Cora fought against her own magic. It was sealed, chained down by runes tattooed on her back. Three linear lines of symbols barded her strength and breaking through each was like splitting her skin with a hot knife.

Seconds passed by all too slow, and the, the first seal broke. For the briefest moment, the burning subsided then started anew with the second seal. If Brand forced this on himself with every spell he cast, the man was truly mad, but that madness kept him alive for the moment.

Brand conjured spells from nowhere holding a screaming guard across the neck with one hand. It was the same trick he used in their fight but on an entirely different scale. With the mana stolen from the screaming man in his grasp, Brand sent fireballs flying.

Without looking in their direction or forming any spell circles, he forced the guardsmen back setting the street ablaze. When the guards erected shields made to defend against flame, he abandoned fire conjuring glowing arrows, shooting them wildly without time to aim. When the arrows failed to pierce armor, he pulled moisture from the air submerging many in bubbles of water that froze seconds later.

The maneuver worked, halting the guardsmen in great boulders of ice and others leaving others in the grasp of death chill.

Cora stopped breaking the seal on her magic, her arching back relaxing with the reprieve. Brand had won so she wouldn't need to intervene, but why was he even attacked. She'd missed something, Aldhelm most likely. The noble, the Bryer, fuck! Even if he was involved, Cora couldn't move on him.

Cora cursed as one of the guards broke from his icy prison without a hint of the death chill. It was the captain, and Cora knew she'd need her sealed gates to face him.

She redoubled her efforts on her sealed gates sending a lance of fire up her spine as Brand stopped channeling magic. He pulled the last bit of mana from the guard in his grasp, getting a final whimper from the man before letting him drop to the ground.

Cora’s eyes widened as the magic surrounding Brand appeared, but it was dark, wrong, and tasted of necromancy. Black mist ate the light around him, leaving only his glowing eyes visible through a pitch-black aura of death.

“Is her trying to become a fucking Draugar!”

Gates still sealed but with time to spare, Cora jumped from the roof she nested on. At her current strength, defeating a guard captain would be difficult, but at least Brand subdued his squad making it possible. Hopefully, after dealing with him, she could banish the death magic safely then punch Brand for nearly turning himself into an undead monster if he was still amongst the living by then.

Cora neared the battle, a hood covering her face and she collided face-first with something unseen and unyielding. Shaking stars from her eyes, she looked down on Brand and the captain’s standoff from on top of an invisible dome-shaped mana shield. The strangest part was that even while standing on it she felt no magic coming from it.

Cora looked at Brand feeling a fool to have not figured out his focus until now. “God’s you would have been a great striker.”

The captain too cowed by the miasma of swirling death magic to look up at Cora sheathed his sword and back away patting the air with his palms.

No sound escaped the domed shield, but it was clear he was frantically trying to talk Brand down, maybe even surrender. If that much death magic was released, even if Brand did not become a Draugr, many could still die.

Brand laughed at whatever the captain said and exploded with dark smoke-like mana that filled the dome. Cora jumped back to a roof and braced herself for a wave of death magic that never came.

Looking back down, she saw Brand exit his shield that was now a sphere of darkness keeping the captain from moving. If he did before cleansing the area first, he’d die from mana depletion or expose bystanders to death magic if the dome was broken. The captain now too busy cleansing lethal energy to even move so Brand surged towards the Hall with Cora following from above.

Minutes later, with the Hall’s entrance in sight, Cora was more nervous than ever. If one squad failed to capture Brand, another would be sent composed completely of guard captains. Sensing many strong mana pools heading their way confirmed her worry.

A guardsman zoomed past Cora with fire jetting from the soles of his feet. He overtook Brand like a man outrunning a babe landing a fiery kick that exploded on his chest. Brand went soaring into a nearby building smashing through hard stone and rolling across the street before stopping, blood pouring from his mouth like a waterfall.

More guards appeared each flying, riding beast, or teleporting to surround their target. One wore brown and white garbs of the Earthbreaker house and flew in on a flat slab of stone. With a noble guard on sight, Cora knew Brand was doomed if she did not intervene.

