The Grey Tower

Avyra’s confusion was understandable, not much of what they had done today was flashy or well much like the kinds of training heroes in stories went through. Children had to learn to walk before they ran. Maybe that was why Aes Sedai called their students child. He didn’t spend much time with Aes Sedai to know for sure.

“There are a lot of fundamentals that any warrior needs to know,” his voice taking on a lecturing tone. “Like with spear fighting, you spend hours practicing thrusting and how to hold your spear before you ever spar or even strike a straw dummy. Next lesion, I’ll teach you how to properly punch, then we’ll continue stances and falls.” He guided her through a series of stretches before concluding the lesson.

“This time tomorrow?” he froze, “I’m sorry, no it will have to be the day after. I have a sparring match scheduled with Danos al’Sheen tomorrow afternoon. It was rather difficult to reserve the sparring arena.” He began to leave. He had an appointment with a tiny bucket of hot water and a bar of soap before his next class. He would have to use one of his free days to find a small tent and a brazier so he could bathe properly. He didn’t know where he’d put it though.

“I see you, Avyra. Yellows can heal broken bones. They aren’t however, skilled at healing bruised pride.” Terric shrugged. “I guess I’ll be spending my evening free period’s meeting toh for a while. Was the Mistress of the Kitchens overly harsh?”

He began leading them through stretches. As they stretched he decided to practice assuming the Void. After a bit of prodding, he had managed to get Danos al’Sheen to explain more about it. Sometimes it still alluded him because he liked to pick apart information. In the Void he had to let it all wash across him and let his instincts respond instead of his active mind. He shoved this very musing about the nature of the Void into the Flame. Next he shoved in his guilt over his actions the previous day. He quickly shoved thoughts of Avyra into the Flame before they had time to mature. He could feel the emptiness of the Void surround him. It was a strange emptiness, he was strangely aware of his surroundings, more than simple years of instinct could account for.

“For our first lesson, show me how you make a fist,” he was surprised at how distant his voice sounded. The Void shook around him but he managed to feed the shock into the Flame. It roared inside his chest like a camp fire, keeping away the chill of a desert night.

Even from within the Void, Terric couldn’t help but feel skeptical of Avyra’s fist. The way she held it, she was likely to break her own hand instead of actually hurt an opponent.

“Here,” he said, voice still distant, “You want to tuck your thumb under your curled fingers, not inside.” He took her tiny hands in his larger hands, callused from years of spear work. “You strike with the first two knuckles, make sure the front of your fist is as flat as you can make it.” He used his finger to trace a line from her knuckles to her elbow, “You want to make sure this line stays straight, no matter which direction your punch is coming from. You also want to make sure that keep our fist as parallel to the rest of your arm as you can. You want a solid impact, you don’t want your fist folding. You’ll lose power and potentially hurt your wrist. Last thing to remember: punch through your target. If you’re just trying to hit the target, you’ve already killed a lot of force before your fist connects. You need to hit with full force and that means punch through the target.”

He crouched before her, placing his hands in front of him for targets, “Here, give it a shot. If you think you’ve got the hang of it, keep going. I’ll tell you if you’re doing something wrong.”

The blow wasn’t particularly impressive but her form wasn’t bad. That was the important part. They could work on strength training later. Bad form got people hurt, and on the battle field, getting hurt unnecessarily can get people killed. The second punch as a little better. She had spirit; that was for certain.

From within the Void, Terric could tell some of the foot traffic had peeled off to watch them. He turned to see two sneering Tower Guards. A wave of disgust threatened to shatter the Void. He wasn’t sure which he hated more, Baerlon Guards or Tower Guard. Both were unprofessional excuses for warriors. They should have entrusted the duty to Warder students.

"What are you supposed to be?" the one with a bulbous nose jeered. "A little Drin? Maybe you should go back to your own weight group. You know, if we had one for you."

"Go... go pick on someone your own size!" Avyra shot back, voice cracking a bit.

While Terric couldn’t help but admire her spirt something else had to be addressed. These men were picking on Avyra. Did she know them? Had they bothered her before? These thoughts drifted across the surface of the Void along with a strong protective instinct. He stepped placing himself between them, right foot slightly back.

"So, like him?" said the other guard, turning his attention on Terric. "Why did you let this little thing into the Yards, and are encouraging her? This isn't supposed to be an open house for anyone to come train. Let the real warriors have the sands."

Warriors? These men? Caring a weapon did not make a man a warrior. Even Wetlanders should know that, Terric was having trouble holding onto the Void but he decided to try. A fist fight wouldn’t solve anything and he had toh towards Raihana Ferria, he didn’t need to add more.

Terric spread his hands in what would appear to be a non-threatening gesture, “What brings you fine gentlemen to the, Warder Yards?” As he spoke, he felt Avyra step closer to him. He sized the two men up. Bulbous nose slouched and leered. His friend had lank blond hair and his uniform didn’t fit quite right. Neither seemed to take pride in their weapons, they just liked the sense of power being armed gave them. Hopefully he could get them to leave without causing trouble, but they had touched a nerve or several.

Avyra did her best to hold her own against the two bullies, but Terric could tell her resolve was slipping. "You just... you just.. find someone else to pick on! You claim that only real warriors can use this space, yet I know a fair share of real warriors and none of them take pride in tormenting others! So just..."

Terric decided it was time to put an end to this. He wouldn’t let it come to a fight if he could help it though. “If you’re here to train, by all means, come train with us,” he said with a friendliness he did not feel. “But if you’re just here to start trouble, I’d suggest you move along.” Steel crept into his voice with the last part.

By now, the Void was trembling. These Wetlanders were no warriors. They were just bullies. Terric had never liked bullies. He had more respect for thieves and murderers than petty bullies. He forced his anger into the Flame and stilled the Void around him. Assess your options. Fighting is out of the question. Talk them down or take Avyra and leave. His spear master Vishik had always taught that the best way to avoid a blow was to not be there. He hadn’t just meant during fights. He had also meant knowing when to fight in the first place. Some fights needed to be walked away from, even fights you knew you could win. If it was just his pride on the line he would just walk away. It wasn’t just his pride at stake, he had to think of Avyra. He needed to make these men back down without making them feel like they had lost anything.