The m light filtered through the window, painting the room in soft hues. I stretched, my muscles already teh anticipation for what y ahead. Beside me, Lira stirred, her silver hair catg the dawn's first rays.

  "So, this is it." Lira pulled on her boots, her voiusually quiet. "What do you think we're walking into?"

  I reached for my battle armor, firag the reinforced leather panels. "Whatever it is, we're ready."

  "Are we though?" She paused, hands h over her quiver. "These aren't just random demons anymore."

  "Remember those three weeks bae?" I secured my chest piece, cheg each buckle twice. "The drills, the formations?"

  Lira's face paled. "By the spirits, how could I fet? My arms ached for days after your 'special training program.' Running up hills with full gear, shooting targets while hanging upside down from trees..."

  "And now you hit a target blindfolded in your sleep." I adjusted my bracers, making sure they wouldn't caty b.

  "Sleep was a luxury you barely allowed me." She shook her head, but a smile pyed at her lips as she strapped on her armor. "Though I suppose I should thank you now."

  I pulled out the stack of parts from my pack, spreading them across the wooden table. Each sheet hummed with stored magical energy, prote wards inscribed in precise patterns across their surfaces. My firaced the intricate lines, ting eae.

  "Eleven... Twelve..." I muttered, arranging them i piles.

  Lira peered over my shoulder. "Are you pnning to bury the whole keep in wards? That's enough paper to write the entire history of Everspring."

  "This is the best I mah our time straints." I held one up to the light, cheg for any fws in the inscription. "Without access to magiside Lucas's anti-magic field, we hese prepared in advance."

  "But that many?"

  "Each ward o be pre-charged with mana." I sorted another pile, matg the patterns. "Once we're ihe field, we 't gee any new power. Everything has to be stored beforehand."

  Lira picked up one of the parts, careful not to smudge the fresh ink. "These must have taken all night."

  "Most of them. The report to Everspring via the Echostone also took a good portion of my night, but these parts took much lohan I anticipated." My fingers cramped at the memory of hours spent carefully drawing each line, each curve, eling precise amounts of mana into every stroke.

  The moonlight had been my only panion as I'd worked through the darkness, cheg and double-cheg each symbol. One mistake could render a ward useless - or worse, unstable.

  "The proteatrieed to be perfect, or they'll colpse when we hem most. And given what we're up against, we 't afford even a single ward failing."

  "And the stored mana?"

  "Should st about ten minutes each." I stacked the final pile. "Assuming we don't take direct hits. I don't have the means to test it while taking hits."

  Lira chuckles.

  I checked my arrows one final time, ensuring each roperly fletched. The m sun glinted off their steel tips as I slid them into my quiver. My battle bow, freshly strung, felt alive in my hands.

  "Ready?" I asked, watg Lira secure her st piece of armor.

  She nodded, double-cheg her daggers. "As I'll ever be."

  I gazed at the ring on my finger, its surface catg the m light. Two charges remaiored within - not nearly as many as I'd have preferred, but time and my own limitations had forced my hand.

  "Two will have to be enough," I whispered, turning the ring slowly. The entments pulsed beh my touch, eae a carefully woven web of power that had taken hours to craft. The scrolls felt warm against my skin, responding to my magic like a living thing.

  My firaced the delicate ruched into the band. Each line and curve represented tless nights of study, of failing and trying again until I'd mastered the art of st power in such a small space. The ring itself was one of the few pieces I'd mao save from Emberveil's treasury - a reminder of what was lost, and what I fought to recim.

  "Giveime and my current capacity..." I let out a slow breath, steadying myself. "This is the best I manage for now."

  The corridor stretched before me as I made my way toward the inner keep, my boots silent against the stone floor. The m air carried the st of torch smoke and steel - the familiar atmosphere of soldiers preparing for battle. Each step brought me closer to where Seraphine and The Radiant Dawn waited, and with each step, I murmured to myself quietly.

  "Let those two be enough."

  The words felt hollow in the empty hallway, but they were all I had. Sometimes, that's all anyone has - hope and whatever preparation time allows. I squared my shoulders and picked up my pace. The others were waiting, and I'd spent enough time dwelling on limitations.

  * * *

  As Lira and I approached the inner keep's gates, Pe stood waiting, her posture straight and alert.

  "Lady Aurelith, Lady Lira." Pe bowed her head. "Lady Seraphine and the others await you ihe inner keep's walls."

  We followed her through the imposing gates, their a hinges groaning uhe weight of steel-reinforced oak. The m light caught something ahead that made me pause mid-step.

  There stood Lady Seraphine, a vision of martial perfe. Her battle armged her form like a sed skin, each pte flowing into the with the grace of a dahe rising sun transformed her golden hair into a of light above her burnished pauldrons, casting dang shadows across the courtyard stones.

  In her right hand, she held a longsword that sang of both beauty ah - its surface adorned with intricate engravings that seemed to move in the early light, patterns of lions and stars that had been passed down through geions of her house.

  Her shield, a masterwork of steel and artistry that nearly matched her height, bore the proud insignia of House Lio - a golden lion rampant against a field of deep crimson, its eyes set with tiny rubies that caught the m rays.

  "My Lady Seraphine," I called out, uo tain my appreciation for the sight before me, my voice carrying the reverence I'd held for her since our first meeting years ago.

  "You stand before us as autumn's first frost - beautiful yet sharp, decorated in m's light yet ready for winter's war. Your armleams like promises kept, and your sword whispers tales of victory yet to e." The words flowed naturally, reminding me of the poetry my mother once recited in Emberveil's great halls, though the memory brought both warmth and an familiar ache to my chest.

  A melodious ugh rang through the courtyard as Seraphine's eyes sparkled with delight, the sound eg off the stone walls like chimes in a gentle breeze. "And you, dear Aurelith, stand as autumn's own daughter - where fire meets grace," she replied, her words carrying the weight of uanding that few possessed about my true heritage.

  My battle armor, a masterwork of dwarven craft, caught the m light. The ptes flowed like liquid metal, their deep bronze hue plementing my auburn hair.

  The chest piece bore intricate leaf patterns that seemed to dah eaent, while golden ats highlighted the curves and edges of the armor, remi of autumn's st brilliant dispy before winter's embrace.

  At my hips, two daggers rested in ornate sheaths. Their red-edged bdes carried a elven script that pulsed with a subtle glow, a reminder of the magic imbued within them.

  My leggings, adorned with carefully drawn enha runes, hugged my form while providing freedom of movement that had saved my life more times than I could t.

  Each rune had beeiculously etched by Thalindor of Everspring, their silver lines catg the light like dewdrops on m grass. The armor moved with me as naturally as my own skin, a testament to both its superior craftsmanship and the decades I'd spent training in it.

