363 A Foundation

Arran spent several hours sparring against the Knight, but it only took him minutes to realize that her skill was far beyond his own.

Against the Knight he'd faced in the city, he'd relied on the temporary boost in strength the battle had given him. And even that had not been enough for him to secure victory.

Now that he faced a Knight with only his own strength, he could not help but marvel at the vast chasm in ability that lay between them.

It was like sparring against Brightblade. No matter what he did, defeat was never more than a second away, and whenever he thought he was on the verge of winning an exchange, his hopes were inevitably dashed an instant later.

This time, however, he had the chance to study what made Knights so strong, and what he discovered was much as he'd already expected.