Adrianna Sandervile’s POV

The trip to Gilcour Thickett was uneventful. It was just a straight shot on the road all the way there, and in wagons; it was an easy-going trip. My butt hurt from the rough ride here, but that was my only real complaint.

That and what happened to Kaladin. He has changed completely ever since the collar was put on him. Martin told me that this was something the collar could do if the master and servant had a strong bond before using the collar. So does that mean me and Kali had a strong bond?

I could care less about that right now.

I didn’t like how Kaladin was acting. It just wasn’t him. It was almost like Kaladin was gone and replaced by a fake happy version of himself. I wanted this all to be over so we could go back home and take that thing off of him.

But more importantly, when I see Dad again… we are going to have a serious talk. I’m tired of Kaladin being treated like a slave. I don’t know what I have to do, but I’m going to change that. I don’t care how mad Dad gets or even if Keyla tries stopping me. This is the last time I ever want to see Kaladin like this, and I don’t even care if Kaladin hates me for it.

I’m doing it, no matter what.

“Hey, can’t sleep, Adria?” Tris whispered next to me.

“No… I can’t,” I whispered back.

Tris and I were sleeping together in our tent. I wanted Kaladin to join us, but I didn’t want to talk to him right now, let alone see him. I felt awful for what I was doing to him, and I couldn’t stomach seeing him.

Every time I looked into his eyes, I just wanted to cry.

Tris snuggled closer to me. “It’ll be okay. When we get back, we will get him back to normal, okay?”

“How…”

“I just know. So how about we get some sleep?”

“Okay…” I whispered.

I tried falling asleep, but my mind was racing. My focus drifted off to the conversation that was happening outside of my tent. Martin and Ester along with the two people from the Knight Academy who were in our hunting group were chatting amongst each other,

“I heard Niel died a few weeks ago. That true, Martin?” a man named Lewis asked.

Lewis was a retired soldier and instructor at the Knight Academy, or so he told me. Apparently, he fought in the war alongside Martin.

“You knew him?” Martin asked.

“Of course. We were in the same spear line together. I’d never forgotten Niel. But is it true? Did he really croak?”

“Yeah, he and another guard died in their sleep. They were out drinking together the night before, and when the others tried waking them up, they both stayed asleep forever. Goes to show you that drinking is bad for your health,” Martin said with a yawn.

“What? Nothing wrong with drinking, you stiff. They were just getting old.”

“Say that to those dead men,” Martin retorted.

Then I heard his voice.“Would any of you care for something to drink?” Kaladin’s voice chirped as I heard some liquid swish around.

Ester’s laughter rang out. "I told you we should have done this sooner, Martin! Look at him now, acting like the obedient dog that he is. And of course, I’ll take the drink, give it here, slave!”

Ester! What did you…

Tris jabbed me in the stomach. “Don’t even think about it, Adria. Go. To. Sleep.”

Martin sighed audibly., “Didn’t I just say that drinking is bad for your health? If you wake up hungover, I’m not wasting mana to cure you when we are about to face monsters. And that goes for all of you. Also, you shouldn’t say those things, Es. You never know who is listening.”

“Oh, pipe down. It’s not a big deal. We are protecting kids from what? Dire Wolves? Maybe a Forest Spider or two? Not even worth taking monsters under twenty seriously. I could kill anything in this forest with both hands tied behind my back,” Ester bragged. Then I heard the swooshing sound of liquid. “Gah! This is good stuff! Hew, take a drink, kid. It helps take the edge off.”

“Is it okay, sir?” Hew asked.

“Not before me, you little turd, gimmie that,” Lewis said with a hardy laugh.

I could hear the swooshing of drink again as Lewis must have snatched the stuff from Ester. Hew was Lewis's student and the other knight that was here from the academy. Well, I guess he wasn’t technically a knight yet. He was a few years older than us at around fifteen or sixteen.

I tried my best to get some sleep, but I couldn’t shake the awful feeling in my heart.

—

“Fifty yards to your right and closing, Adria, it’s your turn. Get ready to root it!” Hew yelled so everyone could hear.

