The Meaning of Pain (attn any requiring Basic Training)

[Nynaeve]

Evelyn was sitting cross legged on the training yard ground, watching two officers spar. One too slow. The other too cocky. Oh, I wonder if he's going to.. ouch. That's got to hurt! The slow one fell flat on his face, losing consciousness. He tried to charge at the man. A gutsy move. And by its outcome obviously not very bright. The cocky one smiled in her direction. She gave him a flat stare and got up to gather the recruits that were conversing between themselves in the arena, awaiting their instructor.

 

"Morning, ladies. Oh, don't let me interrupt your chitter chatter. Please continue. But, do it while running. Yes, you heard me right. Start running in circles around me. Wide ones, though. I like my personal space." Some hesitated but eventually everyone started running. Evelyn raised her voice so all of them could hear her words clearly. "I will be your instructor today. My name is Evelyn. Though I'm called by many less kind names. I'm sure you will learn of them soon as all portrait the truth that is me." Evelyn bowed her head ever so slightly.

 

"Today you will learn about SCRAB. Stamina. Courage. Resistance. Agility and Balance. Traits you are all expected to either have or attain. You made the baby step of joining the Children of the Light. But you have yet to prove whether you deserve to be here or you're better off running back behind your mommy's skirts. I will be the judge of that. So, what I want to see is determination. Drive. I want it to be abundantly clear that you want to be here. If you have any complaints, worries or concerns... I don't want to hear about them. Ladies and gentleman, I'm not here to cuddle you and tell you it's going to be okay. I'm here either to break you or make you stronger. It's your pick which it will be."

 

Evelyn seated herself on the ground. "Your stamina is put to the test. You run until I say otherwise. If someone falters, that buys you an extra hour of running. For ALL of you. So just a fraction of a second before you decide you cannot continue and you're about to fall on your face... do yourself a favor and the rest of your companions and... don't."

 

 

 

OOC: Okay, peeps. It's a hot day. You'll be running in circles for hours. sweat is bound to accumulate  *eg*

RP your characters emotions, thoughts and they can talk among themselves. Just as long as they keep running. If one of you wants to trip to make the run a little longer, go for it ;)

 

 

 

 

Evelyn

Your worse Nightmare

[Jehaine]

A bit hesitant like most of the others, Sharina started running like the instructor told her to. Rather than just assume the exercise would be a short one and dart off, she started pacing herself, not really wanting to end up winded before the real training had even started yet.

 

Not for the first time, she was glad for the emphasis on personal health that had come with growing up among healers. Though not used to running, she still considered herself as 'pretty decent' in terms of stamina, though it should be mentioned that she had never really made a habit of racing against other people. But she considered herself decent anyway.

 

As time passed, Sharina started wondering just how much patience Evelyn had to just stand there for hours. If it were her, she'd have been dizzy from following the group round and round all this time. Still, she let herself fall back a bit towards the tail of the group, where some people were starting to have some real problems now. As one threatened to fall, she quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him up to help him regain his balance, her strength developed by holding down unwilling patients being put to good use.

 

Still, drops of sweat were starting to get in her eyes now, blurring her vision of the ground below. She quickly tried to wipe it off before she'd be the one to end up falling on her face. She had a feeling she wouldn't be able to gather the stamina to get back up again should she fall now.

[Segurant]

Byron began running as ordered, trying to maintain his pace.  SCRAB, he thought.  This was easily the Stamina part of the SCRAB training.  He began to wonder what the other four entailed.  He quickly snapped out of his thoughts as he noticed he was lagging behind the rest of the group.  He sped up a little until he was in the middle of the pack and returned to the normal pace.

 

He glanced a couple of times at Evelyn seated on the ground.  "Is she just going to sit there until we all pass out?" he thought to himself.  He decided not to worry about it and just concentrate on the running.  He definitely did not want to falter on his first full day.

 

How much time has passed, Byron really did not know.  He just kept running.  What started out as a tight running formation, now is spread out to a point where some of the recruits were being lapped by the other runners.  The ground was saturated with the sweat coming off all the runners.  Byron started to feel him slowing down.  He basically lowered his pace to match that of the runners in the back.  Using the time to restore his energy, he hopes that this run would soon be over.

 

[Tigara]

Running. They could do that. The Twins took off, arms linked, around the track. They both were good runners. Zela was faster, but Zari paced himself better. By linking arms, Zari paced Zela and Zela made Zari go a bit faster. It worked out well.

 

As some few hours passed, they found themselves getting tired. Zari felt like collapsing and Zela wanted to puke. But they kept on. They caught up to Sharina.

 

"G'day ma'am. How much longer do you be thinkin' we'll be running?"

 

"Yeah, we've been at it for hours. We do no be bloody horses."

