<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/f/fd/Valdar.jpg)</div><div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/f/fd/Valdar.jpg)</div><div align="center"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: times new roman;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;">Galvren Valynar</span><br/>By Vergil Tanner</span></div><hr/><div class="floatright"><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">image</div><div class="spoiler_body">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9a/ca/6d/9aca6d5c4cf9efdbdd52d2b7b758c9db.jpg)</div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Age:</strong> 25<br/><strong>Nation:</strong> Andor<br/><strong>Gender:</strong> Male<br/><strong>Orientation:</strong> Heterosexual<br/><strong>Talent:</strong> N/A<br/><br/><strong>Position:</strong> Valder (Unbonded)<br/><strong>Skills:</strong><br/>- Accomplished Horseman<br/>- Skilled with the bow<br/>- Ex-Hunter.<br/>- Accomplished Swordsman<br/>- Expert Staffman (Quarterstaff is his preferred weapon)<br/>- Can cook basic meals<br/>- Isn't too bad at knitting<br/><br/><strong>Appearance:</strong> <br/>Galvren is what many would consider the "typical" Andoran specimen; of moderate height and a lean, athletically muscular build with mid-length dirty blonde hair that falls just to the last quarter down of the back of his neck. His adult-but-still-slightly-youthful-face is as yet unscarred and largely undamaged, though slightly weathered and tanned from his upbringing being spent largely in the sun. His chin is squared and connected to a angularly defined jaw, his nose relatively sharp and well-defined. His eyes are of a deep, dark blue-ish hue, and are characteristically narrow when compared to some other nations features. He tends to allows a thin layer of stubble to grow on his face, a slightly darker shade of dirty blonde fraction-of-an-inch of hair running from his chin, along his jawline and to just below his ears, though he doesn't allow it to develop into sideburns. He similarly allows a thin layer of said stubble to run up and around the top of his mouth, and down in a thin strip from his bottom lip, leaving a patch of bare skin either side. Whilst some may say that it's a silly style, Galvren holds that the look suits him, much as it did his father...at least, the last time he saw him. As mentioned previously, Galvren is of an athletic, muscular build - you don't get too many chubby or unfit Warders, after all - with well defined muscles and a healthy body. He takes pride in maintaining such a standard, especially since only the best is acceptable when being tasked with the protection of the Aes Sedai. Second Best just isn't good enough. <br/><br/><strong>Personality:</strong><br/>Despite what you may think, Galvren is a man of two distinct personalities; when he is with his friends and people he trusts, he is your typical twenty-something individual. He makes bad jokes, he playfully mocks his friends, he has a sarcastic, dry sense of humour and is always quick with a smile or a joke. He's seen some of the older, more experienced Warders, and they all look so <em>dour</em> and <em>grumpy.</em> Whilst he has no doubt that he too will become jaded and sour as he grows older - it isn't just the Warders that seem to have that attitude, but older individuals in general - he also has no desire to speed up the process, and will retain his good humour and jovial attitude for as long as he can. His father always taught him to keep his chin up and maintain his sense of humour no matter what happened; no matter how dire the situation, there was always something positive to be found, even if it's only that it could be worse. And if you could face misfortune with a quick barb on your tongue, then it has lost all power over you psychologically. Of course there are times to joke and times to be sombre, but you should always maintain a positive outlook and never allow yourself to become <em>permanently</em> sombre and formal. And honestly, Galvren took that lesson to heart...too far to heart, his mother might say, but that is irrelevant. When with his friends, he never allows himself to get broody or sour. Plenty of time for that in his old age. <br/><br/>But one thing is obvious; his Warder training has definitely not left him soft. He may be quick to laugh and quick to joke, but he <em>never</em> takes his eyes off the ball. He is always aware of his surroundings, always checking every possible exit and entrance, and always ready to spring for his weapon if he needs to. He takes his duty seriously, despite all appearances, and you will very rarely catch him actively slacking off or not paying attention. Oftentimes the best way to survey the mood of the room is to be in the midst of it; things might look calm and jovial and friendly at a glance, but if you dip your toe in and break the surface, you'll often be able to detect the currents hiding underneath. And that's what Galvren does best; he's very good at detecting the mood of the room, even when