"Just how much farther is this city of yours?" Arran asked, suppressing a yawn. It was halfway through the morning, and they had broken camp at dawn — just a few hours before Arran went to sleep after practicing his magic well into the night.
Well over two weeks had passed since Snowcloud had announced they would visit the city — Goldhaven, she said it was called — but although she claimed the journey would only take them a week or two, they still had yet to see any sign of the city.
"I don't know," Snowcloud replied. "I've only seen it on maps, and good maps are hard to find. But we should be going in the right direction, so we'll get there sooner or later."
In truth, Arran wasn't too concerned with the length of the journey. Between training and absorbing his newly acquired Essence Crystals, he was busy whenever they camped, and the days of travel were a welcome break from practice.
When they reached Goldhaven, there would be no more days of strolling through the countryside. And that likely meant he would spend most of his time in some inn, practicing his magic until Snowcloud concluded whatever business she had in Goldhaven.
"You told me I can buy Essence Crystals in Goldhaven," he said. "Who's selling them?"
"From what I've heard, just about everyone," Snowcloud said. "Novices in need of gold, Shadowflame members who live beyond the border, bandits and rogue mages who caught novices — Essence Crystals are valuable, and this is one of the few places outside the Valleys where they can be traded, so Goldhaven draws commerce from all over the region."
"Bandits are selling the loot they took from novices? And nobody kills them for it?" Arran looked at Snowcloud in wonder.
"The ruler of Goldhaven doesn't allow open violence in the city," Snowcloud replied. "And he's known to be an extraordinarily powerful mage, so there are few who would dare violate his laws. But of course, once people leave the city, things are different."
"But the Shadowflame Society just allows it?" Arran asked, frowning. "A city where bandits can freely sell the things they take from novices they kill?"
"If the Society wiped out the city, another would just take its place," Snowcloud said with a sigh. "And if Goldhaven's ruler isn't exactly an ally of the Society, he's not an enemy either. On this side of the border, that's as much as we can ask for."
Arran nodded, although he could not help but be puzzled by her answer. From what he knew, the Shadowflame Society was immensely powerful, yet Snowcloud spoke as if it held barely any influence in this region.
Seeing the questioning look on Arran's face, Snowcloud continued, "You have to understand that we don't rule these lands. We fight threats to the Empire, but we cannot control everything that happens here."
"Has the Shadowflame Society ever tried to take over the borderlands?" Arran asked. "I mean, to control them?"
Snowcloud laughed. "That's what the Soaring Sun faction thinks we should do. Gather our strength and take the borderlands by force, defeating our enemies before they ever get the chance to move on the Empire."
"It's not a bad idea though, is it?" Arran insisted. "The Shadowflame Society should be strong enough to take and hold at least a few hundred miles of land beyond the border."
"It would mean decades of war," Snowcloud replied. "Many of the different factions and groups here would unite against us. And even if we prevailed, it would only move the border further west — and beyond the new border, there would be other threats."
"So you oppose the Soaring Sun faction?"
"I didn't say that. The risk of doing what they propose would be enormous, but so is the risk of doing nothing as our enemies grow stronger with each passing year." She shook her head. "I don't have a solution to the Society's problems. I don't even know if there is one."
Arran was about to ask just how big the Shadowflame Society's problems were, when suddenly, something in the distance caught his eye. Although it was still miles away, he could vaguely see a vast tower rising above the tree line, like a giant tree rising above a field of grass.
"Look over there!" he said, pointing at the tower. "What is that?"
Snowcloud looked in the distance, and her lips curled into a smile when she saw the tower. "That should be Goldhaven," she said. "If I'm right, the tower is part of the ruler's castle."
Their goal in sight, they hastened their pace, hurrying toward the tower in the distance. As they advanced, however, Snowcloud seemed to grow tenser with every step, until eventually, she suddenly halted.
"Be careful," she said in a low voice. "The area around the city is supposed to be dangerous. Once we're in sight of the walls we'll be safe, but until then, be prepared for an attack."
Arran nodded, understanding the situation. If the city held novices, bandits, and rogue mages alike, all trading Essence Crystals, gold, and others treasures, then the region around the city would certainly attract those seeking to take those treasures by force.
Yet no attack came, and less than half an hour later, Snowcloud sighed in relief when they finally saw the city's walls appear in the distance. It seemed that today, they had been lucky.
Arran immediately found himself in awe at the sight of the city — or rather, its walls, which were so high that they obscured whatever else the city might hold. The walls stood at least a hundred feet tall if not more, with the only thing rising above them the tower, which he now saw stretched several hundreds of feet into the sky.
From what he could see, the city looked like an impregnable fortress, built to withstand sieges by even the largest armies. No matter how dangerous the borderlands might be, he could not imagine anyone posing even the slightest threat to defenses this formidable.
"It's amazing," he said, eyes full of wonder at the massive fortifications.
"It has to be," Snowcloud said with a laugh. "Otherwise, it wouldn't have lasted for centuries in the middle of the borderlands."
As they approached the city, Arran could see a road about half a mile from them, leading up to a massive gate within the city walls. There was some traffic on the road — merchants and traders, he thought, though each appeared to be escorted by a group of well-armed guards — but it came to a halt in front of the gate, where a line of people patiently waited to be let into the city.
Arran and Snowcloud made their way to the back of the line. Before them was a small group of what looked to be mages, although they did not appear to be Shadowflame mages, novices or otherwise. These, he thought, must be rogue mages, and seeing them he almost felt tempted to attack, just to see how much his training over the past months had accomplished.
The line moved slowly, but after just over half an hour, Arran and Snowcloud finally reached the gate. The mages before them were waved through without delay, yet when it was their turn to enter, one of the guards silently motioned for them to stop, while another hurriedly moved through the gate.
For several minutes they stood there in silence, and Arran was already beginning to feel worried at the delay when a well-dressed man emerged from the gate.
"Lady Snowcloud?" the man asked.
Snowcloud gave him a look of shock at being recognized, which the man seemed to take as confirmation.
"Please follow me," he said. "Lord Sevaril has requested your presence."
