Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight

by Daniel Fife

  Danny notice that he carried a series of seven blades, five remaining in a unique fan-like scabbard strapped across his back, while wielding the other two in his hands. The most obvious characteristic was the pointed ears that marked him kindred of the Long-lived, an Elf.

  "…Calador?" Danny questioned, no more than a whisper.

  As if empowered by Danny’s utterance, the Elf swooped both of his blades upward, forcing the angle of the crackling beam in the same direction. The sapphire ray traveled skyward, puncturing a hole in the swirling black clouds of the Eye. The shaft of azure light dissipated, allowing rays of sunlight to trickle through the dark clouds and linger for the briefest of moments before the raging storm swallowed them up once again.

  The Gran Shadow advanced, but stopped in order to investigate Syndil's silver Bonded, which lingered just below its pointed chin, caressing its neck.

  "No," said Syndil, his tone never wavering as his eyes locked on Calador. "Disobey me again and I will have your head."

  The Shadow hesitated, its expression alien, unreadable. Then, taking a single step to the rear, it retreated. However, the Shadow's gaze remained fixed forward upon its prey.

  "Are you alright, Squire?" Calador asked, his focus just as cautious. He didn't turn to face Danny.

  Danny looked himself over, finding his robes tattered and burnt; the skin of his arms and face was raw and blistered and his body was bruised. Investigating his sword further, he noticed that it had halved in size, the blade had melted nearly to the hilt.

  "My sword is useless," he said, retrieving the ruined blade, holding it before him in emphasis. Realizing that Calador couldn't see the damage, even if he was facing him, he tossed the now-worthless sword down next to him, the warped steel clanging pitifully upon the stone.

  "Good," said Calador. "You shall not need it, you are not permitted to stay."

  Danny was about to argue but he was cut off as Calador continued.

  "You will run as quickly as your feet can carry you, run to the Castle of the Light where you will await further orders." Calador's voice was stern and rigid, leaving no room for argument.

  "I am afraid he will not be permitted to leave," said Syndil, matter-of-factly, a smile curling up the side of his mouth. As the last syllable left the Elf's mouth, the three Gran Shadows disappeared in a disorienting display of speed, reappearing at the edge of three of the four roads that led out from the center, while Syndil casually moved to block the fourth. "We shall finish what we started so many years ago, my old friend."

  "Friend!" spat Calador. "You are a traitor, a thief and a liar. I once honored you as a master of the sword and kindred of the race we share, a rival against whom I could measure my own skill. I even respected you after you took my eyes as well as my Bonded. However, what you have done this day is unforgivable and before this futility goes any further, you will tell me why."

  "Why?" Syndil's smile simmered to a smirk. "Look around you, Calador. The Light grows weaker with every passing day. Our numbers dwindle with every drop of the moon and setting of the sun, while the Shadows extend their grip over this world. We are losing this war."

  "You are a coward!" Calador yelled, his grip tightening around the hilts of his blades, causing his knuckles to whiten.

  Syndil stepped forward, angling his Bonded downward in one smooth motion. "Call me what you will, Calador, but you must sense it as well. The Light has settled their hopes on the return of the Mageknight. Yet, there he sits, a mere shadow of the legend foretold in the literature. His power will not be enough to offset the influence of the Shadows."

  Calador maneuvered into an offensive stance. "So, now you show your fair-weathered allegiance, backing the surest winner, betraying those that trusted you with their lives."

  Syndil mirrored the movements of his opponent, leveling his Bonded before him while still holding the sheathed blade of the stolen Bonded in his opposite hand. "It was an easy enough choice. What is the alternative, to die fighting for the side you know will eventually lose, only to end up as some poor soul trapped in a sword for an eternity? I think not, that's not for me."

  Calador scoffed. "So, instead, you choose to betray your own race as well as those you have sworn allegiance to, all the while manipulating a mere squire in the process?"

  Syndil's smile widened as he sighed ever so softly. "'Tis inconsequential, my old friend, for I have made my choice. Now, you must make yours. I have not the time for any more discussion on this matter, and I fear you are impossibly far from changing my mind in any capacity. If you wish to finish this rivalry between us, now is the time and the place."

