The Guild Hall. Training Yard. Morning.
Ben stood alone in the yard.
The dummies were new—replaced after yesterday's session, their straw freshly packed, their canvas pale. The morning light was gray, cold, filtering through the clouds. His breath misted in the air.
He drew his sword.
The blade was plain, unadorned, but it hummed in his hand. His blessing stirred. The world slowed. He could feel the grain of the wood in the dummies, the weakness in the joints, the places where a single cut would bring them down.
He swung.
Energy slashed from the blade, invisible and sharp, cutting through the nearest dummy. It split in half, straw spilling onto the ground.
He swung again. Another dummy fell. Another. Another.
He stopped.
The yard was littered with straw and torn canvas. The dummies were ruined.
He sheathed his sword.
---
Grog watched from the doorway.
He had been there for a while, silent, observing. Ben hadn't noticed him. The blessing focused him, narrowed his senses to the blade, the target, the cut.
"You're angry," Grog said.
Ben turned. His face was still, but his eyes were not.
"I'm remembering."
Grog walked into the yard. "Remembering what?"
Ben was quiet for a moment. "My world."
---
He had not spoken of it since they arrived. Not to Grog, not to Mirena, not to the mages who studied his blessing. The memories were too heavy. The losses were too many.
But Grog was different. Grog had lost someone too.
"There was a woman," Ben said. "In my world. Before Vorlag found us."
Grog waited.
"She was our healer. Not a mage—not like Tina. She had a blessing. She could touch wounds and they would close. She could cure diseases that had no cure."
Grog nodded slowly. "And Vorlag?"
"Wanted her. Wanted her blessing." Ben's jaw tightened. "He sent hunters. They killed her friends. They killed her family. They cornered her in a temple, and she... she refused."
Grog was silent.
"She died," Ben said. "The hunters killed her. And then they took her blessing."
Grog's hand tightened on his sword. "They can do that?"
"The hunters absorb strength from the vessels they kill. Vorlag takes the blessings." Ben met his eyes. "That's why he sends them. Not just to kill—to consume."
---
They stood in silence.
The wind moved through the yard. The straw scattered.
"She was my friend," Ben said. "Before the hunters came, before the running started, she was my friend."
Grog nodded slowly. "I had a friend too."
Ben looked at him. "Aldric?"
"Yes."
"He closed the portal."
"He did."
Ben was quiet for a moment. "He's braver than most."
Grog met his eyes. "He's still alive."
Ben held his gaze. "You don't know that."
"I know."
Ben was silent for a moment. Then he nodded slowly. "Then I hope you're right."
---
They sat on the bench.
The sun climbed higher. The yard grew warmer. The dummies would be replaced by midday.
"Tina," Grog said. "She was a soldier. In your world."
Ben nodded. "A commander. She led a company against Vorlag's forces. She lost."
"And Davin?"
Ben was quiet for a moment. "Davin was a child. His parents tried to hide him. The hunters found them."
Grog's jaw tightened. "And you?"
Ben looked at his hands. "I was a guard. In the capital. I watched my world fall."
He stood.
"I've been running for a long time, Grog. I've watched worlds burn. I've watched friends die. I've watched Vorlag consume everything he touches." He turned. "Your world is different. It has a chance."
Grog stood. "Then help us keep it."
Ben met his eyes.
"I'll try."