A Little Harmless Harm [Attn: Valadin Manelle Asha'man]

[Bella]

His work was effective, Lysira could certainly not deny that. She let her eyes roam the course and all of the pairs of trainees carefully to assess the effect of his weaves on them. She agreed with him about the need to teach them about the unpredictability of the battlefield, which is why she did not request he cease precisely when he offered. Instead, she watched.

Then, after letting all of the trainees continue to fight the elements on their way through the course, she signed and Ani said, "Ease back now, please. I want them shaken up, but would rather avoid too grievous an injury."

Waiting until he had done so, she signaled and nodded to Ani. Once more, she stepped up to the edge of the watch tower. "Change!" All those below knew precisely what each signal meant and pairs in order had been sorted before the exercise began. The group, looking ragged compared to how they began, switched up the pairings they were part of. "Spar!" she called next.

There were more than a few looks at the tower in agitation, and Lysira could well imagine more than a few under-the-breath curses about her and her parentage, but she didn't care. This round would truly test their intensity and focus, because anyone could be good at something when fresh. She needed to see how they did when the fight began to take a toll on them.

She would of course stop before they dropped from exhaustion, but they weren't there yet. They all settled into their sparring and Lys-Ani turned back to Val. "That Ji'alantin," they said, pointing to a Ji who had not directly experienced Val's work yet.

[Sean]

Calming saidin’s storm was a difficult task and it took time before the soul-rending frenzy that thrashed inside Valadin subsided, but eventually all that remained was the Void. That and realization of how dull the world was without the Power coursing through him.

The recruits were again set to task, many continuing with reluctance now that the excitement of contest had lost its glamour. Val found this exercise to be a good test of mettle. These recruits during times of peace would find that the skills they’d developed until now would outclass those of the outside world’s finest when challenged. What they needed to learn—and it seemed that Gaidar Lysira agreed—was that these were not times of peace…and they were woefully unprepared for what the Shadow had in store for them.

Yet another formidable woman… Val contemplated silently while resisting the temptation to glance at the pair sharing his view of the training grounds below. …and with such a pretty assistant.

The next target was chosen and the One Power frothed at this new opportunity. Most spars were flaccid mimicries of their former zeal. Many students had lost their form as fatigue began numbing the sharpness of the mind and body. The Ji’alantin selected was perhaps the worst example. Fighting unarmed, the thickset young man overcompensated when attacking and gave too much ground when he should have stood firm during defense; it was the kind of meek display that had convinced Valadin that not everyone was born to fight. As Saidin harkened to his will, the fury burning and chilling his insides accentuated the images of what Val knew to be the cost of weakness. There had been enough times when one man failed in his duty causing all those that stood with him to suffer. Well, this one would learn to stand fast or be broken in the lesson given on the matter.

Weaving Fire and Air into tight bundle, Val concentrated on the air in front of the young man’s face. At first it was a shimmer, a ripple in space that warranted no notice as the spar continued, but in the next instant a small burst of light flashed in front of the lad’s eyes blinding him as his partner struck home with a blow to the knee. Falling to all fours the Ji’alantin huffed angrily while trying to scamper away from the offensive that ruthlessly assailed him. Valadin would not have it so.

A simple Flow of Air cutoff any means of escape and instead began pushing the blinded Ji towards his adversary. Strike after strike landed as one Weave blinded the young man intermittently, Air limited his path of retreat. At first there was some attempt to resist, feeble counters probably absorbed by half-listening to instruction, but the other Ji’alantin a severe looking youth with the olive skin of an Amadician was either a better student or a ruthless opponent for every blow was well placed and thrown with unmitigated force. Eventually it no longer resembled a match as the blinded and trapped recruit admitted defeat by curling into a ball while on the ground.

Anger assailed the Void’s serenity and the Fury wailed indignantly, “This is one is weak willed. The Light would be better served if he were sent away,” Val said coolly while his narrowed eyes glared augers at the defeated Ji who now sheepishly rose to his feet and of all things began talking to the one who defeated him.

