Ceadric and Illan hold the line while others move to assist. The defender’s line is slowly shrinking in on itself as more and more of the defenders fall.
Ka-Boom!
A gigantic cloud of smoke and flame reaches to the sky from where James is battling Kerith-Ayxt. He, Miko and the three remaining members of the Hand of Asran stare in awe at the flame burning on the other side of the protective barrier. Using the power of the Star, James extinguishes the flames and then concentrates on the ground before the mages.
A rumbling begins and the earth cracks open. Suddenly, a gigantic rock hand emerges as Rocky begins climbing out of the ground. Eight feet high and made of stone, Rocky turns on the mages and lurches forward.
Brother Willim and the other two members of the Hand work to keep the soldiers at bay. Large patches of thorny vines impede their way while others actually grasp them, constricting until they’re dead. The death of any man is a hard blow to the Brothers even though it is in defense of their lives.
Miko sits cross-legged on the ground with the Star in his lap clasped between both hands. The funneling of power to James is taking its toll. His system is simply not used to having so much power passing through it for so long. Breathing has become labored and he’s soaked in sweat, sort of reminds him of how James gets now and then when he does too much.
Kerith-Ayxt lashes out with power and Rocky explodes sending a myriad of rocks flying in all directions.
Just what James was hoping for, he sends out the power and takes hold of the flying debris. Stopping it in midair, he then sends it flying back toward the mages. A shield springs to life to protect the mages from the barrage. It manages to deflect all but a couple which had already passed beyond the edge of the shield. One of the rocks manages to strike a mage in the side of the head. Staggering backward, the mage’s legs collapse and he hits the ground hard where he remains unmoving.
A slight drop in the power coming to Kerith-Ayxt tells him the mage that was hit is dead. Putting the fallen mage out of his mind, he brings his hands together then opens them up to reveal a shimmering ball. Launching from his hands, the ball flies toward James.
Using the power of the Star, he strikes the ball before it has a chance to close the distance and…
Ke-Pow!
…an intense explosion knocks him backward. A backlash of magic rips through him like a hot knife and for a moment, all his defenses are down.
“James!” yells Brother Willim. Rushing to his side, he grabs him as he teeters on the brink of falling.
His mind reeling, he takes hold of Brother Willim’s shoulder and rights himself just as another shimmering ball flies toward him. Summoning the magic, he attacks the ball.
Ke-Pow!
Again the ball explodes sending another backlash of power burning through him. His legs buckle and if it weren’t for Brother Willim, he would have hit the ground. He’s not sure if he’ll be able to survive another attack like that. Realizing that even with the Star, he isn’t going to win this battle, he mumbles something to Brother Willim.
“What?” Brother Willim asks.
“Tell your brethren to halt all magic, now,” he says with more strength.
“But we’ll be killed,” he states.
Shaking his head James shouts, “Just do it!” Pushing away from Brother Willim, he makes his way to Miko.
“Shut it down!” he yells to be heard over the roar of the battle. “Shut it down now!”
Miko is so caught in maintaining the flow that he isn’t paying any attention to him. Stepping back, James kicks the Star out of his hands. When the Star leaves his hands, Miko collapses into an unconscious heap.
Another shimmering ball flies toward him, the mage grinning in triumph. Sending out his magic, he explodes the ball and once more he’s hit by what must be a backlash of power which sends him to his knees.
Turning back toward the mages, James gazes at the mage standing there. The look on the mage’s face says he’s sure of victory as another of the shimmering spheres appears between his hands. Using the last vestiges of power, he casts one final spell. A shimmering bubble leaves his hand and floats its way toward Kerith-Ayxt. As his sight fades to blackness James sees the look of victory again on the face of the High Lord Magus, then passes out.
“Is that the best you can do?” Kerith-Ayxt asks.
With a thought, he sends the sphere to destroy the bubble. Instead of being destroyed, the sphere appears to be absorbed by the bubble. Then suddenly something latches onto the flow of magic coming from him and begins drawing magic.
The High Lord Magus tries to cancel the flow but realizes in panic that he is unable to. Growing in intensity, the bubble begins drawing more and more power from him. Behind Kerith-Ayxt, mages fall as the Lattice pulls ever more magic from them to replenish his reserves that are being drained by the bubble.
Sparkles begin dancing within the bubble from the accumulation of magic stored within. Brother Willim and the two remaining followers of Asran watch in awe as the bubble glows with growing intensity, the sparks within it increasing in number and intensity.
From across the battlefield, Jiron blocks a soldier’s downward hack with the crossed blades of his knives and kicks him backward. Momentarily free of attackers, he glances around the battlefield and sees the light coming from where the bubble is growing. Suddenly, another soldier appears before him and thrusts with his sword.
Deflecting the blade to the right, he lashes out with his other knife and takes him in the side of the neck. As the man falls, his eyes are again drawn to the now blindingly white light. “Oh no,” he breathes as recognition comes.
“What?” asks Stig from where he’s parrying a series of attacks.
“We’re all dead,” he says with finality. Memories of the explosion that rocked the night when they escaped the City of Light play through his mind. Casting one more glance to the growing doom behind him, he turns back to the battle at hand.
The High Lord Magus, the most powerful mage in the Empire, is on his knees as magic continues to flow from him. Unable to stop it, he watches as the bubble before him grows ever larger. At one point, the light coming from it robs him of his sight as the brightness burns his retinas away.
As he falls to the ground he can feel his skin beginning to shrivel itself upon his bones as his life leaves him. Sadness grips him. Sadness of the loss of magical advances. Sadness over the loss of the many friends already dead behind him. But most of all, he’s sad for what the future may hold. The School of the Arcane helped control and direct those who practiced magic so the world wouldn’t have to endure atrocities. Now, without their influence, how many more Baerustin’s will there be?
His lungs quit working and finally, his heart grinds to a stop. Kerith-Ayxt, High Lord of all the Magi, dies.
The bubble, now brighter than the sun reaches critical mass. The magic within it too great for it to last much longer. When at last the bubble gives out…
Schtk!
…and time suddenly freezes just as the magic was about to explode outward.
Men stand frozen across the battlefield. Poised to attack, their swords remain stationary in the air. Arrows are halted in midair on their way to their targets. A surreal quiet settles over the battlefield as all sound is stilled.
Moving across the field of battle, a man winds his way through the men frozen in combat. On one side he sees a Raider with the point of a sword protruding from his back from the thrust of an enemy. On the other a head that was shorn from a nearby headless torso hovers two feet from the ground, waiting for time to start again before finishing its fall.
The man reaches where the Star of Morcyth lies upon the ground, still pulsating with light as if in defiance of the stoppage of time. Next he comes to Miko and pauses. Bending down, he runs his hand along the side of his face, caressing it as a father would his beloved child.