Pilip fidgeted nervously in a chair set outside two large, ornate doors in the far back of the Smoke Hall. These doors led to the largest tower on campus, attached to the wide and short Smoke Hall as the personal quarters of the leaders of Inuvik Academy. Levin sat beside his Master, wondering when they would be allowed in. He and Pilip had been here waiting for a couple hours already, and the day was growing late.

His question was soon answered. The doors before them slowly opened on their own, revealing a large room, lit with several braziers each containing dancing, multi-colored flames. Ornate pillars flanked them as they walked inside, each inlaid with veins of rare and precious metals. The ceiling was tall and vaulted just like the Smoke Hall, and Levin saw a door in the back that surely led to the rest of the tower.

Near the rear of the room sat three old men, seated upon thrones that were elevated by several long steps. The figure in the center sat the highest of the three, denoting his status as leader of Inuvik Academy. Pilip and Levin finally stood before the three Smoke ranks of Inuvik Academy.

Pilip kowtowed to the mages, keeping his head lowered to the ground in reverence to the leaders of Inuvik. Levin quickly followed suit, remaining slightly behind Pilip.

“Greetings, my Lord Magi,” Pilip said, maintaining his bowing position.

“You may rise,” spoke the centermost figure. Pilip and Levin rose to a kneeling position.

“Thank you, Lord Panai. This is the boy I wrote about in my report,” he said, gesturing towards Levin.

“I trust you understand this is your last chance, Pilip. You’ve already been demoted to a mere recruiter, and if this becomes a repeat of your Twisted Flame incident, you’ll be sent off to the mines to stand guard for the rest of your life,” said the mage seated on the right.

“Of course, Lord Eliya. Lord Hann impressed upon me the same thing when he graciously granted me the Book of Reeds. I assure you, this time will be different,” Pilip answered nervously.

“We’ve heard that line before. I trust you followed my orders to follow the Book of Reeds precisely?” this time, the mage on the left spoke.

“Yes, of course, Lord Hann. Please allow me to demonstrate,” Pilip said, sweating heavily

“Proceed,” said the central figure – Lord Panai – in a deep voice.

“Thank you. If you will, Levin?” Pilip said, rising to his feet and facing Levin.

Levin did the same, and the two squared off. Pilip backed up to just outside Wave’s range – a few feet only – and then stayed quiet for a second, concentrating.

“Fire Spray.”

“Wave.”

A burst of Wisp-tier flame burst from Pilip’s hand, and a moment later Levin sent out a pulse of red and black energy. The fire vanished in midair, and Levin’s blast of Chaos energy dissipated before reaching all the way to Pilip.

“As you can see, the Chaos rune is working perfectly. And after one full month, Levin shows no signs of Chaos Sickness.” Pilip spoke quickly.

“Now, now, Pilip. I believe you may be getting ahead of yourself. You are merely at the early Wisp rank, no? That’s not nearly strong enough to tell if you’ve brought out the full potential of those Chaos runes,” Eliya said, rising from his seat.

“...What do you have in mind, Lord Eliya?” Pilip said.

“Magus Hann, the Book of Reeds claims that Wave can defend against the early Smoke level, correct?”

“To be precise, it says it is possible to survive against the early Smoke level.”

“Thank you. That is perfect,” Eliya said, looking at Levin.

Levin blanched. He didn’t like where this was going.

“For your sake, child, I hope Pilip truly has reversed his string of failures.” Eliya raised his hand.

“Flame Hegemony.”

A roaring fire erupted all around Eliya that condensed into a single swirling ball of fire in the blink of an eye before rocketing forward towards Levin. Every hair on his body stood on end as his body screamed danger signals at him. But there was only one thing he could do.

“Wave!”

Levin again launched a pulse of energy that intercepted the roaring ball of flame. However, the fire ripped through his Chaos magic, slamming into Levin before exploding and sending him flying across the room. He landed with a thud and slid to a stop near the exit.

“I’m still alive?” was the first thought that went through Levin’s head as he returned to his senses.

Climbing slowly and unsteadily to his feet, he examined his body. The fire had destroyed his robes and undershirt, and his pants were singed all over, but he was mostly unharmed. His toolbelt had been exposed, but the material was far too durable to be affected. A red splotch was beginning to appear on his chest, but the pain wasn’t too bad. Levin felt worse about losing his chest hairs – it had taken those a long time to finally grow in.