 

Arms linked, they kept going, waiting for the girl to answer. Boy, that sun was hot! One would think it was the Aiel Waste.

 

Zari and Zela

Guess who's tactful!

[Segurant]

Byron wasn't sure how much longer he was going to last.  He has been running for what seems like days.  he glanced over to where Evelyn was sitting, her eyes closed, enjoying the sunlight.  By the Light, is she sleeping?!?! Byron thought to himself.  He continued to glare at Evelyn all the while picking up his pace.

 

It seems the anger in him fueled his body to run a bit faster, a bit harder.  His eyes never left the relaxed Trainer.  He turned his attention back to running, but it was all to late.  Byron crashed into one of the runners.  Apparently the runners had their arms linked together, and Byron just ran through their link.  Zela took brunt of the blow, knocking her to the ground. 

[Jehaine]

"G'day ma'am. How much longer do you be thinkin' we'll be running?"

 

"Yeah, we've been at it for hours. We do no be bloody horses."

 

- "Hm?"

 

Surprised, Sharina looked behind her, spotting the twins pace themselves by running together. Matching her pace to theirs, she managed to nod in their direction before looking in front of her to check how the diehards in front of her were doing. Not to mention make sure she didn't stray too much off course, or slam into someone.

 

- "I don't know... From what i gather she... must be waiting for the first to... give up."

 

From the sound of her voice, the twins would be able to tell Sharina was hanging on by her toenails, so to speak. Still, she made no signs of stopping or even slowing down, as she didn't want to let the others down either. She was strong, but most of that strength was centered in her upper body, with her leg muscles only being around average. And that average wasn't going to keep up for much longer by the sound of it.

 

As she was talking to the twins, she noticed Byron speed up, heading straight for the twins. Eyes widening -- no, not another hour of this! -- she did the only thing she could think of. Jumping in front of the twins, she spread her arms and dug her heels in, bracing herself from the impact of two twins and a blonde haired man.

 

With a little luck, they'd be able to correct themselves in time to keep everyone from falling on their faces. If not... Well, the black haired Amadician just hoped they'd make it in time before their momentum would send them all to the ground, piling up on top of her.

[Tigara]

Sharina sounded tired. Tired was putting it lightly. Very lightly. They were about to offer their link to Sharina when she jumped in front of Zari and dug her heels in. What in the Light is that woman doing?! Did she want another hour of this? Zaris ran right into her, flipping over her back and landing face first on the hard ground in front of her. It was at this same time that a blonde fellow ran into Zela from behind. Zela tumbled to the right and rolled a bit before recovering into a crouch. Her cheeks were redder than her hair and her eyes could cut fine glass. She ran up to Byron and hauled him up by his coat. She lifted him a bit off his feet by his coat and started screaming at his face. "What in the flamin' Light do you be thinkin' you're bloody doin', you clod-brained lout?!?!?! Do you be wantin' another hour of this? I ought to be kicking your carcass from here to Tear!" She spat at the name of Tear, as Zari did. Normally, they would spit on the ground, but Zela decided to spit in Byron's face at this time.

 

Zari picked himself up slowly and he was quite winded. He helped Sharina up, who had fallen in the tumble, then went to calm Zela down before she murdered the fellow. "C'mon Zela. Let him go. Nice and easy now."

[Nynaeve]

"Enough." Evelyn rose from the ground smoothly. "I don't think I've ever seen such a pathetic lot. My grandmother squabbles less than you do and runs twice as fast. You did not earn your break, but I will let you have it. Except the two of you." Evelyn fixed her eyes on Zela and Byron. "You two stay here. The rest, you have three hours of rest." The other recruits eyed the two as they started to leave the arena one by one, until only one remained with them. Zari. "I'm sorry recruit, but which part of what I said didn't seem clear to you? I said two remain. Three's a crowd." Zari didn't budge. Evelyn smiled and leaned closer. "For every second you linger here, another hour will be added to your sister's punishment. Care to reconsider?". Zari hesitated, which only made Evelyn's smile grow deeper. "Out. Now!" And so he left, seemingly nervous.

 

Evelyn spun to face Byron and Zela. "Discipline is very important. We, as Children of the Light, are expected to have it. Perfecting it so it remains implacable." Evelyn planted herself in front of Byron. "When you purposefully handicap one of your colleagues, you might as well be doing it to yourself, boy. We work as a group, not individuals. We are one body. Cut off the leg and what happens? We all fall." Evelyn moved to Zela. "We must always be prepared and wary. From everyone and anyone. And if you falter, you have no one to blame but yourself. Blaming another makes you look bad. Own up to your failure, even if you had help in achieving it."