“Yes!” I yelled back.

I waited until I could see the monster. A giant green spider skittered out from the bushes within a few seconds. It was big as a child, but it wasn’t very fast for a monster.

Vine Binding.

I formed the core of my spell and let it lose. I felt the mana leave my body in a burst of warmth as green tendrils snaked their way to the Forest Spider, wrapping around the spider’s legs and torsos, forcing it to the ground.

“Archers, you're up! Loose!” Hew ordered.

With a thud of bowstrings, Lilyi and Jal’s arrows pierced the spider’s abdomen, eliciting the monster to let out a screech as it reeled in pain. Yellow blood shot out from the wounds as Hew gave another order,

“Mages, finish it off!”

I decided to let the other mage finish off the spider since I focused on keeping it rooted to the ground. Caster, a wind mage, sent a flurry of razor-sharp wind blades at the dying monster, bisecting it.

“Another monster inbound! From the left this time! Caster, you’re up!” Hew barked.

“Sir!” Caster yelled back.

A giant black wolf with green eyes leaped off of a tree towards us. “Updraft!” Caster shouted.

A gust of wind blew the Dire Wolf up into the air when Hew gave another command. “Archers, loose!”

Jal and Lilyi fired their arrows, but Jal ended up missing entirely while Lilyi only grazed the Dire Wolf’s head. As the monster fell back to the earth, it twisted its body unnaturally and landed on its feet. The Dire Wolf snarled at us, foam dripping from its mouth.

“Warriors, prepare!” Hew yelled once more.

As if on command, the Dire Wolf lunged at Hew with a howl. Its abnormally large fangs bore down on him. He took on the Dire Wolf’s charge and locked his blade with the monster’s jaw.

Before the Wolf could bring its claws down on the young knight, Rosom and Tris stabbed their swords into the Dire Wolf’s chest. Red blood splattered onto the ground, and the Dire Wolf let out a final moan before losing its strength.

“Ha… okay, good job everyone,” Hew said, clearly relieved that everything went well. Hew looked down at his dungeon item and smiled tiredly. “Okay, no more monsters in the vicinity. Let’s get some water.”

“Right away!” Kaladin said all too enthusiastically as he began passing around water to everyone.

This was how monster hunting had gone for the last few hours. So far, we have killed eight monsters like this. Most of the monsters seemed to come in pairs or were alone. A single Dire Wolf was a threat level of fifteen but shot up if there were multiples nearby.

However, they rarely formed packs and tended to act alone. Calling them wolves wasn’t even true since they barely resemble ordinary wolves. Everything about a Dire Wolf was bigger and nastier than a normal animal. So far, they were vicious and attacked blindly upon finding us, unlike a normal wolf who would use pack tactics.

Forest Spiders were much the same, at a threat level of sixteen. They placed their webs close to the ground hoping to catch something, but if they saw us before we reached it, the thing would just rush at us. Of course, if we walked into its web we were in trouble, but avoiding them was pretty easy since the traps were very obvious.

As it stood, I could even kill one of these monsters by myself. At first, I was really scared when I saw a Dire Wolf. I almost broke down from being so scared. But with Tris’s help, I realized that in a group like this, it wasn’t anything to worry about. Eventually, I started enjoying fighting the monsters.

I remember Mom telling me stories about slaying monsters. I wonder if… if I’m like Mom?

These monsters weren’t all that strong and they seemed stupid. I think I’m more afraid of fighting a real wolf. And besides, if we ever became overwhelmed, Ester, Martin, and Lewis were here to back us up.

“Man… I’m getting tired already,” Jal complained as he downed the water Kali gave him.

“I guess we just aren’t used to this kind of stuff,” Rosom interjected with a bitter smile.

I wasn’t sure why but everyone seemed so worn down. Was it because I didn’t do very much physical work, so I wasn’t that tired? Even Ester and Lewis seemed tired today.

Kali did say alcohol was poison for a young mind. Martin said it was bad for your health too, so does that mean it’s just poison for everyone? So then, why does everyone drink it all the time?

