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2024-10-29 19:42:56Arran looked at the town ahead of them with some excitement. It had been months since they had last visited anything bigger than a village, and he missed the feeling of being around people other than Master Zhao.
"I almost forgot," Master Zhao said. He tapped two fingers against Arran's head, and the seal that covered Arran's forbidden Realm disappeared.
"Why did you remove it?" Arran asked anxiously. With the seal gone, he immediately worried about being discovered by the Academy.
"There should be no Academy mages nearby," Master Zhao said. "And we're about to visit someone who could help you hide."
The words did little to reassure Arran, but he had no choice but to accept them.
When they entered the town, Arran was reminded of Riverbend. It held a few thousand people at most, and the houses looked old and cozy, with smoke wafting from stone chimneys.
They followed the main street for a time, passing by houses and stores, with the townsfolk
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The other initiates stared at Arran as if he had told them he had never seen the sun."You don't know what stages are?!"Arran could not see who spoke, but the voice sounded dumbfounded. From the looks on the initiates' faces, it could have been any of them.Adept Kadir turned toward the initiates. "All of you, get back to your training," he said in a firm tone that allowed no argument.Reluctantly, the initiates followed Adept Kadir's command, although several of them shot curious looks at Arran. It was obvious that his words had shocked them."Did I say something wrong?" Arran asked Adept Kadir, feeling uncomfortable.The man turned toward Arran. "Not wrong, exactly. Follow me, we should talk."Arran followed Adept Kadir to a small room at the side of the training hall. Inside were a desk and some chairs, but little else. The stone wall
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 12
Arran narrowly dodged the sword slashing at his head, then countered with a quick thrust to his opponent's chest. His opponent parried effortlessly, in a single slash knocking Arran's sword aside and striking Arran's ribs.He staggered backward, rubbing the painful spot where he had just been struck."Demon's balls!" Arran cursed. "Brother Amar, how do you do that?""Just a bit of luck, Brother Wei An," Initiate Guha said. Grinning, he added, "Luck, and a slow opponent."It had been over a week since Adept Kadir had told Arran he would ask Grandmaster Windsong for a Wind Realm scroll, but the man had not broached the subject since then.Moreover, since that first day, there had been no sign whatsoever of either Master Zhao or Windsong, and Arran had been left with nothing to do but practice with the initiates.At first, Arran's initial display had brought him
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 13
Arran looked at the scroll that lay in front of him. It looked much like the ones he had seen before, but this time, he would have to open the Realm it gave without the aid of Master Zhao.With a deep sigh, he picked up the scroll and began to study it.The characters were completely different from the ones on the scrolls that gave him his Fire and Shadow Realms. The strokes were thinner and sharper, almost as if they had been written by someone using his pen like a sword, slashing the paper with ink.As he read the scroll, he felt the familiar tingle of Essence. Now that he was more familiar with Essence, he could sense that the type held within the scroll was lively and turbulent, like a strong autumn breeze.He pondered it for a moment, understanding that the scroll must be infused with Wind Essence. Drawing the Wind Essence from the scroll into his body, he thought, somehow created a connection b
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 14
When Arran reached the training hall, he found no one inside. Of course there was no one there, he thought — he did not know the time, but the sky was dark and the monastery grounds were empty. It would be either very late at night or very early in the morning.He briefly considered heading to the cottage where Adept Kadir lived, but then rejected the thought.While he was eager to show Adept Kadir his newly opened Wind Realm, he very much doubted the man would appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night.After a moment's thought, he headed to the room where he had stayed before he was sent to the Realm Opening Cell. It was in one of several buildings that housed the monastery's initiates, and as he entered he took care not to wake the others.He found his own room empty, with the bag that held his belongings placed in a corner. The room itself was not much different from the one where
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 15
"Grandmaster Windsong!" Adept Kadir banged his fist against the hardwood door for the third time, and still, no reaction came.He shook his head with an annoyed sigh, then opened the door and stepped inside. Arran quickly followed him.The first thing that caught Arran's eye once they entered were the bottles. There were dozens, most of them empty, scattered all across the room. It was as if half an army had spent the night drinking in the chamber.At the far end of the chamber stood two couches, with a small table in between. Grandmaster Windsong and Master Zhao each occupied one of the couches, and on the table, Arran saw a board of stones.As they entered, Windsong raised his head. "Adept Kadir? Why are you disturbing us?" He sounded irritated, and it was clear that he did not welcome the interruption."This could not wait," Adept Kadir said. "Master Fireheart's apprentice is