 

Evelyn took off her belt. The two stared at her in disbelief. Evelyn laughed. "I'm not going to beat you. That's for the Master of Discipline to do." Evelyn fastened the belt around Byron's left leg and Zela's right leg. "This is my favorite belt and if any harm comes to it, I might get a little cranky. You haven't seen me cranky yet and I think you'll be happy to leave it that way. In any case, be sure to run close and I'm sure it won't stretch." Evelyn scanned the arena. "Yes, I believe ten rounds would suffice. Every time you fall, it adds one more round. Just keep at it until you learn to work together as a team." Evelyn sat back down, grinning. "You may begin."

 

 

 

OOC:

As soon as I finish this with Byron and Zela, we'll continue to the next part of the basic training. Feel free to RP yourselves hanging in your rooms if you like. If not, just hang tight :)

Seggie and Tig, RP completing the task and then you'll have around an hour of rest.

 

 

 

Evelyn

Trainer

[Segurant]

Byron nodded to acknowledge that he understood.  Internally he was fuming over what transpired.  Was he to blame that they weren't really running?  Why were they holding hands and chatting?  He was extremely upset about being grabbed and spit upon.  "She will pay for this insult.  If not, then when I deem the moment right." Byron thought to himself.

 

It took Byron and Zela a few moments, but they finally found their rhythm.  They ran their three legged race as ordered by Evelyn.  They returned to Evelyn ready to collapse.  She untied the belt from their legs.  Without a word, she dismissed them and ordered them back to the barracks.

 

As they were making their way to the barracks, Byron turned towards Zela.  Without warning he reached for her neck and slammed her against the wall.  He began to squeeze so she couldn't make a sound.  "If you ever insult me again, I will snuff the Light out of you!" He threw her to the ground and walked away.  Byron snapped out of his thoughts.  "Naw, she is not getting off that easily." he said to himself.  He smiled as he walked alongside Zela back to the barracks.

 

OOC:  No he did not really do that.  It was a sequence in his head. ;)

[Jehaine]

Sharina felt the impact of Zari against her back, praying that in her winded condition she'd still be able to hold her ground when the others would crash into her. Unfortunately, she didn't, and as she was sent flying to the ground she felt a rather heavy person land on her legs.

 

Not really being able to muster the strength to get up on her own, she was more than grateful for the hand up Zari offered her, and found herself holding the boy's shoulder for support a bit more than she'd like to. Half-stumbling back to her room, she collapsed on the bed, gasping for air as she tried to regain her stamina, her body protesting at the prospect of having to run for even a minute longer.

 

And there were still four more letters to go.

 

Still, if it was necessary in becoming a Child of the Light, then that meant all of the people here had gone through it at some point or another. Surely she couldn't try and back out now, right? Her ideals and beliefs were stronger than whatever training they would toss at her, and it'd take more than a couple of sore muscles to stop her.

 

Lying on the bed, still sore from running as well as the impact with her fellow students, she listened to the voice of her conscience, reminding her that she WOULD get up in a couple of minutes, and WOULD be present for when training began again.

 

She hated that voice sometimes... even though it was right. It usually was.

 

 

Sharina

Kind of hoping her conscience wasn't as big sometimes... ^^;

[Tigara]

Work with the clutz? Without Zari near? This was almost as bad as the day they had to split into separate rooms. They both spent a week in depression. Zela and Byron struggled to geta rythme going, seeing as she was much to familiar with Zari's. But she was able to change enough to not keep falling over. Ten laps later, she was finally free! Evelyn undid the belt and walked back to the barracks with Byron. Zari was waiting by the door to the barracks, leaning against the wall. She sat down beside him and they rested, leaning against each other. In perfect peace once again.

 

"You should really be controllin' your temper better." Zari muttered sleepily.

 

"Shut up!" Zela muttered back.

 

Zari and Zela

[Shamaeso]

Essaul woke with a start. Pondering what woke him he heard voices in the hall and soudns of people rushing. Recalling that this was the morning he was supposed to start training he jumped out of bed and huriedly got dressed. Pausing to look out the window he could see folks gathered aroudn in the yard and realized that trying to make it now would only bring attention to his tardiness.

 

Stepping over to the basin he splashed some water on his face and shaved. At least he would not get yelled at for being unkempt. finishing up he decided to just wait until he was called for later. At least then Zoe and Edalia would not pick on him in front of the others like last time. He liked them and understood they picked on him out friendship.

 

With a sigh he took a seat and waited.

[Nynaeve]

IC:

Evelyn eyed the pack of misfits that was standing in front of her. "I hope you are well rested. Because every bit of energy you've gained will be exhausted in matter of minutes. Now, we're going to continue with B. I know, it's not the next one in the SCRAB initials, but I have to keep you on your toes, otherwise I'll lose your interest..... and that is far from being a good thing. Anyway..." Evelyn trailed off as she spotted an unfamiliar face in the row. She fixed her eyes on him, amused. "Step forward." Evelyn never asked for names. Mostly because she couldn't care less, but an added reason was that she was better with faces. Attaching those to names, however, was too tedious of a task.

