guard down, in order to lure the trainee into trying some more of his dirty tricks, and he wasn't disappointed. When he saw the trainee's blade dip low, he was tempted to tap him on the head to show the foolishness of the technique, but he wanted to see what the boy was attempting. It had been too long since he had fought on the streets, Arath decided, when he didn't realize what the trainee was doing until the sand was in the air. He squeezed his eyes shut before the sand reached him, but he was blind and he knew the trainee would be attacking next, so he crouched low to the ground before blinking rapidly to clear any dust that might be around his eyes. The trainee had been lucky that this was a spar, because his first instinct had been to lash out with his sword to disable his opponent, but he managed to control himself.

 

All of this happened in a split second, and when he saw the blow coming towards him he knew that blocking it would be futile, so he decided to pull a dirty trick of his own and stepped close to the trainee, so close that he was practically embracing him, and shoved him. Throwing sand in your opponent's eyes was petty, but effective, and he almost gave the trainee a compliment for getting close to hitting him, but his thoughts were interrupted. The loud Tower Bell gonged, and Arath remembered that he had guard duty again pretty soon. "Well, as much as I would love to stay and continue, I have to be somewhere." Arath sheathed his sword and turned away, but decided to say one last thing.

 

"Oh, and fighting you is pointless anyway. Winning means nothing for me, except that I'm a bully picking fights with trainees. Train hard and get strong, so that someday I can say that I defeated a real warrior, not a child who doesn't know when to give up. And watch your temper, very few people will be lenient with you around here." Arath truly did want the trainee to get strong though. If he could ever lose his attitude about Aes Sedai he would be a good ally to have.

[Sangreal]

Upon recovering and seeing the guard sheathing his sword Sandre did the same as though nothing had ever happened. The guard gave his bully rant which might have been the first sense he heard the guard speak. As the guard walked away Sandre called after him.

 

"My name is Sandre Kaldun guard! You want to know where my anger and hatred comes from ask around!"

 

The guard heard he was sure but he didnt turn around. Instead he walked on looking like some Aes Sedai trying to be mysterious

 

"Bah... hes been around this place for too long."

 

End