  Though lighter than traditional pte armor, I knew from experie could turn aside a demon's cw as effectively as any steel fortress.

  The bow ay back - my most treasured on - depicted a se of eternal twilight. Its upper limb showed the sun toug the horizon, rays of gold and crimson stretg across the on's surface like fingers of light reag for the earth.

  Seraphine's eyes traced over my equipment with appreciation before she raised her hand in a dramatic gesture, her voice taking on a lyrical quality:

  "Auburn ed and autumn blessed,

  In bronze and gold her armor dressed.

  Twin bdes of crimson-kissed steel,

  A power their edges reveal.

  Runes of power mark her stride,

  As twilight's bow rests at her side.

  Before us stands a princess lost,

  Yet found again at m's frost."

  Lira's ughter burst through the courtyard like wind through spring leaves. "Oh my! Did the great strategist Aurelith just lose a battle of words?"

  "I merely chose to aowledge superior poetry," I crossed my arms, my armor catg the light. "Sometimes retreat is the wisest course of a."

  "Listen to her trying to save face!" Lira doubled over, tears f at the ers of her eyes. "The mighty Advisor of Everspring, bested by flowery words!"

  Seraphine's gaze shifted to Lira, her eyes brightening. "And here stands winter's whisper made flesh - silver-haired and swift as the north wind itself. Your armor flows like moonlight on water, each piece crafted to dah shadow and light."

  Lira's armor caught the m sun, its silvered surface rippling with eaent. The light ptes hugged her form, allowing the freedom of movement she prized above all else.

  Her twin short swords rested at her hips, their handles ed iher dyed the color of storm clouds. The bow across her back seemed to capture the very essence of the forest - its surface etched with patterns that mimicked wind rustling through leaves.

  A blush crept across Lira's cheeks, her usual quick wit failing her in the face of such praise.

  "My, my, Lady Seraphine," I drawled, "do you practice these verses in front of a mirror each m? Or do they simply flow from your lips like honey from a jar?"

  Seraphine's ugh rang out again, clear and bright as m bells.

  From behind Seraphine emerged the members of the Radiant Dawn. Lucas's robes shimmered with tained power, his crystalline focuses clig softly against each other. Dorian's massive form towered over the others, his pte armor bearing the scars of tless battles. Elira moved with her characteristic silence, her leather armor pristine and daggers gleaming. Isolde's twin swords caught the m light, her movements fluid and graceful.

  "Lady Aurelith, Lady Lira." Lucas bowed his head, a gesture of respect that felt almost out of pce given his reputation. "We are hoo work with you together."

  "The honor is ours," I replied, noting how Dorian's eyes assessed our bat readiness with professional i.

  "Now that we're all here," Seraphine's voice cut through the pleasantries, "let's review our strategy one final time."

  Lucas stepped forward, his crystals pulsing with energy. "I'll establish an anti-magic field around the inner keep's main building. It will prevent any demoniergy from maing."

  "Aurelith, Lira, you'll join Elira, Dorian, and Isolde through the front gate," Seraphine tinued, her firag the path on an invisible map. "Lucas will yer a barrier beh the anti-magic field - nothis out once you're in."

  "My forces and I will protect Lucas," she added, her haing on her sword's pommel. "Any disruption to his tration could be catastrophic."

  "One hour," Lucas's voice carried an edge of strain. "That's all I maintain both fields. Beyond that, the strain bees too great."

  I exged gnces with Lira, reading the same determination in her silver eyes that I felt in my bones. One hour to clear the inner keep. The tdown would begin the momeepped through those gates.

  Lucas raised his hands, crystalline focuses lifting from his belt to orbit around him like tiny stars. The air crackled with power as threads of blue energy wove themselves into a dome above the inner keep's main building. My skin tingled as the anti-magic field took shape, each pulse of energy making my ented armor hum in response.

  Seraphine's knights moved with practiced precision, f a protective ring around the inner keep's main building. Their shields locked together, creating an imperable wall of steel aermination. Seraphine positioned herself right at Lucas's bad drew herself up to her full height.

  "Field stabilized," Lucas called out, sweat beading on his forehead. "Go!"

  I sprinted forward, Lira matg my pay right while Elira ghosted ahead of us, her leather armor silent as shadow. Dorian's heavy footfalls thundered behind us, and Isolde's graceful steps barely touched the ground as we charged toward the main building's entrance.

  The massive doors loomed before us, their a wood scarred by turies of history. As we reached them, Lucas's voice rang out again, and a shimmering barrier sprang up behind us, sealing our path of retreat.

  "We will t on you, Advisor Aurelith!" Seraphine's voice carried over the courtyard, clear and strong as steel.

  The weight of her trust settled on my shoulders like a familiar cloak. One hour to clear the building. One hour to prove worthy of that trust. My hands tightened on my bow as we faced the doors, ready to meet whatever waited within.

  * * *

  The m light filtered through narrow slits ione walls, casting long shadows across the vast chamber. Wooden crates lihe walls, some stacked three high, while heavy tables and ornate furniture sat scattered throughout the space.

  "Just like Marcus's map," Elira whispered, her fingers brushing against the hilt of her dagger. "One open spao partitions."

  Dorian's armor ked as he position himself at the front, shield at the ready. The room's chill seeped through even his thick scales. "The air feels wrong here."

  Aurelith nocked an arrow, her golden eyes sing the chamber's shadowy ers. Dust motes danced ihin beams of sunlight that pierced the gloom. The room stretched before them, filled with an odd mix of practical and luxurious items - pin wooden chairs beside gilt-framed mirrors, simple pottery o jewel-encrusted goblets.

  "Someone's been living here," Lira observed, pointing to a half-eaten loaf of bread on one of the tables. "Retly."

  "These items don't match. Some look like they belong in a noble's manor, others in a peasant's home." remarked by Isolde as she s the items in the room.

  "The ground floor yout matches perfectly," Aurelith firmed, paring their surroundings to her memory of Marcus's intelligehe chamber occupied most of the keep's lower level, its tents telling a story of hurried ste and mixed purposes.

  A broom stood ily against the wall. Aurelith's arrow flew true, splitting it in half. The broken handle writhed, revealih and a grotesque tongue.

  In that split sed, chaos erupted.

  Dorian's shield smmed into a charging desk, its wooden surface peeling back to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth. Isolde's twin bdes dahrough the air, redug three chair-mimics to splinters before they could fully transform.

  Elira moved like smoke between the creatures, her daggers finding oints with surgical precision. A bookshelf lu her, but she rolled underh, hamstringing it with a backward ssh.