 

The young man stepped forward, a bit hesitantly. He was nervous, probably realizing that his plan failed. "So, let me see if I understand this. You skip the first lesson and sneak into the second one, thinking I will not notice? Well, let me disappoint you, my little friend. My attention span is just a tad bit higher that what you give me credit for." Evelyn started walking towards the man as she spoke, never blinking. "While I have every right to kick you out of this training and sic the Discipline Master on you... and let me tell you something, his bite? Far worse than his bark... I think I'll refrain from doing that. Maybe it's my sentimental side." Evelyn smiled. "Instead, you will help me demonstrate the exercise."

 

Evelyn led the group to a contraption that was standing in the middle of the arena. She built it herself for the class. It consisted of a thick log sustained above the ground by support of additional logs in every end. "As I was saying earlier, we're at the letter B. Balance. Which goes hand in hand with coordination. In the battle field the enemy isn't going to wait on you until you tie your shoe laces, before he attacks. You are expected, as soldiers, to have coordination skills, to a certain extent. Multitasking is important in every aspect in life, but today I will only be testing you on one."

 

Evelyn eyed her volunteer. "Will you climb up the log, girlie?". The man nodded and made way towards it. "My name is Essaul", he proclaimed as he climbed the contraption. "Well, that's a pretty name, Essaul! Please just let me thank you for volunteering to demonstrate the exercise. Seeing as you honored us all with your presence." Evelyn's words dripped of sarcasm. She proceeded to grabbing one of the buckets from a row of buckets she placed prior to the class and fished a stone out of it.

 

Evelyn turned to the group, ignoring Essaul for a moment. "Today I will be testing your balance and your coordination, since they are tied together in essence. Your task is to remain on the log as long as possible, while remaining alert as well." One of the trainees spoke up. "Alert to what?". Evelyn's smile grew wide. "Oh, I thought you'd never ask." Evelyn turned around and with one precise throw, hit Essaul's knee. He was so unaware that he lost his balance and fell on the ground with a loud thud. "Each of you will go up there and be showered with stones, by your fellow recruits, until you manage to evade twenty throws in total. Essaul, however, has gained the honor of me pelting him with stones. Suffice to say that my aiming skills are slightly superior." Evelyn searched for Essaul, until she found him limping away from the contraption. "Get back there, Essaul. You're far from being done."

 

After approximately an hour has passed, Essaul finally received authorization to limp off the log. She walked up to him and half whispered. "Next time it crosses your mind to miss one of my classes, do yourself a favor and don't." Evelyn turned to the rest of the bunch. "If I see any of you slacking in the throwing, you will receive the same treatment Essaul has received. And I will be watching."

 

Evelyn's smile reappeared. "So, who wants to go first?".

 

 

 

 

OOC:

Go for it kiddos :)

Sham, I hope it was as good for you as it was for me  *ROFL*

 

 

 

Evelyn

Kickass trainer

[Shamaeso]

OOC:

It was pointed out i needed to enhance this post some so here goes...

 

IC:

Obediently following Evelyn, Essaul walked from his room out to the yard. Listening to  her harsh voice spouting out profanely to him and the others he decided to stay quiet and do as told.

 

As the foul speaking wench turned and pointed at the log calling him "Girlie" he hesitantly moved up on the contraption and stood ready to suffer her abusive ways. Sleeping in had caused this humiliation so he would have to deal with it. Hopefully the others would not give him grief about it back in the barracks later.

 

Standing there sweating he waited, holding his breath for what was to come. Suddenly a rock hit him in the knee and resisting the urge to yell out he grimaced and caught his breath telling himself to keep composed it would be over soon. Finally the instructor grunted and let him off the log.

 

*muttering to himself and rubbing his knee Essaul worked his way to the back of the crowd.

 

Listening to Evelyn's instructions he reflected on being late. Edalia and Zoe just keep him mesmerized which leads to losing track of time. This dilemma was foremost in his mind when he caught himself and stood up to pay attention. Evelyn had not missed with the rocks and another turn on the limb would not be aan experience to do again.

 

Picking up a bucket he stood ready for the next person to take their place.

[Segurant]

Evelyn's smile reappeared. "So, who wants to go first?".

 

Byron looked around and noticed that no one was stepping up for the challenge.  He muttered "cowards" to himself and leap for the log.  He climbed up with ease and turned towards his fellow trainees.  Byron looked into their eyes, challenging them to knock him off.