Maybe they are right?

“Good work, kid,” Lewis said while patting Hew on the back. “But hey, Ester, doesn’t this feel weird to you? Shouldn’t we have faced more monsters in the last few hours? We’ve gone a little too deep into the thicket, don’t you think? And since when did Forest Spiders leave their webs like this?”

Ester, who had bags under her eyes, grumbled. “Who cares. Fewer monsters are fewer things to worry about. And we had to push deeper to find more monsters. We are still well within the low-threat level monster area. Besides, the kids are getting their combat experience in, and that’s all that matters.”

Martin mumbled. “Told you all not to drink last night…”

I ignored the rest of their conversation and snuck over to Kali, who was passing around water to everyone. I reached for the water he was carrying on his back and grabbed it. But before I could take a drink, Kaladin flicked around with a sudden burst of speed and grabbed the canteen.

I had part of it in one hand, and he had the other. He smiled brightly at me. “This water isn’t for you, Master. It would be unthinkable for you to share the same water with everyone else.”

“What, it’s no big deal? It’s just water,” I complained.

But Kaladin didn’t let go of the water.

“You have your own water, drink from that, please,” he said.

“What’s gotten into you? I already drank all of my water,” I asked while tugging on the canteen.

Then he tugged harder, and his smile faded into a blank expression. “Do you trust me?” he said quietly.

What?! Why is he looking at me like that?! Is this because of that stupid collar?!

“Of course I trust you…” I murmured.

“Good, then drink from this water instead,” he said while handing me a different water canteen. “You and Tristian have your own water. Please drink from it, okay, Master?” His smile returned as if the last few moments were nothing more than a dream.

“Okay…”

I was confused. This collar was turning Kaladin into somebody completely different, and I hated it. If I weren’t around other people, I’d be yelling and screaming.

Dad, you better be ready.

“Hey, you got some water, slave?” Dillian spat.

Without missing a beat, Kaladin turned around. “Of course, Sir Stav, here you go.” Kaladin handed Dillian a canteen while Dillian looked right at me and laughed.

“You—”

Tris put a hand on my shoulder. “Not now, Adria.”

I was so angry I wanted to cry. This was terrible.

I balled my fists, and my hands started hurting from how hard I was clenching. This was supposed to be a fun trip with the three of us but it’s been nothing but a nightmare. First, I had to be in the same team as this waste of air while I watched him make fun of my friend. Then I had to watch that same friend morph into some kind of twisted version of himself all while fighting nasty monsters.

I just want to go home.

Suddenly Hew spits out the water he was drinking and reached for the dungeon item. It was an item that showed monsters in the vicinity. It apparently only worked on low-threat level monsters, and it was in the shape of an intricate silver compass.

“Hahaha…” Hew laughed nervously.

“Hew, what’s wrong, boy?” Lewis asked, sauntering over to him.

“Sir… this is a mistake, right?” Hew asked while holding the item up for Lewis to see.

Lew’s eyes bulged in shock. "…..By Amon-Ra… that’s a lot of dots.”

“Hey, what’s going on, old man?” Ester snapped.

“Fifteen… no, twenty monsters… it keeps going up,” he said. His original shock faded, and a stern face was plastered on the older soldier’s face, “Get ready, everyone! We’ve got incoming!”

“Damn it. I’m taking over! Martin, get a barrier up. We need something to put our backs to!” Ester yelled.

“Already ahead of you. Holy Half-Dome.”

A bright flash of yellow light blinded me for a moment. When I opened my eyes again, a semi-circle of light encircled us. It covered above us as well, so the only entrance was the front.

“Lewis and Hew, you're with me!” Ester ordered while unsheathing her large two-handed long sword.

“Sir!” they shouted in unison.

“Here, take this, kid!” Lewis said, tossing the monster compass to Tris.

The three of them stood a little more than sword length away from each other at the opening of the semi-circle.

Martin yawned. “How annoying…”

I looked out into the forest, and the sound of animals rushing toward us became louder and louder.

“Everyone get into our formations as well, just in case!” Rosom said aloud.

