Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight (25 page)

Both men stood at the exact instant. They
were twins, with matching shortswords as well. Both men sported
long black hair and matching goatees. The only difference in their
appearance seemed to be their eyes. Sir Filix's left eye was a
light blue, while his right eye looked to be a dark green. However,
the colors of his twin's eyes were reversed. After waiting but a
moment, as if the movement had been practiced beforehand, both
brothers gathered their white robes beneath them and sat down.

"Next, Sir James Wallen, professor of
strategy and war."

A squat man of middle years stood and smiled.
His hair was short, brown and thinning. Adjusting a set of squared
bifocals with his left hand, he allowed his right to rest on the
golden hilt of a shortsword at his side. After a slight twitch of
the neck, he cleared his throat and produced a curt nod before
slumping back down.

"Lastly, I would like to introduce Alamber
Ordvack Halfelvin, head wizard and professor of the magical arts of
defense."

Alamber stood, using a thick oak staff that
had a glowing bauble entwined within the wood to assist him. Taking
a slight bow, he folded the orange robes beneath him and sat back
down.

"Thank you, all," said King Koltair as he
swept his gaze from left to right. "Squires," after a slight pause
for thought, "you are the next generation of knights. Soon you will
inherit the honor and the glory of our tradition, but, more
importantly, you will inherit the war that has raged on for
countless generations. You must train hard, hone your skills and
sharpen your blades. Be forewarned, times grow difficult as our
enemies swell with strength. However, with hard training, a Bonded
in your hands and a little luck, you will all persevere. But first
we shall feast," finished the king. The last syllable of his
booming voice echoed throughout the great hall. With two loud
claps, he signaled an army of servants. With steaming piles of food
trays and practiced precision, the attendants attacked the tables,
setting them with roasted pork, chicken and turkey, rolls of fresh
bread, mashed potatoes, corn, all sorts of desserts and more.

Realizing just how famished he was, Danny
helped himself and ate his fill. By the time Danny saw to his final
bites, the king had reclaimed his position at the podium and
signaled for silence.

Once he had the complete attention of
everyone, King Koltair began, "Now that your bellies are full, I
suggest that you all get a good night's rest, on the morrow you
begin your training. Work hard, my squires and may the Light always
shine upon you."

With that, the king turned and disappeared
through a side doorway, retreating from the roar of cheers that
resonated into a crescendo behind him.

The other squires began to disperse as Danny
placed one last morsel of chicken into his mouth and gulped it
down. "You think I could talk to Sabrina?" he asked no one in
particular.

"I don't see why not, man," said Chris
between bites, his plate still half-full. He and Anthony seemed to
be locked in a battle of consumption.

"I'll be right back," said Danny, excusing
himself, navigating beyond the circular tables. Walking toward the
set of tables distinguished by a collection of red-robed squires,
Danny sought out Sabrina. He found her sitting in the same spot as
before, in a deep discussion with Rogen. Danny sighed at the sight
of the blond-haired boy; he was about to yell out Sabrina's name
when a swirl of red robes suddenly blocked his line of sight.

"What do ya think yer doing, newb?" said the
mass of robes, with a heavy Scottish accent.

Danny peered up and found that the bulk of
robes had a flat face with dark red hair, brown eyes and a series
of large red freckles.

"I'm going to talk to my friend," said Danny,
with more authority than he felt.

"I dunna think so," said the red-haired boy.
"Dis here is Dragon Army. It's not a place for newbs. So go back to
ya own kind."

Danny's heart began to beat faster as he
clenched his hands into fists, turning his knuckles white. His body
temperature skyrocketed and his breathing quickened. Deciding
against any rash judgment, he pushed his anger down and attempted
to walk around the larger boy.

"What… ya did na hear me, then?" the boy
asked, stepping in front of Danny, cutting off his path once
again.

"Please stand aside," said Danny, barely
keeping his anger in check.

"I dunna think so, lad, you'd best be turning
round and going back to yer own table," said the boy, refusing to
budge.

Making one last-ditch effort to keep the
peace, Danny broke to his right in an attempt to walk around the
boy once again. However, the larger boy stepped back into Danny's
path again.

"Ya don't seem ta understand, newb. I'm not
gonna give ya a choice dis time. Ya got till the count o three to
turn back round."

Danny clenched his fists tighter as the boy
started the count, "One..."

"...Two," the boy narrowed his gaze.

Danny's heart began to beat even faster,
threatening to burst right through his ribcage. His body grew hot,
his anger swelled.

"Three," stepping forward as time slowed to a
crawl.

Danny watched, amazed as
a translucent
phantom flowed out of the boy's body, stepped forward and shoved
its ghostly hands right through Danny's chest.
The familiar
vision filled Danny with a small satisfaction as time resumed and
the larger boy surged forward in the now familiar movement.
Anticipating the push, Danny dodged to the right and kicked with
his left leg, catching the boy's right foot as he attempted to step
out. Missing his step, the boy lurched forward and fell flat on his
face.

Getting up faster than Danny ever would've
expected, the boy's right hand shot to the blue-hilted blade at his
side, the pommel fashioned into a twisting tornado. "Ya gonna pay
for dat, newb."

"Stop it, Lieutenant Rigil!" a melodic voice
yelled. Danny recognized Sabrina's voice.

Rigil gave her little heed as his hand
slipped around the swirl of the hilt and pulled it halfway out of
the scabbard. However, before he could pull the blade out all the
way, a blur of movement, too quick to follow, caught Danny's
attention, a bright silver gauntlet stayed Rigil's hand.

Danny followed the armored arm up to the
smiling face of Sir Syndil Sartak Tribolari.

