“Normally, we would defer to the judgment of Master Putal, but Master Kostek insists your fighting skills are worthy of Noble Island,” Tar Amon paused as a murmur went through the crowd. “If your skills are deemed worthy of our island it may be decided that you should remain and continue to study with us,” the gallery grew restless, for it was obvious that Gwaynn was not a formal student and had not been approved by the High King. The buzz of the crowd seemed to annoy the High Tar slightly. “However, even if we grant you leave to stay and study, you will never be given the rank of Weapons Master, or that of Tar.” He finished, and the crowd finally went quiet.
Gwaynn nodded, but otherwise stood impassive.
“Tar Endid,” Amon said addressing the large red headed instructor. “You have the honors,” he added, motioning to Gwaynn.
Endid bowed to the Council and removed a pair of kata from his belt, while another acolyte brought Gwaynn a pair. Endid then turned and bowed to Gwaynn, which he returned and then they both faced off, each in a classic stance, prepared to fight. They both remained poised and ready, unmoving until Amon addressed them once more.
“You may begin!”
Despite the audience, and the fact that so much was riding on his performance, Gwaynn fought as he always did since coming to the island, attacking relentlessly. Tar Endid was caught completely off guard by the skill of his young opponent and it was all he could do in the first moments of the fight to keep from being scored upon. Endid actually laughed aloud, marveling at the proficiency of the boy, but he somehow managed to deflect the initial onslaught, and then began to find the rhythm of this aggressive young man. It still took him, a Tar, an inordinately long time before he scored his first hit. He was elated at his victory, then immediately realized just what that meant. ‘They could not lose this boy!’ Endid thought. ‘If he left now it would be a tragedy.’
He was about to say as much but Gwaynn, who had backed off, bowed and then attacked again. He came at Endid with even more speed and ferocity than he had in the opening moments, but this time Endid was prepared and met the attack with a ferocious counter attack of his own, driving the boy back. Then Gwaynn stumbled, and almost fell, but as Endid moved in, he was met with a powerful kick to the midsection. The Tar doubled over and dropped to his knees, surprised beyond comprehension.
The Hall was utterly quiet, the audience above shocked and the Council sat in silence. Gwaynn backed off and bowed once more. He waited, ready for his opponent to rise and do battle. Tar Endid stood and faced the Council gave a half bow, then turned to Gwaynn and smiled. This time it was Endid who attacked and kept up an unremitting attack, never giving the boy a moment’s respite until finally he scored a glancing blow on Gwaynn’s left shoulder. Both stopped and backed away from the other once more. Each bowed and then continued. The sparring went on for another half an hour, with Gwaynn only scoring two more hits versus Endid’s ten, but it was clear to all present that the boy had truly exceptional skill. Even Tar Amon, who had been informed repeatedly by Master Kostek of Gwaynn’s talent, was taken by surprise and watched most of the sparring match in astonishment.
When they finally finished their bout, Tar Endid slapped Gwaynn on the shoulder, and turned to the Council. “He must stay!” he shouted emphatically. Noise immediately erupted from the balcony above but this time Gwaynn could tell it was of a positive nature.
Tar Amon stood and held out his hands, motioning for quiet. It took several long moments but finally the Hall sputtered into silence once more.
“It is now obvious,” Amon began, “that this bout was not a waste of our time as some have suggested.” He glanced down the table to his left. Several of those on the Council smiled ruefully at him. “And it is also obvious that we made a grave selection error some five years ago…”
“Tar Amon…” interrupted a voice almost directly behind the speaker. Amon turned. It was Master Scholar Putal, “if I may interrupt.” Master Putal was a tall man with a full head of silvery hair. He stood very straight and moved with a certain meticulous grace down to Tar Amon’s side.
“The boy has skill,” Putal began. “Even I can not deny that, but this decision should not be made on fighting skills alone.” The Master Scholar turned and addressed Gwaynn directly. “Knowledge too can be a powerful weapon against your enemies and it is knowledge that we of Lato Island will give you. Knowledge beyond your ability to fathom and not just of the current situation, but knowledge spanning back in time through the now and into the second age of man, and some believe even beyond that, back to the first age and the very beginning of time itself.”
Putal shifted his attention back to Tar Amon and the Council. “Perhaps the decision should be the boy’s. Perhaps we should give him the knowledge he needs to choose and allow him to decide for himself.”
A murmur went up through the crowd and then a gasp as another man stood from the very back of the risers. He moved down and walked around to the front of the Council.
“Tar Nev, Tar Nev,” whispers filtered from the gallery above. Gwaynn frowned and then just gawked at the man. The man bowed to the council once and then turned to study the boy before him more closely. Tar Nev was the most famous Tar of his day, he was also simply the strangest Master Gwaynn had ever laid eyes upon. He was shorter than Gwaynn had expected, but with a full head of long, bushy dirty blond hair. It was not tied back, or even controlled in any way and looked strikingly like a field that a farmer had allowed to go fallow. Not a hair style one would expect to see on any Tar, let alone one of the Masters. His face was slightly grizzled, but he possessed startlingly gray eyes, that almost seemed to glow in the light of the hall. It was his eyes that gave the Master a slightly youthful appearance despite his obvious years.
“I will train Gwaynn,” he said simply and the Hall exploded with shouts, both cheers and protests. Tar Nev was the latest of a long line of Solitary Tars going back generations to Tar Ephs himself. Over three hundred years ago, Ephs, whose skill with weapons was unsurpassed at the time, broke off from the traditional school and refused to teach until very late in his life. He finally took a single exceptional student, who he trained and who likewise grew to dominate every other Tar of his generation, and so it went through the ages. One Tar, one student. Tar Nev, who was said to be the greatest of all the Solitaries, had yet to take a student…..that is, until now.
Both Master Putal and Tar Amon stood speechless, while Endid gazed at Tar Nev with something close to awe. Putal bowed to Tar Nev and without a word slowly turned and moved back to his seat. He knew that if the Solitary Tar had finally made his choice for student, nothing and no one would stand in the way of that decision.
Tar Amon looked at Tar Nev then down to Gwaynn, who was looking from one to the other, just as shocked as the rest of the Hall by this development.
“He is yours to train,” Amon said.
Nev nodded and turned to Gwaynn, who looked up at the strange, infamous man in front of him.
“Come. We will talk a moment,” Nev said and they left the Hall together.