Chapter 229

Arran finished the last scraps on his plate before they left the restaurant . If the morning turned out to have been a waste of time, at least he’d gotten a good meal out of it — well worth half a day’s work, he thought .

That Anthea’s Forms concealed hidden downsides was disappointing, but it didn’t come as a complete surprise to Arran . From the start, the whole thing had sounded too good to be true .

But even if Anthea’s Forms were as useless as Master Linos had said, it was only a minor setback . The man had offered to take Arran as a student, and having a Master for a teacher would certainly be beneficial .

Still, he would give Anthea a chance to explain the situation . The idea of Forms was too appealing to simply ignore .

They left the restaurant after Arran finished the last of his meal, heading back into the stronghold’s busy streets . And as they set off toward the training halls, Anthea began to speak .

“Before I start,” she said, her voice uncomfortable, “understand that I did not intend to hide this from you . I would have told you in a day or two — once you’d seen the potential of Forms for yourself . “

Arran nodded, understanding her intentions . He could not fault her for not telling him everything at once . It would hardly make sense for her to scare off prospective students before giving them a reason to stay with her .

“So what’s the truth, then?” he asked calmly .

Seeing that he wasn’t upset, she gave him a relieved look . “The Forms were indeed created by Elder Nikias . He was one of the most powerful mages in the Valley, a legendary hero in the wars against the Hunters . “

There was a flash of excitement in Anthea’s eyes as she spoke, as if the mere mention of Elder Nikias caused her heart to beat faster .

“He took only a handful of students,” she continued, “but those he took all became powerful mages . They mastered spells impossibly fast, their skill shocking the entire Valley . There wasn’t a single mage in the Valley who wouldn’t have given his left hand to study under Elder Nikias . “

Her words sparked Arran’s curiosity . From what she said, the Elder should have been exceptionally powerful . “What happened to him?” he asked, curious to hear what could have brought down someone so powerful .

Anthea let out a sigh . “Elder Nikias and his students were the Ninth Valley’s most formidable champions against the Hunters,” she said . “In a long series of battles, they drove the Hunters back further and further, eventually pursuing them out of the borderlands . “

Arran nodded silently, understanding that this story would not end with a glorious victory .

Another sigh passed Anthea’s lips, and she continued, “It was a trap . The Hunters sacrificed hundreds of their own to draw out Elder Nikias, while keeping their main force in reserve . When the trap was finally sprung and their full numbers bore down on Elder Nikias, he killed thousands more . “

She shook her head mournfully . “Still, it wasn’t enough . In the end, the Hunters’ numbers prevailed . Both the Elder and his students were killed . “

For some moments, Arran remained quiet . He looked at the crimson-robed mages walking on the streets around them, their movements showing only the careless ease of people who’d never faced serious threats .

It was hard to believe that just half a century earlier, the Ninth Valley had been at war against enemies so formidable that even the strongest Elders were killed .

Finally, his thoughts returned to Elder Nikias and his students . “So the Elder’s methods died with him?”

“Not entirely,” Anthea replied . “One of his students survived — my teacher . She was barely a novice at the time, too weak to go to war . After the battle, she was the only one in the Valley who still knew anything of the Elder’s methods . “

Arran creased his brow in thought . “If she knew his methods, didn’t others in the Valley try to learn them from her?”

“Of course,” Anthea said, a wry smile on her lips . “The House of Flames spent decades trying to recover the Elder’s lost secrets . But my teacher was only a novice when he died, and she only knew a sliver of his methods — too little to be of use . After decades of fruitless efforts, people simply gave up . “

Arran glanced at her . “But you didn’t . “

“My teacher never stopped trying to learn the Elder’s secrets,” Anthea said . “When I became her student, decades later, she had already rebuilt some small part of his methods . I saw the promise of the Forms, so I decided I would help her reclaim their full strength . “

“Has she had any further success?” Arran asked .

With a dejected sigh, Anthea shook her head . “A decade ago, she traveled beyond the borderlands, to become a Master . She never returned . Since then, I’ve been on my own . “

Arran gave her a puzzled look . “I thought the Ninth Valley’s borderlands were safe?”

“They are,” she replied . “But those who wish to become Masters must travel beyond the borderlands, and many never return from that journey . “

Although this raised even more questions for Arran, those would have to wait . They had reached the vast practice hall where they had spent the morning, and now, it was time to see what training in the Forms could achieve .

Interesting though Anthea’s story was, Arran’s concern was the method’s usefulness, not its history .

“Can you give me a demonstration?” he asked . “Without holding back?”

“Of course,” Anthea said, albeit with some hesitation in her voice . “I’ll show you the Battering Force spell you used earlier, but using Forms instead of the real spell . “

She raised her right hand, jaw clenched in concentration as she gathered Force Essence .

