"No I have not yet been tested." The accent of Andoran nobility combined with his shoulder length blond hair and fine cut of his clothes left little mystery as to his origins. "I was a soldier in the Queens guards when Trollocs attacked the palace. The Lord Dragon and his Aiel came there to fight and I was injured. It occurred to me then that a single soldier will only have so much impact on the battle to come. A living weapon however...especially one trained to lead men in battle will have much more impact."

Nandiel would simply nod in response to the man's answer. There really wasn't much that Nandiel could say to the answer, was it any more foolish than Nandiel's reason for joining the Asha'man? The boy didn't think so, but then what did he really know of the world. He was just a simple farmer, or he had been at least. Now, well now he was a Soldier.

"How does one even test for...what does one test for anyway?"

Nandiel would chuckle, "There are two types of people who can channel. In this one respect, men and women are alike. There are those who are born with the ability to channel and will do so not matter what during their lifetime. Then there are those who can learn to channel. Left alone, they'll never start channeling, but given the proper instruction they can touch the True Source and channel, in the case of men saidin. We test to see if you can touch the True Source, we won't really know what sort you are, unless you've already begun channeling. But that's beside the point, the how is somewhat interesting. It's one of the first things they teach us here."

Nandiel would lift up his hand, turning the palm up towards the sky. A flame would appear hovering above his palm, as he continued walking. With his free hand he would grab hold of Lir's horse's bridle. "Look into the flame, focus only on the flame."

“I am here to become a weapon for the Lord Dragon, and to fight at Tarmon Gaidon.”

The Dedicated atop the tower chuckled at Lir's response, "Oh, are you now? Well, then, by all means, come right on in." The man made a sweeping gesture with his arm, and then called down into the tower, "Hey you louts, go fetch Nandiel for me, would you? We've got one who wants to join our ranks, and he's on duty for that today."

There was the thunk of a door shutting and then a few minutes later a young boy came trotting up, not much passed his eighteenth year. He had close cropped brown hair, and brown eyes. The look of Andor was thick about him, especially in that black andoran style coat they all had to wear. Nandiel's collar lacked pins of any sort. He'd been at the Tower long enough now that the jog from the barracks to the tower by the road didn't cause him to run out of breath any longer.

A few strides from Lir, he stopped his trot and continued on up to the man at a casual walk. Brown eyes would look over horse and man, before he stopped by Lir's stirup, "So, you're here to join us are you? Well, then, follow me. Have you been tested for the ability to channel yet, or did you just up and leave everything behind upon hearing about us? Either situation is not uncommon. The Lord Dragon is a ta'veren, or so they say. I've been told that means he pulls those he needs to his side. Sometimes men just show up saying they heard of the Black Tower and felt the need to join. Others, well, others we find on recruiting trips. Those ones are tested for the ability to channel before showing up here at the Farm. The first sort though, they still need to be tested. And don't worry, even if you can't channel, the Lord Dragon will still have a use for you. So, which sort are you?" As he was talking Nandiel began to walk farther into the Farm, simply expecting Lir to follow behind.

Marqui, I've been meaning to post in your intro thread for a while. Just keep forgetting, give me about two days, and I should have a post in there for you.

As to my requirements, I've got the same ones left as Grimm. Got a non-saidin learning to get up to dedicated, which should be that weapons class. Then after that, I've got a saidin learning and weapons learning as a Dedicated. For the channeling RP, not sure what I'll do, but it could be interesting, methinks. Then there's the interdiv roleplay, was also thinking of something with an aes sedai. Then I'd just need to duel an asha'man. I imagine that Nandiel will lose that.

I thought I read that. :: Scratches head. :: Weird.

You know Arath, you seem to be getting that question a lot. Maybe you want to put it somewhere on the website, so you don't have to keep answering it?

Nandiel received Healing for the poisoning, and the Dedicated who healed him happened to be a dog lover. As a result, with a little under the table channeling, Blaze was Healed as well. The Healing had been a strange sensation, like ice and fire flooding through his veins, much like holding saidin. It left him a little tired, and rather hungry. From the looks he was getting from Blaze, Nandiel guessed the dog felt the same. It struck him as well past time to head back for that rabbit.

He made his way out of the Healing Hut, and made his way back to his fire. He'd nod to Baran and Ful, and offer another nod of greeting to Gavin, the former half-gleeman. Nandiel would eye those pheasants for a moment, before taking his stone plate from Baran, and pulling the remaining rabbit off the spit. The final rabbit was given to Blaze, as it seemed no one else wanted to claim it. Nandiel as his pup then began to dig into their rabbits, devouring them rather quickly. Licking his fingers clean of rabbit juices, Nandiel would smack his lips, "Mmm, that wasn't half bad, if I do say so myself. No wonder Thom and Boyd always made me cook when we went camping out." Nandiel would just chuckle to himself then, remembering his childhood friends and the antics they got up to.

