Temple Sword

Chapter 8 The Painter and the Musician

Antal was back at the manor just before noon and managed to storm the altar inside the house in time.Running at full speed had left him drenched in sweat, his long black coat sticking to his skin, but he didn't care, he just wanted to make sure his uncle didn't notice his long absence.

After the prayers, he went to the stables to wipe Sarecher's sweat from his morning's ride, and then fed him hay and water.Only then did he notice Uncle William, who looked very excited.

He walked up and down the yard, his brows furrowed, his mouth twitching silently.Uncle stretched his neck to the north from time to time, blinking hopefully into the distance.Antal didn't know what made his uncle obsessed, but he would rather not ask anything, so as to save him from having doubts about his whereabouts today.

William had been pacing up and down the yard for a full hour, and Antal thought his uncle would go on like this forever.At this time, there was the sound of horseshoes running in the distance, and William's face suddenly lit up, and he ran towards the sound.

Antar followed him curiously, and soon he saw three riders emerging from the woods.One of them rode ahead and knew the road well, that man was Umberto, and Antal hadn't even noticed that the Italian singer had left the estate before.

"My lord." When the three approached, Umberto dismounted, "Please allow me to introduce these two to you."

William nodded with an expectant fatherly smile, and Umberto pushed forward the tall newcomer, a thin man with short hazel hair and a moustache.

"Gregory of the court of Visegrad, who makes brushes as well as you make swords, my lord."

The painter Gregory bowed silently to the knight and William greeted him graciously and expressed his wish to feel at home at his estate in the coming weeks.

"This is Francis, an old friend of mine." Umberto pointed to the short man with long black hair. "His mastery of Vierre was once admired by the King himself."

"Nice to meet you, Francis." William greeted the musician, who bowed deeply to him. "Come on, this is my little guy, Antal, I leave it to you!"

Hearing his own name, the boy's eyebrows were straight to the middle, which startled him.He walks up to introduce himself to strangers, and at the same time he wonders what his uncle said to these people, does he wish he started learning to play music?Really hope this is not the case...

Uncle William didn't seem to intend to reveal the answer to the mystery. He signaled Maritis, who was raising pigs next to him, to go to the wine cellar and take out two jugs of good wine from the best wine barrels.

"You must be tired from the long journey," he said to his guests. "Let's sat down at the table and quench our thirst first!"

"Is this kid coming with us?" Francis asked cheerfully, seeming to like the idea.

"Of course he will join us!" William nodded cheerfully. "He's already a squire after all."

Antar immediately let go of the doubts in his heart, and happily ran to follow these people, even though his glass was almost full of water afterwards, they only gave him a little wine.
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William's plans were not revealed until the next morning, when Antal went out to practice in the yard with his annoying lead sword, and Francis was already there waiting for him, tuning his violin.

Before Antar opened his mouth to ask questions, his uncle answered his doubts: "Do you remember what I told you about swordsmanship, Antar?"

"This will make me a really good fighter," said the boy, looking at the sword in his hand.

"What else did I say? What did I compare it to when we practice posture, when we bend our knees?"

"Like dancing?" he struggled to recall.

"That's right!" Uncle William patted his rough palms. "It's like dancing, but to perfectly master the rhythm of the dance, you need music."

"Huh?" Antal exclaimed in shock when he realized what he was facing.

"You heard it with your own ears yesterday. Francis is an extraordinary master of musical instruments," William continued quietly, ignoring his children's dissatisfaction. The masters shout, and you will hear the real music, you have to feel its rhythm with your whole body and every movement.

You have to move like a melody, it's not enough to be strong, it's just as important to be graceful and light in your movements! "

"If I have no opponent, I will never learn how to fight." Antal whispered.

"If you don't learn the rules and rhythm of fencing well, and if you are not familiar with your own body, your opponent will tear you to pieces in the blink of an eye," William stared at him sternly, "if you challenge your limits as much as possible, I'll give you an opponent, but until then, practice a lot!

If you don't like heavy swords and violins, you can be a peasant, my boy, as long as you say you don't want to go on like this, don't want to be a knight, I will satisfy you immediately. "

Antar thought of his friend Laszlo, who would probably work in the fields until the day he died, and that whatever he did he couldn't sit in the white robes of the Knights Templar and sit On the saddle of the horse, there is a saber at the waist.He felt instantly ashamed.

"Forgive me, Uncle," he whispered, "I promise I will try."

"Fine." William nodded, though he knew this wouldn't be the last time his nephew complained.

If Antal had grown up in a monastery, he would have been whipped countless times and his knighthood delayed for years.He was born too free, with a big mouth, to be tamed.William feared that he would never be a truly obedient knight, and that if he didn't keep an eye on him, he might never be able to wear the white cloak when the time came.

"Come on!" he said in a more serious voice, "cow pose!

Antal had been trained so hard that day that when he finally sat down to lunch, he could barely hold a spoon.He wanted to cry out in pain, but he swallowed the tears together.

He wishes he had a mother whose apron he could cry into and tell her maybe he didn't want to be a real knight after all.

【footnote】

① Vielle, Vielle, a medieval musical instrument similar to a violin.

②Ox pose (Ochs) is one of the most basic medieval swordsmanship stances. The sword is raised to the side of the swordsman's face, and the sword is aimed at the opponent's face or throat. The Italian school calls it Finestra.

(End of this chapter)