Maev's Arrival (Attn: Anwashawn)

[SerenaMorrigan]

Her breath seemed to freeze in her throat when the radiant and opalescant city of Tar Valon came into view. Running a tanned hand through her short white-blonde hair, Maev shook her head. "Unbelievable!" She muttered to herself. Silver-blue eyes narrowed as she scanned the distance between where she stood and the bridge that would take her onto that beautiful island. The early morning sun seemed to bounce off of the strangely carved buildings and towers, to practically blind her.

 

Months of travel had brought her to this place, to this very moment. The horse she had bought in Cairhien had held out, even at the fast pace she had been traveling. Maev had never really preffered horse-back to traveling on foot for some reason, but she seemed to be somewhat glad that she had brought NightStalker. The mare was large and black, it's flanks were built more for balance in battle and not for speed, but she had held up well enough.

 

Patting NightStalker on the nose, Maev nodded and pulled the horse towards the city. Upon entering the din of the bustling Tar Valon, Maev tried to take in as much as she could. Bartering and merchants calling their wares distracted her from keeping a good eye on most of the passers by. Many of the women she ran into had a strange sort of agelessness to their faces. Not all seemed stuck up, but most were plenty more dignified than she had ever seen. Remarkable how these women carry themselves, and most don't even carry a sword! Furrowing her brow, the tall Shienaran attempted to cast aside her strange conceptions of these noble-like women, and turned her horse towards the White Tower.

 

The tower grounds seemed to be as busy as the city of Tar Valon itself. Servants in livery dashed about, and women her age or slightly older, dressed in white dresses with rainbow stitching on the hems, carried books and barked orders and younger looking girls dressed all in white. Again, Maev shook her head. What a strange place this was turning out to be. At last, she heard the clashing of metal on metal and she knew she had come to the right place.

 

A large yard, surrounded by an even larger fence, held what must have been the Trainees. What looked to be a barracks off to the side streamed with men mostly, but to her suprise...there were some women as well. Her heart jumped into her throat, and at last she knew she just might fit in here. Granted, there were a few folks that looked at her awkwardly, she stomped out any thought that would hold her back from what she wanted.

 

After asking a couple of the liveried servants, Maev found her way to the Mistress of Trainees, which made her even more determined. It was a woman that headed the Trainees! "Excuse me, may peace favour your sword," She began in traditional Shienaran greeting. "I am Maev Kiyosa and I am here to train." After a couple of minutes, the Mistress of Trainees gave her a piece of parchment with a man's name on it and told him where he could be found.

 

Holding out the piece of paper, Maev narrowed her eyes at the name. Anwashawn Ellasser. Shrugging, she supposed it would have been too good to be true to have a female for a mentor, so she would just have to deal with having a man for one. Hopefully, he wouldn't treat her like a silly girl that had never handled a sword before. Narrowing her silver-blue eyes, she fixed a look of determination on her face as she approached the Tower Guard that would be her Mentor.

 

"May peace favour your sword, Anwashawn Ellasser. I am Maev Kiyosa, your new Mentee." The man turned with his head lowered slightly, perhaps he thought that she would be a lot shorter than she was...

 

 

Maev Kiyosa

Tower Trainee

 

OOC: Yay!! my first post as Maev!! Woot! I'm so excited!

[Asfaloth]

Shawn just finished his shift on the wall and started for his room. He planned to change out of his Tower Guard uniform and head to the forge. He wasn't needed there today but he just truly enjoyed working at the forge. It must have been the feeling of accomplishment he got by turning a cold lump of metal into something with significant value.

 

"May peace favour your sword, Anwashawn Ellasser. I am Maev Kiyosa, your new Mentee."

 

New mentee? That's strange, Ginae hadn't mentioned anything to him about a new trainee when he'd met with her yesterday. Well, the voice was softly feminine, so he turned around with his head lowered only to gaze not into her eyes as he'd expected but directly into her bosom. Blushing Shawn raised his eyes to meet hers, using his strong sense of control to clear his face of any and all emotion before she'd see it.

 

"Welcome to the Yards, Maev. I didn't realize I was getting a new mentee so I take it you only just arrived? Why don't you tell me a little about yourself, specifically what brings you here? Why do you want to train to be a Tower Guard?"

[SerenaMorrigan]

Pursing her lips in thought, Maev could not help but keep her eyes locked on Anwashawns. They were so captivatingly blue. For a moment she forgot what he had asked her and continued to look into his eyes. Suddenly, noticing the silence that enveloped them, she cleared her throat and felt her cheeks flush with embarassment. "I'm sorry, I..." Her words trailed off as she silently cursed herself for being a fool. He's going to think your a bloody moron, and nothing but a foolish little girl for being so distracted!

 

Running a sun-dark hand through her short white-blonde hair, Maev gathered her thoughts. "I have always had a certain knack for fighting. My father helped defend the border into the Blight for all of my life. In Shienar it's what we do; however, they would never let me go with them. I trained with some of the army under my father..." Memories of Shein Kiyosa filtered into her mind, she could feel the anger and sorrow building up inside of her. She had called him 'father', and he was not. "When he entered into the last embrace of the Mother, I no longer had reason to be in Shienar. No army would take me in, no warriors would let me fight or train under them. There is much honour in defending something that you believe in. I believe in defending the world against the Shadow. What better place than to come to the White Tower of Tar Valon?"

 

Maev grinned for the first time in a long time. "I've been waiting for this time in my life for quite some time. I am glad to see females fighting alongside the men."

 

Maev Kiyosa

[Asfaloth]

"Oh yes, there are plenty of women working and training here in the Yards. And here there is nothing stopping women from holding positions of authority, as you may have noticed when you met Ginae. Now, come with me and I'll give you a quick tour." Shawn led his newest charge over to the trainee barrakcs and helped her find a room amused by her expressions as they went. Was he really that young once too?

