No, no, no- YES!

A shimmering pane of light stood before him, the deluge of flames uselessly washing itself over it. And for the tiniest fraction of a second, Regitris thought he was the one who had called the great protection into being. That was before he noticed that he hadn’t actually expended any mana. Nor could he cast a Spell capable of protecting the entire wall with this much perfection.

Morosely, he went about pocking at it with his finger, before he felt something watching him. He turned around and froze, as he saw the shape of the annoyed Djinn behind him.

Az was in his war form. That was to say, he looked like nothing in particular. He usually took the form of one species or another, rarely of an elf, to spite Regitris as much as he could. When he needed to physically accomplish something, Az took a form that best achieved that, be it a hybrid monster, a half-human or even something more akin to a golem.

But this… Regitris only saw him like this two times before. And knew that it could only meant Az was royally pissed off. He just hoped it wasn’t at him.

His body was similar to a cloud, only vaguely human-shaped, if a cloud was bristling with magical lightning and glowing purple stars within.

Then again, I do remember elven |Storm Mages| who can conjure something very much-

“Are your thoughts wondering off again, Regitris?” the figure rumbled.

“No. Not at all, teacher. I may I thank you for taking care of that Spell. I wasn’t expecting the nymph to use her dying act for a copy-cat Spell.”

“That wasn’t a Spell.”

“Uhm… it wasn’t?”

“No. That was the side effect of one. It only took the shape it did because that was what you used to kill her.”

“Oh, really? She used the leftover magical residue to replicate my Spell?” Regitris asked, excitingly turning around. “That was more that I expected… from… oh.”

“Precisely!” Az thundered.

There were no more runes on the grounds before the wall now. No more werewolf corpses and no more blood. The nymph and the charred earth around her were gone too. Now, the entire area for around a quarter of a mile had been transformed into a pane of… something. It looked as if reality had broken down and the physical place that it had occupied had instead been replaced with a single color. It was a dark crimson and… Regitrs still felt power coming from it. Not growing or pulsing, but static. And still his instincts told him it was a bad, with a capital B.

“Teacher… Az. What is that?”

“That is a gateway to one of the elemental planes.”

“An elemen- but the gateways are gone! We destroyed them.”

“We destroyed the gates, not the planes themselves, child! And gates can be made anew.”

“But how? That was a pack of werewolves and a nymph? I studied the gateways, they can’t just simply be made on a whim. And I didn’t sense nearly enough power on them for something like this.”

“Not enough power? Hm. |Loudness|. All troops, retreat. Make way for the second line of defenses. Begin moving, now!”

The thundering voice made Regitris’ ears rings, even though he had cast a minor protection Spell. He spoke, even as he saw the soldiers leaping down from the walls with haste.

“Second line? But that’s miles away. We’ll be losing this garrison!”

“It is already lost.”

“…Az? What’s happening.”

The Djinn tore his eyes away from the crimson space and looked Regitris in the eye. Even in this form, he felt that his teacher was warry. And for someone like him to feel warry… The elf felt fear.

“You didn’t feel their true power, I suspect, because they had begun the ritual before they even moved towards us. Their true power was already being channeled and what you saw was simply what was left. Those weren’t pups, Regi. Each of those werewolves was probably a pack master.”

“And the nymph?”

“She was young. But that was her purpose. To be young and pure and by that be the perfect piece for the end of this sacrificial ritual.”

“Sacrificial…” Regitris repeated, dumbfounded.

“Yes. I… have failed you, Regi. I should have looked into this myself. And this was only the final play. Do you remember the last attacks? For the last… six months? Always one group or another. Never a proper army. All of them dying on these grounds, their blood seeping into the earth.”

“I- I do. They were nothing. We… But they died like flies!”

“They did. And their death and blood tinted these grounds. By a magic so old and so different than ours that even I didn’t see it for what it was. A ritual months in the making. And I did. Not. See it!”

“No. No, Az, it was my fault. I should have suspected a foul play. These, these wretches are nothing better-“

“It was both our faults. But of the two of us, I am the teacher.” He said, in a strangely amused voice. “So, you finally learn responsibility. A little late.”

“I am sorry, teacher. I am.”

“Mm. Than repay me. Lead the troops to the next series of defenses. I’ll stop whatever’s coming.”

“Az, no.”

“I am older than your people, boy! Stop complaining. And wipe away that frightful look in your eyes. If you want to do right by me, whip me up an enchanted beverage or two. It’d be the best use of your Alchemy studies so far.”

A smile appeared on Regitris’s face, even though he was still worried.

“I can do that.”

“And stop bedding that |Scout|.”

“I can maybe do that.”

Az sighed and Regitris let out a small laugh.

“Can you really handle it, Az? An Elemental is coming, right?”

“Almost definitely. Oh what power, I do not know. We brought down the mightiest among them during the last war, but one can never know what lurks in those places.”

