Paragon of Destruction

"Stupid?" Arran gave the woman an annoyed look. "What the hell was I supposed to do? Let that bastard kill me?"

Lady Ellara shook her head. "Of course you had to defend yourself. But did you really have to cripple him?"

"If I hadn’t, he would have been back in the fight a moment later," Arran said.

"But you were stronger than him," she replied. "Even if he got up again, wouldn’t the result have been the same?"

"Stronger? Me?" Arran let out a mirthless laugh. "The moment he began to use magic, I was only a single mistake away from death. You’re a mage, how could you not see that?"

"I’m not a mage," Lady Ellara said. "I’m just the Governor’s sister. There’s not a thing I could have done if they had decided to attack, although I’m sure my brother would have sent them a strongly worded letter had they killed me."

At this, Arran frowned, finally understanding the situation. Rather than being a powerful mage, the woman had merely put on a front, using the novices’ ignorance to intimidate them.

"Then I owe you an apology," he said. "You saved my life, and at great risk to yourself."

Lady Ellara simply nodded in acknowledgment. "So you had no other choice?" she asked, her brow furrowed in thought.

"I could have killed him while he was down," Arran replied. "Other than that... my only chance was to catch him unprepared and take him out of the fight before he could recover."

Lady Ellara sighed, a troubled expression on her face. "I suppose it doesn’t matter now. What’s done is done. For now, we’ll go visit my brother, and see if he had any ideas."

They set off once more, Lady Ellara leading the way as Arran and Darkfire followed. They mostly stuck to the city’s back streets, and before long, they reached a wealthier part of the city, where the houses were larger and the streets wider.

After some time, they arrived at a walled mansion that was even larger than Darkfire’s, with several uniformed guards posted at the gate.

When the guards recognized Lady Ellara, they waved them through wordlessly, respectfully bowing as she passed.

Inside the gate, Arran was impressed at the size of the mansion. Half a dozen buildings of wood and stone stood around a splendidly decorated courtyard that featured at least half a dozen marble statues, and there were dozens of servants and guards hurrying across the courtyard’s many paths.

Lady Ellara wasted no time, immediately heading for the largest building at the far end of the courtyard. Four stories high and carved from marble, it was a truly impressive building.

A large wooden door stood open at its entrance, and on either side of the door, there were a handful of uniformed guards, spears in their hands and swords at their sides.

"Is my brother inside?" Lady Ellara asked one of the guards.

"He’s in his office," the man said. "I think he’s expecting you," he added in a softer voice, seeming slightly nervous.

They headed inside, Lady Ellara leading the way, and once more Arran found himself impressed. The hallways were broad and clean, lined with paintings and busts, and it looked as if considerable effort had gone into decorating the place.

After going through several hallways and heading up two sets of stairs, they finally arrived at a large wooden door that had two guards posted in front of it.

As soon as the guards saw Lady Ellara, one of them gave the door two hard knocks, and a moment later, a muffled voice could be heard from inside.

"Come in!"

The guards opened the door, closing it after Arran and the other two had passed. Inside was a luxurious office with its walls filled with well-stocked bookcases, and a large wooden desk stood in the middle of the office.

Behind the desk sat a slender man with a gentle face and white hair that still contained some traces of the black it had once been, and although he looked neither imposing nor powerful, Arran understood that he must be the Governor.

"Governor Eddarin," Darkfire said with a respectful bow, and Arran quickly followed his example.

"Darkfire," the Governor said with a nod. Looking at Arran, he added, "And this must be your friend, Ghostblade?"

Arran nodded, even if the name still felt alien to him.

"When Captain Xiao informed me that a powerful friend of Darkfire had entered the city, I did not expect there would be trouble quite as soon," the Governor said. Turning his head toward Lady Ellara, he added, "Nor did I expect that my family would get involved in it."

Lady Ellara shrugged, though her expression was apologetic. "A group of Shadowblood novices tried to kill him," she said. "I just decided to step in before things got out of hand."

"Whatever the reason, it does not matter now," the Governor said. "What matters is that we’re in a bit of a mess, and we need a solution."

He turned to Darkfire. "I’ve already sent word to your family, but it could be some weeks before I receive an answer. Until then, Eremont isn’t safe for you and your friend."

Arran could no longer remain quiet. "But aren’t you the Governor?" he asked, voice filled with frustration. "Can’t you stop them from causing trouble in the city?"

Governor Eddarin gave Arran a puzzled look. "Darkfire hasn’t told you about the situation, then?"

"He only just arrived in the city," Darkfire said, a sorrowful look on his face. "I haven’t had time to explain all of it to him."

The Governor looked at Arran with a troubled expression, remaining silent for some moments. Finally, he spoke, his voice grave.

"For now, what you need to understand is that I hold little power here," he said. "The real power is in the hands of the Shadowflame Society, and their members’ actions are outside my control. If they cause trouble, only the Society can punish them — but any punishment will take a long time in coming, and if the troublemakers enjoy protection within the Society, there might be no punishment at all."

"I assume the Shadowblood novices enjoy protection within the Shadowflame Society?" Arran asked. Just from their behavior, he guessed that they had more powerful people backing them.

"Correct," the Governor said. "Thankfully, the Shadowblood novices don’t visit the city often, but when they do..." He threw up his hands in a powerless gesture.

"We should be safe at my place," Darkfire said. "They wouldn’t dare start an open conflict with my family."

"I wouldn’t stake my life on that," the Governor said. "And even if they don’t harm you, they could still kill your friend without you being able to stop them. Unless you finally gained some magical abilities?"

Darkfire shook his head at the last part, a dispirited expression on his face. "Then what do we do?" he asked.

"I own a small estate outside the city," the Governor said. "You should be safe there, at least for a few weeks. By then, hopefully, your family will have sent some help."

"They will," Darkfire said, sounding confident. "They would not allow some Shadowblood novices to cause trouble for someone in the family — not even if it’s me."

"Good," Governor Eddarin said. "You can spend the night here. I will arrange for you to travel out of the city before first light."