Like clockwork, we all moved into our positions.

Rosom acted as the vanguard position and stood at the front while Tris and Dillian stood as the warriors behind him. Next were the archers, then Caster. After that were the support roles, which were Kaladin and me, it was a simple strategy that most adventurers used to slay monsters.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

The vanguard would attack and frontline as many monsters as possible while the warriors took out any stragglers that made it past. The archers, mages, and supporting roles would fill in the gaps when needed.

However… I don’t think our formation mattered all that much.

Ester, Lewis, and Hew dispatched the horde of monsters one by one. Dire Wolves, Forrest Spiders, and even a few creatures I’ve never seen before funneled in and were cut down with ease.

Anytime a monster occasionally broke through, Martin would quickly dispatch it with a flying sword of light. The semicircular entrance became a pit of blood and monster guts as the three warriors hacked through the beasts.

Ester’s swings would cleave two or three monsters in one go, while Lewis’s spear found its mark every time. Hew, with his short sword, made quick work of any beast that dared approach him in quick succession. The three of them were a flurry of death and metal.

But there was a problem.

The monsters kept coming.

“How many more, kid!” Lewis yelled out to Tris.

“I can’t count them all!” Tris yelled back.

“Why are there so many? Is there a dungeon or something?” Hew asked in between cutting the head off a charging Dire Wolf.

“Maybe, but low threat level monsters don’t normally come in hordes like this,” Martin said calmly while launching a spear of light into a bird monster. “But it’s fine. These things are small fry. Tristian, let me know when the numbers start dwindling.”

“Okay!” Tris yelled back.

The monsters kept coming and the four of them kept slaying them. Anytime a monster tried breaking through Martin’s barrier, a beam of light would impale it. But it seemed they didn’t learn as they kept crashing into the barrier, only to be killed instantly.

So this is the power of an Expert light mage? I always thought light mages were just for healing but I guess not.

“There isn’t any more coming! The numbers are going down!” Tris informed Martin.

“Finally…” Martin grumbled. “Get ready, you three. I’m gonna consecrate the barrier.”

The three front liners grumbled in acknowledgment as they continued to put down the monsters in front of them. Martin waited as he surveyed the battle.

Then he tapped his golden spear staff onto the ground twice. The rings jingled and clanked against each other. “Consecration.”

Martin’s barrier exploded into a wave of light that looked like broken glass. The yellow glass shot off into the forest, and any monster that touched the stuff was burned and killed. It was both beautiful and frightening.

Ester planted her sword into the ground and leaned on it. “I’m never drinking again,” she complained while panting.

Martin just stared at her with dead eyes. “Told you so…”

Then Martin flicked around violently. “Survivor.”

We turned around, and behind us, a single Dire Wolf was running at us from the back where the barrier was. The creature was wounded, its black fur was stained red with blood and some of the fur was even darker from burn wounds. It was only a few yards away when Martin raised his spear staff but then…

“Huh?” Martin squeaked.

What! WHAT IS HE DOING?

Kaladin was blocking the way to the Dire Wolf and moving towards it. He was throwing everything into his limp leg and moving quickly for somebody who normally couldn’t move very fast. I couldn’t even cast a spell to stop him because he was in the way! He was practically throwing himself at this monster!

Before anyone could stop him, The Dire Wolf reached Kaladin and opened its jaws wide.

“Kaladin!” Tris yelled. Tris was one of the first people to react and was already running towards him. But Tris was too far to stop him.

Then… Then… no, why? Why would he do that? Did that stupid thing MAKE HIM DO THIS?

Time seemed to slow down as Kaladin thrust his hand into the monster’s open maw. The Dire Wolf bit down and took Kaladin’s right hand and some of his arm with it. Kaladin rolled out of the way as blood gushed out from his handless arm.

“NO!” I screamed.

My vision swam and tears blocked my vision. Vine Binding. Vine Binding! Vine Binding!

I sent everything I had at the Dire Wolf. My tendrils snaked up from the ground, locking the monster down to the soil. From behind me, I heard Martin cast another spell. “Judgment.”

