Hakara’s fingers traced a spell in the air, ruby dust falling from her fingers and snapping into the magical field. The whole city was interwoven with magic, the spires themselves only standing due to ancient magical effects, with a whole host of other spells and effects woven throughout the place. Quite what they did was hard to tell – the sheer scale of the effects meant that separating out the different flows and weaves was impossible, the air thrumming with channelled power. There was certainly a thinness here, access to other planes just a little easier, dimensional gateways and the like just a little simpler to make.

The brilliantly sparkling red dust scattered and tumbled in the air, forming itself into a loose cloud, shaping and twisting into streets, buildings and statues, flashing into shape for just a moment before falling back into a shapeless haze, then creating a new scene. As she focused, more detail appeared – rough blocks developed windows and doors, statues moved from vague blobs to visibly humanoid, even streaks of blurry red light showing people, moving about their business. Throughout it all, drawing her power like sugar drew ants, were lines and channels of power – reinforcing the canals, toughening stone, keeping lights glowing, for all that it was the day.

Pajaran nodded her head. ‘Impressive! Damn sight easier than hitting the streets and having to ask around ourselves.’

‘She has gone to ground, fled for sanctuary beneath the streets. Cast downwards.’ Carissia was kneeling, her eyes closed and hands spread wide in prayer, a candle burning on each upraised palm, illuminated by the bright glow of the morning sun. A mote of fire burned in front of her forehead, bright and steady.

‘Yes, Carissia.’ Hakara focused and altered the direction of the spell. It froze for a moment, hanging on a scene of a market square, filled with ruby streaks showing the shoppers, and then the dust started swirling with more agitation. At first, it was an incoherent cloud, trying to show solid rock, before flashing into the shape of walls and passages, barrels and crates, as she descended through several basements.

It required more focus to keep the spell functioning down here – whatever empowered the city, it seemed to have more power running through the bedrock than the air above, the stone itself infused with magical energy. That certainly explained why there were so many passages down there! A rune formed itself in front of her, some protective ward snapping out, and she barely defended herself in time, deflecting the power into the walls of the room, as the attack cracked the plaster and stone as she slipped past the warding.

‘Seek the darkness. Beneath the Tower upon the Water, the darkness and the light shall fight.’ Parth was checking her arrows, making sure the heads were sharp and the fletching correct, before slipping them into her quiver.

‘That is… unusually clear. From one of the elven prophecies? I have not heard that one, but your people have been less than forthcoming in the past.’

Parth shrugged and returned to her arrows.

Even through the medium of the spell, Hakara could feel the weight of the rock, crushing and stifling. It explained how Belazaan was able to keep its shape without succumbing to erosion or other damage – every surface was enchanted with supernatural toughness, so that centuries of the waves lapping and crashing against it had no effect.

The Crystal Princes doubtlessly had access to other spells, there must be some kind of control nexus or binding items they could use to control the powers throughout the city but trying to interfere with the processes externally would likely risk reprisals, or damage the city itself. As would attempting to penetrate what she thought of as the central nexus – beneath the central tower itself was a vast shadowy mass, an impenetrable spell, with something in the centre, a dim glimpse of shimmering sunlight through the darkness. She hadn’t told Carissia, not wanting to risk getting drawn into some expedition to find out what it was.

As she probed through the rock beneath the city, she split her focus, trying to focus on Pajaran through the swirling ruby dust as the woman spoke, buckling on her armour.

‘There’s meant to be lot of traps and wards down there, but not much in the way of monsters. Most of the criminals are unlikely to be willing to fight, especially as we’re not looking for them. Although I don’t understand why Janaxia would come here. Even the neutrality of the Crystal Princes wouldn’t be enough to protect her.’

Carissia responded. ‘She doubtless seeks something hidden in the vaults. Prince Anytha did say that she had somehow penetrated the seals, although apparently nothing was disturbed that they could see – even the Princes don’t know fully what is down there. Kinnevar himself was unable to penetrate their defences, but he did try a rather more direct assault. Janaxia’s more insidious approach appears to have borne more success. I only hope she hasn’t yet achieved her goals – if she were able to size the power embedded into the stones, she could channel that to some dark goals!’

