The Trials of the Worthy

[Gareth Trakand]

The soft red, yellow, and orange hues of the morning sunrise spilled across his room as they shone forth from his window. And as he laid within his small bed, Gareth turned his head towards the wondrous colors that now flooded his room. Nothing was quite as spectacularly beautiful. Plus to wake up witnessing such brilliance was no doubt a blessing. True, a small fraction of him was nervous due to the knowledge that today would be his Blademaster and Dedicated test but he refused to linger on such fears. It seemed almost surreal that he'd spent the last three years training at the Black Tower as a Soldier. When his ability to channel first presented itself, Gareth had been shocked as he never imagined that he would possess the spark as Ishara did. Much had changed since that day... He had changed. The future he once was certain of, it felt far less so now. Yet this was his opportunity to prove himself, and also to make his parents proud. Thus there was no room for doubt or failure. They were counting on him as no doubt Ishara was too. And Gareth felt confident that he'd rise to the task of becoming a Blademaster as well as being raised to Dedicated at the Black Tower. He closed his eyes to reflect back on the past ten years of his life. His chest rose and fell with a calm pattern as he contemplated those years.

“I can do this.” He reassured to himself.

He climbed out from under the sheets on his bed before making it up again in a pristine manner. Next, he walked over to his trunk of clothes to fetch out an acceptable outfit for the day. After that, the man went for a vigorous run through the training yard. His mind remained clear and focused on what laid ahead of him even as the sweat beaded upon his brow. Several of the trainees and Gaidin within the yard were busy with their own training but a few stopped to shout words of encouragement his way. Gareth smiled sheepishly, it was always nice to have his spirits lifted by the support of others. He desired to succeed on their behalf as much as he did for his own. Compassion and teamwork had always been strong suits of the 1st Prince of the Sword. Every man here had his respect and admiration for their dedication to the Gaidin cause. Thus he hoped to be an example of how any man is capable of accomplishing his goals if he sets his mind towards them.

Gareth finished up his morning run before he headed back towards his room to wash up. The cool refreshing water felt soothing against his strained muscles and hot body. Many might think it to be mad to take a cold bath after a long run but Gareth found it quite relaxing. It helped to quiet his mind, to escape from the pressures of his life, and sooth his soul. Once he'd finished bathing, Gareth dressed into the clothes he'd set out earlier. And before heading out to fetch a bit of breakfast, he stopped to glance over his appearance within the mirror. There, in the reflection, stood a man in his late twenties with ear-length dirty blonde hair, bright piercing blue eyes, and a bit of stubble upon his face. He'd often heard young ladies refer to him as handsome but he never saw it. Still, his outfit seemed suitable and he'd brushed his hair so that was good enough for him.

As he headed down to the dining hall, a few of his former Gaidin friends joined him. They enjoyed the delicious meats, fruits, bread, and cheeses provided by the kitchen staff. They shared in stories from their past, Gareth regaled them with his experience in the Black Tower, a few crude jokes were made, and some bragged about former sweethearts. Or at least those that had sweethearts did. Gareth didn't know much about love other than what he read about in books but imagined it must be incredible. Then again what time would there be for love once he became an Asha'man and Ishara's Warder?! He, of course, loved his sister and had no objections about bonding with her. Yet sometimes he did wonder what his life would be like if he wasn't 1st Prince of the Sword... Or if his duty wasn't to keep her safe. Still, his course was set and so the thoughts of love became purged from his mind.

After Gareth ate a hearty meal, he went back out to the yard where he began to set up for his Blademaster test. Tavion Rashai, a Gaidin Trainee and also his dearest friend, was already within the yard warming up for his own fight. Gareth shot him a warm, friendly grin before he made his way across the field to join him.

“Good morning to you my friend. How do you fair this fine day?” inquired Gareth as he gave Tai a bracing hug. “Don't forget that it's important not only to watch your opponent but to listen to his movements as well. Then again, you don't require any pointers from me as I'm already confident that you shall do quite well.”

With a quick inspection of the blades at their disposal, Gareth eventually settled on one that felt natural within his grip. It also had a great balance of weight and had been recently sharpened. He started to practice with it on a dummy next to his friend as he mentally tried to ready himself for the test to come.

“Have you learned of whom you're meant to duel with yet?”

