Aiolus awoke in the morning with the sun starting to peak through the window of his room.  It had been a long night, with little rest found.  Quite eager to start his training, Aiolus kept reading over the note he had found slipped under his door when he had returned from bathing the night before.  It was very short and to the point.

 

It is time for your training to formally begin.  Meet me at the lake at the bottom of the waterfall.  Be there early.

 

Nothing else had been said in the note to give Aiolus an idea of what to expect, so once he was able to walk the stiffness out of his body that came from a restless night sleeping on the floor, Aiolus quickly got dressed and headed to the mess.  He wasn't sure if it would be a bad idea to eat before beginning training, but he was hungry, and at the moment, his main thought was to grab a bite to eat, otherwise his hunger would prevent him from focusing on whatever training lay before him.

 

Striding to the mess, he could already hear the sounds of Trainees practicing in the Yards.  The crack of practice swords meeting time and again seemed to fill the Warder's Yard with its own type of music.  A clattering symphony of training and preparations for a battle that might never come, or might come in the next few days.

 

Stopping into the Mess, Aiolus grabbed a few slices of bread, a thin slice of meat, and a glass of water.  Making a sandwich out of the meat and the bread, he ate while hurrying to the lake to meet his new teacher.

 

By the time he finally arrived at the lake, the man was already waiting for him, sitting on the ground looking deep in thought or meditation.

 

 

(OOC:  Hopefully I didn't get far off from what you would be doing while waiting for Aiolus.  If so, I apologize.  Just wanted to make sure that I wrote an "in" for your character.)

  Shawn rose well before dawn and went to the lake for a swim, as he did most mornings.  The icy water served well to fully awaken all of his senses.  He swam several laps across the lake and back, laps that would normally be only the beginning of his workout but would be all he had time for this morning.  For today was destined to be different.  Today was the day he returned to one of his favorite responsibilities as a Tower Guard, teaching, inspiring, and encouraging the trainees that sought to join their ranks.

  Yesterday Thera had sent a letter to the smithy enlisting his help.  She'd stated that though she'd heard of his passion and skill in teaching trainees she'd been reluctant to put him to use so soon after his return when she barely knew him.  But, he seemed to have proven himself to her for she'd asked him to take on a student.

  When he finished his last lap he climbed onto the shore and sat on a stump to rest.  He'd been swimming in just his breeches and now that he's stopped moving the chill in the air and the snow blowing around him were causing his skin to prickle and his muscles to stiffen.  Shawn buckled his swords around his waist and his dozen or so throwing knives on armbands around his biceps and wrapped himself in his cloak for warmth while chiding himself for overlooking the weather when he chose to go without a shirt this morning.

  As he walked to the waterfall he embraced the Spring and fed into it all thought of cold or discomfort.  By the time he reached his destination he had stopped shivering and even found his cloak to be too warm and stifling.  So he took it off, draped it over a tree limb, and sat cross-legged on the ground.  He calmly and slowly put himself through his meditation exercises until he had reached such a state of calm that his surroundings were reduced to near silence, even the deafening roar of the falls.

  In that state he mentally reviewed all the sword forms, going through each and every one right-handed, left-handed, and with two swords working in tandem.  As a follower of the Path of Water he knew that the mind was the first battlefield and that mental preparation was even more valuable to a warrior than physical.

  When he'd finished and his student still hadn't arrived he began to dissect every battle he'd been in, looking for ways to improve himself.  From his first clumsy and ignorant training bouts with Corin to the friendly spars with his fellow guards to the battles with bandits during his time away from the Tower.  Each minuscule moment and every action or decision not to act was analyzed in this way many times each week.

  He was in the midst of a spar with Dene, during one of the happier points in their relationship, when the sound of footsteps entered his awareness.  The shock of it nearly had him reaching for his knives, despite knowing that the trainee could arrive at any time, he was that far removed in his meditations.  But he had maintained control and thus the only movement he made at all was the opening of his eyes as he took in the sight of the young man before him.

  With the falls so close Shawn knew that conversation would be futile so he grabbed his cloak and headed toward a clearing further into the woods, checking occasionally to be sure the trainee was still following.  When they got there he turned and addressed the newest trainee to make his way to the Yards.  "You must be Aiolus.  I am Anwashawn Ellasser and I've been asked to help you start your training."

  Shawn let the silence of the glade cover them for a moment and then continued, "The first thing you should learn is a philosophy to help you focus during your training.  It will also help you in nearly every other part of your life as well.  We teach two of them here at the Yards, the Flame and Void or the Spring.  But before I waste any unnecessary words explaining them, do you know anything, or have you heard anything at all about either one of these?"