She sighed thinking of her time in the Hall. She learned nothing there the strikers hadn’t already taught her, but it was enjoyable all the same. She’d miss her little group of friends and easy living. And she’d miss Dagfinn. With her gates being opened and unable to be sealed again for several months, she’d be sent far away and probably wouldn't see him for the next few years.

Unsheathing a short sword, Cora ran towards Brand. The last seal on her gates finally came undone bringing her cultivation of three back five in a painful instant. Her mana channels protested as power flooded them, but Cora kept running. She pointed her sword at the group calling on her focus releasing a wide cone of burning light.

As she assumed, Brand drank in the heat greedily while those around him were burned or blinded.

With her long-dormant augments awoken, she flash-stepped without sound slowing instantly in front of the Earthbreaker noble. He raised a stone wall with a thought as Cora stabbed forwards and through the earthy mound into his gut severing his spine.

If he wasn't a fool, he’d be back on his feet in a week but by the feel of the blade sliding across his bones, he didn't bother to augment his back. It would take months for him to heal, but at least he’d live.

Cora abandoned her weapon as someone pointed a wand. She flash-stepped and a splatter of hissing acid splashed harmlessly against the wall. She then concentrated mana in her hand anticipating a flaming kick headed her way. She dodged so closely her hair caught fire and managed to touch the man with her glowing hand. His body went rigid as foreign mana ran wild beneath his skin.

Cora kicked the man across his chin, knocking him out then jumped avoiding a huge fist-shaped ball of mana heading her way. The spell hit the street like a meteor sending a visible ripple through the earth that shattered windows and sent running bystanders several feet into the air. The explosion brought many to the Hall’s windows and entrance to see the commotion.

“You dear raise a hand to the city guards, to a noble in our ranks!” said a guardswoman pressing her hand to the Earthbreaker’s bleeding gut.

“Oh shit, is he alive?” Cora asked. “Gonna have to fix that if I want to get paid.”

Her voice came out garbled and by the looks she was getting; her enchanted hood did its job of obfuscating her feature. They could tell she was a woman, but that was all. Her focus was common enough that she couldn’t be tracked by it and admitting she was here for the noble made everyone think she was of one of many assassin’s guilds.

With the guard’s eyes on her, all Brand had to do was-. “Well shit, he’s already gone,” Cora realized as she saw him sprint.

Without anyone but herself to worry about, Cora called to the mana forced into the flame-footed guard. His body flew to her which she caught by the neck and held out like a shield.

Wands, staffs, and outstretched hands glowed with magic and faltered. The melee fighters still charged, with a vein hope of carving Cora to pieces, but she was ready.

Cora unsheathed a sword from her human shield’s waste and dropped him. Her eyes closed for the briefest second, searching for the power within, and then she found it and smiled.

Cora cast a series of spells one after the other but nearly at once burning through most of her magic in an instant. Time slowed as her grip tightened, warping her sword’s hilt. Her skin turned red and muscles bulged as the limits on her strength broke away. Last came the pain like being drench in near-boiling water when sweat and mana steamed of her skin.

Cora smiled under the fleeting rush of power screaming, her and every other striker's ultimate spell in her mind. “Striker’s Assault!”

For the guardsmen, for the bystanders, Cora herself, it might have looked like a trick of the eyes. In the small window of safety, while using Striker’s Onslaught, Cora swung her sword faster than could be seen. Her body was a blur of motion freeing those around her of their hands and feet leaving them alive, screaming, and in pain.

Before the maimed guardsmen hit the ground, Cora’s spell ended. Her sword hand faltered, releasing the weapon as pain shot through her arm. She didn't need to look to know that her wrist was broken along with a litany of torn muscles and fractured bones.

If she hadn’t been out of practice, if she hadn’t just opened her gates after years of growing soft, Cora might have only been bruised by the spell she’d used. At least her shoulder had not dislocated. And at least her arm was still attached, unlike her first attempt at the self-destructive spell.

