Paragon of Destruction

"As most of you know," Ozluk began, "seals come in many varieties. They can create anything from formations like the ones protecting our Valley to wards that block sound from entering a room — a godsend if you share quarters with roommates as noisy as mine."

A flash of disappointment crossed his face when none of the initiates laughed at the joke, but he continued undeterred. "But that's only the beginning. Enchantments also use seals, albeit different ones from the ones you'll be learning." He looked around the room. "Anyone from the House of Creation here today?"

If there were any mages from the House of Creation, they had no desire to be called upon, and after several seconds of uncomfortable silence, Ozluk continued his speech.

Arran only listened with half an ear as the novice spoke.

While he had been surprised to learn that enchantments used seals, he already knew much of what the novice told them. Although he hadn't studied seals formally, the time he had spent comprehending Master Zhao's seal had given him an intimate understanding of how they worked.

An hour passed with Arran learning little he did not know already, and several times, he had to stop himself from correcting the novice.

He was supposed to draw attention, but correcting their teacher on minor details would not achieve what he wanted. He needed something bigger — something that would get him out of the classroom and away from the prattling novice.

"Now, let me give you a few demonstrations," the novice finally said. "To give you a general impression of what can be achieved using seals."

At once, Arran sat up in attention. This was his chance to make a mark.

Ozluk gestured at the small stage behind him. "The first seal I'll show you is a formation that can block others from passing it. With a few minutes of work, you can prevent even an adept from easily breaking through."

A look of concentration appeared on the novice's face as he wiggled his fingers, spending several minutes creating a small formation made of Force Essence. When he finished the work, he turned back to the initiates, a triumphant look on his face.

Arran, however, found himself decidedly unimpressed. Simple though the formation was, he could tell that it was riddled with flaws — which made it perfect for his plan.

"Now, as you can see, I used Force Essence to create—" Before the novice could finish the sentence, Arran interrupted him.

"Your formation is flawed," he said. "The pattern isn't closed, so it'll barely last even an hour, if that."

Without giving the startled novice a chance to react, he stood up and walked toward the small stage, using the opportunity to give the formation a closer look. "Furthermore," he continued, "there are several weak spots within it. Just a single strand of Essence in the right place can collapse the entire thing."

He reached out and shot a thin strand of Force Essence at one of the formation's weak spots. Exactly as he said, the entire pattern collapsed in an instant, the Essence that made up the formation dissipating harmlessly.

Arran took no pleasure in humiliating the novice so publicly, but he needed to make an impression big enough to get him out of this classroom, and this was the only way he was sure would work.

"Who are you?" The young man stared at him wide-eyed, face pale with shock.

"Ghostblade. I'm from the Fourth Valley." Some murmurs of surprise sounded among the initiates, but Arran ignored them. "That formation you attempted needs a tighter pattern to be effective. Like this…"

Although he had only seen the formation once, Arran had no trouble copying and improving it. He had comprehended Master Zhao's seal, and compared to that, Ozluk's effort was like a stick figure drawn in sand by an unusually clumsy toddler.

He spent some time getting the pattern right, the biggest obstacle being his control over Essence rather than the formation itself. But creating seals didn't require nearly as much control as casting spells, and a few minutes later he stepped back, mostly satisfied with his creation.

The formation was nowhere near perfect, but it lacked any of the obvious flaws that had plagued the previous version. Unless a skilled mage attacked it, it could easily last years rather than hours.

"That… not even my teacher can do that…"

Arran had almost forgotten about the novice as he worked on the formation, but now, he saw that the young man was staring at him in utter astonishment.

Some moments passed as the novice's eyes darted between Arran and the formation. Finally, he blurted out, "Should you be here?"

From his bewildered expression, it was clear that he thought his classroom was no place for someone who could create a formation like the one before him.

"Probably not," Arran replied. "But the Master said that newcomers should come with you, didn't he?"

"This…" The young man was at a loss for words, obviously unsure of how to handle the unexpected situation. Finally, he shook his head. "This is a mistake. I'll have to talk to him."

The tremble in his voice suggested that he was far from eager to disturb the Master, but reluctant or not, he exited the classroom in a hurry.

A small but satisfied smile appeared on Arran's face as the novice departed. If all went well, it wouldn't be long before he had a more suitable teacher — hopefully, one skilled enough to satisfy Brightblade's demands.

Of course, things would have been much simpler if he could have approached the Master before the lesson, but that hadn't been an option. Even if the man wouldn't have dismissed him as just another arrogant initiate, he wouldn't have been able to show his talent.

The unfortunate truth was that despite Arran's insight into seals, he lacked the knowledge to display it properly. The only seals he knew were Master Zhao's Shadow seals, and he couldn't show those to others.

But soon, that would change.

Arran paid no attention to the other initiates as he waited for their instructor to return. Though he could hear some whispers in the classroom, he ignored them. His goal was to impress Masters, not initiates.

Several minutes passed silently before the door finally opened once more, revealing the gray-haired Master who had welcomed the initiates that morning. Behind him stood the novice named Ozluk, his face worry-free now that he had found someone else to handle the situation.

The Master entered the classroom without speaking, his eyes focused on the formation Arran had created. He studied it for nearly ten minutes, a look of concentration on his face as he appeared to inspect every strand of Essence it held. Then, finally, he turned to Arran.

"You created this?" The man's voice was calm, though it held a hint of curiosity.

"I did," Arran replied.

"Come with me," the Master said. He frowned briefly before adding, "But remove that formation first, please — we can't have Ozluk here unable to use the stage."

Arran did as the man said, though not without feeling slightly puzzled. Simple as the formation was, removing it should only be a single breath's work for a Master.

They stepped out of the classroom a moment later, and as Ozluk closed the door behind them with a relieved expression, the Master turned to face Arran.

"That was an impressive display," the man said, his gaze calm but studious as he looked at Arran. "Few mages ever master that seal to such an extent, and none of those I met were initiates — not until today, at least. You must have spent years studying it."

"I gleaned some small insights from my former teachers," Arran replied. "But I never studied this particular seal — I merely copied what Novice Ozluk showed me."

At this, the Master's eyes widened slightly. "You're claiming you copied that seal from a single look at Ozluk's efforts?" His voice held a mixture of curiosity and disbelief.

"I did," Arran said truthfully.

"Then let's put your talent to the test." The man pointed his hand toward the ground, then spent the next two minutes crafting a formation. It was only slightly more complex than the one Ozluk had made, though it held far fewer flaws. "Try to copy this."

Arran silently nodded, then did as the Master said.

Copying the formation was a simple matter, and as he did so, he removed the most obvious flaws he saw within it. While he could not tell what exactly the formation was supposed to do — something involving deflecting Essence, he suspected — he was confident that his version was no worse than the Master's.

Even before he finished, however, the gray-haired man began to work on another formation. It was slightly more complex than the previous one, though still simple enough for Arran to copy without much effort.

More formations followed, however, each more complicated than the previous one. Arran did his best in copying them, but after the first dozen he could tell that he was approaching the limits of his skill — both in controlling the Essence required and in understanding the seals' patterns.

Yet before he reached his limit, the Master came to a halt, then began to inspect the many formations that now filled the large hall at the center of the building.

Finally, he raised his head again, then gave Arran an intrigued stare.

"Most curious," he said. "Remove your formations, then follow me. There's someone we need to visit."