by Daniel Fife
Danny followed, leaving the sound of the crashing waves behind him, muffled by the corridors of the cave. Delving deeper, the rocky path descended in a series of steep steps before expanding into a spacious chamber with a vaulted ceiling, filled with hanging stalactites. The heatless flame bathed the massive room in soft yellow light. Danny found Calador in the middle of the room, the Elf's hands folded behind him and his face an emotionless wall. Around the Elf, upon the smoothed stone of the floor, ran a crudely carved ring inscribed with ancient text. Danny recognized it as a dueling circle.
"What is this place?"
"This is where I prefer to train, Squire Firoth," said Calador with a matter-of-fact tone.
"I don't understand. You said you were a squire once, right?"
"Yes."
"Then why aren't you a Knight of the Light?"
"You were chosen to become a squire due to the Gift of Sight, yes?"
"Yes."
"Well, I have no sight at all. That gift was taken from me."
"…How?"
"It happened during my third year as a squire. Another squire, one year my senior, accidentally extinguished my sight forever during a duel over rank, or so he said. He was the captain of Dragon Army at the time; I was his lieutenant. I thought myself to be better and challenged him to a duel in order to assure my place as captain. I lost my eyesight as a result. As I said previously, I was quite the cocky squire." Calador allowed himself a slight chuckle.
"But you're still able to see so much despite the loss," said Danny in a comforting tone. He felt unsure of Calador's intentions, the Elf had never been this forthcoming with him. "Surely, losing your sight wouldn't have stopped you from pursuing knighthood."
"No, it would not have," said the Elf as he dropped his gaze, his tone thick with pent-up emotion. Forcing the sorrow down, resuming his cold façade, he added, "I lost something far more precious than my sight that day. My Bonded was shattered, destroyed during the same attack that took my eyes. It was the last thing I ever saw."
"Couldn't you just choose another?"
Calador's hardened disguise broke momentarily. "If only it was as easy as that."
"Isn't it?"
"No," said Calador, his gaze turning in Danny's direction. "A Knight of the Light does not simply choose a Bonded on his or her own. The Bonded must choose the wielder as well. Once the relationship between a Knight of the Light and a Bonded is made, it is carried until death. The name given to the blade, Bonded, is not in name only, the wielder and blade become one. Thus, losing a Bonded is like losing a part of yourself, once lost, neither is able to choose another."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know," said Danny in a tone filled with sincere empathy.
"You are a first-year squire and not Lightborn; there is no way you could have known at this point," said Calador coldly.
"I just meant…"
"Your pity is well received, Squire Firoth, but unnecessary," interrupted Calador. "I made peace with my lot many years ago."
"Why are you telling me this?" Danny asked, feeling rather annoyed by the Elf's interruption.
"Because, Danny," said Calador, his voice refilled with purpose, "the squire who took my eyes is now a Knight of the Light as well as an instructor at this school."
"Who is it?"
"His name is Sir Syndil Sartak Tribolari."
Danny found the fact doubtful, Sir Syndil had shown him nothing but kindness and his tutelage had been invaluable.
"Your doubt is understandable, Squire Firoth," said Calador, as if he could read Danny's mind and his emotions.
"I don't understand. You said it was an accident."
"I said he claimed it was an accident."
"But what does this have to do with me?"
"I am afraid this has everything to do with you, Danny."
Danny remained unconvinced.
"If there is one thing that I have learned over the years regarding Sir Syndil, it is that he never does anything without purpose. There was purpose when he took my sight, as well as my Bonded, in time, I believe I would have surpassed him. It is my belief that he anticipated my rise and used that opportunity to destroy my eventual rivalry."
"Sir Syndil wouldn't…"
"Do you think it was merely happenstance that Sir Syndil journeyed to your home and administered your testing to become a Knight of the Light?" Calador asked, once again interrupting. When Danny failed to answer, the Elf continued. "Sir Syndil has remained on this island for well over one hundred years, studying the Eye of Darkness and researching the Shadows, as well as many other subjects of interest. He has never once set foot off the island. That is, not until recently, in order to test you with the Trials. You do not find that just a little coincidental, any one knight could have undertaken such a simple task, and one usually does, but not him."
Danny was confused. He knew Calador was telling the truth about Sir Syndil's tendency to stay on White Rock, Sir Mick had said just that during their short meeting. However, Danny refused to see Sir Syndil in such a negative light.
"I feel your confusion, Danny, and it is most understandable, I do not quite understand it myself. However, for whatever reason, Sir Syndil has taken an interest in you and because he has, so must I."