“Splendid work, Magus Pilip,” Hann said.

“I don’t deserve such praise, Lord Hann!” Pilip exclaimed.

“No, you don’t,” Eliya said. “Can’t any runesmith simply follow directions? Still, I suppose you have met our expectations.”

“Of course, it was only thanks to the benevolence of the Lords Magi that I was able to make this great achievement,” Pilip said, bowing at the waist.

“It was I who unearthed the Book of Reeds in the first place, don’t forget. From a city destroyed over a thousand years ago, no less! And it was I again who approved your initial request to begin Chaos experimentation. So it was mostly my own benevolence, I believe it should be said,” Hann said, with a few dramatic strokes of his beard.

“Have you gone senile, Magus Hann?” Eliya asked sharply. “As I recall, all three of us were on that expedition. And if we hadn’t agreed with your approval – ”

“Enough,” Panai said, voice filling the room and silencing Eliya. They may have all been considered leaders of Inuvik Academy, but Panai was at the middle of the Smoke rank – halfway through. Eliya and Hann were both early-stage.

“Magus Pilip, we are satisfied with your results so far,” Panai said. “You are granted access to the Lethridge Vault once again. I hope you fully understand the importance a true Chaos soldier will provide in the upcoming months.”

“Ah, so that’s why they’re so willing to invest so much in me,” Levin thought, tossing the word soldier around in his head. “Just like the Mage Hunters, they see the turbulence that Silla’s departure is going to have on Trurok.”

A shock, to be sure, that he would be weaponized and sent to war for Inuvik Academy. But it felt like a small detail to Levin amidst everything else going on in his life.

“Of course, Lord Panai. I won’t let you down,” Pilip said.

“Very well. Dismissed. Continue the good work and you just might redeem yourself, Magus Pilip.”

“Of course! Thank you, my Lords!” Pilip said excitedly, bowing deeply once more before turning to leave.

As the large doors closed shut behind them, Pilip practically jumped for joy.

“Fantastic job, Levin! Here, take this, for a new set of robes,” Pilip said, shoving a few gold coins into his hand.

“We’ll be off to Lethridge again tomorrow! Soon enough, our Chaos will be at another level!”

***

Kirima opened her eyes as the azure rune beneath her winked out of existence. Her body surged with energy, flowing with more Force than Kirima once thought she would ever have. But now it was reality, and she had to test it.

She stood up, looking out at the calm mountain spring before her. Then she took a breath, closed her eyes, and focused. Her Source spun, channeling her Force as she traced a complicated pattern within her sea of consciousness.

And then, the chant. The partially-complete pattern in her mind filled out instantly and as the words focused Kirima’s Force into the shape of a large orb of water. And the next moment it became reality, a glittering sphere of transparent liquid that exploded on the surface of the spring.

One. Two. Three. She repeated the spell three times, until her Force was drained and her body felt tired and sluggish.

But she was overjoyed, and ran over to where a black horse was lightly grazing. Kirima threw her arms around the neck of her steed, nuzzling against Nini’s soft coat.

“Nini, I’m a level three acolyte now! If only dad could see us now,” she said.

A level three acolyte. That’s what she was now. And after only two months! That was the pace that the gifted and talented of the Chensu Clan were supposed to advance at, not someone like Kirima.

But thanks to Levin’s gifts, she had done it. She certainly didn’t think she deserved everything he had given her, even if he claimed they were for his benefit too.

“I wonder what I should get Levin?” Kirima asked her horse.

Nini suggested a whinny, but Kirima disagreed. He deserved something better. But all she could think of was giving him access to the Wisp rank section of the library once she made that rank. With Levin’s help, she might be able to do that in another year or two.

The clan had to dole out energy runes amongst everyone equally, but Kirima had a runesmith solely dedicated to her. For all her life she had wanted to become a powerful mage like her father, but Kirima had learned early on she would be lucky to even make Wisp rank. As such, the clan decided it would be unwise to invest into her.

But with Levin at her side, she finally felt like her dreams would be possible. She really had to think of a good gift for him.

“But for now, I need to celebrate!” she exclaimed. “Why don’t we give you an extra long walk today, girl?” she said, climbing into Nini’s saddle.

