{"id":5123,"date":"2026-01-04T01:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T01:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/the-dark-ability-06-the-guild-secret-holmberg-d-k\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T01:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T01:08:12","slug":"the-dark-ability-06-the-guild-secret-holmberg-d-k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/the-dark-ability-06-the-guild-secret-holmberg-d-k\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dark Ability 06 – The Guild Secret – Holmberg, D K"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Book Preview<\/h3>\n
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Chapter 1<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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T<\/span><\/span>he sun\u2019s<\/span> light faded as it disappeared behind thick clouds, casting a haze across the late evening sky that reminded Rsiran of when he Slid to the center of the Aisl Forest. A chill hung in the air. It had been that way all day, even under the day\u2019s bright sunshine, and he pulled his cloak tight around him, over the line of knives sheathed at his waist.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure that you want to do this?\u201d Valn asked. The dark-haired man crouched next to Rsiran, staring out at the distant city of Thyr with eyes that were a moderate green, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. His sharp jaw clenched, the tension visible to Rsiran.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to come,\u201d Rsiran said.<\/p>\n

Valn turned and shot him a hard look. Since the attack on Elaeavn, Valn had come with Rsiran often on his scouting trips. Having someone accompany him was the only way that Jessa would really let him go.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t I? After what happened in the city\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure you want to risk yourself again?\u201d Rsiran asked. \u201cThe last time\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last time? You mean the time when we caught the three Venass scholars in Eban trying to blend in? The time when you decided to throw around your knives as we caught them, getting the attention of their city watch? That time?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t throw my knives. Then my aim would be nearly as bad as yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valn shook his head.<\/p>\n

Rsiran tried to hide his smile as he patted him on the shoulder. It was easy to get Valn on edge, and Rsiran needed to stop taking advantage of it by making fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing so close to Thyr\u2026 This isn\u2019t our best idea, Rsiran.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knew it wasn\u2019t, but their search for scholars of Venass had only turned up a few stragglers. The more they looked, the more it seemed that Venass had tried to disappear, pulling their people back to Thyr. It was the one place he hadn\u2019t risked visiting until now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to find him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not your<\/i> fault that Danis escaped,\u201d Sarah said. She shifted the ends of the long cloak she wore, dragging it across the hard stone. Valn had insisted on her coming with them this time, especially as they got closer to Thyr. As one of the Thenar Guild, she could detect Sliding, at least those who did so using their talent. Rsiran still didn\u2019t know whether she could detect Sliding done the way Venass did. \u201cThey had enough people with them who Slide that they were in and out of the Forgotten Palace before we could get back there. Besides, you managed to stop the others from destroying any more of the Elder Trees.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStill lost the one,\u201d Rsiran said.<\/p>\n

Sarah\u2019s deep green eyes wrinkled as she frowned. \u201cYes, we did. Father still isn\u2019t sure what that means for the alchemists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean anything,\u201d Valn said. \u201cThe trees mattered in times past, but it\u2019s been centuries since they played a relevant role.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah looked toward Rsiran, as if searching for answers. He didn\u2019t know what to tell her. Should he share that there was still power in the Elder Trees but that he seemed the only one able to reach it? Would that make her feel better, or worse? They hadn\u2019t saved the alchemist tree. The tree itself wasn\u2019t dead, but the power within it had changed, leaving the tree darkened. There didn\u2019t seem to be anything they could do that would restore it.<\/p>\n

But he had saved the other that had shown signs of being poisoned, only learning later that it was the smith tree. The Smith Guild had rewarded him for restoring the tree by naming him guildlord, but he still didn\u2019t know if it had been a reward or a punishment, especially with all the meetings he now had to attend.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey still protect the crystals,\u201d Sarah said when it became clear that Rsiran wouldn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guilds have them protected,\u201d Valn said. \u201cI should know. I have to take my turn on the rotation, watching the entrances to the room. The last time was so boring, I think I would rather have been back in Eban again with Rsiran.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran smiled. \u201cI think you liked Eban.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s really nothing like having a dozen men with swords surround you,\u201d Valn said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were never in any danger,\u201d Sarah chided. \u201cYou can Slide away from swords.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the next time? What if they have crossbows?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSlide faster,\u201d Sarah suggested.<\/p>\n

