Dawn broke over Clearwater with a golden splendor. Val stood on the western watchtower, eyes scanning the tree line that marked the beginning of the forest. Sleep had eluded him for much of the night, his mind occupied with thoughts of the coming battle.

  The door to the watchtower creaked open behind him. He didn't need to turn to know who it was, Elara's footsteps had become as familiar to him as his own heartbeat.

  "You're up early," she said, joining him at the rail.

  "Couldn't sleep."

  She nodded, understanding without need for explanation. They'd both seen enough in recent weeks to haunt anyone's dreams. "Alfen's called a meeting. Command tent in fifteen minutes."

  Val finally turned to look at her. Morning light caught in her dark hair, illuminating the strands of copper he'd only recently noticed were there. Despite the exhaustion evident in the shadows beneath her eyes, there was a steadiness to her that he found reassuring.

  "I'll be there," he promised.

  She lingered a moment longer, her hand briefly touching his on the rail before she turned and left. The contact was fleeting but set Val's heart alight.

  The command tent buzzed with activity when Val arrived. Officers from the Clearwater militia huddled around maps, their voices a constant murmur of strategic discussion. Captain Alfen stood with Captain Jeduh and several of his lieutenants at the central table, deep in conversation over a detailed map of the surrounding territory.

  Val joined Kaelen and Toren, who stood slightly apart from the main group. The veteran rangers nodded acknowledgment of his arrival but remained focused on the discussion taking place.

  "The main advance is coming directly from the Obsuran passage," Jeduh was saying, his finger tracing a line across the map. "But we've detected smaller forces approaching from the west as well."

  "Trying to isolate the city," Alfen observed grimly.

  "Exactly. We've maintained patrols to monitor their movements, but our resources are stretched thin."

  "How many patrols do you currently have in the field?" Alfen asked.

  "Three, each consisting of fifteen militia members. They're primarily focused on early warning rather than engagement."

  Alfen nodded thoughtfully. "We should supplement those patrols with rangers. Small, mobile units that can provide more detailed intelligence on enemy movements without being detected."

  "Agreed," Jeduh said. "Your rangers' experience with the undead would be invaluable."

  Alfen turned to address the assembled squad leaders. "Hearne, Toren, Kaelen, I want your squads ready to move out within the hour. Each of you will accompany one of Captain Jeduh's patrols. Your primary objective is reconnaissance, not engagement. Identify enemy concentrations, movement patterns, and composition. Report back by nightfall."

  "Yes, sir," the three squad leaders responded in unison.

  "Good," Alfen said. "The rest of our company will assist with fortifying the city's defenses and preparing for the army's arrival." He turned back to the map. "Now, let's discuss patrol routes..."

  Val led his squad through the western gate of Clearwater an hour later, accompanied by a patrol of Clearwater militia led by a seasoned officer named Sergeant Finch. Master Rhalla walked beside Val, his usual demeanor replaced by a focused alertness.

  The morning air carried a hint of autumn crispness, though the sun promised warmth as it climbed higher. The landscape west of Clearwater unfolded in gently rolling hills, lightly forested with stands of oak and maple interspersed with open meadows. Several streams cut across their path, feeding into the great lake that gave the city its name.

  Val had positioned his squad as the forward element of the patrol, keeping about half a mile ahead of the main group. This arrangement provided better security and, just as importantly, gave him an opportunity to speak privately with Rhalla.

  "Something on your mind, Ranger Hearne?" Rhalla asked after they'd been walking in silence for nearly half an hour.

  Val glanced back to ensure they were out of earshot of the others. "Several things, actually. But I'm not sure where to start."

  "The beginning is traditionally effective," Rhalla suggested with the hint of a smile.

  Val found himself returning the smile despite the weight of his thoughts. There was something disarmingly genuine about the mage that made him easy to talk with.

  Val hesitated, then decided that honesty was the only sensible approach with someone who might actually have answers. "I haven't told my squad the full story. Or anyone in the company for that matter. It feels like I'm hiding something important from people who trust me with their lives."

