Edana leaned against the wall, watching the guards on duty before her finish their circuit. They nodded wordlessly her direction and she nodded back. She still had a few minutes until her shift started, but she headed back in the direction they'd come, anyway.

 

She was sharing this shift with someone she'd never met before. Shawn, the Captain had said. He was coming back from a long absence according to the local rumor mill. She shook her head, wishing she could get one of those. An absence sounded good right about now.

 

She grinned in the darkness. This was the late shift, usually given to her so the Captain could make sure she stayed out of trouble. It was either that or he just didn't like her. That made her grin wider as she made her way back around to the front. She smiled at Dante, who'd appeared since she was gone. Was he hiding from his Aes Sedai and her Sisters again? 

 

"Beautiful night," she said to Dante, looking up overhead. The stars were shining brightly and the moon was large, but only showing a sliver of a crescent.

 

Another man was coming towards them on the other side of the gate and she paused, waiting on him to either go past them or stop. If he stopped, he was their man. If he kept going, she'd keep watching. That's why they called it a watch, right?

 

 

~Edana

 

  Anwahsawn Ellasser repeated the process of smithing he was so familar with.  Heat, shape, quench, heat... There was something simple about the shaping of iron.  Which suited him fine.  Even with the added responsibility of teaching apprentices it was easy to lose himself in the work and not have to think.  Eventually one of the Journeyman got his attention and mentioned the passing time.  He looked up and was surprised to see all of the apprentices and Journeymen gathered around him.  The other Master smiths had already gone home to their families but the Journeyman and apprentices were obligated to stay until released and he'd nearly held them past dinner again.  "Thank you, Elgar.  And I apologize for keeping you so late.  You all know how easy it is for me to get lost in my work, and I'd hate for any of you to miss supper or time with your families because of it.  None of you should be afraid to remind me.  Elgar, I'm sure your initiative will be appreciated by your comrades so I'll reward you by letting you go ahead and leave if you want.  The rest of you make sure this place gets clean while I change and prepare for duty."  Looking at the group of young Journeyman he told them what they all knew but had become a ritual of sorts between them, "Make sure the boys do their jobs well and that this place gets clean.  Then you can all go home, but one of you stay until I come back through to lock up."

  Shawn went into the room he'd built himself off the back of the smithy upon his return and used the barrel of cold water he kept to rinse off the dirt and grime from the forge.  He used his razor to shave the stubble that had grown on his head and face, except for the neatly trimmed goatee, and put on his uniform in preparation for his night on the wall.  He wore black pants that were well-tailored but still provided plenty of room for movement and a bold blue vest, loosely tied.  With swords on his back, his Tower dagger at his belt and throwing knives on armbands around each bicep he cut an imposing figure.  Over it all he wore the dark red cloak of a Tower Guard, no longer embarrassed or ashamed but actually taking comfort in its familiar weight and feel.

  Still hearing plenty of commotion inside the smithy Shawn sat on the floor in the corner of his room and worked to drown it out.  He centered his thoughts and focused on the Spring, drawing his emotions deeper and deeper into himself and then allowing them to flow out as if from a fountain.  After a few minutes he opened his eyes to the heightened sense of focus that the Spring allowed.  It was almost like looking at a different world.

  By now the smithy was clean and after a brief inspection to insure nothing was missed Shawn sent the remaining Journeyman, Vincent, home to his new wife.  At dinner he looked around and wondered who he'd be serving duty with tonight.  Since he didn't live in the barracks where the duty roster was posted it was always a bit of a surprise.  He only knew when he was scheduled to work because he had sent an apprentice to check the schedule for him a few days ago.  The boy had written down the times and locations for Shawn's duty but hadn't thought to see who he was scheduled to serve with and Shawn had been too busy to go back himself to find out.  It didn't really matter much though, but his curiosity was piqued and he thought about nothing else during dinner, which was a lonely affair anyway since it was so late.

  After his meal he took a stroll around the lake and then went up the stairs to his post on the wall.  When he got there he saw a young woman in the red cloak marking her as a fellow guard, and therefore his partner for the night, talking to a young man who wearing the color-shifting cloak of a warder.  Approaching the pair he felt the light from the lanterns catch his eyes and saw the surprise register when his comrades faces were caught by them.  Grinning to himself at the now familiar reaction he introduced himself, "Good evening, looks like a beautiful night to walk the walls.  My name is Anwashawn Ellasser, but please call me Shawn.  And you would be?"

Dante nodded to Edana when he came to meet her. He knew she would be serving here tonight. Captain had to keep her out of trouble and since Dante had become a Warder the man didnt feel so bad about asking Dante to help. (As is anyone could tell Edana not to do something she wanted to...) he thought. Dante nodded to her comment about the night. It was beautiful and he found himself spending more time in them of late. He stood there quietly as another man approached. One Dante knew but by his look he was not sure the man recognized him back.