She stalked away from them and stood on the peak overlooking Thyr. Rsiran turned his attention there, as well, watching as the city slowly blinked to life as the sun set completely. He focused on his sense of metals within the city, and with his increased affinity for lorcith, he could practically feel the shapes that had been forged, everything from pots and decorative works to knives. Even two swords. The knives were his work\u2014the act of forging them created an even stronger connection to them for him\u2014but the others were not.<\/p>\n

Rsiran focused on heartstone but found none. That he didn\u2019t made it less likely that Danis was down in the city. Rsiran still wasn\u2019t sure that he was prepared to face his grandfather again. The last time, he had nearly died. Others had <\/i>died. And if not for the cell that had originally been created to hold Rsiran, he might not have survived.<\/p>\n

Had he only been more decisive when he\u2019d trapped his grandfather in that very cell, he wouldn\u2019t have to worry now about what the man might do next. He\u2019d had him, contained. He could have gone back, finished him off, so that he wouldn\u2019t cause anyone else the same harm that he had caused all of Rsiran\u2019s family, but he hadn\u2019t. At the time, he claimed that it was compassion, but the more he thought about it, the more he wondered if it hadn\u2019t been something else: fear.<\/p>\n

Rsiran had already lost his mother\u2014killed by his own knives\u2014and still didn\u2019t know what had happened to his father. How many more would die because of him?<\/p>\n

\u201cIs he down there?\u201d Sarah asked.<\/p>\n

Rsiran shook his head. \u201cI don\u2019t detect any heartstone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019re sure that\u2019s how you\u2019ll know he\u2019s there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe carried something with him,\u201d Rsiran said. \u201cIt was his sister\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvaelyn,\u201d Sarah said. She didn\u2019t mask the anger in her voice. She had been controlled by Evaelyn, Compelled to nearly attack Rsiran. Fear that it might happen again had kept her from getting involved in the last attack. Now she wore bracelets much like Rsiran\u2019s and Valn\u2019s that were meant to prevent her from being Compelled. \u201cI didn\u2019t think they were close.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe not anymore,\u201d Rsiran said. \u201cBut Della claims that they once were very close and that he would have done anything for her. Considering how she went to him for help\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah nodded, her eyes still troubled. \u201cWhy are we really<\/i> here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVenass. We need to weaken Venass,\u201d Rsiran answered.<\/p>\n

Sarah focused on the distant shape of the Tower of Venass. From where they stood, a mist seemed to envelop it. Rsiran could feel the way that Venass pulled on him, as if the lorcith within the tower itself drew him forward. He had stopped wondering how Venass had access to so much lorcith, having discovered that they had access to alternative mines with seemingly limitless veins of the metal. This unending supply allowed Venass to experiment with the metal, learning of uses that those in Elaeavn would have once believed impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that we can truly weaken Venass from here.\u201d Sarah stared at the tower, likely feeling its pull in some way as well. As a member of the Alchemist Guild as well as the Thenar Guild, she would share a connection, though probably weakened compared to what Rsiran experienced. \u201cReaching the tower\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to enter the tower,\u201d Rsiran said.<\/p>\n

