Paragon of Destruction

Before they left, Brightblade told them to inform their teachers that they would be absent for several weeks. Though she was eager to depart, that was a common courtesy that could not be skipped.

Arran headed over to Doran at once — while the adept wasn't his teacher, strictly speaking, he was the person in the House of Swords who would most notice Arran's absence.

He found Doran in the gardens of the adepts' quarters, casually practicing some style he didn't recognize.

When Doran noticed him, he immediately paused his practice and gave Arran an enthusiastic wave. "Up for some extra training tonight?"

Arran shook his head. "My teacher just informed me I'll be gone for a while. She plans to train me and Snowcloud in private."

There was some jealousy in Doran's expression when Arran told him the reason for his absence. "I wish I had a teacher like that." He sighed regretfully, then asked, "When will you be back?"

"No idea," Arran replied. "From what she said, it'll be at least a few weeks."

Doran scowled. "That long?" An idea seemed to pop into his head, however, and he raised a questioning eyebrow. "If she teaches you anything good, you'll share it, right?"

"Sure," Arran said with a laugh. "But don't get your hopes up. I think she'll have us focus on magic, not sword fighting."

"Magic?" Doran made an ugly face. "You can learn that anywhere. With a teacher like her, why waste your time on magic?"

Arran shrugged. "Not my decision. She's the teacher."

"I still think it's a waste." Doran sighed. "But I guess there's nothing you can do about it. I'll pass word to Master Kallias about your absence."

After they said their goodbyes, Arran hurried back to the mansion, where he found Brightblade and Snowcloud already waiting in the gardens.

"All done?" Brightblade asked, obviously impatient to leave.

Arran nodded in reply. "So the estate, where is it?"

"A few hours from here," Brightblade replied. "If we hurry, we can make it before nightfall — and I hope we do, because I'm not confident in finding it after dusk."

They departed at a run, heading south toward the mountains.

In the first hour, they encountered several more strongholds, along with a number of estates that could be seen from the road. Yet the further they moved, the sparser the habitation grew.

When they had gone a quarter-hour without meeting any other travelers or seeing any buildings, there was a sudden increase in Brightblade's pace to something well beyond the capabilities of normal adepts.

Arran and Snowcloud quickly matched her speed, and although Snowcloud struggled to keep up, she did not fall behind — after half a year of growing her strength, the gap between her and Arran's was no longer the gaping chasm it had once been.

Several more hours passed in silence, Brightblade leading the way as her students focused on following her. By then, they had already reached the edge of the mountains, and the terrain around them was filled with tall, rocky hills.

Suddenly, Brightblade stopped in her tracks.

When Arran stopped beside her a moment later, he saw that her forehead was creased in thought.

"We should be close," she said. "But I don't see it anywhere…"

"We're lost?" Snowcloud asked, a frown on her face that suggested she was less than impressed with Brightblade's pathfinding skills.

"We're not lost," Brightblade replied sharply. "I know exactly where we're going." She cast a frustrated look at the mountains ahead of them. "I just haven't found it yet."

They set off again some moments later, moving slower than before as Brightblade tried to figure out where their destination was. And despite her words, Arran was growing increasingly that they were, in fact, lost.

Another hour passed fruitlessly, and by then, the sun had already disappeared behind the mountains in the west.

As it grew dark, Brightblade finally came to a halt. "I think we're lost," she said reluctantly. "It should be here, but…" She shook her head. "In the dark, we won't be able to find it. We'll have to camp out here for the night."

They quickly set up a small camp, and a short while later, the three were sat around a fire upon which several chunks of dragon meat were roasting.

"Since the evening is wasted," Brightblade began, "I might as well tell you my plans for the next few weeks."

Both Arran and Snowcloud immediately sat up, eager to hear how they would spend the next few weeks — and if there were any unexpected benefits ahead.

"You have both worked hard these past few weeks," she continued, "but Snowcloud, your progress isn't fast enough."

"I tried," Snowcloud replied, a dejected look on her face. "But without the Tempering… I just can't keep up with the adepts."

Brightblade nodded. "Correct. So the first thing we'll do when — if — we find the estate is have you undergo the Tempering. I would prefer to wait until you're ready to become an adept, but that's still far ahead, and this is hindering your training."

At once, Snowcloud's eyes lit up with joy. "You're having me take the Tempering?!"

"I am," Brightblade confirmed. "Or, well, a Tempering. You — both of you — will still need to undergo the Tempering thing when you become adepts, of course."

Arran frowned. "When I become an adept, I'll have to go through the Tempering again?"

Brightblade nodded. "Correct. And having undergone it once already, you will face a Tempering far stronger than most — although it should bring you greater benefits, as well."

Arran frowned, unsure of whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. The first time had been bad enough, and if the second time would be even worse, he could barely even imagine how painful it would be. And yet, he immediately felt the lure of power.

"While I take Snowcloud through the Tempering," Brightblade continued, "you should work on unsealing that Destruction Realm of yours. You've struggled with it long enough — I expect you to break through within a year. Once you do, I'll allow you to become a novice."

A jolt of shock went through Arran when he heard the words. He was still far from opening the Realm, and doing so within a year seemed like an insurmountable task. Even if Master Zhao had originally told him it would take several years to open it, he had long begun to fear that it would take decades, instead.

Yet before he could object, Brightblade had already turned her attention to Snowcloud. "As for you," she said. "Once your Tempering is complete, I will spend some days teaching you the basics of Shadow seals. Properly learning them will take far longer — well over a year. But only when you succeed in doing so will you be allowed to become a novice."

Snowcloud's eyes went wide with shock. "I have to wait more than a year before I can become a novice again?!"

"Unless you manage to master Shadow seals faster than that, yes," Brightblade confirmed. "Now, there are other matters to discuss. To start, once we return from the estate, you will begin your training with the other Houses."

Though Arran's thoughts still focused on the task of unsealing his Destruction Realm, this immediately caught his attention. After several weeks of training with the House of Swords, he had already begun to imagine what training with the other Houses would be like.

"Before we return, I will give you instructions on how to avoid drawing too much attention," Brightblade continued. "But more importantly, the year ahead will be far more difficult than anything you have faced so far. There should be little danger, but you will spend every waking moment training, until even your dreams are filled with nothing but magic and swords."

Then, a small grin appeared on her face. "And by the end of this year, I expect both of you to be capable of facing Masters on equal terms."