 

"Dante Kaldun." He said as he reached out his hand. When the man took it the recognition came into his eyes, the rough hands, the strong grip, and the build specific to smiths marked them both as having the same hobby. "We have met briefly." He was not sure what Shawn preferred to smith. Dante worked on blades when he had steel worth working and loved the delicate work of jewelery as well. His house had after all made its fortune with iron mines and smiths. At the moment, he almost regretted not saying at least a few words to Shawn when he saw him around. In a forge though he likely wouldnt hear them anyways.

Edana watched the newcomer while Dante introduced himself. His eyes were striking and stood out from his face with their strange color. He didn't seem to be hiding himself and she watched his easy smile. He liked people's reactions to his appearance. She couldn't stop her grin from spreading across her face again.

 

"I'm Edana," she said, offering her hand. "We were just remarking on the beautiful night we're being graced with. I've just completed a circuit of the wall and everything appears quiet enough."

 

She nodded to another Tower Guard as he left for an evening of frolic, nearly wishing she could be with him. "I'm afraid we haven't met, Shawn. Probably because I've been a bit distracted." That was a bit of an understatement, but... eh. She was pretty sure the rumors had made their way to him, and if they hadn't, he probably didn't care, anyway! Sometimes men were worse about gossip than women were...

 

~Edana

  Shawn remembered Dante from the latter's having come to the smithy a few times to reminisce about his days before the Tower.  Edana though, he was fairly certain they'd never met, not surprising given the population size of the Tower and its guards.  "Well, distracted or not we probably wouldn't have met before now.  After a six month hiatus I've only been home a couple months and I've kept pretty much to myself in that time."

 

  Looking around he realized she was right, "Yes, things do seem very quiet so far, and you're right,the night is beautiful.  Dante, I appreciate the help an extra pair of eyes gives, thank you for serving with us tonight, I hope for your sake your Aes Sedai doesn't leave on an unplanned trip in the morning before you've had a chance to rest."  He smiled in amusement, casually leaning against a crenelation and looking out at the city below.

 

  Shawn had never been much of one for casual banter or small talk but the night promised to be long and boring if they stood in silence.  He considered talking to Dante about his experience at the forge but was unsure what Edana could contribute and did not want to leave her feeling excluded.  So, he turned to training, the one thing the all had in common.  "Maybe you two can help me with something.  When I left I was training in the Path of Water under the guidance of Lyv Tylin.  I returned to find that she's no longer here, and I haven't been able to find another Master of that path of training.  Would either of you know of any still residing in the Yards these days?"

Dante shook his head. "My brother has had the same issue looking for a Master on the Path of the Blade. Not that sword play concerns him over much. His head is usually stuck in a book." Dante's attention turned just to beyond the lantern poles that were put around the walls after the murders. Just outside the light he made out two bodies creeping away from the yards.

 

"Trainees trying to get out." He said and loaded his crossbow and fired a few feet in front of them. They stopped and he started reloading.  "If you two wish to herd them back in the yards I will cover you from here." He signaled the guards at the two closest posts with his mirror to let them know of the situation.

 

When the two returned he had thought out Shawn's situation a bit. "You may need to go find a Master. I would be happy to accompany you should you do so. Rasheta Sedai claims I have become her shadow. She would be glad to see me go for awhile I am sure."

 

He tried to hide the bitterness in his voice. Truth was he was willing to do almost anything to get away awhile.

 

"You will have to ask around to see if there is one around who would train."

Edana smirked at the bobbing lanterns for a moment, biting off laughter as the hiss of Dante's crossbow made them stop. She snorted, then made her way towards them. "Idiots, the sally port is probably easier to get out through," she muttered under her breath. She kicked a few of them in the pants and threatened to slip up and drop their names to Thera if she caught them trying that nonsense again. Thera's name always seem to hurry the newer ones along faster than anything else she could say. She watched them disappear back inside the barracks and shook her head as she returned to the gate.

 

She listened for a moment, wrinkling her brow. Another who chose the Path of Water? "I have been training for well over a year, now, and haven't found a single master of the Path of Water," she said quietly. "It was my choice, too." She didn't mention that even that reminded her of Sandre. She was never free of her thoughts of him. Not long ago, that would've been a thought to send her into a right sour temper. Now? She smiled. He really had no idea how much he'd influenced her life since she'd caught him in the river...

 

She blinked and looked from Dante to Shawn and back again. "We should do exactly that," she said quietly. "There are bound to be scrolls or books about the Path somewhere in this place. If we can't find someone to teach us, perhaps we should do the teaching ourselves!"

 

 

~Edana

  Shawn laughed with true joy for the first time in months as they herded the trainees back to the Yards.  It brought back so many memories of huis own time as a trainee he just couldn't help it.  But, their faces revealed that though his laugh held nothing but joy and humor at least one of them mistook iot for a maniacal threat and something of which to be very afraid.  This was only encouraged by Edana's threat to bring them to Thera.  Thinking back on his time in their shoes he added a threat of his own.  "Perhaps you are out because you're bored and have too much time on your hands?  Perhaps we should see to assigning you some chores to keep you busy?  Or increase the intensity of your training so you won't have energy left for rule-breaking."  From the way they ran off Shawn was confident they'd have no more trouble from that particular group for at least a week.

