"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
"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
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
Arran awoke before dawn, his body stiff from sleeping on the cold grass. There had been an inn a few miles back, but three months of travel had drained most of the coin he had inherited from his father. Now, spending several coppers for a warm bed seemed like a luxury he could ill afford.Yet despite his sore body, this morning found Arran filled with excitement. Today, after three months, he would finally arrive in Fulai City. Today, he would finally have a chance to join the Academy and become a mage.When the first light of dawn appeared Arran broke camp in a hurry, eating a tough hunk of stale bread as he packed his bag. After months of travel the time to eat breakfast properly would not make much of a difference, but with the end of his journey in sight, his patience had long since worn thin.Heart filled with excitement, he set off.By late morning the cottages and farms along the road grew more frequent, and Arran knew he must be nearing the city. Each new hill he climbed saw h
Adept Song cursed under his breath as he hurried through the halls of the Academy. There were over a dozen Adepts testing hundreds of applicants each day, and he just had to get the one with a forbidden Realm.And not just any forbidden Realm, at that. That blond-haired freak in his office had actually managed to crack the testing disc!A shiver ran down his spine as he thought about it. Whatever kind of foul magic the young man possessed, he did not want to know about it. The sooner the little monster was locked away in the dungeon, the better.Panting, he reached his master's office. He took a few moments to catch his breath, then knocked on the door. A moment later, it swung open without a sound.Inside, a handsome man with sharp features and short black hair sat behind a desk. At first glance, he seemed to be about thirty years old, but a closer look revealed an ageless quality in his face, as if his body had stopped aging at some point in the distant past."Master Zhao," Adept So
Arran sat in the common room of the Blue Angel, playing a game of stones with one of the girls, a cute brunette with a freckled face."I win again," she said with a giggle.He handed her a copper. "Another game?" he asked, and she nodded eagerly. Few of the girls at the Blue Angel would object to earning an easy copper or two.The first day he had spent in his room, afraid that being seen would allow the Academy to find him more easily. Caught between fear and boredom, he had spent the day filled with fear and worry, and before long the small room had felt like a prison cell.Eventually, boredom had won out over fear, and he had headed down to the common room of the inn.The next few days he had spent playing games of stones and cards with the girls. He lost all but a few of the games, but he welcomed the distraction — not having to think about the danger he was in was easily worth a few handfuls of coppers.It had been three days since his visit to the Academy, and Master Zhao had st
Arran stared at the blond man in front of him. He was certain he had never seen the man's face before, yet there was something strangely familiar about him."Who are you?" he asked again.The man smirked, and his image suddenly grew blurry. When it cleared, Master Zhao's grinning face appeared.Arran was astonished. "So it was you…" Although he had seen the man change like this once before, at the time he had been too shocked to give it much thought."Why did you draw so much attention?" Arran asked. "After tonight, there is no way we can escape unnoticed.""I've always loved a good bit of theater," Master Zhao said, a sly smile on his face. "But more importantly, this was the best way to hide you."A puzzled expression appeared on Arran's face. Drawing attention was the best way to hide him?"You failed to get into the Academy, then spent half a week at the biggest brothel in the city, before getting hauled off by your uncle." Master Zhao grinned."Nobody would act that way while try
Arran suppressed a yawn as he walked.He had barely slept a wink the previous night, instead lying awake as he thought about the many things Master Zhao had told him. When he fell asleep it was near dawn, and true to his word, Master Zhao had come knocking on his door right at the break of dawn, once more wearing the disguise of Arran's 'uncle' Derrin.Somewhere, the man had acquired a large cart drawn by two horses, filled with who-knows-what. Not long after sunrise they had left, Master Zhao riding the cart while Arran walked beside it.He cast an annoyed glance at Master Zhao. When he had asked if he could ride on the cart instead of having to walk next to it, the man had refused, telling him that physical exercise was crucial to being a mage.Apparently, that did not extend to Master Zhao himself. Comfortably sitting in the driver's seat of the cart, he showed no sign of wanting to trade places with Arran."How much farther before we rest to eat?" Arran asked. It was near midday,