Once upon a time, in the Land of the Morning Calm, there was a man. He wasn't a very young man, but he wasn't old by any stretch of the imagination. This man was a very skilled warrior, who could distribute pain with his sword with very little effort. But that wasn't what he was known for. This man was also the youngest to have ever achieved the rank of Commander in the land's Coastal Defense Force, a very long name that they used to call their navy. But that wasn't what he was known for, either.

What he was known for was what others liked to call his Golden Tongue.

His Golden Tongue was so famous in his country that everyone wanted a chance for Hwang, for that was the man's name, to use it on them. Now Hwang, having been brought up as a good boy by his Master, Master in the martial arts sense rather than the master-slave sense one might assume, did his best to accommodate most of those that came to ask about his Golden Tongue. Over the years, he got to be so good that he could reduce grown men into puddles of porridge with one swipe of his Golden Tongue. There was much rejoicing throughout the land.

As time passed, Hwang decided that good boy though he was, he was of an age where he could decide for himself if he wanted to use his Golden Tongue or not. There was much consternation and gnashing of teeth throughout the land by those who hadn't yet had a chance to experience the man's Golden Tongue. Which wasn't to say that Hwang stopped using it altogether, he just used it much more sparingly than before, because it was tiring, really, and he needed his sleep.

In the court of the king of the land, it happened that one of the Royal Councilors heard of Hwang and his Golden Tongue. The Councilor decided that he really had to experience this Golden Tongue for himself, and so he summoned the young man to the capitol, on the pretense that he would be given a special award for his bravery, because Hwang was rather good at what he did: smiting and instilling the fear of the gods into pirates and the occasional wayward invasion force. When Hwang arrived at the capitol, the Royal Councilor was quite pleasantly surprised to find that the young man was also very pleasing to the eyes with his slender form, wild hair, and beautiful golden eyes. The tattoos that marked his strong shoulders didn't hurt, either. By now, the Royal Councilor was very eager indeed to have Hwang demonstrate his Golden Tongue on him.

Unfortunately for him, Hwang did not find the Royal Councilor pleasing to the eyes at all with his wrinkled, dissipated body, greasy hair, and beady little eyes. The giant mole on the Royal Councilors nose didn't help matters any. Firmly, but politely, Hwang let the Royal Councilor know that he would not be experiencing the young man's Golden Tongue anytime in the forseeable future.

The Royal Councilor, needless to say, was not happy with Hwang and would not let the matter drop. He took to following the young man and accosting him in whatever dark corners and alleys he could find, hoping to convince Hwang to give him just one demonstration.

At first, Hwang did his best to remain polite to the Royal Councilor, seeing as the old man really was rather powerful and influential, being a cousin to the king and all, but the constant groping started to wear his patience quite thin.

One day, Hwang was enjoying the quiet of one of the Palace's gardens, lying on the grass and reading a letter from home while the sun warmed his back. The Royal Councilor, when he happened on the scene, was overcome with his desires and could no longer control himself. He flung himself on the unsuspecting young man and attempted to have his way with him.

Hwang tossed the old man off him and jumped to his feet in surprise. Undeterred, the Royal Councilor once again flung himself on the young man, this time managing to reach a gnarled hand down the front of Hwang's pants in an attempt to interest the young man. Finally losing his temper, Hwang raised his knee into the treasured familial treasures of the Royal Councilor hard enough to make the old man drop like a stone, his eyes rolling into the back of his head in pain.

Realizing that, deserved as it was, his actions could not be seen in a favorable light, Hwang did the only thing he could. He ran. Straight to his mentor in the Coastal Defense Force, the Admiral Lee Sun Shin. With the help of the Admiral, Hwang was able to deflect most of the Royal Councilor's fury and vindictive spite. So that instead of being stripped of all rank and honor after one teeny little mistake concerning his crew, he was instead demoted a bit and sent on an honorable quest to find a legendary sword, and bring back the errant daughter of his Master.

* * * * *

Kilik almost fell out of his chair as the drunk young sailor at the table behind him finished telling his tale to his friends. That story could not possibly be about who he thought it was about. But, how many men named Hwang were there that were on a quest to find a legendary sword, was in the navy, and was chasing the run-away daughter of his master?

A grin started spreading on his face. Man with the Golden Tongue, was he? Well, that just meant that when he went back to camp and saw the man, he'd just have to find out for himself. He was sure the Korean wouldn't be too adverse to the idea.