08/06/2000

Courtyard, The White Tower, Tar Valon

Marble tiles gleam from a straight path which leads from the Gates of the
Tower to the wide double doors which announce its entry point. Soft grass
and well planned patches of flowers can be found to either side, with the
occasional shady tree. Accepted and novices sit on stone benches, some
practicing their Power to the dismay of uneasy petitioners passing through.
To the side there is a stable, near the fenced entrance to the clearly
visible yard where shirtless boys go through sword forms through the day.

Guards take the weapons of those wanting to enter, though the Gaidin spread
about the courtyard, seemingly about their leisure, look ready to pounce on
any men who "forgot" a dagger at the gates. Aes Sedai pass through on
various errands, some nodding to acknowledge bows or curtsies. The
atmosphere is busy, but calm.


A soft sound of footsteps can be heard descending the broad stairway of the
Tower's entrance. If one were to look that way, he'd notice Yannick
descending the stairs, glancing around as if looking for someone in
particular. There are a pair of practice blades under his arm.

Humming some jaunty drinking tune under his breath, Neelkan sits on one of
the benches near the garden. He swings his legs idly in boredom, watching
insects and things of the like buzz around some Novices' head. He's not
looking at the novice really, more her reaction to the bugs. And he seems
to find that at least a tad amusing watching her try to swat them away as
she does her chores. His eyes just seem to scream 'Bite her! Bite her!'.

Boredom, eh? Well, Yannick has just the thing to remedy that. Spotting
Neelkan on the bench, he walks toward the boy and offers one practice blade
to him. "Having fun?" he smiles. "I've been informed you're falling behind
in your lessons, Trainee. Follow me and we'll correct that." Glancing at
the poor novice with a chuckle, he starts toward a more open area with no
immediate trees.

At the voice nearby, the jaunty drinking tune cuts off and Neelkan
instantly jumps up to his feet and offers a half-bow. Probably not as deep
as it should be, but then again it does seem deeper then the bows he
usually offers to Aes Sedai. He raises his eyebrow a little at the comment
of falling behind... and it's true, and he's not going to argue. A lesson
is tons better then watching some /girl/. So he moves to follow with a
slight, "o'course, Gaidin."

Yannick doesn't seem to care much what bow he receives. Walking toward the
chosen spot, he already falls into his lecturing tone. "The first form I'll
teach you is River Undercuts the Bank. It's an offensive move that involves
crouching under an oppenents attack, or rather shying away from it, and
cutting horizontally, preferably at the back of his knees."

A carriage pulls up at the gates of the White Tower and stop outside. The
driver dismounts and opens up the door. His offered hand is grasped as a
statuesque woman who looks to be in her middle years steps down, a small
bag covered in beadwork under one arm and a fat, tiger-striped cat
reclining in the crook of her other arm. She nods absently to the guards
and looks up at the bulk of the Tower above her. Her emotions are
unreadable, but she looks like someone who belongs here.

Stopping a few feet away, Neelkan folds his hands behind him and listens to
the description of the form. River Undercuts the Bank, huh? Though he never
knew the name of the form, it sounds like something he's learned before
coming to the Tower, so he nods his head, letting the long white streaked
red bangs of his hair fall in front of his eyes for a second and says, "So
it would cause the opponent t' fall..?"

Drusilla strokes the cat absently and squares her shoulders, advancing
through the courtyard and working her way toward the Tower. Behind her, a
guard is dispatched to fetch servants to help relocate the trunks and cases
which sit atop the dusty carriage. She nods to the two men as she passes.

Eyes flickering past the trainee to the carriage arriving, Yannick quickly
resumes the explanation with a nod. "A well performed slash can cut off a
man's leg. Or a Trollocs. But there's an option where you slash in slight
arc upward rather than just horizontally. You'll still hurt your opponent,
and knock his legs from undeneath him. Questions?"

Neelkan looks a little hesitent at the mention of cutting off a man's leg,
but to hide it he glances in the direction of the woman with the cat as she
passes by. He raises his eyebrows a little, then forces himself not to
settle into a glare for the woman. He's trying to keep from doing that, so
he looks back at his trainer and shakes his head a little, "No, no
questions right now." (and Dru went on inside)

Yannick nods, putting everything else out of his mind, the woman with the
cat forgotten. "I'll demonstarte first. If you'd strike at me?" He raises
his practice blade, waiting.

