Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight (32 page)

With an eagerness he hadn't felt for some
time, Danny hopped down the stone steps with Rogen following
behind. Taking the last two steps with a jump, Danny hit the
snow-colored sand running. He slowed his step as he came upon
Sabrina, not wanting to startle her.

However, if she had noticed his presence she
didn't show it, as she continued her deadly dance with a grace
unparalleled. Wearing the red robes of Dragon Army, the thin cloth
caught the slender curves of her body; it failed to hinder her
movement as it fluttered in the salty sea breeze blowing in from
the open water.

Danny watched her movements with amazement,
his eyes drawn to the slender rapier in her hand as the blade
caught the sunlight and reflected the rays in a pinkish hue. The
hilt ended in the form of a blossoming pink rose with two petals,
creating the hand guards. Twisting before him, Sabrina dipped low
and brought the blade before her, causing it to hum as it cut
through the air. With her eyes shut, she continued her ballet with
the blade, seemingly unaware that someone watched her with a
careful eye. Danny stepped forward with the intent to interrupt and
stir her from her trance. However, he stopped as he felt a
restraining hand on his right shoulder. Turning, he met Rogen's
eyes as the blond-haired boy shook his head.

"Let her finish."

Danny took a step back, allowing Sabrina to
continue.

Minutes passed as Sabrina fought off
invisible enemies, whirling the pink rapier in an intricate pattern
of combat. Then, with one final attack, she sheathed the blade into
a matching scabbard at her side, and opened her eyes. Turning
toward both boys, she smiled.

"You found me."

"Yeah," said Danny awkwardly, returning the
smile. Dumbfounded, he added, "Rogen helped."

"I can see that," she said with a laugh. "I
have something to show you," she added, pulling the rapier free
from its scabbard and presenting it before her. "Her name is
Rose."

"Her?" Danny asked, confused as Sabrina
personified an inanimate object.

Sabrina smiled. "I assume Professor Torjan
has yet to cover the subject of Bondeds?"

Danny nodded.

"Every single Bonded was once a Knight of the
Light," began Sabrina in explanation, slipping her own back in the
sheath. "When a Knight of the Light gets too old or is mortally
wounded, they are given a choice, to pass with honor or be reborn
in the enchanted steel of a blade so that they may still serve the
Light."

"You mean your Bonded was once a living,
breathing person?"

"She was a Knight of the Light," clarified
Sabrina, "just as I shall be."

"And someone trapped her in that sword?"

"She volunteered for the greater good, to
serve the Light."

"Can it… I mean she . . . talk to you?"

"From what I understand, the transition is
difficult."

"I'd imagine it would be."

Placing her hand on the rose-hilted Bonded,
Sabrina continued, "I can hear her thoughts vaguely. It is said
that once a Bonded awakens to a wielder, its mind is but a pale
shadow of the person it once was. As the link between Bonded and
wielder grows, the Bonded matures in intelligence and power.
However, all Bondeds develop relationships with their wielders
differently."

"Will it… I mean . . . will she remember her
past life, before she was trapped within the blade?"

Rogen stepped forward, pulling his own blade
free from its sheath with the singing of steel. The blade, a soft
gold, caught the amber rays of the overhead sun, reflecting
brightly. The hilt, also plated in gold, crafted in the shape of
the sun at the base, seemed to absorb the light and hold it,
glowing ever so softly.

"Try not to think of it as a prison," he
said. "A Knight of the Light gives oneself freely. It is considered
the highest honor to become a Bonded."

"...And that's your Bonded?"

"His name is Radian," presenting the golden
blade before him.

"There is no guarantee that a Bonded will
remember its life before," continued Sabrina, answering the
question Danny had asked before Rogen interrupted. "Some do,
remembering small portions of their lives, others do not. It is the
risk a Knight of the Light takes when the life is given."

"What exactly is given?"

"You are referring to the concept of the soul
or the spirit?" Rogen asked.

"Yes, what if, by volunteering to become a
Bonded, you give up your chance of an afterlife?"

"Assuming there is an afterlife," said
Sabrina.

"Well, becoming a Bonded, by definition, is a
form of life after death," added Rogen.

Danny shook his head. "But what if there's
more?"

"That is a chance that one takes in order to
preserve the ways of the Light," said Sabrina. "Whether it is one's
soul or simply their consciousness, without the Bondeds, the Light
would have fallen to the Dark centuries ago."

Danny tried to imagine what it would be like,
trapped within a sword with only his thoughts to comfort him. He
concluded that it would be a very lonely existence.

"Enough of this talk," said Sabrina,
interrupting Danny's dark deliberations. "How is it that you ran
into Rogen?"

Danny dropped his eyes, "About that…"

"What have you done now?" Sabrina asked,
reading Danny's uncomfortable expression.

Danny refused to comment and looked at
Rogen.

"Don't look at me."

"One of you better tell me what's going on!"
Sabrina yelled, taking turns staring at both boys.

Rogen sheathed his bonded. "Danny has
challenged Lieutenant Rigil to a duel," said Rogen, unwilling to
meet Sabrina's frightful gaze.

"What?" Sabrina asked, locking her accusing
soft brown eyes upon Danny.

"I challenged Rigil to a…" began Danny, only
to be interrupted by Sabrina.

"I heard that!" she yelled. "Why would do
such a thing!?"

"He tricked me," regaining his wits, raising
his head to meet Sabrina's unwavering gaze, an action Danny quickly
regretted. "I thought I might challenge him to a game of Knights in
order to find you. I just wanted to see you."

"How foolish," said Sabrina, her voice but a
whisper.

"What's done is done," interjected Rogen. "We
don’t have time to waste thinking about what should or should not
have been done."