[Galvin Menithil]

The early morning air was crisp and cold, even this far into the quarters of the white tower the chill air would find its way to grace Galvin’s senses. As he rose in the predawn candlelight he fumbled through the darkness to gather his belongings. It wasn’t hard, as long ago he’d learned to keep certain things close to hand. His sword and fancloth cloak were always kept within easy reach of his bed. His clothes were stored in a small chest a few feet away from the foot of his bed. It was the only adornment in his room other than the golden crane banner that hung on his wall, a reminder of his time spent on the borderas a freelance guardsman.

As he left the quarters of the Green Ajah, Galvins thoughts turned to the matters that would require his attention today. There were two great tests planned, and a few things that he must see to personally before either of them started. The boy Gareth had his test for the heron mark, and his best friend was up for completing his own warders test. Galvin could only smile at the thought of how much each lad had grown in their skills since coming to the White Tower. It reminded him of his own growth as a warrior, Tavion Rashai had especially grown in skill despite what anyone else may say.

As he entered the dining hall he grabbed a quick piece of meat and cheese, putting it between two slices of bread he started to munch on it as he walked toward the training yard. He was almost always the first one out, though today he’d been beaten by a few of his fellow Gaidin, specifically those he had asked to be present to help with the two tests he was setting up for. Seven brother Gaidin lined the courtyard already, some warming up, some putting practice blades into their sheathes, and four milling among themselves, readying for their part in todays events. Galvin wakled over to each group to go over their responsibilities in turn, every man knew their place today and took it. When that was all taken care of he began his own warmup, right about the time that the young Trakand lad was going for his early morning run.

Some time later Galvin set his own blade aside, he wouldn’t need it again for the rest of the day. Instead he walked around the yard once more, doing one last check of the grounds to make sure there were no patches of dirt upturned or holes that could cause a disruption in the tests. Finding the yards to his satisfaction he sat down, and began to calm himself by summoning the flame and the void, focusing all his distractions into it. He sat and waited, hoping that he would not be disappointed in the two boys going up against him today.

[Taivin Rashai]

The morning had dawned in silence. It had puzzled Taivin, at first, how such a place as the White Tower could ever be so silent. But in the years since his arrival, he had come to appreciate these little moments, before the majority of the Tower’s inhabitants awoke. He had even begun to rise regularly at this hour, to better savor the quiet and solitude, in advance of the hustle and bustle of Tower life. This particular morning he had arisen even earlier. He had had a restless night, unable to quell his thoughts enough to sleep well. It had been difficult to place how he felt about the events that were to come later that day. There was a little apprehension, some excitement, but most of all Taivin believed he was…perplexed.

Perhaps it was the prospect of change. The trial to come might be a formality, but it meant that his training at the Tower was coming to a close. The idea was hard to grasp, with the number of years he had dedicated to swordcraft here. As reluctant as he had been to leave home in the first place, all those years ago, the Tower had become...familiar. He was comfortable here, had grown accustomed to life in the barracks. And while seeing the hills and plains of his Saldaean homeland was a pleasant enough prospect, Taivin was hesitant to return for some inexplicable reason.

So, as was usual when his mind refused to quiet and sleep escaped him, Tai dressed quickly and slipped out of the barracks, careful not to wake the other Trainees and Gaidin who yet slumbered within. His destination was, of course, the stables. And a certain surly warhorse within them. As its equivalent had been back home, the stables had become a sanctuary. If Tai couldn't sleep, then at least he could do the next most restful activity available to him. As Taivin made his way across the grounds, he marveled once more at how surreal the grounds were at this hour, in their silence. Even as used to silence as he was.

For Tai had always been a solitary individual, both by circumstance and by choice. This had mostly continued at the Tower. He got on well enough with the other trainees and had built a decent level of camaraderie with them. Yet in the eight years since his arrival, Taivin had only forged a lasting bond with one other, Gareth Trakand. A small smile graced his lips, at the thought of his close friend. As soon as he slipped inside the stable, however, that smile disappeared. The groomsman of the White Tower were already up and about, tackling their tasks for the day. And three of them were struggling to wrangle his testy steed, who was doing his utmost to snap his teeth on their fingers. When Kiserai spotted his rider, he let loose a whinny in greeting, oblivious to the fact that his rider's scowl was because of his behavior.

Taivin was quick to wave off the groomsmen, taking up a brush as he approached his mount. Kiserai had not appreciated the transition from open fields to a city stable. And while Tai had taken him out past the city limits whenever possible, for both their sakes, Rai had developed a bit of a reputation with the stablehands here. And the sisters of the Yellow Ajah. Taivin had made sure to care for his mount himself, whenever his schedule allowed, if only to avoid another dressing down by the stable master and Yellow Aes Sedai, regarding broken bones and nipped fingers.