 

One by one rocks came flying towards Byron.  He nimbly dodge the stones as best as he could.  A couple of the rocks found their marks but Bryon managed to keep his balance and stay on the log.  He lost count around the 9th dodge.  He started to smile as he was about to finish this exercise without falling off the log. 

 

WHACK!

 

Suddenly Byron felt himself fall of the log.  What just happened?

 

Evelyn stood over him with a grin as wide as the Erinin river.  "Got a bit overconfident, Recruit?  You almost made it until I saw that smile on your face.  Now get back up on that log and try again."

 

Byron turned bright red over his failure.  He let his guard down.  He vowed that it would not happen again.  He wiped the blood that trickled from the wound Evelyn left him and climbed back on the log.  he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  He could feel the eyes of the other recruits staring at him, mocking him for falling.

 

"Not this time!" he thought.  He glared at the other recruits and they started throwing more rocks.

[Shamaeso]

As Byron took his place Essaul wondered if Evelyn wouuld pay close attention to him. Deciding to not get her wrath he started chunking rocks with a fervor. Not really taking aim but trying not to be obvious about not intentionally inflicting pain on his fellow trainee.

 

Sweating from the effort he began to feel the pain from his turn and lost his focus and heard a loud "THUNK". Looking up he noticed Byron wide-eyed holding his ribs. Grimcaing from the pain Byron looked at Essaul causing him to miss his next throw. Wondering how he could make this up to Byron later he timidly continued throwing the rocks until his bucket was empty.

 

Finishing up and wiping the sweat from his brow Essaul wondered if he could ever get back in the good graces of Evelyn and now his fellow trainee Byron.

[Jehaine]

Sharina sighed as she was forced to throw stones at her fellow recruits. Looking over the round stone in her hands, she bit her lip, repeating it was a training exercise over and over again in her mind like a mantra. It would be painfully obvious to Evelyn -- and anyone else, for that matter -- that the black haired girl's throws wouldn't have managed to unbalance a six year old child. In contrary to the more forceful throws, 'her' stones arced through the air, bouncing off of their targets almost harmlessly in case the student didn't bother to dodge it.

 

Furthermore, she couldn't help but glance to the sustained injuries, like Byron's ribs, and Essauls' knee. They'd likely heal over time if they hadn't already, but she winced more every time someone got hit than the person actually getting hit in the first place.

 

 

Sharina

Go pacifism

[Nynaeve]

IC:

 

Evelyn eyed the group in front of her. Each and every one of them went through the exercise. Some did better than the rest, but all prevailed. The bruises on their body was indication to how well each did. Some had more than the others, and seemed ready to drop any second. It was enough for one day, she decided. "Well, I am not entirely thrilled with the way some of your performed today. However, you've all did what was required of you, regardless of your efficiency in this task. For that, you deserve time to regroup. The ones who need it, make sure to go to the infirmary to be patched up. We'll meet tomorrow bright and early. Until then..." Evenlyn walked away, pondering about the challenge she'll set next. Something less physical, she decided. It was unjust to test them physically if some were injured. That could wait for later.

 

**************************************************************************************

 

"Good morning ladies. It is quite an exquisite day. Beautiful morning. A clear sky. Children's laughter. Birds chirping. A perfect day to be outdoors. Unfortunately, we will be training indoors today. So take one last look around and follow me." Evelyn led the pack of nimrods to one of the practice halls within the fortress where she set up earlier, a human sized box made of solid wood.

 

"Today we're going to cover the letter C. Courage. Fear can sometimes be our allay. Every person experiences fear. It is no crime to be afraid nor does it label you a coward. The trick is to learn how to control your fear and use it to your advantage. This is where most people split into two groups. The first would be the group of frightened little prancers. You do not want to be in this group. Trust me. And than there's the warriors' group. The group you want to find yourself in if you wish to join our ranks."

 

Evelyn moved to stand by the box. "This lovely contraption holds many surprises within it. This exercise will not be physically demanding. It will consist of each of you entering the box and staying confined within it for a whole hour. Aside from the small space, stuffy air and lack of light, you will find yourselves entertaining some companions as well. Conquer your fears and you will pass this test. Go into the unknown and prove that you belong here."

 

Evelyn scanned all the recruits, making sure all of them were paying attention. "If you come out of the box before the hour is complete, you will have to renter it once everyone else is done and start over. I will not lock the door. You are free to run out like an ickle spoiled baby at any point. It is your decision and under your consideration. However, I would advice not to take such decisions lightly."

 

Evelyn leaned back on the wall and crossed her arms under her breasts. "Any questions?".

 

"What exactly is in the box?", a voice of one of the recruits pierced through the silence.

