Knight In Shining Armor

I know the Knight's Codex like the back of my hand.

• Be "patient." Practice. Hard. Every damn day.
• Master the basics of defense. Mind your downward sweep. Ensure the flick of your wrist is as fast as a flash.
• Care for your equipment, treat it as yet another limb, an extension of yourself.

I know it all, off and on the battlefield. I can answer every question and every blow. My mind is a fortress, my defensive stance impenetrable. Still, why does the mentor insist on locking me in the tower? Does he not see that I'm ready? Is it because I dodge more than I parry? Or because I polish my armor plate instead of the mentor's shoes?

I'm sick and tired of being patient! It's time I made my own rules:

• Be brave.
• Dodge beats block, block beats hit. Dance where others fall.
• Shine bright like the sun. Blind with valor and grace

... Return as a knight, or never.

Fairburn

To the Scourge of Brightwich

Your days of haunting are numbered. Come to face me outside the village at high noon tomorrow.

Whoever loses shall never see the light of day again.

Fairburn