  Calador gracefully twirled his blades in front of him, planting his right foot forward. "I am not your old friend, Syndil, but you must know that you are now my new enemy and I will stop you."

  Syndil responded in kind, weaving his Bonded in a light-footed salute, the elegance of his movements just as smooth as the Elf opposite him. "I accept your challenge… my new enemy."

  "For the Light," challenged Calador, using his forward foot to push off with as he began a headlong charge.

  Syndil smiled and raised his Bonded above him. "Sever, Kryssagrim," he said, leveling a single downward slash in front of him. The blade of his Bonded pulsed with a silver flash, sending forth three individual pressure waves of white light that whistled as they sliced through the air and barreled down upon Calador.

  Without missing a beat, Calador angled his swords around him in a speedy display. Parrying each attack in turn, he cut the waves in half, causing them to dissipate around him with a harmless soft hissing as he continued his charge. The surprised expression on Syndil's face was instantaneous as Calador leveled an attack of his own just below the chin line.

  His sword found nothing but air. Syndil easily ducked the swipe. Pressing his assault, Calador followed up with a series of slashes and lunges. However, the speed of both Elves proved equal and Syndil met his opponent blow for blow, using the stolen Bonded as an offhand weapon.

  Spinning away, Syndil retreated to a safe distance and settled into a defensive stance.

  "Interesting," he said with a smile. "I see you remember Kryssagrim's first Awakening."

  Calador twirled his blades around him, loosening the muscles of his arms. "How could I ever forget your old tricks."

  Syndil's smile widened as he took the other Elf's comment as a compliment, rather than the insult it was intended to be. "Be that as it may . . . how is it that you are able to block my Bonded's Awakening without a Bonded of your own? You know as well as I that a Bonded's power can only be blocked by another Bonded, yet I specifically remember seeing yours shatter into at least seven pieces during our last duel."

  "Exactly seven," said Calador, bringing both of his blades to bear and bringing them together. However, instead of the usual clang of metal meeting metal, something that one might expect to hear as two swords met, the blades produced a soft hissing, followed by a swirling wisp of sapphire smoke as they melded into one. The hilt of the newly-formed longsword changed and reformed, taking on a more intricate pattern, yet still appearing incomplete. The blade changed as well, elongating, gaining a soft blue glow.

  Syndil's smile softened in the face of the display, from surprise or fear, Danny didn't know which.

  "Most interesting," said Syndil.

  Reaching behind him, Calador pulled another blade from the sheath on his back, the lowest on the left. Slightly smaller than the new sword in his opposite hand, the hilt of the third carried a similar pattern to the other, the engraved lines cut off as if it belonged to a larger whole.

  "You had the seven pieces of your Bonded re-forged into seven individual swords," said Syndil, putting the pieces of the puzzle together. The Elf's smile returned to its former glory as he angled his Bonded to the left side of his body. "I am impressed, Calador, but it will not save you. Sever, Kryssagrim," he whispered. He leapt to the right and leveled his Bonded for three quick slashes, creating nine waves of silvery light that
whistled through the air, aimed directly for Danny.

  Danny attempted to roll out of the way; he closed his eyes, knowing that he would never make it in time. However, just when he expected to feel the first of the nine surges upon his back, he heard a loud series of pops and felt nothing more than harmless puffs of air flow around him. Opening his eyes and inching his head upward, to see what had happened, he saw Calador standing in front of him, both blades angled in a defensive position.

  "Calador," Danny whispered, as he noticed a splash of crimson plummet to the right of the Elf's feet. He followed the trickle of red to a gaping wound that ran from Calador's right wrist to his upper bicep.

  "Most impressive, Calador," said Syndil in a mocking tone. "Your skills have definitely improved, you managed to block nearly all of them. However, I knew that you would not allow the last to hit the squire and that you would shield him with your body. You always were so predictable."

  Danny had never felt so helpless. Syndil was using him to distract Calador. The wound on the Elf's arm was his fault.

