Proctor Smith caught the signal from Van Dyke that he could speak once more. "I do suggest that Sir Lieutenant Gonzales be stationed at High Crag. He has fought valiantly several times already. He has proven himself. He also possesses a power that will permit him to fully defend the hollow knights in a manner that no knight ever could before. At the same time, we have two other knights with the same power who can easily control our most dangerous sectors against the Kron Empire, whose presence appears to be lacking in our waters for the last two weeks since tasting this new power."
Van Dyke glanced around at the nods that most of the knights were giving. "I can see that we are vastly in favor of this. Does anyone require a vote?" Most of the knights shook their heads gently enough that only experienced eyes understood their meaning. "I am accepting Proctor Smith's suggestion of assigning Sir Lieutenant Gonzales to High Crag. Because of his special god power, he shall be in charge of its defense subject to the orders of Duke Sabbo. Are there any others who would speak?" Van Dyke said.
"I would speak," Waleski said.
Van Dyke nodded his permission.
"I understand that the raiders were cut down while they were helpless in violation of our oath. It's one thing to use a new power from god for the purpose of scaring off the raiders. It's quite another to violate his trust in us to do the right thing," Waleski said.
"We've spilled raider blood before," Wong said.
"But only because it was necessary. This wasn't necessary," Waleski said.
Van Dyke raised one hand. "Enough. I will speak. It is true that our oaths state that all life is sacred. It is equally true that we have striven at times to do no more than wound the raiders so that they couldn't fight, if for no other reason, than that it was easier than killing."
"God gave us our powers to protect, not kill," Proctor Smith exclaimed.
"Proctor Smith is correct. Kill only if it is necessary. Sir Private Wong, judging by what I know of your...battle, you must do penance," Van Dyke said.
"Then I must do likewise," Sir Private Ubu said.
Chapter 8
"Good morning, Sir Lieutenant Gonzales. I trust you slept well in your new quarters," Proctor Smith said. He remained seated in the eating area.
"I hadn't expected to be back here so soon. Now I've actually got to set up a schedule or something like that, I understand."
"Good morning, Sir Private Jones. Your wounds appear better."
"I feel better. Ready to help me bring the suits down when you finish eating, Sir Lieutenant Gonzales?"
"They're not in the Sacred Hall?" Gonzales asked.
"We don't leave them there after we turn in for the night. That would risk too much," Smith said.
"Probably you should take your place while I bring down the suits from my quarters," Jones said.
"The hollow suits are in your quarters?" Gonzales asked.
"You didn't notice the special niches in the walls of your quarters?" Smith asked.
"I saw those, but I didn't know what those were for, even though I used one for my own suit," Gonzales said.
"They're arranged in a special sequence so that we can keep the suit identities in order, whenever they're away from the Sacred Hall. We'll discuss this later, if you've no objection," Jones said. "To tell the truth, I'm glad that we're working together once more, even though you're in charge."
"That bothers you?" Gonzales asked.
"Not in the least. I think you'll eventually become one of the best knights ever within our order," Jones said.
"Good morning, fellow knights," said a female proctor missing her sword hand and three fingers from her other.
"Good morning, Proctor Coffin," Jones said.
Gonzales looked at the woman who wore a simple black robe like the other proctors. He had seen her at the meeting and learned from another knight that she'd retired because she could no longer handle a weapon. That had been her own decision, even though she could still easily perform most of the other duties.
"Good morning, Proctor Coffin," Gonzales said.
"The applicants will be waking soon and entering the castle," she said.
"Most are already awake. I noticed a long line stretching out from the gate when I came down from my tower," Gonzales said.
"Excuse me, but I better get the suits down," Jones said.
He walked to the door and stepped outside. Once there, he spoke his commands and quickly ascended to his tower to retrieve the suits two at a time.
"I'll explain to Sir Lieutenant Gonzales how we've handled this before," Coffin said.
***
Gonzales smiled at the applicants, who paused before filing past when their proctor prompted them so that others could catch a glimpse of the hollow suits he guarded. His short discussion with Proctor Coffin had been quite informative. He'd learned that most of the knights believed in smiling at the applicants because there was no way of knowing ahead of time who would qualify. It didn't make sense to antagonize someone you might later depend upon. As well, it served to ease the minds of those who wouldn't qualify that they were being defended by people who didn't hold themselves out as being above them in importance, even though they were.
He stepped out of the way of a proctor who entered the Sacred Hall to wipe off the hollow suits as part of the daily ritual. It was nearly noon before the first qualified applicant approached him with a properly knotted cord wrapped loosely around his hands. Within a short time, Gonzales had stepped aside several times so that the two men and a woman could enter. A short while later, Sir Private Jones descended beside him to take over for his shift. When Gonzales returned for another shift, he wasn't at all surprised to see that two more applicants had succeeded and waited inside in reposes of meditation. He settled into position blocking the only ground-level entrance, while Jones flew off to take a rest.
"Good afternoon, Sir Lieutenant Gonzales," Coffin said, as she led another small group of applicants past.