"I… I don't know why," said Danny, in a lie.
"That is the second time you have lied to me, Squire Firoth," taking a step forward. "Your emotions betray your voice once again."
"I'm not lying," Danny said in a firmer tone.
"Keep your secrets on the tip of your tongue if you wish, Squire Firoth, but know that the blade never lies," said Calador, reaching behind him, unlatching his scabbard. Once free, the fan of blades unfolded behind him like the feathers of a peacock.
"What're you doing?"
"I am challenging you to a duel, Squire Firoth," said the Elf with a calm clarity.
Danny was surprised and frightened by the Elf's statement as he turned and looked around to plan his escape. He noted the entrance to the cavern, as well as a few other passages that might serve as a way out. However, the light of the torch flickered for a brief moment as he felt a slight breeze upon the hand that held it.
Turning back to face the Elf, he noticed that the end of the torch now littered the cavern floor just behind Calador, aglow with a soft, sallow light. Looking down, Danny took note of the charcoal stick still in his hand, the top cleanly cut above his fingers.
"Now you have no choice. By now, the sun has settled well beyond the coming night. Without light, your chances of making the climb back up are rather slim and even less so if you plan to navigate the corridors of these caverns."
Looking up, Danny realized that Calador now held a shortsword in his right hand and a longsword in his left, the two bottom slots of the fan-like scabbard empty as both blades drooped at his side in an unthreatening manner. The Elf's swords sported an intricate pattern upon the hilt, different in design, but familiar in appearance, as if they were both pieces of a larger puzzle. What truly alarmed Danny was that the Elf appeared to be standing in the same space he had occupied previously, meaning that he'd drawn his weapons, moved, attacked, and then moved back without the subtlest of noises at the speed of but a glance.
"You're insane!" Danny accused.
"No, I am thorough," rebutted Calador.
Danny considered his options. The Elf's logic was sound, he couldn't ascend the same path he'd come down. Without light, the slippery rocks would make for a fatal climb. Danny counted three other passageways, all three were dark and unpromising. Besides, it was likely that Calador would be able to navigate them much faster; Danny knew that he couldn't outrun him. He would have to fight. Re-positioning his feet, Danny slipped his right hand around the hilt of his sword and pulled the blade free with a slight ring of steel. The sound echoed throughout the cavern, causing Calador's ears to perk up.
"I see, so you have accepted my challenge?"
"You've given me no choice," said Danny, assuming a defensive stance. Clea
ring his mind, filling his lungs with salty sea air, he pooled his concentration just the way Sir Syndil had shown him. Concentrating on the position of his opponent, he noted the familiar faint outline around Calador's slender body. If the Elf decided to attack, Danny would know about it well before it happened.
"Sir Syndil has taught you the techniques of concentration," said Calador, more of a statement than a question. "This is most curious."
Danny switched to an offensive stance. The time for talking was over.
"You plan to attack?" the Elf asked, as both of his blades snapped into defensive positions.
Danny refused to respond as he charged forward, his blade leading the way with a sidelong swing. With two bounding leaps, he closed the distance between them. Predicting the Elf's attempt at a parry, Danny switched the slant of his blade, angling the attack lower. However, even with Danny's ghostly sight, Calador countered the strike with his opposite blade and spun to the right with the elegance of a dancer, his speed well beyond the realm of mortal capability.
Still caught in his charge and off-balance, Danny stumbled a few more feet forward before turning back to face the Elf.
"You would do better to fight more defensively," said Calador, facing away from Danny, presenting his back as if in mockery.
Danny approached more cautiously this time, leveling his longsword to the right in preparation. Choosing his footing carefully, he stalked the Elf with a quiet step, hoping to use Calador's handicap against him. Now within striking distance, he flicked his wrists outward, putting the power of his forearms into a quick swipe. Steel rang against steel as Danny's attack found nothing but the shiny edge of Calador's shortsword, held protectively across the Elf's back. Danny stood, stunned, Calador had blocked the blow with one simple movement, without even having to turn around.
However, what frustrated Danny the most was that the Elf's speed was faster than he could predict.
"You thought to use my blindness against me, yes?" Calador asked, more of a statement than a question.
Finding the Elf's haughty rhetoric increasingly annoying, Danny scraped his blade free from his opponent and reversed the momentum in a slash intended for Calador's lower right leg.
With a simple move, the Elf lifted his leg, causing the Danny to strike nothing but open air.
