"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."

Chapter 22 - Preparations before Battle.

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.

"What's all that?" Danny asked.

"Your dueling armor," said Sir Syndil with a widening grin. "Normally, you would have to wait until your second year to receive a suit of dueling armor and be taught how to put it on. However, due to the circumstances and Squire Rogen's kindness, you are about to acquire it right away and learn how to don it quickly."

Reaching down, Danny picked up the breastplate, finding that it was lighter than he expected. "It's so light," verbalizing his thoughts.

"It is made from enchanted material," explained Sir Syndil. "It is designed to weigh a little less than your common clothing. Were it made of regular metal, it would weigh nearly ten times its current heft."

"Amazing," said Danny, continuing to judge the weight in his hand.

"Indeed," said Sir Syndil, his ever-present smile fixed upon his face. "Now, hold still while Squire Rogen and I fit you. You will need to relinquish your weapon."

Danny looked down at his longsword, and un-strapped the buckle.

"I will hold it for you." Sabrina took a quick step forward and offered her hands, palms up.

With the breastplate in one hand and his sword in the other, Danny held the blade out to her. "Thanks," he said as she took the sword in both hands.

Sabrina nodded and retreated, moving back to her original position.

"Does it go on like this?" Danny asked, fitting the breast plate over his chest.

"No," said Sir Syndil, reaching out and procuring the breastplate. "The suit must be layered. Your robes will serve as under-padding to protect your skin from the metal. The first piece you must don is the chain mail." After placing the breastplate back upon the pile, the Elf retrieved a shirt woven of small metal rings that jingled as he held it up before him. "Put this on," instructed Sir Syndil.

Danny followed the Elf's instruction. The chain fabric was cool to the touch. He slipped it over his head easily, as if it was a regular shirt made from common cloth.

"Now, the pants," said Sir Syndil, holding up a pair of trousers made from the same stitch of steel.

Pulling the chain pants over his robes, up his legs, Danny buckled the thick black belt around his waist. "I can barely feel the weight," he said, twisting and hopping, causing the armor to chink and chime.

"Hold still, Squire," commanded Sir Syndil. With a quick nod to Squire Rogen, both squire and knight went to work, buckling, strapping and attaching piece after piece of the plate armor.

Beginning with the breastplate, they fitted the forged metal to Danny's chest and added the gorget to protect the neck. Then, working up the arms, they buckled the vembraces around his wrists, slipped the gauntlets over his hands, and attached the pauldrens over his shoulders and biceps. Tending to the legs and groin area, they equipped greaves and girth, protecting the shins, knee, upper thigh and pelvis. Lastly, they slipped the full-faced helm over Danny's head. Padded within, the helm weighed little more than a baseball cap.