Tynan stood up slowly, wiping the blood from his nose with the back of his hand, one hand clasped about his abdomen. There was rage in his eyes, his lips pulled back in a snarl. But there was Adam, looking at him with those wide green eyes full of reproach. He tottered back and leaned against a tree. He couldn't loose his head - he had to think. He wasn't an animal!

He looked at Arum, seeing through the man's rage to the grief inside. He had lost someone important to him, though the old priest had known he would die if he stayed. It occured to him then, what a great man Ransik was, and how deep Arum's sorrow was. He didn't move as the priest rushed at him again, snarling with rage with his fist pulled back.

The sound of fist against flesh was like hitting a sack of grain with a stick. Feather moved forward, but found herself held back by a small hand. Adam looked at her and shook his head. Tynan reeled with the punches, but never resisted. He tottered back, seeing the tears in Arum's eyes before the fist his his face again. In a strange way, Tynan knew Arum needed this.

Finally spent, Arum sank onto all fours, his shoulders shaking with sobs as Tynan lay on the ground, face bloodied and body bruised. "I did stop you from going back," he said then, spitting blood from his broken lip. "But you wouldn't be here if Ransik hadn't told you to leave. He was a brave man who gave you everything he could possibly give." His hair was a mess, hanging over his face and neck. "You were like a son to him, he wouldn't let his son die."

He looked Arum in the eyes, his gaze distant, resigned, and full of regret. "I couldn't let his son die."