A Break

Arran set to work on building a foundation in controlling Shadowfire Essence with angry determination.

His earlier training had been fueled by excitement at finally improving his magical abilities, but the prospect of going through it all again extinguished whatever enthusiasm he had left.

Frustration proved as effective a fuel as excitement, however, and it took him three months to build a stable foundation in Shadowfire Essence — though admittedly, these months felt more like years.

In learning to command the Shadowfire Essence, Arran also learned more about the Essence itself, and despite his annoyance at training, he found himself intrigued by the strange type of Essence.

Rather than merely being a mixture of Shadow and Fire, it was something entirely new, the result combining the qualities of both its constituent parts.