The city council met three days after the battle. Kaelen was required to attend.
He'd rather have fought Marcus again.
The council chamber was exactly as he remembered from the one time he'd been dragged here years ago—high ceilings, expensive tapestries, and an atmosphere of barely-concealed contempt for anyone who wasn't nobility. Kaelen stood in the defendant's circle wearing his cleanest shirt (still had blood stains he couldn't get out) while seven council members stared down at him from their elevated seats.
Princess Isabella was there too, sitting slightly apart from the main council, watching proceedings with sharp eyes.
"Kaelen Voss," Council Chairman Aldric began. He was an old man with a white beard and the kind of voice that suggested he'd spent his life telling people they were disappointing. "You stand accused of wielding a Forbidden Blade, practicing shadow magic without authorization, and causing extensive property damage to Eredor's merchant district, waterfront, and eastern fortifications."
"I saved the city," Kaelen pointed out.
"You *participated* in saving the city," Aldric corrected. "While simultaneously breaking multiple crown laws and causing destruction valued at over three hundred thousand gold marks."
Three hundred thousand. Kaelen had never even seen three hundred gold marks, let alone thousand.
"Marcus Blackwood caused the destruction," he protested. "I was defending against—"
"Marcus Blackwood is a recognized enemy of the crown and will be dealt with appropriately," another council member interrupted. A younger woman with too many rings. "You, however, are standing in this chamber, and you *do* possess a Forbidden Blade. The law regarding such weapons is quite clear."
"The law is an ass," Princess Isabella said calmly.
The council members turned to stare at her.
"Your Highness," Chairman Aldric said carefully, "with all due respect—"
"The law," Isabella continued, standing, "was written three centuries ago to prevent another catastrophic war. But it doesn't account for situations where a Forbidden Blade is the only thing preventing an even worse catastrophe. Context matters."
"The law does not provide exceptions for context," Aldric replied stiffly.
"Then perhaps the law needs updating," Isabella said. She walked down from her seat, crossed to stand beside Kaelen. "This man fought when he could have run. Risked corruption to protect people who'd never even met him. Stood against impossible odds because it was the right thing to do. And you want to punish him for using the tools available to him?"
"We want to uphold the law," Aldric said. "Without law, we have chaos."
"With too much law, we have inflexibility," Isabella countered. "And inflexibility gets people killed. Three days ago, Marcus Blackwood nearly destroyed this city. Kaelen Voss helped stop him. That should matter more than technical violations of outdated statutes."
The council members exchanged glances. Kaelen could see the political calculations happening in real-time—offend the princess, or uphold traditional authority?
Finally, Aldric sighed. "What do you propose, Your Highness?"
"Provisional exemption," Isabella said immediately. She'd clearly thought this through. "Kaelen keeps Soulrender under supervised conditions. He reports to me monthly regarding his corruption levels. He assists with future shadow magic threats as needed. In exchange, no prosecution for prior violations."
"That sets a dangerous precedent," the woman with too many rings said. "Anyone with a Forbidden Blade could claim they're 'fighting shadow magic threats.'"
"Anyone with a Forbidden Blade would still need my authorization," Isabella replied. "Which they won't get unless they've proven themselves as thoroughly as Kaelen has. This isn't a blanket exception—it's a specific accommodation for specific circumstances."
More silence. More calculation.
"We'll need guarantees," Aldric finally said. "Regular check-ins, magical monitoring, restrictions on where he can use the blade..."
"Acceptable," Isabella said before Kaelen could speak. "Draft the terms, and I'll review them. But the core point is non-negotiable—Kaelen Voss is not a criminal. He's a asset, and we'd be fools to throw him in prison when we should be thanking him."
The meeting continued for another hour, hammering out details. Kaelen stopped paying attention after the first twenty minutes—the discussion devolved into bureaucratic minutiae he barely understood.
Finally, they released him with a stack of paperwork and an appointment for magical monitoring next week.
Isabella caught him outside the council chamber.
"Thank you," Kaelen said. "For the defense in there. I couldn't have—"
"You're useful," Isabella interrupted. "Marcus is still out there, and when he comes back, I'll need competent people to handle him. Self-interest, not charity."
But she said it with a slight smile that suggested it might be partially charity after all.
"What happens now?" Kaelen asked. "With Marcus, I mean. Do we hunt him down, or wait for him to make the next move?"
"Both," Isabella said. "I've assigned intelligence teams to track his movements. Shadow Hunter networks are on alert throughout the kingdom. When he surfaces, we'll know." She paused. "But that could take months. Years, even. Marcus isn't stupid—he'll go to ground, rebuild his forces, wait for a better opportunity."
"So I just... what? Live normally until then?"
"More or less." Isabella studied him. "You have a rare gift, Kaelen. You can wield a Forbidden Blade without losing yourself completely. That's valuable. But it's also dangerous if misused. The council's monitoring requirements aren't just bureaucratic paranoia—they're necessary precautions."
"I understand," Kaelen said.
"I hope you do." Isabella turned to leave, then paused. "One more thing. The girl—Lia Thorne. She's developing dangerous levels of echo-scarring from your resonance technique. If that continues unchecked, she'll suffer permanent damage. Find a solution, or stop using the technique. I can't afford to lose either of you."
She left before Kaelen could respond.
---
Kaelen found Lia at Ronan's tavern, sitting in the basement room that had become their unofficial headquarters. She was staring at her arms, where the echo-scars had darkened to nearly black.
