The First Lesson

 

Chapter 4: The First Lesson

 

Gryphon was woken by a not-so-gentle nudge from Andra’s boot, and opened his eyes in time to see the leather coming in for another, firmer, blow.

‘I’m up!’ he cried, and he rolled out of the way, almost into the ashes of the fire.

Gryphon looked around. By the dawn’s early light shining into the clearing, he could see that Andra looked rather upset. So did Eyrie, for that matter. He was about to dismiss it as some woman trouble or other, until he noticed the pointed way each avoided the other. What did I miss?

Gryphon put the thought away for when they began moving again. He rolled up his bedroll and loaded his belongings back into his saddlebags, and then he patted Fog on the nose. She was the only female not acting oddly this morning.

Andra had already repacked her things and was on the bank of the river with Midnight, scrubbing the dirt off of her hands and face. She had doffed her tunic and now wore naught but a sturdy cotton shirt, unlaced at the neck, and her breeches. Upon closer inspection, Gryphon saw that Andra not only washed dirt from her hands, but something that looked suspiciously like black ink. He hadn’t packed any ink.

What happened last night?

Gryphon went over to the river to wash himself off a bit, as well. He voiced his question to Andra.

He saw a flicker of—worry?—pass over Andra’s face, then she started to say something, but stopped abruptly when Eyrie strode over purposefully after having shaping up the campsite. To look at it, you wouldn’t think three people had stayed the night there, Gryphon thought.

‘We are leaving now,’ Eyrie told the washing pair curtly. She sounded very much like a military man ordering his troops. He noticed that Eyrie’s face was still devoid of much emotion, just a stern mask.

Eyrie led Gryphon and Andra along the river again. The young pair hung back to talk.

‘Well?’ Gryphon asked. His curiosity was eating him alive!

Andra exhaled heavily. ‘Last night…’ she started hesitantly, ‘was interesting.’ And Andra proceeded to tell him the happenings of the previous night. Andra and Eyrie had removed the draken as Gryphon slept. When Andra got to the part when she and Eyrie fought, she faltered, so Gryphon stepped in.

‘That is why you are avoiding her?’

‘Yes,’ she said almost sadly. Then, frustrated, she said, ‘But I don’t understand why she reacted like that. I know it was awful to say, but I was caught up by my emotions, and it seems that she over-reacted to such a small thing.’

Gryphon didn’t envy Andra’s night time adventures or being on the bad side of Eyrie, especially since Eyrie was a Swordmaster. She certainly seemed like someone it would be wiser not to cross. Andra really should pick her battles more wisely, Gryphon chuckled to himself.

‘I see no reason to laugh,’ Andra said in what was nearly a pout.

Sobering, he said, ‘Maybe to her it was not so small.’

‘Maybe,’ she said forlornly.

‘Maybe,’ he started dramatically, trying to lighten the mood, ‘Eyrie was told something like that by her lover, and it traumatised her! She loved him so much that it killed her, having him think such thoughts about her.’ Gryphon was enjoying himself. Perhaps he could give this story to a bard and have it become famous. Or better yet, a travelling troupe! ‘And now, she goes around doing good deeds for strangers, hoping to redeem herself in her lover’s eyes,’ Gryphon finished, satisfied. It was quite funny; Eyrie didn’t seem the type to fall in love.

Andra laughed, and Gryphon’s stomach clenched. He loved that laugh. He teased and jested with Andra just to hear it.

‘I hope not,’ Andra said. ‘I would not wish that fate on anyone. But I shall apologise, shunned by her love or no.’ Andra quickened her pace, Midnight trailing along behind her.

Gryphon stopped. He had no desire to be caught in the cross-fire of the two women.

Fog gave Gryphon an encouraging push. ‘Not right now,’ he whispered to his horse. Sometimes animals knew too much for their own good.

Andra walked toward Eyrie none too quickly. She almost regretted her decision to apologise then. Almost.

In truth, she really was sorry, and she certainly didn’t want to be one of Eyrie’s enemies—the deadly swiftness with which Eyrie’s sword had reached her own threat last night made sure of that. What could she say, thought? She didn’t really want to speak about last night. There were even some things she hadn’t told Gryphon. For some reason, Andra wasn’t quite ready to tell Gryphon about finding the ‘elf with the Moon,’ or Guardians. What would she tell him?

