The Fable of the Man Sharpening His Blade

“Those who shield their eyes from darkness shall see naught but mists when judged.” - The Thirteenth Tenet of Belthos

  There once came a man into the town square with a greatsword upon his back. Reaching the fountain at the town’s center, he sat upon its edge and began sharpening the edges of the blade.   A marshal of the law approached the man as the morning drew on. “O Traveler, whatever are you doing?” he asked in confusion. To which the man replied, not looking up from his task, “I am sharpening my sword.” And the marshal saw that this was true, and so he went on with his day.   At midday the marshal returned to the square and found the man still sitting, sharpening his sword. Confused, the marshal approached. “O Traveler, what is it you do?” To which the man replied, not looking up from his task, “I am sharpening my sword.” The marshal, not seeing any reason to doubt this fact, again left to continue his rounds.   Midafternoon drew on, and the marshal returned again to the square. Again the man sat at the fountain, sharpening his sword. Suddenly, the man rose and strode to a stranger who entered the square. Without a word, he swung his greatsword and slashed the stranger’s head from his body.   Astonished, the marshal chased after the man and stopped him in the street. “O Traveler, whyever did you strike that stranger with your sword?” To which the man said, facing the marshal at last, “You saw me sharpening my sword – whyever else would I be sharpening my blade?” And to this the marshal found no way to argue, and so he let the man continue on his way.