The Journeys of Socrates by Dan Millman

Author:Dan Millman [Millman, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

.25.

SERGEI RODE SOUTH along the river, then east, where he found several more Cossack camps. He considered seeking more contests but thought better of it. To defeat Cossacks he had to reach beyond them. That meant finding the swordsman Razin. Leonid Chykalenko’s mention of this man seemed more than chance. Now committed to this goal, his search became a single-minded passion.

Looking for a few small huts hidden in the shade of a forest was no simple task, however. Sergei asked many locals, but their directions were vague and conflicting. After three months he began to doubt the man’s existence. He had, after all, heard legends about many great warriors, but most were folktales. Still, his search continued.

A few weeks later Sergei’s pulse quickened when he came upon a likely group of huts in the forest. Finding an old woman peering out of a makeshift door, he asked if she had heard of a skilled swordsman living nearby. She stared at him for a time, as if trying to discern his intentions—then she pointed toward a thatched roof in the distance, barely visible among the trees. Her door closed before he could thank her.

Sergei rode to the hut, dismounted, and knocked lightly on the door. No answer. He tapped again. Suddenly he felt the sting of a saber point between his shoulder blades.

Sergei considered spinning and taking the saber as he had been trained but thought better of it. If this swordsman had wanted to kill him, he already would have done so. A husky voice behind him said, “Your business?”

“I wish to learn from the sword master Razin,” he said. The point of the saber pierced deeper into his skin.

“Who sent you?”

“A…a Cossack…he had heard of your skills…”

“I don’t teach. Go away!” Lowering his blade, the man stepped past Sergei and closed the door to his hut.

Sergei knocked again.

“Go away!” he repeated in a guttural voice—a menacing growl that made Sergei shiver. Yet he persisted.

“If I could explain—I believe that I am meant to learn from you—”

The door cracked open. “Do not disturb me again!” said the gruff voice. Sergei caught only another glimpse of sharp cheekbones, fierce eyes, sun-darkened skin, and shaved head—before the door slammed again.

Sergei had found his sword master—the one teacher who might make the difference between success and failure. He had searched too many months to turn around now. He remembered something Alexei had said—or was it his uncle Vladimir? “The warrior must commit fully to any action.”

Infused with a sense of destiny, Sergei decided to sit in place until Razin accepted him as a student, or until he died.

Dikar had not volunteered for hardship duty, so Sergei led the stallion twenty meters off into the forest near a stream and hobbled him under the cover of pine trees. It was cold, but not frigid; short of a late blizzard, Dikar’s winter coat would keep him warm enough. He had eaten a generous helping of hay at a farm the day before and could graze at the river’s edge.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.