Paragon of Destruction

Stoneheart braced himself for Arran's Battering Force attack, throwing up what seemed to be a shield of Wind Essence.

Before the attack could hit him, however, it smashed into its actual target — the Shadowcloaked mage who was heading toward Stoneheart with a raised sword in his hands.

The attack hit the mage squarely in the back, sending the man flying into Stoneheart's shield. Stoneheart staggering back from the force of the impact, while the mage crashed heavily to the ground.

The force of the attack proved enough to break the mage's concentration, causing his Shadowcloak to fail. With a brief flicker of light in the air, the short, fat man suddenly became visible to the eye.

Despite taking a direct hit that should have incapacitated him, the mage got to his feet immediately, and without even a second's hesitation, he turned to Arran and shot a stream of white, lightning-like fire from his hands. It hit Arran in the leg, burning straight through his armor and leaving a fist-sized hole in his thigh.

Before the mage could follow up on the attack, Stoneheart's massive sword cut through his neck from behind, killing the man instantly.

As the mage's headless body slumped to the ground, Stoneheart rushed toward Arran, his face filled with concern. "He hit you! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Arran said, getting back to his feet. "My armor took the brunt of it."

In truth, the armor had been completely useless against the attack, and the wound had been grave. But drawing upon the power of a thousand fresh deaths, the Blood magic had healed it in seconds.

He felt some small guilt at lying to his companion, but although Stoneheart already knew about the Blood magic, Arran wanted to keep the full extent of its powers hidden as well as possible.

"I thought you'd gone mad again," Stoneheart said, barely veiled concern in his eyes as he looked at Arran.

"Not this time," Arran replied simply.

Stoneheart nodded, seeming relieved that Arran was behaving as normally as could be expected given the situation.

But then, his eyes shifted to the dead body on the ground. "He used a Shadowcloak," Stoneheart said. "That means he must have been a Shadowflame novice. How did you detect him?"

"I used a little technique I picked up a while ago," Arran said with a dismissive shrug. He gave the body a kick with the leg he almost lost, then added, "Maybe he was a deserter?"

"Maybe," the tall novice said, though he didn't seem convinced. "There was another one, too, earlier. We'll have to take their void bags to my uncle. Maybe he can figure out who they were."

"What happened to the bald guy?" Arran asked, remembering their original enemy.

"I hit him in the back with all the power I had," Stoneheart said, seeming slightly embarrassed. "I don't imagine there's much left of him. How did you know he would be here, anyway?"

"From you," Arran said. Seeing Stoneheart's puzzled expression, he continued, "When we fought the raiding party, you wanted to find higher ground, then attack them from range. I figured other mages would think the same way, so I found an area with only a single spot that fit the bill."

"Are we really that predictable?" Stoneheart's expression turned thoughtful, if slightly troubled.

"I could have been wrong," Arran said with a shrug. "But you should go to the camp and see if any of the prisoners are still alive, then head back to the castle. I imagine your uncle wants to hear about the novices."

"You're not coming with me?"

"I'm going to spend some time hunting down the remaining soldiers," Arran replied. "Even though they're scattered and leaderless, they could still easily wipe out a few dozen villages."

That, and he didn't want to pass up the power that he would get from killing them. Even if most of it would dissipate quickly, what little would remain was still invaluable to him.

"Then I'll make sure there's a hero's welcome for you when you return," Stoneheart said, a grin forming on his face.

Arran shook his head. "Don't tell anyone about what I did. I don't want word of the Blood magic to spread, and a recruit fighting an entire army would draw far too much attention. The honor for this battle is all yours."

Stoneheart looked as if the very idea of it offended him. "I can't do that!" he said, a hint of anger in his voice. "I can't take credit for your actions — and besides, nobody will believe I defeated an army."

"You deserve the honor," Arran replied. "You killed three mages. As for how you did it, just say you killed the leader with a surprise attack, and that the army fell apart after that. That's more or less what happened, anyway."

Although Stoneheart still didn't look happy with the idea, he finally let out a resigned sigh. "Very well. But don't think I'll forget the favors I owe you."

"If you do, I'll be sure to remind you," Arran said. "Now go. "

Arran watched as Stoneheart set off toward the camp. Although there might be some enemy soldiers left in the area, the tall novice had already proved he could handle himself, and a few weak Body Refiners should not be a problem.

He waited until Stoneheart had disappeared into the night and left the range of his Shadowsight. Then, he turned around.

"You can show yourself now."

"You could sense my presence?" Elder Naran asked as his giant shape became visible. There was a hint of surprise in his tone.

"Not yours. Theirs." Arran pointed toward the three dead mages at the Elder's feet. "Novices?"

Although Elder Naran had been invisible even to his Shadowsight, the same wasn't true for the bodies on the ground, which Arran suspected belonged to mages who would have killed Stoneheart had it not been for a timely intervention by the giant Elder.

"Almost certainly, yes," Elder Naran replied, though he did not further elaborate on the subject.

"I'm surprised you intervened. Stoneheart told me the Naran family only cares about strength."

"The boy is young and inexperienced, but he has great potential," Elder Naran said flatly, but the tone of his voice told Arran that had not been his only reason for taking action.

"So did you learn what you needed?" Arran asked, not bothering with subtlety. Both of them knew the true reason the Elder had arranged the battle, and there was little point in pretending otherwise.

"Some," Elder Naran said. "The Blood magic is even stronger than I expected, and I suspect there is much more to discover once we return to the Sixth Valley. I am especially intrigued by how rapidly you recovered from that wound."

Surprised, Arran asked, "You're not planning to study me back at the castle?" He had already prepared himself for having to spend at least several weeks as Elder Naran's research subject when he returned. But now, it seemed the Elder had other plans.

"Interesting though your condition is, there are more pressing concerns that require my attention," Elder Naran said.

He paused for a moment, then continued in a slightly annoyed tone, "I should also mention that last week, one of my herbalists found the ingredient young lady Snowcloud required. I suspect that when you return from your hunt, she will insist on departing immediately."

Arran nodded. "I suppose I should get going then."

He set off shortly afterward. With Snowcloud waiting for him, he could not afford to spend too much time hunting for the remnants of the defeated army, but he would at least give it a week. That should be plenty of time to catch most of his prey, but even so, he would not waste any of it.