  Lira's arrows sang through the air, each finding their mark iransformed creatures' vital spots. She fired in rapid succession, never missing a beat as she covered Aurelith's fnk.

  The room became a whirlwind of splinters and broken furniture. What started as an ambush turned into a sughter, the mimics caught off-guard by the group's lightning-fast respoheir deyed reas proved fatal as the five warriors moved with practiced precision, cutting down the creatures before they could fully maheir true forms.

  Half-transformed mimics littered the floor - tables with monstrous legs, chairs with dying screams, and ets that bled dark ichor. The group had turhe tables on their would-be ambushers, their coorditack leaving no ce for the demons to mount an effective defense.

  The st mimic's death rattle faded into silence. Broken furniture and dark ichor covered the floor, the aftermath of their explosive enter.

  "Everyone good?" Dorian's deep voice carried across the room. He lowered his shield, sing his panions with practiced eyes.

  Isolde wiped her bdes on a patch of untainted cloth. "Not a scratch." Her scales gleamed in the dim light as she moved to che Elira.

  "They ood a ce." Elira emerged from the shadows, her daggers already ba their sheaths. She'd avoided the worst of the ichor, her leather armor pristine.

  Lira checked her quiver with practiced fingers, methodically ting her remaining arrows. "That was different. Never seen so many mimi one pce before. Usually they're solitary predators." Her silver hair caught the dim light as she shook her head in disbelief.

  Aurelith nodded, her golden-brown eyes sweeping the room for any signs of movement, the flecks of red and e in her irises seeming to glow in the shadows. Her hand remaieady on her bow, ready to draw at a moment's notice.

  The group spread out, each member cheg ers and crevices with the thhhat had kept them alive through tless missions. Broken furniture and the twisted remains of the mimics littered the floor, some still caught between their disguised forms and their true shapes. Dark ichor pooled beh the corpses, a grim testament to their ret battle.

  Oisfied no threats remained, Aurelith rexed her posture slightly, yet stayed alert to potential dangers. She gestured toward the wooden stairs leading upward into darkness, where slivers of light filtered through cracks ione walls.

  "Sed floor . Stay alert - this many mimics means something's ged. They don't gather like this naturally." Her voice carried both authority and , the weight of experience behind her words.

  The group fell into formation without discussion. Dorian took point, his shield ready. Isolde and Elira fnked him, while Aurelith and Lira covered the rear with arrows nocked.

  They asded the wooden stairs, each step carefully pced to minimize he stairwell curved, limited visibility of what waited above. But they'd fought together long enough to move as one unit, their movements synized through tless battles.

  The sed floor nding came into view, darker than the floor below. Shadows pyed across worn floorboards, cast by light filtering through dirty windows.

  The heavy wooden door creaked open, spilling light into the dim chamber. Inside, dozens of haggard faces turoward the entrance - dwarves, humans, and even a few elves huddled together in the cramped space. Their eyes widened with desperate hope at the sight of their potential saviors.

  Doriaered first, his scaled form impressive in gleaming pte armor, shield held ready. Behind him, Elira's dark cloak swirled as she slipped through the doorway, followed by Isolde with her twin longswords catg what little light filtered in.

  Aurelith and Lira brought up the rear, bows at the ready. The captured residents stirred, whispers of relief rippling through their ranks.

  A gruff-looking dwarf with matted gray hair and tattered clothes stumbled forward. His beard was caked with dirt and blood, but his eyes shoh renewed vigor.

  "Thank the aors, you've e to save-"

  The twang of Aurelith's b cut through his words, the sound sharp and decisive in the musty air. Her arrow, wreathed in a faint golden glow, struck true, pierg directly through the dwarf's forehead with devastating precision. He crumpled mid-sentence, his weathered features frozen in an expression of malevolent surprise as his body hit the floor with a dull thud, stirring up decades of settled dust.

  For a heartbeat, silence gripped the room like a physical force. Then blood-curdling screams erupted as the "captives" began to transform, their deception finally revealed.

  Their skin bubbled and twisted grotesquely, flesh melting away like wax to reveal the demon dopplegangers beh their borrowed forms. The cramped chamber desded into chaos as dozens of monsters shed their disguises at oheir true forms a nightmarish blend of shadow and malformed flesh, filling the air with the sickly sweet stench of decay.

  The st of the shapeshifters fell, their bodies reverting to twisted masses of shadow and flesh. Dark ichor pooled beh their corpses, staining the aged floorboards.

  A ugh resonated from deep within Dorian as he brought his shield down, the sound rich with dark mirth. "Now that's something new. Doppelgangers without spells? hought they'd slice so easily in an anti-magie." His dragon-like visage wrinkled with eai while he nudged one of the deceased creatures with his boot.

  Isolde sheathed her twin bdes with practiced grace, scales glinting in the dim light. "Same goes for us, you know. We're just as vulnerable without ic." She wiped a sptter of dark fluid from her arm. "Though I must say, bde work alone seems to do the job just fine."

  Dorian's grin widened, his sharp teeth gleaming in the dim light. "But hey, as someone who use aura, this is a piece of cake." He tapped his chest pte with pride, the metal ringing softly. "So stop talking as if you 't use aura, Isolde. We both know better."

  Isolde let out a long-suffering sigh, her scaled shoulders slumping slightly. The way she rolled her eyes at her fellow lizardman spoke of tless simir exges over the years. Dark ichor dripped from her twin bdes onto the wooden floor, each drop eg in the now-quiet chamber.

  "Everyone whole?" Elira emerged from the shadows, daggers dripping. Her quick eyes sed each member of the group, professional assessment written across her features.

  Lira checked her b, fingers running along the taut line. "Not a scratch. Though I'm down to half my arrows."

  Lira and Aurelith picked their way through the age, careful to avoid the pools of dark ichor that staihe wooden floor. The battle had left a mess of broken furniture, twisted demon corpses, and scattered arrows - many crushed beh the weight of falling bodies or snapped during the fierbat.

  "This one's still good." Lira extracted an arrow from a doppelganger's chest, wiping the shaft on a patch of untainted cloth. The fletg remained intact, though the shaft showed signs of stress.

  Aurelith k beside a pile of bodies, her keen eyes spotting the glint of arrowheads among the twisted forms. She reached in, grimag as her fingers brushed against the cold flesh. Most of the arrows had shattered on impact or been crushed as the demons fell on top of each other.

  "Three more here, but they'll need new fletg." She added them to the small pile of salvageable arrows beside her. The wooden shafts were scratched but solid.

  Lira moved to another er, her silver hair catg the dim light. "Found a couple more, but..." She held up the splintered remains of what had once been arrows. "Not much left of these."

