Ekleipsis
at the same
time.
    “My dear Rayhold, fear not, I have not
come to harm thee,” claimed the figure.
    Rayhold was still tense,
gripping his dagger even more the tighter. Hundreds of thoughts
passed through his mind, yet none carried with them any
coherency.
    “I have come to give thee knowledge
beyond thy wildest dreams,” the stranger continued with a low
voice. “Thou hast been handpicked to be given special insight over
thy peers, shall thou choose to accept it, of course. Thou already
possess the ability, one must only reach out to it and take
hold.”
    With little strength, Rayhold
responded, “Who are you?”
    “Indeed my name,” answered the
visitor, “You may call me Onyx.”
    “Why me?” questioned Rayhold, with a
tremble in his voice.
    “You have been chosen,” Onyx
returned.
    “Chosen…What do you mean chosen? Who
chose me,” Rayhold still questioned.
    “You ask many questions, but do you
seek the answers,” calmly said Onyx.
    “What…what do you mean?” Rayhold
replied.
    “I mean, do thou ask because ye do not
know, or do ye ask because ye want to know?” Onyx questioned
Rayhold.
    Rayhold felt slightly confused, “I…I
don’t understand why someone would be looking for me.”
    “Are we not all looking for
something? Dear Vandor has found love in young Kayla. Kayla has
found dreams to come true with Vandor. Yet they scarcly trust one
another to share those feelings,” whispered Onyx.
    “Where are thy dreams young Rayhold,
and who is it that thou doest have? Do ye not desire to be among
the mighty men, among the renowned figures of old? Do ye not ponder
the thoughts of prominence among mortals, to be esteemed highly in
the eyes of all?” continued Onyx.
    Rayhold wondered how he
knew of such. “I don’t even know you. How can I trust
you?”
    Onyx replied, “How then may I trust
ye, if thou do not trust me,” leaving Rayhold with only more
questions circling around in his mind.
    Onyx lifted his arm
parallel to the ground, palm upwards. “Take thy dagger and cut my
hand, young Rayhold.”
    Surprised, Rayhold replied,
beginning to lean backwards, “What…Why would I cut your
hand?”
    “So that we may trust one another,”
Onyx gave response.
    “How will cutting you build trust? How
do I know you will not cut me next?” questioned Rayhold.
    “As thou hast said, ye do
not know, for this we must trust. I must trust that ye will do as I
ask, and thou must trust I will do as I have said. Cut me, for I
shall not touch thee. I mean only to give thou a glimpse of what
thou mayest want,” demanded Onyx, slightly changing his
tone.
    Rayhold eyed his dagger,
but confusion still controlled his thoughts for the moment. This makes no sense. Cut me so we can trust each
other. But what does he want to show me? If I don’t cut him I won’t
find out, but if I do, what then if he wishes to slay me? What if
this is a trick and I am told to my parents or the village? Surely
they will be scared of me and call me a lunatic or worse. What if
it is true and he has something interesting to show me? Vandor and
Kayla have each other. Maybe I could pretend to follow him just to
learn what he wants to show me. I could always run and tell people
he tried to grab me and took my dagger. Surely Vandor and Kayla
would believe me, along with MaZak.
    “Do ye wish to know that
which I have come to show thee or not young Rayhold,” Onyx called,
with a bit of exasperation in his tone. “Cut me boy, that I may
know thou art worthy of such teachings!”
    Rayhold jumped, and walked
slowly over to the hooded man; almost feeling moved by another.
Most awkward he felt but he could not overcome the curiousness in
what this foreigner may actually know that he did not. Rayhold’s
palm sweated as he held the dagger as tight as he could. The
thought of running was still in his mind. Yet, the closer he got to
the stranger, the more he desired to know exactly what Onyx
intended to do after he cut him.
    Standing within a foot

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