Almost instantly after that we were back innormal space, but none of us suffered any side effects from thetrip. I looked around at each one, and as they realized what hadjust happened there was much cheering, jumping and hollering. Oncethey calmed down, I spoke, using my real voice so that Gafar wouldnot have to relay my words. “Today we united and defeated a demonwhich has plagued my family for countless generations. This is amajor turning point for us, as it shows our greatest power comesfrom our unity. We must stand united, since we are the last andgreatest defense the forces of light have in this realm. Everythingdepends on us.” I stood in front of them and said, “Soon we will befacing the greatest battle this realm has ever seen. Many will die,perhaps even some of us, but we cannot falter, or sacrifice ourdedication to the battle; so I ask you now to repledge your loyaltyand dedication to me and our cause.”
Starting with Kellyn, one by one, they statedtheir support with a bow. Then over the loudspeaker I heard thecommander of the Dark Knights say, “The Dark Knights will standwith you to the end, Grandmaster Vydor, no matter what happens.” Itwas only then that I remembered I left the comm open before thejump.
“Commander, how many Dark Knights remain onthe Dragon Claw?” I asked over the comm.
“None, Grandmaster. All one hundred of usmade the journey over yesterday,” he said as he entered the room,turning off the comm as he passed it.
“Commander, the Dark Knights’ skin is notblack because you dyed it; it is because you are a subrace of theZalionians. Correct?”
“Yes, sir,” he answered.
“And your race has a natural ability tocommunicate through a form of telepathy?” I asked.
“Yes, sir,” he replied.
“Your race also has a natural resistance tomagic, has it not?” I asked.
“Yes, sir,” he answered.
“Well then, I plan to ask the Empire toassign you to my craft indefinitely, if you and your Knights arewilling,” I said.
“Yes, sir, but there is no need since we havealready informed Zalith of our decision to join you here,” repliedthe commander.
“Excellent. Then prepare this ship for thenext jump. I expect that we will be jumping into a hot battlezone,” I ordered.
“Yes, Grandmaster,” he snapped as he turnedand left.
“Rest and eat. I must call the captain,then we must have a full council meeting before the next jump. Imet with Mantis two nights ago and have much to tell you,” Isaid to the wizards. “Rannor, I will need you to take your oldposition in the medical bay, as there are too many of us here nowfor Kellyn to treat alone.”
He seemed to light up with that comment andasked if he could be excused to check out the medical wing beforeany battle occurred. “Go, but be back before the next jump,”I said.
“Oh, do not worry. After what I justwitnessed, I will be back early,” he said and left with aspring in his step, looking younger than before. This baffled meuntil Kellyn sent via our link, “You gave him a job; he feelsneeded again.”
“Ah, of course! Thank you, Kellyn. Okay, Iam going to call the captain. Feel free to listen in. Just stay outof sight,” I said.
I wandered off to find a private-looking nookto place the call from. Kellyn followed me over and set up thecall, then returned to the table with the group to eat.
“Master Vydor, I am glad you called,” camethe captain’s greeting. “I need to talk to you about the DarkKnights.”
“Go on, Captain,” I replied.
“Well, it seems that they are not reallyImperial citizens, nor truly part of our Navy,” he said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Yesterday they all started packing up to flyto your ship, and I told them that the first twenty-five was reallysufficient. Then they just quoted a treaty reference to me andsaid, ‘The time has come.’ I could not get them to stop packing up,and I didn’t want to make a fuss on your wedding day, so I let themgo.
“I had not heard of this treaty, so I spentmost of last night researching it, and I was surprised at what Ifound. Apparently the Dark Knights were not part of the ZalionianEmpire at the time of the merging with the our Empire. They had aseparate agreement. Vydor, this agreement dates back over threethousand years and supersedes anything that would be in effecttoday.”
Zalith entered the room at this point, butdid not say anything. I could see something was eating at him,though. After a brief greeting to Zalith, the captain continued,“This treaty clearly states that they have their own government,and serve the Empire only until the return of the one who will leadthem to victory over darkness.”
“I am surprised such a treaty even exists,” Isaid.
“So was I, and I checked thoroughly. Nothinghas been done to change its terms in all this time. It seems theEmpire figured enough time had passed that, whoever the ‘one’ was,he was dead and not coming back,” he said.
“This is very interesting, but how does thataffect us today?” I was sure I knew what he was going to say, butdid not want to jump the gun and insult Zalith if I was way offbase.
“Vydor, they believe you are the ‘one’, basedon some ancient prophecy,” he replied.
“Somehow I knew you were going to say that.What do you know of this prophecy, Zalith?” I asked.
Zalith seemed relieved to finally be able tospeak and said, “Vydor, the prophecy just predicts that you willcome, and how we will know you when you come. The first sign isthat you will come from a foreign people, but earn respect inbattle as one of our own. The second sign is that you will rise upsix others from your own people who will follow you withoutquestion or hesitation and will also be greatly honored in battle.Once you come into your power you will lead the armies of lightinto a great battle in a faraway place against the greatest army ofdarkness ever seen. There is also an obscure reference to beatingan ancient power in a place out of time, but I know nothing aboutthat. There are many other signs like these, and they all point toyou, Vydor.”
“A demon out of time? Such as in jump space?”I asked.
Zalith’s eyes went wide, “You actually didthat?”
“Yes, Zalith, a demon that has hunted myfamily for countless generations. With the help of my Council ofWizards we were finally victorious, thus ending the disease thathas plagued my family almost to extinction,” I answered. Before Isaid that I would never have thought a Zalionian could go pale, butnow I knew better.
“I do not really know what to say in the faceof all this. The treaty clearly states they are not under mycommand, but only serve out of mutual benefit until the ‘one’ … Iguess you … returns,” said the captain.
“Well, Captain, at least this explains whathappened just before I called you,” I said.
“What was that?” he asked.
“Their commander came up here and swore theloyalty of the entire squad to me,” I said.
“Then I guess they are yours now. It reallyis a wise move. You need a crew on that ship in case we find abattle waiting for us,” he responded.
“Zalith, are you happy with this?” I asked. Icould not figure out what he was thinking, but he was obviouslygreatly torn over something.
“Vydor, not only am I happy about it, I amproud of them for following through on an ancient promise. I almostwish I could join them,” he said. “All Zalionians hold dearly tothat prophecy.”
I thought about it for a minute, then said,“Zalith, I need you on the Dragon Claw as my officialrepresentative and to take care of the Zalionians who are stillpart of the fleet. The Empire needs our help, and I need you tospearhead it in the Navy.”
He smiled and said, “It will be a great honorto serve you in that way, thank you.”
The captain looked at me and said, “You areturning out to be a great leader, Vydor. I am proud of you.”