  Betweehey mao recht arrows in usable dition, with another five that could be repaired. It wasn't much, sidering how many they'd fired during the battle, but it was better than nothing. They stored the salvaged arrows in their quivers, keeping the damaged ones separate for ter repair.

  Aurelith surveyed the age around them, her eyes lingering on the scattered remains of their arrows. "We didn't mao salvage nearly as many on the first floor." She shook her head, disappoi clear in her voice as she secured the st salvageable arrow in her quiver.

  Lira burst into ughter, the sound eg off the stone walls. "Look at the size differeween the floors! What are you even saying?" She gestured dramatically at the cramped chamber around them, then pointed downward.

  "The first floor ractically a ballroom. Of course we couldn't find them all scattered across that massive space." Her silver hair caught the dim light as she turo Aurelith with a mischievous grin.

  "ime we'll just ask the demons to kindly die in a smaller room. Much more ve for arrow colle."

  Aurelith let out a long-suffering sigh at her friend's joke, but the slight upturn at the er of her mouth betrayed her amusement. She'd long growo

  Lira's particur brand of humor, even if she wouldn't admit how much it lightehe mood after intetles.

  " here," Aurelith firmed, her golden-brown eyes sweeping the room one final time. She adjusted her quiver, ting her remaining arrows. "The stairs to the top floor should be through that door." She poio a heavy oak door at the far end of the chamber.

  The group gathered themselves, falling bato their formatioe the close quarters bat, not one of them showed signs of injury - a testament to their experiehey moved toward the final staircase, ons ready for whatever waited above.

  * * *

  Sweat trickled down their faces as they climbed the final set of stairs. Twenty-five minutes of intense bat had taken its toll, each step heavier tha. The magical dampening field made every movement more taxing, f them to rely on pure physical prowess.

  Aurelith reached into her leather poud pulled out a stack of carefully folded parts. The paper gleamed with a faint golden sheen uhe torchlight, betraying the magical properties woven into its fibers.

  "Take three each," she passed the ented papers around. "These are prote wards against mental manipution. Succubi are masters of sedu and mind trol."

  The team members accepted the parts with varying degrees of reverence. Some studied the intricate magical symbols etched across the surface while others tucked them away immediately.

  "Simple but effective." Aurelith demonstrated by holding up one sheet. "Just tear it when he ward's magic will shield your mind for about ten minutes. Don't waste them - we might need all three before this is done."

  Lira's firaced the intricate patterns on the part, her silver hair catg the torchlight as she leaned in closer. "Wow. Aurelith, you have outdone yourself again. To think you could prepare this much st night."

  Dorian's scaled brow lifted, his massive frame shifting as he examined his own stack. Elira and Isolde exged gheir eyes wide with disbelief at the craftsmanship before them.

  "These would take days, maybe weeks to create," Isolde whispered, her twin bdes clig softly against her armor as she moved.

  Aurelith's lips curved into a mischievous smile. "Let's just say Cadwen won't be bragging about his scroll-crafting skills anymore. He challenged me to a petition st spring - should have seen his face when I fihree times his output."

  Lira burst into ughter, the sound eg off the stone walls. She knew all too well about the rivalry betweewo advisors.

  "The materials alone would cost a fortune," Elira cut in, her scout's pragmatism showing through. "The ented paper, the magical inks..."

  "Not if you're a vilge advisor." Aurelith's grin widened as she tapped the silver circlet on her head. "Let's just say having access to Everspring's resources has its perks. Worth every minute if they keep us alive." Aurelith's golden-brown eyes sed the group, making sure everyone uood. "Ready?"

  Ohe group sigheir agreement, she clutched a scroll identical to those held by her panions. As they split the dot down the middle, it crackled sharply. Brilliant amber radiance sprang from the tear, encirg each member with luminous strands that merged into their flesh like ahereal shield.

  "Let's move," Aurelith anded, drawing her bow as the ward's magic hummed through her veins. The prote spell would give them the edge they needed against the succubi's mental attack skills - provided they used it wisely.

  She o Dorian. The lizardman rolled his massive shoulders, adjusted his grip on his shield, and charged. The door exploded inward, wooden splinters flying in all dires.

  Five demons awaited them. Two wielded longswords, their bdes gleaming with an unnatural sheen. Behind them, three succubi hovered, their ethereal beauty a stark trast to the corruption that radiated from their very being. Dark wings spread wide, casting twisted shadows across the chamber floor.

  The succubus at the back of the chamber floated higher, her dark wings spreading wider. Purple fmes danced around her fiips as she gazed down at the intruders. Her beauty was otherworldly - perfect features twisted by malid cruelty.

  "Well, well. We didn't expected the anti-magic field, and your speed..." She traced a zy circle in the air. "Most impressive. Though I suppose it matters little now that the portal is gone."

  Her ughter echoed off the stone walls, a sound like breaking gss mixed with hohe other demons shifted into bat staheir ons gleaming iorchlight.

  "Such determination." The succubus's eyes locked onto each member of the group in turn. "The noble lizardman tank, the deadly scout, the graceful bde dancer..." Her gaze lingered on Aurelith and Lira. "And two elves, so far from their forest home. Tell me, how does it feel? Knowing you've failed to save a single soul? The portal is almost-"

  Dorian's war cry cut through her words. His shield smmed forward as he charged, the metal surface bzing with protective runes. Isolde's twin bdes sang as she drew them, moving to fnk. Elira melted into the shadows, seeking an opening.

  Aurelith and Lira nocked arrows simultaneously, their bs taut. The succubi's smiles turned predatory as they spread out, preparing to unleash their deadly charms.

  The room crackled with tension as both sides sized each other up, knowing the moments would erupt into violence.

  The demons split with practiced coordination. Two pairs formed, each sisting of a sword demon and succubus, while the third succubus drifted to the back of the chamber, her wings spread wide as she prepared to support her allies.

  The sword demons moved with unnatural speed, their bdes leaving trails of darkness in the air. One engaged Dorian, steel meeting steel in a shower of sparks. The other demon circled Isolde, matg her fluid movements with its own deadly grace.

  Each csh of o reverberations through the chamber. When Dorian swung his bde in a powerful arc, the demon before him twisted, catg the strike with its sword.

  The impact created a burst of sparks and a metallic screech that set teeth on edge. The succubus apanying it weaved through the air, looking for openings in his defense.

  Isolde's twin swords became silver blurs as she pressed her attack, but the demon matched her speed. Their o in a deadly dance, each parry produg a shower of sparks and the sharp ring of ented metal. The succubus h near her waited for any sign of weakness, ready to strike.

  From her position at the rear, the third succubus wove dark energies, her hands trailing shadows as she prepared to aid her panions. Her eyes darted betweewo battles, assessing where her support would be most effective.

