Andal was laying down on his horse, head hanging off the side of its neck, as it trudged over the mountain. There was a light rain around him, just enough to keep him damp and dreary as his stomachs growled. He came to a high point on the mountain. On the other side was Hathor, the City of Grace. Andal's heart sank. It was still several miles away, and he was so tired, and hungry, and his horse was trudging through its own tiredness.

He adjusted his position, picking up his head, and laying it on the other side of his horse's neck. His eyes widened, finally noticing an abbey no more than a half mile to his right. He turned his horse and urged it forward with renewed vigor at the thoughts of food and shelter. The only light he could see inside was from a small room on the third floor, but he hoped that someone would hear him and let him in. He slid off his horse, but slipped and landed on his butt. He struggled to stand, not realizing how weak he felt until now, and instead crawled to the door.

He curled up on the threshold, finally out of the rain. He looked up at the knocker way above him, but couldn’t find the motivation to stand for it. He just stayed curled up and knocked on the bottom of the door instead. He waited multiple minutes, but nobody answered. He knocked again and put his ear up against the door, hoping for footsteps.

He let his eyes close slightly, just letting them rest a little, then all the way. He wasn’t going to let himself fall asleep there, just rest his eyes.

The next thing he knew, he fell inside the abbey as someone pulled the door out from under him. "Good lord!" The man expressed.

"What is it?” Another voice asked.”

“There’s a child here, he was leaning on the door! And- a horse!”

“He rode a horse here? Alone?”

“It appears so, I’m going to take it to the stables, you take the boy. Looks like he needs some sleep.”

While the one picked up Andal, the other stepped outside and closed the door softly behind him. “Okay little guy, let’s get you somewhere to sleep.”

He started carrying Andal toward a stairwell, but they passed by a table that had a basket of bread on it. Andal peered over the man’s shoulder at it, asking weakly, “Sir, can I have some bread?”

“Call me Izac, little one.” He looked over at the table. “It’s not good to eat so late, are you so hungry?” Andal nodded. “Very well.” Izac set Andal down at the table. He tore off a handful of bread and held it up for Andal, “And what shall I call you?”

“Andal.” He took the bread and shoved it in his mouth in seconds, trying to satiate his hunger as quickly as possible. He couldn’t chew properly with his mouth so stuffed, and had to sheepishly cough it back into his hands.

“Hey, you can’t eat any faster than you can chew. Don’t rush yourself.” Andal ate his bread like a civilized person, and Izac ripped off another handful for him. “What were you doing out there alone, Andal? What made you come here?”

Andal didn’t answer. “That’s okay, we can talk in the morning. Come on, there will be a big breakfast when you wake up.” Andal got off his chair, but moved too sluggish for Izac’s taste. He picked up Andal again and carried him up the stairwell.

Andal had thought this was an abbey, but lining the walls were decorative swords and banners with coats of arms on them. Izac noticed Andal’s curiosity, “Tools of the Templars, we protect the vulnerable, much like yourself.”

Andal asked, “So you’ll protect me from the Haverdash, if they come?”

Izac furrowed his brow, ‘The Haverdash…? We need to have a long talk in the morning.”

He brought Andal to an empty room and searched through a drawer for a change of clothes. He found the smallest ones he could, but it was still a baggy fit for Andal. “Even the smallest templar we’ve had has been notably bigger than you I’m afraid, but it’s a lot better than the wet clothes you have on now.”

He helped Andal to change and tucked him into the bed, “Now, if you’re fine on your own, I’ll head to my room. If you’d be uncomfortable being alone tonight, I could sleep here on the floor. What do you think? Will you be good?” Andal nodded, thinking of little other than sleep. “Alright, good night Andal.”

*

Andal awoke to the chime of an immense bell. There was a dim glow from the window; it was too early into the sunrise for a proper stream of light. He buried his face in his pillow. He was far too exhausted to get up, and the bell was too loud to let him sleep.

After a minute, though it felt like an hour, the chiming stopped. Andal settled in again, pulling his blanket up over his face. Heavy footsteps came up to his room, and a tall man with more muscle than Andal had ever seen stepped in. “Hey Andal, I’m Smaru. Just want to tell you that you don’t have to get up right now. That’s the bell for us to get up, but I hear how late you came in last night. So, have a good rest. See you later.”

Andal was able to fall asleep again, and woke up a couple hours later. He tossed his blanket to the side and hurried down the stairs, just imagining himself with a big breakfast in front of him. He reached the bottom of the stairs and ran to the table. There were only three templars still sitting, but Izac was one of them so Andal sat by him. Some of the others were cleaning, and a group was just heading out the door. Izac grabbed a plate that had been left for Andal and slid it to him. "Good morning, Andal. We've all finished breakfast, but we saved this for you. That's mutton, with our go-to seasonings, apple with cinnamon, buttered bread, peas, and walnuts. If you eat all that and want more, there's more in the kitchen."