 

Evelyn grinned. "It wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you now, would it? In any case, I'll infer that there are no questions worth answering. My advice is... Stay as still as possible so as not to disturb your guests. And when you think you cannot possibly endure any more, suck it up and stay put. Now, lets begin!".

 

 

OOC:

 

The box contains creatures within it. Lizards, spiders, crickets, flies and various other insects (you can make some up. Go crazy ;)). Bear in mind that they will be making noises... flapping of wings...communications of any kind... which I'm sure will go nicely with some of your terrified shrieks. ;D  It's mostly a psychological test... some characters might be more inclined to be scared of the bugs, some of the lack of light, some of the closed space... I don't want to see a character who feels absolutely comfortable and overjoyed in this situation. No one would feel comfortable, even if they're not phobic of any of the things they endure within the box.

 

So, RP it out... and work it!  :D

 

 

 

Evelyn

Head Biatch ^_^

[Shamaeso]

Essaul stepped forward for his turn in the box. Showing a steadfastness he would not fail in this and glad Evelyn was not choosing his turn this time. When the box was closed he settled in and waited for whatever could be thrown at him. Feeling insects on his arms made him wonder what all was in the box. Hearing the others shuffling around helped distract him from the crawling sensations.

 

Suddenly on his back he felt something heavier on his tunic and slightly paused before he emitted a scream. Holding his teeth clenched he held the scream in as he felt something cold on the back of his neck and wondered if it was a snake or a lizard. His skin crawled now from the sensations of the insects and now the reptile. Firmly holding the picture of Evelyn standing there with her hands crossed under her breasts helped. He wondered if she knew how that image would allow them to focus on how they looked as her arms pushed them up and her tunic was tightly formed around them. slowly a smile crossed his lips as he could only imagine how she would stamp her foot and scream knowing she had given them something to focus on during the exercise.

 

Wondering what else he would have to endure in the Dark Essaul focused on that image and gritted his teeth. Surely being scared of things in the dark would not measure up to Evelyn's ridicule for screaming out. Wishing the time would move faster he wondered how long the hour would feel. Surely it had to be half over when he heard someone outside mutter about it only being 5 minutes and surprised he had not screamed yet. Sweat started to roll down his neck and arms and where his skin was bare was itching from the gnats and flies and other assorted insects. Feeling the lizard on the back of his neck he realized it wasn't a snake and internally sighed. Lizards were not near as bad as snakes.

 

Realizing his jaw was aching he opened his mouth and was rewarded by an insect crawling in. holding back the urge to cough and spit he just quickly swallowed and made sure he did not make that mistake again. As Essaul's' legs started to ache he wondered just how long he had been in here. Focusing on the image in his mind helped him to overcome the feeling of being shut in. who knows maybe a good hot bath would make his skin stop crawling. eventually his knees gave out and he leaned against the side and kept focusing not on the bugs and lizards but on how the bath would feel. A good hot bath, some dinner..maybe even Evelyn would be around and he could picture her when she had to do this exercise and wonder what she had to focus on during her time.

e

Suddenly a bright light stabbed his eyes and he shut them quickly. Evelyn called out for someone to help him out as his knees were buckling when he tried to stand up from leaning on the side. looking at Evelyn he looked for a nod or some kind of approval but only saw the same indifference. Holding back a sigh he walked over to the bench and waited for them to be excused so they could go clean up.

 

[Jehaine]

Sharina watched Essaul step forward, volunteering to be the first one to head out into the box. Time crept along slowly, and even though she felt some kind of relief at him not giving a peep while inside -- it couldn't be that bad, right? -- she was however still a bit unnerved as her imagination made things unnecessarily complicated.

 

By the time Essaul came out again, Sharina had her eyes set on him, and managed to notice a caterpillar crawling out of his left sleeve. Heaving a sigh of relief at it being 'only' bugs, she stepped forward as well now, and headed into the box. Though having been a healer's assistant back home meant that she wasn't as sensitive and easily scared as some of the other girls in her hometown, she did feel quite uncomfortable about the darkness. She was used to seeing bugs, to a degree, from the times she was sent out into the woods to gather herbs, so she wasn't actually afraid of them.

 

The only problem was her own compassion. She didn't dare move, out of fear of crushing one small helpless creature or another, crawling into a corner of the box so as not to disturb the poor things too much. She felt them crawl on the skin of her hands, and was thankful for the leather bracers she never went without, keeping them from crawling up her sleeves. Her legs were less fortunate though, and she felt something slither over her ankles, sending shivers down her spine.

 

However, the way she had been sitting in a corner caused one of her legs to cramp up, causing her to unintentionally yelp as she massaged the muscle to lessen the pain somewhat. Softly, she started to hum an old tune to herself, suceeding in both taking her mind off of the critters in the box with her as well as drown out the noise they were making.