At times like this, having Janaxia’s thought-speech would be useful. Discussing Janaxia in Carissia’s hearing invariably ended poorly, but it seemed unlikely that Janaxia was suddenly so motivated to such a grandiose goal! Not to mention the abilities required for such an arcane transference of power would be far beyond Janaxia’s skills. There had been reports of one of her siblings being present, maybe that was the one in charge?

‘I have yet to detect any major changes to the aetheric fields. If she has acquired anything, then she has yet to utilise it. I don’t think Semari or Vrintar would let her get away with anything too bad.’

‘It is likely the two of them are under an enchantment. Hopefully I will be able to break it and return them to themselves, and not have to slay them.’ Light flickered around Carissia, a sudden burst of heat washing around the room – unlike Stathis’ light, golden bright, cleansing and holy, Carissia was calling up real fire, blistering and scorching. ‘Although they are skilled enough that it will be difficult. The scion of lightning, in particular, bears watching. Her speed, mobility, and power could prove troublesome. I can see why Stathis recruited her, she must have sought her out very carefully.’

Parth looked as though she wanted to laugh, before turning back to her preparations. Hakara’s spell suddenly flared as it encountered a larger space, red dust tumbling and flaring through the air. It demarcated a large and roughly dome-shaped space. Some rock formation hung down from the ceiling, and rivulets of ruby dust flowed in a wide circuit – did the place have a canal flowing through it? Vague flicks of light wandered about, inhabitants of the subterranean chamber.

Part of the dust formed together into a tight clump, shaping itself into a finger-sized statue, ruby light turning black, as a precisely formed statue of Janaxia formed itself from the dust. Although everything else was vague shapes, at best, Janaxia was clearly recognisable despite the small size, right down to her clothing shifting as she moved in her seat, a cup of tea in hand.

Close by were several other smears, different colours standing out from the red. Two flickered with lightning and flame – those must be Semari and Vrintar, although quite what power Vrintar channeled she hadn’t been able to fully determine. Something primal and elemental, conjuring up an aura of fire – it certainly aided her combat style and added to her intimidating style. They weren’t more than blurs, albeit brighter and of different colours than normal people, their spirit not impressing itself into the spiritual realm as deeply as Janaxia’s. Hakara wondered what Stathis would look like to such vision – bright and glowing, definitely, but was her spirit as intense as Janaxia’s? She wasn’t a priestess like Carissia, and any attempt to dig for information was shut down by Carissia.

Close by, moving swiftly about, were two other dark blurs – not as intense as Janaxia, not formed into fully detailed human forms, but more detailed than most, each with a throbbing heart of darkness in their centres. Janaxia was clearly watching them, as they flickered rapidly, seeming to be moving fast – were they fighting? What was going on?

‘How far beneath us are they?’ Carissia rose from her prayers, a warm breeze flowing around her, making Hakara’s skin prickle with heat.

‘Some… 497 paces, I believe. Although they are not directly beneath, obviously. Some 200 paces north. That’s about beneath the square with the fountains, isn’t it?’

‘Hakara, you should be able to boost Parthenelle’s abilities to transport us down there. Time to deal with Janaxia.’ She gestured at the window, the metal grille melting away before a hot wind whipped around them, lifting them off the floor as they started to fly. Despite being buffeted by the winds, the magic supported them and protected them from the heat, although the paint on the walls started to peel and scorch.

They moved through the air, skimming above the level of the buildings, with people in the streets pointing up at them. As they moved, Hakara touched Parthenelle’s shoulder, preparing the spell to extend Parthenelle’s warping abilities over a larger group. They came to a stop above the fountain, some of the water spraying high enough to be caught in the edge of the flight spell, hissing away into steam.

A blue-green glow rippled over them all as their bodies turned ethereal, and then they dove downwards, plunging into the ground. Everything went dark as they moved beneath the flagstones, into pitch darkness. There was barely any sensation of movement, save for the occasional bubble of open space, as they passed through basements, cellars and passageways. They came to a spot, feet settling onto solid ground, tendrils of energy snagging at them and dragging them back to the physical realm.

