"Huh, would you look at that…" Xylus muttered.

  "What was that?" Gwendolyn asked. Xylus refocused his attention onto the red-haired woman.

  "What do I need to do then? Are they going to harm me?"

  "They were all told not to harm you unless you posed a threat. The latter is up to them whether or not you're a threat. For now, you aren't one. We must figure out if you're truly a Shade of this forgotten god. Come, follow me." Gwendolyn motioned. Miss Dean opened the door and waited for Gwendolyn to leave. Xylus got up from his spot on the floor and slowly moved over.

  "Come now, child. Follow the Templar's orders." Miss Dean motioned. Xylus followed Gwendolyn out of the door and took a left. He could feel the cool Summer's breeze. None of the buildings notified where he was.

  'Where are we?' He wondered.

  "Welcome to one of the Temples of Light on Wrystfall. We're close to the port city, Barros." Gwendolyn told him like she knew he was going to ask.

  From what Xylus was taught about geography, they were still on the same continent Nessia was located on. ‘If I remember correctly, Barros is West from Nessia.’

  Wrystfall had very little when it came to water. There was little of it around here, so most cities always centered around the waters and magical holes of water. The landscapes were mostly rough, but small areas like this in Wrystfall looked like paradise to Xylus.

  It was the first time Xylus had ever been anywhere else but Nessia. He knew Wrystfall was a big place but didn't expect it to have views like this.

  Gwendolyn led the young boy to the courtyard. There were five men and women chatting away when they spotted Gwendolyn. They all began to eye the boy. Xylus could tell some of them did not like the fact he was walking around.

  "Templar, you have brought the Dark Spawn out of their chambers, already? Why?" A woman in full white and gold garb asked.

  "Priestess, it's according to the plan the Order has already decided on. Plus, I need some eyes on this." Gwendolyn lifted Shadowbane up and the others looked at it.

  "Peculiar," an old man spoke. He was in the middle of the group of five. He wore similar garb to the Priestess but had a walking cane he was using to support himself with. "Where did you get this, Templar?"

  "Father, the boy gave it to me. He insists he's a Shade of the forgotten God of Darkness."

  "If he's a Shade why can't he manifest the Shade mark? Wouldn't the answer our questions?" The Priestess asked. She gave Xylus a disgusted look before inching closer towards the Father.

  "It could be a god weapon." The man nearest to Gwendolyn and Xylus spoke up. He had ashy brown hair and a fairly tanned complexion. He was in similar armor as Gwendolyn. "It's magical attunements are… Hm, I can't read all of them."

  "I couldn't either. I want a weaponsmith and an experienced enchanter to see this before I give it back to the boy." Gwendolyn to them.

  "Give it back to the boy? Why would you give the Dark Spawn a dangerous weapon?" An older gentleman scoffed. He had graying hair and was standing in between the Father and the other Templar man. He looked over at Xylus and shook his head. "We should execute him for being a Dark Spawn!"

  "But we must be sure he isn't a Shade. If he's a Shade and we kill him, his god will surely follow for revenge." A strawberry blonde woman spoke up. She stood between the Father and the Priestess. She wore a white dress with gold accents. She had a large staff attached to her back. "Wouldn't want to upset a god, would we?"

  "We don't even know if that god even truly exists! Darkness is evil and everything that involves darkness always ends up being just that! Bad!" The Priestess retorted.

  "Alright, enough. Let us talk to the child." The Father quieted his people down. Gwendolyn stepped off to stand with the other Templar as the Father neared.

  "What is your name, child?" The Father asked.

  "X-Xylus. Xylus Silverfang, F-Father." Xylus gave a respectful bow. If it weren't for his Uncle educating him on various things, he would've made a very bad first impression. The Priestess and older gentleman scoffed. "Quiet, you two. We are here to do the work of the Order. Now child, we've all been told by your Uncle what has transpired. Is what he says true?"

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "Ye-yes, Father." Xylus nodded.