  The chamber filled with the stant rhythm of bat - the csh of ons, the hiss of dispced air, and the thunderous impacts of parried blows. Each time Dorian or Isolde thought they had found an opening, their oppos' bdes were there to meet them, creating new bursts of sparks and that distinctive sound of supernatural metal meeting mortal steel.

  Arrows whistled through the air as Aurelith, Lira, and Elira provided c fire from their positions, their bs humming in deadly harmony. Their keen eyes spotted movement in the shadows - mimics that had disguised themselves as furniture and decorations around the chamber's edges, waiting t their ambush on unsuspeg prey.

  Each shot found its mark with devastating precision, the ented arrows pierg through the creatures' deceptive forms. As death cimed them, the mimics transformed grotesquely, half of their bodies reverting to their true monstrous shapes while the other half remained frozen in their chosen disguises - a macabre colle of partial chairs, tables, and ornate vases that now littered the chamber floor.

  The battle reached a stalemate. For every arrow that strue, the demons adapted their tactics. The succubi wove protective barriers of dark energy while the sword demons used their supernatural speed to deflect or dodge ining projectiles. Even the revealed mimics proved resilient, their half-transformed bodies abs hits that would have felled normal creatures.

  Aurelith's keen eyes narrowed as she observed the succubi's movements. Despite the anti-magic field that should have rendered magiearly impossible, dark energy still flowed around their barriers. The prote wasn't particurly strong - arrows occasionally peed through - but the very fact they could maintain any magical defe all meant something was wrong.

  Her gaze swept the chamber, searg for the source. The succubi's movements, though seemingly random, folloattern. They rayed too far from certain points in the room, as if tethered by invisible s.

  The third succubus at the back caught her attention. Unlike her sisters who focused on direbat from afar with mimics, she maintained a position near an orapestry. Her hands wove plex patterns, drawing power from... somewhere.

  "They're eling magic through anchor points," Aurelith called out to her panions. Her fingers found another arrow. "We o end this quickly before they gather more power."

  The barriers around the demons, though weak, grew steadier with each passing moment. Whatever source they'd tapped into was gaining strength. Soon, their magical defenses would bee imperable, and the team would lose their advantage.

  Aurelith's mind raced through possibilities. The anti-magic field should have prevented any signifit magical maion. For the succubi to bypass it meant they'd either found a way to ter the field itself, or they'd discovered a power source strong enough to punch through it.

  her option boded well for a prolonged battle.

  Aurelith's golden-brown eyes narrowed as she assessed the situation. The ward's prote and the anti-magic field wouldn't st forever, and they o end this quickly.

  Shafts of sunlight pierced through the chamber's high windows, casting thin beams across the battlefield. Aurelith slung her bow across her ba one fluid motion.

  Steel sang as she drew her twin daggers, their ented bdes catg the light. The ons hummed with stored magic, eager for close bat.

  "Cover me," Aurelith called to Lira and Elira, who adjusted their positions with practiced efficy, their arrows singing through the air in calcuted arcs. The two archers maintained relentless suppressing fire against the third succubus, f the demons to dand weave between their deadly projectiles while simultaneously providing crucial support for Dorian and Isolde's ground assault.

  The daggers' edges gleamed as Aurelith spun them into a ready position. Each bde bore intricate ruhat pulsed with a subtle golden glow, matg the determination in her eyes as she prepared to join the melee.

  * * *

  Aurelith burst into motion, her daggers catg the light as she sprinted forward. The succubi tracked her movement, their eyes widening at her sudden charge. The sword demons shifted their stances, preparing to intercept.

  A fsh of silver sparked from her ring, and a part materialized in the air beside her, its edges rippling as though caught in ahereal wind. A runes covered its surfa intricate patterns, pulsing with stored power that made the very air hum with anticipation.

  In one fluid motion, precise as a dancer's step, Aurelith's right dagger sliced through the ented paper. The part shattered like spun gss, disiing into tless motes of light that scattered through the air like leaves caught in a breeze.

  The part's magic surged through Aurelith, transf her vision. The world shifted into yers of ethereal light, revealing currents of magical energy that flowed through the room like invisible rivers.

  The succubi's forms bzed with demonic power, their auras a writhing mass of corrupted energy that made Aurelith's skin crawl. But beyond their obvious presence, four distinct points of magic pulsed in the chamber, eae a subtle heartbeat against the backdrop of dark ambient power.

  The first source flickered beside the wall dorian is at, barely rger than a dle's fme. The sed and third emanated from beh a loose stone in the floor and the wall o where isolde is standing, its rhythm matg the subtle waves of power rolling off the succubus. The forth and final point throbbed from within a tapestry he succubus in the back, its magical signature iwined with the demoniergies that filled the room.

  Each pulse of magic corresponded perfectly with the positions of the succubi, f a triangle of power that ected them like points on a map. The pattern was too precise to be tal - these sources weren't just random magical artifacts left behind in the chaos. They served a purpose, anch something in pce.

  The sword demons remained oblivious to her newfound awareness, their mundane ons g the magical resohat now painted her surroundings in waves of ethereal light. But the succubi's expressions shifted, a fsh of crossing their features as they sehe ge in the air.

  She didn't break stride as her left arm whipped forward, muscles coiling and releasing with practiced efficy, sending her sed dagger spinning end over end toward the wall near Dorian's battle.

  The bde struck deep into the stoh a resonant ring that echoed through the chamber, its runes fring bright gold against the darkness, promisiation to e.

  The effect was immediate. The protective darkness surrounding the succubus o Dorian flickered and vanished, leaving the demon exposed. Her tration shattered, she stumbled back from her position, her e to whatever power source she'd been drawing from severed by Aurelith's a.

  The sword demon's eyes darted between Aurelith and the scuucbus's now-useless barrier, genuine fear repg his earlier fidence. Without the succubus's magical prote, the demon was vulnerable to both bde and arrow, and he k.

  Lira's arrow whistled through the air with deadly precision, finding its mark deep in the sword demon's shoulder with a meaty thunk. The creature's carefully maintained rhythm faltered, its perfect defense against Dorian's relentless onsught breaking for a crucial moment.

  The lizardman capitalized instantly, his shield crashing forward with bone-crushing force. The demon staggered, its guard pletely shattered, and Dorian's bde followed in a devastating arc that separated the sword demon's head from its spine in a spray of dark ichor.

  In that same heartbeat, Aurelith seized the opportunity, her boots scraping against the wall as she darted toward Isolde's position. The lizardwoman warrior held her ground with practiced grace against her demonic oppo, her twin bdes locked in a deadly dah the demon's sword. Each csh of steel sparked with otherworldly energy as the two batants wove their lethal chraphy.