“I see. Alright Az, I’ll the troops away. Try not to dally, alright?”

“Only if you try to stop daydreaming.”

Regitris got the troops into formation, as they marched away from the garrison they had created. Which, yes, was almost a castle, but not by his people’s standards. The soldiers and specialists needed some order too, seeing that before Regitris had arrived, they had been simply wondering out instead of marching. No, Regitris didn’t have any command Skills, but his presence was enough. Courage is what they needed, not something else. Something to rekindle their discipline. Because they had all seen that tear in reality and they had all remembered the stories of old. Beings as powerful as lesser gods tearing through rock and earth as if through water.

And that was how they marched. After an hour, they felt the earth tremble, but Regitris assured them they were alright. Az’Shaliq would beat whatever came out into oblivion and then close down that portal, before rejoining them. Everything was fine.

Fifteen minutes later, a light illuminated the skies. It was dazzling and looking back they could all see a pillar of red light shooting up from the ground to the sky. The sounds of battle could be heard clearly and if they strained, they could even make out words and curses. Regitris told them to keep walking. They were more than halfway to safety.

Twenty minutes after that, after cresting a hill, the second wall became visible. The soldiers cheered and horn could be heard from the second garrison. Seconds later, a shout of pain made them all shudder. The sounds of battle died down for a second, before becoming even more intense than before. Regitris… assured them all was fine. But he appointed a second leader to have them complete the rest of the journey. He just wanted to make sure Az was safe. Maybe help him with the cleanup.

He waited until he was out of side of his soldiers before he cast |Haste|. Then |Fleetfeet|. Then |Greater Haste|. He had no idea how long it took him to return. Seconds, minutes? Less than an hour. Surely. But when he arrived… the sight before him made halt at a dead stop.

The castle was gone. Most of the low hills around were gone too. The earth, for a mile all around him, looked as if it had been torn away, then burned and melted. Some of it was turned to stone or ice and pools of acid-looking liquid steamed in other areas. Even the air seemed charged, with the occasional lightning bolt forming and striking away without a conscious intent.

And the opponents?

A being looking like a great big blob of blood for shifting across the battlefield. It looked like a miz between a natural amoeba and a slime, the pesky low-level monsters. But it was the size of a house. Which still meant it was a trifle for someone like his teacher, yet… that didn’t explain the look of his teacher.

Az looked smaller. As if part of his very essence had been torn away. He was bleeding mists of magical energy even now. To Regitris’ senses, Az was… weak. Weaker than him.

How?!

“Teacher! What happened?”

“Regi? Fool! I told you to stay away.”

Sensing him the great blob lurched towards him, but Az conjured a torrent of fire which ignited the ground and the monster both.”

“Stay back!”

“Go it. But… what happened?”

“That thing is an Elemental. A Blood Elemental.”

Regitris almost wanted to ask if he was sure. Because, well, it didn’t really look like much.

But then, why is Az hurt. What happened to him?

Perhaps sensing his thoughts, Az answered them.

“It was the size of a small hill when it came out. And it grew! That thing can leech of magical energies, even my own. I had to burn away at myself, that is why I look like this. And that gateway… it did the same thing. It fed off of magic and grew larger. I ended it… but. It took its toll.”

Right. Of course. The gateway was gone. Regitris hadn’t noticed it, but the Elemental tore away at his attention span and the torn-up grounds made it hard to see too.

“Then, can you end it?”

“…I must. But only conjured elemental Spells affect it. And if your magic is the slightest but uncontrolled, that thing will absorb it. Mana too.”

Right. And Az being a Djinn, a being of almost pure magic… this was the perfect counter for him. They did it knowing he would send Regitris away. Well. It almost worked.

“It looks like you need some help, Az.” Regitris smiled.

“Wipe that grin off your face, whelp!”

“I will. Buuuut. Do you need my help?”

“I swear to put you through a thousand years of training-“

“But do you need my help?”

He knew Az would make him suffer after this. But it was so worth it.

“Regitris.” Az warned.

“Yes, teacher?” he innocently smiled.

“I need your help.”

“Why, of course.” He said, moving to stand by him. “You only had to ask.”

“If we get this over fast, I’ll maybe relent on having you washing dishes manually for the whole garrison.”

“The things I receive for helping.” He sighted.

Az frowned, but laughed, despite himself.

“Insolent little pointy-ears. Fine. But watch your magic. Your people have better control save none and you have none of my kin’s failings, but beware. You still have to control your output.”

The Elemental burned a part of itself, but managed to extinguish the magical fire.

“And careful what you cast. Only straight attacks, elemental in nature. Fire, lightning and acid work best.”

“Yes, yes, yes. Now. Should we go on to kill it? Oh, and I can we have celebrations after?”

“Magic save me from the follies of youth…”

“…Is that a yes?”

“Yes, Regitris. We can kill it.”

And that’s how, one grinning and one feeling every bit as old as he was, they charged.