"Elizabeth Moon - Paksenarrion 1 - The Sheepfarmer's Daughter" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moon Elizabeth)

weapons тАФ week after week, they swung the hauks: over,
under, sideways. And then one day they arrived to find
practice swords laid out: wooden, and blunted, but
swords. Siger stood behind the row of swords like a potter
behind his wares. "Today," he said, "we find out who's
making a warrior. File one, come forward." Paks led her
file out of formation. "All right, file leader, are you ready

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Elizabeth Moon - The Deed of Paksenarrion [vol 1] Sheepfarmer's Daughter


to face a sword today?"
Paks took a deep breath of excitement. "Yes,
Armsmaster." Siger glared at her. "Ha! Eager, are you?
You innocents are all too willing to shed your blood.
Very well тАФ pick up the first one in line тАФ yes тАФ that
one."
Paks could not help grinning: a sword in her hand at last.
She waggled it from side to side.
"No!" roared Siger. "Don't play with it, fool! It's not a toy
to show off with. A sword is to kill people with, nothing
less."
Paksenarrion blushed scarlet.
"Now тАФ hold it just like the hauk in position one. Yes."
Siger scooped up one of the other practice blades. "This is
an infantry sword, short enough not to get in the way in
formation. It's used to stab and slash. Now, file leader тАФ
the motions are the same as for hauk drill. Proceed."
Paks was puzzled but willing, and began to move the
sword through the remembered sequences. As she did so,
Siger's blade met hers, tapping it first lightly, then harder.
Paks began to watch his blade, thinking back to Jornoth's
sketchy lessons, and forgot all about the sequence of hauk-
drill. Excitement rose in her, and she began to swing the
blade harder, trying to force Siger's blade aside. Suddenly
his sword was not there to be tapped; instead it rapped her
sharply on the ribs.
"Ouch!" She was startled, and having lost her rhythm was

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Elizabeth Moon - The Deed of Paksenarrion [vol 1] Sheepfarmer's Daughter


whacked twice more before she regained it. Uncertain,
and a bit angry, she glared at Siger, who gave her a
mocking smile.
"That was the flat of the blade," he said cheerfully. "Next
time it'll be the edge; keep to the drill, recruit."
Paks bit her lip, but returned to the drill pattern, meeting