Gonzales nodded briefly before wincing at the sound of another applicant slamming into a wall after a brief scream.
"It happens," Coffin said, noticing Gonzales' reaction. She faced her group. "Hurry up. Take a quick look and move on past."
Her group silently filed past. Voices barked out orders in the background as the injured person was lowered to the ground. It took a few minutes to remove the injured man before the ropes overhead sang once more with another aspiring visitor. By then, her group had taken a peek at the hollow suits and left to learn more about the commands they needed to master.
***
Gonzales felt awkward as he followed the proctors for the first time into the Sacred Hall past Sir Private Jones who stood aside so they could enter. Only six applicants sat inside the hall. Late afternoon shadows made it appear that giants were descending upon them. The proctors separated into pairs before each pair took position beside an applicant, who was then roused from meditation.
***
"God is good to us this year! Two more knights! Four in all!" Coffin exclaimed. "Isn't that great, Proctor Smith?"
Smith shrugged. "It appears that you have some training to conduct tomorrow, Sir Lieutenant Gonzales."
Gonzales turned from staring at the two new knights whose smiling faces said everything about how they felt concerning their passage of the tests. "Oh, yes, you're right, of course. That's my responsibility now."
"Thinking about whether their suits bestow the same powers on them as Waleski and Smith?" Proctor Smith asked.
"No, my mind was elsewhere. Still, that is worth thinking about."
"Proctor Smith may have a valid point with his theory that the names of the suits have meaning as to the amount of power each possesses," Jones said.
"I don't know. It doesn't seem right that I should have more power than anyone else, if his theory is correct," Gonzales said.
"If I wasn't so big around the middle now I could have tried on my suit, while the new Sir Corporal Smith was here the other day just to find out if
it matters who wears it," Proctor Smith said. "That might have cleared up the question once and for all. Of course, there's still Sir Corporal Coffin's suit. If she's willing to try, we could gather more evidence to either prove or disprove my theory."
"No, I'm no longer fit to wear the suit of a knight," Coffin exclaimed.
***
"Just line up these two points on the castle before you pass over. That's how we find Castle Staten Island," Jones said.
"That's all there is to it?" Gonzales exclaimed.
"We try to keep it simple since most of us come from basic stock. Aside from Sir Private Van Dyke and Coffin, no other nobles have ever qualified. Van Dyke is probably the only active knight who can read and write. Coffin and Smith are the only retired knights who can do likewise."
"Thank god for that. I almost mixed up two of the suits yesterday. We might have lost a knight because of my error. Well, looks like they're awake. I just noticed their lights coming on."
"Yes, you're right. Our new Sir Sergeant Klaus and Sir Private Gwinn are both in their suits. I'll bring them to you while you prepare the rope," Jones said.
***
Though it was obvious from the suit shapes that Sir Private Gwinn's suit was meant for a female, it didn't always happen that way. Several times in the past, male and female applicants had discovered that they could qualify for one of the other suits despite the slight discomfort some encountered. However, the new Sir Private Gwinn was female and the new Sir Sergeant Klaus was a strong male who could barely fit within the suit he wore proudly.
Gonzales tied the rope around each after giving them the same explanation he'd once received. He then rechecked the distance between them and himself, so he wouldn't be yanked about. He'd been given a demonstration of that to satisfy his curiosity and didn't want a repeat. After rechecking his and their ground alignment, Gonzales said, "Five up."
The two applicants repeated his spell words, though not with as much confidence. After a few hesitant moments in the air, they were flying over the walls and out over the ocean. As before, the suits leveled out to a lower altitude on their own as if following the major contours of the surface. Glancing from side to side, Gonzales noticed that the two new knights soon became more comfortable, though both appeared uneasy about flying over the ocean.
"Let's practice the oath now," Gonzales said, without realizing that doing so took all their minds off the matter of falling.
***
"It's about time you showed up," the voice called out from the shadows cast by the huge rocks at the base of the cliff near High Crag.
Several dark shapes dropped from a small fishing boat into the water to wade ashore as quietly as possible. One approached the voice as the others took up guard positions or held the boat.
"You're not the one who has to deal with this new weapon your knights have. They murdered whole boat-loads of our men without so much as being wounded. Now none of the men want to come near any of the kingdoms. They don't mind a battle where they can fight back, but this new way of fighting is too much for them. Why didn't you warn us of it?"
"I had no way of knowing about it until after it first appeared. Even I was caught by surprise. Besides, you know that I had no way of warning anyone until you arrived. However, I can tell you that only three of the knights have this new power. One is now stationed at High Crag, so he poses no danger. You need only avoid two of the knights in approaching the kingdoms."
"Which two? Describe them so we can recognize them."
"One is a woman."
"I thought we killed her."
"They have two other active women among their four new knights. This one with the new power is known as Sir Sergeant Waleski."
"Obviously the other is a man. Who is he?"
"The other is the man who took over my suit, Sir Corporal Smith."
"Your suit had this power? Why didn't you use it before?"
