Paragon of Destruction

Over the next few days, as they waited for their wounded to heal and the Ranger to return, groups of Darian soldiers and merchants continued to arrive in the small village.

There were some uncomfortable looks when the newcomers realized that the ones in charge of the village were outsiders, but none dared object.

Outsiders or not, that Kaleesh and his troops had defeated the Blightspawn was undeniable. Hundreds of giant bodies proved that fact. And to those Darians who still had doubts, Arjun explained in unsubtle terms that bad behavior would not be tolerated.

And so, even as the village filled to the point of bursting, the mood remained peaceful. Or, at least, mostly peaceful — with hundreds of young soldiers packed into a small village, the occasional scuffles and brawls were unavoidable.

Arran saw little of this, however.

It hadn't taken long for word to spread that he was the one who'd defeated the Reaver, and whenever he left the house he and Kaleesh had taken for themselves, he was immediately accosted by young men and women who begged him for training.

He obliged them more often than not. There was little to do but wait inside the village's tall walls, and although there was little challenge in sparring against the Darian soldiers, he was glad for the diversion all the same.

After one of these training sessions, Arjun approached him. The Ranger had watched Arran instruct the soldiers, and there was a curious frown on his face as he came forward.

"Your style is unusual," he said. "Your foundation is unlike any I've seen before, but you've clearly had Darian training, as well."

Arran nodded. "I've received instruction from several Knights, but only a few weeks' worth. I have yet to study Darian techniques properly."

"Only a few weeks of instruction?" Arjun gave him an incredulous look. "If you don't mind, perhaps we could spar for a few rounds. I'm curious to see your techniques for myself."

"Of course," Arran replied. He could not blame Arjun for doubting his words. His progress in the Darian style had been helped by his true insight and his training in the Forms, but for someone who'd spent decades studying the same style, the achievement must seem completely impossible.

They calmly took positions some two dozen paces apart, then calmly drew their weapons as they faced each other.

As they prepared to do battle, it took only moments for a large circle of onlookers to form around them. To the young soldiers, the chance to see a Ranger fight the outsider who'd slain a Reaver was something they wouldn't miss for the world.

Arran felt some curiosity as well. He knew his opponent was far more experienced than most of the Rangers he'd faced, and although he was confident that he would win, he still hoped he might learn a thing or two from the match.

The first to attack was Arjun. The seasoned Ranger came at Arran in a controlled charge, and when just a few paces separated them, he suddenly lunged forward and launched a series of powerful blows.

Parrying the attacks took Arran more effort than he'd expected. While it was instantly clear that his opponent couldn't match him in either strength or speed, the Ranger's depth of experience was equally obvious. And with Arran restraining his strength, they exchanged blows for several moments before the Ranger finally took a step back.

"You're skilled," Arjun said, some surprise in his dark eyes. "More so than I expected."

"You're not too bad yourself," Arran replied with a grin. Outside of the Knights he'd met so far, the Ranger was by far the most skilled Darian he'd faced in the Imperium. Had the man matched his strength and speed, he could have been a real threat.

But as it was, Arran held the upper hand in every way. His skill and experience were only slightly ahead of his opponent's, but his physical power was in a different class altogether.

And so, although Arran did his best to restrain his strength, after half an hour of sparring the Ranger finally lowered his sword, his breath ragged from the exertion.

"You win," he said in a voice loud enough for all to hear. "Though you would've won a lot sooner if you hadn't held back."

At this, several gasps sounded from the audience that had gathered around them. Inexperienced as they were, the soldiers had believed the two fighters evenly matched. But now, they were told they'd seen still only a sliver of Arran's real strength.

Arran knew this was no accident. The Ranger's words were intended for the audience rather than his opponent — to impress upon the soldiers the magnitude of Arran's power.

"Why did you do that?" he asked as the two left the soldiers behind, brow furrowed in a frown.

"I can't have them think a mere Ranger's strength is enough to defeat a Reaver," Arjun replied. "If they believe I can match you, they will underestimate the danger."

Arran nodded slowly. "Fair enough," he said. "Though you easily have the skill. It's just your strength that is lacking. How come?"

"Our town is a poor one," the Ranger said with a slight sigh. "We don't have the resources to advance as quickly as others."

"But you've traveled into the Desolation and fought the Blight." Arran looked at the man in confusion. "Don't you get rewards for that?"

This time, a wry smile appeared on the Ranger's face. "We do. It's why I've made the journey three times already. But without a strong enough protector, I've had no choice but to join other groups. And the strong have little reason to be generous toward the weak."