A hammer made of white light spun at blinding speeds as it impacted into the Dire Wolf, obliterating it. Nothing was left of the monster besides a spray of its blood and its legs.

“MARTIN, HEAL HIM! HEAL KALADIN, NOW!” I shrieked while trying to run towards Kaladin.

But before I could get very far, a force yanked me by the collar. I turned and looked Martin right in the eyes. His eyes burned with a seriousness I’d never seen on the sleepy mage’s face before. Tris, who was running after Kaladin as well, ran face-first into a wall of light that appeared.

“Stay in formation, both of you. Never break formation. Because if you do, somebody else might get hurt. A few more monsters are coming. I’ll go heal him,” Martin ordered.

I tried to shake from Martin’s grip but it was as strong as iron. Finally, Tris got up and looked over at us in frustration. “I can’t heal him if I’m trying to protect you two. So. Go. Back.” Martin bathed us in his blood lust as he spoke.

“FINE!” I screeched in frustration and fear. Martin’s bloodlust made the tears stream even more.

Tris and I reluctantly got back into formation as Lewis came to cover our exposed backs. He was huffing and puffing and looked extremely haggard. Martin walked over to Kaladin, and sure enough, a handful of monsters crept out from the forest.

“Let’s annihilate them,” Tris’s voice was dripping with hatred.

“Yes.”

A Forrest Spider skittered towards us, so I bound it with my vines. Then, instead of waiting for someone else to finish it off, I impaled the spider’s eyes with my magic. With a sickening crunch, the spider folded over, and I moved on to the next.

Tris was slicing off the legs of a Dire Wolf while Caster launched blades of wind at it. Jal and Lilyi continued firing arrows into oncoming monsters. Eventually, the small group of monsters was reduced to nothing more than a pile of corpses.

Now that the monster threat was truly over, I turned my attention over to where Kaladin and Martin were. I wanted to scream his name and make sure he was okay. But what I saw stopped the words in my throat.

Martin was hunched over on his knees next to a tree he used to prop Kaladin up against. But Kaladin was standing up with Martin’s golden spear staff leaning against his shoulder while downing the last drops of a red liquid from a vial.

What? What is he doing?

“Martin, what are you doing! Get up, I feel like crap, and I need you to heal me!” Ester groaned.

She, too, looked worse for wear. I felt like everyone besides Tris and I looked dead tired. Weren’t these people supposed to be in good shape and have loads of mana? Speaking of mana, I was getting low and was starting to get a bit sleepy…

But Martin never answered Ester back.

“What’s going on?” Hew asked after jogging over.

“I don’t know…” Lewis answered back, scratching his head.

Martin had yet to stir from his position while Kaladin just stood there looking at us with a blank expression in silence. His right hand was missing, and so was a portion of his arm, but he wasn’t bleeding anymore. It was just a nub of skin and flesh, and I started to cry more as I saw his injury.

This was all my fault. If I just said no to the collar, he wouldn’t be acting like this. But the collar is gone now so… shouldn’t he be back to normal? But…aren’t Obedience Collars supposed to kill people if anybody but the master takes them off?

Hew began to walk over to Kaladin slowly. “Hey kid… what happened to Martin?” he asked.

However, Kaladin didn’t answer Hew. His face was devoid of emotion as he stared at us in silence.

“Adria, what is going on with Kaladin?” Tris whispered.

The forest that was just a battlefield now laid eerily silent. The only thing I could hear was my sobbing and everyone’s heavy breathing.

“Kal—” I said weakly.

But before I could finish I began to feel very cold. Tris winced next to me and everyone stopped moving entirely. Time seemed to drag on as the cold began to seep into my bones. I was so uncomfortable I couldn’t even continue to cry.

The cold crept its way through my body until it reached my neck, where I felt like it was about to strangle me. Tris, who was next to me, fell to his knees with a look of horror.

“No…” she muttered.

“Don’t move a muscle, Adria,” Ester ordered from next to me. But I barely heard her speak.

