Chapter 3
The Tests

Sarah

"Leon, show them the castle, but get back here in two hours, alright?" Sir David said, making sure Leon understood.

"Yeah, I got it," he said, waving Sir David away.

Breda was in the corner, hyperventilating.

"Wanna ditch her?" Leon smiled.

"Can we?" Brendan asked, hopeful. I smacked the both of them.

"OOOOWWW! Well at least is she smart?" Asked Leon, rubbing his skull tenderly.

"Well I should hope so, because she doesn't have much going for her when it comes to personality or looks," Brendan commented rudely. I smacked him again. "OOOOW! Will you quit? That hurts!"

"Then stop being a behind. Yes, she's smart, why?" I asked.

"Be right back," he said, going to talk to Breda.

"When did you get so damn strong?" Brendan groaned, rubbing his head gingerly.

Breda and Leon motioned for us to follow him into another room. This room, a library, was enormous. The sizes of the shelves were enormous, ranging from small to stretching from the ground of the floor below us, to the ceiling three floors above us. Studying, reading, or taking notes were children of every age and adults of every shape and size. Many were seated at wooden desks littered around the green carpet floor.

I had to resist the temptation to grab a book and start reading. Breda however, could not resist the temptation, and in moments had her nose in a book.

"We'll be back in a little while, okay?" Leon asked as we were creeping out of the library.

"Mmm-hmmm." Was her reply.

Leon showed us around the castle; from the shooting grounds (which he quickly took the opportunity to draw his bow and shoot four arrows into the center of the target from the opposite side of the field), to the classrooms, to the dungeons (mostly used now as a very disturbing form of punishment by some very morbid teachers), to the dining areas, to the gardens (which the boys had to drag me out of, kicking and screaming), to the armory.

"So, Leon, what kind of government does Valoran have?" I asked, as he led us back to the hall.

"Ummm... I don't know much about the Old Sect, but currently there's King Malik. He's got to be the nicest person you'll ever meet, and he's helped me out of punishment many a time. Then there's-" He explained.

"The Wisemen's Council, the thirteen most intelligent men and women in Valoran, serving as a balancing act to the King," said a voice. The three of us turned around to see Sir David coming out from around the corner, "it's been more than two hours, Leon."

"It has? Sorry," Leon said, rubbing his head in embarrasment.

"I'm to take the two of you to meet the Council. You should go back to your dorm, Leon."

He sighed, "well, I guess this is it. Hope to see you guys around the castle!" I was sad to see Leon leave, but maybe the Council could help Brendan and I.

"Come with me," Sir David instructed. He led us through several dark corridors, and ended up at a small door. He knocked on the door four times, when a slide slid out, showing a person's eyes.

"What is the kingdom's pledge?" A gruff voice asked.

"He who has the heart must push forward, he who has the soul must persevere, and he who has the mind must remember his quest," Sir David answered. The slide slid back into place and the door opened.

Sitting in the darkness was a long table, with a thirteen candles placed in front of the thirteen members. Every single one of them had silvery grey hair. Many of them men had long beards, except for the man sitting in the very center.

"Sir David, these are the two who know not of Valoran or anything in our glorious Kingdom?" A man on the left of the table asked.

"They do not look like what you claimed," said a woman on the far right.

"How would you know, you old bat? You couldn't tell what they looked like even if they were in the light," said a man on the right. Suddenly an argument broke out among the table. Then, the man in the center raised his hand and everything fell silent.

The room was suddenly filled with light, and I could see the man more clearly. He had long, grey hair, faded green eyes, and a guant face. He was wearing robes of deep crimson and gold.

"Grand Elder," Sir David said, kneeling for a moment before standing up again. Brendan just stared ignorantly at the man. I sighed and kneeled like Sir David.

"Please, that won't be necessary," he said, waving his hand and sitting down in his seat, "what are your names?"

"Sarah and-" I began.

"Brendan Edric," he finished, cutting me off. For the first time, I realized he had been staring at the Grand Elder ever since we walked into the room. As soon as the word "Edric" had been spoken, the Council began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Do you think-?"
"Isn't that-?"
"The boy is so rude, could he really-?"
"They must be fibbing."
"Can it be-?"

Once again, the Grand Elder raised a hand and the entire Council silenced themselves.

"Is this true; are your names really Brendan and Sarah Edric, by your honor?" He asked sternly.

"Heh, if not than I've been lying to myself for fifteen years today," he said, brushing a strand of hair out of his eyes. I turned and shot him a what-the-heck-do-you-think-you're-doing glare, to which he responded with an I'll-explain-later stare. Again, the Council began to murmur wildly amongst themselves.

"Brendan and Sarah Edric, you have arrived at a difficult time. If you are to remain in this castle, you must pass my tests. Of course, you may choose not to accept should you wish, but then we cannot permit you to stay in the castle," the Grand Elder decreed, to the shock of everyone in the room. Other than Brendan. But I had also noticed that the two of them had locked eyes for quite some time, and had a mental conversation.

"Well, we're in a strange world. We don't have much choice, besides, I think I'm up to a challenge," Brendan said arrogantly.

About five minutes later, I was separated from Sarah and brought to the Battle Circle, a sparring ring. In the middle of the ring were two identical swords, but they were dulled so there were no fatal attacks. The Grand Elder and half of the Council was there to watch the fight. I pretended not to be worried, keeping my aura of aloofness. However, I had never even held a real sword, and I was up against Sir David. I didn't necessarily have to beat him, but just prove I wasn't dead weight.

