The Singer and the Dreamer [Attn: Kalyan]

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Owen
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The Singer and the Dreamer [Attn: Kalyan]

Post by Owen » January 12th, 2019, 6:27 pm

Jun had arrived at the Tower with nothing but the clothes on his back. And so the Master of Soldiers had given him everything that he would need: several changes in uniform, underclothes and socks, and soap and a towel and other items for personal care, and books and quills and ink pots. His arms were stacked high with all these things as he meandered through the halls, searching for the room where he had been assigned.

He turned down several wrong corners and tried several wrong doors before he finally found the correct room, a neat label engraved in brass by the door. With his hands full, he turned and attempted to push open the door with his elbow, but the shift caused several books, pairs of socks, and a bar of soap to tumble to the ground with a loud clatter of noise. Thump, thump, thump!

Jun cursed under his breath and shuffled awkwardly at the door, unsure of what to do, when abruptly the door swung open and he looked up to see a tanned young man with close-set eyes and flame-red hair.

“Ah, hello. Thank you,” he said, gratefully. “My name is Jun Valdera. I think I’m suppose to move in here?”

Alianora
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PC: Liaran Sedai, Blue Ajah
SC: Amaranie Sedai, Indigo Ajah
TC: Kalyan Rihera, Yellow Ajah

Re: The Singer and the Dreamer [Attn: Kalyan]

Post by Alianora » January 13th, 2019, 2:02 am

Kalyan Rihera
Kalyan stared at the white wall in front of him. A book lay open on his tiny desk, with a mostly blank sheet of paper and a rapidly drying out quill pen beside it. He knew he should get back to working on the equations he'd been assigned from that book, but Kalyan found mathematics to be impossibly dull. He had trouble imagining that any of the Asha'man teachers he'd had so far actually spent their days doing something this boring. All the stories he'd read about this place wrote of its inhabitants spending time outside of it, protecting innocent people from the Shadow, but from what Kalyan had seen during his few days here, reality bore little resemblance to his books, and was rather less exciting than he'd expected it would be.

He sighed and picked up the pen, trying to force himself to work another problem or two, but he had hardly put the quill to the paper before something rattled the door rather loudly. Kalyan jumped, and looked towards the door to see a dark haired man standing in the half open doorway. He bore an armload of uniforms and other useful items, and those he hadn't held onto now lay on the floor of the room. Is this my roommate? These first few days, he hadn't had one, but he'd been warned not to get used to having the room to himself.

He rose from the desk with a smile for the man as he crossed the room. "So you're my new roommate?" Kalyan asked, still smiling. The past few days in the room by himself had seemed strange, even a little lonely, and he was pleased enough to have another person to share the room with him. "Looks like you could use a hand," he commented, and without waiting for an answer, Kalyan bent down to retrieve the soap, socks, and various other items that had scattered, turning to deposit them on the empty bed across from his own. "This bed will be yours," he explained. "Oh, and I should probably introduce myself. I'm Kalyan Rihera." He paused by the bed, intending to offer the other man a hand once his arms were no longer full.

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Owen
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Re: The Singer and the Dreamer [Attn: Kalyan]

Post by Owen » January 13th, 2019, 6:17 am

Jun liked him immediately. Kalyan seemed friendly, helpful and normal. Thank the Light that he hadn’t ended up with anyone crazy, or snooty, or heavens forbid, an Aielman! He walked to the bed that his new roommate had pointed out and dumped the rest of his belongings there, and then turned to shook the offered hand.

“Yea, so. Um,” he started off, and then looked down at his feet awkwardly. He wasn’t very good at meeting new people, and often found his tongue tied around strangers. But Kalyan was going to be his roommate, and so Jun figured that he had better make the effort. “Uh... well, This is the first time I’ve lived with anyone other than my father so… um, you wanna tell me a bit about yourself?”

Alianora
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Joined: May 2nd, 2016, 8:32 pm
PC: Liaran Sedai, Blue Ajah
SC: Amaranie Sedai, Indigo Ajah
TC: Kalyan Rihera, Yellow Ajah

Re: The Singer and the Dreamer [Attn: Kalyan]

Post by Alianora » January 14th, 2019, 1:03 am

Kalyan
They shook hands, and then the dark haired man stumbled through some nervous comments. Kalyan smiled again and said, "I've never lived with anyone besides family either. I had a room to myself back home, but I also have two little sisters who often preferred to sleep in my room instead of their own. I figure this won't be nearly as bad as trying to share space with them!" He laughed at the memory before continuing on.

