Chapter 404 Suppression (1/2)

Arran's broas furrowed in a deep frown as he swung his sword, and that frown grew deeper still when he saw the h that only a nize it — no more than the hint of a tre his own body rebel against him

He'd stepped into the Desolation half an hour earlier, and after the initial shock of having his power suppressed wore off, he'd i the Desolation's effects

Hishe tested After all, he relied on erous secrets, and if he was unable toand his Shadow Essence from discovery, he would have no choice but to leave the Desolation

That concern, at least, had turned out to be unfounded

While his ic was undeniably weaker in the Desolation, it was still h to supply the sliver of power his concealments needed, and his control of Shadow Essence was undith was reduced

Likewise, his worries about his sword had quickly proved unnecessary

Though he could feel that the Living Shadoeapon disliked its new environment, it continued to , what he sensed through the bond suggested that the weapon felt only disdainful irritation at whatever small effect the Desolation had on it

Yet relieved though he was that neither his weapon nor his ic would be a problem — not unless he tried to perforth was a different matter There, the Desolation's effects caused him no small a as he'd initially feared Though his strength was th of the Rangers he'd encountered, and he suspected that his power still hts outside the Desolation

Yet if the suppression was less than he had worried, its effect on his swordsined

Again he swung his sword, and again he grimaced when he saw the result There was no question about it — his control had suffered a blow far greater than his reduction in strength would suggest

A wry smile crossed his face as he realized what the proble his swordsht hiranted him a near-perfect control of his body And it was that union of skill, strength, and control that gave hier responded the way he expected Each movement he made eaker and slower than it should be, his th to which he was accustomed And with that, his thousands of hours of practice now turned against him

It was a temporary setback, Arran knew The foundation of his skills remained untouched, and for him to fully adjust to the suppression of the Desolation would be a matter of mere weeks After that, his control should rapidly return to its old level

Yet he also knew that anyone ished to attack the Wolfsblood Army would almost certainly do so now — before he had a chance to restore his control, and before they reached the safety of Sacrifice

After a moment's consideration, he decided to wait for the are of the Desolation As weak as he was now, scouting ahead would be too ress he could before the others arrived

The work yielded only minor improvements to his control, but he was happy even for those If he faced a powerful enee could ht, he also cast the giant starh he still had the power to use it — if only barely — to do so would ith to any opponent he faced, robbing hies he still had

The ar coluht the troops behind hiesture, then advanced another few steps before co to a halt some two dozen paces fro the area warily ”The Desolation?”

”It is,” Arran replied ”Another few paces and you'll step across the boundary”

Kaleesh muttered a curse ”You'd think they'd at least take the trouble to mark it How bad is it?”

”Bad,” Arran replied ”Worse than I thought It'll take us several weeks to adjust, if not more”

Before the captain could respond, Barric stepped forward ”You exaggerate, Master Arran,” he said in a respectful tone that nevertheless held a hint of disapproval He started toward the boundary of the Desolation, and continued, ”I have been in the Desolation before, and although the first few moments are unpleasant—”

Whatever else he had wanted to say was lost, however, as he crossed the boundary and i across the rocky ground like a puppet with its strings cut

It took the Ranger soet back to his feet, and when he finally rose again, he swayed precariously ”Gods' blood,” he said, shock in his eyes ”I don't re this bad”

Arran raised an eyebrow, carefully suppressing the grin that was trying to form on his face ”I take it you eaker when you last entered the Desolation?”

That, at least, was soer one was, the th would be suppressed And while that difference wouldn't be large enough to fully close the gap between the strong and the weak, it would go a long way in reducing it

Barric nodded weakly before giving a cheerless suess I improved more than I realized”

The next to cross the boundary was Kaleesh, and unlike Arran and Barric, he did not stumble as he entered the Desolation From his fir keeping hiht was sheer willpower

One by one, the others followed behind hi first, then the soldiers, and finally the carts that held their supplies

Most of those who stepped into the Desolation stu the soldiers who retched as they felt the strength drained from their bodies Yet despite the unease on their faces, none refused to pass