Though the stablehands ensured all the horses received proper care, Kirima still made sure to regularly give Nini attention. Ever since Levin showed Kirima the gorgeous little mountain spring, Kirima had been coming here and exploring the surroundings as a way to give Nini regular exercise.

“Let’s explore all the way to the base this time!” she said, beginning to hum a tune as she took in the scenery of the mountain forest.

“Maybe if I returned home like this, I could finally do something to help the others like me,” Kirima thought to herself. At least she had only been pushed into being a servant. Some of the other Chensu girls her age and talent had already been married off.

As Kirima and Nini descended further down the wide, gentle incline behind Inuvik Academy, the long morning shadows gradually shortened.

“No, of course I can’t go home now. My family won’t listen unless I at least reach the Wisp rank. Please, everyone, wait for me. No matter how long it may take…”

Lost in thought and losing track of time, Kirima and Nini arrived at a cliff that overlooked the forest below. They were near the base of the mountain now, and as she looked out, she could clearly see the towering peaks of the mountain range that extended far behind Mount Inuvik.

“Wow…” she murmured, looking up at the view from her lower vantage point.

But then she looked down, and her awe was quickly cut short. Beneath her was a large quarry carved out from the surrounding mountainside, with several tunnels marking the entrance to mines that extended deep into the heart of the mountain. Workers continually flowed in and out of the tunnels, bringing out sacks laden with crimson gemstones and raw heatstones before trudging back into the mines.

“It’s not a natural cliff!” was Kirima’s first thought upon seeing the area.

She next focused upon the laborers, watching men, women, and even children who were covered in dirt and grime fight through exhaustion to continue toiling away. At the edge of the quarry next to the cliff face stood a couple mages, leaning against a stout mage’s tower about three stories tall as they chatted while watching over the miners.

“They’re slaves!” Kirima realized a moment later.

As she watched, one of the slaves began to run. A young boy or man – it was difficult to tell at the distance – started sprinting up the quarry’s path in a moment when the guards had their backs turned. A stony path of switchbacks led down into the quarry, and the runaway slave clambered up the path as fast he could towards the forest and freedom.

“Go!” Kirima exclaimed, watching intently.

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He was halfway up by the time the guards noticed him. She noticed that they only had on the gray robes of acolytes, and for a second she thought that two acolytes alone wouldn’t be able to catch him now.

But the two guards just laughed. She couldn’t hear them, but she could see them pointing in amusement. And her heart fell.

There was a flash of purple light from the top floor of the mage’s tower, and the runaway slave froze in place. A moment later, he turned around, and with robotic movements retraced his steps back to the bottom of the quarry. Once there, he rejoined the rest of the slaves, who didn’t even react – as if they had known it would happen.

Kirima couldn’t watch any longer. The joy she had felt at her progress and success turned to anger, and she quickly rode Nini further around the cliff.

***

Levin sat at the desk in his room in the servant’s quarter, staring intently at an alembic full of brown, bubbling liquid while wearing a fresh set of robes from the Academy store. Beneath the glass vessel several bright red heatstones sat, the ever-convenient magic coals used at all levels of runesmithing. At the same time, he ground up some firelilies in a mortar and pestle.

Soon enough, the distillation was done. This time, he poured it over the ground mixture slowly, following Master Pilip’s advice. But not too slowly – he had actually failed the recipe doing that last night. Damn, runesmithing could be obnoxious. Even when you think you’ve got the process figured out, sometimes you just fail. He suspected that would only get worse as the inks got more and more complicated.

But this time he would get it just right. And then his Y-Link would have a record of the correct speed, and Levin would never mess it up again. And then he could consider Myriad Flame ink to be a part of his collection.

Soon enough, the batch was underway in his small desk-sized furnace. Levin was going to be very frustrated if it didn’t work this time. His coin purse could only take so many failures.

At that moment, a knock came on his door. Levin jumped in surprise, his chair tipping back and clattering to the ground. This was bad. He snatched up his toolbelt from his desk, stuffing the advanced technology under the sheets of his bed.

He hesitated about how to hide his runesmithing equipment, especially the active furnace – technically not anything wrong, but if he was caught with all this equipment, the Academy would naturally want to know how a mere servant had gotten it. If they asked Master Pilip and he denied knowledge of –

“Levin? Are you okay?” said the voice from beyond the door, in a worried tone.

