***
The air had grown colder, and it had begun to rain again, when Lannon and Taith arrived at camp, shivering. The Knights had set up tents for the evening, and Lannon met with Aldreya inside her tent while Jace looked after Taith.
They sat across from each other on a quilt, sipping hot tea, as the rain beat down on the tent roof. After Lannon told his tale, Aldreya was quiet for a time, her face contemplative in the glow of a lantern.
At last she said, "I think this is solid proof that young Taith bears the Eye of Divinity. Therefore, we must protect him from Bellis and the Deep Shadow in the days ahead and then send him to Dremlock to be trained."
"But what about his lack of character?" asked Lannon. "Surely training him would be dangerous. Look at what happened to...Timlin Woodmaster." The memory of his dead friend again caused pain to flood through Lannon's heart. He could never forget how he had slain Timlin in battle, ending Lannon's desperate hope for the former Squire's redemption.
"True," said Aldreya. "But many Knights start out that way. Some children are thieves and even, in rare cases, killers. But they learn the ways of honor. This Taith is no different. There is good in him waiting to be awakened."
"What about the girl he spoke of?" asked Lannon.
"Dremlock will search for her," said Aldreya, "when the time is right. If her parents are willing, she too will be trained. Unless Taith provides more information, however, she will be very difficult to locate."
"I thought the Eye of Divinity was rare," said Lannon. "Yet now I find there could be two others who possess it." He was still amazed by this turn of events (in contrast to Aldreya's calm demeanor) and wondering where it was all going to lead. He was so used to being the lone Dark Watchman of Dremlock that he couldn't imagine sharing the stage with others who possessed the Eye.
"It is rare," said Aldreya. "But when it does appear, it usually does so in clusters. Therefore, it is not surprising that two children who lived near each other would have use of it. I suspect that these children do not possess it as strongly as you do, Lannon. After all, the Divine Essence itself was able to find you. However, it seems they were invisible to our god."
"I don't understand," said Lannon. "Does that mean they will never reach the potential of fully trained Dark Watchmen?"
"Not necessarily," said Aldreya. "The Eye can grow stronger over time. Regardless, this is potentially good fortune for Dremlock--if indeed it was mere luck and not the power of the Eye itself leading Taith to us."
"How could the Eye do that?" asked Lannon.
Aldreya shrugged. "The Eye is capable of many wonders. It could have been working through both of you. Why did you take Taith to the shrine? You could have chosen to ignore him and let others tend to him. After all, you're the High Watchman and have your duties. Yet as much as he annoyed you, you dragged him along to that shrine, where he read the Sacred Text. Mere coincidence?"
"I'm not sure," said Lannon. "I guess I wanted to show him something, but he ended up showing something to me. Maybe the Divine Essence actually knew of Taith and was guiding my actions."
Aldreya nodded. "It is certainly possible. Regardless, I can guarantee that Dremlock will train Taith--and the girl too if she can be found. Having two more Dark Watchmen in our army would be very helpful against Bellis. Dremlock will ignore the dangers of the Deep Shadow and what happened to all of the previous Dark Watchmen. Times are that desperate."
"But won't they want me to train Taith?" asked Lannon, not liking that idea one bit. He didn't want to feel responsible for the lad.
"Not likely," said Aldreya. "It isn't necessary. The Eye of Divinity is different for everyone, and everyone must discover it on their own. Taith would be better off at Dremlock, with Taris Warhawk to guide him as he once guided you."
Lannon found himself apprehensive. "But what if Taith and the girl turn evil? The odds are that they will. They could try to overthrow Dremlock, as the Dark Watchman did in ancient times."
"And so could you," said Aldreya. "What if the Deep Shadow gets in your heart, Lannon? Are you so certain you can resist it?"
"No," Lannon admitted. "But I'm only one man. If Taith and the girl were trained, that would make three of us. There would be greater danger. Surely one or two of us would end up falling to evil. After all, every single Dark Watchman who ever lived turned corrupt somehow. That makes for horrible odds."
"Yet the greatest danger we face today," said Aldreya, "is King Verlamer and Bellis. Dremlock is one of the last free kingdoms. We can't afford to worry about other threats. If Verlamer defeats us, he could open the way for the Deep Shadow. Our land might be doomed to a horrifying and endless existence in ice and shadow. That must be prevented at all costs--first and foremost by the might of the Flamestones, and secondly, by having warriors like the Dark Watchmen on our side."
"You're right, of course," said Lannon. Yet he remained apprehensive. "I guess Taith should be trained at Dremlock, then. And when he is ready, he can join us at Ollanhar. But...I don't want to be responsible for him."
"You won't be," Aldreya promised. "Taith will be on his own, like all Dark Watchmen are. You are the High Watchman until you retire, Lannon. No one can take that title from you, and you have your duties to attend to."
Lannon nodded, feeling slightly better about the whole thing.
But only slightly.