Uncle Kesan wouldn't have stood for any inexperienced hands near one of his stallions, but Taivin understood that even with Gaidin in residence, most of the horses stabled here were far more genteel than Kiserai. Even some of the other warhorses stabled at the Tower didn't quite have the personality his equine partner did, but that personality was exactly why he was such an asset in battle. That was why House Rashai had continued to breed such horses. In his family, it was believed the rider’s skill needed to match the mount’s spirit, instead of the horse being bred or trained to obey its rider.

That aphorism was also why Taivin had brought Kiserai to Tar Valon with him, despite the relatively cramped quarters that he had expected. The stallion was his, in name and truth, because even back home only a handful of others were capable of handling Kiserai without fear of injury. And despite his fiery temperament, Rai showed quite a bit of affection to his chosen rider, nuzzling Tai as he was groomed. For his part, Taivin could feel his tension melt away with every stroke, the sounds and smells of the stable drawing out all of the turbulent emotions that had been the cause of his restlessness.

By the time the first bells of the morning were reverberating through the air, signaling the approaching hour of his trial, Taivin had finished tending to his mount. He himself was now fully relaxed and prepared to tackle any challenge. He settled Kiserai into his stall, promising a long jaunt in the countryside the next day, if his stallion promised to behave, before leaving the stables. He stopped off in the barracks long enough to wash up and don a shirt that wasn’t coated in horse hair and slobber, then headed toward the training yard, munching on a few rolls he snagged on his way out.

Surprisingly, he had beaten Gareth to the yard, an unusual feat. Mere moments after Tai started his warmup, however, his friend arrived. The friendly, earnest smile on his companion’s face elicited a responding grin from Taivin. “I fare well enough, my friend, all things considered. I needed to break up yet another impending storm in the stables this morning. I’ll have to take Kiserai out again and soon, before he earns me another scolding from a Yellow Sister.” He paused in his movements for a moment, as he absorbed his friend's words. It was more than a little heartwarming, to hear Gareth speak so of his skill.

Then Tai frowned a bit at Gareth's question. He actually hadn’t heard much about his own trial. He did know a little something about his friend’s upcoming fight, but of course he wasn’t at liberty to discuss it. “I actually don’t know who I’ll be fighting. You know as well as I, however, that little happens in the yard without Master Galvin being present. The Creator Himself couldn’t grant victory, if I have to fight the likes of a Dreadsbane.”

[Gareth Trakand]

Thwack. The sound of the blade he'd chosen from the wooden crate earlier echoed within his ears as it collided against the practice dummy. His breath remained steady, his eyes maintained focus, and his grip tightened around the handle. Today he could not falter or waiver. Thwack. Each blow was precise and filled with determination for one day he would serve as General of the Andoran army which meant failure wasn't an option. Thwack. His people, his parents, and his sister all depended on him to fulfill his destiny. The path before him was always clear as crystal but it now rippled like a pond as if a rock had been dropped into it. The certainty of his future had diminished. Thwack. Channeling the One Power never crossed his mind as a road he'd ever travel down yet he walked it now as if he'd always done so. He'd come so far from being the young, naive boy he'd once been yet he felt that he still had a far distance to go before becoming who he was meant to be. Whoever that was. Thwack. 

Gareth rotated the sword around his back, switching it between his hands before slicing the practice dummy across the middle then thrusting the blade upwards into the jawline and straight through its skull delivering a final blow. His breath caught and his eyes widened for a moment as if he saw... No, it was nothing. Surely his stress and anxieties over his conjoined Blademaster and Dedicated tests had put him on edge, so much so that his mind simply decided to play a dirty trick on him. He purged the dark imagery from his thoughts to focus back in on his breathing, stilling his fears as best he could. Gareth had been assured that there would be 3 Captains from the Black Tower present to observe how he fared in his Blademaster test... As if that test alone wasn't stressful enough for the young Prince... Or it was, right up until the moment Taivin mentioned his warhorse being restless again in the stables. A statement that caused a smile to spread across his face.  

“I'd wager that would indeed be wise my friend. And preferably before another groomsman uses me as a shield against Kiserai.” joked Gareth to his friend with a lighthearted laugh as he embraced Taivin tightly. How he had missed their conversations, follies, and troublemaking. He was grateful for this time they'd have together before he would have to report back to the Black Tower, “It is good to see you again Tai, I have dearly missed you.”

