"Tarrin, this is Captain Binter, commander of the High Princess' personal guard. Binter, this is Tarrin, one of the Tower's Initiates that is partly owned by the Knights."
"Her Highness speaks about you often," the massive Vendari said in a curiously deep, hollow voice. The Vendari had a squared snout and black, dead eyes, eyes that would chill anyone who squared off against him in combat. His crest looked like a mohawk, riding high over his green-scaled head, and Tarrin could see that those scales were small but very compact and tightly organized. They looked to be a very effective natural armor. That close to him, Binter's raw size was incredibly intimidating. He loomed like a mountain, a massive mountain of a Vendari that was nothing but sleek muscle and raw power. He wore only a pair leather straps crossing his chest, connected to a wide belt holding a shortsword, and a furred clout over a pair of black trousers. Like Tarrin, he wore no shoes, letting his clawed feet touch the earth. He had similar short, wicked-looking claws on his hands. Tarrin was eight spans tall, towering over most humans but Azakar, who averaged about six spans in height. Tarrin only came up to Binter's chest. He had to be ten spans tall, almost as tall as an Ogre, but not as wide or plodding. He was sleek, powerfully built but not at the expense of his agility, and he was all warrior. Binter would be an absolute terror in battle. Now Tarrin appreciated why he was chosen to be Keritnima's personal bodyguard. Nobody would dare attack something like that. "It is an honor to meet you," he continued.
"The honor is mine," Tarrin replied cordially. Exposure to Allia and her culture, which placed honor in very high regard, would help him in dealing with the Vendari. To the average Vendari, honor was life. To lose honor was to lose life, and they were known to kill themselves after being dishonored. Killing one's self was an acceptable path to regaining honor. "Being the personal guard of the Princess is a station deserving great honor."
The Vendari's maw curled up in the most curious way. Almost like a smile. "Honor and Blood," he said.
Tarrin gave him a curious look. That was something Allia said occasionally, and its meaning was obscure. It was a Selani term for duty that brought honor, but often also brought hardship. It was a task, an ordeal, to be endured. But once it was done, great honor came to those who managed it. She often called her being sent to the Tower a trial of Honor and Blood.
"Then look for the honor at the end of the task," he said formally.
"Always," he said. "You have the bearing of a warrior, and your features cast you as Ungardt. Or partly. Do you know the Ways?"
"I was taught by my mother. This," he said, holding up his paws, "is something that happened a bit later."
"I have never faced an adept of the Ways," he said. "I would be honored to take the field against you."
"I don't fight purely in the Ways as much anymore," he chuckled ruefully. "My best friend is Selani, and she trained me in the Dance."
"Then you have received some of the best training there is," the Vendari said. "The entire world respects the fighting prowess of the Ungardt and the Selani. My honor would double to face you."
"I came out here to challenge you anyway, Captain," Tarrin said with a grin. "I've never faced an adversary your size before. I thought it would be a good learning experience for me."
"Then we will both profit from an exercise," he said sagely. "Would you prefer unarmed combat, or armed?"
"Both," he smiled. "Full contact."
"I would not want to hurt you," he said in concern. That drew some laughter from the Knights.
"You're not going to hurt him, Captain," Faalken promised. "Tarrin's alot tougher than he looks, and he packs quite a wallop. He could probably pick you up and throw you."
"I don't doubt it," Binter replied. "I have never faced one like you before, so it is best to expect anything. That way you do not suffer a nasty surprise." He took his hammer back from Faalken. "But if you want a full contact exercise, then I would be honored to give it to you."
"Just watch that stick of his, Captain," Faalken said as the pair moved into the sand-filled area used for sparring. "He's very nasty with it. And be careful. He's got alot of nasty little tricks."
"The staff is a very effective weapon, Sir Knight," Binter said calmly. "It is not often used because it can be ineffective against a heavily armored opponent. But when both men are unarmored, it is a very dangerous weapon."
"I'm glad someone appreciates my taste," Tarrin said with a laugh. "The Knights have been badgering me to give up my staff and take up a sword."
"Tarrin, if you used a two-handed sword, you'd be an absolute nightmare," Ulgen told him. "With your strength and speed, nobody would even want to get within ten spans of you."
"I have had so much trouble with that," Binter grunted. "Hold on."
"What?" Tarrin asked.
"We do not use 'spans' in Wikuna," he said. "We have a different system of measures. Ten spans is roughly a quarter over eight feet."
"Feet? What a strange term," Tarrin said. "What is a foot?"
"It's a bit longer than a span," he replied. "A foot has twelve inches, where a span has ten fingers. A finger and an inch are almost exactly the same length, so we use them as the base to convert from one system to another," he said, holding two of his huge fingers apart at the length of a finger. "You use finger, span, longspan, and league. Those terms in our system are inch, foot, mile, and also league. One of your leagues is four longspans. One of ours is three miles, and oddly enough, they're precisely the same distance. So we try to use leagues when dealing with Sennadites."
"I thought everyone used the same system," Tarrin mused. "Even the Selani use spans and longspans."
"Probably because they learned it through contact with you and the Empire of Arak," he replied. "The Arkisians brought that system from Arak when they broke away from the Empire, and it spread through Sennadar. The Wikuni and many kingdoms on the continents of Sharadar and Godan-Nyr use the same system, and there's another that's widely used on the continent of Valkar."
"You're very learned, Captain," Tarrin said in appreciation.
"The wise soldier learns as much as he can," he said, almost chanting from a learned passage. "The wise warrior will survive much longer than the strong one."
Tarrin had to give the Vendari a great deal of respect. Their ways of fighting mirrored the Ungardt and the Selani. Perhaps the three cultures had all stumbled upon the true secrets of the ways of the warrior. Both the Ways and the Dance preached self defense over starting fights. Both held high the ideal that their forms were learned not to create aggression, but as self defense against aggression. Despite their serious ability, the Ungardt were not aggressively expansionistic. They colonized islands in the northern reaches of the Sea of Storms, but didn't make war on their neighbors.
"Very true," Tarrin agreed. "Where do you want to begin?"
"Armed," he said with a smile, hefting his hammer.
They squared off against each other, Tarrin holding his staff in the end grip, and Binter holding his hammer by the very end of its handle. "Are you ready?" he asked.
"I'm ready," he replied. "Let's go."
As the Knights looking on expected, the first few minutes were nothing but the pair feeling each other out. Tarrin tested Binter with light jabs and swings, keeping the massive Vendari out of reach and on guard with his longer weapon. He showed to be smooth and deceptively slow, but the ease of his movements told Tarrin that he could move much faster than he appeared. He was trying to bait Tarrin into thinking he was slow, a tactic Tarrin had used himself a time or two.