Free Mage-Guard of Hamor by L. E. Modesitt Page A

instructions.
    The armsmaster finally moved, with a graceful jab that was half feint, followed by an undercut that Rahl slid. Khedren then thrust directly at Rahl from below, and Rahl slipped sideways, keeping his attention on the armsmaster's body rather than his eyes. Eyes could deceive, but body weight was harder to use as a feint or deception.
    Once Khedren seemed to realize that Rahl was not open to the normal openings and feints, the armsmaster's next efforts were based on his greater height and physical strength. Rahl countered by moving and slipping the blows, always sideways, rather than retreating.
    Then came the more complex movements, some that Rahl had never seen, but he managed to avoid being struck, although, at times, Khedren nearly managed it . . . but not quite.
    Rahl was sweating profusely when Khedren finally stepped back and lowered his staff. He laughed, softly. "Taryl always did prefer understatement. 'If you're tolerably good with a staff, how are you with a truncheon?"
    "Actually, ser, I'm just a trace better with the truncheon."
    "I'll take your word for that." Khedren paused. "You must have had training before you came to Luba, even before you went to Nylan."
    "My father put a truncheon in my hands almost as soon as I could hold it, ser. He had no order-skills, but he wanted me to be able to defend myself in a way that would not encourage me to be a bravo." That was partly a surmise on Rahl's part, because Kian had never quite said that, but Rahl felt it to be so.
    "Wise man. We'll work on the blades, now, since Taryl asked me to give you instruction in falchiona techniques that are most useful for an ordermage. If you'd put the staffs in the rack over there, I'll get the weighted wooden blanks."
    Khedren walked to a chest set against the far wall, which he opened, and from which he extracted two blades. He walked back to Rahl, displaying both blunted practice weapons. They looked almost identical, but one felt far less threatening to Rahl.
    "You can tell the difference, can't you?"
    "Yes, ser."
    A faint smile appeared on Khedren's lips. "The one you'll use is of heavy oak with small lead weights set in the wood to approximate the weight and heft of a falchiona as closely as possible. Even a blunted blade strains a good ordermage, and the better the ordermage, the more the strain. There's no reason to create unnecessary strain." Khedren paused. "What we'll work on with you is a series of moves designed more to keep an opponent from even crossing blades with you. From that basic set of moves, you'll learn three or four single strikes. Obviously, you only want to use them when you're facing a single opponent, or when others aren't too close, because if you're successful, you'll be frozen for a moment after a blade kill, and a good blade can strike in that instant."
    Rahl took the weighted wooden blank. As Khedren had said, it had the weight and heft of a falchiona, but it was easier to hold and didn't contain the ugly reddish white of a true falchiona.
    "Now . . . watch this." Khedren stepped to one side and began to demonstrate.
    Rahl concentrated, knowing that he well might need to know everything that the armsmaster could teach him.
    Once more Rahl found himself sweating heavily by the time Khedren called a halt.
    "That's enough for today. You'll need more practice before they become natural."
    Rahl could tell already that the techniques would be helpful, although he hoped never to have to discover exactly how useful. "Thank you."
    "My pleasure." Khedren smiled. "In return, I have a favor to ask of you. After you have some bread and cheese, and some rest." He gestured.
    Rahl followed him to a small adjoining chamber, which held a small table and several straight-backed chairs. He was glad to sit down, but surprised when Khedren sliced several small wedges of cheese off a wheel and set a loaf of bread on the table, along with two mugs of ale.
    "Thank you."
    "I enjoyed it. Unless Taryl or Jyrolt or a