stole from the king. They were good men, who had experienced hard times and needed to eat. Kiln would not condemn them for trying to survive.
Diomond was a tall barbarian from the Highlands. He was of the Veor Tribe located in the Highlands southwest of Tarsis. He was cast out from the Veors after he had fought with the battle lord of his tribe. Their rules are harsh and their justice even harsher. Diomond had gotten drunk and tried to bed the battle lord’s sister. She slapped him and in Diomond’s drunken state he hit her back. The battle lord was furious and demanded a bare handed feud fight, which was his right. If you lose a feud fight, then you were banished from the Highlands forever. The battle lord was called the battle lord for a reason; he was the best fighter of the tribe. Diomond lost the fight and left his tribe, never to return, wandering the countryside, until he ran into Kiln ten years ago. Diomond was gigantic, almost seven feet tall, and his long blonde hair framed a weathered tanned face.
The other four were recent additions to the group, all wandering vagrants and displaced farmers that now stood as tall proud men. Kiln gave them purpose and confidence, and he taught them how to fend for themselves. They all loved him as a father and great friend. There was Ballic, Corman, Wil, and Anders. Anders was only twenty one years of age, the youngest and newest addition from Finarth.
Jonas enjoyed his time with these tough mountain men, and Shyann was right, Kiln had a lot to teach him. Jonas continued to thrive on the strenuous activities, and the work on the farm made him think of his mother, which usually brought smiles, but sometimes tears. He spent many hours with Lambeck training with the bow, and with Kiln working with the sword. Lambeck was the most incredible archer he had ever seen. In three seconds he could place three arrows in the same hole at eighty paces. He taught him many techniques on speed, breathing, and how to make proper bows and arrows. Jonas loved it and he learned, as Fil had told him a year ago, that he was a natural. As his strength increased so did his speed, power, and accuracy, and it wasn’t long before he could hit a fleeing rabbit at fifty paces.
Kiln was an anomaly to Jonas. On rare occasions he could be jovial and fun, but most of the time he was cold and seemed to lack emotion, especially when he fought or trained. It was several months before Jonas even touched a sword. They spent the early mornings running through the mountains. Jonas could not keep up with Kiln, which surprised him. Jonas thought he was in great shape and that he would be able to outrun a man who must be in his early fifties. He was mistaken. Kiln moved quickly through the mountain trails, and his powerful legs carried him up the rocky steep terrain like a mountain goat. But Jonas struggled on, keeping within eye sight of the warrior at all times. His legs gained muscle and his strong lungs could keep him running all day. Kiln taught Jonas how to strengthen his arms and legs and how to stay supple and flexible as his muscle mass grew. Kiln would push him until he was exhausted, and it was in this state where he taught him the skills of Ty’erm.
One early morning they ran to the edge of a rock cliff and below them they looked down at Shadow Valley. They had been running for two hours, and Kiln had pushed him hard, running up steep slopes for most of the exercise. Jonas’s legs burned with the exertion as they stopped at the cliff edge, both sweating profusely and sucking in deep intakes of fresh mountain air.
“Well done, Jonas. You have been working hard. Now, let us try Ty’erm again,” suggested Kiln, sitting on the smooth stone.
“Sir, why do we keep practicing Ty’erm when I am exhausted? Wouldn’t it make more sense to try something this difficult when I’m rested?” asked Jonas, sitting down near Kiln.
“Jonas, to achieve the mental state of Ty’erm, you must be able to focus without distraction. When you are exhausted, your brain tries to shut down, which means you are concentrating on less, enabling you to enter the state of Ty’erm more easily.”