"Be generous?" A frown crossed Arran's face, but then, his eyes widened in understanding. "You mean the rewards go to the groups? And the groups' leaders decide who gets what?"

He almost smacked himself upside the head for not realizing it earlier.

When Kaleesh had told him the Darians formed larger groups to travel into the Desolation, he'd assumed that they would be treated fairly. But now, he realized how easy it would be for the groups' leaders to take advantage of their positions.

"Exactly," the Ranger said. "Dangerous as the Desolation is, nobody wants to be in a group without at least a few dozen strong Rangers, or better yet, a Knight. But groups like that favor their own, and the rest of us have to make do with the scraps they throw us."

Arran cast a thoughtful gaze at the Ranger. "Is that why you're interested in joining us?"

Though Arjun had not said it outright, his actions made it all too clear what his intentions were. He'd treated Kaleesh and Arran with the deference expected of a commander, while taking care to be useful without being servile.

The Ranger smiled in response. "It is. My hope is that you, as outsiders, will be more evenhanded in sharing the spoils of battle. That my men and I won't have to watch some Lord's son take the rewards that our blood has earned."

Arran hesitated, but only for a moment. "I can speak to the captain," he said. "But I can't guarantee anything. His fairness is beyond question, but I don't know whether he'll agree to take any Darians into our group."

At this, Arjun gave him a puzzled look. "He doesn't mean for you to enter the Desolation by yourselves, does he? Even if you're strong, for a group as small as yours to enter alone would be madness. Each battle would leave you weaker than the last. After a year…"

He didn't finish the sentence, but Arran knew what the Ranger was thinking. Even if they encountered no more groups of Blightspawn as large as the one they'd faced here, the creatures' viciousness made it all but impossible to avoid losses.

Of course, he knew what Kaleesh had intended, as well. Rather than relying on numbers, the captain had wanted to rely on strength. That's why he had only taken as many of the mercenaries as he could equip with starmetal armor, and only those with the power to defend themselves.

A small group like theirs could strike fast and hard, sowing shock and terror among the enemy ranks by quickly inflicting grievous losses, then defeating the remaining enemies as they struggled to escape.

Yet by now, it was obvious that the captain's original strategy had failed. Though their group would easily defeat even hundreds of common soldiers and Rangers, the Blightspawn were different.

They were too strong and vicious to be deterred by a wall of armored spearmen. Even faced with certain death, the creatures charged without wavering, their attacks only coming to a halt when they were all defeated.

Enemies like that could not be routed by even the most terrible losses. And if a dozen Blightspawn died for every mercenary, the creatures would make that sacrifice without hesitation.

That meant the captain's tactics were doomed to fail against the Blight. What they needed were numbers — enough troops to overwhelm their enemies.

Arran cast a look at the soldiers who filled the small village's streets, then turned back to the Ranger. "I'll talk to him."

Whether Kaleesh liked it didn't matter. The truth was that they had no choice. And if numbers were what they needed, then Arjun and his troops would be a good start.

Unwilling to let the matter rest any longer, he made his way to the house he shared with Kaleesh immediately. A decision had to be made, and delaying it would only rob them of opportunities.

When he arrived at the house, he found Kaleesh engaged in a game of stones with Sassun. From the look of it, the captain was only a move or two away from winning.

Kaleesh raised an eyebrow when he saw Arran enter. "Had enough of the soldiers' attention?"

"We need to speak," Arran replied. "Now."

"Very well," the captain said, gesturing at an empty wooden chair. "Take a seat, and tell us what has you so worked up."

Arran sat down, then recounted everything the Ranger had told him — how the Darian groups favored their leaders' allies, and how the less fortunate soldiers and Rangers were left with only scraps to show for their efforts.

When he finally finished, Kaleesh sighed. "The Imperium never fails to find new ways to disappoint me," he said, voice filled with disgust. "But even so, I don't see how this changes the situation."

"It means they'll be loyal," Arran replied. "That's your biggest concern, isn't it? That any Darians we recruit will betray us the first chance they get?"

He'd long come to understand that Kaleesh placed little trust in the Imperium and its people. Though admittedly, he'd seen just as little reason to trust the Darians himself.

"It's a concern I have," Kaleesh acknowledged. "One of many."

"If we recruit the weaker groups," Arran began, "the ones who'd be left to fight over scraps without us, just treating them fairly will win us their loyalty."