"There's really nothing much interesting about me," he said. "I'm from Andor, my family has an apple orchard just outside of Caemlyn, and until a few days ago, I thought I'd spend the rest of my life there, working with my da. But I met an Asha'man at the market in Caemlyn, and he told me I'd been using the One Power without knowing it, and that I had to come here to learn, or I could die." Kalyan shrugged. "I thought it would be interesting to see this place, so I didn't mind. I've read a few books about the Grey Tower, but none of them were even close to what it's really like."

"So how did you come here?" Kalyan asked. "And what's your name?"

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Owen
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Re: The Singer and the Dreamer [Attn: Kalyan]

Post by Owen » January 14th, 2019, 3:31 pm

Jun began to sort out his belongings. Mostly he just stuffed things haphazardly either into the drawers near the desk, or somewhere under his bed. When Kalyan asked his name, he flushed with embarrassment. Oops, had he forgotten to introduce himself?

"I'm Jun. Like 'moon', but with a 'J'," he said. "And I was brought here because I got mad and accidentally set something on fire. It wasn't... well, a lot of people didn't like that. I was with the Traveling People - the Tuatha'an - and they send everyone who shows signs of strangeness to the Towers. So they sent me off, so here I am!"

That wasn't quite everything that had happened, but it was a long, long story and Jun wasn't sure if he was ready to explain everything. Not yet, at least. Perhaps he would, once he got to know the other man better. He shut the last drawer and looked up at Kalyan with a bright smile.

"What's different? I mean, between what you read and what it's really like. Got any tips for a newbie?"

Alianora
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Joined: May 2nd, 2016, 8:32 pm
PC: Liaran Sedai, Blue Ajah
SC: Amaranie Sedai, Indigo Ajah
TC: Kalyan Rihera, Yellow Ajah

Re: The Singer and the Dreamer [Attn: Kalyan]

Post by Alianora » January 14th, 2019, 10:36 pm

Kalyan
Kalyan perched on his own bed while Jun put his things away, shooting a guilty look at the book still laying open on his desk. When Jun looked at him, Kalyan returned the other man's smile. "Well....I've always liked learning about different places, how people live in countries other than Andor. So what I read about the Grey Tower was mostly about the adventures an Aes Sedai or Asha'man might have, fighting the Shadow and that sort of thing. None of them ever described what it's like to be a student here, when your life consists of nothing but studying and sweeping more floors than I'd ever seen before."

"It's not that it's a bad life," Kalyan went on, "just that the routine is mostly the same every single day, and there's a few classes I find so boring, it's hard not to fall asleep during them." His gaze shifted over towards his desk again. I'll have to get back to those later, he thought. The assignment needed to get done, but right now, Kalyan was far more interested in getting to know his new roommate. The rest of the equations could just wait until he felt more like dealing with them.

Ignoring the work, Kalyan refocused his attention on Jun. "So you came here from the Tuatha'an?" he asked. "What was that like, growing up? I'd guess you've seen far more of the world than I have."

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Owen
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Re: The Singer and the Dreamer [Attn: Kalyan]

Post by Owen » January 15th, 2019, 5:47 pm

Studying and sweeping floors? Yuck, though honestly, Jun didn’t mind. He had helped the women in his camp long enough to realize that many hands make light work, and that the least he could do in exchange for his lessons would be a little scut work here and there. He also noticed Kalyan's shifting eyes, and hoped to himself that he wasn't distracting his poor roommate away from doing any important work. But he kept these thoughts to himself and pulled out the chair in front of his own desk. He sat in it facing backwards, so that he could cross his arms over the chair’s back and rest his head comfortably on his forearms. Then he grinned cheekily at his roommate.

“My band, we’ve traveled all throughout Caralain Grass,” he said. “As far west as the Mountains of Mist, south throughout Andor - though we’ve never pass through the Forest of Shadow - and east to the Spine of the World. And then beyond.

He gestured dramatically, pumping a fist up at the corner of the ceiling, and then laughed at his own antics. “I’ve traveled through the Aiel Waste a couple of times. It’s a lot more dull than it sounds. I haven’t ever even seen an Aielman. They leave us Tinkers alone.