  "Ah," Rhalla nodded with understanding. "A matter of conscience rather than capability."

  "Both, actually. I think Elara suspects something isn't normal, she's treated my injuries, after all. And Aric and Lian are observant enough to have noticed things during combat. I owe them the truth. I owe all of them the truth."

  "And you're considering telling them," Rhalla surmised. "Today?"

  Val nodded, his decision crystallizing as he spoke. "Starting with my squad, and then the entire company when we regroup at Clearwater. I won't ask them to fight alongside something they don't fully understand."

  Rhalla smiled, a genuine expression that reached his eyes. "A commendable decision, Ranger Hearne. Integrity in such matters is rarer than many realize. When did you plan to have this conversation?"

  Val glanced back at his squad, who maintained their positions with professional discipline while still clearly being curious about his private conversation with the mage. "No time like the present, I suppose. Aric, Lian, Elara join us," he called.

  The three rangers quickened their pace to catch up, curiosity evident in their expressions.

  "Is everything alright?" Elara asked, her eyes darting between Val and Rhalla.

  "Yes," Val assured her. "But there's something I need to tell all of you." He took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts. "You've all noticed things about me in combat; unusual strength, enhanced speed, wounds that heal faster than they should. It started at Willow Creek and has been growing stronger since."

  The three rangers exchanged glances that confirmed Val's suspicions they had indeed noticed.

  "I thought it was just aether enhancement," Aric admitted slowly.

  "It's more complicated than that," Val said. He explained what had happened during the battle at Willow Creek, the surge of power he'd experienced, and the subsequent changes he'd observed in himself. He told them about his meeting with Grandmaster Linden and the ancient texts that suggested his condition might be similar to abilities not seen since Mother Arden's time.

  "So you can... what? Cycle any type of aether?" Lian asked, his normally quiet demeanor giving way to genuine curiosity.

  "That seems to be part of it," Val confirmed. "But there's more. I don't just use aether; I seem to generate it or at least amplify what's already present. Master Rhalla has theories about how it works, but we're still learning."

  "That explains why my healing worked so well on you," Elara said thoughtfully. "I'd assumed it was just your natural resilience, but if you were unconsciously enhancing my aether..."

  "Precisely," Rhalla interjected. "Ranger Hearne's ability appears to function as both an internal enhancement and an external amplifier. The former manifests as his increased physical capabilities, while the latter can potentially boost the effectiveness of other aether users in his proximity."

  "Why keep this secret?" Aric asked, his tone more curious than accusatory.

  Val met his gaze directly. "Because I didn't understand it. Still don't, fully. And because I wasn't sure how it would be received."

  "That's fair," Lian acknowledged with a slight smile. "I'm with you to the end, Val. You saved my life in Willow Creek and probably half a dozen times over in the last few years." He thumped his fist on Val's chest to a chorus of agreement from the others.

  "So what happens now?" Elara asked.

  "Now I continue to learn how to control it," Val said. "Master Rhalla has been helping me with techniques to manage the aether flow. And I'll tell the rest of the company when we return to Clearwater tonight. No more secrets."

  "Well, I think it's incredible," Aric declared finally, breaking the tension.

  "Let's get back to work," Val shrugged off the praise and resumed walking.

  "They trust you," Rhalla said as they continued on their patrol. "That counts for more than you might realize. Now, shall we continue your instruction while we walk? There are several mental exercises that might help you better control your aether flow."

  Val nodded, grateful for the practical focus. "Please."

  For the next hour, as they moved through the rolling landscape west of Clearwater, Rhalla guided Val through a series of visualization techniques designed to improve his aether control. They were deceptively simple exercises; imagining the aether as water flowing through channels, then as light passing through crystal, then as wind swirling in patterns, but each built upon the last, creating a framework of mental discipline that Val found surprisingly effective.

  "Your progress is commendable," Rhalla noted after Val successfully completed a particularly challenging visualization. "Most students take months to achieve this level of control."

