Exhausted from the arduous journey he finally reached the village where this great swordsman lived. At the end of a long row of huts, there was one which seemed to be set apart from the others, almost as if reigning above them. From what the villagers had told him, he knew this to be the home of the great swordsman he was seeking.

He had heard many things of this man, mostly that he was a master and this made him feel somewhat frightened as he knocked upon the door of the hut, trying to stand as tall as his short frame would allow and gather as much courage as he could find.

He could hear a creaking whoosh as the door gave way to the form of a powerful man wearing a shiny sword at his side..

At first his presence seemed overwhelming, and as their eyes met, the young man felt that there was little about this man that he could understand.

"What brings you here?" the Swordmaster asked, with a patient smile.

"I want to learn to be a great Swordsman. Will you teach me?" the words stuttered with anxiousness, the struggles of the long journey and the desperate expectations of youth trying to reach beyhond its years for something not yet understood.

The Swordsman looked at him intensely as if to read the young man through and through, yet hardly showing him any indication that he was doing that.

Continue.. The Boy and the Sword.