I managed to strain my head to look at where this feeling was coming from and my eyes met Kaladin’s. I felt like he was looking at me but I was more concerned with his face. Veins were bulging from underneath his eyes and neck while his chest was rising and falling faster than usual. It looked like he was in pain but his face still showed no emotion.

“Kid…” Hew finally managed to reach out to Kaladin, but then everything happened so fast.

Clink.

The sound of blade on blade rang through the forest as a golden spear connected with a steel short sword. Hew was backpedaling as he barely managed to deflect… Kaladin’s spear thrust?

Why is… why is Kaladin attacking Hew? What’s wrong with him?

But Kaladin pressed the attack. His spear was a flurry of gold as Hew desperately tried to defend himself from Kaladin’s onslaught. I was both confused and afraid as I watched Kaladin fight.

My kind, strong-hearted, and cripple friend was fighting a man with the intent to kill him. This cold feeling was undoubtedly Kaladin’s bloodlust. A bloodlust so strong I felt as if I was going to be suffocated.

“HE TOOK A BERSERKER CAP!” Lewis shouted while running towards his student. My vision narrowed into a tunnel and all I could do was watch in horror.

A Berserker Cap? What’s that? Why would Kaladin take something like that?

Before Lewis could reach Hew, Kaladin’s spear had already found multiple grazing hits on him. Hew was backing up in fear and desperation as Kaladin began stabbing Hew more and more. Finally, right before Lewis reached Hew, Kaladin's spear went straight through Hew’s shoulder, coming out the other side.

Hew screamed out in pain and fell back. But Lewis was ready to block Kaladin’s follow-up spear thrust with his own. “BASTARD ELF!” Lewis yelled at Kaladin.

Spittle flew from his mouth as he locked spears with Kaladin, but Kaladin didn’t even blink. Instead, he began to attack Lewis. They traded spear thrusts in a storm of spear tips, one gold, and one gray. But as the battle continued it seemed as if Kaladin was getting faster while Lewis was struggling for every inch.

Kaladin parried Lewis’s spear and scored a hit across the old knight’s face. Drawing a jagged line across as blood dripped from the fresh wound. Lewis disengaged with a yell of pain and frustration.

But Kaladin wasn’t going to let him get away as he started… running towards him? Kaladin was on top of Lewis in a blink of an eye as he began his flurry of spear thrusts once more. But then Hew was now back in the fight and began attacking Kaladin once more.

“Mages! Disable the Elf by force!” Ester yelled out to us students.

I bit my tongue and howled. “NO!”

I can’t let them hurt, Kaladin! He isn’t himself! He hasn’t been himself since we put that collar on! That’s right… this isn’t Kaladin. This isn’t him! All I have to do is stop him myself then nobody can hurt him. Vine Binding.

But as soon as I raised my staff and began to cast my spell, I felt an indescribable feeling of dread. I looked over and my eyes met Kaladin’s once more and now I was sure he was looking at me. I felt as if my heart was about to stop in my chest. But I couldn’t falter, I had to save my friend.

My vines snaked towards Kaladin, but Kaladin lept backward an immense distance and raised his handless arm towards us. But nothing happened while Kaladin looked at his handless arm with a slight raise of his eyebrow. It was the first emotion Kaladin had shown this entire fight. But his confusion was short-lived as Kaladin pounded the ground with his spear.

The golden rings on the spear staff jingled as the earth was uprooted from the forest floor. The ground my vines were moving across was destroyed and raised into the air. Giant globs of dirt and stone floated around Kaladin. With a deadpan face, Kaladin pointed his spear toward us.

“HE’S A MAGE!” Ester roared while bracing herself.

Kaladin… Kaladin is a mage? But…how?

The earth and dirt that was in the air all broke in unison into smaller chunks. Then those chunks came… they came flying right towards us.

“WIND MAGIC BARRIER NOW!” Ester ordered.

But Caster, like everyone else, was too shocked to do anything to stop the storm of rocks and dirt. The fear of death had gripped everyone.

