Cooperating with the Abductors

Leo Longblade found himself being kidnapped.

He was confined inside a carriage that swiftly traveled away from the City of Lancelot towards the looming Lancelot mountain range.

A special artifact had been crafted by Leo's abductors that kept his shadow-element powers suppressed. Accompanying him were five other Rankers, all complicit in this act.

Despite the circumstances, Leo remained surprisingly composed, giving off an air of calmness that unsettled two of his captors while frustrating the remaining three. They were determined to unsettle him, to coerce him into relinquishing his position as Baelin's new apprentice.

Envy and animosity fueled their actions, as they refused to accept Leo's victory in the test and his subsequent inclusion in Baelin's inner circle. Banding together, they conspired to force Leo out, creating a vacancy they could then contend for. Their intentions were clear—to remove Leo from the equation first and foremost.