ZAKKAI SCARFS DOWN a bowl of eggs and assorted vegetables at an empty table in the dining hall. This time, his solitude is a matter of circumstance and not a calculated choice, but he hardly dwells on that fact. His mind lingers on speculation over the 'important work' Okafor intends to accomplish at the forge afterward. Steaming peppers cause his tongue to tingle from their spice, but even that fire cannot disturb his focus.

He hurries to the forge with his last mouthful still between his teeth. Yet Okafor is nowhere to be found. With nothing to do but wait, he hoists himself up onto one of the worktables and lets his thoughts roam free. Of course, they readily drift toward the new state of affairs taking shape among Okafor's shrinking class.

Several months of wrongdoing could not be fixed with a single apology, and in fact, he had only succeeded in gaining two sworn enemies and driving a third away from the Bladesmen altogether, but none of that can be helped now. The final thread left hanging is the question of how Rafi will take Zakkai's change of heart.

Contrary to what he had once thought, Rafi is no fool. If he does forgive the insults done to him, he will still rightfully need convincing Zakkai is a truly changed man. The real question is whether he will ever gain his friendship, or if the two will only remain cordial. Zakkai now has the perspective to realize he deserves neither.

The door swings open, and Okafor joins Zakkai with a brief "excuse my lateness". He explains he had made haste to present Nika to the available members of the Council for reassignment. It had been a circular debate, as the majority agreed Nika's temperament best suited the Bladesmen, but Okafor had pressed upon his fellow elders that insisting on keeping him there would only lead to further strife.

"If they would ever listen to me, Elder Desta would have taken him on," Okafor continues. "Nika's talent as a fighter would be somewhat wasted among the Healers, but Desta is an excellent teacher and a moral man. The boy needs a teacher who will keep him on the straight and narrow path."

Zakkai nods slowly. "Who did they decide on?"

"With great reluctance, Elder Ifa took him. Nika will be a Guardsman."

"At least he will have opportunity to use his skills with them."

"Yes, this is true, but Ifa is a stringent man. Nika is a free spirit. Those are two elements which rarely mesh well together. Also, the Guardsmen deal regularly with the queen. They rotate as teams of bodyguards wherever she goes. I doubt he has the etiquette to behave himself properly under such scrutiny."

"I see." Zakkai sighs. "Well, I hate to have brought this change upon him, but there is nothing we can do about it now."

"It is not you who have done this. He could have chosen forgiveness or at least tolerance. I sit among a council of men I often disagree with, some of whom I despise. And the distaste is mutual. But we must work together all the same for the sake of the queen and her realm."

"What does one have to do to earn your disgust, I wonder..."

Okafor treads over to the furnace, pulling a log off the top of the wood pile inside. "To tell you the truth, only the Great Elder and Elder Desta receive my wholehearted endorsement. We are supposed to be devoted to serving Queen Jokuye, but the others mostly serve themselves. The ones I despise are those who serve themselves exclusively."

"Who would those be?"

"I am not here to gossip. But now you have met Kovu Zuri. His brother-in-law Uda Tumaini is a corrupt man no more moral than he. Yet Uda sits on the Council and pretends he belongs there."

Zakkai frowns. "You said 'brother-in-law'? I thought the Rukisu vow precludes marriage."

"It does. Uda married, had children, and abandoned his family when his infidelity came to light. All this was before he ever became a Rukisu. His conduct has not changed, but he lies with a smile on his face. The others gladly pretend to believe him."

"Such hypocrisy would irritate me too, you even more so. After all, you are a man of truth and integrity."

"As elders, we have a duty to exemplify the behavior we wish to see in those serving under us," Okafor says. "Instead, as I said, most of my peers serve themselves. They overlook the faults of the man sitting next to them, not out of forbearance, but because it helps their agenda. Either because they have sins of their own to hide or because replacing that elder would risk throwing some agenda of theirs off its saddle."

"I do have another question, if you do not mind."

