Valers

Valers are avout (monastic scholars) associated with the math at the Ringing Vale, long linked with Vale-Lore (Ringing Vale martial disciplines). The term is used both collectively ("the Valers") and for individuals ("a Valer").

Context and first mentions

Accounts describe a Valer within a Tredegarh contingent as being recognized from an earlier rescue in Old Mahsht. A later recollection says the scene in Old Mahsht ended with an onrush by Valers, who assessed the situation as an "emergence." Around the same period, when a beachhead camp was organized after the Orithena crisis, Valers were present among those able to intervene physically if needed. During the large Convox (rare mass convocation), Valers are visible at the Concent of Saunt Tredegarh, and one companion remarks that he spends every day sparring with Valers.

Roles and activities

• Martial practice and instruction: Valers are repeatedly associated with sparring and training. A participant notes that working out “with the Valers” would be safer than doing so with clumsier peers, implying expert control and discipline.
• Presence at Convox: At Tredegarh, Valers watch training sessions and engage in bouts; they are treated as the skilled cohort in mixed groups.
• Field assistance: A specific Valer is credited with helping save travelers in Old Mahsht, showing that Valers operate extramuros (outside the maths) when circumstances warrant.
• Emergence response: Practitioners describe an "emergence" as a moment that triggers immediate action without time for prior deliberation; witnesses attribute the Valers’ coordinated onrush at Old Mahsht to such an assessment. A narrator notes he “didn’t have their training,” implying formal instruction among Valers in recognizing and responding to such situations. See Vale-Lore for related terminology and tactics.
• Crisis response and evacuation: When Tredegarh was evacuated, squads of Valers—swathed in black bolts—moved silently through the dark and joined designated evacuation cells alongside avout, officers, and Ita, providing disciplined, physical capability during the organized departure.

Description and reputation

Valers are described—by implication through others’ comments—as competent and physically capable practitioners of Ringing Vale disciplines. Their demeanor during group practice is confident enough that novices joke about the Valers merely watching while less trained participants bruise one another. In crisis settings they move quietly in coordinated squads and observe formal courtesies; in one account, Valers bowed with marked formality to the designated cell leader before departure. Named Valers observed in these contexts include Fraa Osa, Suur Vay, Suur Esma, and Fraa Gratho.

Relationships and affiliations

• Ringing Vale: Valers are the avout of the Ringing Vale math (monastic community), where Vale-Lore is the signature practice.
• Tredegarh Convox: Valers are present and active during the ongoing Convox hosted at the Concent of Saunt Tredegarh.

Current status

Active at Tredegarh during the Convox and throughout the evacuation, where they are seen moving in squads and embarking with an organized cell during the wider departure.

Notes

• Terminology: "Valer" (singular) and "Valers" (plural) appear in speech; "Ringing Vale avout" is also used interchangeably in context.
• Scope: The Valers are an avout (monastic) cohort; they are distinct from the avout of other maths who do not practice Ringing Vale disciplines.