  Back at their post the conversation picked up where it had left off.  "Well, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one stalled in training, but it doesn't bode well for the Tower."

  Shawn stared into the night and tried to recall all his conversations with Lyv.  She had mostly guided his training just one step at a time, but she had seen fit on a few occasions to share with him some stories of her own training and a few things he'd have to look forward to under her guidance.  Taking stock of all these he turned back with a grin on his face and a gleam in his eyes.  "Edana, I must say, it is a pleasure to learn of another disciple of the Path of Water training.  Before I left Lyv was planning an excursion out of the Tower to further my training on the Path.  Granted, I don't know all the details of what she was planning, but I do know a few.  Perhaps we could finish planning it and train each other, hopefully with some help from the library as our gaidin friend has suggested."

Edana grinned, her eyes dancing. Teaching themselves sounded intriguing. "What details do you know?"

 

She nodded at a Warder returning from town, her thoughts wandering. What would training entail? He was obviously much further along than she was, having hit a stalemate without a mentor who knew their way around the discipline.

 

"Do you suppose the Captain would let us off long enough to have a decent go of it?"

 

~Edana

Dante had the answer for Edana with the time off for training. "The Captain is under pressure from the Aes Sedai seeking Warders right now. There are not enough skilled Tower Guards to meet their approval. Too many Greens without a Warder at all. If he wants to keep his job he will seek any means at all to help any Guard that asks right now to advance."

 

He wasnt sure if they had noticed the sudden emphasis on training the Tower Guards were going through. They were all being pushed hard but some would take their entire lives to reach the level of skill of the three of them were already at. A small handful that Dante knew about though... those were all advancing fast.

 

"He will give you the time if we can prove that the training is valid. If not I can get a letter from Rasheta Sedai for the two of you."

  Shawn wondered if the Captain would really give him leave to go on this training expedition when he'd only just returned from a personal hiatus.  But, they would just have to cross that bridge when they came to it.  For now, they could concentrate on planning the trip and working out all the details they could.  "As you know, following the Path of Water means being dedicated to emulating the fluid gracefulness of water in battle.  Sword work by anyone with a decent level of skill will become like a dance, but for us this is especially true."

  Shawn paused to open and close the grate on their lantern in a quick succession to return the signal from the tower opposite them that all was well.  "I think we would be best served by not only training in our sword work but also studying the water we seek to emulate.  In fact, since our sword work can be practiced and perfected without going anywhere I suggest we concentrate our efforts on this trip to the study of water, how it flows and moves and growing ever more comfortable with it than we already are now."

  Since realizing upon his return that Lyv was gone Shawn had spent no few idle moments contemplating making the trip on his own so he had some idea of what he would do.  It would be interesting to see if Edana would have any suggestions to add to the plans.  "So, with that in mind, I propose we attain some kayaks in lieu of horses for this trip so we can spend that much more time getting accustomed to the rhythms of the water.  We should be able to leave from the docks and travel on one of the small offshoots from the Erinen, it might be a challenge navigating around the larger ships until we get further from the city but that should just make things more interesting.  From there the smaller river should hopefully lead us to an area suitable for some of the ideas I have for training.  All told I would expect us to be gone about a month, give or take.  So, what do you think?"

 

OOC: I have several ideas for training on the trip but I'll try to catch you on msn sometime to go over them.

Edana listened, her eyebrow arching slightly. It was apparent he'd given this a lot of thought. "Perhaps a blending of sword and water would be good, as well. There's a level of balance needed to do either effectively, but together..." She shrugged her shoulders, her eyes scanning the perimeter they were set to watch with a practiced eye. A month away from the Tower would be nice, she supposed. She hadn't been away since she and Dante had gone through their "punishment."

 

"I will begin badgering the Captain at first light. He'll give in, even to letting you go, if only to shut me up for a time." She smiled, her mind turning over details. Where could they get boats? And three separate ones? Surely there had to be some stored in this Yard somewhere. Her eyes watched a shadow on the opposite wall, though her thoughts focused on what was needed to make this trip successful. "Perhaps we should use the horses to take the boats down the river a bit. I'm all for a challenge, but not at the risk of losing my life. I can count the number of times I've been in a boat under my own power on one hand and battling shipping barges for space won't make me any better at it. Besides, we can leave the horses in the next town past the ports and pick them up on our way back. I know a good stable that will board them a little way up the river from here..."

 

She was thinking out loud and she looked up to gauge reactions. "It would give us a contact point, too, just in case we needed to return to the Tower in a hurry..."

 

~Edana

The plan sounded good. "I will see about getting training items and supplies. Sandre has a small arsenal in his room I am sure he wont mind me borrowing." That the Kaldun brothers were already fond of water training was something every trainee dreaded. "He likely has some reference we can check as well. He prides himself on collecting books the Tower doesnt have to snub the Browns though likely we could get the same sort of information from the Master at Arms who no doubts keeps such information under lock and key."

 

As much as Sandre prided himself on his collection, the Tower too was proud of their elite warriors.

 

"Shall we plan for a few days from now then?"