he's in the middle of it. And no matter how relaxed he is, it's the same tensed relaxation of all Warders...less of an unguarded, docile relaxations and more that of a resting wolf, ready to pounce to its feet at a moments notice. And this is where the duality of his personality comes in; when with his friends and those he trusts, he is easy going and good humoured...but when he's on the job, when he has a duty to do, he is <em>completely</em> focused on his responsibilities. Dry comments and sarcasm may still be present, but his entire attention is focused on the task at hand, which he will complete to the best of his ability as efficiently as he is able. He also holds a great respect for the Aes Sedai, notably <em>never</em> treating them to his snarky sense of humour...and if he ever did, he would probably throw himself from the tower if that was what it took to gain forgiveness. <br/><br/><strong>History:</strong>Galvren grew up in the small Andoran village of Harlon Bridge to a small family in a primarily farming community. Growing up, he was bombarded with the importance of knowing and completing your duty to the best of your ability, showing due deference to the relevant authorities, and always maintaining a cheerful, sociable attitude. Since the community was relatively small, everybody doing their part for the greater good and remaining on somewhat decent terms was a must. Disagreements occurred, of course, and some families actively avoided others, but the community was intradependent enough that none of the various quarrels ever escalated to anything more serious than the occasional passive aggressive insult or vandalised fencepost. Frustrating, of course, and the source of many late-night fireside rants, but nothing particularly serious. Galvren's father in particular placed a great emphasis as Galvren was growing up on maintaining a positive attitude and, no matter what, always keeping hold of your sense of humour...even in the face of the worst misfortune, he maintained, it was possible and indeed preferable to tackle the situation with a straight back, a stiff lip and a defiant smile. Misfortunes power came from its ability to crush the spirit and destroy your resolve, and if you laughed at it, if you found a way to smile despite everything, it lost that ability. As long as you can laugh, things can get better. As soon as you allow misfortune to steal your ability to smile, it's won. This was a practice his father himself carried out on a daily basis, able to meet the worst outcomes in his life with a smile and a dry joke. Even when Galvrens grandmother passed, his father cracked a sad smile, made a wry comment...and even made a few sarcastic-sounding jokes at her funeral. Though they weren't funny...they were better than bursting into tears like he probably wanted to.<br/><br/>In terms of childhood, it was fairly standard for any countryside Andoran; His little sister, who throughout most of their childhood was almost inseparable from Galvren, always clinging to his coat tails and wanting to tag along in his misadventures (though Galvren didn't mind; he loved his sister dearly, and was more than happy to humour her) was taken by his mother as an apprentice - she ran the villages bakery - and his father took Galvren under his wing. As soon as Galvren was old enough to work, his father started training him in his own craft in preparation for the day when Galvren would strike out on his own to forge his own life. A man is only as good as his trade, and it was up to a boys father to make sure he's prepared for the world ahead...at least, that's what his father would say. So as soon as Galvren was old enough to draw a bow, his father took him out and started teaching him how to hunt, since his father was the village huntsman. He taught him as much as he could about Woodsmanship, tracking, hunting and archery, obviously hoping that Galvren would take over the craft some day when his father was too old to continue any further. Galvren took to it immediately, eagerly learning at his fathers feet, applying all of the determination and zeal that had been drummed into him from an early age to the task, quickly becoming rather adept at hunting. He was never as good as his father, of course - the man could track an Elk in the rain for miles on end without seeming to have any difficulty, and Galvren doubts he could ever become that good - but he always strived to do his best. Galvren's life seemed set, and as his 18th birthday approached, he was all but ready to move out of his parents house and set up his own life in the village as his own man. There was even a certain young lady - Aryana, the Blacksmiths daughter - who had caught his eye (and who apparently had caught him looking at her, too). Unfortunately, 'twas not to be.