She had grown up to the sound of steel in the yard, and scarcely a day in her life had passed without hearing the sound of sword on sword, yet somehow knowing that the fighting was real made all the difference in the world. She heard it as she had never heard it before, and there were other sounds as well, grunts of pain, angry curses, shouts for help, and the moans of the wounded and dying men. In the songs, the men never screamed or begged for mercy.