Some moments later, Arran could Sense that she was beginning to create Forms for the spell . She didn’t shape the Forms one by one . Instead, it was as if she created them all at once — a much faster way of working than the one Arran had used .

Yet even so, several breaths passed before the spell was complete . And when she finally launched it at the wall, Arran saw that it was far weaker than the one he had launched at the arrogant novice that morning .

He shook his head in disappointment .

It was a pathetic showing even for a novice, much less an adept . If this was all that could be achieved with Forms, then they were truly useless .

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Not only was the spell too weak to be worthwhile; it was also excruciatingly slow . In the time it took Anthea to cast a single Battering Force using her Forms, Arran could have launched half a dozen of them — and each would have been far stronger than Anthea’s attempt .

Seeing Arran’s disappointed expression, Anthea looked at him with a mixture of sadness and embarrassment .

She clearly understood that her demonstration had failed to convince him — though if this was all she could achieve with Forms, then she should have expected his reaction .

“Wait,” she said hastily . “You have to understand… The real strength of Forms is their versatility . ” She cast a worried look at Arran, then went on, “For example, I’ve never learned that Windblade spell of yours . But look…”

Quickly, she began to gather Essence once more, then spent several moments creating a number of Forms . Again, the spell was formed far too slowly, and it struck the wall with even less power than her previous spell had contained .

Yet Arran’s eyes instantly went wide with shock . Not because of the spell itself — lacking both power and speed, it was as useless as the previous one — but because he recognized an unmistakable trace of insight in the spell’s final Form .

And strangely, what he recognized wasn’t his true insight into Severing . At least, not exactly .

Rather, it was something he had experienced on his path into gaining that true insight — a flawed and imperfect step along the way, something he had discarded almost immediately after he discovered it .

It was because the experience was still fresh in his mind that he recognized it . A few more years, and he probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all .

Yet now, the realization filled him with excitement .

“The Forms you used for that spell,” he said, turning to Anthea, “teach them to me . “

She briefly looked puzzled, but then, her expression became hopeful . “Of course,” she said . “First, you start with the Condense Form…”

One by one, she explained the Forms . Two of them, he already knew — Condense and Soar . There was a third, Blade, which shaped Essence into a blade of Essence . This would normally have interested him, but now, he could only focus on the fourth — the Cut Form .

He quickly understood that this was the Form that contained a trace of the incomplete insight, and the entire Form had clearly been built around it, almost as if the Form was meant as a way to study the insight .

Using the Cut Form required learning the Blade Form first, and Arran spent well over an hour studying both the complete spell and its constituent Forms .

Anthea taught him patiently . Although she still seemed confused at his sudden enthusiasm, she did not voice her questions — whatever it was that had sparked his interest, she accepted it gladly .

When Arran finally got to the Cut form, he found that his insight made learning it simple .

In just a few minutes he mastered most of it, much to Anthea’s astonishment . Moreover, his version also easily surpassed Anthea’s in power .

While the Form didn’t reflect a true insight into Severing, it seemed to be a purposely crafted step along the way . And if the first step existed, then there could be more powerful ones, as well .

Arran turned to Anthea, hoping that she would have the answer .

“Are there more advanced versions of this Form?” If his suspicion was correct, there would be several versions, with the stronger ones more fully reflecting the insight .

“More advanced?” Anthea looked at him with wide eyes . “How did you know? My teacher… she said Elder Nikias had stronger versions of all the Forms . “

“And you know them?” Arran’s voice trembled with excitement as he asked the question .

She sighed, then shook her head . “They were all lost when the Elder died . My teacher only ever learned the basic versions . She hoped she could eventually recreate the stronger ones herself . “

It took Arran a great deal of effort not to curse in frustration .

He couldn’t be certain, but if every Form had stronger versions, then they might all hold paths to true insights . And if that was the case, then the Forms were far more valuable than he could have imagined .

“The Elder,” he began, “did he leave any writings? Scrolls, or memory amulets?”

Again, Anthea shook her head . “If he had any, they were in his void bags when he died, left behind on the battlefield . “

Arran swallowed hard . “Where is this battlefield?”

A regretful look in her eyes, Anthea replied, “You’re not the first to have that idea, but it’s no use . The battlefield is a deadly wasteland, filled with so much unbound Essence that even Grandmasters and Archmages cannot survive it for more than a few minutes . “

“Unbound Essence?” A wide grin formed on Arran’s lips, and he could only barely stop himself from bursting into laughter .

Anthea gave him a nonplussed frown . “What’s so funny?”

“I might be able to study the Forms with you,” Arran replied . “I’ll just have to discuss it with my teacher, first . In fact, I should leave right away — I’ll meet you at the gate tomorrow . “

Before she could respond, Arran had already left the training hall, and he broke into a run as he headed to the gate .

The crimson-robed mages on the roads looked at the laughing initiate in confusion as he passed, but he ignored them . If his luck held, he might just have discovered a treasure greater than anything they could imagine .