<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/f/fd/Valdar.jpg)</div><strong>Character name:</strong>Galvren Valynar (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=234819.msg11585469#msg11585469)<br/><strong>Position:</strong>Valdar (Newly Risen to Gaidin)<br/><strong>Bondmate:</strong>Open<br/><strong>Tag:</strong>None, yet.<br/><strong>Time:</strong>Afternoon, Saven 7th.<br/><strong>Place:</strong>The Grounds, Main Yard.<br/><strong>Warning:</strong><br/><hr/><br/>Being injured really wasn't all that it was cracked up to be; people seemed to be under the illusion that in exchange for a little bit of chronic pain, you effectively got time off of your duties and lots of tea and sympathy from your friends until you recovered...and whilst that indeed may be a part of it, what they seemed to not be able to grasp was that any injury serious enough to warrant permission to take a leave of absence from his duties was evidently going to cause Galvren a lot of issues; first and foremost, he was a newly raised Gaidin who, until he was back to full health, had to walk around knowing that he was not yet eligible to be chosen as a Warder. After a decade of training for his Raising, to be forced to wait several more weeks before he could be Bonded just because he hadn't twisted his body at the right moment was....well, it was utterly galling, to say the least. Secondly, the level of discomfort he felt in his shoulder frequently kept him up at night or had him grimacing in pain whenever it was moved even slight, especially after yesterdays...encounter...with Theraeve Sedai. Third, it stopped him from exercising or training, and though he didn't think for a moment that ten years of training would disappear from just a few weeks of not being able to practice, he had never felt comfortable with going for extended periods of time without making sure that his "edge" didn't dull...and finally, of course, he had the small problem of being unable to go to the Faire that was in the city until the crowds cleared up a little. He'd never really had the opportunity to visit it - being in training, obviously - and now that he had the freedom to do so...well, he had to wait until the tail end of the whole thing so the crowds weren't quite so brutal for him and his injury. Tomorrow was going to be a bit better - he was heading out with a couple of friends, including Shayella Sedai, and the crowds always tended to part for Aes Sedai - but it did pose the problem of what to do with his days when on his own.<br/><br/>See, all of his friends were either busy, or had disappeared from the face of the Earth. He wasn't too certain where Theraeve Sedai was or what she was doing - though he had made a point of saying to her yesterday that he wanted to see more of her now that she was back, he couldn't be certain whether Theraeve Sedai would take that to heart or not - and he knew that Shayella Sedai was most probably working...and, of course, his only other real friend was still MIA, though he had heard a couple of rumours that suggested that she might have been getting Tested for the Shawl...though rumours of that kind always abounded whenever anybody disappeared for a couple of days, and they very rarely turned out to be true. But still...it would be a shame if she didn't get tested soon, since if he was ready to be a Warder, he highly doubted that she was far behind in becoming a member of the Green Ajah like she'd always wanted. But regardless, he didn't have anything really to do....that was the other thing about having "time off" with an injury...you just got<em>bored.</em>He couldn't spar because of his injury. He couldn't get overly drunk because of his injury. He couldn't find one of the many Accepted who liked to fool around with the Warders-In-Training<em>because of his injury.</em>He couldn't even go into town on his own since, with his injury, he was largely defenceless if he couldn't outrun any assailants and the slightest knock from the crowd could bring him to his knees. So all that was left to do was simply....wander around and see if anybody fancied a chat, or perhaps a card game or two. Really, Galvren would have rather been training at that point in time. At least it was something he was good at that passed the time, even if he earned himself a few new bruises from the Masters.<br/><br/>Alas, that wasn't an option...and thus, Galvren had woken up - after a rather fitful, uncomfortable nights sleep - just before midday and set about attempting to kill time before he could reasonably roll himself back into bed in an attempt to make his shoulder heal faster. Unfortunately, none of his attempts at killing time worked; he couldn't find anybody else who was off that he knew would want to play a few rounds of cards, he ate in the Mess Hall relatively alone - everybody else being in their Training Groups, even his own Untested Squad being taken by a different Warder while he recovered (much to his chagrin; he should at least be there to offer instruction, but apparently having two different Warders there giving instruction could lead to arguments and the undermining of authority or something) - and then failed to find anybody around the halls who he knew would appreciate a chat. He flirted a little with a couple of passing Accepted - no Novices, though; they tended to be a<em>little</em>too young for him to feel comfortable sweet talking...besides, a lot of the new novices this time round reminded him of his sister, and that would just be<em>weird</em>- before they got hurried along when they heard familiar footsteps resounding down the corridor behind them (which prompted Galvren to make a swift exit as well; as he said before, anybody who doesn't fear an Aes Sedai's wrath is either insane or stupid or both)...and now he's just....wandering aimlessly in the main grounds, just inside one of the gates that leads from The White Tower to the city of Tar Valon proper. He had toyed with the idea of leaving the Tower to explore town, but decided against it....after all, he still has his shoulder to think of, and the Faire is making the crowds ten times worse than they would be otherwise. So...he was doing the only thing he could think of to at least try and kill some time; he wandered over to the sparring ring where there were three or four pairs enacting a basic-level duel, leaned against the post with his good arm - keeping his injured one bent up against his chest - and just....watched.<br/><br/>He remembered when he was at that new level, where his footwork wasn't really all that good, when his thrusts were sloppy and his parries were sluggish and delayed....where he would walk away from training with more bruises on his hand from improperly holding the sword and messily blocking blows that he was supposed to avoid than he had blisters on his feet from running and jumping and exercising all day. He'd come a long way since then, of course, but it was amazing to him how he could have been so bad in the first place when he was now so<em>good</em>at what he did. Even as he watched, one of the Trainees went to dodge-parry, turning to get out of the way of a blow as he sought to knock his opponents sword away in order to create an opening for a counterattack. It was a good strategy in certain circumstances and certainly benefited certain fighting styles - especially the popular "dodge-and-feint" style which, though it used up more energy, tended to end fights quicker against aggressive enemies. Galvren personally wasn't a fan of the style, instead preferring a minimalistic "solid defence" tactic, but he could appreciate its elegance and effectiveness - but it was also a difficult technique to pull off correctly. You needed to move at the last second in order to get them to commit to the swing and simultaneously lash out with blinding accuracy and control, ready to twist the blade into an instant counterattack before they regained their balance whilst also being on guard for any counter techniques that your opponent attempted....and unfortunately for the trainee, he got it wrong.<br/><br/>His foot twisted slightly as he tried to spin, his body jerking to a halt suddenly in order to prevent his ankle from snapping, the sloppy parry sending his own sword out of his hand as his opponent reversed the sword in a basic momentum change and rammed the edge into the failed dodgers stomach. The trainee doubled over sharply, collapsing to his knees, and Galvren couldn't help but wince sympathetically; they were taught to give no quarter in training, and he himself had been struck many a time with the heavy training swords and could very well empathise with just how much it hurt, especially if you weren't expecting it. The kid was lucky, though; a botched twist and parry could easily lead to a serious injury if your ankle caught, and it was only because he stopped in time that his ankle didn't sprain or break...though he would probably have a nasty bruise in the morning. Galvren turned his attention to a different pair, then; there was not really anything else to do than watch the training session and reminisce for the moment. Besides...maybe he'd see something interesting in one of the sparring matches. These were to be the next generation of Warders, after all...it couldn't hurt to familiarise himself with some of their faces, could it? Besides, it's not like he had anything else to do, right?