At last there was a moment of peace in the child's life for his mind was sharp and his body strong from his years beneath the waves. He took to all the monks lessons, his only weakness being his skill at making the speech of humans. From the tiger monk he learned his skill of swords and and the monk declared him the greatest warrior he had ever trained. It was the great white cloud though, the monk from whom the child learned his prayers, who taught the hideous faced boy who wore the wooden mask his greatest skills; those of magic and the ears to hear the gods. Particular of these skills was the ability to project his cold and icy heart outwards, until his skin hardened as stone.
One day, while sparring with the swordmaster, the wooden mask, that concealed his hideous face, was dislodged and broke when it struck the floor. The master and all the students cried out in horror and fled. It was at this moment that the child realized that it was his own face that bore the guilt for his long suffered lonliness, and he stood unmasked and ashamed. He sought out the carpenter who had crafted his, but alas, the man had long since died and there were none who would allow themselves to be hired.
At last, the child with the hideous face wrapped his ugliness in rags and approached the monk who made armor on hiss knees and begged for his assistance. Together with the monk who worked silver, they crafted the hideous faced boy a mask and so his unbearable countenance was hidden once again.
