Kaara was a fool. She had believed that she could save her friends, but they were beyond saving. When her screams of abject horror were met with uproarious laughter, she decided they did not need nor did they deserve her protection anymore.

“You should see the look on your face!” Arik cackled, doubling over.

Even Rorik was hiding a grin under his hand.

“Hey! That’s not funny! That’s mean! What if I just woke up from a really bad dream or something?”

“You were smiling in your sleep and mumbled something about ‘testicles’, so we figured it probably wasn’t too bad,” Arik said.

Kaara hid her reddening face in her hands,“No! You’re lying!”

“You even laughed before you said it. It was so like you. I think that’s when I knew you’d be fine when you woke up, honestly.”

Kaara looked up from her palms, ”Where did you get all this blood anyway? And were you just drenched in it waiting for me to wake up or something?”

Arik pointed a thumb to Shiira who was rocking on the back legs of a chair tossing a wisp of hay in her mouth.

“Admittedly, I thought their prank would be funny, so I just told them when you looked like you’d wake up and provided the blood.” Shiira said, twirling her index finger in the air to clean the blood off of them in an instant. The wisp of hay disintegrated to dust and joined with the glob of blood in the air to form a disk of black pudding. She snatched it from the air and took a bite out of it, “It’s just pig’s blood.”

Kaara felt her stomach churn. She had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to eat pork for at least one week. Three days at best. Maybe two days. Okay, if they made stuffed pork loin tonight she would eat it, but she would pray really hard beforehand!

“Shiira said she’s never seen someone so young recover so quickly from a soul injury,” Rorik said, “You really are amazing, Kaara.”

“It was probably something Amaro did when he rescued her,” Arik said.

“Amaro?” Kaara asked.

“Yeah, apparently he carried you here after chasing off some creep who was taking advantage of the situation. He’s been on a tear for the past few days, now. So far he’s helped Deka take out every other noble faction.”

Shiira laughed dryly, “Kid’s been giving me more than enough work the past couple days. Leave it to a Xirxus to send them to me with plenty of broken bones, cuts, and bruises.”

Kaara gave them a puzzled look, “Why’s he doing all of that?”

Arik and Rorik looked at each other, “Amaro said you were attacked by someone,” Rorik said.

Kaara put a finger on her lip, “No, I wasn’t attacked or anything. I was just practicing my dancing on my own, and I ended up thinking of a new spell. I guess it was way out of my league to cast.”

“That’s saying a lot for someone like you,” Arik said, “Didn’t you feel how powerful the spell would be before you cast it? It feels like I’m trying to gnaw my own arm off when I cast something too powerful.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“No, not really. That’s why I was kinda surprised. Normally I do, but this time it just happened.”

“The dance likely had something to do with it.” Shiira chimed in, “dances and meditation are some of the many methods with which one can cast beyond their normal limitations. In a way, dancing is a form of meditation. You lose yourself in the motions, and you can use it to enter a similar trance.”

“I guess Amaro assumed you must have been attacked to summon something so powerful,” Rorik said.

“That or he was just making stuff up to look good,” Arik sneered.

Rorik turned to Kaara, “Do you remember another person before you fell unconscious?”

“I only remember one person, and everything was really blurry and cold. I think they poured a potion down my throat at some point? It burned a bunch, but I don’t feel like they intended to hurt me. It was weird, even the snow felt warm.”

“The snow felt warm?” Shiira said, “Just what sort of spell did you try to cast?”

“When we went to Yvian a few months ago, I remember there was this lady. She was a Venator Knight, and she had this really cool wolf-shaped fire armor. And the wolf was alive too, so I think it was some sort of summon. I tried to do something similar, and ended up like I was.”

Shiira sighed, “The fact your soul did not disintegrate on the spot is impressive in and of itself.”

“Why’s that, elder?” Kaara asked, tilting her head.

“From what you described, you tried to use a technique called Edax Izikhali. Translated from Draconic, it’s known as ‘devouring armor’ or ‘Edax armor’. There are greater and lesser versions of it, but even the lesser versions are an impressive feat. If you saw someone using it, then you bore witness to a very rare warrior.”

“Yeah! She was awesome!” Kaara said, “She moved so fast I couldn’t even see her sometimes. One second her enemies were standing up, and then I blink and she’s shoved their heads into the ground!”

“Not surprising considering you said it was a Venator Knight who did it. Either way, Edax armor is highly dangerous. Not only does it have a high chance to shatter your soul at any moment, it also requires an unbreakable willpower. Many die trying to summon it, and the few who manage to summon even the lesser versions of Edax armor can be driven into a frenzy. There’s an incredible bloodlust that comes with the technique.”

Arik smacked Kaara’s head.

“Ow!”

“That’s for being reckless. We were all worried for you when we heard your soul might break forever even if you were lucky enough to wake up.”

“I’m sorry.” Kaara said.

“Speaking of which, try to cast some magic,” Shiira said, “A simple snowball or a glob of water will suffice.”

“Okay,” Kaara said, holding out her hands and summoning a perfectly round ball of snow.

“Rather remarkable. Seems like you’ve recovered while you slept.” Shiira said, barely able to hide her fanged grin.

“Really? After all of that? How?” Arik asked.

Shiira leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm and blowing her bangs out of her hair,

“Likely the result of a talented Xirxus combined with a prodigious Tibur. It’s not unheard of, nor is it a miracle, but it is remarkable. Speaking of that Xirxus boy, I believe he’d left a gift at your bedside.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right.” Rorik said, reaching over and presenting Kaara with a fancy looking box, “Some sort of sweets, I think.”

“Oh! Wicked!” Kaara said, making grabby hands at him, “Hand ‘em over!”

Rorik sighed, putting the box on her lap, “This isn’t a gift for you being reckless. It’s probably the gift he got you for the eve of the ceremony.”

Kaara stopped before she could open it, “Aw, so I gotta wait to open this huh?”

Arik shrugged, “I ‘unno. I say do what you want.”

“I think I’ll wait to open it. Where is he now? I’ve gotta thank him. Since you guys are saying he saved me and all.”

“Since you’re awake and fully recovered, let’s try to find him together,” Arik said, “I heard the Tibur team had finally started to make some moves, and I’ve been itching to fight.”