Andal dug into the cinnamon apples first, eating as fast as he could without embarrassing himself like he did last night. Another templar, whose voice he recognized from last night, told him, "Your horse is in our stables. He has everything he needs."

Through a thick bite of mutton Andal squeezed out a, "Sank you."

"You're welcome. I'm Pyok, by the way." He turned to Izac and leaned in to whisper, "I'm going to prep my horse and suit up. Based on what the boy tells you, I'll be prepared to ride south and scout things out. Otherwise I'll go into town."

"If we do need to head south, I'll go with you."

Pyok left the room, and Izac waited patiently for Andal to finish eating. He finished his plate and just got an apple from the kitchen. "So why don't you tell me about last night?" Izac asked, "What brought you to us so late?

"The City of Grace was still so far away, and I saw your abbey, I'm sorry if I woke you up."

Izac shook his head, "That's not a problem. Why were you riding at night in the first place?"

*

Andal wandered into the yard. Smaru was there, laying against a tree. Andal lied next to him. Smaru asked, "How are you feeling, Andal?"

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"Bad. I don’t know what to do; I’m just wandering around feeling sad." Smaru looked at him sympathetically, but couldn’t find the right words to comfort him. “Are you bored Smaru? We could hang out.”

"I probably look it, don't I? I'm not though, I was actually meditating."

"Is that any fun?"

Smaru laughed, "No, I can't say it is. The goal is to be at peace, to contemplate things with a clean mind."

Andal looked over at Smaru, then said quietly, "That'd be nice."

Smaru patted Andal on the leg, "You've been through a lot, more than a boy your age should. Izac and Pyok told me what you'd said before they left."

"Yea." Andal ran his fingers in the dirt and grabbed a weed to mess with. "Did they say where they were going?"

“Well, I’m not supposed to tell you, but I rather think I should. Just don’t be worried." Andal leaned in curiously, "They're going to scout out your hometown and the surrounding area. They plan for it to be a week-long trip of observation."

"They're going to stay by the Haverdash a whole week? But, they don't know how fast they are! And they're really strong!"

"Don't be worried Andal, Izac and Pyok can take care of themselves."

"But they're not big and strong like you are, they'll be overpowered!"

Smaru smiled, "No, really, they should be just fine. It does help that I'm physically strong, but we templars don't have to fight with our muscles. Come on, I'll show you some major skills."

They got up and passed by the garden to get to a little shed. Smaru went inside, then came out with two wooden swords. Andal's eyes lit up as he reached for one, "You're going to show me how to use a sword!"

Smaru handed one to Andal, "It's not going to be a real lesson, but yes. Now let's find another templar, someone really good, so I can show you how skill beats strength."

"Okay!" Andal was positively giddy as soon as he had the wooden sword in his hand, swinging it about and stabbing the way a boy couldn't be expected to resist. At one point he whacked Smaru in the back of the calf, leading to him being sternly told to be careful. He was a little less extravagant with his swings after that. Smaru brought them to the kitchen where a blonde, lithe young man was just putting bread in the oven. Smaru reached over and flicked his shoulder.

He flicked Smaru back, "Hey Smaru, hey-" he took a second to remember the name he'd been told, "Andal. What's up?"

"I want to show Andal some skilled sword fighting so that he doesn't worry about Izac and Pyok, who just went on a week long trip. I'll explain what that is later."

"I can help with that, but only if it won't take long. The bread and all."

"It shouldn't take long. Andal, this is Nombur, hand him the sword."

Andal was reluctant to give it up, but let Nombur have it anyway. They went outside and Smaru and Nombur stood across from each other with 6 feet of space between them. Smaru had his sword low by his waist, pointing behind him. Nombur had his high end pointing back from the side of his head.

They sized each other up for a moment, then Nombur stepped in while swinging the sword on the outside towards Smaru’s left shoulder. Smaru spun his sword around his left hand to block. His sword hit Nombur's hard, and Nombur's bounced away. Nombur transitioned instantly from his sword bouncing away to rotating to slice at Smaru's right shoulder with the other side, turning into it to keep his hands in natural positions.

Smaru flicked his sword to the right and hit Nombur's sword again, hitting it slightly down. Nombur tried to transition that into a cut at Smaru's shin, but Smaru controlled Nombur's sword with his and drove it into the ground. Smaru sliced up to catch Nombur while his sword was trapped. Nombur barely evaded by leaning back and stepping out and to Smaru's side.

He brought his sword up in time to block Smaru's return swing with the base of his sword, lowered his sword to push Smaru's sword down while he had leverage, and stabbed him in the belly.

Smaru humphed frustratedly. "Nice. Again."

Nombur extended the handle of the sword to Smaru, "And risk being 1-1 against you? I'm just going to keep my win, thank you very much!"

Smaru gave an indignant frown, but Andal interrupted, "Wow! So it's better to be light and fast?"