Before she knew it, Andra was treading side by side with Eyrie, and still the proper words had not come. Eyrie did not look at Andra, but kept her eyes trained on the forest. Andra knew Eyrie was aware of her, though.

Andra turned and checked that Gryphon was out of earshot, and, satisfied, turned back and cleared her throat. ‘Eyrie, I…I am sorry for my behaviour last night. It was a poor way to show my gratitude. I thank you for escorting us, and I understand completely if you no longer wish to teach me swordsmanship.’

All during Andra’s small speech, Eyrie had not turned to look at Andra. Andra almost repeated herself, when Eyrie surprised her. ‘I am sorry, too, child. I should never have pulled my steel on you. I should have taken into account your feelings as well as my own. Emotion got the better of me.’

Eyrie finally turned to look Andra in the eyes. The stare seemed to pierce her soul, and Andra’s steps faltered. ‘That is the first lesson for you to learn if you would learn the sword: never let your emotions take over you, for then you lose the battle even if you beat your opponent. Remember that.’

Eyrie returned her gaze to the dense wood in front of them.

After several quiet moments, Andra whispered, ‘You are the Guardian of the Sunbearer and I have the Sun sword. What do we do now?’ I will not give the sword up. I cannot. It was all Andra had left of her mother now. The sword and a head full of memories.

Eyrie answered with a question of her own. ‘Did you ever play Find-the-Hidden as a young one?’ When Andra nodded, Eyrie stated, ‘We shall play it then. The boundaries, however, are much larger. The risks are greater, the stakes higher, the dangers more lethal than a paltry thorn in the foot. We use all of Dunuhndier. There will probably be more draken after us, as well as other unsavoury creatures.’ Eyrie paused, and then spat, ‘And we seek your little elf.’

Andra sighed, grappling with the gravity of her situation. Andra looked back at Gryphon. He raised an eyebrow, as if asking, Can I come up now? Andra shrugged and nodded. Eyrie had gone stonily silent again, her soft boots making no crunch upon the twigs on the ground.

It was hard to tell what time of day it was, but it felt to Andra as if they had walked the entire expanse of Almania. She almost wanted to hop atop Midnight, but riding in the dense forest near the slick riverbank was a sure way to break a horse’s leg.

Andra was at a loss. Here she was, parading about with a sword out of legend, when she had heretofore only read about great heroes with magical weapons. She was on her way to adventure. That thought did not comfort her as much as it would have a week ago, though.

Time began to pass in a haze for Andra; she was barely conscious of its change, what with the emptiness inside her, the pain of her mother’s death finally pushing itself to the front of her mind. She would not cry anymore though. Especially not in front of Eyrie. She’s dead. My mother is dead. That was the only thought running through her head as they all at their midday meal and watered the horses. Gryphon made several attempts at conversation, all of which were doomed to failure. Eyrie only looked at Andra, shrewd and calculating.

As the forest began to thin, Andra could see a large building. Andra suspected it was an inn. She saw a sign hanging above the door, swinging in the wind. It bore a picture of what seemed to be a house belching smoke out of the chimney. There were words as well, but Andra couldn’t make them out. Beyond the inn, there were more buildings, though the inn was the largest. Some were made of wood, others of stone, with roofs thatched or shingled.

‘Is this it?’ Gryphon asked curiously.

Eyrie nodded, and with less than a bard’s flourish, announced, ‘Welcome to Lithe’s Bend.’

Reviews

[Chris]

This chapter was pretty good like the rest, though I have to admit it wasn't as exciting, but of course that's only because there wasn't too much going on either, and of course not every chapter needs excitement I guess. Just saying though. A couple other things:

"What could she say, thought? She didn't really want to speak about last night."

I think you might mean "though" instead of "thought."

"His curiosity was eating him alive!"

It annoys me that you used an exclamation point here. The exclamation point has always kind of looked childish in my eyes when it's used in narration, especially when it's used for something that doesn't necessarily need a lot of excitement. That was one of the major problems I had when trying to read The Sword of Shannara because Brooks used exclamation points whenever they weren't really necessary. Not saying you have to change it, just saying it looks really annoying.