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

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

"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

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

When Arran saw the smoking wreck of the building he had been in only moments earlier, he was certain that Master Zhao had died. Yet in an instant more earsplitting blasts sounded, and although the smoke of the ruined building prevented Arran from seeing much, a sudden wave of fire shot out from amid the ruins, hitting another nearby building and sending scorched wreckage flying in all directions. "We have to go!" Adept Kadir called out. "It isn't safe!" As if to illustrate his words, a bolt of lightning shot toward them from the smoke, striking a tree only a few dozen paces away. The tree instantly exploded with a thunderous crack, and torn shreds of wood went flying everywhere. Arran and the others immediately started to run, desperate to get away from the destruction behind them. They had run several hundreds of paces when a huge object crashed into the ground in front of them.