08/03/2000

Practice Yard, White Tower, Tar Valon

Hard packed earth is ringed in by a plain wooden fence. Daily the practice
area is maintained by the pounding of young men's feet, as they are ran
about the yard or set to forms. Towards the left hand side of the yard the
thud of arrows hitting targets can be heard. The right is devoted to racks
full of practice weapons and armor. Throughout the day the harsh voices of
Gaidin urging the boys to work faster, stronger, harder can be heard. At
night the silence is almost eerie as only the cicadas come out to play
their nocturnal commentary.

A three story building is at the end of the hall, providing a place for the
trainees to live. A set of iron stairs up to the door is a favorite meeting
spot for some of the boys, to sit and rest when such things are granted.
Often they can be seen catching a meal there, to avoid wrinkled noses and
sniffs from young ladies unaccustomed to the sweat and grime they daily
generate.


Neelkan is leaning against the building where the Trainees are quartered,
watching the going ons in the yard. He looks a little better since his
'return' to the Tower, but only partly. He looks grumpy, but then that's
probably not a surprise to anyone in the Yard.

Coming out of the barracks, Savren has that stack of papers he's been
carrying around every day since he was assigned to be Master Gaidin.
Noticing Neelkan leaning up against the barracks, he speaks to him,
"Umm...excuse me, what exactly are you doing?"

"Standin' 'round?" Neelkan answers in that cocky way he's known for, not
moving from where he's been leaning for the last few minutes, at least not
at first. Then he gives a small grump and moves away from the wall to give
a half-bow. May not be as deep as it should be, but for this red head, it's
pretty deep.

Nodding, Savren actually smiles, "Well...we'll have to remedy that, won't
we? Come this way, and look sharp about. I can tell you before we start,
that what we're about to do is only going to be as hard as you make it..."
/What/, exactly, does he have planned for the boy?

Whatever the Gaidin has planned, it can't be as tough on the boy as the
last few days have been. Neelkan straightens and follows after him,
glancing around as told. "So where're ya takin' m' anyway?" He asks with a
small shrug, reaching up to run a hand through his hair.

Smiling, Savren glances over his shoulder, "I'm going to see how good you
are at carrying unconscious people from the field...among other things, but
the first excercise we will do will simulate how it feels to run with the
dead weight of different people, for your Ward will not be the only person
you are responsible for protecting. You may have to carry children, and
other Gaidin. We'll start with a child, then two. Then we'll move up to a
woman, then two. And finally, a grown man, then two..." Savren hands
Neelkan a bag that is connected to another by a leather strap, "Put the
strap on your shoulder, and give me a lap around the yard."

Oh... Fun. But Neelkan nods at the talk, muttering something about that
being something he would do even if he wasn't going to be a Gaidin. He had
to carry some of his friends after battles sometimes back when he was a
bandit. He was a bandit who wouldn't leave his friends. He takes the strap
and puts it over his left shoulder, because that's the one that hurts the
less right now. He can worry about handling the wieght on his right
shoulder when it comes to that. He rolls his shoulder a little to get it
into a half comfortable position, then goes to do his lap around the yard.
Despite the fact he's still not on his peek right now due to spending a
couple days in a prison with barely any food or water, he runs it with
little trouble.

Nodding, looking half satisfied, Savren is waiting when he comes back with
another one of the 'children', "Another lap, then you can rest a few
moments at the end of this one, before you carry the woman." He gestures
for Neelkan to run his second lap now.

Putting the stap onto his right shoulder makes Neelkan clench his jaw a
little. That hurts. But he doesn't say anything. He just grumbles
incoherently and starts on the second lap. This one is slower then the
first, and he sweats a little bit more, and the wieght on his right
shoulder obviously is causing some discomfort. But he's not going to stop
because of it. He's too stubborn sometimes. It's a child after all!

Frowning, Savren is aware of the condition Neelkan is in because of his
stay at Cubiyari'Shain, but what if he had to carry a child or two out of
the Prison in an escape attempt? He can not lighten the load, because that
would do more harm than good to the boy. When he returns, Savren says,
"Now...put the children down. They've been saved, thanks to you. This time
there is a woman who needs to be saved...You may rest a few moments now
before running this one..."

Letting the 'Children' down, Neelkan's actually a little gentle in doing
it, not just shrugging them off. He reaches over with an arm and lightly
rubs his shoulder a little, trying not to draw too much attention to it. A
woman who needs to be saved now... He rests all of half the time it took
him to run that last lap, then he takes up the woman on his left shoulder
again. Erk. Heavier. He clenches his jaw and mumbles in a joking fashion,
"Woman 'ere needs t' go on a diet." He's kidding, really. Then he starts on
lap three, which is a /little/ better then the lap before, but only because
it's on his left, obviously.

