"The Shadowflame Society was founded thousands of years ago," Snowcloud began, "by a powerful mage known as the Saint of Shadows. He was the one who created the Society's secret teachings — the True Path — and armed with his techniques, his followers built the Shadowflame Society into a powerful sect, dedicated to advancing their knowledge of magic. "At the time, there were many other such groups in the Empire. Although sometimes conflicts occurred between them, they mostly co-existed peacefully, and their power strengthened the Empire, allowing the Imperial Family to expand it until its borders stretched so far it would take years just to travel from one end of the Empire to the other. "Among the sects, there was one that stood above the others. Known as the Radiant Society, it had techniques and spells that surpassed anything the other sects knew. When the Radiant Society announced that it would create an alliance to further th

"I can learn how to create them?" Arran scratched his chin, already thinking of the possibilities. If he could create Essence Crystals himself, it was as good as having an unlimited supply of them. "You can create Essence Crystals by purifying Essence," Snowcloud said. "It's not particularly difficult work, but it's extremely slow." Arran let out a sigh at this. He had known there would be a catch, but some part of him had still hoped against hope that things would be simple, just this once. But then, if becoming a powerful mage was simple, there would probably be more of them. "When can I start learning it?" he asked. If it was going to be slow work, he'd best start as soon as he could. "Now," Snowcloud said, then handed Arran a scroll. "This explains the process for purifying Essence. Study it well, and then you can start practicing." Arran worked his way through the scroll eag

"Who's there!" Arran called out. Although he knew the growl had not come from a human, perhaps the sound of his voice would drive off whatever creature was stalking him. "If you come closer, I'll attack!" he yelled, giving his sword several swings to give some weight to the threat. Another growl sounded, this time from Arran's side. He quickly turned to face it, holding his sword in front of him as he prepared to be attacked. But no attack came. Instead, a few moments later yet another growl sounded, now further to his side. Again he turned, understanding that the creature was circling him, probably looking for an opening to attack. The realization caused him to feel some worry — if the creature was testing his defenses, it was no simple beast. Perhaps it might even be intelligent enough to figure out that he was blind. His Sense told him there was only

In the days following his battle against the bear, Arran found himself unexpectedly busy. Between purifying Essence, studying the seal on his forbidden Realm, and studying Snowcloud's Memory Amulet, he already had a hefty workload. But now, even more had been added to it. He had decided not to let the bear meat go to waste, and absorbing its Natural Essence took hours of Body Refinement a day, followed by more hours doing the same with Shadow Essence to balance the effects. And then, there was his Shadowsight. The technique was too useful to ignore, and practicing it was also useful practice for developing his Sense — even if it was his own Essence, he spread it in a mist so thin that Sensing it still posed a challenge. Unlike his other activities, however, practicing Shadowsight required him to leave the cave. Despite the risk, he did so gladly — even if he could not see his surroundings, being in the cave for days on end felt too much like being in a dungeon cell for his liking.

"You think I'm ready?" Arran was almost surprised when he heard Snowcloud say the words. It had already been two weeks since she had given him the bracelet, but although she had said he only had a week, her previous comments on his efforts had contained precious little praise — certainly not enough to suggest she thought he was almost ready. "I think so," she said again. "But first, I'll have to test your skill. Your progress in training has been remarkable, but I have yet to see you fight." "Then let's spar," Arran replied, eager to find out how he matched up against a powerful novice. The only Shadowflame novice he had faced so far had been the young man he crippled in Eremont, but he knew that his opponent there had been a poor example of the Shadowflame Society's power. Snowcloud nodded, then drew her sword. It had a long, thin blade, and Snowcloud held it with such practiced ease that Arran immediately knew she must have received regular training from the moment she could hol