"I have a what?"Arran knew Elder Naran must be talking about his forbidden Realm, but he was startled to finally hear it identified. For years, he had wondered what kind of Realm it was, and now that he had an answer, he found himself dumbstruck.Moreover, he had no idea how Elder Naran had discovered it — despite Arran's efforts, Master Zhao's seal was still firmly in place. Yet in just a few moments, the giant Elder had not only seen that he had a hidden Realm, but also what type of Realm it was."A Destruction Realm!" Elder Naran repeated, the excitement in his eyes undiminished. "Don't tell me you don't know about it — I am not a fool.""I have a forbidden Realm," Arran said hesitantly, understanding that there was no way it hide it now. "But it's sealed off.""Someone sealed it?" A frown appeared on Elder Naran's face. "What kind of Essence was used for the seal?""Shadow," Arran said, wondering just what the man was getting at."I suppose that could work…" Elder Naran said, alt

Arran tried to move and found that his body responded slowly and sluggishly, as if it had been drained of all its power. He could tell that he was lying down — in a bed, he thought — but he had no idea where he was."Finally awake, are you?"Arran opened his eyes and saw Tuya sitting next to his bed, enthusiastically eating what looked to be a roasted leg of meat.His memories were vague and blurry, but he could recall suffering intense pain, feeling as if his body was being burned to ashes and thinking he was going to die."What happened?" he asked, just saying the words costing him a great deal of effort.He sat up, and at once he could tell that his body felt frail and feeble, different from how it was supposed to feel — wrong somehow."And why do I feel so weak?""It seems your Tempering was unusually harsh," Tuya said, finishing the leg of meat and picking up another one from a table at the side of the room. "You should consider yourself lucky."The Tempering. As Tuya mentioned i

Arran didn't find Snowcloud in her room, but this hardly surprised him.There were three places where she could be, and of those, her room was the least likely. When he didn't find her at the ingredient stockroom either, he quickly headed to the alchemists' quarters, knowing she would be there.His assumption proved correct, because before he even entered the alchemists' quarters, he could already hear shouting in the distance.An unfamiliar voice called out, "Do you have any idea how rare it is!"Another responded, "I don't care how rare it is! I need it!"The second voice belonged to Snowcloud, and when Arran opened the door, he found her facing one of the alchemists, a short middle-aged woman with a bookish face.Both of their faces were red with anger, and they ignored Arran as he stepped inside, the argument taking all of their attention."I can't have all my herbalists chasing a single ingredient!" The alchemist seemed on the verge of a breakdown, her voice trembling as she yell

"What did he say, exactly?" Snowcloud looked at Arran intently as she asked the question.They were sitting in her quarters, which Arran could not help but notice were far nicer than his own. While he had a single room with just a bed and a desk, Snowcloud had three full rooms to herself, including a bedroom, a small library, and the well-furnished sitting room they were currently using. Not that he was jealous, of course — although a bit more space would be nice.Arran quickly told Snowcloud about his meeting with Elder Naran and Stoneheart, and the offer Elder Naran had made them.When he finished speaking, Snowcloud frowned, seeming taken aback by the idea. "He wants the two of you to face an entire army together?""I assume he wants me to defeat the army, and Stoneheart to defeat their leader," Arran explained. "With the Blood magic, the soldiers' numbers won't make much of a difference to me.""But it's an entire army," Snowcloud objected. "With thousands of soldiers."Arran shoo

Arran put on the armor as quickly as he could, but it still took him more time than he would have liked. Between his coat, the helmet, the gauntlets, the gorget, the greaves, the cuisses, and all the other parts, suiting up was a slow affair, and that was hardly the only downside of wearing full armor.The quality of the armor was impressive, all the more so because Tuya had managed to find in just a few hours during the dead of night. All of it was enchanted, and it fit him better than he had any right to expect.Even so, wearing it made him slower and affected his balance, and when he put on the helmet, it immediately restricted his vision. To any other mage, the sacrifice would be far too large for a little added protection.But Arran wasn't like other mages. The control he had gained from the Tempering easily compensated for the bulk and weight of the armor, and in the dark of night, his Shadowsight would be far more useful than his eyes.When he finished suiting up, whatever part