Paragon of Destruction

Arran's exhilaration at his discovery barely lasted an hour, and as his excitement died down, he became aware of just how badly his time in the battlefield had injured him.

While his injuries healed quickly as he moved away from the dense unbound Essence at the heart of the battlefield, he realized he had come perilously close to death. Another hour, maybe two, and the violent force would have overcome his body's ability to heal.

The thought troubled him, because it meant that his resistance to magic wasn't yet as strong as he had believed. And although he didn't expect to find many mages in the Hunters' lands, he had no doubt that he would face mages again in the future.

But that was a matter for another time. Right now, the most important thing was to find a quiet spot where he could safely examine the void ring's contents.

He traveled through the twisted wasteland at a hurried pace, without stopping for either rest or sleep. Whatever comfort a short repose might offer, it was no match for the diminishing pressure of Essence as he moved further from the battlefield.

By the time he reached the small camp he'd shared with Negin, his injuries had fully healed, with just a hint of redness remaining on his skin.

Yet while his body had healed, he knew that his strength had suffered from the ordeal. He still hadn't fully recovered from his time in the Shadow Realm, and in his weakened state, the brief trip had exacted a sizable toll.

But then, that was not something he could complain about — not when he'd ventured into a place where most others would be burned to death in an instant.

He quickly gathered his possessions from the camp — mostly clothes, since all his valuables were in his void ring — and found a scrap of parchment among them, with the words "Thank you" written upon it.

Negin's gratitude had little practical use, but it still brought a small smile to his face. After years of killing enemies, saving someone's life had been a nice change.

When he'd gathered his possessions, he took out the void ring he'd found in the battlefield and bound it to himself. There wouldn't be time to properly study its contents yet — not here, with Hunters all over the area — but his curiosity had already grown too strong to contain.

Yet before he sent his Sense into the ring, he felt a brief moment of hesitation.

If the ring contained what he hoped it did, then he would have a path to continue his study of the Forms — a path that could make them useful as more than just a tool for training his skill in magic.

But if what he sought wasn't there, it would all have been for nothing. Not just the journey into the battlefield, but also the many hours he'd spent learning and practicing the Forms. He'd have wasted years pursuing a path that led only to a dead end.

Unlike Anthea, he had no delusions about recreating the Forms himself. If the Ninth Valley's best scholars had fruitlessly spent decades trying to do so, then he had no hope of success.

Of course, he could strengthen his resistance to magic until he was able to search the battlefield properly. But that would take years, likely even decades. And by then, the war between the Hunters and the Ninth Valley would long be over.

But no amount of hesitation would change what was inside the ring.

With a deep breath, Arran focused his Sense and began to inspect its contents. And almost immediately, he felt his heart beat faster in excitement.

Inside the ring were the possessions of a mage. There was an assortment of robes, several fine weapons, various alchemical pills and potions, and an impressive amount of Essence Crystals.

Yet what caused his excitement were six small items that he instantly recognized as memory amulets. He hurriedly retrieved them from the ring, ignoring its other contents — if what he sought was present, one of these amulets would hold it.

The first amulet proved a disappointment. While it held detailed instructions about various spells, none of them had anything to do with the Forms. With a sigh, Arran stored the amulet in his void ring, then moved on to the next one.

The second, however, was worse than useless. With wide-eyed confusion, Arran saw it held a collection of poetry — and exceptionally bad poetry, at that. Again, he discarded the amulet, and moved on.

He'd barely sent his Sense into the third amulet, however, when a broad smile appeared on his face and his eyes shone with relief and excitement in equal parts.

The amulet was filled with instructions about the Forms. And although Arran saw at a glance that they were both terse and lengthy, he immediately recognized that they were far more advanced than anything he'd learned from Anthea.

With a sigh of relief, he stored the amulet in his void ring. He'd found what he needed. And now, he'd need to find a place to properly study it.

Before he departed, he looked through the three remaining amulets, and found his spirits raised even further.

One of the amulets contained only alchemical recipes, but another contained a long series of notes that detailed its author's studies of the Forms, going into far more detail than the amulet with instructions had.

He recognized these as a student's notes — something that might be every bit as useful to him as the actual instructions.

Within the final amulet, he found a long journal. And though it held no name, a quick glance confirmed that the void ring had belonged to one of Elder Nikias's students.

While Arran hadn't found the Elder's possessions, he wasn't the least bit disappointed. From what Anthea had told him, he knew the Elder's students had been powerful mages in their own right, and following their path would certainly allow his knowledge of magic to grow with leaps and bounds.

Moreover, without having Elder Nikias to instruct him, the student's notes would be invaluable in helping him understand the Forms — perhaps even more so than the Elder's own writings.

He quickly moved the contents of the student's void ring to his own, then departed immediately. What he needed now was a quiet place to study, and the battlefield would not do for that purpose.

Traveling without Negin, it only took a few days before he'd left the battlefield behind. He ran at full speed — with his own Sense and his sword's to alert him of any people nearby, there was no need to hide his strength.

Several days were enough to get him past Redhill, but he continued northeast for another two weeks, moving away from the Hunters' lands and into a large forest he'd found on Brightblade's map.

Of course, he knew that he could not yet fully study the writings he'd found. There wasn't enough time for that. But he intended to spend at least several weeks learning what he could, and for that, he needed a place without others who could Sense magic.

The forest was large and dark, with thick-trunked trees rising high into the sky, the dense leaf cover blocking all but a few rays of light from reaching the ground. It looked like a place no human had entered in centuries, which made it perfect for Arran's purposes.

He did not pause at the forest's edge, either. Instead, he continued onward until he was a week's travel away from the nearest road or village even at his inhumanly fast pace — months of travel, for a commoner.

Then, finally, he came to a halt at a small glade that was hidden deep within the forest. It was far enough from civilization that no one would detect any magic he used here, and he knew that there was no chance of anyone disturbing his studies.

Yet even with only animals around for hundreds of miles, Arran spent two days carefully warding the glade, ensuring that not even the slightest shred of magic he used would escape.

When he was finally satisfied, the first thing he did was lie down and sleep — and for a full three days, that was all he did. Between his venture into the battleground and his hurried journey into the heart of the forest, his body had grown weak and weary.

After he rested, he spent two days hunting down any animals in the area that contained even a shred of Natural Essence. While he had traveled into the forest to study the Forms, he also wanted to use that time to allow his body to recover before he traveled into the Hunters' lands.

The forest proved an excellent hunting ground. It had lain undisturbed for centuries, and in that time, the wildlife had grown strong enough to impress even Arran.

In just two days, he'd already gathered enough meat to last him several months. It couldn't compare to dragon meat, of course, but it was as good as anything he'd found during his journey to the battlefield.

Then, at last, he sat down in the glade and retrieved the memory amulets from his void ring. Finally, he would get a glimpse of the true potential of the Forms.