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The roaring fire and the flow of warming wine slowly hunted the chill from my bones as we ate. Eral, or whatever the cook's name was, had done a fine job with the venison and by the taste of it the wine was not as watered down as it usual is. Father has outdone himself. With feigned generosity and modesty he was clearly showing the county, and especially those filth covered pagans, that we do not fear them; that however they may try we will always be their betters. Yet the hours passed quickly, the fire died down into smoldering ember, the barrels were emptied and the beds were filled. After that it was just me and him, his eyes on the fire my eyes on him. A tall man leaning towards the flames to savor its last warmth, lending his beautiful features to the dull light. ‘’[[Gwynn]]?’’ ‘’Yes father?’’ ‘’When did you see your first battle?’’ ‘’I was sixteen… there was some skirmishes before that though.’’ ‘’That’s good.’’ Then he was quiet again. ‘’Do you think there will be a war?’’ My heart leaped at the [[mere]] mention of such a grand thing; a chance to further my reputation… and my families too of course. My father didn’t respond but motioned to his squire for more wine while I licked my lips and continued. ‘’Now that [[Lady]] [[Ellen]] has bent her knee to [[Nanteleod]] the court is abuzz with predictions… but I’m not privy to her thoughts as you. Besides I know little of the court.’’ “The less you know, the happier you will be. There were more wars when I was younger and I must admit I was eager to participate in them…” His admission made my spirit soar, how alike we were! Perhaps not in flesh but in spirit! ‘’I thought war was going to be like an adventure… a new experience. War is not a new experience; it is a new world. Its inhabitants are more different from human beings than devils or angels. Its laws are new, and even its lands are new, because it is a land in which insignificant hills and hollows are lifted to the importance of cities. Just as our woods holds such beasts as griffon or nuckelavees, so the world of war is stalked by monsters called battles, whom one approaches through an ever-thickening array of omens…’’ With a single motion he drained his goblet and held it out to his squire again. ‘’It is a horrifying world.’’ I nursed on his word with my eyes fixed on his noble brow. I would have to learn to speak like him. To my subordinates and allies my words would be like honey or the beat of a marching drum. To my enemies it would be the last thing they heard and the first thing they feared. Suddenly father chuckled and straightened his back. ‘’It seems that I’m growing old, son, and my mind is growing dark. That little speech was more worthy of Urien, God bless his soul, than me.’’ ‘’It’s a pity I never met him’’ ‘’Oh, you wouldn’t have gotten along. He would have hit you more times over the head than you could care to remember. But I miss the old man.’’ Mirroring my father I rose from my seat and walked with him towards our beds. ‘’Good night, son’’ ‘’Good night, father’’ I lay awake repeating my father’s words over and over again until the sun rose.
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