 

After getting her settled in he led her back out into the Yards and over to the mess hall. "And now we come to the most important stop on the tour, the mess hall. They serve meals at regular times but they also know that us Guards and even you trainees keep odd hours so they stay open at all hours. No guarantee that your food will be warm if its not at meal time but it will be good nonetheless."

 

After showing her the path to the grove, how to find the Mistress of Trainees' office, and the other important places he led the way to the armory. "Now, what say we get started on your training?" They walked in and Shawn gestured to the various weapons on the racks and tables. "During your time here you will learn to use every weapon here, but for now we'll just concentrate on a few."

 

Hearing a commotion in the forge Shawn continued, "I'm going to head in to the back and see if I can sort out the squabble back there, it sounds like the apprentices are arguing again. I could leave it to the Journeymen to settle but the presence of one of the Masters will calm things down a lot quicker. Why don't you take a look around and choose some weapons. You can pick up to three if you want. I'll be back in a minute."

 

The commotion was exactly as he'd suspected. Four of the apprentices had gotten into a tussle and instead of putting an end to it the three Journeyman had joined in. Shawn's presence put a quick stop to it all and he quickly put them back to their assigned tasks. Then he took a few minutes to lecture the Journeyman on their responsibilities. After finally getting it all sorted out Shawn returned to the armory where he found Maev waiting patiently.

 

"So, what'd you decide on?"

 

OOC: check this link for a description of the armory and all the weapons: http://warders.aliciawilkerson.com/?page_id=30

[SerenaMorrigan]

Maev followed Anwashawn all over the Yards. The barracks were quite interesting and she figured she'd have a roommate to share her room with. Plopping her things down onto the bed, she put some of her things away, then turned to follow her Mentor again. The Mess Hall proved to be what she expected, she was glad that she would be eating well. She felt slightly uncomfortable, being one of the tallest Trainees among a few others.

 

Shaking off her embarassment as they walked into the Armoury, Maev finally felt as if she were on her way. As Shawn headed into the back, where the forge lay, Maev eyed the weapons. I will seriously learn to use them all?A pale eyebrow arched in disbelief. The metal seemed to glitter off of the weapons displayed on the wall and tables.

 

Putting a finger to her lips, she cast her eyes over each weapon, weighing it in her mind. At last, she came to a No Dachi. Picking it up, she held it in both hands for a moment, balancing it, feeling it against her palms. At that moment, Anwashawn appeared from the forge and asked. ""So, what'd you decide on?"

 

Holding up the weapon, she nodded to him. "I have always wanted to use the No Dachi. Shein used it." The name of the man that she had known to be her father tasted bitter on her lips. "I want to use it. This, and perhaps I will learn to use the bullwhip as well." She pointed to the row of whips lining a wall.

 

 

Maev Kiyosa

Trainee

Mentee of Anwashawn

[Asfaloth]

OOC: Sorry for the delay, I had a lot less time over the holidays than I thought I would. But I'm back now so let's get this rolling.

 

"An excellent choice," Shawn replied upon seeing the No Dachi in her hands. It didn't really mater much one way or the other what she had chosen but he'd come to learn that most trainees needed a lot of encouragement, especially at the beginning. Grabbing a bottle of oil and some cleaning cloths off a shelf he led the way back out into the Yards. Settling himself beneath a tree Shawn motioned for the girl to sit across from him.

 

"Before we get started on your training I need to know what you've already been taught. Demonstrate for me the proper way to clean and polish your sword. If you don't know, I will teach you. Then, I want you to get a wooden practice lathe from the rack and demonstrate for me all that you have been taught thus far."

 

Shawn was happy to see that she knew the proper care of her weapon and it seemed that she had had some training before her arrival here, if her forms were anything to go by. Not that they were perfect by any means, but she had the basics down fairly well and would only get better with time. Shawn corrected her mistakes and made sure she knew exactly what was expected of her when working the forms. They went over the forms together several times before he was satisfied that any individual practice she put in would not lead her to learning things the wrong way.

 

After about two hours or so of that Shawn returned the lathes to the rack and faced the girl. "You've done well today. We'll continue working together most days until you are ready to serve the Tower. However, not all of your work will be done with me, some will be with other instructors I might find for you. Most important though will be the work you do on your own. A Tower Guard is nothing without stamina, strength, and endurance. These are things I can not teach you but that you must earn for yourself. Every morning you are to report here and complete a fitness run I will outline for you...before breakfast. If you ever miss doing this I will double the workout and watch to make sure its completed."

 

Pausing to make sure she understood Shawn went on, "Your workout will begin with twenty laps around the perimeter of this training arena. This will be followed by one hundred pushups. Then its back to the track for another twenty laps and then on the ground for one hundred situps. On your feet again for another twenty laps and then use the bar on the wall of the armory to do onehundred pullups. Another twenty laps and then I want you to practice all of the forms I've taught you five times each. Follow this up with another twenty laps and only then can you make your way to the mess hall for breakfast. If you can't do the required number of pushups, situps, or pullups you will do as many as you can and push yourself to do more the next day until you reach the required number.

 

"Now, ordinarily you would be able to do this in your most cofortable clothes with as few hindrances as you want, but today you will be running as you are now with you weapons and all. Now, hop to!" Shawn grinned to himself as the girl took off on her first set of laps. Confident that he had impressed upon her the need for dedication he knew she would continue well without his supervision and went back to his room to see if he could find Dene.

 

OOC: RP however much you want of this and be sure to include this workout in any rps you do as a trainee. Contact my by pm or msn when you're ready to start your next req.