Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight (37 page)

"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. Clearing 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.