Wardens of Heroes Gate

Yisi and Valea Meet Guide Dawndra

] You arrived yesterday in Last Shadow at the Treyvigg Monastery. A Grand Master of your order at Song Moon Temple sent you here to train with their teachers and learn their famous defensive tactics. Also… replenish his supply of Summertide Red wine. It is early waking and the stars are still visible in the sky.

] Joloobo – you continue to sleep in a tree on the back side of the monastery grounds. Yisi you are sitting in meditation on the small bed provided for you. You hear Valea shifting awake. Others in the longhouse are still sleeping around you. Valea – you open your eyes and consider doing as you said, sending off the Wwaldyr siblings

Yisi] “Good waking Valea” I whisper

Valea]  “Good waking. Valea will be back soon. Will see off the Wwaldyrs” I creep quietly out.

] Outside you cross the large courtyard to the gates. One side is open far enough to walk through. As you enter the large yard area to the stairs, you notice large person, nearly a small giant, with long white hair standing with her back to you looking out over the magnificent landscape of the Umar foothills below and into Tethyr. You see on the ground near her, red and blue robes and you realize she is quite naked. Her entire body is covered in a fine white fur. She shifts her stance to one you recognize as a Bow stance, and then she is still again, peaceful in the dim light of waking.

Valea] I recognize she must be doing her stance training. Rather than interupt or distract, I enter a stance to match hers.

] You didn’t realize it last night, but from here you can see over the entire Wealdath forest to the Starspire Mountains – where your own home at Song Moon Temple is hidden. You notice just the slightest portion of the peaks of the Starspires are glimmering with the new days sun. The white giant shifts into right bow stance, her head turning towards you. If she was not aware of you before, she likely is now… thought she makes no indication.

Valea] I shift into a right bow stance.

] The long haired woman is very still, almost like she has become part of the surrounding cliff walls. After a seemingly long time, she shifts again into horse stance, facing straight forward. Slowly her arms rise up in front of her and then drop from the elbows. Her hands circle a ball and then push it slowly down. She repeats these simple arm movements several times, moving more slowly with each iteration.

Valea] I try to copy her stance and her movements. It is not at all like the forms training I have learned. We learned punches and blocks, but these movements do not have any apparent martial application.

] The naked monk continues, her arm movements becoming more intricate and yet, even more graceful. You feel somewhat mesmerized by her flow. Something about her solid posture and the gentle stream of her movements connects very deep inside you. Your many years of martial training suddenly feels very basic, immature even. You feel like you are again just a beginner.

Valea] Awkward as it may look and feel, I try to keep up with the monk, imitating her movements, her pacing… the strength in her stance.

] You continue to practice until you notice your own shadow on the ground. The sun has fully appeared in the sky over the vast Wealdath forest and what felt like brief moments to you was actually over an hour of form practice. To your left, a figure steps out of the open gate. Aide Camarie smiles at you but sees you are in forms practice and steps backwards quietly. Dawndra must have noticed her because she steps into closing posture. She sweeps her long arms out to her sides and up over her head and then brings her hands down, slowly in front of her, pushing the breath out. Twice more she performs this closing breath movement and then places here hands together and bows forward, to no one in particular, or perhaps to everyone. She then turns and starts to walk towards you. With one of her feet she hooks her robes from the ground and in a slow sweeping forward kick, lifts them up into the air in front of her and she almost walks right into them.

] “Good waking Aide Camarie.” She says to the woman behind the gate door. “Is it time to get started?” As you walks closer, you get a better look at her features. She is over 7 feet tall, perhaps closer to 8. Her build is large and unnaturally muscular. Her face is very human in shape but like yours, is covered in fur, fine white fur.

Valea] As she approaches, I copy her earlier movements, placing hands together and then bowing.

] “It is rare for me to have a student I have never met.” She says softly, not exactly smiling.

