by Daniel Fife
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."
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Chapter 26 - Problem Solved
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?"
Without looking at the textbook in front of him, Danny's hand went up, others followed suit.
"Yes, Squire Rovert?" Sir Ranald noted, pointing to a blond-haired boy sitting just in front of Danny.
"They remain incorporeal up until moments before they attack," the squire said as he dropped his hand.
"And incorporeal means what?" Sir Ranald turned back to face the class from the front of the room.
"It means that any object or weapon not imbued with magic will pass harmlessly through them," explained Squire Rovert.
"Good," Sir Ranald said with a smile. "But, remember this as well, Shadows can pass through any substance without hindrance, walls, water, or the ground beneath your feet, making this ability extremely tricky. However, as Squire Rovert has explained, Shadows must become solid moments before they attack and that is their weakness. If you ever find yourself facing a Shadow without your weapon, which should never happen in the first place, counter attacking with whatever you might have available at just the right moment could prove the difference between life and death. Attack too soon and your attack will yield nothing but air, attack too late and their claws will cut through your armor like water.
"Who can tell me another type of Shadow?" Sir Ranald asked, turning back to his long desk, retrieving a textbook.
"Danny," whispered Matt, sitting just to Danny's left.
His concentration interrupted, Danny turned toward his friend.
"This is all we've found so far on the Mageknight," he continued, handing Danny a folded piece of parchment. "We'll go back to the library after class, but there's a problem."
"What's the problem?" Danny asked, snatching the paper the instant Sir Ranald turned his back.
"In order to get into the archives, you need a pass from one of the professors," adjusting his glasses with a nervous twitch.
"Squire Firoth and Squire Mickler, I assume you both have an answer for the class since you seem to be so talkative," Sir Ranald interjected in an exaggerated tone.
Danny looked up, Sir Ranald had somehow made his way to the middle of the second aisle without him noticing; he was standing only two desks to his right. He couldn't remember what the class had been discussing because he was so caught up in his conversation with Matt.
"Had you been listening, you would have heard Squire Faussett enlighten the class on another type of Shadow, a Soldier Shadow," added Sir Ranald, knowing that neither boy had a clue. "Perhaps one of you would like to give us a common characteristic of the Soldier Shadow?"
Both Danny and Matt glanced at one another. "They're big," said Matt, with a subtle hint of doubt in his voice.
"An impressive guess," said Sir Ranald, not amused. "I will expect to see both of you after class," he added, before continuing in a broader voice. "It is true that Soldier Shadows tend to be much larger than their Worker Shadow counterparts."
Drowning out Sir Ranald's voice, shrugging off the reprimand, Danny unfolded the parchment, placed it within his open textbook and began to read Matt's scribbled notes.
Danny's mouth opened in surprise after reading the last sentence, he wondered what it would be like to possess the ability to predict the future. Looking at the back of the page, he noticed that Matt had added a scribbled postscript.
"Squire Firoth!" Sir Ranald called out from the front of the class. "Can you name the third and most powerful of the Shadows?"
Caught red-handed, Danny looked up with a dumfounded expression. "Um… "
"Gran," whispered Matt.
"A Gran Shadow," Danny said, after a moment of hesitation.
"I am glad you decided to rejoin us," rebutted Sir Ranald. Strolling down the middle aisle, he continued. "That is correct, a Gran Shadow. Squire Mickler, would you be so bold as to enlighten us with a few characteristics of this type of Shadow?" Stopping within a few feet of Matt's desk, Sir Ranald leaned over and placed his right hand on the edge of the desk.
Pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, Matt peered up. "Gran Shadows always appear humanoid in shape and size, from a distance; they can be confused with allies. Their solid forms differ from the smoky appearance of the Worker and Soldier Shadows. The Knights of the Light that lived to tell the tale often report their skin as pitch-black with the same colored hair and glowing blue eyes." A small smile stretched across Matt's face as he leaned back in his chair.
"A textbook description," said Sir Ranald, adding, "almost word for word." Erect once again, he continued his stride toward the back of the room. "Gran Shadows are the most powerful class of Shadow that we know about. Only the strongest of knights have lived to tell of their encounter and most do not live much longer after telling it. However, some believe that there is a fourth class of Shadow, one beyond the Gran. A class even more powerful, not one knight among the order has ever lived to tell about it."
A moment of silence passed within the classroom, as if Sir Ranald intended to add a dramatic effect to the weight of his words. However, the affect was cut short as the first of ten chimes signaled the end of the class. Jumping up from their seats, the squires gathered their books and their belongings and prepared to leave.
"Remember, we will have a quiz next week!" Sir Ranald yelled over the rising noise.
Gathering up his own belongings, Danny turned to Matt. "How'd you know about the Grans?"
Matt produced a sly smile. "I'm a fast reader and I read ahead."
As soon as everyone was gone, Danny and Matt worked their way to the front to face Sir Ranald, his arms crossed, his gaze alternating back and forth between them.
"Both of you have been chosen to honor this school and become full-fledged Knights of the Light. Such an honor comes with a significant amount of danger, this class may someday see to your survival. You do understand this, I hope?"
"Yes, Professor Ranald," Danny and Matt said, almost in unison.
"Good, then you will understand why I expect a five-page essay on the subject we were just discussing, due by next week."
Matt let out a soft groan in response.
"I could easily make it ten, Squire Mickler," added Sir Ranald. After clearing his throat with a subtle grunt, he continued. "The next time I catch you two not paying attention, the punishment will be much more severe." With that, he turned his attention back to his desk, it was littered with disorganized parchments; he waved both boys away.
Matt's head drooped down as he turned to walk away; Matt stopped as he heard Danny speaking to Sir Ranald.
"Sir Ranald?" Danny asked.
"Can we have a couple of passes to get into the archives so that we can research the subject in depth?" Danny asked, with a hint of a smile.
Sir Ranald looked up to meet Danny's steady gaze.
Danny replaced his smile with a flat expression very quickly.
After contemplating the request, Sir Ranald produced a smile of his own. "That is a good idea, Squire Firoth. The archives have invaluable information regarding the three classes of Shadows." Bending down, he pulled out a drawer on the left side of his desk, reached in and retrieved two small squares of red parchment. After jotting the necessary information down, in nearly unreadable scribbles, he offered them to Danny and said, "I look forward to reading what you have discovered." His eyes grew wider. "I could spend hours and hours in the archives, just researching and reading."
Danny noticed that he'd stumbled upon one of Sir Ranald's most cherished hobbies. "Thank you, Sir Ranald," he offered, before the blond-haired professor could ramble on.
"Uh, yes… of course, Squire Firoth," Sir Ranald said, looking a little disappointed. Regaining his composure, he returned to the tasks at hand, adding, "Next week, then. I shall expect both of your essays to be completed."
With that, Danny turned and shot Matt a quick smile, both boys left the classroom in a hurry. Holding the two small passes in front of him, Danny said, "Problem solved."
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Chapter 27 - Spying on Sir Syndil
anny slipped around the corner of an alleyway, he saw Chris and Anthony waiting across from the double doors that marked the entrance to Sir Syndil's classroom. Danny snuck up behind them and kept his back snug to the wall, trying to make as little sound as possible.
"Hey, guys," he whispered.
Both boys jumped as they swiveled around to confront the intruder. Anthony's right hand shot to the hilt of the huge greatsword that lined his back, Chris smiled with relief when he saw who had spoken to them.
