313 The Forest

Arran's exhilaration at his discovery barely lasted an hour, and as his excitement died down, he became aware of just how badly his time in the battlefield had injured him.

While his injuries healed quickly as he moved away from the dense unbound Essence at the heart of the battlefield, he realized he had come perilously close to death. Another hour, maybe two, and the violent force would have overcome his body's ability to heal.

The thought troubled him, because it meant that his resistance to magic wasn't yet as strong as he had believed. And although he didn't expect to find many mages in the Hunters' lands, he had no doubt that he would face mages again in the future.

But that was a matter for another time. Right now, the most important thing was to find a quiet spot where he could safely examine the void ring's contents.