Exhausted from his last few hours of training, Astor switched off as Firenze explained the history of the sword and how it was light as air but as sharp as the most polished steel, how in the well-trained hand, it was almost impossible to fight against. Astor knew all this and that he would be expected to fight with honour, not with sneak and surprise as he had previously done. He knew that he was likely to lose, likely to die, but he was ready to give it up to the fates. The more he was forced to wait, the more anxious and disturbed he felt about it.