She turned her attention to him, glancing briefly at Valn as she did. \u201cYou intend to go into Thyr. That is close enough to the heart of Venass.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will enter Thyr to demonstrate that we aren\u2019t afraid of Venass,\u201d Rsiran said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat isn\u2019t why you\u2019re going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran shook his head. \u201cThere is word of Venass scholars in Thyr.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI suspect this close to Venass, it would not be uncommon for their scholars to be there,\u201d Valn said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat isn\u2019t the reason, either,\u201d Sarah said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to come with me,\u201d Rsiran told her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to admit the real reason we\u2019re doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran took a deep breath before answering. The more he discovered about his connection to the guild, especially now that he was guildlord, the more he questioned why his father had kept it from him. And now that he was missing\u2026 Rsiran had no way to ask. What had happened to him? Could it simply be that his mother\u2019s attempts at Compelling his father had caused him to go mad over time, much the same way that Luca had grown increasingly insane during his time in the mine all alone, with nothing other than the song of the lorcith and Venass attempting to Compel him?<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to find my father,\u201d he answered. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to come with me if you don\u2019t want to, but it\u2019s important for me. For the guilds,\u201d he added, though he wasn\u2019t sure it was convincing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill it change anything?\u201d Sarah asked. Valn touched her shoulder and she shook her head. \u201cNo, Valn. That\u2019s the question, isn\u2019t it? Will finding his father change anything that we do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot that we do,\u201d Rsiran answered, \u201cbut it changes things for me. I\u2026 I need to know what happened to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if that means finding out that he\u2019s really gone?\u201d Sarah asked. Her tone had softened, and she brushed a strand of dark hair away from her face.<\/p>\n

He nodded. He needed to know.<\/p>\n

For so many years, he had believed that his father hadn\u2019t wanted anything to do with him once he\u2019d learned of his son\u2019s abilities. Rsiran assumed his father had feared his ability to Slide\u2014seeing it as the dark ability from the Great Watcher. He assumed that when the old smith discovered the way that lorcith called to his son, he simply couldn\u2019t understand. But it seems his father knew these abilities all too well. Though he might not understand why or how Rsiran managed to Slide, he clearly understood the call of the lorcith\u2026 Because his father had the same ability. He was a Master Smith, born with smith blood. The difference was that his father believed one should deny the call of the lorcith, not embrace it. He thought of all the years his father had been tormented by his mother, unwittingly manipulated as she attempted to use him so that she could discover the secret of the guild\u2014the Elder Trees that he\u2019d discovered were the heart of the Aisl.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d learned all of the family secrets that day back in his mother\u2019s home, overhearing her conversation with Danis\u2026 her father. He now saw his own father in a different light. A victim. And a man who maybe wanted to get to know his son. But it was more than that. Finding his father was something that he needed to do for Alyse. She had found happiness with Brusus, something that Rsiran would have thought impossible when she first moved to Lower Town, and he knew there was a part of her that longed for their father\u2019s approval. If Rsiran were honest with himself, there was a part of him that longed for that approval as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cNight time,\u201d Valn said, breaking the silence that had spread between them. \u201cTime to make our visit.\u201d<\/p>\n

He and Sarah both looked to Rsiran. Valn could Slide himself to Thyr, but doing so risked someone like Sarah with Thenar Guild abilities influencing the Slide. Letting Rsiran take them didn\u2019t carry the same risk, especially not when he pulled <\/i>them in his Slide.<\/p>\n

He held his arms out and they each grabbed on.<\/p>\n

Thinking of where he wanted to go, he Slid.<\/p>\n

They emerged inside Thyr, in an alley where he\u2019d once been attacked. Familiarity made Sliding easier, and this was a place that he knew had some protection so that he didn\u2019t have to fear harming anyone by suddenly appearing.<\/p>\n

Inside the city, the stink of filth rose to his nostrils. Sounds drifted down the street\u2014loud voices and music, likely from the taverns nearby. Valn released Rsiran\u2019s arm and held onto the hilt of his sword. Sarah shifted the cloak around her, less eager to grab her sword than Valn, but tension still apparent in her posture.<\/p>\n

\u201cInteresting choice,\u201d Valn said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one I knew. I\u2019ve been here before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah glanced at him. In the faint glow from the streetlight, he could see the frown on her face. \u201cFrom when you chased that Hjan here?\u201d She fumbled over the word as most of them did. From Haern, they knew the Hjan were a part of Venass, assassins trained with skills that gave them speed and abilities. Haern had nearly been one of them, taking the first steps with the implant that had augmented his ability as Seer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThom,\u201d Rsiran said. He felt no remorse for the fact that he was dead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, time to work your magic,\u201d Valn told him. \u201cCan you detect anything?\u201d<\/p>\n