Levin relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief at that voice. Then he hurried over and pulled the door open, revealing a cute blue-haired girl with an expression of concern.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he said with an awkward laugh. “What’s up? It’s awfully late.”

The sun had set hours ago. Levin had waited for Kirima at the library as usual, but she hadn’t been there. Levin didn’t think about it too much – Kirima had missed their evening meeting a few times before. She did have duties as an acolyte, after all.

Kirima stepped into the room, but her expression didn’t change. He had figured her look of concern had come from his wooden chair crashing to the floor, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Something seemed to be gnawing at her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Levin, will you help me?” she asked.

“If it’s something I can help with, of course,” he answered immediately.

“I just found Inuvik’s slave camp, at the foot of the mountain. I want to free them.”

Levin was completely taken aback, stunned into silence. He knew what she was referring to. Of course, with Cho flying high in the sky every day, how could he not have seen the massive quarry and its mining shafts? And though he didn’t support slavery, freeing them was a task that seemed obviously beyond their capabilities.

“Kirima, there’s no way this is possible. Do you even realize what you’re suggesting? That would make us instant enemies of Inuvik Academy! They would kill us immediately! Even if we somehow get those people out, what do you plan to do then? This is ridiculous!”

“Of course I know that!” Kirima exclaimed. “But I can’t just sit back and let those poor people suffer! Not when I can help them!”

“But we can’t help them. If you truly want to help people, then you need to be stronger, Kirima. You’re still a level two acolyte!”

“I reached level three today,” Kirima said.

“Congratulations,” Levin said, but she didn’t look happy about it. “But even so, as we are now, we can’t do anything yet to save them.”

“That’s a lie, Levin. Do you really think we can’t? That you can’t?” Kirima fixed a piercing glare on Levin, her eyes puffy and red.

Levin frowned. Of course, between Cho and the Mage Hunters, Levin probably could find a way to help… but Kirima couldn’t know that.

“With your Chaos magic, you could set all those people free, Levin. All the Wisp rank mages went back to the Academy, so there’s no one guarding it right now! We could let them all go and sneak right back into the Academy.”

“My Chaos magic? What do you mean?” Levin asked.

“I know how these slave camps work at powerful mage organizations. My father told me about them once, and I saw Inuvik’s in action today.” Kirima looked sick as she recalled it. “They have a rune array connected to all the slaves, and it prevents them from fleeing or disobeying. But your Chaos could destroy that rune!”

Levin shuddered. He hadn’t realized such a horrid machination existed. And it explains why Kirima said there weren’t any guards. Slaves that couldn’t disobey probably didn’t need much monitoring.

“Wait, Kirima, did you see all the mages leave? Have you been there all day?” Levin asked with some concern.

“Yes. I found them this morning. I’ve been thinking about what to do ever since,” Kirima said.

“This is crazy.” Levin closed his eyes and shook his head. Yet, it was so hard to maintain his resolve in the face of those bold blue eyes.

Levin sent Cho heading out in the direction of the quarry to get a good look for himself.

“Have you heard of the Mage Hunters?” Kirima asked. “They aren’t scared of the mages! They free slaves and fight for justice. But when I saw that… place… all those people… I realized that the Mage Hunters can only do so much. I loved reading the news stories of their achievements, but they’ve never come close to a place like this. They can’t. But Levin, we’re already here.”

Kirima wasn’t quite right that the place was empty. Cho saw a couple acolytes loitering out in the night, and there would probably be more in the tower, too…

“The Mage Hunters can’t attack when there’s a rune array for security. But Inuvik’s rune array won’t stop us! The mages could never imagine someone from inside the Academy setting the slaves free.”

“If only I had a way to get Mei or the Mage Hunters into the central rune array, this might be possible…” Levin thought to himself. “But not with just the two of us.”

“What do you plan to do once they’re free? If we release a bunch of beaten, malnourished slaves into the wild backwoods, many of them will die. And if we somehow get them to Inuvik City, they’ll probably just be recaptured and taken straight back to the mines,” Levin said.

Kirima sat quietly, pondering Levin’s question. “I’ll… I’ll take them back to my family! My clan released all our slaves a few years before I was born. We could hire them as workers!”

“Won’t that just cause the Chensu Clan to become an enemy of Inuvik? Inuvik would probably just demand the slaves be returned. Do you think your family would be willing to fight against Inuvik for some slaves?”