Seeing an opening now that no one was brave enough to attack her, Cora seized the opportunity to escape. After turning down a few allies and into a sewer, she was sure no one was following her. It seemed her bloody display was enough of a warning to let her go in peace. Now she had to find out what the hells was going on.

****

In the Nulls, running from a fight was to abandon one's manhood, but this wasn't the Nulls so Brand ran as Cora gained the attention of his pursuers. her face might have been coved by a hood but there could be no doubt, not with his magic perception. Still, why she was trying to save him from the guards, he did not know.

They’d spared and spent time together, but not so much that she should risk life and limb for him. But when she took down the man that very possibly fractured another one of his ribs without any trouble, he doubted she was risking much at all.

The mana coming off her was far more than she had the day before. She must have opened two gates at the very least which meant she’d already augmented herself before coming to the Hall. Seeing how the two were always together, Dagfinn had probably done the same. Why they were even attending the Hall was a mystery, but one that could wait.

Brand stumbled as his concentration waned. Cracked rib throbbed like he'd been run through with a sword and his still broken arm spat lighting across his body threatening the same spell holding bones in place, but the Hall was so close and so was Azmina standing near the entrance waving at him.

Brand smiled as their eyes met but then he saw her wand point forward and flash with a spell.

Cold stabbed into his limbs bringing his movements to a grinding halt. He fell to the ground heaving frosting breath while ice crept along his body, into his muscles, and around his heart like a vice.

“Mina, what the hells are you doing!” Brand shout through rattling teeth.

She answered with another frigid spell stored in her wand.

Brand’s next words were muffled under a layer of ice that formed around his mouth. He began using the mana he had left to heat himself, but Azmina just layered on more ice. Soon, what was left of his power was gone all forced into keeping away death chill turning his lips blue.

Brand wasn't sure if the feeling in his chest was his heart losing against the cold or fear as Aldhelm brushed through the crowd with a handful of guards. The noble walked up to Azmina's side and whispered in her ear. She turned away from whatever he said, gave Brand a sad stare, and left for the Hall’s entrance.

“The guards were telling the truth. Aldhelm somehow forced her to abandon me.” Brand thought, wishing he could absorb cold as if it were flame.

Aldhelm walked to him with a sword in hand. He raised it with a grandiose smile then slammed the hilt down on Brand’s head.

****

“Mina, where is Brand?” Rohaan asked. He grew louder with every word, frustration seeping through his calm demeanor. “I heard a rumor, one that could not possibly be true, so open your mouth and tell me where the fuck Brand is!”

Azmina spoke but could not meet his eyes. “He is gone.”

“Gone?” Rohaan asked. “That's strange because I heard you had him stripped of magic. I heard that you not only took back the gold allowing him to learn magic but helped with his arrest.” Rohaan softly grabbed Azmina’s shoulders. She stared right through him. “If we’re in some kind of trouble you need to tell me. If someone is forcing-.”

“No one’s forcing me!” Azmina blurted out. “Aldhelm did not have to force me. Brand’s magic for a king’s ransom. Rohaan, how could I say no.” She pulled away when he failed to hold her and kept spouting what had to be nonsense. “How could I say no. We can build an army, bigger than any clan in Ram. We’ve been away for so long. We may not have any loyal family left and even if we did, they might not have the gold to wage a war. Now we have the gold, now we-.”

“What is wrong with you?” Rohaan whispered more to himself than the babbling girl on the ground. “You sold Brand.”

“No, I-.”

“You sold him like some animal, like he was nothing!”

“Why do you even care!” Azmina shot back. “You've wanted him gone for years and now you're complaining!”

“That was when he was useless!” Rohaan pulled on his hair in order to keep his hand from around his sister’s throat. “He’s worth ten of us combined. What the fuck is wrong with you? He gave you your wand! He helped you with mysteries you couldn’t grasp! He killed for you! What kind of sick twisted woman does what you have!”

Azmin’s hand went to her wand, holding it like a blade begging to be drawn. “I am the head of our house. Don't think you can disrespect me.”