  Metal sang against stone as Aurelith drove her daggers into the wall. A runes bzed to life along their edges, their golden light casting strange shadows across the chamber. She wrehem free in one smooth motion, then pluhem into the floor at her feet.

  A magical metal struck a rock, sending out a wave of glowing fragments. The succubus hiding in the swordfiend's shadow flinched as dark mist peeled off her body like ash in the wind. Her sword-wielding protector and the shadows that cealed her disappeared into nothingness.

  Isolde's eyes narrowed, reading the shift itle's flow like a dancer anticipating aurelith's move. Her scales glinted in the magical light as her muscles tensed, coiling with predatrabsp;

  She unched into a movement that seemed to defy physics itself, her lithe form being almost liquid in its fluidity. Her body twisted in ways no ordinary warrior could match, each motion flowing seamlessly into the as her secret teique - passed down through geions of lizardman bde dancers - caught the sword demon pletely off guard.

  The demon's stance crumbled under Isolde's relentless assault, its perfect defense shattering like gss against stone. For oal heartbeat, it stood exposed, its otherworldly guard broken by mortal skill.

  Aurelith jump charged and struck like a viper, her first ented dagger finding the sword demon's face with devastating precision, golden runes fring bright at the moment of impabsp;

  The a symbols etched into the bde's surface pulsed with aral magic, each glyph burning with the iy of sunlight as steel met corrupted flesh. The force of her strike sent ripples through the air itself, a testament to the perfect fusion of elven grad battle-fed strength.

  Before it could eveer the pain, her sed bde sliced through its ne a spray of dark ichor, the corrupted essence hissing where it struck the chamber floor.

  The chamber's atmosphere shifted as the two remaining sword demons crumpled, their essence dissolving into nothingness. The two succubi drew back, their earlier fidence evaporating like m dew. They retreated toward their sister who had maintained her positiohe back of the room, their movements betraying a growing desperation.

  Dark magic swirled around them in tendrils, but the protective shroud seemed thinner now, more fragile. The third succubus stood before an orapestry, its a fabric depig ses of long-fotten battles. Her hands wove plex patterns in the air, drawing power from the artifact behio maintain what remained of their defenses.

  Aurelith's keen eyes caught the subtle pulse of energy flowiweeapestry and the demons, the dark threads of magic shimmering like spider silk in moonlight.

  Without hesitation, she nocked an arrow - one of the special exploding arrows from Thalindor's fe, its shaft humming with tained power. The arrowhead gleamed with embedded runes, desigo punch through magical barriers, each marking carefully etched by the master craftsman's steady hand.

  The string of her bow creaked as she drew it back, her breath steady despite the battle's exertion, muscles honed by turies of practice moving with fluid precision. Golden-brown eyes narrowed as she tracked the flow of energy to its weakest point.

  The arrow flew true, its ented tip tearing through the a fabric with a sound like thunder, leaving a trail of sparking magi its wake. The tapestry exploded into pieces, ahreads disiing into ash and smoke as they fell to either side of the third succubus, severing the demon's e to the artifact's power.

  The effect was immediate aating. The dark magic surrounding the demons vanished pletely, leaving them exposed in the chamber's harsh light. The third succubus stumbled backward, her e to the tapestry's power severed. Her sisters pressed closer to her, their supernatural allure diminished without their protective shroud.

  Where moments before stood three fident demons ed in shadows and dark power, now remained only three vulnerable creatures, their magical deferipped away by a single well-pced shot.

  * * *

  I stepped forward, my bow trained ohree succubi. "You have o run."

  The demons lounged on their makeshift thrones, all sensual curves and wicked smiles. The one in the ter ughed, the sound like breaking gss. "Oh, you think we want to run?"

  Beside me, Isolde adjusted her stahe bdes at her side murmuring softly. Elira melted into the shadows, her daggers gleaming with deadly i. Dorian's shield vibrated as he prepared to charge, while Lira pulled back her b, her hair shining like moonlight in the dim radiance.

  "Look what we've been pying with." The succubus on the right purred. A shape flew through the air toward us.

  My heart stopped. A dwarf's body hit the ground with a siing thud. His skin g to his bones like paper, eyes sunken deep into their sockets. But what made my blood freeze wasn't his appeara was the weak, rattling breath that escaped his lips.

  "He's still alive," Lira whispered, horror threading through her voice.

  The ward's prote still held strong around us, but seeing the dwarf's state shattered something inside me. These demons hadn't just killed him. They'd kept him alive through their feeding, prolonging his torment.

  "Such a delieal and a fun toy," the left succubus licked her lips. "Though he did start to lose his... fvor toward the end."

  "Monsters," Dorian growled, his scaled hands tightening on his shield.

  The ter succubus rose, her wings unfurling. "Oh, dear warriors. You have no idea what true monsters are." Her eyes fshed crimson. "But you will."

  We held our positions, ons ready, but that split sed of a seeing the dwarf's state had cost us our element of surprise. The succubi's fidence made my skin crawl. They had something pnned, and we'd walked right into it.

  The killing i skill hit me like a physical wave, driving the breath from my lungs. My eyes widened as the three succubi moved in perfect synization, their elegant fingers plunging into their ows.

  Blood sprayed across their makeshift thrones as they ripped out their still-beatis, the crimson droplets seeming to hang in the air like frozen rubies before spttering against the cold stone floor.

  Their bodies crumpled, colpsing like discarded silk upohrones, but their hearts remained suspended in the air, pulsing with an unnatural dark energy that made my ow stutter in response.

  The temperature in the room plummeted until I could see my breath misting before me, and a magic - filled the chamber like thick, oily smoke. The protective wards etched into my bow began to glow in response, a futile defense against the overwhelming malevolehat pressed against us from all sides.

  "No," I breathed, reition hitting me like an arrow to the chest. I'd seen this ritual described in the forbiddes of Everspring's library. This was no simple demon summoning - this was something far worse.

  The three hearts began to orbit each other, leaving trails of crimson light in their wake. The space between them ed and twisted, reality itself bug uhe weight of whatever was trying to break through.

  "Run!" I shouted to my panions, but before I could finish, the space between the hearts colpsed into a pinpoint of absolute darkness. For a heartbeat, everythi silent.

  Then the world exploded.

  A n of hellfire erupted from that tiny point, expanding outward with devastating force. The heat alohreateo melt my armor, and the shockwave sent ks of stone flying from the walls.

  The explosion hit like a tidal wave, lifting me off my feet. The world spun, stone and timber being a blur as I tumbled through the air alongside my panions. My bow slipped from my grasp, and I caught glimpses of Lira's silver hair whipping past, Dorian's massive form cartwheeling like a leaf in a storm.