Kirima bit her lip, her brow furrowed. “I… I don’t think so. Maybe the slaves would just have to survive. Isn’t that still better than being a slave?” she asked, on the verge of tears.

Levin sighed. “Kirima, give up on it. I think it’s admirable you want to help, but we should stick to things that are possible. Isn’t it your dream to be a mage? Let’s both focus on getting stronger, and maybe someday we’ll be in a position to help them.”

“...No. I’m going to help them now. Even if you won’t.”

She spun around, her messy hair flipping over her shoulder. She strode over to the door, and Levin feared she really intended to go alone. A surge of anxiety gripped him; he couldn’t bear to leave her like this.

“Wait!” Levin cried out. Kirima froze, her hand on the doorknob.

It was utter foolishness to make an enemy of Inuvik Academy. The long-standing institution was run by three Smoke ranks, the highest concentration of them in all of Trurok. To any one of them, Levin and Kirima were nothing more than bugs. They would be crushed as easily as Andrew had been.

Every instinct Levin had screamed at him to keep his head down, develop his abilities, and look for hints that could lead him home. He even felt okay now with sitting back and letting Mei and the Mage Hunters avenge Andrew for him. After all, Levin was of little use in a fight – which Kirima was practically begging for.

But when he thought of her leaving, of trying desperately to save others all on her lonesome, one thought screamed louder than any other. That he might not see her again.

“I’ll help you,” Levin said.

Kirima spun back around, running over and throwing her arms around Levin. She only held the embrace for a moment before she pulled back, looking up at Levin with a fire in her eyes.

“Let’s go tonight!” she exclaimed.

“We at least need to take the time to prepare,” Levin said.

“We can’t wait! What if there are Wisp ranks on guard tomorrow? What if we miss our opportunity? And how long will you let them suffer?” Kirima said with a stomp of her foot.

Levin’s resolve had already been broken. “All right, all right.” If it was just some acolytes, maybe they really did stand a chance.

He bent down, reaching under the wooden frame of his bed. The sound of wood scraping on wood echoed out as Levin pulled out a large box into the middle of his room. The inside had been criss-crossed with intersecting panels, dividing the space into dozens of individual storage pockets. Most were empty, but a few contained vials of ink.

“We’ll go tonight,” Levin said. “But we still have to prepare first.”

“Wow…” Kirima said, looking over the inks. “Did you brew all of these?”

“Yes.” Levin said. They weren’t up to the standards of a proper runesmith, but it would be foolish to forgo a readily available advantage.

“But what’s your plan with them?” Kirima asked. “Are we going to set a trap?”

Levin didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled two vials from his case – two blue inks, but one slightly darker than the other.

“These are water-element inks,” Levin said. “They’re not very potent, so they’ll only be good for one use each.”

“Will we try to lure the guards into them?”

“No. Hold out your arm, please.”

Kirima obediently lifted her right arm, pulling back the long sleeve of her robe. Levin picked up an engraving tool from his desk, sitting next to the live furnace. That ink would certainly be handy tonight, if it comes out well.

Levin poured one of the blue inks into the back of the engraving tool, then took Kirima’s arm by the wrist. She winced slightly as he dug the metal tip into her skin, but relaxed as Levin got to work – there was no pain, but Levin knew firsthand it wasn’t particularly comfortable.

“This is a rune called Jet Cannon. It’s quiet, fast, and precise even at a decent range. It’ll be a lot better than your regular spells, but it’s still only acolyte-level. So aim for the head, because it won’t do much more than knock someone out,” Levin said.

He dropped her arm and motioned for the other one. Kirima held out her bare arm, and Levin began engraving another Jet Cannon from the other vial of ink.

“Aim for who, though? Like I said, all the guards left! I watched them go right after the sunset.”

“There’s still a few acolytes spending the night there,” Levin said.

“Oh! Wait, how do you know that?”

“I’ll tell you in a minute. Let me finish my rune first.”

The next three vials Levin pulled from his box were a vibrant green. He sat one of them – the most potent one – to the side, and then engraved two runes on his own arms as well. Kirima admired the intricate tattoo on her arm while Levin worked.

“How do I use it?” Kirima asked. “You didn’t make a control rune.”

“These ones are activated by focusing on them in your sea of consciousness and saying the chant. No control rune needed – runes meant to be put on skin don’t usually have them. So just say ‘Jet Cannon’ when you’re ready to shoot it off.”

