Sir Hector's grievance splits him down the middle as sure as an axe; At once, he does not understand not taking pride and pleasure in all the good you can do. On the other, he cannot imagine how it must feel to be stopped from doing the good that you are capable of. 

What was he here to do? 

He had been here to play his part in someone else's legacy. In this, he and Hector were the same. Where they differed is that Tristan holds no resentment for a lesser part. Doesn't he? He looks inside himself and, no, finds only contentment there.  

"You speak as though already dead, Sir Hector." Tristan teases, smiling. "As if you have been robbed of the only part you could ever play. But you have lost only a chance - not the skills, the training, or the will. What if there is another? If someone stumbles, who else stands ready to replace them?"

Not empty words. How much of this was Tristan expecting to deal with, when he agreed to fight alongside Robena and Sandsfern that night? So sure he knew the [i]real[/i] interpretation of a second-hand prophecy about the Questing Beast?

"I don't really know what to do now." Tristan admits. "But we live in interesting times. I couldn't have predicted any of this, a year ago. What sense is there predicting a year hence? Or five, or ten?" And, again, the most sincere and reassuring smile he is capable of, because it is how he really feels. "You're ready to answer when you are called, no matter how great the call. How much better that, than to be called before you are ready?"

Ask Tristan if he feels like he is ready to answer when he is called, and for the first time he might say 'yes'. He feels prepared, now, in a way that another thousand-thousand archery drills would have left him wanting. He had only ever thought about needing the skills to prepare him for anything - thinking exclusively in terms of what he lacked. Sir Hector asks him instead to ask; What task is worthy of his skills? It's the first time he has been forced to consider what he [i]is[/i] ready for, and not just what he [i]isn't[/i]. It's... a pleasant change of perspective. 

He hopes things are going well with Constance, despite having no idea what that could even mean.