Paragon of Destruction

The man closely examined the mark on Arran's wrist, seeming to study every detail at length. Arran was already beginning to worry that something was wrong when the man finally nodded.

"From this day forth," the man said in a serious tone, "you will be unable to teach the True Path to those outside the Society, who haven't taken the Oath."

"But I don't even know what the True Path is," Arran replied. "What if I talk about it unintentionally?"

"You don't need to worry about that," the man said, a practiced smile on his face. "The Oath will prevent you from discussing anything related to the True Path with outsiders, whether you intend to or not."

Arran frowned. "What happens if I try to do it anyway?"

"You will find that you are unable to do so," the man replied. "Even Archmages are unable to break the Oath."

"So that's it? I'm free to discuss other Society matters with whomever I choose?"

"Of course not," the man said. "Carelessly sharing the Society's other secrets and techniques with outsiders will be punished, possibly with death."

"Then why not include those things in the Oath?" Arran asked. If the Society had a way to create a binding Oath, he thought, it made little sense to use it only for a single thing.

"The Oath is intended to protect only the Society's most treasured secret, not to take away your freedom to choose," the man said.

"But what about—"

"The novice who recruited you will answer any further questions you have," the man interrupted Arran.

Before Arran could object, the man ushered him into the hallway, then guided him back to the entrance hall.

"All done?" Snowcloud asked when she saw them return.

The man nodded, then added, "But I think your recruit has more questions to ask."

"He'll just have to be patient," she replied.

She appeared to be in a hurry as she led Arran out of the building, curtly dismissing any questions he tried to ask. They arrived at a small inn not long after.

"You will stay here until I come back," she said. "Once I return, there will be plenty of time to discuss things."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Arran asked. After the weeks they had spent traveling, a few hours spent answering his most pressing questions hardly seemed like too much to ask.

"I have private matters to attend to," she replied. "Urgent ones."

Arran sighed in frustration, but the look in her eyes made it clear that she would not reveal more. Not right now, at any rate.

"When will you return?" he asked.

"I should be back in a few days," she said. "Until then, you can explore the city. Once I return, we will head to the border, and you can ask all the questions you want."

With that, she departed, leaving Arran behind at the inn.

He spent the first few days wandering around the city, but although there was much to see, he had little interest in the sights the city had to offer. Perhaps someone with an interest in architecture or history would have been intrigued by so old a city, but to Arran, after the first dozen ancient buildings, those that followed just looked like more of the same.

More interesting were the people. Even this side of the city held plenty of Shadowflame initiates and novices, and although few of them were willing to speak more than a few words to a mere recruit, just observing them granted Arran some insights.

From what he could tell, many initiates and all novices appeared to be Body Refiners. How strong they were exactly he could not tell, but just the fact that he could recognize them as Body Refiners meant they would not be weak.

He also spent some afternoons observing the building where he had taken the Oath, curious about the other recruits and the novices leading them.

With some regularity, he saw novices leading small groups of recruits into the building, then emerging some time later. Unlike Snowcloud, however, these novices did not leave their recruits behind in the city. Instead, they left the city almost immediately, traveling further west — to the border, Arran assumed.

These weren't the only people to enter the building, however. Almost as often as he saw novices with groups of recruits, he saw what looked to be parents taking youths inside.

Remembering Darkfire's history, Arran suspected that these youths were born within the Sixth Valley. As he recalled, that would allow them to join the Shadowflame Society the moment they opened a Realm, without first having to spend a year across the border.

Seeing the youths, Arran could not help but feel some envy. While he would have to spend a year proving himself, Society membership was simply handed to them, with no requirements other than opening a Realm and taking the Oath.

Still, Arran knew that complaining about how unfair it was would not help him, and he quickly decided not to linger on the matter — the only thing it would do was cause him frustration.

Finally, he spent much of his time exploring the city's many stores, in hopes of finding some useful spells, artifacts, or whatever else might catch his eye.

Unfortunately, the stores proved to be a disappointment. Although there were some that sold magical items like body strengthening potions and Realm Scrolls, none of the goods were of much use to him. Nor, for that matter, were they worth the exorbitant prices the shopkeepers charged.

When Arran inquired if there were better goods to be had, he was told that more potent magical items were only sold in the other half of the city — the half that he wasn't yet allowed to enter.

Discouraged but not dissuaded, he nevertheless diligently searched many of the city's stores in hopes of finding at least something worth buying. But after several days of fruitlessly browsing dozens of stores, he was finally forced to accept defeat.

By then, it had been nearly a week since Snowcloud left, and he was beginning to feel worried. What if she didn't return for weeks or months — or worse, not at all?

The thought of being left stranded in the Sixth Valley by himself wasn't an appealing one, and having to find a new novice to follow would be even worse.

Yet these worries were only replaced with new ones when Snowcloud returned.

He was awakened in the dead of night by a series of loud knocks on his door. When he got up and opened the door, he saw that it was Snowcloud, with a tense look on her face.

"Get your things," she said. "We're leaving right now."