Twisting the blade in his hand, Danny followed up with a series of swift attacks, angling his blade up, down, and to the side, depending upon the predicted pattern of Calador's movements. However, the Elf's defense seemed impenetrable as Calador met Danny blow for blow, the rhythmic sound of metal meeting metal echoed through the thick rock walls of the cavern.
Ending the assault with an upward attack, also blocked by Calador, Danny retreated in a quick hop to the rear, impressed by the blind Elf's ability.
"Finished?" Calador asked, standing still, as if the recent exchange of blades had been but a mere game between children.
Danny's breath caught within his breast. He'd attacked the Elf from every conceivable angle, attempted to bypass his defense by predicting the pattern of his parries, and yet he remained nearly exhausted, while Calador stood before him as calm and refreshed as the moment they started.
"Your technique is impressive for a first-year," said the Elf, after Danny refused to answer. "However, there is something in your swordsmanship that I cannot place. It is an odd tendency to anticipate your opponent's placement of a parry and then change the angle of your attack. Such a style is quite rare, I can only think of one other who used such a method."
"Who was that?" Danny dropped his guard, thinking the duel over.
"My conclusion is not yet complete; I require more data. Thus, I shall keep my answer to myself until I am sure. This duel is only half over, Squire Firoth."
Danny's blade shot back up as Calador's outline bounded forward in a wicked attack, the Elf following seconds behind.
Leading in with the longsword, Calador twisted and turned in a flurry of strikes, his speed blinding, and his movements flawless.
Forced backward, Danny worked to the edge of his capability as he struggled to block every blow. His ability to predict the Elf's movements was the only thing that saved him. However, even knowing where Calador would attack next did little to match the pure speed of his opponent, the ethereal image of Calador moved just as fast.
Faking a frontal assault with his shortsword, Calador pulled the attack, spun upon his heel and leveled a swipe at Danny's back.
Foreseeing the bluff, Danny ignored the faint from the front and angled the sword behind his back, mimicking Calador's haughty maneuver only moments before. Both blades met with a loud clang that reverberated through the expanse of the cavern. Danny stood motionless, waiting for another attack; one that he was sure would come. However, both Elf and image stood just as still.
"Impossible," said Calador, stepping back, sheathing both of his swords. "It is simply not possible."
Performing an about-face, Danny leveled his sword before him, unsure of the Elf's intentions. However, he relaxed as he noticed Calador's unthreatening composure, his blades sheathed, arms at his side, head angled toward the floor in thought.
"What's not possible?" Danny asked, confused.
Calador's ears twitched and his head came up almost as if he'd forgotten about Danny's presence.
"You," he said, as if truly noticing Danny for the first time and leveling his sightless stare upon him.
"Me?" Danny asked, lifting his sword back into place just in case.
"You have the Ghostsight, do you not?"
"…Ghostsight?" Danny questioned once again, his curiosity outweighing his caution as his sword drooped down.
"During our initial exchange, you possessed an uncanny ability to know when and where I would attempt to block you. Such skill is rare and impressive but not beyond the boundaries of ordinary ability. However, such is the mark of a true master. A first-year squire would not possess such a skill, most likely. The full truth revealed itself during my offensive. My first series of attacks were simply to probe your defense, my observations were similar to those that I have already made about your offensive capabilities. You can predict the pattern of my attack even before I attempt anything. However, my last attack was the true test; it was beyond the range of your vision. You should not have been able to block it unless you already knew it was coming."
"What if I hadn't been able to block it?"
"I was already sure of your ability, thus I knew that you would."
"You could've killed me!"
"You could have told me the truth from the beginning," countered Calador in a calm voice, closing the fan of blades, re-hooking them together.
"What truth?"
"That you possess the Ghostsight."
"I don't even know what that is."
Calador's ears twitched. "You are telling the truth. It seems Sir Syndil has been keeping secrets from you."
"I don't understand," said Danny, re-sheathing his own sword.
"The Ghostsight is a powerful technique possessed only by the Mageknight. It is said that it first appears in the form of a faint image, outlining one's opponent. The outline, which is said to look like a ghost, predicts the actions of the other, allowing the Mageknight to anticipate any attack or overcome any defense."
Danny dropped his gaze. He felt confused as he wondered why Sir Syndil would've lied to him.
"You do possess the Ghostsight, yes?" his voice was little more than a whisper.
"What you describe is exactly what I experience."
"Yet, Sir Syndil has not told you as much?"
"No."
"However, his instruction has focused on this ability, yes?"
"Yes," said Danny, turning his head to the side. "If I were to make this known, how would others react?" he asked, glancing up, waiting for the answer.
"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 awak
ening 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.
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Chapter 25 - The Truth among Friends