<br/><br/>A week before his 18th birthday, a small band of bandits - convicts that had recently escaped from the central jail in Caemlyn, apparently - descended upon the village on their flight across the country. Initially, they only asked for bread and water under the guise of simple travellers, which the villagers duly afforded them; ignorant of their true nature and seeing only a group of bedraggled travellers in the cold winter night, there was really no reason to deny them hospitality, and if the villagers had remained ignorant of the travellers true nature, perhaps that was where it would have ended; the escapees would move on in the morning, leaving the villagers to their business and none the wiser to who the mysterious travellers were or where they had gone. Alas, as the convicts were sleeping in a donated room at the small local inn, a royal messenger burst into the mayors office with a letter from the Captain of the Guard at Caemlyn, advising all villages on the messengers route that a group of travellers - matching the description of the ones supposedly then asleep in the inns spare room - could pass through, and that they were extremely dangerous and should be approached and dealt with with caution. The mayor hurried to warn the innkeep; so long as they kept the convicts ignorant of the villagers new knowledge, they would move along and they could dispatch their hunters to tail them for a while to be able to aid the Queens Men when they eventually arrived. Unfortunately, one of the convicts had spotted the messenger riding into town from the window of the room, roused his fellows, and subsequently organized them to take everybody in the Inn hostage. Among that number was Galvren's mother and father, though thankfully his younger sister had been closing down the bakery at the time of the incident and Galvren himself arrived back from an accidentally late night of hunting as people were discovering the situation.<br/><br/>The convicts wanted all manner of things - horses, food, water and clothes - to make their escape, which the villagers simply didn't have; they only had a few horses in the entire village, none of which were designed for sprinting, being packhorses more than anything else, and since it was the depths of winter, the amount of food they had to spare without starving themselves was paltry. Of course, the convicts didn't much care and threatened to start methodically killing every hostage inside the Inn one by one unless their demands were met. The villagers, hardly experienced soldiers and only trained in the standard peasant weaponry of bows and quarterstaffs - neither of which is particularly effective in confined quarters - and definitely not possessed of the stomach to be able to kill another human, had little choice. They started to gather together what they could, pulling food and drink from all sorts of hidden winter stores, hoping to sate the convicts demands...though, of course, having seen their faces and knowing the direction of their departure, it was unlikely that they were ever going to leave the villagers alive, but that likelihood dropped further when a hotblooded youth, only two years Galvrens junior, threw a rock through the window of the Inn, just so happening to injure one of the convicts in the process. As Galvren watched in horror, clutching his sister to him to hide her eyes from what he thought was about to happen, the convicts became furious, hurling accusations and threats at the villagers. The apparent leader of the convicts pulled a hostage up to the smashed window - and Galvren is ashamed to admit that he breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't his mother or father - and threatened to slit his throat right there and then unless the villagers gave them everything they had. The villagers protested, the convicts threatened, placing the knife closer to the hostages throat...and tempers started to become frayed. The night could have ended right there and then in an outburst of bloodshed and violence...but The Wheel saw fit to weave a very different ending.<br/><br/>There was a commotion from inside the Inn, the leader of the band snapped his head to the side...and was suddenly pulled from sight by some unknown force. Sounds of a struggle ensued, with what sounded like breaking wood, shattering glass, cries of both anger and pain, even flashes of light from the windows...and then all went silent for a few long, long seconds before the first of the hostages came spilling out of the Inn in a panic, rushing to embrace their friends and family. In the middle of a death-group-hug from his parents to him and his sister, he spotted two other unfamiliar figures walking from the inn towards where the mayor of the village was standing. It took him a moment to realize it, given that he had never seen any before, but the agelessness of the woman was unmistakable; Harlon Bridge had had the fortuity to be visited by an Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah that night. Of course, such things are rarely random; it turned out that the Aes Sedai had been pursuing the convicts since their escape and happened to catch up with them on this particular night. As it turned out, the leader of the group had recently discovered that he could Channel, of all