by Owen Crane
Prince to the face the wrath of his brother. Queen Lucia gave her life for
Dawnhaven, her family and her King.”
For a moment he held Ariella’s gaze, his eyes filled with intense sadness.
“But the breaking of the Sceptre affected Dawnhaven in a way she could
never anticipate. Up until that point the Light was always focused on one spot,
one place, the Sceptre. Upon the shattering, the Light was cast across the island,
filling every person. Now everyone on the Island has a connection to the Light.”
“After the rebellion, King Haldor, mourning the loss of his wife and the
treachery of his younger brother, broke Dawnhaven into the five kingdoms. The
power of the island would no longer be focused on one person, one city or one
throne. The King knew that to maintain unity the kingdoms had to rely on each
other and they needed a common ally, a force for good that would rise above the
loyalty of any one kingdom. They needed a focus that would be a symbol for all
that was good about our land. That is why he formed the Guardians, defenders
of Dawnhaven and wielders of the Light.” He stopped his pacing and lowered
his staff, pointing at each of the Knot in turn. “Each of you have been selected by
your people to serve as Guardians. To give up your loyalty to one kingdom
instead give your allegiance to Dawnhaven. It is my job to train you to be
carriers of the Light. To use it for the good of all.”
“We start tomorrow. You will meet me at nine in the training area and we
will discover just what Light dwells within you.” He nodded to Karlov and left
the room. The Knot sat in silence for a moment then broke into excited
conversations.
“Hey!” Karlov interrupted, the room fell silent. “That"s your lot for the first
day. Get some rest, breakfast early, don"t be late for Malum, he"s not pretty
when Sojourners are late.”
“He"s not pretty anyway,” muttered Indio. Jaron rolled his eyes.
Chapter 11
The next morning Ariella woke slowly. The blankets on her bed seemed
unusually heavy and she wasn"t feeling compelled to fight them. She heard
stirring from across the room and opened one eye. Phoebe was up and getting
ready for the day while the other girls were still sound asleep. The aroma of
cooking bacon and fresh bread drifting through the compound captured her
attention and gave her the will she needed to roll out of bed.
The other girls began to wake up as Ariella started to dress. No one spoke.
The frostiness from the day before was still evident. Theia drew back the
curtains above her bed and the bright morning light shone in.
“Oh heck,” she muttered, “it"s late.”
The girls dressed quickly and went to the mess hall. A picture of carnage
greeted them. Sat around the large table were Karlov and the five boys, reclining
on their chairs, rubbing their stomachs and taking it in turns to belch loudly.
In the middle of the table were scattered crusts of bread, bacon rinds and a
pile of empty dishes.
Karlov laughed, “You girls will have to be quicker than that! Malum and his
assistant, Magatha are expecting you all in the courtyard in ten minutes, so do
eat up.”
Theia was furious, “What"s the deal? Eating all the food before we get a
chance at it too.”
Indio and Jaron looked sheepish and Eleazar paused with the last piece of
bacon on his fork. Joachim stood up, his head being a foot higher than Theia"s,
puffed out his chest and belched in her face. “You were late.”
Theia"s jaw clenched as she looked to Karlov. “Well you were” Karlov
replied, shrugging his shoulders.
“I think there"s some porridge left?” smiled Indio
Eugenie was incensed “Porridge? Porridge? Do I look like I eat porridge?”
“Of course not Eugenie,” said Eleazar, his face a picture of sincerity “There
are a great many things that you do look like, however an eater of porridge is not
one of them.”
Eugenie frowned, trying to figure out if she had just been insulted.
Ariella slumped into the chair opposite Jaron and helped herself to some
porridge, trying not to look disappointed.
“Really sorry, Ari,” mumbled Indio. “Didn"t really think about…you know,”
“Anyone else?” she offered with a smile
“Yep,” answered Jaron “That"s about it. Sorry.”
“It"s okay,” Ariella sighed tucking into the porridge.
Theia muttered something inaudible and sat with Eugenie, both debating
whether or not to try the porridge.
A piercing screech filled the air, causing the unprepared Sojourners to cover
their ears in a desperate attempt to block out the noise.
“What is that?” exclaimed Esther.
“No idea!” Eleazar replied as the Knot rush upstairs to the entrance hall.
Karlov followed at his own pace, glancing around the room laughing at
everyone"s startled faces.
“FELIX” yelled Karlov, “SHUT UP”
The screeching stopped.
Everyone looked at Karlov questioningly. He just shrugged his shoulders.
Ten minutes later they were outside with Karlov and a bored looking Malum
Asinum, Master of the Prism. Beside him stood a man they had never seen
before. He was about two feet taller than Malum, which wasn"t hard considering
how short Malum was, and he carried a long sword in its sheath. He looked
older than Karlov, more weathered almost, with an impressive beard and a chest
covered with muscle.
