Channelknight Fadran

"I... I thought we'd have taken care of her..." Vance thumbed back to where he'd come from. "Me and Kealie. She ambushed us first. I... it's my fault. I shouldn't have let her go."

"Alright. We just have to get him back, then. Easy."

"Ah. Yes, I know of it."

The crash of power washed over the mountainside. A trio of shockwaves, one after another, could be seen in the dust and gravel. Everyone stumbled; Kaeni almost fell back, but dropped against the Gates and managed to stay on her feet. It all happened so quick that it would take her nearly an hour to deconstruct it later. The bolt of lightning, having come from Mercury, effectively directed the explosion away from the acolytes. Had she struck it from above or the other side, Kaeni could only imagine they'd all have been vaporized. The explosion in question, however, exploded outwards in an incomplete sphere, a cone cut out of the end to protect them from the brunt of the force. It probably wasn't intended by either Avi or Mercury, but it kept them all alive. There was a short battle of force on force between the explosion and the wyvern's warp field. The blinding white shockwave rippled against an invisible force, and the wyvern seemed to... stress. Suddenly it wasn't just stopping arrows. Its esoteric magic - the ability to bend time and space around itself - proved to be insufficient. In a sudden climax, the explosion crashed through the field and blew across the wyvern, knocking it back into a daze. The wyvern plummeted for a moment - then seconds - before it remembered and recovered. More beats of wings - now rapid and awkward - brought it back to level with its own weight. Another shrieking roar, a dozen times louder than the last. Kaeni's hands shot to her ears. Of course they'd just made it mad.

"What kind of magic?" Quendi asked.

"Just now? Right now? An... assassin killed the guard captain?" Despite herself, Aolicei gave a glance at Abihal. No, it almost definitely wouldn't have been her... but seriously, out of everyone here, she was the one who showed up with a bloody knife in her bag. "What about the lights? They all went out just before he killed him. Is that some kind of... witchcraft?"

"And such an incompetent guard captain that--" No. This is her father, remember. Aolicei let out a puff of air, dropping her head for a moment before looking back up at the guards. "Well, clearly we're a safer bet for the kid than the lot of you right now." She took Shana and pulled her close. "Now can you please explain what the bloodsuckles is going on here?"

"Lead with that, then! You're telling me the late king has such an incompetent guard force that they just run in and grab people without saying a word?"

Aolicei set her hands over Shana's ears. "And who's ordering you to take his daughter into custody over that?"

"Hank? Who's Hank?" Who names their child Hank?

Aolicei gave them another, massive sister stare. "Explain yourselves!" She demanded.

Je ne parle pas espanol

"The - " Vance stopped. It took a couple seconds for it to hit him. "She came here?"

The goop monster fought back. Black versus purple: a battle for the ages.

"Can the young man diagram Vangar energy signatures?"

"Regardless. I'm sure his eyes will be fine. If it'll prove to be a problem we can have him wear contacts or something."

"I suppose that's the question, then." "For one negotiation I'm sure we can. We'll be here for much more than just that."

"I don't imagine we'll be taking him with us, considering his... ah... penchant for misfortune."

"I would prefer we keep multi-universal magical powers out of this. No one here - to my knowledge - is aware of a greater Macrosmos."

Have a couple more Iconar characters before I go to bed: