Caswallon taught him to hold his fury and use it coolly.
'Anger can strengthen a man or destroy him,' he told the youth as they sat on the hillside above the house. 'When you fight, you stay cool. Think with your hands. When you strike a blow it should surprise you as well as your opponent. Now pad your hands and we will see what you have understood.' Warily the two circled one another. Caswallon stabbed a straight left to Gaelen's face. Gaelen blocked it, hurling a right. Caswallon leaned out of reach, the punch whistling past his chin. He countered with a swift left that glanced from the boy's jaw. Off-balance, Gaelen hit the ground hard, rolled and rose to his feet with eyes blazing. Caswallon stepped in to meet him, throwing a right cross. It never landed, for Gaelen ducked inside the punch and caught the taller man with an uppercut that sent him reeling in the grass.
'Good. That was good,' said Caswallon, rubbing his jaw. 'You are beginning to move well. A little too well.' Reaching up, he took Gaelen's hand and the younger man pulled him to his feet. 'Let's sit for a while,' he said. 'My head is still spinning, I think you've shaken all my teeth.'
'I'm sorry."
Caswallon laughed. 'Don't be. You were angry, but you kept it under control and used the power of your anger in your punch. That was excellent.' The two sat together beneath the shade of an elm.
'There is something I have been meaning to ask you,' said Gaelen, 'about the bush you hid me in when the Aenir were close.'
'It was a good hiding-place.'
'But it wasn't,' insisted Gaelen. 'It was out in the open, and had they looked down they would surely have seen me.'
'That's why it was good. When they attacked their blood was up. They were moving fast, thinking fast, seeing fast. You understand? They didn't examine the clearing, they scanned it swiftly, making judgements at speed. The bush was small and, as you say, in plain sight. It offered little cover and was the last place, so they believed, that anyone would choose as a hiding place.
Therefore they ignored it. Similarly that made it the best place to hide in.'
'I see that,' said Gaelen, 'but what if they had stopped to examine the clearing?'
'Then you would probably have been slain,' said Caswallon. 'It could have happened—but the odds were vastly against it. Most men react to situations of violence - or threatened violence - by animal instinct. Understanding that instinct allows an intelligent man to win nine times out of ten.'
Gaelen grinned. 'I do understand,' he said. 'That's why when you raided the Pallides you chose to hide in the village itself. You knew they would expect you to flee their lands at speed, and so they raced from their village to catch you.'
'Ah, you've been listening to the tales of my wicked youth. I hope you learn from them.'
'I am learning,' agreed Gaelen. 'But why did you choose the house of Intosh to hide in? He is the Sword Champion of the Pallides, and everyone says he is a fearsome opponent."
'He is also a widower with no children. No one would be in the house.'
'So you had it planned even before you did it. You must have scouted the village first.'
'Always have a plan, Gaelen, Always.
Later, as they sat on the hillside above Caswallon's house, awaiting the call to the midday meal, Caswallon asked the boy how he was settling in with the other lads in the small village.
'Very well,' Gaelen told him guardedly.
'No problems?"
'None that I can't handle."
'Of that I have no doubt. How do they compare with the boys of Ateris?'
Gaelen smiled. 'In the city I used to watch them play games: Hunt-seek, Spider's folly, Shadowman.
Here they play nothing. They are so serious. I like that . .. but I always wanted to join in back in Ateris.'
Caswallon nodded. 'You joined us a little late for children's games, Gaelen. Here in the mountains a boy becomes a man at sixteen, free to wed and make his own life. It is not easy. Two in five babes die before their first birthday,
'Anger can strengthen a man or destroy him,' he told the youth as they sat on the hillside above the house. 'When you fight, you stay cool. Think with your hands. When you strike a blow it should surprise you as well as your opponent. Now pad your hands and we will see what you have understood.' Warily the two circled one another. Caswallon stabbed a straight left to Gaelen's face. Gaelen blocked it, hurling a right. Caswallon leaned out of reach, the punch whistling past his chin. He countered with a swift left that glanced from the boy's jaw. Off-balance, Gaelen hit the ground hard, rolled and rose to his feet with eyes blazing. Caswallon stepped in to meet him, throwing a right cross. It never landed, for Gaelen ducked inside the punch and caught the taller man with an uppercut that sent him reeling in the grass.
'Good. That was good,' said Caswallon, rubbing his jaw. 'You are beginning to move well. A little too well.' Reaching up, he took Gaelen's hand and the younger man pulled him to his feet. 'Let's sit for a while,' he said. 'My head is still spinning, I think you've shaken all my teeth.'
'I'm sorry."
Caswallon laughed. 'Don't be. You were angry, but you kept it under control and used the power of your anger in your punch. That was excellent.' The two sat together beneath the shade of an elm.
'There is something I have been meaning to ask you,' said Gaelen, 'about the bush you hid me in when the Aenir were close.'
'It was a good hiding-place.'
'But it wasn't,' insisted Gaelen. 'It was out in the open, and had they looked down they would surely have seen me.'
'That's why it was good. When they attacked their blood was up. They were moving fast, thinking fast, seeing fast. You understand? They didn't examine the clearing, they scanned it swiftly, making judgements at speed. The bush was small and, as you say, in plain sight. It offered little cover and was the last place, so they believed, that anyone would choose as a hiding place.
Therefore they ignored it. Similarly that made it the best place to hide in.'
'I see that,' said Gaelen, 'but what if they had stopped to examine the clearing?'
'Then you would probably have been slain,' said Caswallon. 'It could have happened—but the odds were vastly against it. Most men react to situations of violence - or threatened violence - by animal instinct. Understanding that instinct allows an intelligent man to win nine times out of ten.'
Gaelen grinned. 'I do understand,' he said. 'That's why when you raided the Pallides you chose to hide in the village itself. You knew they would expect you to flee their lands at speed, and so they raced from their village to catch you.'
'Ah, you've been listening to the tales of my wicked youth. I hope you learn from them.'
'I am learning,' agreed Gaelen. 'But why did you choose the house of Intosh to hide in? He is the Sword Champion of the Pallides, and everyone says he is a fearsome opponent."
'He is also a widower with no children. No one would be in the house.'
'So you had it planned even before you did it. You must have scouted the village first.'
'Always have a plan, Gaelen, Always.
Later, as they sat on the hillside above Caswallon's house, awaiting the call to the midday meal, Caswallon asked the boy how he was settling in with the other lads in the small village.
'Very well,' Gaelen told him guardedly.
'No problems?"
'None that I can't handle."
'Of that I have no doubt. How do they compare with the boys of Ateris?'
Gaelen smiled. 'In the city I used to watch them play games: Hunt-seek, Spider's folly, Shadowman.
Here they play nothing. They are so serious. I like that . .. but I always wanted to join in back in Ateris.'
Caswallon nodded. 'You joined us a little late for children's games, Gaelen. Here in the mountains a boy becomes a man at sixteen, free to wed and make his own life. It is not easy. Two in five babes die before their first birthday,
Similar Books
Make and Freeze Recipes: Great Foods You Can Cook, Freeze, and Use Quickly and Easily (Eat Better For Less Guides)
Carolyn Stone, Mara Michaels
