Fireseek
Temple of Enduring Silence
So another day has left me burning to come back to my room to write once more…
Now up to this point my education had consisted of running the family business, which was making wine. Father never stressed discipline. I now believe this was due to mother dying at my birth. I don’t think he had the heart to scold me due to the fact that I grew up without a mother.
After father’s company had departed, father had taken a much more militant view of my up bringing. My day to day activities was halted. Instead, father had given me a book and commanded me to study it in such a tone of voice that was shocking: I could never recollect a time when father had told me to do something in such a serious manner. The book was titled A Collection of Autobiographical reports on “The Time of Troubles”.
I had known my local history well enough, but these were events that had taken place in locals in that I had never heard. I found myself being absorbed into these individual stories. Some coming from front line foot soldiers, and another where a guild of thieves had left their home town to infiltrate an occupied town or city in order gain information to help the safety of their own front line city. Some of the stories were ones of bravery and victory of little skirmishes and major battles. But most were of tremendous loss. The death of friends, family and those that were taken and sold into slavery. For the next few weeks father had quizzed me on the content of the book, and if I had any questions to ask.
About the time I finished the book, a man by the name of Dorwin showed up on a beautiful huge horse, with two pack animals in tow. Father greeted him like an old friend. Though his face seemed tanned and aged by about seventy summers, father introduced him as my new master tutor in personal combat. We started training that day…
Now my idea of learning a sword is to practice with a wooden practice sword, well that didn’t happen. Dorwin had introduced to me a medium curved sword of steel, the scimitar, and told me to defend my self… that is where it all started. This intense training when looking upon it now was to test my patience, endurance and aptitude at how fast I was to pick things up. We woke up at dawn and went to bed at midnight. This had lasted for countless days, weeks, months. In truth I’m not sure, I had never been so tired in all my life. Amazingly, Dorwin seemed unfazed by our workouts. Even more curious was our nightly visitor: a lone wolf that had strayed onto father’s land.
His keening howl greeted us one night in the middle of my training. I can vividly remember Father entering our weapon study-room (Dorwin had me study some article on Palar’s oft-hand parrying techniques before I could go to bed) to grab his bow and reassure me. Though no wolves had dared ventured so close to home in quite some time, let alone a lone wolf, the strangest part of all was that this wolf had seemed to allude Father’s hunt. Considering the stories I had overheard from the weeks of Jallarzi’s and Aragorn’s visits, I assumed that this could not be any ordinary wolf. Apparently undeterred, it returned every night for the next few months and then disappeared just as abruptly as it greeted us.
Dorwin was in all respects a relic of countless campaigns against the Horned Lands. When he had stridden into my fathers count yard, at first I was puzzled. Dorwin had lived long past the age of warriorhood. His facial lines looked like the cracked leather of my old saddle. I had a strange feeling around him that I recognized but could not place. It was as if I knew him from somewhere else.
His two pack mules were loaded with all manner of militaristic equipment. I was told to unload all the equipment and to group it into similar piles on the dirt. Well among his stuff I saw many different suits of armor and weapons, along with many oddities I did not recognize. The day of his arrival was day one of training.
The first thing we did was to go through all the different armaments and weapons. We talked about each one and what the pros and cons were of each. The first lessons started light and quick. The first weapons were the dagger and short-sword. Dorwin helped me into the leather armor I was to wear. Practice was relentless. I was awed at the speed and ferocity at which Dorwin moved. For his forty summers old his movements were as smooth as ripples on water. When Dorwin was pleased with my progress in small weapons and leather armor, he had moved me to other more cumbersome equipment.
Then started my training with the chain shirt, chain mail and scale mail, and long sword and at times we also practiced with buckler and large round shield. Then we had evolved into half plate mail and the two handed weapons like the great sword, great ax and the great maul. Before and after each day of training I was instructed to wear the armor for the day and run around my fathers vineyards as fast as I could, if it wasn’t fast enough Dorwin would chase me on his horse prodding me with his lance. I look back now and realize that that was the beginning of my physical endurance training. I had bruises and rashes from training and running but it felt good, I felt alive.
During my off time, It was constant reading on books that Dorwin had given me, concerning warfare and field strategy. If I wasn’t practicing or reading I was working in the makeshift forge that father had built in the back of the house. This is the only time that I had spent with father when training with Dorwin. I tried to ask father why all of this was necessary and the only response I got was that I had to learn what I was being taught and that someday I would probably have to fall back on that training and that it might save my life.
At the end of the day it was time to work in the forge, and training with Dorwin was over for the day, fatigue and exhaustion were my only companions. Father was teaching me how to use a hammer and anvil. I was surprised that father had known how to work a forge. He taught me how to make all manner of weapons, large and small. Father also taught me how to make certain types of armor as well. This is the time that I cherished most, Father and I working with blood and sweat to make something from nothing. We laughed, told jokes, and we even talked about mother for the first time since I was a small child.
Dorwin talked about his son at moments between exercises. He would tell me that I reminded him of his son, Dorwin. His chest puffed with pride when he told me that his son changed his name to match his fathers. Dorwin the son was working for King Belvor of Furondy on missions of great importance. Not too much older than myself it seemed, he had accomplished a great many deeds for the benefit of country and man alike. Such were the teachings of St. Cuthbert.
