Radu did not look up from the fire where he was roasting chestnuts. "The path of the warrior is not a road you walk," Radu said, his voice like grinding gravel. "It is a skin you shed."

One evening, a group of marauders from the northern passes descended upon the village below. They were led by a man who took pride in cruelty, seeking to claim the mountain’s resources. Mihai drew his sword, his eyes flashing with the training he thought he possessed. "Now," he shouted, "now we show them the Way!"

: A warrior uses their environment as an extension of their will.

That one stone nudged another, which nudged a larger boulder. A controlled slide of earth and rock began, not to bury the men, but to seal the mountain pass behind them and in front of them, trapping them in a natural cage of granite.

For three months, Radu gave Mihai no lessons in combat. Instead, he gave him burdens. Mihai spent his days carrying river stones to the top of the ridge to build a wall that seemed to serve no purpose. He spent his nights sitting in total darkness, tasked with counting the heartbeats of the forest. When Mihai complained that his hands were blistering and his sword was rusting, Radu simply replied, "A blade is only as sharp as the mind that commands it. A rusted mind cuts nothing."

For years, a young man from the lowlands named Mihai had followed the rumors of Radu’s prowess. Mihai arrived at the master’s hut at dawn, his chest heaving, a polished blade strapped to his hip. He wanted to learn the secret of the "Unstoppable Strike," a move whispered to shatter stone without touching it.

Radu looked at the terrified men below, then at Mihai. "The true warrior wins before the blood is drawn," Radu whispered. "He understands the mountain, the wind, and his own shadow. You built the wall that saved the village, Mihai. Your hands are tired, but the valley is safe."