  "I've had a good teacher," Val replied. "And plenty of motivation."

  Rhalla's expression grew serious. "Your efforts have been adequate thus far, but they must improve dramatically if we are to survive what's coming."

  The sudden shift in tone caught Val off guard. Gone was the encouraging academic, replaced by someone with the hard-eyed pragmatism of a combat veteran.

  Val couldn't argue with that assessment. "Then tell me what else I should be learning. How to heal better, perhaps? That seems the most immediately useful."

  Rhalla shook his head. "Healing is a complex art requiring years of specialized training. Even with your unique abilities, mastering it quickly enough to be useful in the coming conflict is unlikely."

  "Then what?"

  "Focus on what you've already demonstrated aptitude for in empowering other aether users," Rhalla suggested. "Yourself included. Think of yourself as a walking aether battery, a force multiplier that can allow mages and healers to perform at levels otherwise impossible outside the presence of the Oakspire itself."

  Val frowned slightly. "That's a very specific suggestion. Have you been testing this theory already?"

  "Observing would be more accurate," Rhalla replied with a small smile. "I believe you could potentially enable a mage like myself to cast spells that would normally drain them to exhaustion, or allow a healer to treat injuries that would typically be beyond their capability. In essence, you become a mobile aether font, supplying and amplifying energy rather than just using it yourself."

  The specificity of the theory raised Val's suspicions. "You seem very certain about this for someone who's only known about my condition for a short time."

  Before Val could press further, a deep, resonant rumbling sensation passed through his body, centered on his aether core. It was unlike anything he'd felt before, not painful, but intensely disruptive, like the feeling of thunder so deep it could be felt rather than heard.

  Val stopped abruptly, his hand instinctively going to his sword hilt. "Did you feel that?"

  Rhalla was already alert, his scholarly demeanor vanished entirely. "Heavy aether usage, not far from here."

  In the distance, the distinct sounds of battle became audible. The clash of weapons, shouts, and a strange, high-pitched keening that raised the hair on Val's neck.

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  "Combat," he confirmed, signaling his squad to alert status.

  They advanced at a rapid pace through a stand of trees, moving toward the sounds of conflict. As they crested a small rise, the source of the disturbance came into view, and Val froze momentarily at the unexpected sight.

  A stone bridge spanned a swift-running river about two hundred yards ahead. On the near side, a large force of undead, at least a hundred ghouls and several larger forms Val couldn't immediately identify, were attempting to cross but meeting fierce resistance.

  The defenders, however, were unlike any Val had encountered before. Small, slender figures moved with incredible speed and grace among the undead ranks, wielding what appeared to be bone spears and stone axes.

  "Meryan!" Rhalla exclaimed, his voice filled with surprise and recognition.

  "What?" Val asked, unfamiliar with the term.

  "Meryan," Rhalla repeated. "Amphibious humanoids native to the deep waters of Lake Clarity. They rarely surface, and almost never interact with surface dwellers." His expression shifted from surprise to urgent determination. "We must help them. They're holding the bridge against a force three times their size."

  Before Val could respond, Rhalla was already moving down the slope toward the battle with speed and purpose.

  "Lian," Val called, making a split-second decision, "return to Alfen and the main patrol. Inform them of our situation and request immediate support. The rest of you, with me."

  Lian nodded and turned back the way they'd come, while Val, Elara, and Aric followed Rhalla toward the bridge. As they drew closer, Val could better assess the situation.

  The Meryan defenders numbered perhaps thirty, forming a tight defensive line at the bridge's center. Behind them, several of their kind wielded aether, creating walls of water that surged across the bridge to knock back the advancing undead or raising stone spikes from the riverbed to impale those that fell.

  Leading the undead assault were five figures that stood out from the mindless ghouls surrounding them. Taller, more heavily armored, and moving with terrible purpose, Val recognized them immediately as revenants, vengeful spirits bound to corpses, driven by rage and malevolent intelligence.