The storm crashed into Lewis and Hew, who were furiously trying to deflect what they could. Ester was doing much the same as the storm approached her but blocking every rock was impossible.

But unlike Caster, I was somewhat prepared. My overflowing desire to save my friend overwhelmed my crippling fear—Bastion of Vines.

With the last dredges of my mana, I cast a spell to erect a wall of vines to block the storm of earth. Green vines with pieces of brown bark ruptured out of the ground, and the storm crashed into my plants. A few of the stones managed to pierce my vines, but Ester cut down any that made it through with a grunt and a sword swing.

The storm passed, and I fell to my knees from exhaustion. I had used nearly all of my mana and felt sick to my stomach. I gazed out into the forest to see Kaladin fighting a bloodied Lewis and Hew.

Kaladin thrust at Hew, which forced him to backpedal and into a large rock behind him, tripping him. He ended up falling over the stone with a painful roll. Lewis tried to stab Kaladin, but he was waiting for him. Kaladin swiftly dodged to the side and closed the distance. Then instead of going for a stab, he swept his spear in a wide arc at Lewis’s legs.

Kaladin’s spear connected as Lewis yelped in pain while falling to the ground. Before Lewis even hit the ground, Kaladin thrust his spear into Lewis’s head. Blood shot out from his skull, and Lewis lay lifeless on the ground as Kaladin walked over him, stabbing him through the heart for good measure.

“NO!” Hew bellowed while trying to regain his balance on unsteady legs. He was swaying as if he was drunk and was completely drenched in blood that was a mix of monster and his own.

Hew charged Kaladin with an overhead sword swing at the ready, but it never reached. A pillar of earth sprouted behind Hew and encased his legs. He lost his balance and fell forward from the momentum of his charge. The earth wrapping around his leg broke apart, and Kaladin was waiting for him.

In quick succession, Kaladin stabbed Hew in the back, pinning him to the ground while raising his left leg into the air. Much like Hew, earth and stone encased Kaladin’s leg from the shin down, making a giant boot of earth.

Then Kaladin brought his stone-wrapped leg down onto Hew’s head! A stomach-churning sound assaulted my ears as the only thing left of Hew’s head was a pool of blood.

Silence reigned once more in the forest. Kaladin and Ester had a staredown and everyone looked on with a mix of emotions. Fear, confusion, pain, frustration, and more swam around in my head as I watched the events unfold. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“You filthy little gutter Elf… your bloodlust? What are you? You were an assassin all along, weren’t you?” Ester questioned him.

But Kaladin didn’t answer her. Instead, he just continued to stare blankly at her as the veins in his neck and under his eyes pulsed. His chest fell and rose quickly, but it was a steady rhythm. He didn’t look the least bit tired as sweat barely rolled down his tan skin. Ester, on the other hand, looked like she was about to pass out.

“Doesn’t matter. Die,” Ester said flatly while charging Kaladin.

No…

But I didn’t have the strength to stop her. Ester raised her long sword, and Kaladin waited for her. The clang of metal on metal rang out once more as a spear connected with a long sword. Ester swung wildly at Kaladin as Kaladin blocked and defended himself from the assault.

Kaladin hopped back a short distance then spikes of earth shot out at Ester. However, she cut them all down. Next, Kaladin launched pillars of earth magic at Ester at frightening speeds, but she managed to cut them down all the same. But while Ester was dealing with the range attack, Kaladin closed in.

He had gotten even faster. Or had everyone just got even slower?

Ester wouldn’t be put on the back foot as she roared and went blade first into Kaladin’s charge, taking a grazing shot from an earth spike on her side. The two traded blows, and Kaladin was quickly put on the defensive again. But Ester was waning, and Kaladin seemed to be getting faster and stronger.

Kaladin shot back and dropped something on the ground, and a wall of earth-covered him, blocking him from view. I followed Ester’s gaze as she looked down at a ball of earth. That same ball of earth began to glow brightly until it eventually became so bright it exploded in a flash of blinding light.

