Chapter 101 – Dain #2
Across the room, Darann stood with his back against the wall, arms folded, watching the reunion unfold. Blood still stained his coat, his hands. He looked uncomfortable, out of place amid so much raw emotion, but he didn’t leave.
Kael noticed him first. He crossed the room, stopped in front of Darann, and extended his forearm. Darann blinked, surprised. Then he clasped Kael’s arm firmly.
“Thank you,” Kael said quietly. “For bringing her back.”
Darann’s expression softened, barely. “She did most of the work herself.”
I moved to join them, offering my own arm. Darann took it without hesitation.
“We owe you,” I said simply.
Darann’s mouth quirked. “I’ll add it to your tab.”
“As much as I’d like to let this circle of love continue, we have an extremely urgent matter to discuss,” Veshar’s voice sliced through the moment. His eyes locked on Darann. “You. You still haven’t explained what you’re doing here.”
Darann’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Oh, fuck off, Veshar.”
Veshar’s jaw clenched. “This is a military operation. I don’t have time for?—“
“Veshar,” Tywin cut in. “He saved Captain Sylvenhart’s life. That’s explanation enough.”
Rylen nodded from his position near the map. “I’ve heard of your work, Darann. Your intelligence has been reliable in the past.”
Veshar looked like he’d swallowed something sour, but he didn’t object.
Somewhere in the blur, Kalias moved closer to Azaria’s side. His hand rested on her shoulder, and even without looking, I could feel his magic weaving into her, feeding her enough strength to stay upright.
Tywin’s voice softened by a fraction. “Azaria, are you all right?” He didn’t mean physically, and everyone knew it.
“I’m fine,” Azaria answered.
A lie. I heard it, plain as a bell. Kalias knew too; his hand tightened on her shoulder for a single heartbeat, then let go. Quin’s eyes flickered with the same pain—his blood magic wouldn’t let him believe it either.
Tywin wasn’t fooled, but he nodded anyway, a quiet show of respect. Azaria was already moving forward.
“We don’t have much time. Torven thinks I’m gone. Tywin, you need every single available mage and head to the eastern side of Thalor. There’s a village there, near the abandoned ruins where the flats meet the wards. That’s where he’ll release the spell.”
Veshar cut in, sceptical. “How do you know that’s where he’ll go?”
Azaria’s eyes didn’t flinch. “I just know.” She didn’t elaborate, and no one pushed her—not after what we’d seen.
She continued, voice steady but too quiet.
“The spell is called the Abyssal Boom. You won’t be able to stop it or disable it.
The only thing that might limit the damage is to erect an area-wide containment spell—a one-way ward—and hope it holds the rot at bay.
“You’ll need every available mage. Every captain’s squad.
Every unattached mage in Kareth. Anyone who can pour power into the wall. ”
Tywin blinked. “You mean all of them. Nearly fifty thousand mages.”
“Yes,” Azaria said. “You need every bit of magical energy in the wall itself.”
Veshar’s stare narrowed. “And you think it’s going to stop this Abyssal Boom?”
Azaria shook her head. “No, but it’s our only chance.”
Darann spoke up from his position against the wall. “She’s right. I saw what Torven did to her, and I’ve seen enough abyssal magic to know this is real. Standard containment won’t be enough.”
All eyes turned to him.
“You’ll need light magic woven into the ward,” Darann continued. “Problem is, you don’t have light mages.”
Tywin’s expression darkened. “No. We don’t.”
“But,” Darann pushed off the wall, stepping closer to the map, “you have light-enchanted tools. Artifacts. Weapons with light magic embedded in them.”
Tywin nodded slowly. “We do. The armory has several dozen.”
“Then sacrifice them,” Darann said flatly. “Break them down, extract the light magic, and reinforce the ward stones with it. It won’t be as strong as having actual light mages, but it’ll give the containment spell a fighting chance.”
Rylen leaned forward, interested. “That could work. We’d need runemasters to handle the extraction and transference, but?—“
“I can help with that,” Darann interrupted. “I’ve worked with light enchantments before. Get me a horse, and I’ll ride with your mages to the wardstones.”
Tywin studied him for a long moment. Then nodded. “Agreed. You’ll coordinate with Rylen’s artificers.”
Veshar’s jaw tightened, but he held his tongue.
I watched Tywin weighing the impossible—another Dravareth attack, barely ten years after the war, and the reality that Azaria might be right. A massive containment ward reinforced with sacrificed light artifacts was our only shot.
At last, Tywin nodded, decision made. “All right. I’ll issue emergency dispatches.
Rylen, coordinate the artificers and get those light-enchanted tools ready for extraction.
Veshar, organize the mage deployment. Every available mage goes to Thalor.
” He turned to Azaria. “And you—go to Myrin and get healed. That’s an order. You can barely stand.”
Azaria nodded, then turned to leave. Kalias moved with her, silent and steady.
Darann remained in the war room, awaiting Tywin’s orders.
“Now, we don’t have time to waste. You heard her—get ready to travel. We all go there and start on the ward. I’ll go see Azaria,” I said, voice steady, already moving for the door.
“I’m going with you,” Quin announced, falling into step behind me.
A firm grip landed on his shoulder as I turned, stopping him. “Quin—you’ll see her soon. Go back with your siblings and get ready. Let me speak with her first. Please. Then we’ll meet up in the stables, all right?”
A deep breath shuddered through him. He nodded, shoulders slumping.
“Good,” I said, giving his arm a gentle squeeze before turning to go.