Crestfallen (Kerris' Arrival)

[claireducky]

"We don't need you in the lists, cripple.  Can you even swing a sword?" 

 

Kerris shook his head no, and the officer guffawed.  "See?  You would be a danger to yourself and others around you.  Go back to your farm, boy.  The Lord Dragon has no use for cripples."  Kerris wondered if this pompous windbag would be laughing after he showed off his knife work, but decided against it.  It would likely get him thrown in the stocks, and besides, throwing knives wasn't much help on the battlefield.  As much as Kerris hated to admit it, the goat-brained officer was correct.  He was no use here. 

 

Kerris walked away and found a place on the baked earth to sit while he decided what to do.  After a time, he noticed a man in a black coat walking through the field, talking to men here and there.  The man approached him and stopped.  Kerris squinted up at him, the relentless sun making a halo around the man.  He heard the man say, "If you want to serve the Lord Dragon, follow me." 

 

****

 

"Come on, you!  No lagging behind!"

 

Kerris shrugged uncomfortably and stared at the hole the man had made in the air.  He shouldered his pack and ran through, ducking his head even though the purplish-white line at the edge of the hole was well above him. 

 

Once he was through, he looked around himself and dusted off his clothes.  The hard-baked plain they had been on outside of Caemlyn was a swirl of clay-colored dust behind him.  The endless summer had ruined much of the ground cover and the top soil blew away in the ever-present hot winds.  The landscape on this side of the hole was different, though.  There were large conifer trees everywhere, and the village seemed to hide among them.  Kerris thought the trees and other plants showed signs of irrigation; they were all doing much better than the other plants he had seen so far on his journey.

 

But where did they get the water for that?

 

Once he and the few others brought here were all through the hole, the man leading them glanced at the hole and nodded with satisfaction as it simply disappeared.  Kerris felt slightly sick.  This is not what he had in mind when he went to Caemlyn to enlist.

 

Men channeling...I know the Dragon Reborn must do it, but so many others!  And they must think I can, or they wouldn't have me here.  Light, what a mess.

 

Kerris had traveled to Caemlyn in hopes of joining the volunteer infantry units that were being formed up for the Dragon there.  An infantryman didn't need both of his arms; he just needed to be a human shield and die, while the cavalry and pikemen fought it out.  Kerris rubbed the spot where his right arm ended, just above where the elbow had been.  The man in the black coat had made him stare at a flame in the palm of his hand for a long time before he brought them here.  Kerris had thought he was going to go cross-eyed looking at it.  Whatever the reason, Kerris was here while others were not.  He supposed this meant he could channel, too.

 

The man in the black coat led them up to a building and told them to go inside and talk to the man within.  Kerris eyed the layout of the area in case he needed to escape later, and then walked up the steps to go inside.

 

 

 

[Arath Faringal]

Arath sat behind his desk, which was for once devoid of paperwork of any kind.  Instead, a wide variety of jewelcrafting tools lay scattered across the surface along with a half dozen projects in various states of completion.  He was determined to get these finished today, without using the power.  It certainly was faster to use Saidin, but it somehow felt like cheating.  Not to mention the ... unpredictable results which had occured the last time.

 

He had just finished an intricate silver wire ring when there was a tap at his door.  With a sigh, he cleared off the space of desk just in front of him with a sweep of his arm and, using Saidin, pulled the door open.  The young man on the other side wore no black coat, marking him as a new recruit.  The fact that he was missing a limb before any part of his training was a little odd, but Arath glossed over it without much thought.  Muscles would only get you so far at the Farm anyway.  He looked uneasy about the door opening itself, quickly glancing behind it for an unseen person as he came inside.  Arath motioned to the stool in front of his desk. 

 

"Have you already been tested?"  When the youth hesitated Arath channeled a small flame above his outstetched hand.  When the recruit quickly nodded, Arath released the flame and pulled out his book of names.  "Very well then.  I am Attack Leader Faringal.  I'm in charge of the new recruits here.  What's your name?  And where are you from?"

[claireducky]

Kerris eyed the door as it swung silently open, seemingly on its own.  Another oddity to add to the list of holes torn in the air and the Creator knew what else.

 

He entered the room, and the man sitting at the desk motioned him to sit upon the stool in front of it.  The man had a hard mask of a face right now, but Kerris could see laugh lines and knew that he was a kindly man. 

 

We all wear many masks in life...

 

Without any introductions, the man (...he must be an officer of some sort...) asked Kerris abruptly, "Have you already been tested?"

