Once Natalia left, Verdan checked in with Ruan to see if he knew where Kai was, but apparently he’d been gone all day.

Deciding to skip searching the entire city, Verdan sent a message spell, asking Kai where he was.

Kai couldn’t send back a true response, but he was familiar enough with the spell by this point to be able to give Verdan the impression of the guard headquarters and a room full of fresh-faced and earnest guards.

Turning back to Ruan, Verdan nodded to the gates. “I’m heading down to the guard headquarters to see Kai if anyone asks where I am.”

“Got it, Boss,” Ruan said with a lazy salute. “I’ve organised that healing event for five days from now, by the way. With everything going on, I can try and move it earlier if you think we need to?”

Verdan contemplated it for a moment before shaking his head. “No, keep it as it is. I doubt we’ll be making any big moves that soon, and it gives me time to get everything else sorted out.”

“Got it. Do you want an escort going with you?”

Verdan went to say no, but he didn’t particularly feel like getting a lecture from Kai on security, especially when he was about to give him one himself.

Barb was on general duty for whatever was needed, so Ruan called her up and a few minutes later, Verdan was on the way down to find Kai.

-**-

Verdan got directions once they were at the guard headquarters and followed a helpful guard over to what was apparently a training facility for them.

Commander Silver had requisitioned it a few months ago for training the local Sorcerers in a contained environment.

Currently, Kai was teaching all of those Sorcerers how to properly manage their breathing and meditate on their elements.

The meditation was the important part, really, as the biggest slowdown for a Sorcerer was their conversion of Aether to Essence.

An experienced Sorcerer like Kai could likely convert Essence as quickly as it circulated through him, but that would take years of practice.

Taking up a position at the rear of the group, Verdan settled in to do some work of his own and add a new layer to his gathering spiral.

He had seventeen complete spirals currently, each one intertwined with the rest to create a powerful gradient that would suck in as much Aether as possible.

Steady progress, but he was still a frustratingly long way from the thirty-four he’d once had.

The diminishing returns of new spirals meant that as a raw amount, he wasn’t that far away from how much Aether he’d used to gather, which was something.

Keeping the barest portion of his attention on Kai and the others, Verdan settled into the familiar routine of work.

“Alright, that’s enough for today,” Kai called out some time later, giving Verdan the nudge needed to finish what he was doing and shift it all back to his subconscious.

Opening his eyes, Verdan watched as the gathered Sorcerers thanked Kai before heading out to get back to work.

Oddly, Verdan felt a little more refreshed than he would have expected, and his Aether reserves had increased by more than they should have.

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This was the second time this had happened now, the first being when he’d done some training with Kai back at the mansion.

“Everything okay?” Kai asked, walking over to join him. “Normally, people look more relaxed after a good meditation session.”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just surprised is all,” Verdan said, shaking his head and getting to his feet. “Enough about that, though. How’s your arm?”

Kai grimaced and motioned for Verdan to follow him. “Not great, if I’m being honest. It aches pretty much constantly now. I can’t see any signs of deterioration, but you might as well take a look.”

Kai led them into a small office before taking off his tunic and holding his arm out for Verdan to examine.

“Hmm, no corruption signs on the exterior, as you said.” Verdan rested a hand on Kai’s shoulder and frowned at how warm it was. “Any loss of motion or inflammation?”

Kai shrugged. “Nothing that I’ve noticed.”

Stretching out with his Aether senses, Verdan focused deeper into Kai’s arm, filtering out the Aether and Essence that swirled within him.

Deep inside, within the bone if Verdan had to guess, a core knot of Malfease lingered, and it was spreading steadily down Kai’s arm.

“What is it?” Kai asked, seeing the look on Verdan’s face.

“It looks like the potion cleansed it from your flesh, but there’s some remnants in your bone. I don’t know how to get at it, but I’ll speak with Natalia and we’ll come up with something.”

Kai stared at his arm for a few long seconds before taking a deep breath and nodding. “Understood. I’ll let you know if it gets any worse.”

Verdan nodded, his mind already awhirl with ideas for how to try and treat this latest issue. Really, though, this would be down to Natalia and what she could come up with.

“Wait, Verdan,” Kai called out as he went to leave. “I wanted to ask a favour.”

“Of course. What do you need?”

“I’ve been thinking about how Essence works, and what you told me about how you control your Aether. I’d like to try and learn to create a gathering spiral. Not a full one like you and Dirk, but a temporary one that I can use when I meditate, like the Chosen have.”

Verdan went to tell him that it wouldn’t work like that, but paused as he really considered the process. If Kai just needed more Aether flowing into him, then actually, a gathering spiral was the way to go.

If he could manage the mental flexibility as well, then there was no reason he couldn’t become a hybrid between the two.

A shudder ran through Verdan as he considered some of the Sorcerers he’d encountered and what they’d do with the Aether capacity of a trained Wizard.

The Chosen were a relatively safe test, as they had no way to use the Aether beyond their weapons, so when the knowledge spread, that would be all that happened.

Sorcerers, though, were an entirely different matter, and it was only a matter of time until one of them tried to replicate what the Chosen did and realised the implications.

“Damn it.” Verdan muttered to himself, closing his eyes as he exhaled heavily. He’d missed that potential consequence when he’d analysed the situation.

If he was trying to be positive, he’d focus on the work he was doing to break Sorcerers away from the hold of the Sects.

There were also honourable Sorcerers, like Kai, Macannan and even Val, to an extent, that would benefit from this.

“From the look on your face, you’ve realised this will flow from the Chosen over to us Sorcerers eventually,” Kai said with a slight smile. “I guess that also means it’ll be just as effective as I imagine.”

“Yes, it will. I trust you, but let’s keep it to ourselves for as long as we can.”

“Giving it to the local Sorcerers might save their lives when fighting the Cyth,” Kai said softly, pinning Verdan in place with a piercing look. “I know you don’t want to give the Sects power, but is it worth the lives of innocents?”

Verdan began to answer him several times before eventually shaking his head. “I don’t know. I hate this feeling of responsibility for all this, and I especially hate having to make these choices.”

“Then don’t take responsibility for other people’s actions,” Kai said in an almost gentle tone. “We need every advantage to win this thing, so share this method with the Sorcerers here, and do what we can to ensure the good outweighs the bad.”

“I suppose I’ve already committed us to it,” Verdan said, feeling nauseous at the very idea. “While that might be years away, it is coming, my actions with the Chosen have set that in stone.”

“True, but Sorcerers have little to do with the Kranjir, it could take a long time for them to pick up the method.”

“Under normal circumstances, yes, but those trainees of mine will no doubt demonstrate their new methods soon, assuming they join us in fighting the Cyth. Mix that with their growing presence at Hobson’s Point and that normal distance is fading away.”

Kai nodded, absently rubbing at his arm as he waited for Verdan to come to a decision.

Slowly letting out a heavy breath, Verdan did just that. “In the end, what matters is giving people the tools they need to fight against things like the Cyth and Darjee with all their strength. Let’s do it. The day after tomorrow, I will teach you, and then run a group session with a dozen of your best students.”

Kai nodded. “For what it’s worth, I think you’ve made the right choice.”

“I hope so.”