"Isabella said you're reaching critical levels," Kaelen said quietly, sitting beside her.
"Isabella talks too much," Lia muttered. But she didn't deny it. "I've been running tests. The echo-scars are... spreading. Deeper. My purification magic is essentially fighting a war against itself—trying to cleanse your shadow corruption while simultaneously being corrupted by the act of cleansing. It's a paradox."
"So we stop," Kaelen said immediately. "No more resonance technique. It's not worth—"
"It's the only thing that lets us fight evenly against Forbidden Blade wielders," Lia interrupted. "Without it, you're just another shadow mage with a fancy sword. With it, you're something unprecedented. We can't just abandon it."
"I can't lose you for the sake of a combat technique," Kaelen said.
"You won't lose me." Lia smiled slightly. "I'll find a solution. Better purification methods, alternative energy sources, some way to balance the paradox. Give me time."
"How much time?"
"Don't know. Weeks, maybe months." She looked at her darkened arms again. "But until I figure it out, we need to be careful. One, maybe two more activations maximum before I hit permanent damage thresholds."
"Then we save them for absolute emergencies," Kaelen said. "Life or death situations only."
"Agreed."
They sat in comfortable silence. Outside, the tavern was slowly filling up with evening customers—people who'd survived the battle, people who'd lost friends, people who just needed somewhere familiar to drink and forget for a while.
"What do we do now?" Lia finally asked.
It was the second time someone had asked him that today. Kaelen still didn't have a good answer.
"I guess we live," he said. "Train, research, prepare for when Marcus comes back. Try to figure out how to stop the Shadow Lord permanently. Normal stuff."
Lia laughed. "Nothing about our lives is normal anymore."
"Fair point." Kaelen took her hand carefully, mindful of the echo-scars. "But maybe we can fake it for a while. Pretend we're regular people with regular problems."
"I'd like that," Lia admitted. "Even just for a little while."
Ronan appeared at the top of the stairs. "Sorry to interrupt, but you've got visitors. Shadow Hunter delegation. They want to talk to you both."
Kaelen and Lia exchanged glances.
"So much for pretending to be normal," Kaelen muttered.
They went upstairs to find five Shadow Hunters waiting—all veterans, all looking serious.
"Kaelen Voss, Lia Thorne," the lead Hunter said. "We'd like to formally invite you to join the Shadow Hunter Network. Full membership, access to resources, training, and intelligence."
Kaelen blinked. "I thought Shadow Hunters hunted rogue shadow mages. I *am* a shadow mage."
"You're a shadow mage fighting other shadow mages," the Hunter corrected. "That's exactly what we do. You've proven yourself in combat, you've got skills we need, and frankly, we need people who can go toe-to-toe with Forbidden Blade wielders. You're qualified."
"What's the catch?" Lia asked.
"No catch. Standard terms—you take assigned missions, you follow operational protocols, you don't go rogue and start your own shadow cult." The Hunter smiled slightly. "Given recent events, I'm assuming that last one won't be a problem."
"Probably not," Kaelen agreed.
"Then what do you say? You in?"
Kaelen looked at Lia. She shrugged—*your choice*.
Shadow Hunters. Professional monster-slayers. People who actually knew what they were doing, with resources and knowledge and connections.
Or he could strike out on his own, figure everything out from scratch, make mistakes without backup.
"We're in," Kaelen said. "On one condition—Lia and I work as a team. We don't get split up for assignments."
The Hunters exchanged glances.
"We can work with that," the lead Hunter said. "Partners arrangement. Not uncommon in our organization. Welcome aboard."
They shook hands, and just like that, Kaelen had a new job.
"First assignment," the Hunter continued, pulling out a folder. "Small village, three days north. Reports of shadow corruption in the local well. Probably minor, good for a first official mission. You leave tomorrow, report back in a week. Questions?"
"Just one," Kaelen said. "Do we get paid for this?"
"Two hundred gold per completed mission, split between partners. Plus expenses."
Two hundred gold. That was more than Kaelen had made in the previous six months combined.
"Definitely in," he confirmed.
---
That night, Kaelen lay in bed in his tiny rented room above the tavern, staring at the ceiling. Soulrender rested against the wall, silent but present.
*What do you think?* he asked the sword mentally. *Did we make the right choice?*
*There is no right choice,* Soulrender replied. *Only choices and their consequences. But this path offers purpose, resources, and a chance to prevent future catastrophes. Better than most paths available to you.*
*Encouraging,* Kaelen thought sarcastically.
*I am not here to encourage,* Soulrender said. *I am here to provide power. What you do with that power remains your choice.*
Kaelen thought about that. About power and choices and the forty-three people who'd died fighting beside him.
They'd chosen to fight. He had to honor that by making sure their sacrifice meant something.
Which meant preparing for Marcus's return. Meant getting stronger, smarter, more capable. Meant figuring out how to permanently end the Shadow Lord threat.
Big goals. Probably impossible goals.
But three weeks ago, surviving against Marcus had seemed impossible too, and here Kaelen was, alive and planning the future.
Maybe impossible just meant it would take longer.
He closed his eyes, let exhaustion finally pull him toward sleep.
Tomorrow, a new mission. A new start.
The battle was over.
The journey was just beginning.
And somewhere out there in the darkness, Marcus Blackwood was making plans of his own.
But that was a problem for future Kaelen.
Tonight, he could rest.
And that was enough.