"It was only recently discovered. Somehow, the new Sir Lieutenant Gonzales discovered and used it first. Then he discovered that he could somehow activate the same power in those other two suits."
"Yes, right when King Xidon planned on his grand invasion. A lot of good your advance warnings did us about which knights were stationed in the different sectors. Now he's livid about what happened. All those boats and men he gathered, and most of them too afraid to venture out past our own waters. So, how many active knights are there now?"
"Twenty-one are active. Coffin could still fly. However, I've convinced her that she's useless to the Knights of the Star while she's unable to wield a sword. She refuses to don her suit, again."
"I will give your report to King Xidon. If you want my opinion, I doubt that he will be very pleased."
"Tell him that I intend to regain my suit. Once I have it and learn how to use this new power, I will turn it against the knights as only two others have the new power. I feel certain that I can deal with them. Both are new and largely inexperienced. The woman is poor with the sword. The man fears flying. Neither of them are problems for me. As well, I have planted seeds against the new Sir Lieutenant Gonzales that might yet reap enough discontent among the knights to split them apart as a unit."
"Oh?"
"Yes, I've posed him as the rightful leader so that Van Dyke will not completely trust him. That's partly why Gonzales is now at High Crag. The fool, Van Dyke, supported my suggestion and placed him in charge there. If any of the new knights try to follow Gonzales, which some will, they'll discover too late that while he might have this new power, he has no leadership ability. There's even a chance that Van Dyke might settle with him in secret. If he does, then I need to deal with only the woman after regaining my suit. Present this new list of assignments for the knights to King Xidon so he can plan appropriately."
The raider accepted the small scrap of leached, pressed leaf. He placed it in a waterproof container, turned, and headed for his boat. As he did, his men followed.
***
"So, Sir Private Malidor could talk to the last knight from god even though he used a different language?" Sir Private Gwinn asked, as she glanced around at the strange new castle she'd just given her oath within.
Gonzales nodded. "Yes. He stated that he was handed a god voice that understood what he said and spoke the same thing in god's language."
"Seems strange that god would send his knights here unable to speak our language," Gwinn said.
"We believe that it is we who have deviated from god's language. Fortunately, god gave his knights a way to communicate with us," Gonzales said, repeating answers to the same questions he'd posed not too long ago.
Klaus glanced around as he picked up small chunks of debris from near the gash in the side of Castle Staten Island. "Do storms hit this island very often?"
"Several times a year. When we have a resident here, we've had reports of some that were quite severe. One storm even opened some of the graves," Gonzales said.
"I thought as much. These pieces are washing away from the Castle toward the sea over there. Are any of these important?" Klaus asked.
Gonzales thought back to when Waleski found a piece that fit on his suit. "Every piece might be important. Help me gather these together. We'll stack them inside."
The three knights moved alongside Castle Staten Island where the receding water from various storm surges had carried away small pieces. Most were half-buried in the sand. A few were found at the water's edge and some just within sight under the water. When they finished, they had stacked together a small pile of pieces.
"Some of these probably still fit together. If we had glue, we could put them back together and protect the castle," Gwinn said.
"If we do that, then how will we get inside for future oaths?" Gonzales asked.
"Well, I didn't mean that we'd glue them back onto the castle. We could glue them together, so that it could be placed against the opening to keep the weather out. If not that, then maybe if we brought some logs or stones out with us, we could fix up so
mething to protect the exposed rooms," Gwinn said.
"That's been done before. The storms usually wash away the logs, because there's nothing to secure them against. Suitable stones are too heavy and require too many knights who could otherwise be protecting the coast against raiders from Kron. Besides, the knights don't know how to build shelters," Gonzales said.
"Then we should bring stones and workers who know how by boat rather than try to do the work ourselves," Gwinn said.
"The other knights oppose that because this is sacred ground meant only for us," Gonzales said.
"Do you think that? I don't feel like I'm more sacred than our people," Gwinn said.
Klaus put his hands before him as if shunning them off. "Don't ask me. I'm still getting used to the fact that I'm a knight. I'm still learning what to do."
"I was asking Sir Lieutenant Gonzales."
Gonzales stared at Gwinn. "No, I don't feel any more sacred than the people, either. What's sacred, though, is this island and Castle Staten Island. I was taught that god selected this island for his castle, because of its isolation."
"That doesn't make sense," Gwinn said. "If we're god's people, then why should he make his castle almost inaccessible?"
Gonzales put one hand to the side of his neck and rubbed, as if warding off a headache. "I don't have the answers you seek. Quite likely, you'd enjoy discussing this with Proctor Smith when we return to Castle High Crag. He's one of our better scholars. If you want an argument, seek out Sir Sergeant Waleski. I believe she feels that we are destined to be sacred, if we're not already. She also believes god is female."
"I'm also having difficulty understanding why Sir Private Malidor was permitted to keep his name while we must give ours up," Gwinn said.
"Then you will have to ask the other knights," Gonzales said, his face reflecting the same degree of puzzlement evident in Gwinn's.
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