Nombur looked at Smaru and quickly chimed in, "Yep!"

Smaru held his hands up in a *stop* hand sign, "Sometimes, only sometimes. We aren't even holding shields, and that makes a difference. If we were wearing mail armor that would make a difference too. Sometimes in order to stick your weapon in an unprotected spot you have to grab the other person and wrestle them a bit. When that happens you can bet the bigger, stronger man has the advantage."

"Okay," Nombur added, "But if you're on top of me I just create gusts of wind to push you off."

Smaru retorted, "I'd just make a shield of aegis behind me so I don't go anywhere."

"Then you can't put it in front of you so I’ll make a sword of light in your face!"

"I would be holding you way too close for that! You don't have the space!"

Andal raised his hand, "I'm confused. What's going on now?"

Nombur raised his sword and yelled to Smaru, "Make a shield!"

He swung down. A golden, translucent shield appeared out of nothing between Smaru and the practice sword. It was like a heater shield in shape, but around four feet wide and over four feet tall. Andal exclaimed, "You can do that? Why didn't you show me that first thing?"

"I wanted to show you skill with the sword first so that you'd know we can handle ourselves due to our study and hard work."

"And magic." Nombur tacked on.

"Which takes study and hard work also!"

Andal jumped up and down, "What else can you do?"

Nombur pointed firmly with his pointer and middle finger, and a sword of bright, golden light shot forward from them in that direction. "The shield and the sword are the main two. They don't take a whole lot of thought, and are extremely useful."

Andal put his hands on his head, "Wow, so that's how you can fight people like the Haverdash. If I learned how to do that, do you think I could fight them too?"

Nombur laughed, "Kind of my fault, but hey, I've got to check on my bread. Later!" He walked back to the kitchen.

Smaru put his hands on his hips. "I hate to disappoint you, kid. You can't just learn how to do magic. I could teach you some of the sword fighting though."

His shoulders sank, "Why not? How come you can do it and I can't?"

"We were raised in the church from birth, chosen among many devoted followers, by God, to have the gifts of a templar. At your age, well, nobody has been that old before starting."

"My parents taught me to pray to Nishir when I was really little!"

"Then he knows your name, and that's good, but it's a whole different kind of devotion. Prayer is good, prayer can't hurt. It's okay, very few people will learn magic in their lives. In the meantime, you want to learn how to use a sword?"

Andal had a pouty face, but he took lessons from Smaru regardless. Though, Smaru didn't spend as much time on techniques as telling him to be patient. Andal didn't want to try single moves repeatedly, memorize stances, or being told "try it again" when he didn't do something quite right.

After one moment when Andal complained about how they weren't doing real swordfights, Smaru, held Andal's sword and told him, "Hey, you could just play, that's up to you, but you wouldn't learn how to fight. You're an orphan now, as sorry as that is. You need to learn how to defend yourself better than most. And, I'd want you to be able to help other people, like we do. Is that something you want to do? Defend people in need?"

Andal immediately thought of his family, who died protecting him. Then he thought of Lars, who he left in that Haverdash house. He couldn't help either against that Haverdash, but if he could have… "Yes," He told Smaru, "I really want that."

They continued for another hour after that, until Andal was tired. He hadn't complained again. He wanted to learn it right, rather than relying on his own gumption, which had shown to be useless in the face of real danger. Smaru had to go after that.

The templars still in the Abbey had to attend a chapel service, which they had every night. Andal couldn't join them, as he wasn't part of the order. When they had all gone inside he started climbing to get to a window of the chapel. There was a shorter hall right next to it, and by rolling some barrels over he was able to get himself the height to pull himself up.

He saw all but a couple of them sitting in rows, while the two at the front led them in music. It didn't have words, but the melody and how they sang with one voice gave it a spiritual feeling. After the singing they began to pray. Andal went to his own room, kneeling at his bed. "Nishir, god who protects those in need, and gives light in dark times," That was the memorized bit you're supposed to always say. After that, he had to come up with something on his own.

"Could you, choose me to be a templar, and have magic? I'm not that tough as I am, and I can't defend people. And, I'm really worried about the Haverdash. They said they wanted to conquer everything, so I'm afraid I'll keep reliving moments like when they attacked my village if I can't defend people from them." He teared up, frustratedly remembering what that Haverdash did. "So basically, can I have magic, so that I can fight, no, so I can kill Haverda-"

Andal stopped. He almost fell backwards trying to reprocess his position. Something was different, like there was a new color in front of him he'd never seen before, and it was all over the place. He struggled to his feet and gained his bearings. He looked at his bed for a long time, trying to determine what exactly was so different. He couldn't find anything though, the bed was the exact same it had always been, with the same colors it always had. The change wasn't to the room, it was internal.

Andal turned to face the most open part of the room, "Shield of Aegis!" It wasn't much, but the outline of a shield of light appeared a couple feet ahead of him. Andal began jumping up and down, "Yes yes yes!"