The Raven Thief
Born of the wastelands, Spheris Arnadel, a young skilled thief, finds himself subject to a twist of fate when he steals a powerful relic and becomes a Bearer — humans gifted with powers from the Gods. As a punishment for his theft, he is cast into an otherworldly realm alongside other Bearers, where he faces off against monstrous beasts and powerful enemies. Yet, in his determination to return to the Continent and save his dying mother, Spheris is hell-bent on surviving the abyssal world. Even if it means giving his body to the Dark God whose powers he had stolen... even if it means losing all of his humanity.
• The Iron Gauntlet (8)
"Arghhh!" Thorin's war cry was deep and ferocious. He launched a massive fireball out of his fist towards Perichan, who deftly split it with a speeding beam of energy, the two halves exploding harmlessly around him.
Then Perichan summoned beams from the ground below Thorin's feet, two zapped into the fire manipulator's arms and the pain spurred him to react quickly. He cartwheeled out of the way and shot out two fire blasts at Perichan.
The Bloodsport easily shifted his shoulder and averted the flaming attack. Then, he countered with a concentrated beam aimed at Thorin's chest, but Thorin conjured a small shield of fire to absorb the impact.
The force of the beam shattered the wall, sending Thorin skidding back, but he quickly recovered, launching himself into the air with a burst of flames and descending upon Perichan with a fiery kick. Perichan dodged and retaliated with a sweeping beam that cut through the air, forcing Thorin to roll out of its path.