“Only nine Karlov?” Asked Malum
Felix came bursting through the door of the tower and sprinted over to the
training area, hair still soaking wet. He took a place beside Indio who promptly
whispered, “What was that all about? You know, the screeching?”
“I sing in the shower,” confessed a sheepish Felix.
“You were singing? Or strangling cats?” enquired Indio innocently.
“That"s everyone,” said Karlov
“Good,” nodded Malum “Today things get interesting. Meet my assistant,
Magatha.”
Magatha smiled at the troop of fifteen year olds.
“That"s Magatha? I thought Magatha was a girl,” sniggered Indio.
Magatha flicked his fingers and green sparks flew. Indio cried out as his
fringe caught fire. The nine stared dumbfounded at Indio as he desperately
whacked his forehead, trying to extinguish the flames.
Malum laughed as the Sojourners fell silent and edged away from Magatha.
“Now, where were we? Ah yes. Today you will find out which colour of
Light dwells within you. Each citizen of Dawnhaven possesses a colour of Light
inside of them to a greater or lesser degree. You can never control the Light, but
as Guardians you will be taught to wield it and work in harmony with it.”
Malum spun his staff as he spoke, the crystal prism refracting rainbows
across the courtyard.
“The Light within in you is not good or evil, it is not weak or powerful.
Those all depend on the person using it. The light you see reflected in the world
all around you is made up of three primary colours. Red, green and blue. Each
person has one of those colours of Light within them, today we find out which
one is in you.”
/> Malum signalled to the fifth and largest tower in the compound. The top of
the tower was flat, with a defensive wall around its edge. Ariella could see the
silhouettes of two Guardians behind the wall on sentry duty. On top of the wall
was a thick metal rod, the top covered by a heavy black cloth, tied around the
rod.
“That is the Sun Prism,” explained Malum. “In a moment we will remove
the cloth and the morning sun will shine through the Prism onto each of you. As
that happens, the Light inside of you will be drawn out, revealing your colour.
Understood?”
There was a collective silence.
Malum rolled his eyes. “Magatha, get them into position.”
Magatha nodded. “Follow me,” he commanded as he led the Knot towards
the fifth tower. He stopped and pointed to markings in the courtyard that
Ariella hadn"t noticed before. From the base of the fifth tower came two thin
lines of crystal sunk into the stones of the courtyard. They extended about one
hundred yards from the tower in a perfect arc. At the top of the arc were ten
circles, each about the size of a large dinner plate. The circles were bright,
golden discs of crystal with five rays of sun blazing from the centre. The symbol
of the Guardians.
The ten Sojourners hesitated just outside the arc. Ariella watched the faces of
the others.
Excellent, they’re all as petrified as me.
Magatha pointed to the circles. “Everyone take a circle. Make sure your feet
are fully on the crystal. We don"t want any accidents now do we?”
What does that mean? Accidents? As if we’re not nervous enough already.
“Where you stand is crucial.” Magatha explained “You need to be within the
boundaries of the crystal when the Sun Prism blazes. Stepping outside the
crystal’s protection would put you under the full power of the Prism’s Light and
that, well, that wouldn"t be ideal.”
“Wouldn"t be ideal, how sir?” Eleazar asked
“Well, no one, besides Lord Vantor of course, has survived stepping of the
crystal into the Light of the Sun Prism.”
Felix paled.
“Nothing to worry about, just stay on the crystal.” Magatha smiled, “the
sunlight will flow through the Sun Prism and fill this area with intense white
light but you"ll see your own colour, the colour that is inside of you.” He nodded
to Malum.
“Remember,” Malum called, “stay on your crystal.”
Malum gave a signal and one of the sentries untied the cloth and let it fall.
Ariella gasped. On top of the rod was a massive crystal, the size of a
watermelon. The sun"s rays were refracting through it, flooding the courtyard
with every colour of the rainbow.
The crystal arc they were standing in was suddenly filled with a blazing
white light. Ariella shut her eyes in pain. She tried to open them again but the
brightness was too severe, it hurt her to look.
Around her she could hear the voices of the other Sojourners.
“It"s stunning,” said Jaron
“Beautiful,” whispered Esther
Ariella tried to focus her eyes again but the pain grew. She started to feel
sick and her legs were getting weaker. Even with her eyes closed she could feel
the searing white light.
What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I look?
She felt herself starting to sway, her knees buckling.
Stay on the crystal, just stay on the crystal!
“Ari? What"s wrong?” she heard the concern in Jaron"s voice
I have no idea…I think I’m going to be sick.
She started to go light headed as her strength left her. She felt herself falling
backwards, unable to stop.
“Shut it down!” Malum yelled, “Shut it down now!”
