Paragon of Destruction

"When we go into the mountains, what dangers will we face?"

As Arran asked the question, his eyes remained focused on the path at the far end of the valley. Yet whatever threats lay ahead, no sign of them could be seen from here.

"There’s no need for you to know that," Brightblade replied. "All you—"

"No," Arran interrupted her. "You either tell me what the dangers beyond that path are, or I’m not going."

Brightblade raised an eyebrow. "You don’t trust me?"

"I’ve put my life in your hands many times," Arran said, his voice firm as he met her eyes. "But I’m not blindly walking into danger. Not when there’s no need to. And if you trust me, you can certainly tell me what we’re about to face."

She looked at him for several seconds with an expression that held both surprise and — unexpectedly — approval. "Fair enough," she said after some moments. "If I’m taking you into danger, I suppose I owe you at least a brief explanation of what that danger is."

"Brief is fine," Arran said. "As long as I know what I will face."

Brightblade cast a short glance at the path in the distance. Then, she said, "When we venture beyond the Valley’s protections, we run the risk of encountering Essence Remnants."

"Essence Remnants?" Arran gave her a blank look. He’d never heard the term before in his life.

She hesitated briefly, appearing to struggle to find the right words. Finally, she said, "Each time we cast a spell, we bring Essence into the world. Most of that harmlessly dissipates into the air once the spell ends, but some small part of it seeps into the earth. In most places, it’s barely noticeable. But near the Valleys, the accumulated Essence of mages spending countless centuries casting spells is enough to affect the world."

"Affect the world?" Arran asked. "How?"

Brightblade sighed. "You know how plants and animals can absorb Natural Essence, over time being transformed by it. Much the same holds true for magical Essence. And with enough of it, some animals turn into something... different. Something dangerous. We call these creatures Essence Remnants."

Arran’s expression hardened as he listened to her, not at all liking where this was going. "Different how?"

"Their bodies are altered," Brightblade explained. "Their physical shapes are gradually replaced with pure Essence, and they hunger for more. When they sense spells, or mages, they will attack — and they are vicious enemies, nearly impossible to defeat. With bodies that consist mostly of Essence, they are highly resistant to both magic and weapons."

"Then how do you fight them?" Arran asked.

"You don’t," she replied. "Not if you can avoid it. You hide your Essence as best you can, and hope you don’t encounter them. When there is no other choice, starmetal weapons can injure them — though they quickly recover from even the most grievous injuries. But it can buy you the time you need to escape."

Arran’s eyes widened as he realized the full extent of what Brightblade had just told him. "And these creatures — these Essence Remnants — are all around the Valleys? We’re surrounded by nigh-invincible monsters that are drawn to Essence, with just a few formations protecting us? What if they break down the formations?"

He stared at Brightblade in astonishment. From what she described, it sounded like the Hunters should be the least of the Valley’s worries. There was a far more dangerous enemy lurking right on the Valley’s doorstep.

Yet Brightblade merely shook her head. "The Essence Remnants are no threat to the Valleys. The Society’s formations are easily capable of holding them back, and they’re mindless creatures, incapable of launching a concerted attack. Behind the formations, there is no reason to fear them."

"But we’re going beyond the formations."

While Arran had more than a few doubts about whether the formations repelled these Essence Remnants as easily as she claimed, the more pressing matter was that they were about to venture past the formations.

"Indeed we are," Brightblade said. "And to make it through safely, we’ll need to take certain precautions."

"Which are?" Arran asked.

"For a start, you will need to seal your Realms — even your Shadow Realm — and drain your body of Essence. Be thorough. Even the slightest bit that remains could put us in terrible danger."

Arran did as she said, first using Master Zhao’s seal on all his Realms, then using up every bit of Essence that remained in his body other than the seals themselves. The effort took him some time, and when he finished, he found the feeling of being devoid of Essence deeply unsettling.

He was used to having at least his Shadow Realm available, yet now, even that was gone — and with it, his Shadowsight was gone as well.

"What about you?" he asked with an inquisitive look at Brightblade. "Will you be sealing your Realms as well?"

"Of course not," she said. "My control is good enough that I can prevent Essence from escaping my body. And if we run into Essence Remnants, I’ll need magic to fend them off."

Arran frowned. "Didn’t you say they were resistant to magic?"

"They are," Brightblade said. "But I have techniques that allow me to use Essence to strengthen my physical abilities." She produced a slender blade from one of her void bags, which Arran immediately recognized as being made of starmetal. "And with this, I should be able to fend off any Remnants we encounter."

"But won’t that draw more of them to us?" Arran asked with a frown, remembering that only moments earlier, Brightblade had told him the Essence Remnants were drawn to Essence.

"It will," Brightblade confirmed. "So if I am forced to fight them, you’d better be ready to run."

"What about me?" Arran asked. "I’m resistant to magic, and my strength does not rely on Essence. Wouldn’t it be better for me to fight them?"

"Perhaps in a few decades," she said. "As you are now, you are far too weak to face Essence Remnants. You should keep that starmetal sword of yours within reach, but pray you don’t have to use it. If it gets to the point where you have to draw it, we’re in trouble."

Arran quickly belted on his starmetal sword. He normally used another one to avoid drawing attention, but if the mountains were as dangerous as Brightblade said, there would be little risk of encountering other travelers. "Anything else?"

Brightblade nodded. "Store any enchanted items you have in your void ring. I’ll put a ward on that to prevent it from drawing the Remnants’ attention." A thoughtful expression appeared on her face, and she added, "Pay close attention when I create this ward. It’s among the ones described in the books I gave you, and you may need it in the Hunters’ lands."

Arran did as she said, stowing away all his enchanted items and watching closely as Brightblade created the ward. He understood at once that it was meant to conceal enchantments rather than objects, and although it was complex, he suspected he could learn it with a few weeks of study.

When Brightblade finished the work, he furrowed his brow, then asked, "Why is all of this needed? Sealing my Shadow Realm and concealing enchantments? Even the strongest mages can’t easily Sense those things, right?"

"Essence Remnants aren’t mages," she replied. "They’re creatures born of Essence, and they have an affinity for it far beyond anything a mage can hope to achieve. To them, even Shadow Essence stands out like a bonfire on a dark night."

Though Arran thought this raised more questions than it answered, he realized this was not the time to discuss the finer intricacies of the nature of magic.

"Was that everything?" he asked instead.

"No," Brightblade said. "But it will have to do. Just remember to stay close to me, and if I start to run, I suggest you do the same."

With that, she set off toward the narrow path on the opposite side of the Valley, Arran following close behind her.

The path wasn’t anything remarkable, Arran soon saw. Twisting and winding its way up into the steep terrain, with small shrubs scattered along its sides and treacherous footing, it was a mountain path like any other.

Yet barely a quarter-hour after they set foot on the path, there was a sudden change — while the path remained the same, Arran could Sense that they passed through the edge of a vast formation, so large he could barely recognize it as a formation at all.

And as they left the Valley’s protections behind, he immediately Sensed the presence of vast amounts of Essence. It wasn’t the chaotic and violent raw Essence he’d encountered years earlier in the city of Uvar, however. Rather, this was a calm but constant pressure, from Essence that had seeped into the very mountains themselves, merging with the stone and rock over the course of untold centuries.

"From this point on, we’re in constant danger," Brightblade said, a look of complete focus in her eyes. "We should be clear of it in three days. Until then, don’t do anything foolish, or you might kill us both."

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