The floor around Rohaan cracked as his anger grew. He rained in his mana with a technique Brand showed him making his rage redoubled. “What respect do I owe you? If some rich Vellian dog offered gold for my head, would you sell it?”

“Of course not, your family.”

“Brand is family! He was to be your first consort, the father of your first child and you sold him!”

The door to the room suddenly blasted off its hinges raining wood chips and ash. Godric entered the room and a moment later, Marla right behind him. His constant smile was gone so too was Marla’s happy demeanor. They both looked at Azmina and Rohaan letting the expressions on their faces answer the first of the questions they both had.

“Why?” Godric asked in all seriousness and inched forward, heat radiating off his body burning every cloth and melting silverware as he stalked closer. Marla's silky dress began catching fire overcome by the waves of heat cracking the tiles at her feet as her brother continued.

“Gridania can’t take in blacklisted magi thanks to our treaty with Vellia, so tell me. Why. You. Did it!”

The air exploded with flame.

****

For some reason, Tanya could not find Brand. He was not in the library, out hunting monsters, or in any mystery she knew of. The only place left to search was his room, but she rather not even talk to his woman.

Azmina was nice, pretty, but she had Brand all to herself and wasn't likely to share. Human women tended to be selfish with their lovers for some reason and Brand didn't seem the type to wonder if not given permission. Going to their room and smelling their scents mixed together would fill her with jealousy. It was wrong, but she could not help what she felt so she stayed clear as much as possible.

Tanya begrudgingly made her way to Brand's room. She had more trouble getting there than usual thanks to a crowd getting in her way. Soon she realized they were centered around his room which made her force her way through faster. When she smelled smoke, politeness was forgotten as she summoned Leo. With a great roar, as Tanya ran through.

Reaching Brand’s room, she found a monk restraining Godric and Marla in bubbles that contained the fire both were covered in. Godric had blood covering his mouth while Marla bled from her nose, but her nasally voice did not keep her quiet.

“Try healing that bitch!”

Tanya saw Marla shouting at Azmina that was in far worse condition. The skin on the right side of her face was burned off along with much of her chest and right arm. She was being tended to by two healers while Rohaan stood off to the side injured, but not nearly as bad.

“Tanya, thank my god I found you,” Merwyn said, pushing students aside with a not so gentle shove from her magic.

Tanya tore her eyes away from the frightening scene. “What’s happening? Why would Godric and Marla fight Azmina? What is Brand going to do when he finds out?”

“Brand can’t do anything. He’s been blacklisted by Azmina.” Merwyn said.

“She wouldn’t do that,” Tanya protested, but her voice cracked at seeing Godric and Marla in the corner of her eye.

With those words, the entire scene made too much sense to ignore.

“From what I gather, she was paid to do so,” Merwyn said.

Tanya couldn’t hear the rest of the monk’s words. She looked at the badly burned Azmina along with six lions of various sizes that appeared beside her.

“Check that anger of yours little lady before I’m forced to do it for you,” Merwyn said. “I need you to find Brand. Tell him to forget about coming back to the Hall. Every time this happens, the blacklisted mage is killed trying to make it back here.” She revealed a purse and tried handing it over. “Tell him it's thanks for the research. Now go.”

Tanya refused to take the purse. “You can give it to him yourself when I bring him back.”

“No, she won’t,” said a young man that patted Tanya on the head.

Tanya spun on the man like a predator bearing down on her. She hadn't seen him through her lions or sensed him in any way. It was as if he only existed when his hand patted her head.

Tanya smacked his hand away. She was about to shout but froze when the scenery changed. Now, she was at a seldom-used entrance to the Hall with her lions looking around just as confused as she was.

“Here’s some free advice,” the monk said placing Merwyn’s purse in Tanya’s hand. “You should try finding your friend before your brother does.”

“What does Aldhelm have to do with this?” Tanya asked as her confusion melted away at the mention of her brother.

The monk frowned as he spoke with anger hanging on every word. “Who do you think paid to get Brand blacklisted?”

Before Tanya could utter a word, the monk disappeared with a popping sound.