“Alright! With these, we shouldn’t have any problems!” Kirima exclaimed. “Let’s go!”

“Not just yet,” Levin said.

Kirima gave him a questioning look as he reached under the blanket behind him, pulling out his hastily hidden toolbelt. Kirima eyed it curiously, and Levin made no attempt to hide it. He picked up his strongest batch of wind-element ink along with the belt, and placed them both on his desk. Once he positioned the sensors and analysis rune correctly, Levin turned them on and checked the data from the ink in his dying furnace.

With a small nod of satisfaction, he pulled it out. Levin reached for his engraving tool, filling the hollow metal structure with the bright orange ink. Then, Levin pricked his finger, releasing a drop of blood indistinguishable in color from the ink.

“This is Myriad Flame ink,” Levin said. “Easily my most powerful ink.”

“Are you putting it on yourself?” Kirima asked.

“No.”

He stepped up to the window. Levin threw the shutters wide, letting a cool night breeze flow freely into the room.

“Okay…” Kirima said, watching as Levin looked out into the night, metal pen in hand.

Suddenly, a rush of wind blasted Levin and Kirima, and she yelped in surprise. But what she saw next made her eyes nearly pop out of her skull.

There, perched in the open window, was a silver-coated bird standing nearly as tall as her.

“Kirima, let me introduce you to Cho.”

Kirima stared, dumbstruck. She recovered slowly, collecting her jaw from the floor after a few seconds. Then, she stepped up to the window.

“Oh, hello Cho. Is he… Can I pet him?” Kirima asked, cautiously hovering her hand in the air.

“Yes, he’s very friendly,” Levin said. This wasn’t the time for a true explanation of what Cho is. He wasn’t sure Kirima would really be able to understand anyways.

Kirima reached out slowly, touching Cho on the side of the head with her knuckles before turning her hand over and rubbing the polished metal with her palm. Levin controlled Cho manually, making it look like a real animal reacting to the touch. The sight was enough for him to chuckle inwardly.

“Wow, a metal bird… I’ve seen a few magical beasts, but never one this amazing…” Kirima said, stepping away from Cho.

Kirima stroked Cho for a few moments more, then stepped back, giving Levin space to work. He controlled the bird to lower its head, straighten its back out, and extend its head out as far as possible. In that pose, Cho’s back became a flat easel spread out before Levin, at the perfect height for his arm to reach.

Levin hesitated a moment. “I was hoping to wait until I had brewed higher quality inks before I put some on Cho,” he thought to himself. But a glance at Kirima, who watched patiently, was enough to begin moving his arm.

Despite Cho’s hard outer surface, Levin’s engraving tool left behind a thin streak of orange wherever his hand passed. He moved with deft motions, tracing the shape that his active Y-Link provided to his mind. Soon, Cho’s head, neck, and upper back were covered in a dim orange glow. Levin had to simply mark his own arm with the same liquid, and Cho’s first upgrade was complete.

But Levin didn’t intend to stop at one. He reached back over to his desk, plucking up the wind-element ink. He wasn’t sure if it was a correct choice to give Cho both his strongest inks, but it was too late to second guess the decision now. A few drops of blood later, and his engraving tool was once more primed.

This time, he made Cho straighten up, standing tall with wings stretched out wide. Now it was the belly of Cho that was flattened and exposed, and Levin set to work without delay. The red glow atop the back of his metal companion was soon joined with green from the front, both runes alight with power but much dimmer than they would be when activated.

Now, Levin had three control runes decorating his upper arm – white, red, and green. One for his analysis rune, two for Cho. Between them and the runes directly engraved into his and Kirima’s skin, they should at least be able to escape from any danger.

“I’m done. Ready to go?” he asked.

“Yes! And thank you so much, Levin. I’m finally going to be able to make a real difference!” Kirima said excitedly.

There was one vial of ink left in his box, the final success he had managed during his practice. It was an achievement almost on par with his Myriad Flame ink, and a specific branch of magic he had pursued in preparation for revenge against Azaadi.

He grabbed it, tucking it into a pocket in his toolbelt as they turned to leave. Hopefully, he wouldn’t need that ink. If it needed to be made into a rune, then something had gone tremendously wrong.

With anxiety bubbling in his stomach, Levin followed Kirima out of his room.