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"What's that? What's going on?"

Her thoughts were frantic, overwhelmed by the feelings she thought she had safely abandoned, and the wizard knew he had to reassure her quickly.

"Jure is in need of the power within you."

"No!"

"Do not worry. He has no intention of hurting you."

"But he is hurting me. Tell him to stop!"

"I can't. I came here to explain. There are…"

She cut him off immediately.

"I don't want to hear it. Don't you see? If he takes the magic, the barrier will recede. It will open me back up to…"

She couldn't finish the sentence. The thought of being thrust back into reality, even in a limited fashion, hurt too much to endure. The pain, however, didn't matter. She focused entirely on the loss of magic. The magic exited her being as if guided by gale force winds, and she already sensed the barrier mound retreating in her consciousness. A sliver of outside light broke into her mind, and she needed to shut it out.

"I said, tell him to stop! He can't take this much. How much can he possibly need?"

"He needs more than you can imagine."

"No! I need…"

She didn't finish. She didn't wish to waste time. The light of reality was burning her consciousness. She reopened the gates of her essence to the magic of the lands. She wished to pull in everything she could to replace what she was losing. She did not know of the flow of magic that coursed through the city and when she called upon the magic, it rushed into her with almost as much fury as the energy that Jure pulled from her.

Enin felt the swell of magic rush into Heteera's essence. It was immediately captured by the barrier, and although it only served to replace a portion of what the sorceress was losing, the wizard saw the fallacy in her actions.

"What are you doing?" Enin demanded. "No, you have to stop this! There is too much energy around you. Someone else is pulling magic into the area. You're going to absorb too much power."

"No, I'm losing more than I'm taking," the sorceress screamed.

"You don't understand. You won't be able to stop. The current will become too strong… in both directions. Even as you lose energy to Jure, he is utilizing it in several spells. As you absorb it, he will cast it out even faster. The outgoing stream will create a vacuum over the city. More and more magic will get pulled in to you."

"That's exactly what I want!"

"And what happens when he completes his spells, will you be able to contain the magic… cease the flow? The barrier won't be able to hold it all and I will only be able to absorb so much. You will reach the limit of the barrier instantaneously."

Heteera did not care to address the logic as Enin saw it. She only saw the light of reality burning her consciousness.

"I need this!" she cried.

"What is it you need? The barrier to stay filled with magic so you can hide here for all of eternity? Is that what you need?"

"You don't understand!"

"Actually, I understand something you don't. I've just seen a man who was trying to escape death. He was so frightened of it he doomed himself to an eternity of indescribable torture. He probably wishes he could die now, but he can't."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you stuck in here for an eternity. The magic keeping you alive and you hiding in the dark."

"But I'm happy here."

"Are you happy? You've just withdrawn from everything. You wanted to be able to control the magic, you wanted to do something important. It's true, isn't it?"

"What do you know?"

"I know the magic, and every iota that enters you has been begging for purpose. You placed that desire in the magic. You want to use it."

"It doesn't matter what I want. Even if I wanted to do something with the magic, I can't. I don't have the control."

"But Jure does!"

Aware of the exact location of every goblin across the valleys, Jure wasted no time in subduing them all, even as they stood dumbfounded trying to ascertain the meaning of the great light in the night sky. The energy required to cast and maintain the next spell was enormous, but such was the reservoir of magic within Heteera that Jure found no difficulty in achieving his ends.

He focused on the light from his earlier incantation. Just as the floating ball of illumination allowed him to see across the region, it also gave him the means to seize each goblin. He placed greater power into the light, gave it direction and purpose. When it touched upon the skin of a goblin-whether directly or reflected through some window or small crack in a closed door-the beams turned into indestructible bands and wrapped themselves about the goblins arms and legs.

The bondage was near instantaneous. Thousands upon thousands of goblins, more than any could ever imagine, fell to the ground in a massive lurch. Hordes of dark creatures that stretched across distant horizons stumbled downward, not like dominos falling in single file, but in one massive burst, as if a mighty force struck them down from the heavens in a single blast. The ground rumbled with the collective crash.

The goblins screeched against their sudden capture, their tiny minds unable to comprehend the magnitude of the spell that conquered them in an instant. They struggled against their bonds, but they could not even stretch the bands of magical cord. Every goblin was incapacitated, every horde was brought low. Their screams of frustration echoed out over the valleys.

The humans that survived the initial onslaught-those that goblins allowed to escape and forced westward-met the scene with equal astonishment. They had seen the minor sun rise up into the sky and chase away the coming darkness, but they had believed it was only another inexplicable part of the doom they faced. As they witnessed the goblins chained by bonds of magical light, they finally began to sense an opposing force, a possibility of deliverance

Many wondered if it was a blessing from some benevolent force above, some even fell to their knees thanking the heavens. Most ceased their flight, uncertain of what might come next. Confusion and uncertainty filled their ranks. While optimism held that the inexplicable miracle meant their salvation, a few remained skeptical at such monumental fortune and continued to search frantically for some safe haven away from the stricken dark creatures.

Long moments passed and still the goblins remained subdued, unable to break free from the coils of solidified light. The people driven from their homes began to realize it was not simply a momentary reprieve, but somehow a powerful rebuke of the goblin attack. Sobs of relief swept across the land. They could not fathom how, but they knew they were saved.

While most humans looked on in wonder, others found the desire for revenge. Many fell upon the bound creatures with violence of their own. Just as the goblins had released their frustrations in a massive assault, humans allowed their own anger to rise. They attacked with knives, tools, rocks, anything within reach. Their savagery nearly matched that of the dark creatures that once pursued them.

Jure could see the turn in the battle. The violent reaction did not surprise him. He understood the emotional outburst. The goblin attack had been beyond fierce. It was meant to stir a frenzy of fear and panic. Such feelings did not simply fade away at the forced cessation of the assault. Though every goblin lay in bondage, almost every victim trembled with raw distress, every heart raced with emotion. It was no wonder that it could be so easily turned to rage.

As the magic continued to reflect the images of the valley back into Jure's mind and raise his perception to a unimaginable scale, the fury of retaliation filled his awareness. It hurt to watch… burned images of hateful retribution into his soul. The response hit him in full-one wave of bitter anguish-and nearly sickened him. Though he was not about to judge those that sought vengeance with a deep rage, he meant to end the hostilities as soon as possible.