“Correct, *Sifu*. Starbards Level Five aren’t allowed to use the Rod, not even I. We’re fundamentally diplomats – not policemen or warriors.”

“You could’ve fooled me,” Slate muttered. He was thinking not so much of his experience with “Lamb Lionheart”, but of those of Nicholas and Edwin.

“Noted,” said Toa. “Likewise the Eastern Broadleaf Form has a specifically connected weapon, the pole or staff; thus, the Sunstaff is the first weapon one learns in Eastern Blademastery.”

“*Whoa!* Blondie’s a Blademaster himself; he usually uses his Starblade,” Slate began to argue, but he was quelled by a gesture from Chris Alan. As a Western Blademaster, Bakbuk had begun his training of young Chris Alan with the Sunstaff, after the fashion of quarterstaff fighting as developed on the island of New Albion on Ge; and Chris Alan knew the value of having skill in that way.

“You speak as if the Sunstaff is a fashion accessory. It is not. As the Great Shepherd of the flock, the Lord of the Realms normally uses the Sunstaff for correction and guidance and the Moonrod for protection, yet His formal skill is such that He can also use the Sunstaff to fend off the wolves. The Starblade is an advanced weapon: the last one I will be teaching, in fact. Meanwhile, there will be a third weapon added to your arsenal: one likewise created by the Lord and now stored in Raphael’s closet.”

“Wow!” Chris Alan eyes widened. “A third durin weapon?”

“Yes. In Eastern Blademastery, there is the Starblade and the Sunstaff, and there is also the Moonfan.”

“A *fan*? Ha, ha, ha, ha!” Slate fell down laughing. “I mean, you expect Blondie here to beat up the bad guys with a *fan*? He may appear feminine sometimes, but this is ridiculous.”

“*Feminine?*” Autumn interjected sharply. “Just you remember who mopped up the ring with you once, tough guy.” Again Chris Alan had to intercede with a gesture.

“There is nothing feminine about a *gung fu* fan, Slate Rockmire.” Toa looked at Slate with his “you fool” eye. “This weapon is one of the oldest and most deceptive in the Eastern Blademaster’s arsenal.” Toa smiled.

Chris Alan ordered Rafael to open up his closet. True to Toa’s word, a white Easterner fan lay within. Its outer edge was sharp; a thin line of durin was bent over the semi-circular edge. The material that appeared to be flexible silk was in fact finely woven threads of duringlass, while the fan’s handle was also of duringlass. This woven duringlass was covered in a white lacquer. When the fan opened, it had a lion painted on its left side, an eagle painted on its right side, and the Ark of the Covenant painted in its dead center. The fan was a masterful piece of work, both in design and in function. With it (as Toa explained), Chris Alan would be able to fight in close quarters; it could cut anything, being made of durin and duringlass; and best of all, he could charge it with Light.

“Better yet,” Toa continued to explain, “when you throw it, it will return to you. No other created being will be able to touch it, when charged with Light, without being instantly vaporized. This Moonfan embodies a part of your body, soul and spirit, and of the Light that fills them all. You are like a fingerprint to it and it to you. No clone, replicant, lookalike, or even family member will be able to wield it. Indeed, you cannot wield my Moonfan, and I cannot wield yours – just as we cannot wield each other’s Starblades. Apart from your Guardian and the Lord Himself, your Moonfan listens to no other but you.”

“O.K., now *that* sounds cool,” Autumn enthused. Slate nodded slowly, though he was still somewhat skeptical about the efficacy of a *fan* for pity’s sake.

“Yes, *very* ‘cool’, but we will begin with the staff,” Toa reminded them all.

=========================