Before Arran and Brightblade stepped out of the mansion's gate, Jovan insisted that they take an escort of four guards. This seemed unnecessary to Arran — the Matriarch's residence was barely a stone's throw away, and if they were attacked, four adepts would hardly make a difference — but Jovan was adamant all the same.

"Lord Ghostblade," he said with a serious frown, "it would not be right for you to go unescorted. Not with your status."

Arran sighed, then gave his steward a short nod. "Very well."

He sighed not because there'd be an escort on the short walk to the Matriarch's residence, but because he knew that, from this moment on, there would be an escort whenever he stepped outside his mansion's gates.

As the guards joined them on the way to the Matriarch's mansion, Arran glanced at one of them. A tall, light-haired man with broad shoulders, he was one of the more talented swordsmen among the guards.

"How's your work on the Thousand Cuts coming along?" Arran asked. He still regularly instructed his guards and servants in sword skills, and this seemed as good a time as any to check on their progress.

The man gave him a surprised stare. "It's going well, Lord Ghostblade," he stammered. "I've mastered the movements, and Doran is helping me learn the transitions."

Arran nodded. "Keep up the work, but don't neglect your sparring." While the man was talented, he had a tendency to focus too much on theory and too little on testing his skills.

The Matriarch's mansion was only a couple of minutes away, but that was enough time for Arran to check on all four guards' progress, as well as offer them some advice on their weaker areas.

Brightblade observed all this with an amused smile, but to Arran's relief, she made no comments about the blind leading the blind. If anything, it seemed that she approved of Arran's attempts to aid his guards' training.

They left the four guards behind as they entered the gate to the Matriarch's mansion, after which one of the Matriarch's guards led them through the gardens and into the mansion itself.

They found the Matriarch in a large stone chamber. It was sparsely decorated, featuring only a wooden desk, several chairs, and a large number of bookshelves, each of them completely filled with ancient-looking tomes.

The Matriarch was seated behind the desk, several thick books opened in front of her and a look of concentration on her face. Yet when Arran and Brightblade entered the chamber, her eyes immediately lit up.

"There you are!" she said in a cheerful voice. "I was expecting you to stop by any day now." As she turned to Brightblade, a brief frown crossed her forehead. "Are you recovering well?"

"As well as can be expected," Brightblade replied. "It will take a few more months before the last of my injuries are completely healed, but there should be no lasting harm."

"Good," the Matriarch said. She gestured at two chairs in front of the desk. "Please, sit down. We have much to discuss."

Even before they were fully seated, she asked, "Ghostblade, I take it the Valley's Houses have already contacted you?"

Arran nodded, though he couldn't help but frown at the Matriarch's change in demeanor. It was as if she was an entirely different person, suddenly filled with energy and purpose.

"You will have to meet them," she said. "I suggest you host a banquet in two weeks' time. Something to subtly announce your changed status to the Valley." She turned to Brightblade. "Yours, as well."

Brightblade had looked on calmly so far, but now, a deep crease formed on her forehead. "What exactly are you planning, Rhea?"

"I'm appointing you Commander of the Valley," the Matriarch said. "There hasn't been one in several decades, but the time has come for change."

At this, Brightblade's frown deepened further. "Commander of the Valley? Do you intend to—"

"I do not intend to go to war," the Matriarch interrupted her. "But the Valley must be prepared nonetheless. And no one here is better suited to that task than you. Work on a new stronghold has already started. There, you will begin training a new generation of mages for whatever threats the future brings us."

"We're moving to a new stronghold?" Arran looked at the Matriarch in surprise, though after a moment's thought, he did not mind the idea at all. Moving away from the House of Seals would certainly be welcome, especially if it meant more training with Brightblade.

"Not you," she replied. "You will remain where you are, so that I can continue teaching you."

Arran stifled a sigh, instead giving the Matriarch a silent nod that he hoped did not fully reveal his disappointment.

"However," the Matriarch continued, "the estate adjacent yours has recently lost its owner, and I'm having its lands added to yours. The result should make for a residence befitting your new status."

A frown crossed Arran's face when he realized that he had spent months living next to one of his enemies — one of the three Elders Brightblade had slain, most likely. A threat whose existence had completely escaped his notice.

But whoever had owned the estate was now dead, and Arran turned his attention back to the matter at hand. And while the idea of a larger estate sounded good, he quickly realized that the gift would be a burden rather than a blessing.

"My estate is large enough already," he said after a moment. "There's no need for more land."

His mansion could easily accommodate several times the number of people who lived there already, and the lands surrounding it were more than sufficient for his needs. Any more, and his servants would struggle just to maintain the estate.

The Matriarch shook her head. "Previously, your estate was large enough," she said. "But the other Houses will want to be involved in your education, and the teachers they send will require proper accommodations. Not to mention the other students — I suspect several new buildings will be needed to house them all."

"Other students?" Arran stared at the Matriarch in puzzlement. He had known things would change, but from the sound of it, her plans went far beyond anything he had foreseen.

"The other Houses will send a number of their most talented students to join you in your training," she explained. "To benefit from the teachers who will instruct you, but more importantly, to forge ties for the future. If you are to succeed me one day, then you should have allies among the Valley's future leaders."

This was the first time she had stated her intentions directly, and although Arran had already known about her plans for him, the words still came as a surprise — one every bit as large as the shock he felt at the prospect of having a group of other students move into his estate.

Yet after giving it a bit of thought, he realized she was right. If this was to be his path — and it seemed it would be — then he would certainly need allies. Preferably ones who could help him better understand the Valley's politics.

Brightblade, however, looked at the Matriarch with narrowed eyes, an inscrutable expression on her face. "What are you planning, Rhea?" she finally asked.

"I'm simply safeguarding the Valley's future," the Matriarch replied firmly. She shook her head, then continued in a softer voice, "What you did… it changed the balance of power in the Valley. For better or worse, we have taken the first step on a new path. All I can do now is prepare the Valley for what lies ahead."

"Do the Valley's Elders approve of this?" Brightblade asked.

"Theron agrees fully," the Matriarch said. "And where he leads, the House of Flames follows. The House of Creation remains neutral, as always. And the House of Shadows…" She shrugged. "Apate was always difficult to read. But they have not voiced any objections."

"And the House of Seals?" Brightblade asked the question calmly, though not without a hint of distrust in her voice.

"I finished the work you started," the Matriarch responded, not the slightest bit of emotion showing on her face. "The Elders who remain are all loyal."

Arran's eyes widened at her words as he understood their meaning. The Elders she suspected of disloyalty had been purged, and he very much doubted they had merely been demoted or banished.

He had not expected such decisiveness — or ruthlessness — from the Matriarch, and he now realized that his previous view of her was incorrect. With her enemies in the House of Seals gone, he now saw that her true nature was far more dangerous than he had realized.

There was no chance for him to further ponder this unexpected change, because, at that moment, the Matriarch turned her attention back to him.

"Next, we will have to discuss your training," she said. "And before anything else, it is time that we finally address your Destruction Realm."