Nandiel would look to Gavin then and stand to properly introduce himself, wiping his hand on a handkerchief before offering it to the other man, "I'm Nandiel by the way. Very nice to meet you, Gavin."

Tandis stepped out from his barracks room, yawning and running a hand through his hair. Rubbing his eyes, he'd slowly make his way down to the yard. Today was his first day as a Trainee in the Tower Guards and he didn't want to miss Visar Gaidin's lesson on basic forms. Realizing the time, he began to trot through the barracks, he'd be early, which was good. He didn't want to risk getting there right on time, though, which was why he trotted. Stepping out into the yard, his trot stopped, and he walked across the yard to where Visar Gaidin stood.

Stepping up to the rack of practice swords, Tandis would select one that seemed in good shape and made his way to stand before Visar Gaidin. Scratching behind his ear as Visar asked if they were excited to practice some sword forms, Tandis would nod and respond with a hearty, "Yes, Visar Gaidin." He stood with his feet shoulder width apart, practice sword point down to the ground between his feet, hands resting on top of the grip. More in an at ease position, than a ready position for the moment, after all, the lesson had yet to begin.

With Baran's continued behavior of suspicion, Nandiel began searching his mind for a way to calm his friend. Some piece of knowledge that would reassure him. Unfortunately, it was only now, as he tried to recollect some useful piece of information, that he recalled being told as a young man that peaches were in fact poisonous, as Baran said. The color drained from Nandiel's face, and he quickly looked down to Blaze, then up to Ful. How to bring this up to the other man without hurting his feelings? He couldn't think of anything. What would his friend Thom do in this situation? He'd always been better with people. Nandiel looked around then, and was surprised to see a men who looked just like his friends Thom and Boyd walking with other new recruits a fair distance off. Well, even if it wasn't them, it at least provided him with a polite way of leaving and seeking Healing.

He'd look to Baran and Ful, and then hand his plate to Baran, "Would you mind holding that for me? I just saw some old friends I need to say hello to. I'll be back shortly, and the cobbler was delicious Ful, but I personally prefer apple cobbler, myself." Nandiel would stand then and motion to Blaze. The boy and dog would then head off to the group of recruits that was walking past, waving to them. He hurried quickly, but didn't manage to catch up to them, and they entered the Inn, which he wasn't allowed in to, so he decided it was time to see about some Healing for himself and Blaze. He wandered off to find a Dedicated or Asha'man that could direct him to the proper people. As he explained the situation to the Dedicated he found, the other man looked at him with horror on his face, before hurrying him off to the Healing tents.

Yeah, Grimm showed me some links that confirmed that for me. I tried to double check it and couldn't find any evidence to back it up, other than the pit being poisonous, so I ran with that, since it was a nice middle ground for the thread.

(( OOC: Grimm, just in case you didn't know, it's peach pits that are poisonous in WoT, not peaches themselves. Only mentioning it because I was confused on the point myself, as I did faintly recall something about peaches and poison from the books. ))

Nandiel and Blaze looked between Baran and Ful rather confused for a moment. First he was offered peach cobbler that looked delicious. Then he was told it was poisonous, then it wasn't, it was all very strange. Ful taking a bite of the cobbler decided him, "Of course I trust you, Ful. Baran, it's fine. I'm sure it's not poisoned."

Nandiel focused for a moment, and pulled some stone from the ground, rounding it out and flattening it, to make something resembling a plate. He then produced a wooden spoon and took some of Ful's cobbler, setting it on his plate. He took a bite, and made a rather pleased sound. "Mmm, this is very good Ful. You're an excellent cook." Nandiel then offered a tiny bit of the cobbler to Blaze as well, before finishing it off himself. Blaze now looked expectantly between the three men, seeing where his next bit of food would come from.

Using some flows of air, Nandiel would pull one of the rabbits from the spit and set it down on his plate. He'd look to Ful, "Would you like some rabbit?" He'd indicate the final rabbit roasting above the saidin created fire on the spit. "You're more than welcome to have some."

Blaze would try and get at the rabbit on Nandiel's "plate", the young man holding it up higher and pushing the pup away from the food and back to the ground, "No, Blaze, this is mine. I'll feed you later." The pup would simply look up at Nandiel dissappointed in it's failure to get the rabbit and lay down on the ground, still eyeing Nandiel's plate.

Weapons Score 1 to 1: Complete Arrival Thread

Name of Req: Arrival to the Yard. Complete

Joining Up OTA Complete

~Link~

Tandis arrives at the Yard to enlist in the Tower Guard. He is met by Lilliana Sedai, and Visar Gaidin. Then shown to his room in the barracks. Visar offers to look over his sword forms, and Tandis agrees.

I, of course, am interested, so consider this me signing up.

