Paragon of Destruction

Arran awoke early in the morning, well before the break of dawn. And as he awoke, a broad smile appeared on his face almost immediately when he recalled the great step forward he'd made in learning the Forms.

His first instinct was to pick up where he left off immediately, but as much as he wanted to get started on his training right away, he forced himself to eat a hearty breakfast as he considered the path before him.

That he must master the Forms was obvious. What was less obvious, however, was whether he should focus his efforts on swordsmanship or magic.

Only the former would be useful immediately. While it would be impossible to conceal the effect of the Forms on his swordsmanship, the Forms resembled the Darian techniques closely enough that the difference would be all but impossible to discern.

In other words, he could display the effect on his sword skills with relatively little danger. His rapid progress would doubtless raise some eyebrows, but the Imperium was large enough that there would be many unusual talents.

His magic, on the other hand, was a different matter. Any progress he made in that area would have to remain well-concealed, which meant he might have precious few opportunities to use it in the Desolation.

Yet at the same time, magic was among his most important hidden cards. If he was faced with an enemy he could not defeat or was forced to flee the Imperium, he would almost certainly have to rely on his Shadow magic.

He considered the matter for some time, but finally, he decided to pursue both. While that would inevitably be slower than focusing on just one of the two, he had equal use for both magic and swordsmanship. And perhaps, he thought, approaching the problem from two angles might help deepen his comprehension.

Decision made, he quickly stood up and readied himself, once more wielding his sword in his right hand while gathering Shadow Essence in the left.

Then, he set to work on training.

The first day brought rapid progress. After just a few hours, Arran no longer looked like a child swinging a sword for the first time, with his movements quickly gaining a smoothness and fluidity they had lacked before. And if he couldn't quite match his normal level of skill just yet, he knew it was only a matter of time before he surpassed it.

Yet if his swordsmanship improved rapidly, his progress in magic was nothing short of staggering.

Arran had always felt that he had little talent for magic, but now, he found himself improving with leaps and bounds. Because although truly unifying all his insights was still beyond him, just attempting to do it was enough to make his spells faster and more powerful.

The most shocking change could be seen in his Flamestrike — or Shadowstrike, rather, since he now used Shadow Essence to cast it.

The previous day, he had been overjoyed just to see the spell cause a barely perceptible gust of wind. But now, after only a single full day of training, it had already grown strong enough to fell small trees in a single strike.

Those results far exceeded Arran's expectations. He'd expected progress, but nowhere near as fast as what he was seeing. It almost felt as if he'd spent years using magic incorrectly, and had only now discovered the proper way to use it.

Years earlier, when Anthea told Arran that Elder Nikias and his students had been the Ninth Valley's most formidable champions in the war against the Imperium, he'd taken her words with a grain of salt.

He had always believed the Forms had potential, but he'd also believed that the girl's beliefs were clouded by her blind faith in the techniques she'd learned from her teacher.

Now, however, he couldn't help but suspect that she had still underestimated the Forms' true power.

That suspicion only grew stronger during the week that followed.

With each day of training, Arran's magical power made rapid strides, his spells growing ever more powerful as his proficiency at uniting his insights increased.

That progress wasn't limited to his offensive spells, either. A mere week was enough to allow him to create Shadow Shields that were stronger than his Force Shields had ever been, and even his control over his Shadowsight increased.

What pleased Arran most, however, was the improvement to his Shadowcloak.

Of all the spells he knew, there were none he valued more than the Shadowcloak spell. It was something that allowed him to travel unseen, to strike his foes before they could defend themselves, and — if necessary — to escape those enemies he could not defeat.

Yet in the Imperium, its use was limited. Both Knights and Lords had Living Shadow weapons, likely allowing them to Sense even Shadow Essence. Because of that, using Shadowcloak in the Imperium might well expose Arran as a mage rather than hiding him.

Now, however, Arran's Shadowcloak was steadily improving — enough that Sensing it would be far more difficult even for those with the means to detect Shadow Essence.

It wasn't quite enough yet that Arran would dare to use his Shadowcloak near Knights — much less Lords — but even so, he knew it would reduce the risk of him being discovered. And if his Shadowcloak continued to improve, perhaps it would eventually become truly undetectable.

But as stunning as Arran's progress in magic was, his swordsmanship proved a more challenging obstacle.

During the first few days of training, his skill at using the Forms for swordplay had increased greatly. But then, even as his magic continued to progress at a robust pace, his advances in swordsmanship had slowly ground to a halt.

At first, he'd believed that perhaps the Forms weren't suited for physical combat — that perhaps he'd been mistaken about the similarity between the Forms and the Darians' techniques, after all.