They counted on his ability to discern the lorcith found throughout the city. Not only to discover where it might be, but to find when that lorcith\u2014or heartstone as there had been a few of the Venass they discovered with heartstone implants\u2014had been placed inside of someone. Making that distinction required a greater proximity to the city. His sensitivity to lorcith had improved, but not to the point where he could stand outside the city and discern absolutely everything about the metal he detected.<\/p>\n

He hadn\u2019t attempted Traveling as a means of detecting lorcith. Though he\u2019d tried the mind-travel several times since discovering his ability, the effort of Traveling still left him weakened unless he returned to the Elder Trees, and he had reservations about relying on their ability to power him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s lorcith all around here,\u201d Rsiran said.<\/p>\n

Standing in the city, he could feel it in ways that he was unable to from outside the city. As he let his awareness of it stretch away from him, he detected the growing sense of lorcith. Even along the street, there were dozens of items of lorcith.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything stand out for you?\u201d Valn asked.<\/p>\n

Rsiran swept his focus through the city. He detected the same items that he had from above the city but nothing that made him think of an implant. \u201cNot like what we need. Maybe the report was\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

A flash of lorcith came to him, one that he recognized. A knife, formed by his hand.<\/p>\n

Had it been there before?<\/p>\n

Hard to know. There were plenty of knives outside of Elaeavn that he\u2019d made, especially considering how many he\u2019d made for Brusus, who then sold them, shipping them outside the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about the report?\u201d Sarah asked.<\/p>\n

Rsiran blinked, continuing to move his focus around the city, but he kept coming back to that knife. It moved quickly. He would almost think that whoever held it Slid, but there was never a significant jump that would make it clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you sense anything?\u201d he asked her.<\/p>\n

\u201cSliding?\u201d When he nodded, she closed her eyes, cupping her hands together in front of her. A moment passed, and then she opened her eyes again. \u201cNothing that I can detect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it? What did you find?\u201d Valn asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cA knife.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valn flipped a pair of knives from sheaths hidden up his sleeves. \u201cThat\u2019s nothing special. I have a few of those.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d Rsiran said.<\/p>\n

He still couldn\u2019t shake the way that knife called to him. Even those that he carried, also forged by his hand, didn\u2019t call to him in the same way, but he\u2019d grown accustomed to listening when lorcith demanded his attention. And this was something that demanded his attention.<\/p>\n

The knife moved again. This time, it seemed even more like it had skipped.<\/p>\n

\u201cRsiran?\u201d<\/p>\n

He turned and realized that he had Slid, moving part way down the street as he started to follow the sense of lorcith that he\u2019d detected.<\/p>\n

The knife moved again, only this time, it was closer to him. There was no question that it had Slid.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Grabbing onto the sense of lorcith that he\u2019d detected, he Slid where he\u2019d last found it.<\/p>\n

He emerged on a narrow street. Tall buildings practically leaned into the street, blocking out light from the sliver of moon. No streetlights lit the way here.<\/p>\n

Rsiran pushed <\/i>on a pair of knives, sending them flying from him, sweeping down the street, and he prepared to send another pair if needed.<\/p>\n

Nothing moved.<\/p>\n

Where was the lorcith that he\u2019d detected?<\/p>\n

He focused on it, trying to listen, and found it farther down the street.<\/p>\n

Another Slide.<\/p>\n

When he emerged, he found the knife.<\/p>\n

It was plunged into the stone of one of the buildings. Rsiran pulled <\/i>on it, and the knife whipped back to him. As he caught it, he had a flash from the knife, and knew why it had called to him and when he had last held it, a time when he had nearly died.<\/p>\n

His heart hammered in his chest. Why should Josun be here?<\/p>\n

Better yet, where had he gone?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Book Preview Chapter 1 The sun\u2019s light faded as it disappeared behind thick clouds, casting a haze across the late evening sky that reminded Rsiran of when he Slid to the center of the Aisl Forest. A chill hung in the air. It had been that way all day, even under the day\u2019s bright sunshine, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5122,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[342],"class_list":["post-5123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-d-k-holmberg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}