I couldn’t see anything from the flash of light, but I heard the sound of metal on metal once more, and when my vision cleared, Kaladin had advanced through his earth wall spear thrusting towards Ester. But Ester had blocked his spear tip with the flat of her blade. Her eyes shut tightly and a satisfied smile was plastered across her face.

Kaladin once again retreated but so did Ester this time. Ester’s entire body was heaving from the fatigue and it looked to be a miracle that she was still standing. The color had drained from her skin, and she looked deathly pale as she snarled at Kaladin.

“You dirty, thieving, conniving Elf scum! FIGHT ME! WHY WON’T YOU FIGHT ME!”

Kaladin once again answered with silence which only served to anger Ester even more. But then Ester’s face contorted in pain. “You… no… there is no way… you couldn’t have… It’s impossible… but when did you… YOU POISONED ME! You poisoned the wine! YOU POISONED THE WATER DIDN’T YOU!”

Kaladin didn’t even stir as he continued to watch Ester. Ester began coughing. Her coughing fit worsened as blood began falling from her mouth. Finally, Ester roared a bloody war cry as she rushed Kaladin.

She seemed to be moving faster as she sprinted towards Kaladin. She swung her sword wide, and Kaladin went to block it, but she quickly redirected her attack. Kaladin did much the same and compensated for the redirect, but Ester’s sword sliced through the shaft of Kaladin’s spear, separating it.

It was over in a blink of an eye. Kaladin grabbed the spearhead as it was falling and spun around Ester’s side. Kaladin stabbed the spear tip into the side of Ester’s head. Blood rolled down her hair as her body went limp, falling to the ground with a soft thump.

I—I just watched my best friend kill three people. He killed them all without even blinking. Kali… Why?

Then his eyes turned to us as he approached us. His limp was completely gone. Blood was splattered across his clothes and face while the veins continued to pulse. But Rosom moved to stand in front of us. His whole body was shaking, and his teeth were chattering,

“S—Ss—STOP. I—I WON’T LET YOU COME ANY C—C—CLOSER!” Rosom said, his voice shaking as he pointed his sword at the approaching Kaladin.

Kaladin remained silent as he continued to walk toward Rosom. I didn’t even see what happened as a dull crack sounded off. Rosom’s body went limp as he crumpled to the floor. Kaladin had punched Rosom so fast I couldn’t even see it.

Kaladin grabbed Rosom’s sword and continued to march toward us. He didn’t even give Tris or me a passing glance as he strode right past us and approached Dillian.

Kaladin spoke for the first time, and his voice was devoid of any tone or emotion. “Give me your ring.”

I turned around to watch Dillian’s face contort into multiple expressions of confusion, pain, frustration, and then indignation. “You MONSTER!” Dillian screeched while swinging his arm in the air.

Dillian’s sky blue gladius appeared from thin air in his hands while he was in the middle of his swing. But it didn’t matter. Dillian’s scream of pain echoed throughout the forest as he fell to his knees holding his handless arms to his chest. Kaladin dropped the sword he used to separate Dillian’s hands and grabbed the severed hand that was still holding the sword in mid-air.

“YOU CUT MY HANDS OFF! YOU INSECT! YOU FILTHY DAGGER-EARED SCUM!” Dillian screeched, his voice cracking.

Kaladin paid no mind to Dillian, who was writhing in pain, blood flowing from his stumps. He put the sword into the ground while he tried to take the ring of the hand. It took him a few seconds to get the ring on, but he narrowed his eyes as soon as he placed it on his remaining hand. Kaladin grabbed the sword from the ground and looked at it intently. Then the sword vanished from thin air.

Without a word, Kaladin took off into the forest at full speed. Nobody tried to stop him. Nobody called out to him. Tris was unconscious on the ground, and I just couldn’t gather myself.

I could only watch as he started running into the forest. In between my sobs, I managed to squeak out his name.

“Kaladin…”

He must have heard me since he stopped. He looked over his shoulder, his gold eye boring into me. Without a word, he turned back around and started running. I could only watch his back as he disappeared into the forest.

I don’t understand. Why would you look at me like that? Why would you do this, Kaladin? We were supposed to be friends…