  "He's a Spawn! He admits it!" The older gentleman pulled his sword out and pointed it at Xylus.

  "Sir Caldwell!" The male Templar shouted. "Stop this madness!"

  "Caldwell, if you jump to conclusions, I will force you back to the Temple in Myst Crevice!" The Father turned and scolded him. Sir Caldwell flared his nostrils and sheathed his weapon. The Father turned back, face warm again. "Care to explain yourself, child?"

  "Yes, Father." Xylus bowed, again. He began to retell the tale he had told Gwenolyn. The group listened, all giving their own reactions. Sir Caldwell and the Priestess more visibly giving negative reactions versus the others who gave more neutral reactions.

  "I see." The Father nodded. He brushed his white beard, contemplating what to do. "And Gwendolyn said she shall take you to be tested elsewhere?"

  "Yes, Father." Xylus nodded.

  "Amara." The Father turned to the strawberry blonde woman. "Do you sense anything from this boy?" Amara took a step forward. She studied Xylus for a while and shook her head.

  "No, Father. I don't sense anything from him. I can't even detect his Dark magic."

  "Strange." The Father nodded. "Well, we shall conduct a few tests. You did say you just manifested, correct?"

  "I believe so." Xylus nodded.

  "Amara, you and Tyrian will take the boy to get tested on his magical attributes. Once it reveals to us his abilities and gives his Rankings, we can go from there. Gwendolyn and Sir Caldwell will head to the enchanter and weaponsmith. Find out what you can about the strange weapon. Priestess Lillian, you will help me with the next step of the child's test."

  "Yes, Father." The group gave a small bow. Amara and Tyrian broke from the group and moved towards Xylus.

  "Xylus, right?" Amara asked, giving a small smile.

  "Yes, ma'am." Xylus nodded.

  "So polite for a little thief." Tyrian commented. "You like the little missus?" Amara turned to look at Tyrian and gave him a small slap on his shoulder.

  "Don't be too mean." Amara furrowed her eyebrows at Tyrian.

  "It was an observation." Tyrian rolled his eyes at Amara. He looked over at Xylus. "Come, let's go inside the Temple. You can get your Ranking and magical attributes there."

  Rankings were stats that gave each person an idea of their overall potential. This gave children and their parents an idea of what the child would excel at. If the child could afford to do so, they could get trained at the Academy. High magical aptitude could place the child under a Mage's care. High dexterity could branch the child to an archer. High strength could put them under a soldiers care, etc. Ranking would determine a child's future job if they could have the opportunity to do such a thing.

  Xylus was led into the tall tower towards the front of the grounds. Temple priests and priestesses worked, giving a small nod towards Tyrian and Amara as they passed. They noticed Xylus following and began to watch the boy. All of them gave similar looks and whispers of “That's him? The Dark Spawn?"

  Tyrian and Amara led him up a set of stairs. They climbed it for a while until they reached the halfway mark. Tyrian knocked on the hard wooden door before opening it.

  "Ah, Tyrian and Amara! What can I do for you two?" A woman's voice jollily called out. Amara stepped off to the side and motioned for Xylus to come in. She shut the door behind Xylus as he looked around. The room was quite plain. A set of doors stood behind the woman sitting behind a desk.

  "We need to figure out his Ranking." Tyrian pointed at Xylus. The woman looked over and nodded.

  "Is he the one?" She asked.

  "Yes. Don't let that influence anything else you do, Magaret. Father Westhall wants this information."

  "Yes, yes, yes. I know. Unlike others, I do not care about one's background." She casually explained. "Come here, boy." She motioned him to come.

  Xylus moved over to the desk. Margaret picked up a board and magical chalk-like sitting utensil.

  "Can you write?" Margaret asked.

  "Yes, ma'am." Xylus nodded.

  "Good. If you could write your name on the slate, that would be great."

  Xylus took the slate from her and picked up the magical chalk. He didn't know why "chalk" came to his head but ignored it and wrote his name on the slate.