However, there’s still a fraction of the pulses that seemingly venture into nothingness. Are they attracted by Talented further away? Or is something else calling on them? I’ll have to investigate by night, when little power is being used and the pulses can be tracked more easily.

Sparks ignited in the air as their swords clashed, visible even in broad daylight. They started out slow, testing the strength of the metal and the new grip the double-handed hilt required. Gradually, the pace quickened as they noticed not a single fibre of metal chipped away from the blades. They were indeed works of art.

As their swings continued to follow one another faster and faster, Samos found himself lost in the thrill of the fight. It was a space on the edge of reality and the nothingness, both the fight and the power within him clearly present. The smallest twitch of Eder’s hands, the smallest shuffling of his feet called forth an instincitive reaction to either block or parry.

It had only been a few minutes since he had held his new blade for the first time, but it felt like he was born with it. Whenever he swung it, it felt like he was moving air with how light it felt. Strange then, he wondered, that I feel so tired after such a short fight. Something was draining him from his strength.

Could it be…?

He focused on his hands. Bright streams of power were flowing into the sword’s makran hilt and into the metal, emptying the power from within his body. Ralph had said this was a benefit, but what good could come of being exhausted so quickly? Or could this be controlled as well?

Going on the defensive and blocking Eder’s attacks, he tried stopping the outwards flow. For a moment nothing happened, but then the lines grew less bright until they looked normal again. The sword became heavier in his hands, but Samos felt that this was the best course of action. He could always enhance his arms to counter the extra weight.

The exchange of strikes continued. His tempo had gone down a bit after controlling the flow and Eder had no doubt seen it as a sign he had the upper-hand. His strikes quickened, the once smooth succession of forms becoming haggard.

A tingle.

In the split second he had to react, Samos sprang backwards with a quick enhancement of his legs. As Eder stumbled forward following the unexpected movement, an arrow flew just in front of his face and planted itself in the soil with a soft thud.

“What in Sevens…” Eder murmured as he felt his nose where the feathers of the arrow had grazed him. Battle instincts kicking in, he too jump backwards and hid behind a table. Samos crawled further back behind a pillar when a scream came from within the palace.

Samos took one look at Eder, who nodded. Samos enhanced his legs and sprinted for the palace’s entrance while Eder made his way towards the direction the arrow had come from, jumping from one side to the other at an incredible speed. The arrow had come from somewhere on the palace walls, but a quick glance had revealed no one to Samos.

He barged into the hallways of the palace, leaving whoever had shot the arrow to Eder. Servants were standing around confused, not sure what was going on. Samos enhanced his ears and the sound of fighting came to him.

“Sound the bells!” he cried out to nobody in particular. “We’re under attack!” With that, he left the servants behind and sprinted towards the origin of the sound. Who had screamed? To his relief, the bells started ringing not soon after. Now everyone was on alert.

The sound of fighting drew closer and he rounded another corner, finding himself suddenly face to face with three swordsmen who were making their way towards him. Their swords were stained in blood.

Memories of the fight in the dark alleys of Ters surfaced. Knives would not do the trick this time, these men were prepared and ready to kill. One of them launched himself towards Samos with an unexpected speed.

Enhancer, he realized.

The other two followed more slowly, either they had no Talent or were simply preserving their strength. In the split second it took the Enhancer to reach him, Samos realized the assailant’s sword was a normal one. Without a second thought he let his own sword absorb as much power as it wanted and brought it up to deflect.

A loud clang followed and his opponent’s sword shattered in two. In the brief moment the man was paralyzed by surprise, Samos plunged his sword into his hearth. As he fell down, the other two attacked, one on each side.

He bent through his knees, sword at his side. With a quick boost in his legs, he jumped forward and slices the opponent to his right in the guts. While coming to a halt, he continued the swing in one swift motion and made contact with the other opponent’s back.

Not staying to confirm their deaths, he continued sprinting down the hall following the ever increasing sound of battle. With a start he realized they came from the dining hall.

Yara.

He increased his tempo and nearly flew over the stone floor. Seconds later, he found himself charging into the dining hall, ready to face whatever it was waiting for him. What he saw stopped him dead in his tracks. Bodies were scattered around the floor and on the benches, their face and clothes covered in blood.

In the back of the hall, underneath the windows overlooking the city, several men stood watching him, the knives and swords in their hands firmly held at the throats of the captives kneeling before them.

“Where is Son Aëron!” one of them barked at Samos.

“I…” he stumbled over his words, shocked by the scene before him. He spotted Otwin’s lifeless body where they had been dining, but there was no sight of Yara and Faye.

“Where is he!” the man cried out again and Samos snapped his gaze to him. The captive he was holding his knife at was Yara, he realized. Faye kneeled next to her.