“And if you disagree on that, at the least punishment should be given.” Now Val looked to where Warder Lysira and her charge stood in the pavilion overlooking the grounds , his face grim with seriousness. “Weakness is an infection that can’t be tolerated.”

 

[Bella]

Lysira vigilantly oversaw each moment of the Asha'man's work and the effect that it had on her trainees. Not that she was in charge of them in any official capacity any longer, but she was their instructor on this course and as a fully-raised Gaidar--former Gaidar Captain--she took charge of their care with great seriousness. She was there to push them, but there were limits.

This last round began to make her think they were reaching them.

It was of course not past her notice how the trainee in question had conducted himself, so it had been noted and would be dealt with accordingly, but a certain...protectiveness, or perhaps territoriality, rose at Valadin's tone. She turned to him and her face was the picture perfect image of impassivity.

"I assure you that it will be dealt with," Lys-Ani said. He was Asha'man, and she was duty-bound to defer to him...to a degree. But these were her charges, not his, and he was there on her request. Not the other way around. Her answer was bland, but to the point: it was her matter to see to, and she would. It was not his place to choose who the Warder Yards ejected, even as a channeler.

There was that darkness that lived at the very edges of her mind. It seemed to...whisper, like something was whispering to it. It unnerved her, but she trusted the instinct. "Thank you for your time today, Asha'man. It has been most appreciated, but we must be wrapping up this training cycle so the students can move to the next now."

[Sean]

There was a moment that passed as the Gaidar gave her thanks for his service. It was a fragment in time where clarity collided with the inherent malevolence that embodied the true warrior’s spirit. Valadin visualized his shape, feral smile branded upon lips, as he threw himself at the pair. Of course their experience and talent would circumvent the initial assault, likely countering him with such swift precision that he’d be defeated in a single exchange. Not that it mattered. The prospect of violence and the reciprocation thereof stirred a bestial longing—an unfilled chasm in the pit of the soul—that only Saidin and the Fury managed to fill for any stretch of time.

Blinking slowly, Val mastered his emotions in the time it took to bend his head in a respectful acquiescing nod, “As you wish, Gaidar.”

Only the lingering fire betrayed the false calm smoothing his features. Every muscle was taut with readiness even when indulging such base desires was a death wish; a thing he couldn’t dare afford.

Below the sounds of recruits exerting themselves anew with their sparring matches rose to mix with the dusty dying heat of the day’s end. At least they know how to follow instructions, Valadin thought offhandedly when he’d straightened.
“This has been…educational,” the emphasis of the word came without expressed emotions. An act without intent, a statement without an opinion. Strange how only a year past Asha’man and Aes Sedai alike mystified with their legendary self-control. Now Valadin Manelle masked his true self as though he’d already lived the hundreds of years he was destined to endure.
Looking out to the training grounds brought back the earlier eagerness to lose himself in the tumult of combat. Perhaps this evening, when the Yards were clear of the chattel and those who sought true strength stalked the grounds would he visit the sands again. By now the afternoon coolness rode on the mountain winds streaming through Hama Valon. The air foretelling of another frosty night. The furnace had ceased belching its rancid black smoke up through the floorboards signaling the smithy falling silent for the evening.

The Void brought awareness to all of it, yet did not allow him to be distracted by anything the world had to offer. Clasping his hands at his back, Val offered the best smile he could manager; it was not the genuine pleasure for which was reserved only for Nykkolaia Sedai’s eyes nor was it the boyish grin that Kiellan had managed to pull from him under the strangest circumstances. No, this was a tight-lipped grimace offered only to placate and assuage the unease of his fellow brothers and sisters.
“Will that be all?” he asked, ready to be away from this place. Ready to hold a blade in hand and make it sing. Ready to hold the woman he loved. Ready to be anywhere that kept him from seeing the Grey Tower’s weakness exposed.

Master Elonid was right…we’re not ready.

[Bella]

Lysira's dark eyes glittered in the day's light as she continued to assess the Asha'man that stood before her. She tilted her head slightly, almost curiously. "No, that will be all. Thank you again," Lys-Ani said.

OOC: That sucked, but it wraps it up.