  "Revenants commanding the ghouls," he told Elara and Aric as they ran. "Focus on them if possible, but priority is supporting the Meryan line. Don't let that bridge fall."

  They reached the edge of the conflict just as a group of ghouls broke through the Meryan formation on the right flank. Val didn't hesitate, charging directly into the breach with his sword drawn. The first ghoul fell before it registered his presence, his blade cleaving through its neck in a single fluid motion. The second turned to face him but was too slow, meeting the same fate as its companion.

  Aric entered the fray just behind him, his bow singing as he sent arrow after arrow into the mass of undead. Elara took up position slightly behind Val, protecting his flank and preparing to heal any fallen fighters.

  Rhalla had bypassed the direct fighting entirely, moving to where the Meryan aether users stood. Val caught glimpses of hurried communication, gestures rather than words, before the mage joined their efforts.

  "VAL SURGE NOW" Rhalla screamed, his hands weaving complex patterns that resulted in a surge of verdant energy across the battlefield.

  Val dipped behind the line and reached down for his core, pushing aether through it and out into his body. Then he pushed harder, imagining a sphere expanding out from him to cover the defenders. The drain on his mind and core was intense and caused him to stumble, a hand shoved him aside as Aric drew his sword and joined the line.

  The effect was immediate and dramatic. Vines erupted from the cracks in the bridge's stonework, entangling ghoul legs and impeding their advance. Where they touched revenant armor, they smoked and withered from the death aether emanating from the powerful undead, but they succeeded in slowing their movement nonetheless.

  The waves doubled in size and intensity, shooting like arrows and drilling through the shambling ghouls. The chants from the Meryan grew in volume, as the field was coated in the presence of aether. Val watched a subtle glow manifest around Elara as she tended fall Meryan warriors, some of whom were returning to battle despite gruesome injuries.

  Val rejoined the fight with reckless abandon, feeling even more powerful than he had in Willow Creek. The ghouls were numerous but predictable, the revenants were another matter entirely, they directed the lesser undead, focusing attacks on weak points in the defensive line and adapting their strategy as the battle progressed.

  One revenant, taller than the others and clad in the remnants of what had once been fine armor, spotted Val and altered its course to intercept him. Val felt a chill that had nothing to do with the autumn air as the creature fixed its baleful gaze upon him. There was hatred in those dead eyes, but worse, there was intelligence; cold, calculating, and utterly malevolent.

  The revenant raised a rusted sword, once a quality weapon but now corrupted like its wielder. Val met its charge with a controlled defense, letting the creature's momentum carry its first strike past him before countering with a slash to its exposed side. His blade bit into ancient armor, drawing no blood but disrupting the death energy that animated the corpse.

  The revenant hissed, a sound like wind through a graveyard, and redoubled its attack. Val found himself hard pressed to maintain his defense against the creature's unnatural speed and strength. Each parry sent shocks up his arm, the impact of the revenant's blows far exceeding what its partially decomposed frame suggested possible.

  Val reached for his core, drawing heavily on the aether swirling within. His sword moved in a flurry of strikes that the revenant struggled to counter. He could feel the death aether surrounding the creature recoil from his own energy.

  A warning shout from Aric alerted him to danger from behind. Val spun, narrowly avoiding a ghoul that had circled around the main battle. His moment of distraction cost him as the revenant's sword scored a line across his shoulder, the cold burn of death aether following the blade's path.

  Val grunted in pain but maintained his focus, dispatching the ghoul with a quick thrust before returning his attention to the revenant. The wound on his shoulder burned with unnatural cold, the death aether attempting to spread through his body. Val instinctively channeled his own energy to counter it, containing and neutralizing the corruption before it could take hold.

  The battle around them intensified as more ghouls pressed across the bridge. The Meryan fought with ferocity. When one tired, another seamlessly took their place; when one was injured, they were quickly pulled back to where others could tend to them.