things, and she had been on her way to transport him to The White Tower for Gentling when he had escaped the prison by accidentally blowing a hole in the wall; being new, he was still inexperienced, hence the ease with which the Aes Sedai had subdued him...but Galvren didn't care; at that moment, the Wheel had sent them to save his family, something that he had infuriatingly been unable to do, and he was suddenly struck with an intense need to somehow show his gratitude. After the Aes Sedai spoke to the villagers, both publicly and in private, she soon departed with her new prisoners in tow...though not before Galvren personally sought her out to thank her. She was graceful with such profuse thanks, declaring it as "simply her duty" and "not a big deal," but Galvren didn't relent. If it wasn't for Theraeve Sedai – as she introduced herself – he and his family would probably be dead.<br/><br/>Theraeve Sedai stayed in the village for the next few days, largely to keep an eye on the remainder of the convicts as they awaited the Royal Guard to take them back to Caemlyn, largely unconcerned about the bound and imprisoned Channeller; as inexperienced as he was, so she said, he was hardly a threat so long as she maintained his “shield,” whatever that meant. On the eve of her departure, the village threw a “thank you” banquet in Theraeve Sedai's honour, where there was excessive eating and drinking. Galvren had been considering an idea for the previous two days – that is, leaving with the Aes Sedai to undergo training to become a Warder; Thereave Sedai  had saved his village, and who knows how many other people, and though he himself couldn't become an Aes Sedai, he could become the next best thing; Aes Sedai saved people, and Warders protected the Aes Sedai. If he couldn't be an Aes Sedai, he could show his gratitude to the White Tower by dedicating his life to protecting her servants -  and approached Theraeve Sedai with the intent of broaching the idea. And that's...where things got strange. He initially approached her, shy and bashful and a bit overawed (which, considering, was only to be expected) and was utterly taken off guard when she invited him to sit and drink with her. He did so, the drink helping to calm his nerves, and just as he was about to bring up the subject of going with her...something even stranger happened. She started flirting with him. And not in the shy, uncertain way that many of the village girls his own age did, oh no. She flirted with him aggressively, proving to be extremely forward and assertive. He, obviously, had no idea what to do or how to handle such attention, so did the only thing he could do to stall having to respond: He drank. And, after drinking a little more than was advisory, actually managed to find the nerve to flirt awkwardly back. He got the feeling she found his attempts amusing, but she didn't stop. Before the night was over, Theraeve Sedai had all but dragged the young lad upstairs to her room, and neither of them left until morning (when, incidentally, Galvren realised what had happened and became utterly confused as to how exactly it had happened).<br/><br/>Of course, Galvrens plan was unchanged; he still wanted to leave with Theraeve Sedai, drunken night notwithstanding, to become a Warder at Tar Valon. He broke the news to his parents after talking to Theraeve Sedai about it (who reacted with surprise, but eventually agreed to allow him to accompany her), and endured the inevitable fallout. His mother was shocked, his sister was upset...but his father understood, and supported him fully in his choice. So, Galvren packed his belongings, gathered the rations he would need for the journey, and set out for his new life. He would defend the defenders; he had been granted this life by the White Tower, his village, his family and even his own existence saved by one of her agents...so he owed his life to it, plain and simple. And one thing that had been drilled into him from birth? The importance of duty, and paying your debts. When he arrived at Tar Valon after a good while on the road with Theraeve Sedai and their (her) prisoner, Theraeve Sedai escorted him to the Warder training ground and promptly disappeared, leaving him there pretty much on his own to explain what he was doing there to the Master overseeing the grounds. He began his training, met his fellow trainees, and threw everything he had into the effort from the very beginning (though he was pulled aside a few times by Kimika Sedai who wanted to know details about the incident at Harlons Bridge, specifically details on the male channeller). The next two months were pretty much all training and bonding with his fellow fresh recruits, with the occasional momentary run-in with Theraeve Sedai in the corridors. They were brief and just a little awkward, at least for Galvren, but they were civil and friendly enough before they each went on their way. He learned from the other trainees that the Red Ajah generally wasn't known for its friendliness or for its affection towards men, which set Galvren wondering as to why exactly Theraeve Sedai apparently broke from the mould. He didn't have long to wonder, however, before – two months after the commencement of his training – Theraeve Sedai intercepted him in the halls when he was on his way back to his Barracks from afternoon training and pulled him away to a secluded area. Much to his surprise, her purpose was to perform a repeat of the night before they set off for Tar Valon which, again, was a source of much bewilderment to him afterwards.