“In fact, it’s so dull that I bet the most boring lesson here is still much more exciting than the Waste!”

Alianora
"The Path of Daggers"
Posts: 997
Joined: May 2nd, 2016, 8:32 pm
PC: Liaran Sedai, Blue Ajah
SC: Amaranie Sedai, Indigo Ajah
TC: Kalyan Rihera, Yellow Ajah

Re: The Singer and the Dreamer [Attn: Kalyan]

Post by Alianora » January 15th, 2019, 10:35 pm

Kalyan
"You think so?" Kalyan asked, surprised. He was sitting cross-legged on his bed, and he leaned forward a little. "Maybe there isn't much to do in the Waste, but at least you were traveling. During most of my classes, all I do is sit there and listen to someone else talk. Then, at the end, we get assigned problems to do, or essays to write...things like that. Some of it isn't bad, but as a whole, I think I'd rather travel through the Aiel Waste."

He grinned and waved a hand at his desk and the work it contained. "Like right now, I should really be finishing my assigned problems from that book over there, but they seem so useless it's hard to pay attention," Kalyan admitted. "I'm used to working outside with the trees, and the way classes are taught here is quite different from that. "

He slid off the bed, feet landing on the floor, and took the few steps across the room to stand in front of Jun's chair. "Anyways, if you want, I can show you around outside," he offered. "I haven't even been here a fortnight yet, so I'm still working on finding my way around the Tower itself."

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Owen
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Re: The Singer and the Dreamer [Attn: Kalyan]

Post by Owen » January 16th, 2019, 4:05 pm

Jun was glad to hear that Kalyan was also new to the Tower. It was nice, to find that someone else would be going through the same classes with him, together.

“I promise you, it really isn’t all that great. Maybe one day we can travel to the Waste and then we’ll see who… eats dust,” he said, and then winked.

When Kalyan offered to show him around, Jun felt a twinge of guilt for pulling him away from his studies. But it was only a very small twinge. He leapt up from his chair and stretched out his limbs.

“Okay. Let’s go,” he said, cheerfully, puppy-like in his eagerness. “If we get lost, I don’t mind. What’s life without a little adventure?”

Alianora
"The Path of Daggers"
Posts: 997
Joined: May 2nd, 2016, 8:32 pm
PC: Liaran Sedai, Blue Ajah
SC: Amaranie Sedai, Indigo Ajah
TC: Kalyan Rihera, Yellow Ajah

Re: The Singer and the Dreamer [Attn: Kalyan]

Post by Alianora » January 17th, 2019, 10:33 pm

Kalyan
Kalyan liked how Jun thought, but having already gotten lost in the Tower once, he didn't especially want to repeat the experience. "I wouldn't mind a little adventure," he told Jun as he opened their door and led the way out. "But I've already gotten myself lost in the Tower once, my first day here, and there was nothing exciting about it." As they wound through the halls, Kalyan kept talking. "All it takes is one wrong turn to end up somewhere you shouldn't be, and probably sent to the Master of Soldiers. I'm lucky it was just another Soldier who found me." They reached the door that would lead them out, and Kalyan blinked in the sunlight.

"So, you can see where the Tower is from here." It was impossible to miss the building looming over them. Kalyan's eyes traveled up it, marveling at the sight as he did almost every time he laid eyes on it, and for a moment, the Soldier just stood there, staring. Then he remembered that he was supposed to be showing Jun the different outside areas. He began to walk again, waving a hand at the signposts as they passed. "See those signs? They'll help you find your way out here," Kalyan commented, wishing someone had thought to post similar ones inside the Grey Tower itself. He turned, pointing in the general direction of one of the signs. "That way will take you to the Warder Yards and to the armory. We don't usually have any reason to be over there."

He took no further steps towards it, moving in the opposite direction. "This way is something you might find more interesting. It's called the Channeling Yard." As they got closer , they could see streaks of fire flying through the air. Kalyan didn't stop walking until they were close enough to watch what those practicing inside were doing. "It's for practicing channeling," he explained. "I don't really understand how it works yet, but I've been told that when you're inside it, it somehow contains your weaves so they can't leave the area and do any damage." Kalyan quite enjoyed watching the soaring balls of fire that someone was weaving, and paused in their walking to do so. Without really looking at Jun, he said, "It's hard to believe we'll be doing that ourselves, isnt it?"

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