  Rhalla had fully integrated himself with the Meryan aether users, their combined efforts creating increasingly complex defenses. Walls of water rose and fell in precise timing with earth manipulations that destabilized the bridge surface under undead feet. Where particularly dangerous concentrations of ghouls formed, targeted plant growth would erupt to entangle and separate them.

  Val found himself gradually pushed back toward this group as the revenant continued its relentless assault. He could sense Rhalla's aether work nearby, feel the complex patterns of energy being woven, and understood instinctively how he might contribute.

  Between parries, Val extended his awareness toward Rhalla and the Meryan aether users, connecting with their energy flows as he had with Elara earlier. The effect was immediate and dramatic as their manipulations gained potency and scope, water walls rising higher and striking with greater force, earth movements becoming more precise and devastating.

  "Yes!" Rhalla called out, recognizing what Val was doing. "Sustain it! Direct the flow through your core and back to us!"

  Val had no time to question or analyze, he simply did, allowing his core to function as a conduit and amplifier for the combined aether work. The sensation was unlike anything he'd experienced before, a harmony of energies passing through him, being enhanced by his unique core, and returning to their wielders with multiplied effect.

  The revenant attacking him sensed the change, its dead eyes narrowing with what might have been concern. It redoubled its efforts, calling three ghouls to its side with a guttural command. Val found himself facing four opponents, his position increasingly precarious.

  A blur of motion to his left resolved into Aric and the two fought side by side. Val had no breath to spare for thanks, focusing entirely on the revenant while trusting Aric to handle the lesser threats. The undead commander was cunning, adapting its strategy as it recognized Val's enhanced capabilities. It feinted and struck from unexpected angles, using its unnatural flexibility to attack from positions no living opponent could achieve.

  A horn sounded from the direction they had come, three short blasts followed by one long note. The rangers' signal for imminent reinforcement. Alfen and the main patrol were closing in.

  The revenant heard it too, its head turning slightly toward the sound. Val seized the momentary distraction, lunging forward with all his enhanced strength behind the thrust. His blade pierced the creature's breastplate, driving deep into where its heart had once beat.

  The revenant made no sound as death energy leaked from the wound like black smoke. It stared at Val with hatred and, strangely, recognition before its animation finally failed and it collapsed into a heap of ancient armor and desiccated flesh.

  Val had no time to contemplate this victory as the battle continued to rage around him. He rejoined Aric, dispatching the remaining ghouls that had accompanied the revenant before turning his attention back to the main conflict at the bridge.

  The arrival of Captain Alfen and the rest of the patrol shifted the balance decisively. Rangers and militia poured onto the bridge, their disciplined assault catching the undead between two determined forces. The remaining revenants, recognizing the change in circumstances, attempted to organize a fighting retreat, but with their ranks already in disarray, the effort came too late.

  Val found himself fighting alongside a Meryan warrior, their movements naturally complementing each other despite having never trained together. The Meryan wielded a bone spear with exceptional skill, keeping ghouls at bay with precise thrusts while Val finished them with devastating sword strikes.

  Across the bridge, Elara had joined the Meryan healers, her techniques blending with theirs in a remarkable display. Val continued to channel energy their way, maintaining the enhancement that had proven so effective.

  Rhalla stayed close to Val throughout the latter stages of the battle, occasionally calling out adjustments to his technique. "Modulate the flow! Less force, more finesse!"

  Val followed these instructions instinctively, his conscious mind focused on combat while some deeper part of him managed the complex energy manipulations Rhalla described. He found he could sense the different aether users around him, each with their unique signature.

  The final revenant fell to a coordinated attack from Kaelen and two Meryan warriors, their combined assault overwhelming even the powerful undead's defenses. With their commanders destroyed, the remaining ghouls lost what tactical coherence they had possessed, reverting to mindless aggression that made them vulnerable to the disciplined counterattack.

  Within minutes, the last of the undead had been dispatched, their bodies already being gathered for burning by militia members who understood the importance of denying the necromancer fresh resources.