Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight (38 page)

"It would be a time of great rejoicing,
Danny," said Calador, stepping forward, placing a reassuring hand
on Danny's right shoulder. "It is thought that the awakening of the
Mageknight will see an end to the threat of the Shadows. You would
be held in great honor."

"Sir Syndil said that I'd be treated
differently, possibly shunned. Why would he tell me that?"

"As I have said before, Danny, Sir Syndil is
ever in pursuit of his own agenda. Perhaps his curiosity drove him
to lie in order to unravel the mystery of the Ghostsight for
himself. Your guess would be as good as my own. In any case, the
King of the Light must be made aware of this discovery."

"No!"

Calador's silence, in addition to his curious
expression, gave way to his unsaid question.

"I've already lied to my friends about this,"
Danny's voice grew softer.

"You name them friends for a reason, Squire,
I am sure they would understand."

"It's not just that," continued Danny, his
voice nothing more than a whisper. However, he knew that Calador
could hear him. "I wish to confront Sir Syndil. I want to know why
he lied to me."

"That one does not respond well to
confrontation, Danny. If you challenge him openly, you will never
learn his true intentions. Sir Syndil possesses a calculating mind.
Any answer you received would be wrapped in lies and
manipulation."

"You make it sound as if he is a
traitor."

Calador looked toward the ceiling of rock and
took a deep breath. "I have never questioned his loyalty to the
Light, Danny, merely the means by which he conducts his
patronage."

"Then I'll continue to train under him until
he reveals his true intentions."

Calador dropped his gaze to Danny's eyes as
if his sight had never left him. "The heir of the Mageknight may
very well be standing before me, you would ask me to keep this
information secret?"

"Yes," said Danny. "You're just as curious as
I am about Sir Syndil's intentions and if you wish to know the
truth, then you will keep this secret. As you said, if challenged,
we may never know the truth."

Calador stood silently at length, weighing
Danny's words.

"So be it," he said, with a smile that
dominated the right side of his mouth.

back to top

eturning to the barracks, Danny wasn't surprised
to find his friends waiting up for him, their expressions radiated
curiosity. Seeing Danny's stoic expression, they realized something
was wrong.

"What did Calador want, man?" Chris
asked.

Before Danny could answer, they heard four
bells, it was eight o'clock. He waited as the last broad tone faded
away.

"I have something to tell all of you," said
Danny, only after shutting the heavy wooden door behind him.

Matt, he'd been lying down, sat straight up,
ears ready for anything.

Once he had everyone's attention, Danny began
his tale. He started at the beginning, the first time he used the
Ghostsight, during his fight with Steven Rooney. He told them about
his interaction with Sir Syndil and the advice he had received
during the testing, the same testing they had all undergone, it
seemed like such a long time ago. He went on to tell them about the
one-on-one training offered to him by Sir Syndil. He detailed his
duel with Squire Rigil, explaining the role the Ghostsight had
played in his victory. He finished his account by explaining what
he'd learned from Calador and the action plan they had agreed upon
recently.

"So, you're this Mageknight everyone's
talking about?" Alonso asked, his voice was thick with
jealousy.

"I don't know," Danny said, looking down.
"It's possible, I guess, but how could I be the Mageknight when I
failed to pull the sword from the Pool of the Mageknight? You were
all there and you all watched me fail."

"We all failed, man, but you can always try
again," Chris added.

"I'm not sure if I want to try again."

"…Why not?"

Danny looked toward the window as he
continued, "I don't know if I want the attention that's promised to
the one who takes up the sword of the Mageknight. Calador said that
it would be a time of rejoicing. He said it would be my
responsibility to lead the Light in the destruction of the Shadows,
but I barely know the first thing about them. I wouldn't even know
where to begin."

Chris stood up and smiled. "I understand why
you kept the truth to yourself," he said with encouragement. "I
don't know if I would've done the same in your place, but I
understand why you did what you did. We've all been in training for
about a couple of months now and I barely understand anything. None
of us are Lightborn and we're all first-years. What matters most is
that you told us the truth, no matter what… we're all in this
together."

"Thanks, man," Danny said, breathing a sigh
of relief. He felt as if a weight had been lifted from his
shoulders. However, something else balanced heavily upon him still.
He knew he had to tell Sabrina the truth as well.

"Are you going to tell Sabrina?" Chris asked,
almost reading his mind.

"I don't know."

"If I was the Mageknight, I wouldn't tell
anyone," added Alonso, lying in bed with his hands propped behind
his head.

All five boys turned toward Alonso and
chuckled at his familiar sentiment. Out of all of Danny's friends,
Alonso was the most likely candidate to use manipulation and lies
and it gave Danny an idea. He knew that Alonso was more like Sir
Syndil than anyone else; he couldn't resist asking Alonso a
theoretical question.

"If you were Sir Syndil," posing the question
to Alonso carefully, "what would be your motivation to lie to
me?"

Alonso looked toward the ceiling as he
pondered the question. After several moments, he responded, "I
think I'd lie for a few reasons. Perhaps, I'd lie to measure your
ability and try to learn it for myself." Alonso jumped up, looked
at Danny with a hopeful expression and asked, "By the way, is it
possible to teach me the Ghostsight?"