Kiserai was a warhorse that Taivin's family raised, cared for, and trained themselves. He was a strong, beautiful creature with a spirit that only a skilled rider such as his friend could manage. Gareth loved riding horses since he was young but lacked the finesse and prestige that Taivin possessed in the saddle. Still, he endeavored to learn how to improve his riding abilities by watching and learning from his friend... A friend that Gareth hadn't seen in three years. And as he gazed at Taivin now, his nerves calmed significantly from before. Even the knowledge of going up against Galvin felt far less troubling knowing Taivin was here, even if success felt beyond Gareth's grasp. 

“Instead it shall be I that will be awarded that pleasure. May the light preserve me, I have no inkling how I'll defeat him,” mused Gareth before adding, “But promise me that if I indeed fulfill such a task that you and I must celebrate together afterward. You're choice of venue, of course, but most importantly, it's going to be my treat.”

[Galvin Menithil]

As he sat there Galvin did not register the passage of time, nor did he notice the presence of the second man who would be testing. A battle could have been raging around him in that instant and he would not have noticed it, all that mattered to him was the flame that sat deep in the void. Even the bond that constantly nagged at the back of his mind was muted as he focused himself on the task at hand. He purged himself of his own thoughts, his own biases or complaints that he may have carried against the two men who were about to step up to their trial. Now there was only one thing that mattered, the way of the sword, and the skill that the young Trakand would show. Those were all that mattered today,

As he felt the sun start to climb higher into the sky Galvin got up from his meditative position and made his way over to the practice blades. He reached out and began passing them between his hands, trying to find one that had the best balance and weight… well, second best balance and weight. The young Soldier and crown prince had already picked over the practice blades, and at this point, he had likely found the best of the practice blades for himself.

Galvin practiced with his blade, swinging it through the air and drawing it around him in a warm-up exercise that loosened his limbs after his little stint of sitting still. He soon found his muscles reacting of their own accord as his body moved through simple motions to loosen himself up. He did not know what he looked like to those watching, he had never really bothered himself with such things in his youth, was his style effective on the battlefield. That was all that had mattered to him at that point, and even in this day and age, he preferred to focus on what was more practical than what was more ‘proper’ as considered by some blade masters. After all, if a tactic worked on the battlefield then it was a useful one to know.

As Galvin finished his warm-up he took his place near the center of the yard, reforging his mind from the thoughts he had to the task at hand once more. A test of skill for the young soldier, a man who had some of the best tutors and had been tested by fires of battle as keen as any that Galvin had faced. Now it was time to see if the lessons of his mentors and the battlefield had taken hold.

“Trakand, with me! Rashai, when your horse is settled you’ll be squaring up against Merkan.”

His voice was calm, not demanding or loud. Yet it carried with it the authority of a man who was in command. As he spoke the others among the yard took their positions, many clearing off the field while a few took places in corners away from where the fight would ultimately be fought. The rest of the council who would decide the young swordsman's fate each took a different corner to watch the man from a separate area. They would all vote on this at the end of the day, and even one dissenting voice could strip the young man of his potential title and blade.

[Jenaroni]

Taivin Rashai dueled first with one of the Gaidin, claiming victory without too much difficulty, and proving his merit. Gareth's Blademaster test followed promptly, which also served to determine his readiness for a promotion to the Dedicated rank. His dueling partner was none other than Galvin Menethil, Master of the Yard, and Dreadsbane. A fine opponent for the young 1st Prince of Sword to be sure. But Gareth's test also had a twist, as he and Galvin fought, a small group of the Gaidin Trainee's attacked Taivin. This rouse was implemented to test Gareth's ability to maintain focus. Not only was he able to do as much, but he maneuvered his own duel so that he could assist his friend. The fight was by no means an easy task but Gareth succeeded in the end.

Afterward, the 1st Prince was awarded his heron-marked blade and raised to the rank of Dedicated within the Black Tower. As promised, he treated Taivin to drinks at a local tavern where the two swore a blood pact with each other. They also managed to garner themselves a few drunken troubles but ultimately led to work it all out in the end. Upon returning to the White Tower, Gareth learned that Ishara passed her test and raised into the shawl. They agree to put off bonding until Gareth becomes an Asha'man.

This Thread is concluding in this fashion for the sake of the players involved. If a thread of the events mentioned above is desirable, that is an option. Should all the players who participated, so choose that is. This post is merely a smooth wrap up to lessen our workload and free characters up for new plots.

This Thread's closed.