Chapter 13 - Clash in the Scriptorium
The battle in the underground cavern erupted with the fury of a trapped beast.
Evander didn't wait for the charging paladins to close the distance. He strode forward, his presence commanding and unyielding. When the first rogue soldier lunged at him with a blade coated in burning distillate, Evander caught the man’s wrist with his bare hand.
Instead of burning flesh, a brilliant flash of blue electrostatic energy surged through Evander’s arm, neutralizing the volatile magic instantly and sending the rogue soldier crashing backward into the shallow water.
"Fall back and secure the perimeter!" Evander commanded Soren and the royal guards, who immediately engaged the remaining paladins, clashing steel against steel in the echoing cavern.
Across the chamber, Vane chanted frantically from the Tome of Ash, his voice rising into a hysterical crescendo as the runes on the stone altar glowed blindingly bright. The thermal pressure in the room spiked exponentially; the water on the floor began to bubble and steam.
Mira sprinted past the colliding combatants, her eyes locked on the altar. The silver mark on her wrist burned with a fierce, protective light. The baby dragon leaped from her shoulder, transforming mid-air into a streak of silver lightning that struck the altar directly.
CRACK!
The impact shattered the stone surface of the altar into a thousand fragments. The Tome of Ash caught fire, its pages dissolving into black ash and swirling away in the sudden draft of cool air that Mira’s elemental resonance pulled into the cavern.
Vane screamed as the ritual backfired, the concentrated thermal energy tearing through his own body. He collapsed into the shallow water, unconscious and smoking.
With the ritual shattered, the superheated steam in the cavern rapidly cooled. The roaring noise faded into a steady, gentle patter of normal water dripping from the ceiling.
Evander walked over to where Mira stood beside the smoking ruins of the altar, pulling her into a tight, protective embrace.
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"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice filled with urgent concern.
Mira rested her head against his chest, listening to the steady, strong rhythm of his heart. "I am now," she whispered, looking up at him with a tired, victorious smile. "The last remnants of Malakor’s shadow are gone."
