From Darkness Won - Jill Williamson [56]
“As to our advice for this journey through manhood,” Sir Gavin said. “Always be teachable, willing to learn.”
“Remember that every man is a slave to something,” Sir Eagan said. “Let no one or thing master you but Arman.”
“Set goals and boundaries to protect yourself. Resist the hosts of temptations that await you,” Sir Caleb said.
“Always carry weapon.” Shung banged a fist on his chest. “And Shung says the little cham is a man.”
Achan trembled through a silent laugh.
Sir Gavin lifted a diamond-shaped shield off Sir Eagan’s back and hoisted it before Achan as if he were going to use it. “We had this made for you.”
Blood tingled to Achan’s fingertips as he inspected the shield. Slightly pointed at the top, the bottom edges tapered like a stemless arrowhead. The wood was covered in dark brown leather edged with a band of thick gold plating. Two more strips of gold crossed over one another, dividing the shield into four sections. A gold symbol was mounted in each section: a castle, a tree, a crown, and a cham. A two-headed hawk covered where the strips crossed in the center.
“It’s identical to the shield your father carried in battle but for one difference,” Sir Gavin said. “We put a cham bear on this shield in honor of the life that made you who you are. A cham stands for ferocity and protection. Its presence on your shield should remind you always to be courageous.”
“The crown stands for authority,” Sir Caleb said. “You are responsible for leading Er’Rets.”
“Fortress means stability,” Shung said. “Unshakable.”
“The tree will remind you to remember your creator,” Sir Eagan said. “Always be reverent.”
“The two-headed hawk is the symbol of the Hadar name,” Sir Gavin said. “The Hadars, the line of kings, are men of action, not idleness. While one head looks to the kingdom, the other looks to Arman, always on guard, always vigilant. As you walk through life, be courageous, responsible, steadfast, reverent, and vigilant. No longer will we treat you like a boy. We say you are a man.” He passed the shield to Achan.
Achan took the weight into his arms with a fierce pride.
“Because of my continual concern for your safety, you feel I don’t respect you,” Sir Caleb said. “Nothing could be further from the truth. I’m proud of who you are and what you’ve accomplished. From this day forward I shall strive to respect your wishes, whether I agree or not.”
The words lightened Achan, lifting a yoke he hadn’t realized hung so heavily over his shoulders. “Thank you.”
“If ever you have need, come to any of us,” Sir Gavin said. “For we have lived many years.”
“Some of us more than others, Gavin,” Sir Eagan said.
Achan laughed and examined his shield, enthralled by its beauty, its significance, its weight—the amount of gold. “How was my father’s shield different?”
“King Axel’s shield bore a stag instead of a cham,” Sir Gavin said, “for the stag and the name Axel stand for peace. But your shield, had your father given it to you as Gidon, would have born a lion, which represents a warrior.”
Achan’s chest swelled. His father had named him warrior. “What now? Is that the end?”
Sir Gavin clapped him on the back. “By no means. Now you must hear three old men—and one young one—tell of our greatest triumphs and follies.”
Sir Eagan and Shung dragged chairs over from the wall and sat in a half circle around the side of Achan’s bed.
“Do not judge us too harshly, Your Highness,” Sir Eagan said, sitting on his chair, “for some of us have had much greater and many more follies than we have had triumphs.”
“First,” Sir Gavin said, digging something out of his pants pocket, “take this. Since your father cannot be here.”
Achan accepted a smooth gold coin. He had never held money in his life. He examined the coin and saw the two headed hawk on one side. He flipped it and gasped, for what looked like his own profile was molded onto the other side.
“You and your father look a lot alike, but someday your own profile will mark Er’Retian coins,”