  "…Calador!"

  "Never mind me, Danny," interrupted Calador, bringing his two swords together, melding them into one. A wisp of dark energy formed around the newly-created blade as it grew slightly longer and became a dull black, seeming to draw in the light around it. The pattern on the black hilt shifted, causing the engraved grooves to twist and turn, yet still they appeared incomplete.

  "Blind, Enigmir," said Calador, angling the sword before him.

  Danny shifted his eyes to Syndil, yet he was too slow to see the surprise upon the Elf's face as a large sphere of utter darkness engulfed him.

  Reaching behind him, Calador unsheathed a fourth blade from the scabbard on his back, stepped into his own globe of blackness and disappeared from sight.

  The rounded edge of darkness stopped a few feet from where Danny crouched, appearing almost as a solid but he knew otherwise, Calador had stepped through it without the slightest resistance. Although he couldn't see beyond the black curtain, Danny heard the sounds of combat echo from within the blackness.

  Feeling more helpless than ever, he unsheathed the dragon-hilted dagger he'd received from Tyramear. The blade felt good in his grip and brought him some much-needed confidence. However, after investigating the dagger, peering at the distant Gran Shadows and then looking from blade to Shadows once again, Danny returned the small brand from whence it had come, it was useless. He needed a real weapon. In that instant, a distant longing called to him from behind. Looking up, he met the solid stone eyes of a statue, one of the four sculpted Knights of the Light that watched over the Pool of the Mageknight.

  The Bonded of the Mageknight.

  Standing up, he leapt to the edge of the pool and peered down into the crisp, clear water. The familiar sight of the sapphire-hilted sword floated just beneath the surface. For a moment, Danny found himself lost in the swirl of the blade, its edges crafted to sleek perfections, the blue brand's soft inner light beckoning him into its depths. It felt as if the blade was calling to him.

  "You can do this," he told himself as he inched his right hand toward the calm water. A series of ripples swelled out from the point of contact as he lowered his fingers into the water, the waves distorting the image of the sword. Seeing his chance, Danny spread his hand wide and reached for the hilt, only to feel the flow of water filter through his fingers, the Bonded of the Mageknight was now just to the left of his grip.

  Yanking his hand from the pool, Danny cursed himself. The draw of the blade increased, yearning for his touch. He didn't quite understand what he was doing wrong. If he truly was the Mageknight, then only he could pull the sword from the water. Why can't I do it?

  "Think," he whispered.

  Behind him, somewhere within the globe of darkness, the sound of combat continued, the Gran Shadows stood in an unwavering vigil.

  "I have to do something," Danny whispered with new-found confidence. "Calador needs my help. My father needs my help." Focusing his concentration, he entered into the trance that Syndil had taught him, controlling his breathing, clearing his mind. The Ghostsight settled over the Bonded within the pool, causing a silhouette to appear around the sword, which seemed to waver backward and forward as the ripples in the water began to settle. Taking a deep breath, he leveled his right hand over the water once again and reached down for the second time. The water stirred in response to his touch, causing the reflection of the blade below to waver and warp. Putting his hand farther into the tepid water, Danny gasped with surprise as the ghostly image of the blade dodged to the right of his fingers, while the real image remained in place, inches from his grasp.

  Ignoring the impulse to keep moving toward the obvious reflection, Danny shifted his grip to the location of the Ghostsight's image, hoping the actual sword would appear there momentarily. Closing his hand around what appeared to be nothing but water, he felt the cool touch of something solid. Then, within the blink of an eye, the Bonded of the Mageknight appeared within his grasp, the ripples of the water lapping at his bicep.

  In one smooth motion, Danny pulled the blade from the pool, freeing it from the depths as the water dripped down his arm. Holding the blade before him, he tested its weight and found it much lighter than expected. It almost felt as if it weighed nothing at all, it was light as a feather. Taking a couple of practice swings, the blade whistled as if it were cutting the air itself.

  "I did it!" Danny said to no one in particular, and then…

  Greetings, Danny Firoth, said an unfamiliar voice that seemed to echo from all around him.

