The two armies stood only a hundred meters apart, nervously anticipating the commencement of hostilities. As they waited, the soldiers shifted their weight uneasily from one leg to the other, anxious for the battle to begin and this torturous lull to cease. At various intervals, each warrior also let his sweaty fighting palm drift across the hilt of his sword, so he could test how easily it could be removed from its scabbard. Instinctively, he would continue to experiment with each of his wea