Knight of the Oaken Shield Book 1: Shadow Phoenix Rising

Chapter 4: Magiblade

Rollo stood absolutely still as the young woman was summarily dragged before down the aisle of pages. Her demeanor was defiant. The grimace on her face was strained, however He didn't feel any hostility from her at all.

She was dragged up the dais and dropped unceremoniously in front of the gathered knights.

Even from where he was standing i could see the look on Instructor Falax's face harden. The woman simply stayed on the ground only raising her head to stair at the grizzled instructor.

"By what right are you restraining me!" the woman demanded. A cold glint arose in the eyes of instructor Falax.

Rollo was shocked, there weren't many of the serf class that would dare talk to a knight like that much less a royal knight.

"Did you not hear my order to seal off the area? To let no one leave! You are being restrained on the orders of a royal knight! does that meet your lofty requirements." The lady was quiet after this obviously choosing her next words carefully. He found himself studying her face. Her skin was a pale white without any signs of dirt.
   Rollo had a feeling that she wasn't a mere serf. But he only continued to observe. Although he was only a little miffed that they had forgotten him so easily.
Whispers broke out as the pages began to speculate on whether the woman was an enemy spy or not.
"Silence!" Instructor Falax's voice cut through the noise like a freshly sharpened dirk with the pages instantly clamming up. Instructor Falax was known for his temper so no one wanted to piss him off. Rollo was only half aware of these events because he was more focused on the event taking place behind them.

The roots of the tree were writhing, whipping and poping as they began to move for the first time. A sharp crackling sound rang out in the clearing causing a lot of the knights present to draw their swords. Squires rushed the stage to protect their masters. Behind them Bertran seemed to be in a trance like state his eyes glazed over. Dirt exploded upward as the crackling . At the base of the 15 meter tall tree a small knoll was being exposed. Rollo glanced to the side and saw that the knights had a mixture of surprise and suspicion. The grey grizzled knight in silver armor on the end has a mixture of the two his hand was on his hand and a half longsword but unlike the other knights he had yet to actually draw it. Bertran approached the knoll and as he got closer a immense yellow-white light seemed to pour out of the tree blinding Rollo as well as the rest on the onlookers. Rollo wasn't sure how long the light persisted but slowly it dimmed until he could see that the light originated from a glowing hand and a half longsword now currently in Bertran's hand.

The blade was made from three feet of a strange white-silver material. The cross-guard was made of gold and slightly curved upwards a strange white gem was embedded in the center of the sword's guard pulsating with mana. The handle was a simply wrapped in fine looking red leather, The pommel was gold as well carved into the shape of a screeching eagle. Having just awakened his mana, Rollo could feel a warm sensation deep down in the pit of his stomach. He also noticed that his fatigue seemed to abate. My mana seemed to rile and circulate through my blood faster than it had before.

The magical feeling was interrupted by a excited Instructor Falax rushing forward to inspect the weapon in Bertran's hands.

"Is this a Magiblade?"

Rollo had to catch his breath. Even with how uninterested he was with being a knight he knew how rare Magiblades were.

"Our kingdom has never possessed such a weapon before! This could change everything." A unusual glint sparkled deep within instructor Falax's eyes, and a cold shiver ran down his spine.

Bertran seemed to come out of his trance at this moment stumbling forward his eyes wide with bewilderment.

"What... What's going on?" Rollo watched his friend cast his eyes toward the instructor, his eyes asking what he couldn't manage to say out loud. Suddenly, one of the other knights; Sir Roslind voiced the question for all to hear.

"What does this mean?" It was a simple question but one that also reverberated throughout the entire clearing. It was beginning to dawn on Rollo that he was witnessing and event that would surely go down in the Kingdoms history.

Another Knight cleared his throat and stepped forward. This knight was wearing a simple chain hauberk with a leather vest pulled over it. On the vest a fierce golden lion was emblazoned.

"We must bring this matter before the King at once!" he announced his voice booming over the crowd. Rollo had been all but forgotten in the excitement of the current situation. His eyes met Bertran's and he could see the uncertainty in them. He must've looked the same when it was discovered that he possessed mana. Not only did he look confused, he watched as a grimace appeared on his face.

    "But first rejoin your squad," Falax announced.  "We still have many awakenings to do today. Bertran you and Pa... I mean squire Rollo will follow me to visit the king while the rest of them finish the ceremony.
A trace of the old determined Bertran re-entered his eyes. He snapped straight up knocking his feet together and slapping his right forearm across his chest before bowing at the waist.

"Of course Instructor." Bertran met Rollo's eyes this time with a smile. Rollo only nodded in acknowledgement, a smile of his own blossoming.

"Collect your stuff and meet me at the gate house in one hour!" He ordered.

"Sir!" Rollo echoed Bertran as well, saluting in the same fashion. He immediately turned on His heel and made his exit