There is a part of Estinien that fears whether he is still a man. Whether Nidhogg's poison, even after its draining, has warped him body and mind beyond what any man of his race should be like. This is a thing that men do together, and that Estinien might have done had not vengeance and constant rage consumed his every daily thought.

It's so quiet in his mind these days, and he is never sure how to handle the new thoughts that come in to fill the void left when Nidhogg's rage departed.

Estinien pulls his lance in further and lays it beside Heirsbane as instructed, as if the weapons too are addressing their relationship. Then he sits back silently on his knees like a pupil, waiting for his next task. In the dim tent his eyes almost seem to flicker when they catch the light of the lamps outside.