These were times that I will never forget. I found myself striving harder than ever to achieve with Dorwin so that he would let me go early to work with father in the forge. Now that I was getting a little more comfortable working with iron and steel I asked father about the sword and shield hanging in his study above the fireplace. All along my childhood I was never to touch his sword or shield, and never was it a topic of conversation. Before I could even start talking about them father cut me off and told me that he would tell me when the time was right.Dorwin was an enigma. Despite his harsh attitude and training, he had sort of benevolent aura about him, a very calming reassuring peace. It was quite easy to be angry with him for the rigorous training and humiliation he put me through but it was hard to stay angry in his presence. As I look back this was the sort of feeling I had always felt around Aragorn, who was father’s closest friend.
31st Waterday, Early Morning
Fireseek
Temple of Enduring Silence
After what was three month’s time Dorwin had left one night without a word. Father said that my training was complete with Dorwin and that it was to continue in the city of Verbobonc. Angrin who was father’s seneschal took me to the city on foot with nothing but the clothes on my back and meals to get us there. This was exciting for I had no idea what to expect once I was to arrive. I dug for answers from Angrin, but none were coming.
My relationship with Angrin was a good one. He basically took care of me during the times father had left the estate, which was frequent. Over the years Angrin had put on a few pounds but I remember when he was a very athletic man. I had never seen anyone that had come close to what Angrin looked like. He was dark skinned and dark hair. Angrin was of Bakluni origin and background. He was always seen doing stretching exercises in the garden next to the fountain at morning and evening. He had tattoos and scars all over his body. When I asked father to tell me about Angrin he had told me that he and Angrin had met several decades ago, under stressful circumstances. To make a long story short, when father was off doing official business for the king of Furyondy, he had saved Angrin from an attacking kobald raiding party; thereafter, Angrin pledged his life to father. When I was born Angrin took it upon himself to protect me as well.
Angrin was a teacher, astrologer and a philosopher. Any questions about life and situations that I didn’t understand, Angrin always had an answer. Many times throughout my childhood Angrin and I had camped in the vineyards and looked into the night sky and he had taught me all about stars and constellations and what they represent. On the road to the city we had shared many stories. Angrin had also told me more of himself and his travels when he was younger. He was a native of the Wolf Nomads up in the north. While in town Angrin asked me to use his birth name for some strange reason so I told him that that would not be a problem. These conversations were comforting, because with each one, I had learned more and more of who Angrin really was.
We talked little of his personal experiences when he was with the wolf nomads, but he did try and teach me some of the most important aspects of general nomadic life. At the age of manhood he told me that all the soon-to-be-warrior men were to set out and find a wolf den. The purpose of this was that when the female was away from her den the rite of manhood was to capture a wolf cub and bond it to himself, eventually serving as a life long companion. Each of the clan men was taught to train these wolves as guardians and friends, so that all the warriors in the tribe had a wolf companion. Wolves were a part of tribe life. If a clan had 50 warriors then there would be 50 wolves as well and they were treated as well as all the other members of the tribe. Same were the rites of manhood of their neighbors the Tiger Nomads. Angrin informed me that they had a distanced relationship from their cousins but they banded together only in time of dire circumstances. Angrin had told me that his wolf companion had perished trying to save his life when he was attacked by a band of kobalds. Had father not shown up when he did Angrin is sure he would have passed on that day as well.
Our talking came to an end when I had laid eyes upon Verbobonc. We arrived via the Low Run Road and waited in line at the South Way gate just like everyone else. My amazement at the size and diversity of the city even eludes my ability to describe it now. We traveled through the heart of the city, all the way to the other side to a place named the The Molten Spigot Tavern and Inn. I can only look back and laugh at my reaction to the patrons of this tavern. I was scared out of my wits. The most surly and rough people I have ever laid eyes on were in this tavern. Angrin looked as though he knew what he was doing, he looked comfortable but now I realize that he was probably the most dangerous one in the tavern. On his way to the bartender it seemed that an ogre of a man tried to bump into Angrin and pick his waist pouch from him without him noticing. That was a mistake. Angrin moved so fast that I didn’t even realize what had happened until after the man had fallen on the ground clutching his throat. Many patrons stood up from their chair as to rush to the fallen giant’s aid but the bartender had stopped them all and waved in some code that all was okay. I was shocked to the core for I thought he had killed the man. By the time we had secured a room, the huge man was sitting and coughing at a table on his own. Angrin and the bar keep talked for just a few moments in quiet, and then told me to follow him into our newly rented room in the basement.
When in our room Angrin spoke to me in a manner that he had never taken before, harsh and unforgiving, which is totally out of character. He told me that he had stunned the man with a fist to the throat, and that he would be fine except for his possibly wounded pride. Then I realized training time had started. “Lesson One: understand the nature of the city. The shapes here are angular; the shapes of enemies usually aren’t. Check windows. Check Roofs. Do it as you walk. Areas where light changes sharply are easy to hide in – both for you and your enemy. Always keep note of a place near you where you can defend your flanks and back. Always look for the nearest cover. Look for a place where you can drop out of site, move fast and attack from an unexpected angle. If possible always kill your opponent only as a last resort, if he can be subdued, do so and take him or her to the authorities.”
We ate that night at the inn. Angrin told me to get a good night sleep that tomorrow was going to be a long day.
