Hope (Knights of Av'lor - Book 1)

Chapter 19

"I'd like to tell you about one of my Sights, Sir," Lady Kathryn said, standing at attention in front of his desk a few days later. Lanclor couldn't keep his eyes from wandering to her white wings. It looked like her armor had lightened almost to match her wing color. She wore no sword as was customary when visiting the Knight-Commander.

He realized his silence made her nervous. "Please take a seat, Lady Kathryn, and tell me about it." He gestured to the comfortable leather chair off to the side in front of his desk.

She sat and took a deep breath. "I've had a reoccurring Sight since the day of the Assessment. I believe you remember when I first grasped the hilt of my sword. I think you may also have noticed my expression before I retreated to the group of candidates."

He nodded in confirmation.

"Well, I had that same Sight, though from a different prospective, during our bout."

Now he understood what had happened. She had the Sight while they were drilling and probably panicked that it had happened in the midst of battle. "I understand. You had a Sight, and then you were terrified that it had happened while you were drilling. Maybe I can ask Hook-"

"No, Sir, you don't understand. I wasn't terrified that it had happened while I was drilling. I was terrified because...you...the Daemons...the content of the dream, Sir. I can't explain it. I'll have to show you for you fully to understand it. With your permission, I could show you what I saw using that spell Sir Garrent uses to show the battles in the History training."

He nodded his assent.

"The first version is the one I saw when I first grasped the hilt." She recounted her first Sight, using the History spell to show him her Sight as she explained her interpretation at the time. Thousands of Daemons poured out of the portal. Some took to the sky while the others stayed on the ground, heading for the outnumbered group of knights.

"As you can see, we wouldn't have a chance. With that many Daemons, we would only last a matter of hours. I'm not sure why, but I know if the Knighthood falls, the Daemons will get to Earth, and they have no defense against them."

The Daemons were overwhelming the knights and Lanclor saw the death of his men.

"When their guns and missiles wouldn't work," Kathryn continued, "they'd try nuclear weapons and destroy everything they were trying to protect."

Seeing the defeat of the knights was almost unbearable. He could understand now why she was terrified that first day. She proceeded to show him the Sight she had during their bout. He was speechless as he watched his own death. While unafraid of his own death, the death of the rest of the knights scared the hell out of him.

He placed his head in his hands and tried to think of some way to prevent this from occurring. Surely, there was a way to prevent it. Why else would the Goddess send the Sights? He finally realized the burden placed upon Lady Kathryn's shoulders. He wondered how she could continue, knowing their possible fate. If he were in her shoes, he would be in the library day and night to try to find a way home. Even if she could find a way back to Earth, it would only be a matter of time before the Daemons crossed over behind her, using their magic and the Portal.

Suddenly, he knew she wasn't going to the library to find a way home. She was going to the library, digging through the Lost Spell books to try to find a way to prevent the Sight from occurring. That realization brought a new respect and hope.

"You wouldn't have received the Sight without a reason. There must be a way we can prevent these events. I think we should focus on the other knights in the Sight and try to identify them. If I don't recognize some of them, perhaps this event won't happen for some time. That will give us a period to work together with the instructors and Soulbearers to find a solution. Show me the second Sight again, but try to focus on the knights around me."

They viewed the Sight several times and documented who was present at the battle. He didn't recognize four of the knights. This meant it wouldn't occur for at least three cycles, the amount of time normally required before a new knight would reach the training level to see battle with the Daemons at the ground level. In those three cycles, they would have to train the knights to fight against large numbers of Daemons on the ground.

In the past, Daemons fought the majority of the time in flight, so they'd focused on in-flight battles instead of mounted ones. He also didn't recognize the rocky landscape. It was within a large valley in a mountainous region. The valley consisted of red rocky hills dotted with dense patches of spindly trees and bushes. A wide river wound its way through the left end of the valley, the water red from the rocks beneath. He would have to ask around and find out if anyone recognized the valley.

Lady Kathryn left his workroom a few hours later with no ill effects from the History spell. He'd have to remember to tell Garrent about her magical stamina. Garrent normally took an hour-long nap after all of his history courses because the spell was so exhausting. The fact that Lady Kathryn performed the History spell several times in addition to the Communication spell-she had successfully taught him the spell, so they practiced as much as possible-impressed him. She was patient throughout the documenting and had never complained. He thought he might have found just the knight to befriend that mare.