"Ask it. I will decide then if I mind."

Zakkai laughs. "You said only the Great Elder and Desta are truly upright in your eyes, but you did not mention Elder Folabi, your own student. Why is that?"

"I tolerate Folabi. He is not crooked, so do not misunderstand me. That said, he is logical above all. If you ask me, to a fault. I have values which guide my behavior. He reasons out his decisions. His flaw is that logic can be twisted to evil just as much as it can be used for good."

"You mean the more... questionable members of the Council can gain his support by making their twisted cause sound reasonable?"

"Exactly. His loyalty is to the idea which makes the most sense. To me, integrity is more important than victory. Folabi is a man who may be convinced otherwise. All that said, light the furnace and I will show you the task we must accomplish this afternoon."

While Zakkai starts a fire, Okafor disappears for a few moments and comes back with a lengthy item wrapped in cloth. When he unrolls the bundle and pulls out his signature iklwa, the youth instantly understands what project they have undertaken. This T'kallan weapon, a rather short spear with a leaf-shaped tip, is not one readily available to practice with. Only the elder himself carries one, and all the spears in the Bladesmen's armory are of Zafanyan design or influenced by other tribes of the savannah.

Okafor states they will forge three today. He will do the first as instruction and Zakkai will create the other two. So over the next hour or so, they heat lengths of purified metal usually reserved for swords and beat them down into flattened spades. Unlike the local spears, pointed at the end and only incidentally keen further down, the two take care to create razor sharp edges on either side of the deadly tip.

While Okafor's spear head still glows, he uses a scribing tool to etch a "Z" into the outer part of the socket. Instantly, Zakkai understands these will be no instructional weapons to be passed around. They are gifts given with specific recipients in mind. Considering this, he smiles, honored the elder is lending his expertise to the one he will wield.

So when Zakkai's turn comes, he inscribes the heads with an "E" and a "B" respectively. After cooling the metal off, they pick out material for shafts. The poles they select would ordinarily be passed off as being too short, but for an iklwa, the length is near perfect. Okafor even declares one of the sticks too long and has Zakkai saw a handbreadth off the end.

Mounting is a threefold process, also unique from Zafanyan design. First, a pin is inserted into the socket at the end of the spear head, through a chiseled hole in the staff, and out the other side. Then they hammer the edges of the collar down without heat, pounding the metal as close to the wood as it will go. Lastly, they heat the tip again to meld the pin and the head. When it cools again, the tip of the iklwa appears seamlessly married to its shaft, a piece of craftsmanship and attention to detail most spears never receive.

Zakkai admires the three T'kallan weapons laid side by side on the work table. In every way, their superior design appeals to his preference for versatility in a weapon. The length of regular spears, while lending some advantage in terms of reach, fails the user when close combat is needed. Likewise, thrusts are a form of attack which achieve devastating results, but sometimes a slash will kill where a stab will only injure.

The iklwa's shorter staff and the cutting edges along its head introduce an element of variety Zakkai finds freeing. For a calculating mind, options are assets in a fight, for while a brute may favor simple weapons where one or two attacks reliably deliver devastating results, an intelligent warrior makes versatility his ally. If one's opponent has fifteen ways to send them to their Maker, defense becomes little more than a gamble. While raising a shield to cancel out three angles of attack, the other twelve remain open.

Options are liberty, and Okafor's weapon of choice opens up many to its user.

"Well done," Okafor says, inspecting the two Zakkai had forged. "We will practice with these in the morning. Take all three to your quarters tonight, and present your fellows with theirs when we begin our practice. Spend the rest of your day as you please."

Zakkai thanks the elder for the lesson in craftsmanship and bundles the three iklwas in a length of cloth. While heading back to his room, he contemplates how he will spend the late afternoon and evening. Before long, he resolves that even though he has forsaken the habit for too long, he will take the opportunity to indulge in some reading. The library across the courtyard is a resource he has neglected for too long, and there is only one way to remedy that fault.