Taking up his practice blade, Neelkan aims a upper diagnal slash, holding
the hilt with his thumb pointed in the direction of the pommel towards the
man's right shoulder, not holding back or being hesitent at all, knowing
full well that even if it did hit it wouldn't do much more then bruise with
the blade he's using, and possibly scratch dully.

Yannick takes almost a casual step backwards, letting the slash sail
harmlessly past him, before moving forward quickly and crouching in the
process. Dropping on one knee, he strikes out horizontally, stopping the
blow just short of Neelkan's right knee. Straightening again, he nods,
arching an eyebrow "Did you follow?"

Ooh, he's good. Neelkan watches his slash sail right past and recovers
before ending up completely losing his balance, but the attack in the
direction of his knee is made without fail, and he was watching it, so he
gives a nod before lowering his sword at his side. "I followed, ye'h."

Yannick smiles faintly. "Good. Don't hesitate to ask if ever a question
comes to your mind, even if it might seem unimprotant. Now, Let's reverse
the roles. Ready?" Squarring off, he waits for a moment before attacking
with a simple yet quick horiznotal slash, neck-high.

Nodding his head to show his agreement to the statement, and the fact that
he is ready, Neelkan stands right where he is until the attack is made,
then he quickly shifts to the side, dodging expertly, dropping down onto
the knee opposite the side that he is aiming for before striking out at the
back of the Gaidin's knee. It's rather obvious that while this is
technically his first sword form taught in the Tower, he does seem familiar
with it, and the sword in his hand. He aims for the sword to hit, but only
in a very light tap if it is allowed.

Yannick doesn't move to avoid or block the strike, trusting the trainee not
to be too brutal. As the form is completed, he nods, apparently pleased.
"Very good. For the first time. There was no major mistake, although you
should practice to make your form run smoother, flowing from one position
to another."

Staightening up, Neelkan nods his head lightly and lowers his sword down
again. He's content to just let everyone think that he's a fast learner.
They probably wouldn't like the fact that all his previous weapontraining
came from bandits... "I'll d'at." He replies with another nod.

Yannick continues. "The second form today is Tower of Morning. While this
may seem a simple form, it requires a great deal of precision and strength.
It involves a vertical cut upward, aiming from the opponents groin to the
neck.

Oh. Neelkan straightens up a little, liking the sound of this form, because
he doesn't think he knows it yet. His eyes get a little more shiney then
they were in the last form, showing that he is indeed a little more
excited. "Strength 'n percision, understood."

Yannick spreads his arms, smiling. "Well, there's nothing more to it. Let's
see your Tower of Morning."

"A slash from groin t' neck. Comin' up." Neelkan says, letting out a small
smile at how silly his own little joke in there sounds, but he's always had
a hard time taking things seriously on the outside. He takes a step back,
situating himself with the sword for a second, then ludges forward, aiming
for the blade to slash upward from groin to neck like he said, but keeping
a distance so that the blade wouldn't come in contact with even clothing,
unless the Gaidin moves closer or something. There's a small fault in how
he's holding the sword, and it would be better if he had it angled a little
differently too, as the slash is almost slightly drawing towards the left
instead of straight up.

It doesn't slip Yannick's notice as he tilts his head to the side as the
form os over, as if deciding if it was good enough. "Here." he says, taking
Neelkan's hand and repositioning it on the haft. "Try it again." he takes a
step back, waiting.

Looking down at the repositioning of his hand, Neelkan narrows his eyes for
a moment in study, then nods and tries it again. The fixing of his hold on
the sword helps to correct the direction of the slash when he tries it
again. When done he draws back, "Is 'at better?"

"Much better." Yannick confirms. "I'll mark you down for these two forms,
but I want you to practice both before you receive new ones. And if you
feel like you need aditional explanation, I'm always available, as are most
of the other Gaidin. Any questions, trainee?"

Holding the practice blade out to be taken, Neelkan nods to the first part,
muttering, "O'course, Gaidin. I'll give 'em some practice 'fore I move on."
Then to the second part he shakes his head, "Not 'at I can think of." For
some reason he lost most desire to ask questions. Must be the fact that he
shares a room with Sunan...

Yannick takes the trainee's practice blade and smiles, nodding. "Light
illumine, Trainee." Turning, he heads into the practice yard.