 

Tested?  Kerris' confusion must have shown on his face, because the man held out a hand upon which a tiny flame appeared.  Kerris tried to keep his face calm.  He knew now that it must be true, he could do what these men could.  He swallowed and nodded slowly.

 

The man in the black coat nodded, and finally remembered to introduce himself. "Very well then.  I am Attack Leader Faringal.  I'm in charge of the new recruits here.  What's your name?  And where are you from?"

 

Kerris held out his good arm over the desk to shake hands with the Attack Leader.  He was pleased to see that the man in the black coat did not hesitate an instant before grasping his hand and pumping it up and down.

 

Good, he has no pity nor any fear of me.  He sees me as I am, and accepts it with no qualms.

 

"I am Kerris Asech, Attack Leader Faringal.  I am from New Braem, in Andor.  Forgive me, but I must ask this bluntly...where are we, exactly, and what do I do now that I am here?"

 

He leaned back on the stool, examining the play of muscles on the officer's face.  As always, Kerris would make sure nothing escaped him.

[Arath Faringal]

OOC: Laugh lines?  Arath's only 20 ...

 

IC:  "You are at the Black Tower, the Tower pledged to the Dragon Reborn.  As to actual location, we're a little south west of Caemlyn.

 

"What you do now ... that's a little more complicated.  Certainly different than anything you've ever done before.  You've been tested, and are able to channel Saidin.  It's best to come to terms with that as soon as you can, since what we're going to do is train that ability.  Think of yourself as a soldier with a very ... unique set of skills."  Arath grinned.  "By the end of the week you'll be worth more than any one of the Queen's Guard.  Light, by the time we're done with you you'll be worth a hundred of them.  A thousand."

 

Quickly scribbling Kerris' name into the log book, Arath moved over to the closet against his far wall and began rummaging for a suitable black coat for the new soldier.  "So, Kerris, how did you end up here?  I don't believe we've sent a recruiting party to New Braem recently."

[claireducky]

"You are at the Black Tower, the Tower pledged to the Dragon Reborn.  As to actual location, we're a little south west of Caemlyn.

 

"What you do now ... that's a little more complicated.  Certainly different than anything you've ever done before.  You've been tested, and are able to channel Saidin.  It's best to come to terms with that as soon as you can, since what we're going to do is train that ability.  Think of yourself as a soldier with a very ... unique set of skills."  Arath grinned.  "By the end of the week you'll be worth more than any one of the Queen's Guard.  Light, by the time we're done with you you'll be worth a hundred of them.  A thousand."

 

Kerris tried to digest all of this, and failed miserably.  He felt bile rising in his throat as Attack Leader Faringal scratched Kerris' name in a roll book with a pen in need of trimming.  Each letter felt like a link in a chain tying him to this place, to this destiny.  Channel saidin...like the men who broke the world!

 

Faringal seemed not to notice the stricken look on Kerris' face, and turned towards a large wardrobe and dug through it.  He continued to make small talk with Kerris with his back turned. 

 

"So, Kerris, how did you end up here?  I don't believe we've sent a recruiting party to New Braem recently."

 

Kerris hardly heard the question, but managed a faint reply. "I walked to Caemlyn to join the lists; they wouldn't take me.  A man found me and had me stare at a flame in his fist.  Before I knew what was happening, I came through a hole in the air and was here."  Kerris heard his voice ring hollowly, as from a distance, and getting farther away by the second.

 

He stood and tried to catch his breath; the Attack Leader was still rummaging in the wardrobe with his back turned to Kerris.

 

"And now you tell me that I can channel, channel s-s-saidin...like ALL the other men here; hundreds of them.  Just like...the Dragon Re--"

 

Kerris didn't finish his statement; his legs gave out and he collapsed on the floor with a thud.  Faringal turned from the wardrobe, triumphantly clutching a wool coat dyed the darkest black.  His smile didn't last long when he saw Kerris upon the floor, fainted dead away.

 

 

 

OOC: I've got laugh lines at the corners of my eyes, and I am only 25 ;)  Arath seems a jolly sort, and smiles and laughter make those lines before you know it :D  Go from here however you want, if you want to end the thread, have Kerris hauled off to his barracks or something.  Otherwise, I am up for whatever!

 

 

[Arath Faringal]

Arath liked at the pitiful pile of collapsed Kerris on his floor, wondering just what to do.  He had been doing this for some time now, and men always had different reactions when they learned about what they could do.  Some broke down into hysterical tears, others grew angry.  He had long since put a warding on his floor to protect it from the many who grew physically ill at the news.  But rarely did he have someone faint on him.

