Thana's Point of View

Unknown Location

Moments Earlier

“I told him to wait a few days. Why did he break the barrier? I doubt all of Arthur’s magic has been absorbed.” I stated as I watched through my ward.

“Maybe it felt confident enough to defeat him already.” Tor offered.

“Perhaps your creation wants to steal his magic more closely.” Flare suggested.

They spoke, but I couldn’t see them with my eyes closed. After all, I was trying to figure out what my experiment was trying to accomplish. Switching to another one of my ghoulish wards, I saw that the army I sent was just as lost and confused as I was.

My brows furrowed as I switched back to my ward that resided in Dwardew. To my surprise, the Ghoul I was watching through seemed startled by something for a moment as he jumped and quickly turned behind him. A cloaked man towered over him with a mad grin on his lips. The rest of his features were hidden, but I knew who it was immediately.

“You!” I seethed as I took control over my ward but was frozen in place and silenced.

After all, he’d been a thorn in my side for as long as I can remember. “We can talk later. I want to see what this latest and greatest creation of yours can do.” His grin deepened as his magic flared across his body. “Then again, that’s the same man who stopped you in my place all those years ago, isn’t it?” My body quivered in anger as he tapped my ward’s face condescendingly. “Now, now. No need to get so emotional.”

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I was promptly kicked from my ward’s body as I returned to my throne room wide eyed. “My Quee-“ Tor began, but he didn’t get a chance to finish.

My magic lashed out as many fled from my rampage. I wasn’t just angry. I was livid. No matter what happened now, I could no longer risk heading to the East, and sending Tor there would be unwise. Destroying the room, and anything that got caught in the blasts outside of the room it didn’t help the rage I felt. The ground shook from my outburst and torrent of uncontrolled magic as parts of my body changed to a more skeletal appearance before I started to calm down.

Finally, I sat back down on my throne and grasped the stone armrests tightly. “How could this happen again!?” I seethed as I breathed rapidly from my outburst.

Tor returned, as did several of the others. “My Queen?” He said softly.

“The East is lost to us. Going there would mean risking all out war.” I stated, and many looked surprised at that. “Whatever his purpose is there, Dwardew is no longer a place we can interfere with for the time being. We need to take care of a few loose ends before we could risk such a bold move…”

“Arthur Pendragon is that formid-“

Standing up again in anger at the mention of that name, I shouted. “It’s not just Arthur Pendragon anymore! It’s fucking-“

Arthur's Point of View

Capital of Vithari - Dwardew

“I’ll address you in a moment.” He said before grabbing my head with his free hand. “But I do need to make sure you stay down for a bit, so…” Trailing off as he ripped through the remaining skin on one side of my stomach, I felt myself almost get torn in half as I now was held up by my head. “This sword seems important to you as well.”

The man was brutal and meticulous in disarming me. I couldn’t summon my energy with how bad my wounds were, and I could feel traces of his magic inside me. Festering in the wounds and preventing me from healing as quickly. Prying Defiance from my grasp was simple as he dislocated the entirety of my arm. Shoulder, elbow, and wrist were all popped out as well as broken in several parts as he twisted it until I lost my grip.

In utter disregard, he acted as though he merely tossed it away as it soared through the cavern. I heard it crashing through rock and other things before he merely chuckled in amusement. His eyes were hidden behind a magic cloak similar to the one I wore thousands of years ago.

“I do hope you’ll be more entertaining than this.” Dropping me, I fell, unable to stop myself with the magic in my system.

My body, unable to support itself from the damage I had received, meant I needed to focus on clearing out his magic immediately. That would take some time. The Wraith and the cloaked man stood off against one another in the air. A Demon Lord and an unidentified High Elf were about to fight. Even though my energy was already working on cleansing my body, it wouldn’t be something that would leave Dwardew unscathed.