Nodding, Savren waits for Neelkan to return, he says, as the next bag is on
the ground, "Now you've comes across this woman lying on the ground, and
you're already carrying one to safety, but you're not exactly care-free.
Whatever you're running from is hard on your tail...I want you to show me
how you would go about lifting this second woman in as little time as
possible without dropping the first."

Neelkan grits his teeth this time, kneeling down on his right knee, keeping
his left foot on the ground but bending his leg obviously. He hefts the
'other woman', up as quickly and carefully as possible onto his shoulder,
then pushes up with his left foot until he's standing. Light that /hurts/.
And it's obvious in his facial expression. But how he keeps from stopping
or falling or dropping either of the 'women' is because he pictures that
the woman on his right shoulder is Verbena, who he /should/ have gotten out
of that prison, blood and ashes. He does swear as he runs this time around,
gritting his teeth and swearing and running. He keeps the pace fast, but
only out of determination.

Nodding, silently speculating on Neelkan's performance. Whatever he thinks
of it, he does not say, "Okay...you may rest again. The 'men' here come in
different weights. I will pick them out as they come. One could be
incredibly heavy, and you can choose to drag him if it's too heavy, and one
could be as light as the 'women' over here." He gestures for Neelkan to
rest.

Kneeling down again, Neelkan is forced to shrug them off this time, putting
his hands on the ground and closing his eyes, head lowered. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.
But he doesn't complain. He just sits there with his head lowered and
rests, this time twice as long as the last rest he had, then he pushes
himself up. "I'm ready." He says, despite still looking pained and tired,
though trying to hide it.

When the trainee says he's ready, Savren does not question his words. He
just places the 'man' on his shoulders for him, "Take it as fast as you
can...remember, when you're carrying someone who cannot help themselves,
both of your lives are in your hands alone. How you do and react will
determine whether you live or die, or are captured or not. Always keep that
in mind." He then gestures to the lap.

Nodding, Neelkan grits his teeth again, not even bothering to say anything
outloud as he starts on his fifth lap, taking it as quickly as he can with
the added wieght. It would be faster if he didn't have it, as he's always
been a fairly good runner, but it's not lagging behind either. In fact it's
a good deal faster then the first one was. But his hair is darker now, due
to sweat, making the odd white streaks in his hair stand out even more then
usual.

"Now...You see this man on the ground...but he's bigger than the man on
your shoulder. You've taken an arrow wound to your opposite shoulder...what
do you do?" Savren asks as Neelkan comes up towards him.

Neelkan ponders over the crisis and grumbles a few times about having no
flaming idea. But he did say that he could drag the men if they were too
heavy, so he kneels to loop the arm attacthed to his 'injured' (and oddly
true) shoulder on an area of the bag, like it's supposed to be the arms and
shoulder of the man, so he's lifting their head off the ground, then he
starts to drag the 'legs' of the man around, not running really, but
walking at a quick pace. And it's obvious that he won't be able to do
another lap after this one, but he doesn't stop or complain, other then
grumbled curses.

Nodding, it seems good enough to Savren. He waits for Neelkan to return to
him. He did it right, he did it light. Wonder what would have happened had
he done it wrong? "Alright...go get some water, and rest up a bit...I have
one more assignment for you to do...it will not be hard, I promise you."

Putting down both the men, Neelkan nods his head, still grumbling a few
times under his breath just because he feels like it, and goes over to
where the trainees are allowed to get water between breaks, drinking at
least three whole cups before coming back to Savren, "A'right. What's 'is
last thing?" He rubs his shoulder again, though tries to look like he's
just straightening his shirt.

Heading over to where two huge poles have been erected and a cargo net has
been tied up between them, Savren moves to the base of one pole, grabbing
up a special belt for Neelkan, "Alright...This is not a simulation of
anything, but it will help build strength in most of the muscles in your
body. This belt is weighted, and will make it harder to climb this net
here. Put the belt on, and go over when you're ready.

Neelkan looks up and smirks a little at the net, suddenly reminded of the
days before he came to the tower. He /was/ a bandit. Climbing walls around
villages and up to high windows was part of the job. He puts the belt on,
trying to ignore the added weight and goes to start up the net. He climbs
pretty good, though he does avoid leaving his weight on his right arm for
very long.

Although unaware as to Neelkan's origins, Savren had figured the boy to be
a proficient climber. He smiles and says, "I told you it would not be too
hard...When you're rested up from your little visit to the Fort, we'll meet
again." With that, Savren turns and heads back to where he had left his
papers. He shuffles through them, and marks something down, then heads
inside.

After getting back down and removing the belt, Neelkan nods and offers a
small smirk, then heads towards the barracks. To probably take a nap...
Though he'll never admit to /that/.