Chapter 281 A Break (1/2)

Arran set to work on building a foundation in controlling Shadowfire Essence with angry deter had been fueled by exciteical abilities, but the prospect of going through it all again extinguished whatever enthusiasm he had left

Frustration proved as effective a fuel as excitement, however, and it took him three months to build a stable foundation in Shadowfire Essence — though admittedly, theseto command the Shadowfire Essence, Arran also learned more about the Essence itself, and despite his annoyance at training, he found hie type of Essence

Rather thanentirely new, the result co the qualities of both its constituent parts

Like Fire Essence, it was violent and destructive, capable of burning holes in rocks even without being used in a spell Yet like Shadow Essence, it was invisible, with only Arran's connection to his own Essence allowing hily, it was far more powerful than it should be

Arran had expected Shadowfire Essence to only have the destructive power of the Fire Essence that went into it But instead, it ice as powerful — as if the Shadow Essence it contained also contributed to this destructive strength

He needed little iination to understand how this could be invaluable in battle Shadow Essence had little offensive power, but by fusing it with Fire Essence, a th reserves

Despite his frustration at having to build yet another foundation, Arran felt some excitement at this discovery Even if his sas still a better weapon than his rown smaller over the past year And with this, he had ap entirely

At the end of threethe foundation, Arran i the Shadowfla to the valley, and now that he had learned to create and command Shadowfire Essence, all that remained was to learn the spell And that, he kneas a simple matter of time and effort

Much as he expected, Shadowflame proved hideously difficult to learn But he now had a solid foundation to go along with the memories fros allowed Arran to ress

His studies were slow but uneventful, and after another three months had passed, Arran finally learned the spell he had worked so hard to one Instead, all he felt was relief Apart fro Flamestrike and Shadowcloak, he'd done little but study and train for the past year and a half

Still, if learning Shadowfla him much excitement, he was more than a little pleased at its effects

He had already known that Shadowflame much resembled Flamestrike, but now that he could coer And while that alone would have made the effort it took to learn hile, it held another — even bigger — advantage

Just like the Shadowfire Essence used by the spell, the attacks it produced were coht and Sense Other than the considerable daht as well have been formed froly effective in battle Any ene attacked once the spell hit him, and by that point, it would be too late to raise a defense

Better yet, Arran quickly discovered that he could cast the spell while hidden beneath a Shadowcloak And thatthey were under attack

Of course, ht so easily, and eneons, or Hunters — ht survive such an as would die without even the chance to resist

Arran had no foolish notions about honor in battle, but still, he could not help but think coes ell-justified