The Weapon

In the land of Swayla there was a student of the arts or war, named
Enoyna. He was the most skilled student in his year and became highly
proficient in all the arts of tactics and combat. When he had reached
maturity, his teacher said to him:
'You have learned all you can from me, the world must now become your
teacher. But what would you do with these skills you have
learned?'
Enoyna replied:
'I would use these skills to fight for justice and truth.'
'Then you have a hard road ahead of you.' Replied the teacher.
'If this is truly your aim, then you must seek out a weapon to match
your skills.'
'But where will I find such a weapon, and how will I know when I have
found the right one?'
'You must seek for it. You will know when you have found it: such a
weapon will seem as if it is a part of you, and not like a weapon at
all.'

So Enoyna travelled throughout the land, trying to find the weapon
that would complement his abilities. He visited many armourers, and
tried many finely crafted weapons, but none seemed to match the
criteria his master had given him: they all felt like tools he could
use, but not an extension of his being. He began to hear rumours of a
weapon that could defeat all others, and this became the object of his
quest.

One day on his travels he stopped by a field to rest. A farmer was
ploughing the field and he greeted Enoyna warmly. They began talking
and the farmer asked him to where he was travelling. Enoyna explained
that he was not travelling anywhere, but was seeking a weapon that
could defeat all others. He began to feel slightly foolish, but the
farmer seemed interested in his quest, and said he might be able to
help him. Enoyna was sceptical that a simple farmer could help him find
the weapon, but liked the old man and was enjoying talking with him, so
he decided to humour him.
'You know where I might find such a weapon?' he asked.
'Yes, but I cannot tell you where it is. You must find it for yourself.
If I told you, it would rob the weapon of its power. However, I will
try to help you to find it.'
Enoyna didn't see how the old man could help him, unless he told him
where to find the weapon, which he said he couldn't; and trying to find
the weapon himself was what he was doing anyway. On the other hand the
man seemed genuine in his desire to help, and there was something about
him that suggested he might know more than he was revealing. They
carried on talking. They talked about Enoyna's training and the quest
he was now on; Enoyna told the farmer that he was beginning to despair
of ever finding the weapon. Eventually Enoyna grew tired of talking
about himself and began to ask the farmer about his life. At first the
old man amused him with stories of the animals on his farm and the
people in the nearby village. His stories were very funny, displaying
affection for his friends and neighbours, and even his livestock,
rather than mockery. Gradually Enoyna found out how hard the life of a
farmer is and discovered that the farmer had a daughter who was very
sick, and needed expensive medicines to keep her alive. He suddenly
realised that they had been talking for hours. He felt terrible that he
had monopolised the farmer's time when he should have been ploughing to
earn money for his daughter, and the old man had only listened with
patience and good humour. He was filled with a great compassion and
respect for the old man, and realised his own troubles were nothing
compared to the farmer. He took all his money out of his pocket and
held it out to the old man.
'Please accept this gift to buy medicine for your daughter. I was
keeping this money to buy the weapon that defeats all others, but now I
don't care about that.'
'And yet now you have found it.' said the old man.