I waited for the Elder to ring the bell and begin the battle, while I stared at him. I was hoping that by staring at him I could learn why he felt so familiar. I was dead positive I had seen his face before.

"Warriors, take your marks; ready, set," the Elder said, before striking the bell. I ran to the center of the ring and grabbed my sword. For a muscular man covered in half-ton armor, Sir David moved incredibly fast, and I grabbed my sword only a moment before he.

But something happened the moment my fingers wrapped around the hilt. I already said I had never even held a sword, let alone know how to use one. But it seemed that my mind just turned off and my body already knew the technique, so I let it guide me instead of my brain.

He swung his sword down on my with heavy force. I swung my sword around to parry it, and turned his own weight on him. I used the moment to my advantage and leapt at him, striking him on both sides, back and forth. Though he managed to parry, he was still astonished at my speed (but that's what happens when you're a twin, you'resmall and fast). I jumped back when he brought his blade around, avoiding the attack. He ran at me, and I at him. All it was was a dance, back and forth, striking and blocking. I saw flashing mental images of a boy that looked just like me using a sword against an enemy. I could hear distant clashings of steel against steel. I saw an image of a dark-haired, dark-eyed boy of the same age fighting him.

But seeing these images distracted me, and I badly parried an attack and was left down and defenseless. Sir David raised the sword before bringing it down with a battle cry.

I was brought into a dark room, where there was a spotlight on me, and on the Councilwoman that was sitting in front of me.

"What do you see in your mind's eye when I show you these pictures?" She asked, pulling out a rack of cards.

She showed me a picture of a woman sitting alone in blackness.

"I see... I see a woman with red hair, and she's...sad. She's been hurt. Really badly. But I think it's more emotionally than physically. But she's been hurt physically too. She's endured more than other women could say they have. I think she's dying," I answered, my mouth moving faster than my brain.

The woman's face remained expressionless, quietly flipping cards. This time, it was of a piano, with a red stain on it.

"I see... I see a church. There's a lot of people there, but I can't see their faces. I can tell that they're sad, because some of them are crying. Someone's died. Someone a lot of people cared about. The piano... I can hear it, someone's playing a funeral march," I answered, frightening myself.

She flipped cards again; this time of a single beam of light within a raging storm.

"I see... I feel that something good has happened. Something really special. But people are worried. The storm...it represents chaos. And it's widespread. But the beam of light...the "good thing"... it can bring an end to the chaos," I said, my voice nearly dropping to a whisper.

"Alright, last one," the woman replied, flipping to the last card. There was an empty baby cradle, with a bloody sword jabbed through it.

"I see... I immediately think that a baby has been killed, but then I see it in a broader sense... I think that the cradle represents innocence. And the sword means that the innocence has been killed, or lost. Something really bad happened. And the innocence of something has been lost. But the cradle is empty, so I don't know whether or not the "baby" was killed or if it was maybe something else..." I said, wondering what in hell just happened to me.

"That's all, I think you would like to see your brother now, right?" She asked, leading me out of the room.

I couldn't move. I was frozen in fear. Suddenly, I heard a voice, calling through the field.

"BRENDAN, GET UP!!!"

I turned and saw Sarah, yelling her lungs out.

I looked back up, and raised my hands to the blade. I caught it in between my palms. I struggled, a skinny, 5'5 boy against a giant 6'7 monster of a man, so it was clearly unbalanced, and we both knew that I couldn't hold it , the blade turned white, glowing with white light. My body told me to let go of the blade, but my brain wouldn't listen.

Let go! My body screamed, and my arms went limp. Sir David's blade shattered like glass the moment my hands left it. Therefore, when he brought the sword down, there was nothing but a hilt. I dived over and grabbed my own blade and tackled him while he was left stupefied.

"Alright, you won," the Elder said, motioning for me to get off of Sir David. He stood up and faced me.

"You are a great warrior," he said, bowing his head to me.

"You and your sister have both earned full rights to the castle. Brendan, you shall become a knight. Sarah, you shall become a Mage. There is no class tomorrow, so you may finish touring the castle, and then the day after, your classes shall begin. Have a good night," the Grand Elder said, bowing his head to us also, "oh, yes, before I forget, the other girl, Breda. She too is given full rights, as I have never seen a child with such a thirst for knowledge. I have heard she already has a tall pile of books she has finished reading. I fear that our library may not satisfy her much longer than a week."

I raised my eyebrows. I knew she was smart, but those books were enormous. Already she has a tall stack? Jeez...

"Here, I'll show you to your rooms. I would imagine you would want to rest up," an elderly woman with a kind face said, leading us into the castle.

"Yes, please," I said, as I realized that I was having trouble even standing.

"They have much potential. Do you think that they might be-?" I asked, taking off my armor and sitting in the grass.

"Oh, I have no doubt. He let me see into his soul when we met," the Grand Elder replied, "you didn't let him win, did you?"

"No. I was beaten fairly. I didn't expect him to be able to use magic either. He will be a great knight."

"And from these reports, I can clearly see that Sarah has incredible abilities, she just needs a medium to bring them to life. These are very interesting, these reports. Sheapparantly can get visions of the future."

"So, I wonder what 'he' will say when he finds out."

"I'm not sure, my old friend, but there is much confusion on the horizon."

"Are you proud of them?"

"Very. I see that my son made the right choice all those years ago."