After parting with a friend who opts for a different dream, the Knight gets rewarded with a unique gift — the Wolf's Shield and at the same time he learns a valuable lesson. For the first time, he comes to understand that one can gain strength from defending someone. With this knowledge in mind he is able to restrain himself from exasperation and disappointment.
The tragedy of man's path tends to go hand in hand with a contradiction of destruction and defence. To protect the loved ones, man must take resources away, expand influence and compete. If man only defends himself, he will be nowhere near to create something. If he only attacks, he will destroy everything, turn into a tyrant.
It can be assumed that the genuine manhood lies in the ability to combine these two concepts.