Yet after giving it some thought, he quickly rejected this idea.

Now that he was growing more familiar with the Forms, he could see the similarity between them and the techniques he'd seen Knights use, and he knew that they were ultimately the same.

He spent several days pondering the problem, continuing his training as he tried to uncover the obstacle that was blocking his progress. And finally, he realized what the issue was — his sword style.

The sword style Arran used was one he'd crafted himself, with the movements it contained all based around his true insights into binding and severing.

But now, he was attempting to unite all his insights in his movements — something that was fundamentally incompatible with a sword style based around a single set of insights.

He couldn't help but laugh wryly when he realized the truth.

He'd painstakingly crafted the sword style over the course of several years, convinced that it would help him reach greatness. But although it had served him well, he now found that it had become a burden rather than an asset.

Briefly, he considered starting anew — to build an entirely new sword style from nothing, based on the fusion of his insights.

Tempting though the idea was, Arran rejected it almost immediately. While such a sword style would doubtless be powerful, creating it would be a labor of years. And right now, that was time he could not spare.

He considered the matter for a while, but no easy solution came to mind.

The Darians would likely have sword styles that would better suit their techniques, Arran had no idea if and when he might be able to find one of those. And even if he did find one, learning an entirely new sword style would still take more time than he had.

Then, however, a thought crossed his mind.

When he first arrived in the Ninth Valley, he had studied three different sword styles: the Stalwart Blade, the Floating Leaf, and the Thousand Cuts, with the first focusing on defense, the second on evasion, and the third on offense.

Back then, he had mostly ignored the three styles after gaining his true insights, focusing instead on his own sword style.

Yet he had not forgotten those styles he'd learned in the House of Swords all those years ago. And now, finally, he had a use for them.

The three styles were by no means weak. Combined, they provided a solid if unremarkable foundation for a swordsman. But at the same time, the techniques they contained were common enough that if he used them with the Forms, it would be all but impossible for others to recognize their origins.

His decision made, Arran set to work once more, resuming his training with renewed vigor now that he had a path forward.

Of course, just having a path didn't mean the way forward was easy. He'd ignored the sword styles from the House of Swords for years, and even if he hadn't forgotten them, it took several days before he was able to execute the moves with a semblance of smoothness.

Still, he persevered with dogged determination, and it wasn't long before his hard work began to pay off.

Where his own style had clashed with the Forms, these old sword styles created no such obstacles, and after a few days, the techniques already began to blend together with Arran's insights.

Two weeks passed like this, with Arran constantly practicing both his swordplay and his spells. And every day he practiced, his movements grew more confident and his attacks stronger.

Three weeks after leaving Knight's watch, he knew his sword skills once more rivaled the power of his old level. Except now, the path forward was entirely clear to him.

But although his sword skills merely matched his old strength, he knew that his overall power had increased greatly. After all, he now had the ability to use Shadow Essence for physical attacks — and ones that were nearly as strong as the blows he struck with his sword.

Moreover, this new power would be hidden from his enemies until it was too late for them to defend themselves. And even then, only Knights and Lords would be able to discern the kind of attack he had used.

All others would only see his empty left hand.

Arran celebrated the accomplishment with a large meal and a much-needed night of rest. Yet when morning came, he resumed his training once again, certain that there were more gains to be had.

Another week passed quietly, the only sounds to be heard in the area coming from Arran's attacks when they destroyed large rocks and trees near the clearing where he was training.

Gradually, however, his rapid progress came to an end. Comprehending the Forms had allowed him to make several giant steps forward, but his new foundation had yet to solidify.

And to achieve that, he would need something other than training.

Before moving on, Arran spent several hours examining his newly gained skills, and found himself more than pleased with the results.

His sword skills had now truly surpassed his previous level, reaching a point where he was confident that he could defeat his previous self in less than half a dozen moves.

That alone would be enough to cause him joy, but he knew that his true progress was even greater than it appeared to be. Where he had previously relied almost entirely on his true insights into binding and severing, he now had a foundation that had more than just that single pillar to support it.

But that was just half the story.

The other half, of course, was his progress in using magic. And although his magic was still slightly inferior to his strength with the sword, it had progressed much faster in this month of training.

At this moment, he no longer doubted whether he truly qualified as a Master mage. When it came to Shadow magic, he was a Master through and through — and a strong one, at that.

One thing still remained, however, and that was to put his new powers to the test. And that, he knew, was something he could not do by himself.

He gave the clearing where he had spent the past month training a final glance, then departed without further hesitation.

He had achieved as much as he could through individual training, and pushing any further was more likely to do him harm than good.

Now, it was time to hunt.