Snowcloud turned her eyes to the thirty or so bodies that lay scattered across the grass, as if to confirm that they were really dead. After a moment, she looked up and faced Arran.

"They're Eidaran priests," she said. "They were pursuing me because I took a spirit crystal."

"Priests?" Arran frowned. "The mages in this region are priests?"

"Not all of them," Snowcloud replied, "and not all priests are mages. But from what I learned, the core of the Eidaran priesthood consists of mages, and the priests are the ones who control most magic. Or, at least, they did until the empire fell."

"So how do the spirits crystals fit into that?"

"Spirit crystals are how the Eidaran priesthood uses magic. While normal mages open their own Realms, Eidaran priests are given a spirit crystal when they are deemed worthy, and the spirit crystal is what allows them to use magic, growing in strength as they use it. When they die, the spirit crystal gets passed on to another priest."

At once, Arran's eyes shot toward the dead priests. "Can we use their spirit crystals?" he asked, immediately considering the possibilities.

Snowcloud shook her head in response. "Not without years of preparation, and even then, you wouldn't want to. The priests use spirit crystals to quickly reach the level of their forebears, but after that, further progress is nearly impossible. It's a terrible approach to magic."

Arran made an ugly face. "Then why use them at all?"

"Tradition, I suppose." Snowcloud shrugged. "And before the fall of their empire, they had plenty of powerful spirit crystals. But the strongest priests perished in the civil war, and their spirit crystals were destroyed with them. When you killed the ones who were after me, you may have snuffed out the Eidaran priesthood's last hope of survival."

Arran glanced at the bodies. Once more, it seemed his actions might have far-reaching consequences. "Why were they after you?"

Snowcloud let out a sigh. "I promised to teach them how to gain and open Realms in exchange for a spirit crystal. That's why I was gone so long — I spent months teaching them the basics of magic."

"I take it the deal didn't work out?"

Snowcloud gave him a wry smile. "When I realized they had no intention of keeping their side of the bargain and giving me a spirit crystal, I took one from their tombs and fled." She sighed once more. "I didn't expect the entire monastery to come after me."

"You should have," Arran said, a thoughtful look on his face. "From their perspective, you robbed them of many generations of future priests."

She nodded. "I know. But I was desperate, and I thought they wouldn't send more than a handful of priests after me."

"I guess it all worked out in the end," Arran replied simply.

Although he wanted to chastise Snowcloud for her recklessness, he knew he was hardly in a position to do so. Just minutes earlier, he had attacked dozens of mages based only on an untested belief that their magic wasn't strong enough to seriously harm him.

"I've told you my part, now it's your turn," Snowcloud said. "I want to hear just what happened to you in the city that allowed you to do… this." She gestured at the bodies that were sprawled across the ground.

"It's a long story…" Arran began.

He had already decided to tell Snowcloud about his Destruction Realm, and he told her the story calmly, not omitting anything other than his encounters with Panurge. He explained how he had a forbidden Realm, how Elder Naran had told him it was a Destruction Realm and what it was supposed to do, and how he had trained in the city to increase his resistance to magic.

As he spoke, surprise appeared on Snowcloud's face, which soon turned into shock. By the time he finished telling her the details of his Destruction Realm and his training in the city, she looked at him with undisguised astonishment.

"So you're resistant to magic?" She looked at him intently as she asked the question. "How much can you withstand?"

"I am," Arran confirmed. "As for the amount of magic I can resist… I should be able to take at least several full strength attacks from you without being hurt too badly. Anything stronger than that, however, would probably still cause me serious injuries."

Snowcloud nodded as she listened, excitement in her eyes. As Arran finished speaking, she replied immediately. "When we return to the Sixth Valley, the first thing you need to do is unseal your Destruction Realm. No matter how long it takes, and before you do anything else. This…" She gave him a beaming smile. "This is amazing!"

Arran was surprised at her reaction. Although he knew his Destruction Realm gave him an advantage that any mage would envy, Snowcloud's enthusiasm still seemed excessive.

Seeing Arran's confused expression, Snowcloud shook her head. "You don't understand what this means. If you can develop it further, and if you find a way to create Destruction Realm Scrolls…" Her eyes glistened with excitement. "The Shadowflame Society would no longer have to fear the Academy! With just a few Grandmasters with a Destruction Realm, we could take them on! When Grandfather hears of this, he'll—"

"You can't tell him," Arran interrupted her hurriedly. "No one else can know of this."

Snowcloud looked at him for a moment, slightly confused, but then, understanding dawned in her eyes.

"You're right," she said, worry now replacing her earlier enthusiasm. "If you develop this further, you'll become a natural counter to mages. And the stronger you get, the more reason others will have to fear you. If others find out about this…" She gave Arran a concerned look. "Why did you tell me?"

"I trust you to keep the secret," Arran said in a serious tone. "We've already placed our lives in each other's hands many times, and I expect we'll do it again many times more. But if I lie to you about this, how can I expect you to have confidence in me?"

Snowcloud nodded thoughtfully. "I understand," she said after a moment. "And I won't betray your trust. Still, when you think the time is right, you should tell Grandfather. This matter affects not just us, but the entire Shadowflame Society."

"Before I can tell him anything, you'll first need to cure him," Arran replied. "And now that you have spirit crystals, there's only one ingredient that remains, right?"

"Dragon blood," Snowcloud confirmed. "I have a good idea of where we might find dragons, but getting their blood… that won't be easy."

"Then let's collect the priests' belongings and leave," Arran said. "Once we're on our way, you can tell me what the plan is."

They quickly set to work collecting the priests' spirit crystals and whatever other belongings they carried.

Removing the spirit crystals was bloody work — apparently, the crystals were located in their chests — and Arran was disappointed to find that they owned no void bags, carrying only some meager possessions in their packs and pockets.

Still, none of it was enough to sour his mood.

He was finally reunited with Snowcloud again, and despite the hardships she had suffered, she wasn't seriously injured. That alone would be enough to leave him in a joyful mood, but with the spirit crystals taken care of, they would soon depart in search of dragons.

Just the thought of it caused Arran to feel excited. In his youth, he had heard many stories about heroes slaying mighty dragons, and some even taming and riding them. Although he did not dare say it out loud for fear of looking foolish, he found himself wondering whether it would perhaps be possible to capture a dragon.

Already, he could picture himself riding a fierce dragon through the skies, raining down fire on his enemies.

They left not long after collecting the priests' possessions, and as they did, Arran took a final look at the city as it faded in the distance. While he had failed to reach its center this time, he knew he would return in the future — and when he did, he would definitely find whatever secrets and treasures it held.

"Now, about the dragons…" Snowcloud began.