Danny shook his head, "I don't think so."

Alonso simply shrugged, propped himself back
onto his bed and continued. "I suppose I might lie to use you in
some way. Maybe, by keeping you a secret, Sir Syndil thinks he can
elevate himself in rank, possibly even to the position of King of
the Light. If you are the Mageknight, perhaps everyone would listen
to you if you said Sir Syndil should be King of the Light."

"You did say that Sir Syndil took Calador's
sight and Bonded to keep his position as captain, am I right?" Matt
added.

"Yeah," said Danny, considering the
possibility and finding it somewhat plausible.

"Or… " Alonso said as he raised his finger
into the air to indicate that he wasn't done speaking, "he might be
testing your abilities as the Mageknight to decide what side he
wants to be on."

"What do you mean?" Doug asked.

"According to Sir William in our History of
the Light class, the Light has been at war with the Shadows for
hundreds of years."

"You mean you actually listened in class?"
Matt asked, more than surprised.

"I'm not as stupid as you all think I am,"
rebutted Alonso.

"I'm not so sure about that," argued Matt,
more to himself than for Alonso's displeasure.

Alonso responded with a look that would have
killed Matt if such things were possible. "Would you like to duel
to settle this argument?" he challenged, reaching down for the hilt
of his sword.

"That won't be necessary," intervened Chris,
stepping between them. "Cut it out," he said to Matt. Turning
toward Alonso, he asked, "What's your point, man?"

Removing his hand from the pommel of his
blade, Alonso relaxed, sat back in his bed and crossed his arms.
"As I was saying before being interrupted, according to Sir
William, the first Mageknight forced the Shadows to retreat to
their own realm when no one else could, but that was hundreds of
years ago."

"After which, the Mageknight died and was
placed in a Bonded," added Doug. "There's no indication of how he
died. Whether he died during the last battle with the Shadows or
sometime after, there's no mention of it in the texts; I know
because I've looked."

Alonso ignored the intrusion and continued.
"In Shadow Lore classes, Sir Ranald has said that Shadow sightings
and attacks have increased over the past few years."

"He compared it to the beginning of the first
war against the Shadows," inserted Anthony.

All five boys turned to look at Anthony,
eyebrows raised.

"What?" Anthony asked in his defense, adding,
"I pay attention too, you know."

"So, we all pay attention in class," said
Danny, turning back toward Alonso, "what does all of this have to
do with Sir Syndil?"

Alonso sat up at a slight angle. "It means
that if you
are
the Mageknight, war is inevitable and Sir
Syndil wants to know who he should side with, the Light or the
Dark."

"But Calador said that Sir Syndil was not a
traitor. He said that he has always been loyal to the Light."

"How do you know you can trust Calador?" Doug
asked. "Assuming he is telling the truth about Sir Syndil taking
his sight and destroying his Bonded in a duel, what if he is trying
to use you to get back at Sir Syndil?"

"I hadn't thought of that."

"The question becomes, who can we trust?"
Chris added.

"Each other only," said Danny, locking eyes
with each of his friends. "We trust neither Sir Syndil nor
Calador."

Anthony leaned forward, placing his elbow
upon his knee, causing his bicep to swell to massive proportions.
"And do what?"

"Can Briza be trusted?" Danny asked of
Doug.

Doug nodded, "I think so… yes."

"And what, we add another Elf to the mix,"
interrupted Alonso, ever the cynic. "I don't trust their kind,
especially now."

"She can be trusted, I guarantee it," argued
Doug.

Alonso was about to counter with a comment of
his own before Danny interrupted. "We're going to need her help, if
Doug vouches for her, we can trust her."

"Whatever," said Alonso, sinking deeper into
the mattress.

"So, what's the plan?" Matt asked.

"You and Alonso, research the archives and
look for any information that proves Calador's story."

"Why do I have to go to the library?" whined
Alonso.

"You want to prove to us that you aren't as
dumb as we think you are, right?"

Alonso allowed his silence to answer for
him.

"Then, here is your chance."

"Whatever."

"I also need you to find out all you can
about the Mageknight. It's very important that you find out if the
Ghostsight is everything that Calador says it is. I need to know if
I'm being used."

Alonso shrugged and added, "Fine."

"What about the rest of us?" Doug asked.

"You and Briza, follow Calador. Watch for
anything out of the ordinary, anything suspicious. I'll leave it up
to you to tell Briza everything."

Doug agreed.

"Chris and Anthony, you two follow Sir
Syndil."

"And what're you going to do?" Chris
asked.

"While you're following Sir Syndil, I'm going
to search his quarters."

back to top

here are three known types of Shadows," Sir
Ranald Buttle explained, from the head of the classroom. "Worker
Shadows are the most common," he continued, walking down the center
most aisle of sturdy wooden desks. "Often appearing humanoid and
shy, smaller than a normal, they are the weakest in ability and
strength. However, they are not to be taken lightly. The claws of a
Worker Shadow have been known to cut through the strongest metal;
most of our armor would not protect you against a direct attack
from one. They are more commonly distinguished by a haze of black
mist that makes up the core of their body as well as glowing red
eyes." Rounding the back of the room, working his way down the
aisle on the left, he asked, "Who can tell me another
characteristic of a Worker Shadow?"