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Preparations
The news on the arrival of the Yakhath had triggered various activities. The high Council had gathered and each member had received specific tasks to attend to. One group set off to the Thari Cees immediately after their meeting to search for new gemstones which was a rather difficult task, not only were they the rarest items known to man, but the presence of the enemy would require great skills of disguise. As long as the Yakhath were unaware of their detection, precious time could be used for preparations as it was anticipated that they would strike as soon as they found themselves discovered.
Another group set out to deeper dungeon levels where a rather special smithy had been built in former times. The heat to melt the ore was taken right from deeper levels, a specially coated tunnel had been driven down to a field of lava. The extraction of the different types of ore was conducted within the dungeons, this fact being responsible for the steady extension of the labyrinths below the city grounds.
Using the unique types of ore only to be found in the area of the dungeons they had mastered the arts of crafting unmatched weapons, harder than any ordinary arm but substantially lighter at the same time. Combined with the forces that were held within certain gemstones, the resulting weaponry was the source of legends.

The guards at the city gates had received drill orders, the official word had been just that in order to avoid a general panic to rise, but the benefits of raising the alarm level were obvious. The drill ground was filled with warriors, intermingling bodies practicing close combat barehanded or with various arms such as swords, axes and halberds. At the western border, archers were busy driving their arrows in man-shaped dummies, while the eastern part was reserved for the riders. In the midst of all these preparations, Thealdi had found the time to visit an old acquaintance. Lendears training had to commence regardless of the current circumstances and so it was agreed to meet at the drill ground where the guards of Brougoth held their regular training sessions, now supplemented with the warriors who were stationed at Brougoth.
The old man went to the Brigshack to collect the boy and together they headed to the market where the local smithy sold their goods.
“Master To, what a pleasure to have you here. How may I be of help?”, the weapon smith greeted them.
“Good day to you, my friend”, came the reply, Lendear had given up wondering just how many people Thealdi knew and stood silently, following the exchange. He had been told that they would have an appointment at the drill ground, but he was quite clueless as to where this meeting would lead to. It became instantly clear, when the old man continued.
“You might be able to help us find a fine weapon for my young friend Lendear.”
“Very well and nice to meet you in person, young master. It is a great honour to have the new Messenger in the house”, the weapon smith answered and slightly bowed in the direction of the boy.
“I’ve scheduled a meeting with Ghenhark Minh which might give you an idea just what we are looking for.”
“Ghenhark Minh! Master To, you never cease to surprise me. You do know the right people if I may say!”.
“Indeed my friend”, beaming, he turned to Lendear.
“At least I’m not the only one to wonder about whom you know, Master”, he said and sent a twinkle in the direction of the weapon smith who in turn laughed heartily.
“All right then, let’s get to business, shall we?”.
The weapon smith excused himself and went to the back of the smithy to fetch a few samples of his skilled craftsmanship. He returned with three swords, one just a bit longer than Lendears skean, one very slim but almost Lendears entire height and one, quite broad, heavy looking, in length between the first and second.
“Why don’t we start with these, Master To. This one is quite light weighed, but exceptionally firm. It’s practically unbreakable, but of course due to the little weight it might have difficulties competing with heavier weapons.”
He placed it on the counter for inspection by his customers.
“Now this one compensates its little weight with its enormous length. Admittedly it requires great skills to make advantage of it as the long range also requires larger swings. So quickness is the key to this one.”
He added it to the first.
“The last of the three now is quite a special one. It looks very heavy, but it’s not. I used a combination of metals to make its appearance that of a slow but mighty sword, but in essence it can be handled with great swiftness.”
He eyed Lendear with a salesman smile: “No offence, young Master, but I think you’d be better off with a lighter type. But if you want, I will fetch you a standard sample.”
Lendear was uncertain and shot the old man a questioning glance.
“Hard to say really, why don’t you just try them and you will see which one fits best”, he suggested.
Without a second thought Lendear picked up the last of the three and performed a wild swing, causing Thealdi to quickly jump out of harms reach.
“Ho ho, young man, you want to be a tad more careful with that. We’re not ready for blood spilling just yet”, Thealdi dryly commented, putting on the smile of his.
Lendear blushed, he had overestimated the weight of the sword dramatically thus causing the havoc. “I’m sorry”, he stuttered absently, marvelling at the sword in his hand. This weapon truly was a wonder and it felt just perfect, its hilt seemingly crafted exactly for his hand and when he raised it again, this time with the proper caution, he felt the faultless balance. Not that he was in any way experienced with this type of arm as he had been concentrating on the fine arts of archery up to this point, but of course this would change soon. Nevertheless he was convinced that there couldn’t be a better choice for him.
“Master, if it is all right with you, I’d like to take this one. Oh, and sorry again for the little mishap.”
“Are you sure? I mean there are two others, maybe one of them is even better for you than the one you had an attempt with to chop off my ear.”
Lendear blushed again, but he was sure that the weapon in his hand was to be his. Since he didn’t want to offend his Master, he reluctantly placed the sword back on the counter and took the small one, but that didn’t feel a lot different from his skean and he didn’t see the point of having two similar weapons. When he took the long type however, he was no longer sure if his judgement had been so much on target with the broader one. It felt like a extension of his arm, probing its swing however, he immediately understood what the weapon smith had meant and it would take a lot of practice to get it right. Unsure now, Lendears eyes wandered between the long sword, the broad one, his master and the weapon smith.
“Let me make a suggestion then”, the weapon smith offered.