  The impact against Lucas's barrier khe breath from my lungs. My back hit first, then my head snapped back. Stars exploded behind my eyes. I slid down the magical wall, nding in a heap of limbs and debris.

  Through blurred vision, I saw Elira sprawled nearby, blood trig from her temple. Isolde had somehow mao curl around the dwarf's withered form, proteg him from the worst of the impact. Lira y motionless a few feet away.

  The dust cleared. Where the keep's third floor had been, something rose from the rubble. My heart stopped as I reized the horror before us. No amount of reading or preparation could have readied me for the sight of a Devourer in the flesh.

  It towered above the remains of the keep, its form a nightmare of twisted flesh and void-bck scales. Multiple rows of teeth gleamed in a maw that could swallow a horse whole. Its eyes - gods, it had so many eyes - all fixed on us with an a, insatiable hunger.

  The beast's very presence seemed to drain the warmth from the air. Even the barrier between us felt fragile pared to the overwhelming wrongness of the creature. This was what the succubi had sacrificed themselves to summon - not just a t demon, but a force of nature bent on ing everything in its path.

  I tried to push myself up, but my arms shook with the effort. Blood trickled down my face. Around me, my panions stirred weakly, all of us thrown about like discarded toys by the force of the Devourer's emergence.

  The monster raised its head toward the barrier, and I felt the weight of its attention press down on us like a physical force. It opes mouth, and the sound that emerged wasn't a roar - it was the promise of oblivion.

  * * *

  I stared at my pocket watch for what felt like the huh time. Forty minutes had passed since Aurelith and the others ehe keep. The silence was deafening, broken only by the occasional rumble from withione walls.

  "You've been on your feet for some time. Would you care for a cup of tea, my dy?" Pe's voice cut through my thoughts.

  I nodded, grateful for the distra. The familiar st of ile wafted up as she poured the steaming liquid into my cup. The warmth spread through my fingers as I took a careful sip.

  "That should help your mi, my dy." Pe's gentle smile reflected her .

  "Thank you." I traced the rim of the cup with my finger. "You know, I've been thinking about Aurelith. Her tactical mind, her bat prowess... Aurora's Grace Academy would be from someone like her."

  "Are you sideriending an invitation?"

  "I am." The tea's warmth settled in my chest. "Her approach to the keep's defense was brilliant. The way she analyzed the situation, adapted the strategy... It reminded me of some of our fi graduates."

  "She does have quite the reputation among the elves."

  "More thaation. I've seen how she carries herself, how she thinks." I set the cup down. "The Academy hasn't had many elven students since most of Everspring's advisors, especially not ones with her particur talents. But something tells me she'd make an exceptional addition to our ranks. And Kael's words…"

  Pe refilled my cup. "Have you discussed this with her yet?"

  "No, I wao be certain first. But after seeing her in a..." I paused, remembering how she'd ahe room during our strategy sessions. "I think it's time to have that versa…"

  The ground shook beh my feet, cutting off my words. A deafening explosion ripped through the air, and I whirled toward the inner keep. The main building's walls cracked and buckled, stone and debris raining down in a deadly shower.

  My heart stopped. Aurelith and the others were inside.

  "Pe!" I draw my bde.

  "Get the priests here now. All of them!"

  The words had barely left my mouth when something massive burst through the colpsing structure. My blood ran cold. Through the settling dust and smoke, a horror from the depths of hell emerged.

  The Devourer towered above the rubble, its grotesque form a mockery of life itself. Its flesh writhed and pulsed with an otherworldly darkness, void-bck tendrils whipping through the air. Multiple rows of teeth lis gaping maw, and where its eyes should have been, there were only endless pits of hunger. Its eyes - gods, it had so many eyes.

  I'd faced demons before, led charges against the forces of hell itself, but this... this was different. The very air seemed to rot around it, and the weight of its presence pressed against my mind like a physical force.

  "By the gods," I whispered, my grip tightening on my sword hilt. In all my years as a knight, in all the battles I'd fought, I'd never entered a Devourer. They were supposed to be myths, stories thten children.

  The creature's head swiveled toward me, and I felt its hunger. My knights backed away, their ons trembling in their hands. Even the bravest among them had never faced something like this.

  Where was Aurelith? Where were the others? The thought of them trapped ih this monstrosity made my stomach turn.

  "Lucas, drop the barriers! They're useless against this thing!" My voice cut through the chaos. "The anti-magic field too! Now!"

  Lucas's hands moved in swift gestures, and the shimmering walls of energy dissolved. As the magical barriers fell, my heart stopped. Through the settling dust, I saw them. Five bodies scattered across the ground like broken dolls.

  The Radiant Dawn, one of the fi adveeams I'd ever known, y motionless. Dorian's massive form sprawled near a fallen pilr, his shield shattered beside him. Elira and Isolde had nded several feet apart, their ons still clutched in lifeless hands. Lucas's own team, brought low by this nightmare.

  "Sed Order Knights, fall back!" I shouted to my sed order knights, my voice hoarse with desperation. The acrid stench of blood and smoke filled my lungs as I raised my sword high, its golden sheen dulled by the chaos around us. "Save who you areat! First Order Knights, prepare for battle. That's an order!"

  My most elite knights, five first order knights, moved into formation behiheir silver armleaming even in this darkness. Each piece of their ented pte had been blessed in the sacred fmes of our order, making them shimmer with an otherworldly light. I could feel their resolve matg my own, each of them ready to y down their lives if necessary.

  These warriors had fought tless battles at my side, had bled with me, had celebrated victories and mourned losses together. The weight of and had never felt heavier on my shoulders, knowing that my decision could mean life or death for these loyal souls who trusted me without question.

  Movement caught my eye. Aurelith pushed herself up from the rubble, her silver armor stained crimson. Blood ran down her face, dripped from her arms, pooled at her feet. Her golden-brown eyes bzed with an iy I'd never seen before, even as more blood seeped through the gaps in her armor.

  Without hesitation, I sprioward Aurelith. My boots pounded against the broken stone, each step carrying me closer to the elf who stood defiantly before death itself. The Devourer loomed above her, its massive form blog out the sky, but she didn't flinch. She didn't run.

  "Aurelith!" I called out, my sword ready. The distaween us felt endless, even as I pushed myself faster.

  * * *

  I heard someone calling my name, but the sou distant, unreal. My entire focus locked onto the horror before me, the Devourer. Its massive form twisted and writhed, a nightmare given flesh.

  The beast's attention turo the corpses littering the floor. What happened made my blood freeze. The Devourer's maw opened impossibly wide, revealing rows of teeth that seemed to stretto an endless void. The dead bodies lifted from the ground as if pulled by invisible strings, floating toward that terrible mouth.