 

Closing her eyes -- not that she could see much with them open anyway -- she allowed herself to drift off on the melody, bringing up memories of where she had heard it. She snapped out of it when a new sound was added, and when she looked more closely she could see rays of light enter the box as the door started to swing open. Evelyn was standing there, motioning for her to come out as her hour had been up. Nodding, she tried to get up, but found she couldn't. She winced as she realised what was wrong, and gave Evelyn an apologetic look as she explained it to her.

 

- "Umm.. Mistress Evelyn? Can i get a hand please? Both my legs are asleep." ^^;

 

Though the woman in charge of their training didn't help, one of the other trainees did though (at her order), and she was sitting on the ground waiting for the feeling to get back into her legs shortly afterward as the next person stood ready to walk into the box.

 

 

Sharina

I can has hand?

[Tigara]

A box full of "surprises"? That's the best they got. Essaul and Sharina beat Zela to the punch, but she was there after Sharina got out. Zari helped her out of the box, seeing as her legs had fallen asleep, then Zela ventured into the box. The door closed and Zela tried to flatten out as much as possible. it would have been much better if it had been laying down like a coffin. She could have napped easily, but as it was the box was very uncomfortable and she found herself in the oddest position. Her bottom was in a  corner, her back against the wall, and her legs and feet going up the other wall. That was the best she could do. She eventually dozed off for a short while. The others could hear her snoring.

 

She awoke what seemed to be a while later, but appearantly not a full hour. She found a lizard on her face and it had claws. There was a few scratches across her face and her legs itched like crazy! She could feel the little things biting her as she sat there. There would be no comfrtable sitting for days! "Well, hello little fellow." she said as she pulled the lizard off her face. "Aren't you just the scaliest thing I've ever had nap on my face."  Her moment with her new friend was shattered as the door opened and light burned in her eyes so used to darkness. She heard the other recruits giggling at her as she stood up and started to rearrange her breeches that were appearantly full of little critters. So itchy!!

 

OOC: I'll get Zari in after I get back from camp.

[Nynaeve]

Evelyn sat crossed leg at the training yard, meditating. The basic training class had been running rather smoothly, if one ignored the few bumps that they had encountered. Nothing that was worth mentioning, though. A few recruits dropped off and left the Fortress, per usual. But to Evelyn's surprise, less than what she expected. At the end of the day, that was her job. To thin out the number of recruits joining so only the ones with potential remain.

 

When Evelyn finally opened her eyes, the recruits were standing in a row, awaiting her instructions. And in an orderly fashion, no less. She was pleased, but her face did not transmit that. She kept it as hard as stone. It wasn't her job to cuddle the recruits, nor anyone. Their reward was remaining within the Fortress' walls. They didn't need more than that. Not if the CotL was indeed the place where they ought to be.

 

"Today we will move on to the letter R. Ressistance. This lesson is not going to be easy. It will be difficult as the previous ones, only more physically demanding." Evelyn smiled as the recruit's faces grew dark. "I feel the need to remind you that this is not a tea party, ladies. If any of you is displeased with the situation..." Evelyn pointed towards the Fortress' outer gates. "...you're more than welcomed to excuse yourself and go buy some herbal tea in the nearest inn. I hear the prices are very appealing."

 

"To the ones of you who choose to stay, you better pay attention. Resistance is a very important attribute for a warrior. It shows how much you can take before collapsing. It's true that every person has his/her limit. But the harder you push yourself, the higher that bar is and the better chance you have to survive when you're fighting for your life and the lives of others. You're expected to be capable. Strive to higher levels. To invest everything you have in you to accomplish this. And that's exactly what's going to be put to the test today."

 

"Each of you is going to choose a stance. The one you feel you're most comfortable with. Keep in mind that you'll be on your feet for a prolonged time, so choose your stance wisely. Once you do so, I will use chalk to mark circles around your feet. You are not allowed to move your feet out of that circle, nor up from the ground." Evelyn walked to the right and stopped next to a pile of metal bits, each tied to straps. "These, ladies, are weights. Women will start with one weight, men with two. Whenever 30 minutes pass, I will place another weight on each of you. All you have to do is stay on your feet the longest possible. I want you to find your limit, but I also want you to push it further. As far away as possible. And that requires vast concentration. That's the key. Don't let your body win over your mind."

 

Evelyn waited until all the recruits found their stance, marked the circles and hung the weights accordingly over the recruits' shoulders. The first few hours were to be relatively easy. The extra weight wasn't that extensive. But when the weight grew heavier and exhaustion would start to kick in. That's when the challenge really started.

 

And so Evelyn sat down comfortably, this time with her eyes wide open, observing the recruits.