  Danny turned in every conceivable direction, but found no one. "Who's there?" he asked.

  You may call me Magear, said the deep-toned voice.

  "Where are you?"

  I am here, Danny, the speaker said in unison with a soft pulse of light that emanated from the Bonded of the Mageknight.

  Danny pulled the blade closer to his eyes, entranced by the beauty and intricacy of the sapphire sword. "You're… in the sword?"

  A light chuckle echoed all around him. No, Danny, I am not in the sword. I am the sword. I am your Bonded and you are my wielder. Together, we are one.

  "You're Magear Rolk Knight, Mageknight of the Light," Danny declared, adjusting his grip, holding the sword at arm's length.

  Danny felt an odd sensation, a feeling of sadness not his own, creep over him.

  I have not heard that name for some time. However, I am afraid I am a mere shade of what I once was. The transition of affixing oneself within a Bonded is most taxing. I am afraid I remember very little of my past life.

  "I'm sorry, Magear."

  Danny felt the mood of the blade brighten. Do not be sorry, Danny. This is something that I chose.

  "How is it that I can feel your emotions?"

  As I said before, Danny, we are now Bonded. You can feel my emotions, just as I can sense yours. You are the only one who can hear me because I am speaking within your mind. Simply think your responses and I will hear you.

  Like this? Danny thought.

  Yes, the blade said within Danny's mind. However, now is not the time to practice. I believe you have a friend who needs your help.

  Faster than Danny could think, two pressure waves whooshed out from the sphere of darkness. Danny spun, avoiding the first as it traveled past him and severed the stone statue behind him cleanly in half. Reflexively blocking the second with Magear, a surge of air swelled around him as the wave of silvery energy dissipated harmlessly across the sapphire edge of the sword. Less than a moment later, Calador came crashing to the ground beside him, thrust out of his own dark creation by an unknown force. The globe of darkness wavered for a split-second before disappearing, revealing a tired-looking Syndil. His shoulders seemed to sag, and his breath came in heavy waves. His armor, marked with various slash marks, suggested that Calador had landed several blows.

  Looking down at Calador, Danny noticed that the Elf appeared to be in worse condition, his robes
were populated with various slashes and stained with crimson from a series of deep cuts.

  "A most interesting trick," said Syndil, the sure smile once again appearing across his face, despite his apparent exhaustion. "It might have been more useful if you had a proper suit of armor." Caught up in his gloating, the Elf hesitated as his eyes moved from the sullen Calador to the bright sapphire blade in Danny's hand. "So, it is true, you are the Mageknight. You have pulled the fabled sword from its watery keep."

  "So, that's who you were talking to," said Calador, making his way back to his feet, using the dark sword in his right hand as a crutch.

  "Are you alright?" Danny asked, never taking his eyes off Syndil.

  "I will live," said Calador, tearing a strip of fabric from his robe and wrapping it around a cut on his forearm.

  Syndil's smile widened. "I would very much like to put your new sword to the test, Mageknight."

  "Your duel is with me, traitor!" Calador yelled, taking a wobbly step forward.

  "I am afraid our duel is over, my old friend. You are in no condition to continue."

  "We have unsettled business, you and I," argued Calador.

  "As far as I am concerned, it is quite settled." Syndil swiped Kryssagrim through the air. "Sever," he said, creating three gleaming waves of energy.

  Danny bounded forward, stepping in front of Calador, as the Ghostsight, which seemed to activate instinctively, alerted him to Syndil's attack. Now, the vision appeared crisper and slower, as if he was looking through a new set of eyes. Magear felt like a gentle breeze in his hand as his Bonded whistled around him, cutting Syndil's energy waves out of the air one by one.

  Syndil's smile remained fixed upon his face, yet there was surprise in his eyes. "This is most curious, indeed."

  "Return the Bonded of my father."

  "I have already given you my word, Squire Firoth. You shall have the blade returned to you once it has served its purpose."

  Danny was about to take a step forward when he felt a heavy hand upon his right shoulder.