As she hit floor the white light died and the pain eased. She heard footsteps
all around her and various whispers. Someone knelt down beside her and felt
her forehead.
“Ariella?” It was Karlov. “Can you hear me?”
She blinked and opened her eyes. “What the hell just happened?” she
groaned.
No one answered.
Malum stood beside Karlov. “Can you stand?” he asked.
She nodded, “I think so.” The pain had all but gone and she could focus
again. She got gingerly to her feet.
This is so embarrassing. Of course you’re the only one who collapses, Ari. What a shambles, couldn’t even handle a bit of light. Some Guardian you’re going to make.
“Magatha, we"re done here,” said Malum “Take them inside.”
Malum"s assistant led the Sojourners into their tower and down to the mess
hall. Jaron stepped in beside Ariella.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better,” she replied. “All I saw was a blinding white light, I couldn"t even
open my eyes.”
“You didn"t see the colours?”
She shook her head.
“Oh Ari, it was incredible.” said Jaron. “The lights were the most stunning
I"ve ever seen.”
“What happened?”
“As they pulled the cloth off the Sun Prism the whole courtyard lit up. It
was like massive rainbow filling the place. But as the white light fell on the arc,
the crystals we were standing on burst into columns of light. Mine was green, it
was mind blowing.”
Jaron had a misty look in his eye.
He’s going to cry, how good was it? Why did I collapse?
“What about me?” she asked “what colour was I?”
Jaron avoided her eyes. “Um, er, you, er, you were kind of… ”
“Kind of what?”
“Kind of everything. Your light kept flickering between all the colours,” he
said
Everything? What does that mean? What am I? Malum said everyone had one
colour, can’t mine make up its mind?
Lost in thought, she didn"t notice Malum come into the mess hall and close
the door. Magatha pointed to the table and the Sojourners sat down as he
unrolled a large scroll. The scroll showed a diagram of three interlocking circles
of red, green and blue. Where the three circles overlapped each other the colours
changed. The centre, where all three circles met, was pure white.
“Now,” Magatha started. “That must have been quite a surprise for some of
you. Malum, would you like to take us through the colours and the things they
represent?”
“Not at all Magatha, this is your show,” replied Malum
Magatha paled. “O-of course,” he stammered. “We, so, um, good, excellent,
er…where shall I begin? Well the beginning, that’s seems a sensible place don"t
you think, yes that"s where I"ll start. Excellent.”
Why has he suddenly gone so nervous?
“Now, this colour here,” he gestured to the scroll, “red, represents-“
“Sir?” said Eugenie
“Yes?”
“That"s green, sir. Not red.”
“Right, that"s what I said. Pay more attention in future, Eugenie.”
Eugenie looked puzzled but kept quiet.
“What was I saying? Ah yes, I was discussing the power of red,” he
continued as he gestured once again to the scroll. “People who wield red Light-“
“Sir?”
“What now, Eleazar?”
“You pointed at the blue, sir. That"s not red.”<
br />
“What"s up with him?” Indio whispered to Jaron
“When you are quite done correcting me,” snapped Magatha as he placed his
fingers on the scroll. “Owners of red Light-”
“Sir?”
“What now?”
“That"s not red sir, that"s green again.”
“You"re colour blind,” said Jaron
The realisation hit the other Sojourners and Indio burst out laughing. “Our
Light teacher is colour-blind! That’s priceless.”
Magatha flicked his fingers up, green sparks flew and Indio"s already singed
fringe caught alight once again.
“Hey,” Indio groaned as he tried to put out the flames on his head for the
second time that day.
“Yes,” began Magatha, “I am, in fact, colour blind. I am told I posses green
Light although I cannot clearly distinguish between the colours. However, I am
aware of what that means which is information I would be glad to share with all
of you if you only let me finish my sentence.”
The room fell silent.
“Glad we have that settled.” Magatha continued. “The three different
colours of Light reveal to us the core of a person. It shows their instincts when
encountering challenges and reveals their strengths. It does not restrict the use
of your Light it merely reveals how you are most comfortable using it. The Light
is not magic; there are no incantations like those the Ghost Raiders use. The
Light is not something you control it is something that you work with, and as
your ability increases, it is something that can guide you. Each of you will use
the Light in your own unique way. The Light responds to you as an individual,
it is not something that you can bend to your will but you will learn to work in
harmony with it. Now, I"d like to ask all the reds to stand.”
What about me? When do I stand? What colour Light was I?
Ariella raised her hand.
“Excuse me sir, before we do this could you explain what happened out
there? What colour Light…”
Before she could finish her question Malum cut her off.
“Not now Ariella, we will discuss that later.”
“But I need…”
“I said ‘not now’”
“But… ”
“Do not argue with me Sojourner, this is not the Royal Palace.” Malum
growled.
Theia sniggered as Ariella slumped in her chair.