35th, Summer, 515 AV
Note to Grader :
Katelyn waved when she saw Ser Moore waiting by one of the training ground's weapon racks. He'd sent a Page to fetch her--a young girl who did little more than glance shyly the entire trip at the older Squire. "Thank you Sarah," her patron praised kindly, and the Kate thought the girl might burst. She was gone as quickly as she'd arrived, leaving them smiling in her dust. Without pause, the redhead turned to the Knight, curious. "What's up?" The mage usually fetched her himself. It was very uncommon for a middleman to be involved. "I have a gift for you," he admitted, smiling with an almost childlike excitement.
"What--really?" He nodded and motioned to a sword leaning against the rack. Frowning, Katelyn grabbed the weapon and held it in both hands, examining the sheath with interest. It was light in color, about the same shade as her pants, with dark straps to be fastened to her belt. A winged creature was etched into its face, twisting and writhing along the hard leather. The hilt was something of a surprise. It gleamed like amber crystal, fracturing the sunlight that passed through it. When she realized that it was glass, her heart started to pound. Suddenly, Katelyn remembered her meeting with the Inartan traders in the spring. Her eyes flashed to her parton's, and a broad smile stretched across his face.
"You didn't...," she exclaimed quietly, but he was already nodding. "I did." Too excited now to contain herself, Kate grasped the smooth glass hilt and pulled the blade from its sheath. Steel sighed against hard-boiled leather smooth as silk, and as she held it aloft in the sunlight, couldn't find any words. She was struck speechless by the sheer flawlessness of the weapon. The blade curved gently, exotically, doubling her reach with perfect balance. The hilt absorbed the warmth of her hand quickly, fitting against her palm and in her fingers like it forged specifically for the awed Squire. "This is too much," Katelyn tried to say, but the words were weak. There was no weight to her argument, and her patron ignored it altogether.
"Do you like it?" he asked, hushed and expectant. "Oh it's wonderful. I couldn't imagine anything more perfect if I tried." Ser Moore seemed content with those few words, and let his squire admire her new weapon just a while longer. Kate spun it slowly in her hand, testing the weight of it and feeling how it handled. "It's so light," she exclaimed. "Do you want to test it out?" he asked, and his Squire smiled devilishly. "Absolutely."
