Path to Manhood
By Glenda Reynolds
After Tristin’s run-in with Delrot the Mongrelfolk,
Hamel gave serious thought in preparing his son for what he may face in the
future. No son of his should ever be afraid to venture alone within their
village of Rootspire, let alone Willow Forest which had become his playground. Now
that Tristin had turned eight years old, Hamel decided to spend extra time with
his son. He began teaching him what manhood was all about. He instilled in
Tristin the four most important things to aspire to do on the path to becoming
a man: live pure, speak truth, right the wrongs, and honor the king.
Hamel set aside a day each week when he and Tristin
would go out in the wilderness together. They would sleep out in the open and
hunt with a bow and arrow. Tristin learned survival techniques. Though he
didn’t want to, Hamel taught Tristin to fight with a knife. Tristin became
quite good at it, so much so that Hamel stifled a laugh to see his son
crouched, ready to defend himself. He was so adorable. Hamel and Tristin began
to bond like never before during their outings together.
It was King’s Day in honor of King Arthur of
neighboring Camelot. The village of Rootspire was a mass of curiosity seekers
who had come to see the out of town players and vendors. There were puppeteers,
“Cure All” medicine vendors, trinkets for the ladies, leather goods for the men
folk, fresh baked goods, and last of all, some knights of the Round Table sword
fighting for the onlookers. One of the knights took his helmet off as he
addressed the crowd. He had wavy blonde hair with a rugged yet handsome face.
“Can we have a volunteer? Is there anyone in the
humble village of Rootspire who can best me?” asked Eric the knight.
“Go on Papa,” said Tristin. “I know that you can fight
pretty well. Show ‘em what you’ve got!”
Not wanting to appear cowardly in front of his son,
Hamel agreed. He stepped forward and said, “You have one here.”
“Okay, looks like we have our volunteer. What’s your
name, sir?”
“Hamel.”
“Farmer Hamel has agreed to take me on. Let’s hear it
for Hamel.” The town’s people applauded him. The second knight, Gerard, placed
chainmaille and a helmet on Hamel; the young farmer tried acquainting himself
with the heavy sword.
The two men stood facing each other as Gerard yelled,
“Begin!”
Eric and Hamel advanced to the center as the sound of
clashing steel filled the air. Eric was holding back to see what kind of moves
Hamel was capable of. In doing so, Eric’s feet were kicked out from under him.
He found himself looking up at Hamel who was hovering above him with his sword point-blank
in Eric’s face. The crowd zealously applauded. Not to be outdone, Eric whipped
the sword out of his face with his own as he rolled to right himself. Eric
decided to make an example of the lowly farmer. His attacks were so swift and
accurate. By the time it was over, Hamel was lying on the ground; his sword was
kicked out of reach. He was just glad to have survived the ordeal.
“Do you yield?” asked Eric.
(to be continued...)
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