In the days following his meal with the Governor, Arran saw little of Darkfire.
The steward had given Arran a room in the guest quarters that stunned him both with its luxury and with its decorations, but after that, the man hadn't shown himself again, leaving Arran to his own devices.
While he understood that he had only been invited as a courtesy to Darkfire, Arran was still taken aback by how little his presence mattered here. He had a room and was allowed to attend the Governor's meals, but other than that, nobody even seemed to notice he was there.
The first few days, he dutifully attended all the meals, hoping that he would unearth more information about what was happening beyond the border. Yet Amaya did not make a second appearance, and the other guests proved far less talkative.
After two days, he decided to skip both the meals and the company that came with it, instead using his tim
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"Wait in line until it's your turn," the mercenary said. "They'll give you a badge once you're sorted." Without waiting for an answer he left, seeming glad to be rid of Arran.Arran looked at the man as he walked off, then shifted his attention to the line in front of him. From what he could tell, there were at least a hundred people ahead of him, waiting before a tent the size of a small house.Briefly, he considered leaving right then. Yet although he now knew that Stoneheart's army was real, he had only gotten a short look at the camp, and he hadn't learned even a single thing about Stoneheart himself.He sighed in annoyance, then got in line. Perhaps the recruiters would be willing to tell him more about the army and its leader.As he waited, he studied the people who were waiting with him. Most seemed to be farmers and villagers, much like the people he had grown up with in Riverbend. Just from
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Arran read the letter in his hands, then tossed it aside. It held an invitation from a novice named Zehava, but it contained no time or other details, just mentioning the name and an address.Although Arran thought he could probably afford to ignore it, there was little point in offending a novice he didn't yet know. He would pay the novice a visit the next morning, he decided.After he got into bed, it took him some time to fall asleep, and as he lay awake, he thought about his forbidden Realm. Well over two years had passed since Master Zhao had sealed it, and still, the seal remained in place.Partly, this was a testament to Master Zhao's extraordinary skill. Although the lesser seals on Arran's Wind and Fire Realms had been torn away when Arran took ten Realm Opening Pills at once, the seal on Arran's forbidden Realm remained as strong as the day it was created.Yet the greater part of the story
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"The three most influential novices in the city?"Arran understood that Darkfire was talking about Amaya, Stoneheart, and Zehava, although he was surprised to hear that Zehava was included in the list — from what he had seen, she lacked both Stoneheart's power and Amaya's cunning."You know about the conflict in the Sixth Valley, right?" Darkfire asked."I have," Arran said. "It's about the successor to the Patriarch, isn't it?"Darkfire shook his head. "It isn't. Or… it is, but it isn't.""You've lost me," Arran said. "Is it or isn't it?"Darkfire let out a frustrated sigh. "It's complicated," he began. "As Liane tells it—""Who's Liane?" Arran interrupted him.Darkfire raised an eyebrow. "Liane Tirrand. The Governor's daughter. The girl I've been… I didn't tell you her name?"<
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Darkfire's DecisionArran looked at Darkfire in shock. There were many things he had feared could happen in Hillfort, but Darkfire changing his mind about joining the Shadowflame Society was something he hadn't expected."You're staying here? In Hillfort?" he asked again.Liane stood up. "I'll let the two of you talk in private," she said in a muted voice. She gave Darkfire a meaningful look, then left the room.For some moments, neither Arran nor Darkfire spoke, Arran still processing the news and Darkfire seeming almost fearful to say the words.Finally, Darkfire let out a deep breath. "I'm staying here," he confirmed. "At least for now.""Because of her?""Because of her.""You only just met her," Arran said. "And you spent years trying to be recruited.""You're right," Darkfire replied, an unc
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The moment the announcer called a start to the fight, Arran's opponent launched a series of furious attacks at him, striking over a dozen times in an instant.Arran only barely managed to fend off all the attacks, with several almost slipping past his defense.Even as he desperately defended himself, he was shocked at the difference between their previous fights and the current one.His opponent was incomparably stronger than the last time they had faced each other — not only did he show far more skill, he was also very clearly an unusually strong Body Refiner.Arran stumbled back several paces, parrying the man's attacks as well as he could. Yet even as he defended, he was losing ground, his opponent attacking relentlessly and not leaving him even the slightest chance to counter.Panicked by the unexpected onslaught, he knew that the way things were going, he would soon lo
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As he waited for his next fight, Arran considered the situation.He had believed that he was a rarity among the recruits, vastly stronger than any of the others. Yet now, he understood that he had been misled by his own arrogance. Despite his strength, it seemed there were still other recruits who could match him, if not defeat him outright.Aside from taking his pride down a notch or two, it also meant he needed to rethink the dangers that lay ahead.If there were other recruits as strong as he was, then Amaya and the others likely didn't value him as much as he had believed. And that, he hoped, might also mean that he was less of a target than he had feared.Zehava had said neither Amaya nor Stoneheart would allow the other to have him, but then, she had been trying to influence him. If he was merely a reasonably strong recruit, he doubted whether any of them would care enough to take action &mdash