<br/><br/>This trend continued and, before long, he and Theraeve Sedai actually managed to strike up a somewhat unconventional friendship. Due to the attitude of her Ajah in general, their friendship had to be largely kept subtle and muted on the grounds of Tar Valon and, obviously, the carnal nature of their relationship – which gradually got more common and more extreme in its roughness – had to be kept a closely guarded secret, regardless of how often they may end up meeting. Eventually, they even developed a sort of code to tell the other one when and where to meet, usually out in Tar Valon proper for a night of drinking, chatting and carnal activities...though it was usually Theraeve Sedai who signalled the meeting; considering Galvren's relative youth and inexperience, there was never any real doubt as to who was “in charge” in that particular relationship. Of course, as the years wore on, Galvren noticed a slow change in his unlikely friend, her tastes drifting closer and closer to outright violence and her attitude becoming more and more dour and brooding. Though he knows she is an Aes Sedai and therefore deserves respect and trust...he can't help but worry intensely about whether she is actually as ok as she professes. For one, just before she left on assignment two months prior to his final Warder test, she had him do something during their carnal activities that struck him as odd, and made him retroactively uncomfortable. He'll need to find time to address that with her when she eventually gets back from her assignment...and time to make sure that she is actually ok. In this, at least, he thinks he's probably not alone; he knows that Shayella Sedai is friends with Thereave, so perhaps she is also worried about Theraeve. The downside is that Shayella has gathered that he and Thereave are more than just casual acquaintances (though he doubts that she has figured out the full extent of their relationship since apparently Theraeve hasn't mentioned him to Shayella...unsurprising, considering the need for subtlety with their relationship), which means he has to be more subtle in the future, especially in a city full of Aes Sedai. He's a frequent visitor to the infirmary – putting in as much effort to training as he does, injury and illness is more common with him than with some other trainees – so he and Shayella know each other on sight and it really only took a few instances of Thereave's sparring sending him to the infirmary for Shayella to notice that he spoke more familiarly – and a touch more fondly – of Thereave than might be expected of a Warder-trainee in regards to a Red. He's managed to keep the extent of his friendship with Thereave from Shayella (he thinks), and maintains a friendly but respectful relationship with her...though he needs to guard his tongue more closely in future. He can't let any other Aes Sedai figure out that Theraeve is more friendly with him than some would consider appropriate, for her sake more than his.<br/><br/>But it was also during his first few months in Tar Valon that he also first met Ishara Casalain, a fellow Novice with a somewhat unique personality; he first met her when she ventured down to the Warder training grounds in order to train with some of the Trainees and Valders. Whilst he didn't duel her on that occasion, she certainly caught his attention due to her warm, friendly personality and – he'll admit – striking appearance. Eventually he ended up bumping into her in an environment more...inclined towards interaction, and they found that – despite the class difference, her being a noble and a future Aes Sedai and he being a farm boy Warder trainee – they got along extremely well. Not only did they share a similarly warm, friendly personality, but he found that the underlying steel she held in regards to her devotion to justice and fairness matched his own dedication to duty and “doing the right thing” rather well. They became fast friends, though it has to be said that in the early days, Galvren made an effort to treat her with respect and manners (she was a noble and a future Aes Sedai, after all) and let her set the tone of their relationship. This changed rather soon, considering that before long the pair of them found themselves sharing a bed several times. The fling was relatively short lived – She was extremely wild in her early days (her own words, not his) and after a few too many visits to the Mistress of Novices (and after Galvern had a few close calls where she almost caught him; he remembered how quietly intense Kimika could be, and didn't particularly want to face her wrath), Ishara told Galvern that she couldn't “fool around” with people any more, which truthfully didn't really bother Galvern; he spent time with her because he enjoyed her company, not because he “enjoyed her company” - but it did serve to make Galvren notably more relaxed around her; after a fling like theirs, you tend to feel more at ease around each other.