Knight of the Oaken Shield Book 1: Shadow Phoenix Rising

Chapter 2: The Touch of The Zoan Tree

The silence was so thick Rollo could cut it with his dirk. He watched as the group of knights hurried up the steps to the dais and took their positions horizontally on either side of the Zoan root. He shifted uncomfortably in his hide boots. An imperceptible force hung low over the area which was the probable reason for everyone's silence. Six knights stood upon the dais their eyes scanning the crowd of hopeful pages.

Each one of the knight's armors were unique in some ways but similar in others. Each knight wore half plate armor over chainmail with plated silver engraved pauldrons. But each of their armors were dyed different colors. Rollo lost track of the many engravings he spotted on their pauldrons but curiously each had something different engraved on them. Mailed greaves and gauntlets decorated their hands and feet with each knight carrying a different weapon. He studied their faces hoping to see one he recognized but it was futile. On the right hand side of the dais there was one man who seemed to be scanning the group with particular interest. His mess of black hair and steely grey eyes marked him as one who had seen many fights. As He scanned the group he made eye contact with him and a shock ran through his body. Rollo flinched hard as his left arm began twitching uncontrollably. Sharp spikes of pain shot up his arm before the pain disappeared completely and he found myself taking deep breaths as his brain and lungs tried to figure out what had just happened to him.

Was it overwork from the past few weeks? Had he really just sent electricity arcing through his body with a single look? Rollo shook his head immediately dismissing the idea.
He shook himself out of his head to pay attention to what was going on around him. He looked up and his eyes met the eyes of the blue and yellow clad knight that had been scanning the crowd. He had forgone looking around the crowd and was now staring just at him. His steely grey eyes seemed to be piercing his soul. Rollo shivered involuntarily as a cold feeling engulfed the pit of his stomach. We continued to stare at  each other until he finally looked away.
    "Hey! Pay attention!" Bertran whispered elbowing him out of whatever trance he was in. Weakness washed over him like a fountain and he steadied myself to keep him from falling forward. His heart was beating like a drum and his breath came in ragged gasps.
" It looks like we have our first volunteer!" A voice exclaimed. Instantly his head cleared and his sense of confusion faltered. For the first time he realized instructor Falax had been talking on stage.
Instructor Falax was the teacher at the institute that had taught them aura control. Before that, he was a knight captain of the order of the Red Falcon. He was a beast of a man who towered over him and he was easily almost six jegals tall. With broad shoulders twice as wide as him and muscles he could only dream of, he was what other knight dreamed to look like.
Unfortunately, the appeal was ruined by the fact that he was bald. His rather square face bore a multitude of scars. It was one reason he always advocated for a good defensive stance. He also took it personally when he was being ignored by a student.

"I'm sorry sir what was that?" Rollo asked. The feeling of his cheeks heating up reminded him that this wasn't his first time being called out by him in front of everyone. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bertran shake his head as he turned away.

"Since you seem unable to stand properly I assume you must be very tired. Therefore we will let you go first so we can get done faster and not waste your valuable time." The sarcasm in his voice was obvious. His tone made it clear that I didn't have an option. Swallowing, I stepped forward trying my best to ignore the eyes staring at my back. As I approached I could also feel the eyes of the knights follow me. I knew none of their names but one was going to be the knight I learned from and a big part of who would teach me fell to what attribute my mana would take.

Without waiting for something like an official go ahead I placed my hand on the root of the Zoan tree and closed my eyes. I could feel the smooth almost thin bark under my fingers. The bark was neither cool not warm. I tried to concentrate on the thought of connecting my mind to the tree.

It was then that a foreign alien-like presence touched my mind. My mind went blank as a million thoughts went through my head all at once. I'd never experienced anything like it. The feeling wasn't painful but as it continued I felt suffocated, trapped even. My mind began to try to push the presence out. But the presence ignored my attempts to push it away like a father ignoring his son who was climbing all over him. I was no different than an ant in front of it.

Then as quickly as it came, it left. Still, my thoughts refused to calm down and began to rage like a storm. I was unconsciously aware of some commotion coming from outside my mind but I was deaf to all else. I tried to sort through my thoughts and put them all back in order but it wasn't easy. As my mind calmed down I became aware of another energy in my body. Unlike aura this energy didn't originate from just below my heart. No, it originated from the pit in my stomach where I sensed rather than saw a swirling ball of blueish white energy. From It veins of that energy spread out to the rest of my body filling me with warmth. I could no longer feel the chilly autumn wind I'd felt all around me only a moment before.

Withdrawing my mind from my body I opened my eyes. At first I was confused by the looks I was receiving. My fellow pages had a mixture between awe and terror plastered on their faces. Even, Bertran and Catherine were staring. The only difference was I could tell that Bertran was staring like he'd just discovered one more thing he didn't like about me. Catherine on the other hand raised her hand and pointed at the my arms a massively wide smile lit up her face as she pushed her hair out of her face.

I looked down, looking to see what she was pointing at. Excitement rolled through me like a raging fire as I looked down at my arms, to discover them flickering with blue and white sparks. For several moments no one spoke until Instructor Falax stepped forward openly grinning for the first time in my memory.

"Congratulations Rollo! You have awakened one of the rarest attributes... Lightning!