“Why don’t you take both and let Master Minh decide for you. If anyone can judge the right weapon, it will be him.”
“Wise words, my friend. We shall do as you suggested, thank you.”
The two companions bit farewell to the weapon smith and set off to see the weapon master at the drill ground.

“Greetings, Master Moth! I’m so delighted that you have agreed to help us. Let me introduce young Master Lendear.”
“Greetings to you, Master To and nice to make your acquaintance, young Master Lender. So the young Messenger has been tasked with practicing the arts of the sword. Very well, I shall do my best to get you up to speeds quickly!”
The booming voice of Ghenhark Minh was a perfect match to his appearance. He was a giant of a man, towering over the two newcomers. Thealdi hardly reached the middle of his chest and Lendear looked practically straight onto the mans belt buckle. He sported a wild red beard, an enormous mane was barely tamed under a mighty iron helmet, his tiny eyes sparkling, giving away a good sense of humour. When he grabbed Lendear at the shoulder in a welcoming gesture, the boys knees almost gave away from the immense weight.
“Pleasure to meet you”, he barely managed under the great burden of the mans arm earning him a roar of laughter from the colossus.
“Very well, so what have you brought us. May I?”
Ghenhark Minh reached for the two weapons, Thealdi had been carrying and studied them closely. Tracing the blades, he checked the balance, the hilt and performed a few swings. Apparently satisfied, he returned them to Thealdi.
“Now, this is not an easy choice really. Let us see how the young Master handles them. If you would hand Lendear the long sword, we shall do a few practice steps which will help us decide.”
Thealdi did as instructed, Ghenhark Minh took his own sword, a mighty two-hander almost the size of the old man and pointed it towards Lendear.
“Now try to hit me. I won’t attack, but I won’t make it easy for you either. Go!”
Lendear, who at first had no idea what to do, probed the swords handling briefly by swinging it slightly left and right, then he made a wide arc, came back towards the centre in the attempt to hit the two-hander and force it sideways so he’d have a direct route to the giants chest. The two-hander didn’t move at all, while he lost his grip, dropping his sword.
“That won’t work, young man”, the weapon master remarked with a dry smile.
“You’ll have to try something else.”
Lendear bent down to retrieve his sword and took a step back. How was he to get past the two-hander, he wondered. He needed a new plan. Quickly he looked left and right in the hopes to get a glimpse of a good move from one of the many warriors. Then he had an idea. He took another step back, quickly turned around his own axis, holding the sword in his outstretched hand and when he was almost back to position he made a quick sidestep then one forward and finished the motion, directing the blade into the side of his opponent. A loud clang indicated the contact of the two arms and one more time his own went flying. Ghenhark, anticipating the entire move had quickly put his two-hander in position.
“Not bad at all, young man. That was a really nice move”, he bellowed.
“This is certainly not your first time with such a weapon, is it?”
“Didn’t work though”, Lendear replied.
“No, Lendear never had a sword at work before, my friend”, Thealdi chipped in with a smile. He was obviously very proud of the young boys performance.
“Tell you what. I shall leave you two practicing as there are a terrible lot of things I have to see to. I will fetch you later, Lendear.”
Thealdi handed over the broad sword and left the drill ground to attend to another meeting at the High Council. He’d have to make a good and tight schedule for his apprentice, keeping the boy busy while he would set out and follow the task which would now be detailed by the abbot. He would have to stop by the arch master and have another word with the abbess, not to forget the head librarian. Khozo Mas would be responsible for the boy while he was away and knowing him in the best of hands, Thealdi felt a bit easier.
In the meantime, Lendear switched weapons and had a go with the broad sword. Light as it was, any attempt to hit his opponents arm to get it out of the way resulted again in his own disarming. Being a lot shorter than the first one however, Lendear found it much easier to control.
In his next attempt, he made a feint attack from the right side and when the two-hander swung in to block his move, Lendear quickly dropped to the ground and thrust his weapon forward, stabbing the giants well protected shin. He’d done it! He had managed to get past the weapon masters defences and if it weren’t for his armoury, he’d be jumping on one leg now.
Still on the ground, Lendear turned his head to receive the proper recognition, but his broad smile iced up the instant he saw the tip of the two-hander right at his neck.
“Well, well, what a heavy price to pay for putting a dent into the opponents armoury. Granted, you succeeded in bypassing my two-hander at first sight, but that certainly wouldn’t be worth it, don’t you agree?”
“Yes, Master”, Lendear mumbled and got back up. Triumph had turned into disaster within the blink of an eye.
“Fret not, young Master, the fine arts of handling this kind of weaponry are never to be learned completely, yes, even I still practice every day and I know my weaknesses. We shall do some basic handling exercises now, they are a bore, I admit, but quite necessary nevertheless. Stand by my side now and do exactly what I do.”
Ghenhark Minh took his two-hander, now using his right hand only to make it easier for Lendear to pick up the moves, thus hinting at his enormous strength and performed a straight stab forwards, at the same time stepping forward with his right leg, bending it slightly. Lendear followed suit and the two of them repeated the same movement what seemed like forever to Lendear. His arm had already started to throb, but he was committed not to give up. While his master’s moves were smooth and in perfect harmony, each one an exact repetition of the previous, Lendears stabs went all over the place. He needed no further instructions as his futile attempts made it quite clear what was to be learned.
Finally the weapon master had mercy with the boy and released him. They would meet again the next day right after he’d have a session with Miglim Mot.