The Grey Tower

Pleased as he was that the Master of Training had assigned him several students to train in swordsmanship, Prewtez d'Grayson still needed to measure his own progress with the weapon. He felt he was now one of the best swordsmen in the Yard, but also knew there were still some that were better. He certainly could not measure himself against the Drin and Ji he trained. No, there was one person that could help here, Riahana Ferria. Twice before he had sparred with her and twice she had defeated him. He doubted that he could turn the tables if they sparred again, but he could at least gauge whether all the hours of practice were indeed making him better. And although other duties had taken precedence, his goal of becoming a blademaster was still there.

There was just one slight problem: Riahana Gaidar was no longer Gaidar Captain, she now held the office of Mistress of Arms. Prewtez worried that the administrative duties of her office might not allow Ria the time to spar. Only one way to find out, he decided, and marched off to her office in the Hall.

As he strode across the tiled Fang and Flame symbol in the foyer and began to ascend the stairs to the floor containing her office, he reflected on their previous spars. Riahana had not held back, not treated him as less than an equal, and for that he was grateful. One only improved by testing oneself against their betters. And he had improved from the first spar to the second. Now that he was a Gaidin he hoped he would see even more progress in his forms. Prewtez was aware, however, that the Mistress of Arms held an advantage, one that came with bonding. He would tire before her, of that there was no doubt.

Arriving at her office, Prewtez knocked on the door and announced himself. At her response he opened the door and stepped inside ."

OOC: Ria might take it from here for a bit

IC: Prewtez proceeded with his request that they find time to spar. "If, of course, your schedule allows, Mistress."

With the rank of Mistress of Arms came a load of new paperwork that Riahana hadn't thought possible. Determined not to let the paperwork keep her from her own training, she scheduled in time each day to look over forms, sign documents, and do what must be done. Today, Riahana was reading the report regarding the incident with the Weapons Hall, and one Soldier who seemed to lose control. The hall itself was a mess, but perhaps it was not a bad thing. Having the armor and weapons stored in two different places was not efficient, to say the least, and she started having conversations with those who would begin repairs about creating an armory that would house both the weapons and the armor. It would mean the quartermaster had just one building to look after, and there would be one area to guard rather than two.

Further thoughts on the matter faded away with a knock on the door. Riahana looked up as she called, "Enter."

Prewtez Gaidin entered, and she allowed a small smile, "Welcome, Gaidin. What can I do for you?"

When he joined the ranks of the Yards, Prewtez was an older Drin who came with experience. At the time, Riahana had been focusing on her sword work, and the pair sparred on two separate occasions. The first time was as Riahana was evaluating his skills, while the second was to help him improve on his forms. Between each session, he had improved drastically, and since then, he'd been working with Drin', transferring the knowledge he learned from her to those who would follow in their footsteps.

A simple request to spar, "If, of course, your schedule allows, Mistress."

Riahana couldn't help the smirk, "I will make sure my schedule allows, Prewtez. I am not a paper pusher, but the Mistress of Arms. It would not due for me to stay in this stuffy office all the time instead of getting out and working with you and others in the Yards." She did pause for a moment and looked over the schedule laid out today, "Sadly, I am not available until after the morning meal tomorrow. If that fits with your schedule, I look forward to our third spar. . .and seeing how you've progressed since our last session."

Of course a place like the Grey Tower would always be in need of capable administrators, and Prewtez had no doubt Riahana Gaidar was more than deserving of her promotion. Still, he thought, it was a shame to keep one so skilled with the sword, and no doubt ably competent in the field stuck behind a desk, if even for only part of the day. He had had enough paperwork as an officer in the Queen's Guard and knew those with higher ranks had exponentially more. It was thus that he was not surprised by her acceptance of his offer. Though she hid her emotions well, he could almost sense her eagerness to cross swords again.

"Tomorrow morning it is, then," he replied, stifling the urge to salute (some habits died hard), "And I hope I shall not disappoint you." Prewtez grinned as he offered a slight bow and let himself out the door.

OOC: Prewtez will join Ria in the sparring yard as soon as I get back from Shara!

The following morning had a chill in the air that suggested Spring was not quite ready to descend upon the Tower. Ria stuck to her common morning routine, starting with her morning ride before heading to the Yards. Instead of going through her forms on her own, however, the Mistress of Arms would be facing Prewtez in a spar. The first time the pair sparred was during the then Drin'far'ji's evaluation with the sword. Following that, the pair sparred once more, and Riahana had seen drastic improvement from him.

Riahana knew Prewtez had been working hard at his craft with the blade, and had also spent a lot of time teaching many of the learning ranks the basics of swords. She suspected they would be meeting as equals, and today's spar might prove a bigger challenge. To be honest, the Mistress of Arms welcomed the match. Teaching helped hone her own skills, to be sure, but she felt she only ever really improved when she faced others who matched her skill for skill.

Given the chill in the air, Ria went through a few stretches to warm up her muscles, then started going through her form routine to not just warm up, but to also nimble up every bit of her that she could. It was early enough in the morning that there likely wouldn't be many out to watch the pair square off, though whenever two people skilled with a particular weapon faced off, learning ranks tended to gather and watch. Ria should have been used to the audiences by now, but to be honest, it wasn't something she cared for.

In her mind, Riahana’s skill with the sword and bow were necessary in the world they lived in. Training in an art to take someone’s life was not something that she felt should be celebrated. Many of the younger or more arrogant of the Warder Yards did not seem to understand that walking around like a peacock, bragging how good you were with whatever weapon you carried meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Pushing the errant thoughts away, Riahana settled into her forms and pulled the Void around her. It would do no good for her to allow such thoughts to distract her when she and Prewtez began their spar.

OOC: Just as an FYI, this will take place PRIOR to Riahana earning the title blademaster.