With your One Power scores, I think you're all set to start posting. Though you're also going to want access to the Progress Reports sub forum, of this forum, so you can keep track of your raising requirements.

Awesome. Looks like I've got plenty of people available to help Tandis out. Now that my arrival at the yard thread is finished, I just need to find out what my weapon score is.

Nandiel perked up at the thought of attending a weapon's training, he'd always dreamed of having a sword of his own, foolish boy. He tried for the flame and the void again, failing a few times due to his excitement, before finally achieving it. He'd then reach out for Saidin, the Power seeming to flow out of his grasp like water through his fingers. He began to panic then remembered the flame and fed that into it along with his excitement. He reached out for Saidin once more, trying to grab it in a stranglehold and pull it towards himself. This time it worked, the Power rushed through him, and he felt alive again. He looked down at the pile of logs beside him and then at the dummies. This was going to be harder than throwing a snowball.

He reached out with saidin, his right hand mimicing what he wished to do with the power. He'd then hurl the log, like he had hurled the snowball. Much like Baran's first attempt, Nandiel's went sailing over the dummies head. Blaze looked up at him like he was crazy, expecting him to fetch something that big. Nandiel would just chuckle and pick up the next log. He tossed it again, this time aiming lower with his release point, realizing he had more or less lobbed the first one.

This time around he launched a line drive that hit one of the dummies square in the chest, knocking it over easily as he had thrown it with a great deal of force. He hadn't been the first to knock over a dummy, that had indeed been Baran, but Nandiel had managed to be the second, only a minute or two behind Baran. He smiled to himself, he was going to get to attend a weapons training class, and with a Storm Leader, what luck he had! Whether that luck was good or bad, well who knows, though Nandiel seemed to think of it as a good turn of events.

"Already have your things taken care of then?" Visar asked of him.

Tandis would take a moment to think of his response. As he did so, Visar continued, "It's good that you're enthusiastic about training though. You will need that in the days to come. Well, Tandis, if you wish to choose real weapons to borrow from the armory, I can be available for that. Or if you'd like me to take a look at how you do your forms, I'd be glad to in a few minutes. Go ahead and just take a practice sword from the racks in the yard, they're there for you to use."

"I suppose I should check on my things to make sure they are in order first. Then I'll meet you down in the yard for you to look at my forms. I would appreciate that. The Guards and Warders that frequented the Keep often did that for me, but I know I'm far from perfect in them, and I'd like to continuing ironing out any bad habits I may have. Perhaps after that, you can help me to pick out a weapon, Visar Gaidin." Tandis would nod in thanks to Visar, saluting fist to chest before stepping into his room in the barracks to check on his things.

(( OOC: New thread for forms practice sounds good to me. ))

"You must be practicing." Baran stated in his simple manner, "I don't think I could handle that many flows right now."

Nandiel would simply shrug, "Haven't you been practicing? I mean we're supposed to do everything with the power. So, I've been doing everything with the power. Shaving took some getting used to, let me tell you." Nandiel would rub at his neck for a moment, "As to the flows, well, I keep pushing myself. Plus they don't give us much time for ourselves, so I've learned to heat my morning tea while I shave. It's tough, takes a whole lot of concentration, and I feel like I've just run ten laps around the Farm after doing it, at least the first few times, but it seems to be helping. Besides, I figure the more flows I can handle, the better use I'll be to the Black Tower. It'll come to you Baran, I'm sure."

Baran nodded at the dog. "So they're letting you keep him?"

Nandiel would chuckle and shrug, "Well, they haven't told me to get rid of him, so I guess so. It's kinda nice having him around. And of course, throwing things for fetch has helped me with practice too."

Blaze would lick his chops and then tear into the ham that Baran had tossed his way. Finishing it, he looked over at Baran expectantly.

"Well, these rabbits look like they're done. I do believe I still owe you from my first day here. Help yourself." Nandiel would motion to the rabbits on the spit.

Nandiel was sitting on a rock, turning three rabbits over a spit. The fire below it burning nicely, though it had no logs to fuel it. There was a look of concentration of Nandiel's face as he stared at the fire and the rabbits as well, gaze alternating quickly between the two. There was a mortar and pestle beside him, the pestle moving on it's own grinding down herbs. Nandiel would occasionally check on that as well. When the herbs were sufficiently ground, he stopped the motion of the pestle and reached into the mortar. Pulling out the fine dust of herbs, he would begin to sprinkle them over the rabbits.

Blaze was laying down next to him, tongue hanging out of his mouth. The dog's green eyes fixed greedily on the rabbits. Every now and then it would inch closer to the fire. Nandiel would reach down, grab Blaze by the scruff of his neck and pull him back to where he was, saying in a rather firm voice, "No! Stay!"