"When is it?" Sabrina asked, turning to face
the crashing waves and toiling dark clouds beyond.

Danny followed her stare and found small
comfort in the rhythmic sway of the sea. "At the seventh chime, I'm
to meet Sir Syndil two hours before to prepare."

"I don't know if any amount of preparation
will see you victorious before Squire Rigil," said Sabrina. "He is
a third-year squire, a lieutenant at that, meaning that his Bonded
has at least progressed to the first Awakening."

"…first Awakening?"

Sabrina allowed herself a heavy sigh as she
sheathed her Bonded and turned toward Danny. "As I said before, as
wielder and Bonded work together, a Bonded becomes more aware, as
well as more powerful. Each Bonded contains its own innate powers,
different from any other. There are three phases to mastering a
Bonded, called Awakenings. The first Awakening grants the wielder
the powers of the blade. One must master the first Awakening to
become a lieutenant in any army. The second grants the powers of
the blade to the wielder as both work as one in battle. One must
reach the second Awakening in order to become a captain. The third
Awakening summons the consciousness of the Bonded into our world to
fight side by side with the wielder."

"I had no idea Bondeds were so powerful."

"That is why, as a first-year squire with a
normal blade, you stand almost no chance against Rigil," Sabrina
snapped.

"What's his Bonded's power?"

"I do not know."

back to top

anny and Sabrina walked Rogen to the top of the
stairs that led down to the beach, the blond-haired boy promising
to collect his dueling armor and meet them at Sir Syndil's
classroom. Walking with Sabrina, Danny felt little stress about the
upcoming duel, after all, this was how he'd pictured the day would
progress in the first place. But there was a distance between them
that Danny didn't want to acknowledge, an awkwardness that made him
uncomfortable. They walked in silence until Sabrina finally broke
the uneasiness.

"How could you be so stupid?" she asked,
stopping their progress.

Danny stopped and turned to face her. "I was
tricked," he pleaded. "I had no idea what I was doing or what would
happen."

"That's just it, you had no business coming
to the Dragon Army barracks."

"You told me to find you," argued Danny. "I
wanted to see you."

"You are right. This is all my fault,"
Sabrina admitted, dropping her gaze.

"I didn't say that," consoled Danny, taking a
step forward, standing within arm's reach. Danny wanted desperately
to reach out to her, yet something kept him from doing just
that.

Sabrina's brown eyes flashed up at him. "You
did not have to say it. The facts speak for themselves. Come, you
will need all the time you can get to prepare." With that, Sabrina
bolted forward, her step quickened.

"Wait," said Danny, reaching out for her,
slipping his right hand around her slender left wrist. She turned
to scowl back at him as her eyes traveled down to where he held
her. Despite the anger in her eyes, Danny maintained his grip.

"Why do you act so serious all the time? It's
as if you're a completely different person when you're on this
island."

"You would do well to release me," hissed
Sabrina.

"I'm sorry," said Danny, doing as told,
taking a step backward, placing his hands in the air to proclaim
his innocence.

"My father is one of the greatest Knights of
the Light ever to walk this Earth," Sabrina said, after a measured
silence. "As his daughter, I am expected to act and progress in a
certain way, and I have little time for the flights of emotion
gifted to me by my Human side. I simply cannot be distracted, not
now."

"Is that all I am to you, a mere
distraction?"

Sabrina's voice grew soft. "The Light is
fading, Danny. We are losing more Knights of the Light than we are
gaining. The Dark grows more powerful daily, while the Light
weakens."

"That isn't what I asked you."

"We don't have time for this, Danny. You must
prepare."

"You make it sound like this will be a duel
to the death."

"Fatalities have been known to occur, severe
injuries are even more commonplace. If you are not fully prepared,
you could face serious injury or worse."

"Great this day just gets better and
better."

"Come, Sir Syndil and Rogen await us," urged
Sabrina, reaching out, taking Danny's hand in her own. Pulling ever
so gently, she compelled him forward.

Forced into moving, Danny set an equal pace
as she dropped his hand. "You have not answered my question," said
Danny after a moment of walking silently.

"And it shall remain unanswered until after
this year of training is complete."

"…But why?" Danny asked, coming to a
stop.

"Keep walking," commanded Sabrina, reaching
out, grabbing the loose cloth of Danny's robes at the shoulder,
guiding him forward. "Any answer I give you now will be a
distraction," she continued, once they were back on course.

"I'm already distracted, I'm not even a week
into training and I've already challenged a senior squire to a
duel." Danny's heart fluttered as Sabrina gave him a slight smile.
It vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

"All the more reason for you to keep whatever
focus remains," said Sabrina, turning down an alley.

Danny conceded, he knew that Sabrina was as
stubborn as she was beautiful. Once she decided on a course of
action, she would see it through to the end and Danny knew there
was nothing he could do or say to sway her.

"We are here," she said, stopping before the
familiar double doors of Sir Syndil's white brick building. "…Just
in time, too," as the first chime of the ninth bell toned loud and
clear. The other eight followed as Danny and Sabrina passed through
the doorway and entered the dueling classroom.

"There you are," greeted Rogen. He stood just
inside, holding a large black bag that jingled as he moved.

"Right on time," said Sir Syndil with a
sweeping smile, standing to Rogen's right. "Come, we have little
time to waste," he added, ushering Danny into the room. "Dump that
here, Squire Rogen," he said, pointing to a spot on the floor next
to Danny.

Rogen emptied the contents onto the floor.
Danny watched curiously as a full-faced helm, breastplate,
chainmail hauberk and leggings, pauldrens, gorget, gauntlets, a
girth, and greaves tumbled free from the bag, banging and clanging
against the marble floor. Individually, they formed a large,
shining pile, together they created a full suit of plate mail.