Vallen walked with steady sure footing silently and alone through the long empty bare hallway, an air of serene tranquility following him and his thoughts as he steadily pondered on many great lessons of his past.
The relevancies of one lesson more prevalent than most. Vallen recalled questioning the monks on why they practised martial arts but preached of peace. The monk simply replied.

"A garden is a better place to be than a battlefield yet I would rather be a warrior in the garden than a gardener in a war."

Vallen spent half his life learning to tender gardens while simultaneously preparing for battle. He had built and nurtured many gardens but never found his war. 

...

The hallway came to an eventual end as did Vallens memories. He had finally found the lobby. Silent steps took him through the new room. A gentle nod was given to the other patrons in greeting as he casually eyes them over. What ever his curiosities were of this strange new place, he kept them concealed. What ever his curiosities of these people, he equally remained disinterested. 

Finding a clear spot Vallen crossed his legs and sat on the floor. It was in silence he could properly hear, in stillness he could truly see, in this calm he calculated things to come. While his spot appearing seemingly chosen at random it wasn't. Very little was done without consideration. Vallen drank in the details of information that surrounded him while awaiting for the competition to begin.