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 16
Arran looked at the monastery in wonder. From where he stood, it looked like a miniature.The journey up the mountain had taken them the better part of the morning, and now, they were on the side of the mountain, a thousand feet above the monastery and the town.The view filled Arran with awe. It was like standing on top of the world."Not scared of heights, are you?" Initiate Guha grinned. The young man navigated the narrow mountain paths with terrifying neglect, and several times, Arran had been convinced he would plunge down into the depths below."I've never been up this high," Arran said. "It's…" He lacked the words to describe what he felt."You'll get used to it," Initiate Guha said with a grin.Initiate Jiang silently glared at them. Ever since Adept Kadir had come to take her and Initiate Guha away from the other initiates her mood had been fo
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 17
A leaf floated in mid-air in front of Arran's face. He used a sliver of Wind Essence, and it slowly floated a pace away from him. Another touch of Essence, and it came drifting back. Again he used some Essence — a sudden gust of Wind hit the leaf, tearing it apart and sending the shreds flying in the distance."Why do you keep doing that?!" Jiang Fei scowled at him. "Stop using so much Essence. You're moving a leaf, not trying to blow down a house!"Arran sighed. While he tried to restrain himself, he still found it hard to control the Essence he used."You must keep practicing," Jiang Fei said, sounding exasperated. "Your strength is useless if you can't command it."Arran nodded apologetically. He tried his best, but although he had improved a lot these past few months, he was still far from reaching the level he needed to reach.Over the past months, as the three initiat
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 18
Seeing the Academy mages, Arran froze in fear. He had dreaded this moment for months, and now, just when he thought he was finally safe, it had arrived."We need to warn Grandmaster Windsong!" Jiang Fei said, her voice hushed but filled with urgency."Follow me," Amar said. "I know a faster way to the monastery."Without waiting for an answer, he started walking toward one of the side streets, with the other two following closely behind him. Arran desperately wanted to run, but he knew that doing so in sight of the Academy mages would draw their attention. And that, he knew, would bring disaster.They turned a corner and, as if by unspoken agreement, all three of them immediately set off at a run. Amar was true to his word, and they reached the gates of the monastery in less than a third of the time it would have taken otherwise.When they arrived, covered in sweat and panting fr
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True to Snowcloud's word, she had them leave the castle at dawn.Stoneheart and Tuya saw them off as they departed, offering them wishes of good fortune on their travels, along with several small gifts.Tuya gave Arran fifty Essence Crystals, which she said was a token of gratitude for his help in disposing of the army. Arran accepted it gracefully, not bothering to point out that she'd taken twice as much for the armor he'd used. Tuya, he suspected, would have been able to easily handle the matter herself had she wanted to.Stoneheart, on the other hand, had little to offer but his gratitude. The tall novice had last his own void bag in battle months earlier, and it appeared that Elder Naran had confiscated all the belongings of the novices they'd defeated in battle.The giant Elder himself, finally, did not appear. From what Snowcloud said, he'd locked himself away weeks earlier, and it seemed that
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"You idiot!" Snowcloud looked at Arran with tear-filled eyes. "I thought you had died!"Arran didn't respond. She had repeated variations on the same words at least a dozen times in just the past half hour, and by now, he understood there was nothing he could say that would make a difference.When he returned to the castle, he had expected her to be angry, even furious. What he had not expected was for her to hug him while nearly crying her eyes out.In Arran's view, this was considerably worse than anything he'd been prepared for. Her anger, he could weather. But this, he had no idea how to handle. It was clear his absence had hurt her, and that she had spent the weeks he was gone in worry, fretting that he had died or been captured.He had apologized, of course, but it seemed an apology wasn't what she wanted. As for what she did want, Arran had no idea.Part of him blamed Ston
