The Hawk Eternal by David Gemmell Read Free Book Online Page A

apply yourself to maintaining it.'
     
    Reluctantly the boy returned the blade to its sheath and strapped the belt to his waist.
     
    'Why are you doing this for me?'
     
    'A good question, Gaelen, and I'm glad you asked it early. But I've no answer to give you. I watched you crawl and I admired you for the way you overcame your pain and your weakness. Also you made it to the timberline, and became a child of the mountains. As I interpreted clan law, that made you clan responsibility. I took it one stage further, that is all, and invited you into my home.'
     
    'I don't want a father. I never did.'
     
    'And I already have a son of my blood. But that is neither here nor there. In clan law I am called your father, because you are my responsibility. In terms of lowland law - such as the Aenir will not obliterate - ' suppose I would be called your guardian. All this means is that I must teach you to live like a man. After that you are alone -should you so desire to be.'
     
    'What would you teach me?'
     
    To teach you to hunt, and to plant, to read signs; I'd teach you to read the seasons and read men; I'd teach you to fight and, more importantly, when to fight. Most vital of all, though, I'd teach you how to think.'
     
    'I know how to think,' said Gaelen.
     
    'You know how to think like an Ateris thief, like a lowland orphan. Look around and tell me what you see.'
     
    'Mountains and trees,' answered the boy without looking round.
     
    'No. Each mountain has a name and reputation, but together they combine to be only one thing. Home.'
     
    'It's not my home,' said Gaelen, feeling suddenly ill-at-ease in his new finery. 'I'm a lowlander. I don't know if I can learn to be a clansman. I'm not even sure I want to try.'
     
    "What are you sure of?'
     
    'I hate the Aenir. I'd like to kill them all.'
     
    'Would you like to be tall and strong and to attack one of their villages, riding a black stallion?'
     
    'Yes.'
     
    'Would you kill everyone?'
     
    'Yes.'
     
    'Would you chase a young boy, and tell him to run so that you could plunge a lance into his back?'
     
    'NO!' he shouted. 'No, I wouldn't.'
     
    'I'm glad of that. No more would any clansman. If you stay among us, Gaelen, you will get to fight the Aenir. But by then I will have shown you how. This is your first lesson, lad, put aside your hate. It clouds the mind.'
     
    'Nothing will stop me hating the Aenir. They are vile killers. There is no good in them."
     
    'I'll not argue with you, for you have seen their atrocities. What I will say is this: A fighter needs to think clearly, swiftly. His actions are always measured. Controlled rage is good, for it makes us stronger, but hatred swamps the emotions - it is like a runaway horse, fast but running aimlessly. But enough of this. Let's walk-awhile.'
     
    As they strolled through the woods Caswallon talked of the Farlain, and of Maeg.
     
    'Why did you go to another clan for a wife?' asked Gaelen, as they halted by a rippling stream. 'Oracle told me about it. He said it would show what kind of man you are. But I didn't understand why you did it.'
     
    'I'll tell you a secret,' said the older man, leaning in close and whispering. 'I've no idea myself. I fell in love with the woman the very first moment she stepped from her tent into the line of my sight. She pierced me like an arrow, and my legs felt weak and my heart flew like an eagle.'
     
    'She cast a spell on you?' whispered Gaelen, eyes widening.
     
    'She did indeed.'
     
    'Is she a witch?'
     
    'All women are witches, Gaelen, for all are capable of such a spell if the time is right.'
     
    They'll not bewitch me,' said the boy.
     
    'Indeed, they won't,' Caswallon agreed. 'For you've a strong mind and a stout heart. I could tell that as soon as I saw you.'
     
    'Are you mocking me?'
     
    'Not at all,' he answered, his face serious. 'This is not a joking matter.'
     
    'Good. Now that you know she bewitched you, why do you keep her with you?'
     
    'Well, I've grown to