] Aide Camarie “Guide Dawndra. Good waking to you as well. I was hoping to introduce you to our visitors after our meal. This is Valea Syh. She is visiting from Song Moon Temple along with two others who I will locate next.”

Valea] “This one is very pleased to be here and to greet the guide Dawndra. Valea is spellbound… never has she seen such flowing movement. To watch and try to follow your forms was greatly pleasurable. Valea thanks you for allowing it.”

] Guide Dawndra “Elder Arrodonn has asked me to share some defensive tactics with your and your school, but I don’t mind teaching flow forms if you have the interest.”

Valea] “Great interest has Valea. Teacher Solomvar has told Valea she must find a balance to martial skills. Valea did not know where to look but she has found.”

] Guide Dawndra “There is much more to flow forms than can be seen on the outside, much more. The practice requires years and mastery of it is forever ahead of the practioner… but I would be delighted to get you started. Most new students have no interest… ‘it is too slow’ they say… ‘it is too dull’… I would delight in a student hungry for the practice.”

] Aide Camarie “Waking meal is being served. Afterwards, I will bring our visiting students to your courtyard for lessons Guide Dawndra.”

] Guide Dawndra “Indeed. Good waking to you Valea. See you at lessons.”

] Aide Camarie walks you back to longhouse to gather Yisi. Meanwhile in the backyard of the monastery, Joloobo is awakening in a high branch of a tree. You smell the food from the refectory.

Joloobo] I climb down and go find the others.

] Yisi, Valea, and Aide Camarie are just exiting the visitor resident quarters as you arrive. They are walking your way, toward the waking meal.

Joloobo] “Whatever it is that’s cooking… it smells delicious!”

] Aide Camarie “Our meals here are simple and mostly the same everyday, but if you can get past that, they really are delicious. Waking meal is a porridge made from grains and roots and seeds. Everything served is from our own lands here. If you have a preference for eating meat, you can go hunt your own in the valley. The small forested area we call the “Backyard” behind the monastery will open out to a large valley that extends few miles into the Small Teeth. We call it the Vale of Caefri. I understand there is plenty of game out there because it is largely protected from hunters from the cities. Occasionally other creatures find there way into the valley so be on your guard. We had reports of a fire troll in the Vale just a tenday back. Terrible sight I’m told.”

Joloobo] “Fire Troll? I’ve not encountered such a troll before. What makes them be called ‘fire’ trolls?”

] Aide Camarie “You are asking the wrong person on that topic… but I was told they reside in molten caverns. We had believed the Small Teeth to be dormant… but apparently the sighting of a fire troll suggests otherwise.”

Joloobo] “I was wondering what I might do why you guys are doing your punch and kick thing… I just might explore the Vale of Caefri.”

] The three of you are led to the dining house. The entire place is silent except for the sound of stone spoons scraping the insides of clay bowls. After you have finished eating you have an hour before lessons.

Joloobo] “I will see you back here later, I’m going hunting for a fire troll!”

Yisi] “I would like to visit the Temple of Dunea.” I say. “Will you join me Valea?”

Valea] “Where goldie goes, so does Valea.”

] You cross the courtyard t the large temple structure. The front entrance is raised several high steps to a stone portico with tall square pillars. The pillar faces have carved images that appear to tell stories. The entire front of the temple is open, no doors or a front-facing wall. Stepping inside you notice the floor is made entirely of soft white sand. There is a small line of sandals along the outer edge and it seems apparent you must take your shoes off to enter. The main chamber of temple is fairly small as temples go. You estimate it is maybe 40 feet wide and 60 or 70 feet from front to back. In the back you see a simple clay statue of a female elf. She is standing in a front bow stance raising two hammers overhead. There are several others in the temple area. They are all sitting cross legged with a straight spine, in meditation. A barefoot elf in red and black robes approaches you.

] “Welcome visitors. May we offer you strength for the day?” The wood elf says quietly.

Yisi] “While we do not know what the day holds… surely a gift of strength would not go wasted.”