"Perhaps," the captain replied. "But then, most of them will be useless. To make a difference, we'd need to recruit hundreds, maybe even thousands. An entire army. Which means we'd move slowly, and attract many enemies. And—"

"Arran is right."

Unexpectedly, the one who had spoken was Sassun. The dour-faced commander rarely spoke, and to hear him disagree with the captain was as rare as seeing the sun at night. But now, he spoke in a firm voice that demanded the others' attention.

"He's right," Sassun said again. "The original plan won't work. Those beasts tore through our ranks like wolves through sheep. Another few fights like that, and it'll just be the two of you left. We need more men. And if an army is what it takes, there's nothing for it but to build one."

"Huh." Kaleesh shot Sassun a surprised look, his expression quickly turning ponderous. Yet after several minutes of silence, he finally said, "I suppose it has a certain ring to it… the Wolfsblood Army. Perhaps I'll have to start calling myself a general."

Like that, the matter was decided. As rarely as Sassun spoke, when he did open his mouth, his words carried no small amount of weight.

Arjun received the news with visible joy, which only increased further when he learned that he and the Rangers in his group would be given the starmetal armor of three of the fallen mercenaries.

Valuable though the armor was, without anyone to wear it, it was nothing but a burden — and a heavy one, at that. And so, it had taken Kaleesh no time at all to decide that any Rangers who joined them would be given proper equipment.

He might have been hesitant in accepting Darians as his allies, but once they were, he would treat them no less than the others.

In the day that followed, several of the other groups in the village asked to join as well, their enthusiasm doubtless fanned when they saw the armor that Arjun had received.

Yet eager though they were to join, Kaleesh refused all but two of them. In the end, the only groups he welcomed were one that counted only three dozen soldiers led by a single ill-tempered Ranger, and another that counted two dozen soldiers and no Rangers whatsoever.

The decision caused both confusion and discontent among the rejected groups, but Arran knew at a glance why the captain chose as he did. Unlike the other groups, the ones he chose were those with experienced leaders and disciplined soldiers.

While the Wolfsblood Army had only just been formed, he already had a good idea of the kind of army the captain would forge. And unless he was sorely mistaken, it would soon be a force to be reckoned with.

Then, after four long days of waiting, an excited shout finally came from the walls.

"Soldiers! From Knight's Watch!"

Arran had been in the middle of a sparring match against one of the mercenaries, but when the guard's voice sounded through the village, both his opponent and the sizable audience around them instantly forgot about the fight. At once, they rushed over to the far gate, eager for word from Knight's Watch.

Arran, however, did not hurry. Rather than rush to the gate, he calmly made his way to the house he shared with Kaleesh, where he found the captain joined by both Sassun and Arjun, with the latter two engaged in what appeared to be an even game of stones.

"We have visitors from Knight's Watch," he announced. With a glance at Arjun, he added, "It seems your man made it safely."

"Finally," Kaleesh said, a broad smile appearing on his face. "We'll have to go take a look, then."

The four of them set off toward the gate at once, though they did not hurry in doing so. After days of waiting, a few minutes would hardly make a difference.

When they arrived at the gate, they found it already crowded with people, soldiers and merchants alike struggling to get a glimpse of the newcomers.

"Step aside, please," Kaleesh said in a pleasant tone, though his voice was almost completely drowned out by the noise of the crowd.

"The captain said step aside!" Sassun's voice thundered an instant later, loud enough that the crowd went silent in an instant. And this time, the mass of people parted within moments, fear of offending the captain and his men quickly winning out over their curiosity at the newcomers.

Arran and the others stepped out of the gate a moment later, and when they did, even at a distance he saw at once that the people approaching them were no soldiers.

At the front of the group was a female Knight, clad in armor that was made from starmetal and leather, with a slender sword at her side. And behind her followed two dozen people, all but one of them Rangers in uniforms and armor.

The final Ranger, Arran saw, was the man Arjun had sent out several days earlier. And rather than looking relieved, he seemed more than a little tense.

Yet Arran's eyes almost immediately wandered to one of the Rangers. It was a young woman, barely more than a girl, and as he looked at her, she seemed strangely familiar.

He stared for several seconds as the group approached, but then, his eyes suddenly went wide. "Negin?" he said in a soft voice, now recognizing the girl he'd met on the ruined battlefield over a year earlier.

Recognition dawned in her eyes as well, but before she could speak, the Knight's voice sounded.

"Who's the one that killed the Reaver?"

At the sound of the woman's voice, Arran's eyes went even wider than before. And as he turned his eyes back to the Knight, he could not stop a loud curse from escaping his lips.