Looking around for a bit to see who was around the practice grounds, Nandiel would see Barran walking down a hill. Grinning slightly, Nandiel would wave to the other Soldier. "Hello there, Barran! Care to join me?" Nandiel would quickly turn his attention back to that flame that had suddenly grown in intensity, and scale it back down, a small part of the rabbits slightly blackened, the spit they were on turning on its own as well. Nandiel would wipe a bit of sweat from his brow, going back to focusing on the task at hand, and keeping Blaze away from the rabbits until they were finished.

"Now, this is the armory, boy. You will know it well, and soon you will be able to choose your weapons that you will train with here. But for now, I will show you to your bunk in the barracks and let you get situated."

Tandis would look over the armory, eyes going wide at the variety of weapons available, especially the various swords. He looked at Lillian's sword with some interest. He'd then follow Visar out of the armory and to the barracks.

"You are from Tar Valon? Or farther south? You look to have Andoran features to me." Visar asked of him.

Tandis would respond, trying to be as respectful as possible, "I was born and raised in Tar Valon, though it's possible my ancestors came her from Andor, I don't know. My parents run the Tower's Keep, it's an inn near the Tower." He looked over the armory and simply nodded his head. He had been told what to expect by the Guards and Warders at the Keep, and so wasn't surprised. He was perfectly willing to share a room if it meant a chance to be a warder.

"I believe there is a free bed in here," Visar gestured towards a door. "Though if you do not like your roomates, requesting a transfer to another room is not difficult. Can I be of any service or would you like to get settled? Your training officially starts first thing tomorrow morning, but that doesn't mean you can get a head start with what's left of today."

Tandis would look at the door for a moment, remembering where it was in the barracks, or at least attempting to commit its location to memory. He'd look to Visar then, and state simply, "I'd like to get a head start with what's left of today, if that's alright with you. I haven't had a chance to practice my forms yet today."

"Good morning, trainee." The new man said, extending a friendly enough hand and a smile. "I'm Visar Falmaien, you may address me as Visar, Gaidan."

Tandis would nod his head in greetings to Visar, and shake the man's hand, "I am Tandis Daitan, Visar Gaidan. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Tandis stood silently as Lillian and Visar spoke, taking in their words, but appearing not to be listening. It was a skill one did learn working in an inn. He seemed a bit more relaxed in his stance as he waited for Visar to finish his flirting. Then Lillian spoke of a game of stones with Tandis, he was a bit taken aback by that, but responsed in kind, "I'll look forward to that game, Lillian Sedai. I'm sure it will be most educational, for me." He'd offer the friendly Aes Sedai a smile then. The action seemed to bring his entire face to life, and make him appear more than plain in his features, as he normally looked.

"Waaaah so evilly cute!" Ful tittered. "So he's got you whipped!"

Nandiel would smile and scratch his head, "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Though isn't there some sort of saying, 'The owner doesn't train the dog, the dog trains the owner?' I forget."

Just then Nandiel was shouldered aside as Ful brushed past him. Nandiel would shrug, he guessed Ful and Barran had weak stomachs. He knew the effect of the Taint on Saidin was stomach turning, from personal experience, but this was getting ridiculous. Still panting Blaze just looked up at Nandiel then over at Ful. Nandiel would sigh and look over at the pile of logs. He formed an image of a flame in his mind and then fed everything he was feeling into it, creating a void. He'd then reach out for that flame, siezing control of saidin and fighting it for his life. That oily taint turning his stomach once more, he swallowed down some bile, determined not to sick up.

He'd then try to do what he had done with the snow to one of the logs. The first log he grabbed someone else was already dragging, so he moved on to a different one, barely managing to lift it off the ground. He'd half levitate, half drag the log over next to him. Setting it down, he'd place his hands on his knees, taking a moment to recover. He'd look back to the pile of logs, and then grasp at another one, making sure not to grab one someone else had already claimed this time. The second time around he was mostly levitating the log through the air, though just barely above the ground. That was set down next to him, and then he'd start on the third log. This time around he levitated it the whole time, and a decent distance above the ground as well. That was set down next to him, and he released saidin, breathing heavily.

Aw, okay. And that was going to be half the fun too.

So, I came up with what I think is an issidiously brilliant idea after reading ToM, and just wanted to see what you thought of it Arath. Remember how Nandiel has those friends Thom and Boyd? I was thinking I might do a little revisionist history and make it so they never actually existed. In that Nandiel didn't grow up with them. Instead memories of these childhood friends and their eventual arrival to the Black Tower are a product of the madness caused by the taint. Would that be okay?

I'm cool with whatever. I'm not difficult, I just want to play, as they say.

EDIT:

Oh, also, not to be annoying or anything, but I need to be added to the Warder's Group, so I can see the Progress Report Board or what have you.

Well, I think the real moral of the story is: include a puppy in your posts. That ensures victory. ;p