Valea] “What cradle-tongue here means is, yes…. We would appreciate temple services.”

] The monk slides softly down into a seated position on the sand. “Please, sit with me. Close that I may reach you. Quiet your spirits. Close your eyes and feel the pull of the ground stabalize you, center you. Breathe in… slowly… breathe out… again… breath in… and out… Now hold an empty chest.” Yisi, you feel his fingers cup the underside of your chin… “Slowly… breathe in…” There is a deep smell of copper coming off of his hands. You feel your body charge with the inhale. “Now hold a full chest… a moment longer… Now breathe out…” [Yisi recv’s 11 temporary hit points and +4 to Constition while any of those temporary hit points are available]

] The monk repeats the same, this time with his open palms under your chin Valea, you feel an internal surge in energy and strength [you recv 8 temporary hit points and +6 Con while the temporary hit points are available]

] “Go in strength friends.” the monk says

Yisi] “Much gratitude we return. I am Yisi and my favorite feline maiden here is Valea.”

Valea] “This one bows to you.”

] “I am Elder Ysthorn. You are the visiting students sent by Teacher Solomvar?”

Valea] “This is true. Teacher Solomvar did not prepare us for the beauty of the monastery here Elder Ysthorn. ”

] Elder Ysthorn “Treyvigg Monastery is indeed a beautiful place. It is also a good home to us. I hope it be so to you while you stay. I can offer additional services next waking, please come and see me. For now, I return to my duties. Go in strength.”

] Your hour is just about over and Aide Camarie arrives to attend you to the training courtyard. When you arrive, there are nearly twenty other students in the courtyard performing various warmup exercises. With one exception, they all wear the monastery student robes of red and green. The one without student robes is a male centaur who looks to be quite young. Many of the students are human or possibly half-elf. Valea – you notice the tabaxi woman you saw the night before in the dining hall. She is performing the same soft flow forms that Dawndra was doing this morning. Others are stretching or squatting or swinging their legs to loosen up. Yisi, you notice a very young dragonborn girl. Her scales and hide are entirely the purest white and she has a thick tail with a spike on the end. Your attention is captured because you have never seen such a creature. You have heard of the dragonborn, and thought you knew what they should look like, but this girls appearance is far from your expectations of what a Dragonborn would look like.

] Guide Dawndra arrives and calls out “Hearken students. Lesson begins.” Everyone turns to face her and they put their hands together in a salute and bow. There is no orderly formation, everyone just keeps a certain space around them.

Yisi] I follow as I see others doing.

Valea] I follow as well.

] Guide Dawndra runs the students through stance practice, kicking drills, jumping drills, punching drills. Hours go by and you have not learned anythign new, but you have had a good workout. Dawndra walks over to a small round arena marked by round stones. It is filled, like the temple interior floor, with a soft white sand. She sits cross-legged. Even seated on the ground, she seems incredibly tall.

] Guide Dawndra “Todays text… The Book  of the Heart… Passage one. When the heart is full of things, the body is constrained. When the heart is empty, the body is boundless.”

] All of the students repeat Passage One aloud and then there is a silence that lasts several minutes.

] Guide Dawndra “When the heart is full of things, the body is constrained. When the heart is empty, the body is boundless.”

] Again the students all repeat the passage. Without another silence, Guide Dawndra goes on. “Passage Two. When the heart is obessed with base lusts, principles are forgotten. When the heart is set on high desires, principles guide the way.” The students repeat Passage Two of the Book of the Heart and then are again silent for a period. Guide Dawndra repeats the passage, the students repeat the passage. This continues through a dozen more passages, and Guide Dawndra finishes with “Passage Fifteen. When the heart is full of illusion, reality becomes a cruel master. When the heart seeks reality, the world submits to the master of mind and body.”

] Afterwards, Guide Dawndra releases the students to their chores. She walks over to you Valea and gives you a respectful salute. “Shall I see you again on the overlook next waking?”

Valea] “Valea is eager to see you on the overlook.”