<br/><br/>But, as the years wore on and they both rose in rank, their time together in a casual setting decreased as their days off became further and further apart. They still saw each other relatively regularly, and even sparred quite often – their friendly rivalry wouldn't allow them to stop testing themselves against each other, after all, and it was one of the few times they could get away with actually seeing each other for extended lengths of time – but they didn't get to spend as much time together in a social setting as before. Even more recently, their time seeing each other even in passing is practically at 0 as they both deal with the pressures and preparations for their final exams, to the point where it has been a good few months since they last saw each other properly. Now that he's graduated, however, and now that Ishara is nearing the test for her own ascension – something he isn't, strictly speaking, supposed to know, but rumours travel fast in The White Tower – he does hold a hope that they can use their newfound freedom to reconnect. She was one of the first people he struck up a friendship with, and it would be a shame for it to disappear just as they get the time necessary to spend more time in each others company. There is hope, though; when they had been spending a lot of time together, she had confided in him that her plan was to eventually join the Green Ajah (and not for the reasons you may expect; as far as he could tell at the time, she genuinely wanted to prepare a “force” of effective warriors to fight for The White Tower...of course, she could just have been an expert liar. Who knows?), which – assuming that her plan is still intact and that she hasn't been “converted” to the Red – means that she will be visiting the training grounds again as soon as she is able to start the process of selecting her first Warder. Hopefully he can be in the area when she shows up to try and catch her in conversation...and hopefully, they haven't changed so much that they're no longer compatible as friends.<br/><br/>But enough about that and onto more positive things! Seven years of intense training under and with the various Warders assigned to train them – including such skilled Warders as Rhovan and Aulaniira – have just ended and he has finally passed his test and been recognised as a full Warder; on the day he was supposed to duel another friendly rival, Avalyn Sedai – another Aes Sedai who makes a point of sparring with the Trainees and Warders, with whom Galvern spars often – the Master At Arms saw fit to fire a crossbow at her just before their duel started. Galvern, seeing the crossbow, leapt to push Avalyn out of the way and ended up taking a training bolt at close range to the shoulder....it managed to fracture his shoulder and collarbone, requiring immediate medical access and resulting in a rather large bruise and severe soreness, even after healing. Still...he got promoted to Warder, so it was a Net Positive. The years have been intense, brutal and at times almost soul destroying when he failed, but he never gave up. He kept a straight back, a stiff lip and a smile on his lips throughout it all, never allowing himself to admit defeat and, despite how hopeless it seemed at times, no matter how many times he fell into bed beaten and bruised and despondent from a day of screwing up...he made it. He was always good at archery, he was skilled in the quarterstaff and now he knows how to handle a sword as more than just a tool, but an extension of himself. He has become a living weapon, designed to protect the Aes Sedai in their righteous work. He is now a full Warder, only seeking an Aes Sedai who wishes to Bond him to her service. And no matter who chooses him, he will defend her with his life if needs be. He owes his life to an Aes Sedai, so it only seems fitting that he devote it to The White Tower. <br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: times new roman;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;">OOC Notes:</span></span></div><hr/><strong>O&amp;O:</strong> Oh damn. Um...he likes a sharp wit, keen intelligence and a discerning eye, but he also likes a genuine nature, warmth and compassion. He's a simple farm boy at heart, and he wants no more than that. Of course, he also has a bit of an attraction to strong, independent, dominant females...perhaps it has something to do with the massive impact the confident, mysterious Aes Sedai had on him in his late teens, but he always finds it difficult to resist a strong willed woman.<br/><strong>Available for bonding:</strong> Yes indeedy!</div>