  The corpses... they didn't just disappear into its gullet. They unraveled. Flesh, bone, and the very essence of what they were stripped away yer by yer, ed in a dispy that defied natural w. Even the half-transformed mimics, still frozeweerue forms and their disguises, were drawn in and torn apart.

  My hands trembled on my bow. In all my years, all the horrors I'd witnessed sihe fall of Emberveil, nothing pared to this. This wasn't just death. This was obliteration, a plete erasure of existence.

  "Aurelith! Fall back!" Seraphine's voice cut through my daze like a bde through silk, her anding tone carrying the weight of tless battles.

  I blinked, reality crashing back with brutal force. My eyes darted around the blood-stained courtyard. Lira sprawled like a ragged doll, two knights dragging her away from the devourer, her silver hair wild and matted with sweat and grime. The sight of my closest friend so helpless made my stomach ch with a familiar dread.

  It took a trio of Seraphine's soldiers t Dorian's hulkiilian body, his muscled frame testing even their siderable strength. Isolde and Elira, stood paralyzed, their usually stoic expressions crag as they withe Devrotesque feast. I'd never seen Elira, lose her cool like this. Her years of adventurer fag death and danger should have meant nothing as she stared, transfixed by the unnatural age. The knights eventually mao pull both Isolde and Elira back from the monstrous entity, breaking their horrified trance.

  Even the dwarf, or what remained of him after the demon's corruption, was being pulled to safety by knights who looked like they'd rather be anywhere else.

  A wave of relief washed over me. They were alive. They would survive.

  I turned back to face the monstrosity. Its endless maw tio break down the corpses of our fallen enemies, eae dissolving into streams of essehat vanished into that bottomless void.

  My fingers found the spatial ring on my hand, the one filled with emergency supplies. Four health potions emerged at my touch. Without hesitation, I uncorked them all and poured the crimson liquid over my head. The cool sensation spread ay skin, seeping into my wounds, both old and new. Energy surged through my limbs as the magic took hold.

  I felt my body mending, strength returning to muscles that had been pushed beyond their limits. The deep gash ay shoulder sealed itself, and the burning in my lungs from the earlier fights subsided.

  The Devourer fis grotesque meal, turning its attention to the only prey left in front of its eyes.

  The Devourer's feast ended in an instant, the st wisps of essence disappearing into that endless void. Before I could steady my starong arms ed around my waist, and the world tilted. My stomach lurched as Seraphine hoisted me over her shoulder like a sack of grain.

  "What the heck? Put me down!" The words came out sharper than intended as she carried me backward, her golden hair whipping past my face, tig my h each hurried step.

  "I just used four health potions! I move! The wounds are already healing, Seraphine!" My pride stung worse than any injury as I dangled helplessly over her shoulder, my hands gripping the back of her armor to steady myself against the jolting movement.

  Her grip only tightened as she sprinted away from the devourer. The sound of her boots echoed off the stone walls, mixing with the distant roars of the Devourer.

  I twisted in her grasp and pnted my palms against her back. With one fluid motion, I pushed off, breaking free of her hold and nding in a crouch several feet away.

  "What the hell are you thinking?" I straightened, fixing her with a hard stare. "You saw me use those potions. My body's funing perfectly fine." I gestured to my healed wounds, the torn fabriy clothing the only evidehey'd ever existed.

  Seraphiurned, her face a mix of aermination.

  The sharp crack of her palm against my cheek echoed through the corridor. My head so the side, the sting bringing crity through the haze of battle-fury.

  "Good. You're back to normal." Seraphine's voice carried iroh its warmth. Her hand dropped to the hilt of her sword. "Now leave this to me and Lucas. You o recover."

  I opened my mouth to protest, but the words died as five of her knights materialized from the shadows. Each bore the mark of House Lio, their armleaming with protective entments. They moved with practiced precision, f a deadly wall of steel and discipline around their dy.

  Lucas stepped forward, his robes rippling with barely tained power. Crystalline focuses ked at his belt as he raised his staff, are energy crag between his fingers.

  "First order knights. Formatioa!" Seraphine anded, drawing her bde. The ruched along its length bzed to life, casting golden light across the stone walls. Her first order knights responded instantly, shields interlog as they advaoward the pce where the Devourer waited.

  My fingers brushed my stinging cheek as I watched them march past. The sp had done more than just shock me bay senses. It had reminded me that sometimes the hardest part of being a leader was knowing when to step back.

  Lucas caught my eye as he passed, a slight nod before turning his attention to the battle ahead. The air crackled with gathering power as he began weaving his first spell.

  The sound of steel being drawn filled the surrounding as Seraphine and her knights charges towards the devourer. Lucas followed, his voice rising in an aohat made my skin prickle.

  The csh of battle erupted from within, punctuated by the Devourer's otherworldly roars and the sharp ands of Seraphine direg her forces.

  I watched as Seraphine led her knights against the Devourer, their movements a deadly dance of steel and precision. The sight of First Order Knights in a was breathtaking. Each strike is purposeful. Each defense is calcuted. Lucas's magic wove between them, bolts of pure energy striking at the monster's hide.

  A gentle hand touched my shoulder. I spun around to find myself fag a group of priests, their white robes marked with the sigil of the healing order. The one who'd touched me, clearly their leader from his more eborate vestments, gave me a stern look.

  "Lady Aurelith, please sit. Let us tend to you."

  I started to protest, but my legs betrayed me, bug as the adrenaline began to fade. The priests caught me, easio a stone bench I hadn't noticed before.

  As their healing magic washed over me in soothing waves, my mind raced. First Order Knights. The elite of the elite. I'd heard tales, of course, but seeing them in a... The way they moved in perfect sync with Seraphiheir enharength and speed evident in every motion.

  The thought struck me. If these were First Order Knights, there had to be others. Sed Order, Third Order perhaps? The hierarchy made sense, a progression of skill and power.

  As the priests' healing magic flowed through me, my tactical mind refused to stay idle. Steel against the devourer's flesh, Lucas's intations, and Seraphine's sharp ands echoed.

  From this position, I could arc shots over the knights' formation, targeting oints without risking friendly fire. The Devourer had two cores. if I could spot them from here...

  The priests' magitis work. Each passing moment brought rategies to mind, ways to support without promising the knights' coordinated assault. I just he right moment, the perfect opportunity to act without drawing Seraphine's ire again.

  My fingers itched for my bow. The priests' magic was helping, but I felt useless sitting here while others fought. I studied the battle before me, analyzing patterns and movements. The Devourer had two cores. Yet, I wondered if there was an arroable of making an impa that abomination.