“I don’t know,” Samos answered truthfully. He had no idea where Ralph had gone after giving him and Eder the swords.

“Well ya better start knowing,” the man spat. “Or we’re gonna start adding a few more bodies to the pile.”

Samos’ head spun. What was going on? Who were these men? And what did they want with Ralph? This happened before, he realized. In Ters, they had come after Ralph as well.

“What does the Warbringer want with Ralph?” he asked in an attempt to stall. Every second gained was a second in which help could arrive.

“Clever one, aren’t ya?” The man smiled a wicked grin. “None of yer business what he wants with the Son. All ya need to know is to bring ‘em here or these fellars here are about to depart from the land of the living.”

“I told you, I don’t know where he is,” Samos responded desperately.

The man looked to his left and nodded to one of his accomplices, who promptly slit the throat of the servant women he had been holding captive. Samos cried out in anguish.

“Well ya better start looking then.” The man mocked him. “It would seem to me ya have about…” He counted the captives. “…five attempts left.”

“There will be no need for any further killing,” the sudden voice of Ralph came from behind Samos. He turned and saw Ralph observing the hall, his expression darker than Samos had ever seen. “I was on my way to the docks when I heard the bells, what is your purpose here?”

The man chuckled. “Seeing as you denied our previous request, the Warbringer now wishes to see you dead. So, if you would be so kind to stick a knife in your own throat now so that these five might live, that would be very helpful.”

“I see…” Ralph mumbled. “I’m beginning to think that Warbringer of yours is afraid of me.”

“He knows what you can do,” he answered. “That’s reason enough to be rid of you.”

Ralph drew a dagger from his belt. Absently, Samos realized he had never seen Ralph draw his daggers before. He had two of them, always neatly tucked away in their belt. Strangely enough, the metal had a purple tone to it, dimly reflecting the sunlight that made its way into the hall through the windows.

“There is no honour in letting someone kill himself,” Ralph said in a strange tone as he stepped towards the men and their captives. “At least kill me yourself.” He held out the dagger hilt-first towards the leader of the attackers, who nodded.

“Ay, I can understand that.” He motioned for his comrade who had killed one of the captives moments ago to take over and walked towards Ralph.

Samos thought he saw a small glow appear on the dagger Ralph was holding, but the man did not seem alerted by it if he could even see it. His other hand he held to his right, his hand hovering near the second dagger.

The man grabbed the dagger and froze, his eyes widening in surprise before his body stopped moving completely. Confused, the others who were holding the captives lowered their weapons for only a moment. It was enough for Ralph.

He pulled out the second dagger and trust it forward, avoiding the frozen man before him. “Now!” he yelled and a wall of power exploded from the dagger’s tip. It launched forwards, blowing away both the assailants and the hostages against the back wall of the hall.

Reacting to Ralph’s call, Samos sprung forward joined by Rey who suddenly appeared from within the hallway. Together, they rushed forward just in time to pull the hostages up right and free them for their captors. Yara gave Samos a quick hug as he pulled her away before retreating to the other side of the hall.

One by one, they knocked out the confused assailants, only two of them quick enough to put up a short fight. Palace guards came rushing in to take them into custody, they had been waiting for Ralph’s signal.

When the last of them was taken away, Ralph finally released the man from his frozen state. He fell down on his knees, obviously shaken.

“That shouldn’t have been possible…” he whimpered, all confidence and arrogance gone from his voice. “It shouldn’t have…”

Ralph made way for the guards to move in, taking the last of the attackers into custody.

“How…” Samos began. “That were two seals at the same time. And you used them on Enhancers.”

Ralph held up his two daggers. “Moon and Sun,” he explained. “The Fifth Sacratys. The taen-infused metal of the blades give them… unusual properties.”

No further explanation was given, but Samos needed none for the moment, content with the information given. Instead, he looked for Yara and Faye who were waiting in the hallway just outside the dining hall. As he approached, Yara fell into his arms, tears streaming down her face.

“I thought I was going to die.” She whimpered. “They came in so suddenly. Before we really knew what was happening, Otwin and so many others were dead.” She was shaking.

“It’s alright now,” he comforted her, the pain of Otwin’s dead striking at him suddenly now the fight was over. “They’re gone.”

Out of nowhere, Eder appeared. “I couldn’t find anyone,” he began. “What happened…” the words died in his throat as he witnessed the massacre in the hall. Guards had begun carrying the bodies away, trails of blood trailing them along the ground as they went.

Otwin’s body was carried past them and without a word or expression, Faye made to follow the solemn guards.

“What now,” Yara whispered as she released herself from Samos’ embrace.

“Now we interrogate our prisoners,” Ralph said reaching them. “With a bit of luck, we’ll finally be able to figure out who Warbringer is and what is his purpose is.”

But at what cost?