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"Our town is called Riverbend," the woman said, her voice anxious. "I am the mayor."Arran spent some moments in thought. While the village — it was far too small to be called a town — shared a name with his old hometown, the two places were thousands of miles apart, and other than being next to a river, they seemed to have little in common.Still, the name reminded him of the life he had left behind. Even if he did not regret his decision to become a mage, he wondered what things would have been like had he stayed in the real Riverbend. Calmer, probably, and certainly less bloody.Arran shook himself from his thoughts. He had more important matters to handle."What about them," he said, gesturing at the soldiers. "What are they doing here?"Before the woman could respond, one of the soldiers stepped forward, a stocky, middle-aged man with dark skin and several old scars on his face."You gonna kill us?" Although the man's expression was cautious, there was no fear in his eyes. It see
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In the days after the battle, Arran hunted the escaped soldiers with grim determination. Deadly though the battle had been, many survivors had managed to flee, and thousands of them now filled the woods surrounding the camp.After just three days, he had already killed more soldiers in his hunt than he had killed during the battle, and even if most of the temporary strength of the Blood magic dissipated quickly, he could feel that there were permanent benefits, as well.Perhaps he wouldn't be able to shrug off major wounds the way he had right after the battle, but any small wounds he sustained healed easily, and his strength had more than doubled.Several times, groups of soldiers tried to ambush him. They did not live to regret the mistake. Arran's Shadowsight allowed him to see through their ambushes easily, and even if most of the strength of the initial battle had dissipated, Arran was strong enough to crush them effortlessly.More troublesome were the ones who neither fought nor
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Stoneheart braced himself for Arran's Battering Force attack, throwing up what seemed to be a shield of Wind Essence.Before the attack could hit him, however, it smashed into its actual target — the Shadowcloaked mage who was heading toward Stoneheart with a raised sword in his hands.The attack hit the mage squarely in the back, sending the man flying into Stoneheart's shield. Stoneheart staggering back from the force of the impact, while the mage crashed heavily to the ground.The force of the attack proved enough to break the mage's concentration, causing his Shadowcloak to fail. With a brief flicker of light in the air, the short, fat man suddenly became visible to the eye.Despite taking a direct hit that should have incapacitated him, the mage got to his feet immediately, and without even a second's hesitation, he turned to Arran and shot a stream of white, lightning-like fire from his hands. It hit Arran in the leg, burning straight through his armor and leaving a fist-sized h
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The mage's thunderous words immediately set the entire camp in motion, and within moments, Arran's Shadowsight told him that hundreds of soldiers were beginning to move into the woods, with many more following behind them.It was exactly what he had hoped would happen, and he could not help but feel excited at seeing his enemies fall into the trap so easily. While he had prepared for the possibility that they would see through the ruse — it was hardly subtle, after all — it looked like everything would go according to plan.His spirits rose further when he realized that his enemies' advance was chaotic, lacking any sort of organization. Rather than progressing in tight ranks, as he imagined a real army would, they moved forward in a disorderly mass.Their sloppy advance allowed Arran to continue attacking in much the same way as he had before, striking quickly and furiously, then disappearing into the woods again before they could respond.Several of the soldiers had the presence of m
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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
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"I think we're getting close," Stoneheart said, looking at the six dead men on the ground in front of them.They had already spent the better part of two weeks in search of the army, and although they had come across several scouting parties, there was little sign of the main force.The region was hilly and densely forested, and the terrain made it far harder to find the army than they had anticipated. In such an environment, they could have easily passed within a mile of their enemies without ever noticing.Initially, they had thought they could simply capture a few scouts and wring information from those, but the scouts fought with an almost religious fervor, choosing death over capture. And when they finally caught one alive, the man bit off his tongue before they could make him speak.After that, they had stopped trying to capture their enemies alive.Still, even if the scouts they found would not talk, they knew they were getting closer. Just in the past two days, they had encoun
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"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
