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Chapter Three Hundred Twelve: ‘The Gatekeeper and the Knight...’
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Caster Egmond laughed heartily. When was the last time he’d heard something so bold as that? Such a brazen thing to ask. Made with no apparent reluctance or modesty.

It seemed Caster had been correct in his assessment of this man, which just made him feel all the more delighted. One who would not be easy to push around or manipulate. One who knew how to make demands and take decisive action.

Such an ally might be difficult to deal with, certainly. Difficult to get everything Caster wanted out of. Perhaps even impossible, if that fearsome and mysterious aura was anything to go by.

But in matters such as these, a true ally had to have such qualities. Caster knew it. Zirat’s memories told him so. Ancient instincts. Learned over the course of several difficult incarnations.

Above all, an ally needed to exhibit competence and toughness. Not just strength but resilience, too. Zirat had seen plenty of individuals with incredible power at their fingertips, power that should have theoretically rendered them all but untouchable to their foes.

And how had they ended up? Too often, all that power amounted to nothing, as they became putty in the hands of others. Sometimes, those hands belonged to “enemies,” like Karugetti or Skapa. But just as frequently, those hands belonged to “allies” like Makirë or Ettol.

Manipulators were on all sides. An ally who could not guard themselves against such forces was no ally at all. Just another piece to be moved. A tool to be used.

Of course, it was still far too early to be making any truly definitive judgments in that regard, but so far, Caster was pleased by what he was seeing here.

That didn’t mean things were going to go smoothly, though. Far from it, in fact. That was the whole point.

When his laughter finally settled, Caster leveled a heavy stare at his conversational opponent. The smile diminished from his expression, though he did not allow it to leave entirely. “Bloodeye is one thing. But making war against Morgunov is an entirely different matter.”

“Trust is a hard thing to come by,” said Darksteel. “And you’re asking for a lot of it.”

“Am I? I’m asking for a bit of information regarding land. Nothing more.”

“Downplaying your intentions isn’t going to help your case. Nor will lying, if that’s your next move.”

“My ‘case,’ is it? Have I stumbled into a trial, all of a sudden?”

Darksteel bobbed his head. “No. But you haven’t stumbled into a birthday party, either.”