‘Opposing forces. Cannot overcome.’ Parth shrugged apologetically. ‘Close though.’

‘I think this should be close enough, yes. Even with the magic flowing through the rock, I can break through.’ A heat haze flickered around each of them as some blessing was bestowed, and then she started to chant, words snapping and popping like burning logs. A brightly burning orb of fire appeared in her hand, the temperature of whatever space they were in appreciably increasing. She tossed it to the ground, where it started to melt the rock, everyone stepping away as the rock was turned into magma, acrid fumes rising into the air.

The pit rapidly grew as Carissia started throwing in more bolts of fire. Carissia raised a magical shield, and then shot a ray of frost into the flowing, bubbling rock. It popped and cracked as part of it was suddenly cooled, throwing up a burst of shrapnel into the air. The ground must have only been about a foot thick as the ball suddenly dropped from sight, blessedly cool air gusting upwards. Carissia continued to blast downwards, increasing the size of the gap until it was large enough for them to drop through, chunks of rock dropping downwards. Hakara could see a strangely-normal looking grassy area, surrounding by a gently-flowing canal, people pointing up at them and starting to run.

Carissia was the first to drop through, swirling hot wind still supporting her. It looked like Vrintar and Semari were already fighting, a figure on the ground, another moving almost as fast as Semari, their hands tipped with sharp claws, rending at Semari. With so many other people around, Hakara held back from attacking, not wanting to unleash any of her spells in such a crowded space. She could pick out Janaxia though, her hair a glossy black, clothing in stark reds and blacks, currently stood by a small table. Was there a café down here? It looked like a whole community, rather than what she had expected, a simple and squalid cluster of settled caves and sewers.

Her fingers sliced the air as she cast a spell. The magical power down here was thick and dense, leaping easily to her hands, the normally invisible glyphs she was carving into the air flickering with a wan light, the piece of iron she was using as a spell focus levitating out of her hand. Janaxia froze for a moment as the spell completed, Hakara focusing to try and enforce the binding, to force Janaxia’s body into stillness.

The iron suddenly flared with a black glow, the metal crumbling into a rusty stub, dull red flakes dropping away. A throb of pain sparked in Hakara’s brain as the spell was broken, stunning her for a moment, as Janaxia shook off the effect. Well, whatever she was, she still possessed strong magical powers.

‘I’m going down, cover me. At least unless Carissia blows everything up first.’ Pajaran readied her mace and moved to step down, Parthenelle firing a few arrows down, more for show than to injure anyone, embedding themselves into the grass beneath. Hakara gestured at Pajaran, calling up magic to slow her fall as she descended.

‘Today you perish, accursed daughter of darkness!’ Bright burning light burst into being around Carissia, as the cavern rumbled and shook. Hopefully the place was secure enough that it wouldn’t trigger a collapse – they were deep enough that escape could be a challenge. One of the spheres of light slammed forward, bright enough that Hakara couldn’t look at it, feeling the burning heat on her face. It smashed into the ground with a roar, followed by the shattering sound of stone, with fragments of stone falling back down, some splashing back into the water.

It seemed as though even Carissia couldn’t see through the resulting blast, or at least was waiting for her next attack. As the after-flares faded from her vision, she could see that the grass had been scorched away, the ground beneath flash-fried, now cracked and dried like it had been caught in a long drought. The crowd was starting to thin, leaving Janaxia, Semari and Vrintar more exposed, as Semari and Vrintar started to dash for an exit, moving with great speed. Janaxia looked dazed, as Hakara tossed a bolt of flame at her, the attack petering out before reaching.

‘You shall suffer and burn, wretched pawn of evil!’

Janaxia twisted around and grabbed a woman, angling her to use her as a human shield, hiding behind them. That probably wouldn’t stop Carissia, but it made it even harder for Hakara to get a clean line of sight.

The air above Janaxia rippled, another source of light blinking into existence, as the armoured figure of light appeared, ethereal wings hazy behind them. Another ball of light slammed towards Janaxia, the angel hovering in the air, bracing to take the impact, shield in hand. She had to take the chance to study it! Hakara fumbled through her component pouch, flicking powdered ruby into the air and trying to attune herself to the magical flows in the air again.