 

Tossing the coat onto his desk, he used air to lift the unconscious young man off the floor.  When he had been raised to his standing height, Arath quickly examined him.  He had large knot forming on his forehead where he had slammed it on the ground.  With a grimace, the Attack Leader put a hand on the boys head and wove healing.  He wasn't overly skilled at healing.  He had watched what the healers did, and it seemed like weaving a half dozen tapestries at once.  Blindfolded.  But he could deal with this.

 

As the weaves coursed through Kerris, the red bump on his head faded away, along with all the other scrapes and bruises he had acquired in his journey.  The blast of cold sensation also ripped him from unconsciousness with a gasp.  Arath released his weave of air and let the boy settle onto his own feet.  "I told you, it's best to come to terms with we can do early on.  Get all your fainting over and done with now, before we start training you.  If it happens when you are actually channeling, you'll most likely die.  Or burn yourself out.

 

"But that isn't a good thing to dwell on, so lets move along."  He grabbed the coat off of his desk and tossed it to Kerris.  "This one should do for now.  You'll get another as soon as we can manage.  So then.  Do you have any question for me?  Now is the time to ask.  Free time will be hard to come by in the next several weeks."

[claireducky]

A shock of cold, like falling into a river just beginning to melt in the spring suns, coursed through Kerris.  He sat up abruptly, coughing and sputtering like he HAD fallen in a river.  He was on top of Arath's desk, and the Attack Leader was watching him warily.  He waited for Kerris to get to his feet again before speaking.

 

"I told you, it's best to come to terms with we can do early on.  Get all your fainting over and done with now, before we start training you.  If it happens when you are actually channeling, you'll most likely die.  Or burn yourself out.

 

"But that isn't a good thing to dwell on, so lets move along."  He grabbed the coat off of his desk and tossed it to Kerris.  "This one should do for now.  You'll get another as soon as we can manage.  So then.  Do you have any question for me?  Now is the time to ask.  Free time will be hard to come by in the next several weeks."

 

Kerris caught the coat with his good hand and studied it.  It was a weave of satisfactory wool, nothing amazing.  It was dyed the blackest black.  Shrugging himself in it, Kerris examined the sleeve length.  The right arm would of course not matter, and would get to match his stump.  The left arm was surprisingly close to a good fit, not laying too short on his arms.

 

"No, Attack Leader Faringal.  I don't have any questions I want to ask right this instant.  But I suppose I should ask when I get started learning how to control this."

 

Kerris' stomach growled loudly.

 

"And I should also ask where and when a man may get fed around here."

 

 

 

[claireducky]

*bump* I'd like to finish this one, if we can!

[claireducky]

OOC: Arath, can we finish this one after your LoA?

[Arath Faringal]

sure thing

[Arath Faringal]

OOC:Sorry for the delay ... again.

 

Kerris seemed to regain his senses quickly, which was a good sign.  He would need to be watched for ... well ... always, just like any other trainee at the Black Tower, but no more than the others.  He still didn't seem all too eager though.  Arath couldn't blame him for that.  Who wanted to become something that the world had feared for the last three thousand years?

 

"You will begin training immediately.  Once you get settled into the Soldier's barracks you'll be taken to the inn for your last hot meal for a while.  Today will be filled with physical labor, but starting tomorrow you will start working with the Power.  Everything you do here will be done with Saidin, right down to cooking your own food, so unless you like your meat extremely rare, I suggest you learn quickly.  We will push you hard; harder than you've ever been pushed before.  But we will make you stronger for it."  Arath looked down at one of his notebooks, searching quickly for a name.  "Your first lessons will be with ... Dedicated Fanten Do'Abryn.  He will prepare you to work with the Power.

 

Kerris' gurgling stomach growled loudly again.  Arath stared at the young man for a moment, then added, "Perhaps we'd better feed you first, then set you up in your quarters."  Siezing Saidin, Arath split the air against the wall with threads of spirit.  The gateway revolved open to the travelling ground across from the inn.  Gesturing the boy through the gateway, Arath followed on his heels and let the gateway snap shut behind them.

 

A few moments later, Kerris was seated at a table, with a bowl of stew and a quarter loaf of bread in front of him.  "Eat as much as you want.  Or perhaps as much as you can.  Like I said before, this may be your last hot meal for a while.  Now then, did you have any other questions for me?"