"Did you not hear the lady, Squire Rigil?"
Sir Syndil asked, forcing the blade back into the sheath. "I do
believe the young lady asked you to stop."

"Ma lord, Sir Syndil," said Rigil, dropping
his gaze, kneeling.

Danny felt a tug at his shoulder as Sabrina
materialized beside him, placing a worried hand on him.

"Are you alright?"

Danny looked himself over, shrugged and said,
"I'm fine." After enduring her shocked look, he added, "It's good
to see you."

Sabrina's face transitioned from concern to
annoyance; Danny knew that he was in for a scolding. However,
before she could respond, Sir Syndil broke the silence.

"That was well-executed," the Elf said, after
releasing Rigil, intending the comment for Danny. "It is past time
you returned to your barracks, Squire," he said, addressing Rigil,
keeping his gaze upon Danny.

"At once, Sir Syndil," grumbled Rigil, after
standing. Before turning toward the exit, he shot Danny a glare,
"This isn't over, newb."

"Now, Squire," said Sir Syndil in a harsh
tone.

Not waiting to be told a third time, Squire
Rigil turned and stalked off.

"Squire Rigil is a fourth-year squire, a
lieutenant in Dragon Army, quite capable in the hand-to-hand
arena," Sir Syndil said, once the larger squire was out of earshot.
"How is it that you, a first-year, managed to get the upper hand,
Squire Firoth?"

"I would like to know as well," said
Sabrina.

Danny became self-conscious as a small crowd
began to gather around him. Danny decided to play it off as if
nothing much had happened; he placed his right hand on the back of
his head, smiled and said, "Just luck, I guess."

"You must be quite lucky then," a calm voice
said from behind, thick with a British accent.

Danny turned to find Squire Vyce Ven Lasko,
Captain of Dragon Army, making his way through the crowd.

"Professor Syndil, sir," Vyce said with a
respectful tone as he stepped into the circle and stopped beside
Danny. "Squire Rigil is one of my four lieutenants and quite
skilled, Squire…"

"Danny Firoth," Danny added with a nervous
smile.

"Squire Firoth," continued Vyce, turning
toward Danny. "I find it hard to believe that he could be caught
off-guard by the abilities of a mere first-year."

"Perhaps he underestimated me just as you're
doing now," Danny shot back.

"Perhaps," Vyce said, without the slightest
hint of emotion. "…Perhaps." He gave Danny his back. "Dragon Army,
to me!" His deep voice carried through the dining hall. Assured of
his command, he walked toward the exit without looking back to see
if those he directed followed behind, which they did.

"I have to go," said Sabrina, her uneven tone
betraying her desire to talk to Danny.

"What, just because he says so?" Danny asked,
obviously annoyed.

"Squire Lasko is my captain," Sabrina said,
as if the statement said it all. "Good luck tomorrow, Danny," she
added, before turning and joining the rest of the red-robed squires
of Dragon Army.

Unsure of what to say, he simply said, "You,
too."

back to top

anny stirred at the sound of the seventeenth
chime. Rubbing his eyes and stretching out on the soft bed, he had
every intention of going back to sleep.

Chris had other plans. He shoved Danny
roughly, "Wake up, man."

Danny was almost awake by the eighteenth
bell. Yawning once, he groggily dressed himself in the robes of a
squire and strapped his sword around his waist. After waiting for
Matt to do the same, they all descended to breakfast and ate their
hearty fill.

Danny noticed that the three boys and two
girls that had missed breakfast yesterday were now early. Calador
stood at the head of the table; his ghostly gaze looked beyond as
if he observed everything, despite his handicap.

The common hall was strangely quiet with only
the subtle sounds of whispered chatter breaking up the constant
noise of chomping mouths and clanging silverware. Like Danny, the
rest of the squires were nervous about the coming day.

Pushing his plate away, slumping back in his
chair, Matt asked, "I wonder what we get to do first?"

"I hope it's technique class," said Chris,
fingering the hilt of the sword strapped across his back. "I can't
wait to learn how to use this."

"Just, please, don't let it be physical
training," said Matt with a slight smirk, pushing his glasses
further up the bridge of his nose.

Before anything else could be said, the
double doors flew open, a tall man stood there in full, gleaming
plate mail. Danny recognized the man as Sir Fredrick, the knight
assigned to give physical training classes.

"Seriously?" said Matt, recognizing him as
well, he let out an agonizing groan.

Sir Fredrick turned and closed both doors
behind him, revealing the huge greatsword that lined his broad
back. Turning back toward the curious stares of the squires, he
bellowed a deep-toned command: "Stand to!"

Danny watched as a few squires, including
Briza, jumped up, locked their heels together, positioned their
arms at their sides and held their heads up high, looking forward.
Others looked on in confusion as Sir Fredrick stalked to the edge
of the table. "Look to the more experienced of your group!" Sir
Fredrick yelled, his throaty voice echoing throughout the hall.
"When I say stand to, you should look like this," he said, rounding
the table, coming to stand next to Briza. "This young squire is the
perfect example of what you should all look like when I call you to
attention."

A small smirk crossed Briza's face in light
of the compliment.

"Well, what are you waiting for, an
invitation?" Sir Fredrick barked. "Stand to!"

Not waiting to be told a third time, every
squire in the hall stood and went rigid in the pose exemplified by
Briza.

"Better," grumbled Sir Fredrick as he perused
the stance of every squire, walking around the common hall. "Arms
at your side," he corrected one squire. "Chin up," he said to
another. Completing his circle, he came to stand next to Calador at
the head of the table. "This is a sorry lot," he said to the Elf,
his eyes remained focused on the mass of squires.

"They can be taught."

"It seems there are less and less Lightborn
every year."