"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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Forbidden Sphere Chapter 91
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
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 92
It was early morning when Arran set off with Darkfire and Liane for the tournament. Their departure caused some consternation for the steward, who tried to foist a handful of guards on Liane, but the man relented when she pointed out that both Darkfire and Arran could each easily take on a dozen of his strongest guards.Arran looked around as they walked along the streets of Hillfort, and he saw that there were even more people than usual — something he'd previously thought was barely possible.The city held a festive atmosphere, and there were families walking through the crowd, all dressed in bright colors, many of them carrying baskets and bags.He could also see groups of young boys and girls, excitedly hitting each other with wooden swords in mock combat, with the occasional cry of pain when one of them attacked a bit too enthusiastically."The tournaments are extremely popular with the pe
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 93
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
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 94
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
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 95
As Arran walked off the arena floor, cheers and jeers sounded from the audience.Although he felt some embarrassment at suffering so public a defeat, the only part of him that had been injured was his pride, and despite his annoyance at being defeated, he could not help but be impressed by how easily his opponent had secured a victory.That the man was stronger than him was clear, but even then, he should have been able to at least put up a fight. Yet instead, he had fallen for what appeared to be a simple magical feint.His opponent had distracted him with a fireball, then used the distraction to hit him with some other kind of magic — Earth, perhaps? — and take him out before he could recover.It was a simple and seemingly well-practiced tactic that had left him completely flummoxed, and in a real battle, it would have cost him his life before he even knew what had happened.&nbs
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 96
"She's what?" Arran looked at Liane in confusion, unsure whether he heard her correctly."The Patriarch's granddaughter," Liane repeated. "She arrived in the city just this morning, to see my father. She's a novice, and if you join her, none of the others will dare touch you.""But why would the Patriarch's granddaughter want to recruit me?""She doesn't," Liane said. "She didn't intend to recruit anyone. But my father has known the Patriarch for a long time, and when I called in some of his favors, she couldn't refuse.""You called in your father's favors for me?" Arran looked at Liane, surprised that she would have gone that far to help him. Whatever there was between her and Darkfire, she only barely knew Arran."Consider it payment for a debt I owe you," Liane said. "I know you and Darkfire were going to travel together, and I got in the way of those plans."
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 97
"…this is white witchflower. You can tell it apart from white dragonflower by looking at the edges of the leaves, which should be serrate rather than dentate. White witchflower is a powerful poison, while white dragonflower has potent healing properties. Now, if you look at the…"Arran suppressed a yawn, trying his best to feign interest.Snowcloud was usually cold and quiet, barely speaking at all for hours on end. Yet whenever they encountered plants and flowers she deemed interesting, she would launch into lengthy monologues on their medicinal properties and how to tell them apart.To Arran, all the plants still looked the same, and the main thing he had learned so far was that he had no interest in herbalism whatsoever.Between Snowcloud's silence and her enthusiastic lectures on the local vegetation, he thought he preferred the former. At least when she was silent, he didn't have t
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 98
As they made their way to the capital of the Sixth Valley, Arran was surprised at how normal the Valley seemed.He had somehow expected the Sixth Valley to be like a much larger version of Windsong's monastery, filled with nothing but mages who were constantly in training. But instead, what he found were endless fields with crops and cattle, littered with small farms, and the occasional village or town.From what Arran had seen of the Valley so far, it might as well have been any random part of the Empire, with the only difference being the mountains he could see in the distance behind him.Yet even those vanished into the distance as they traveled further from the valley's edges, until finally, only the thinness of the air was left to remind Arran that they were still in the mountains.As they traveled, Snowcloud remained her quiet self. She seldom spoke, and when she did, it was about plants by the