Chapter 357 An Offer (1/2)
Kadun's defeat was sudden and coe of victory only round And as his blood soaked the ground of the garden, Rannoc stood over him
There was a pensive look in the victorious Lord's eyes as he gazed upon his defeated foe And while his expression held a trace of relief, he showed little sign of joy
Perhaps, Arran thought, Kadun's death reminded Rannoc of his own mortality
The two Lords had been closely matched in power, yet Kadun had died all the same And while Rannoc had taken this battle, he must understand that the same fate could befall hiht that came to Arran's mind He'd co, but he had no doubt that Kadun could have defeated hith had not been enough to save the Lord
Once er And the best way to do so was to learn the Imperium's secrets
As Arran pondered his future, Rannoc finally kneeled down and took Kadun's weapon, carefully wrapping it in a piece of cloth before picking it up Then, leaving Kadun's lifeless body behind, he turned his attention to his two coo,” Rannoc said as he approached thehtly forced
”Naturally, our faith in your strength never faltered, your Lordshi+p,” Kaleesh replied,a neutral voice
Rannoc raised an eyebrow ”So which of you saw through my little trick?”
”That would be Arran, your Lordshi+p,” Kaleesh said ”He has a sharp eye, and a quicknod ”Well done But tell me, did you also see hoe did battle?”
Arran hesitated, but only briefly ”Your Lordshi+p… during the battle…” He searched for the right words to describe the strange scene he had witnessed, then finally said, ”Each time you attacked or defended, it was as if a dozen possibilities were on the verge of beco reality And you… you chose which one became real?”
Rannoc nodded ”A sharp eye, indeed For the two of you to have defeated a Knight, I assu ones, if I'm not mistaken”
”You aren't,” the captain replied, eyes narrowed as he faced Rannoc ”But how does that relate to your cohtsof reality,” Rannoc said A smile crossed his face, and he continued, ”Yet to understand reality is to control it This simple truth is one of the cornerstones of our Imperium's power”
A frown crossed Arran's face Excited though he was to learn more about the Lord's techniques, he could not escape the feeling that it wasn't quite as easy as the Lord ic?” he asked ”To control reality?”
Rannoc replied with a shake of his head ”Magic su all it touches with its unnatural influence But shaping reality is a different matter — it does not alter the fabric of existence, and it cannot achieve the impossible”
The answer did little to satisfy Arran's curiosity To his ears, it sounded like sophistry — a glib answer to obfuscate the fact that the Darians' techniques were every bit as ical as those used by the Shadowflame Society
Yet before he could ask any further questions, Rannoc continued, ”And this is what I can offer you — guidance Not just in strengthening your insights, but also in leveraging theination”
At once, Arran felt a surge of exciteh his body
He'd hoped to learn the powers he'd witnessed in the Lords' battle, yet he hadn't expected to find them offered so freely