 

 

 

OOC: Okay. Firstly, I'd like to apologize for taking too long. I did give you all a notice about it in my LoA announcement, but still. I never like keeping people waiting, even when it is justified. As for your next post, I think my post is pretty self explenatory. Just RP your character reacting to the weight being added and the hours passing... have them collapse at some point, because none of you are superheros ;)  You can choose when you want them to give in. Whether it happens quickly or not, everyone will pass this class, so don't worry about that.

 

Have fun  ^_^

 

 

 

 

Evelyn

CotL

[Jehaine]

Sharina listened to the lesson that would be coming next. Apparently, they were to hold a stance for as long as possible, with weights being piled up to make it harder on them. She slipped into a stance of her own, as one might suspect from the healer one aimed to subdue rather than knock out. She managed to catch herself from making a comment about herbal tea, and instead reached for the weight, trying to guess how heavy it was. In itself, it wasn't that heavy, though she suspected it would all be adding up eventually.

 

She nodded at Evelyn, and waited for the two circles to be drawn around her feet. It felt.. odd, not moving, as the stance was meant to evade, using the opponents own momentum against them until a grapple could be made. There had been quite a few drunks that had tasted the floorboards for underestimating her... Before she knew it, Evelyn got up again, adding a second weight.

 

To be honest, the weights weren't even that bad. It was the restlessness she was feeling. After having been cooped up in a box for over an hour, now she was standing still again, and in a stance whose strength was mobility, at that. Her feet were starting to wobble, and she shifted her weight slightly to stabilise her footing, and make the strain on the balls of her feet a little less.

 

By the time the third weight was added, she had managed to find a stance that felt more comfortable with the lack of movement, but still, her legs were starting to get sore. The pile of weights a little bit further off still looked discouragingly high, and judging by the moans from some of her fellow students they weren't doing much better either. Knowing that if one fell, his or her weights would be added to the pile again didn't give her something to look forward to either.

 

The fourth weight was added, and a muscle on her leg was starting to twitch. The twitch became a pull, and the pull started to spread along her leg in what she knew would end up as a cramp. She tried to ignore it, to push it down, even to relieve the pressure by shifting her weight to her other leg, but to no avail. Her breathing started becoming heavier, and sweat started to drip down her face as she winced painfully.

 

It was only a short time after the fifth weight had been added that she collapsed, arms reaching for the back of her left leg as she lanmded on the ground. Glancing up at Evelyn, she mumbled something about cramp as she sat up, rubbing her calf to warm it up in an attempt to soothe the pain before switching to a soft massage.

 

 

Sharina

Leg cramped up

[Shamaeso]

Listening to the instructions from Evelyn Essaul looked around and assumed a stance with his feet spread shoulder width and announced he was ready. Sharina was first to get her weights added. As Evelyn marked the circles around his feet and added the first weights he focused on breathing and focusing on staying relaxed. after the first 30 minutes more weight was added and he felt distracted by the smile Evelyn gave him before she turned to the next person in line.

 

The first hour passed and he felt sweat rolling down his forehead and stinging his eyes. Avoiding the urge to wipe it off out of fear of moving his feet he breathed and wondered how long he could handle the strain. halfway into the second hour more weight was added. This really brought on some concern as he could feel his legs trembling from being unable to fidget any and not moving outside the circles on the floor.

 

as the second hour passed and more weight was again added he felt like his knees would buckle. It was not the weight as much as the inability to move and feeling the numbness growing in his feet and lower legs. halfway into the second hour he grimaced as more weight was added and tried to focus on presenting calm but he knew Evelyn was watching and that made him falter. Almost lifting his foot off the floor he quickly caught himself and stood still. Glancing around he compared how the others were holding up and if Evelyn had noticed the strain everyone was under.

 

With the passage of the third hour Essaul knew his time was quickly up as he could feel cramps in his calves. with a loud grunt he fell to his knees and waited for the weights to be removed so he could go sit and take some strain off his legs.

 

 

[Tigara]

Zela and Zari were only listening enough to know what was going on. They weren't really interested at this moment to do anything besides pick away at their fingernails. As instructed, they spaced their feet out in a comfortable position and took on the weights. Zela was slightly arrogant about it, but Zari knew that it would get tough over time. The sun beat down on them and after an hour passed, a second set of weights were set over their shoulders. Zela wasn't quite as confident as before and Zari just smirked at her.

 

Another hour passed and a third set of weights were put over their shoulders. They were hot, sweaty, and sore. Zari could see Zela's legs shaking and knew his own were likely doing the same. They held that out for no more than five minutes before they both flopped, in sync of course. The weights were taken off and they just leaned on each other, panting for breath and massaging sore muscles.

 

Zari and Zela

 

OOC: Yeah, my Twins muse has been absent for a while. It's not the greatest.