Rumors gathered like clouds. Some said Satra had trained under an old master who once fought in the palace and taught him secrets of timing so precise they could collapse an enemy’s balance before a knee landed. Others swore he learned from a fisherman whose small hands taught Satra how to reel and snap his hips like casting a net. A few, drunk and sincere, declared that Satra’s left elbow had been kissed by a monk who blessed every fight he watched — a tale that gave the man an air of holy mischief.