Her view of the world shifted, normal light being replaced by magical auras and radiation. Janaxia was now carved from onyx, gleaming and black, a moving statue. Carissia was a firestorm, red and bright. But she paled in comparison to the angel, glowing like the sun on a warm sunny day. There was power there, but none of the angry wrath of Carissia, simply power and determination, wrapped around a core of reassuring warmth. The flaming ball struck their shield and detonated, another blast detonating around the space, sound echoing and reverberating.

A cold chill rippled into Hakara, part of the cavern wall near Janaxia turning to a depthless black, distant lights gleaming in a void. A shape, roughly humanoid, stepped out, so dark it hurt to look at, her eyes stinging from the strain. There was a shape there, but she couldn’t make out any details, only the impression of vast power and a crushing, sucking void, seeking to draw all else into itself. Was this some ally of Janaxia’s? It seemed to be drawn from similar substance and she had summoned Mavrosa before, but this appeared far more powerful.

Janaxia moved towards the thing, dragging her hostage with her. Pajaran, visible here as a streak of steel-bright grey that reflected the lights of those nearby, reached the ground and started to advance herself, swinging her mace to hurl a bolt of holy flame. The newcomer gestured and a whip of darkness lashed out, shattering the incoming bolt and wrapping around Pajaran’s ankle, yanking her off balance. Hakara squinted, trying to make out any more details, but it was like trying to focus on mist. There was a shape in there, slight and humanoid, but the darkness obscured it. Had Janaxia released something from down here? Some ancient creature bound away, and now her servant?

Carissia called up a lance of burning power, bright and penetrating, the energy focusing as she drew her arm back, clearly aiming to finish Janaxia off. The angel moved to protect her, settling into a warded stance. Hakara could see that they were dressed in full armour, clad for war, a sword in hand. There didn’t seem to be any form of ambient magic bound about it – if Janaxia had bound it somehow, then she would expect to see some evidence of that, magical chains or suchlike. Was it protecting her of its own free will? Its shield was raised, covering its face.

The lance of light shot forward, impacting into the angel’s shield. The light was mostly limited to the physical realm, meaning that Hakara could see Janaxia throwing herself into the dark passageway, still with her hostage. Where the light struck the edge of the passageway, it seethed, the shadows writhing as though alive, and hurt. The angel blinked out of existence, the light suddenly gone.

Carissia descended to the ground, Hakara following, using magic to slow her fall. Parthenelle blinked from view and then reappeared on the ground, her sword now in hand rather than her bow.

The patch of darkness was still there, a segment of the wall that looked like obsidian, glossy black and reflective. Pajaran struck her mace against it, making a solid sound of impact, chips shattering to the floor. Through the barrier, or whatever it was, Hakara could just about make out movement – it was a magical passageway of some kind. Carissia pushed one of her remaining orbs against it, the thing hissing and bubbling.

‘It’s bound into the substance of the rock itself. It’s a half-way space between the physical and the astral – I’ve heard of people accidentally transporting themselves there when a teleportation spell goes wrong, but attempts to deliberately try and do it have always failed. Rather, um, dramatically, failed. I wouldn’t have thought that Janaxia could have managed such a thing by herself!’

The other orb moved forward, the solidified darkness now sizzling and popping like meat in a pan, but without letting them in, rock melting and oozing to the ground.

‘It seems to have permanently altered the substance of the rock? That’s fascinating. And would take a vast amount of power as well as tremendous skill. Or the aftereffects of a very unusual spell.’

Pajaran smashed her mace against it again, sending out shards of rock. ‘So what’s on the other side?’

‘Either a long tunnel of obsidian, or, more likely I would think, it will transform back to normal rock after some distance, as Janaxia travelled more normally into the astral realm, or something roughly similar. It appears to be some form of… interim state, I think? If I could see it in practice more often, I think I might be able to work out the principles, but it seems strangely stable. Oh, the angel appears unbound. I couldn’t see any evidence it was compelled to serve. Although Janaxia didn’t cast any summoning spell either, so I’m not sure how it came to be here.’

‘It has probably been tricked or deceived. It seems we probably can’t follow Janaxia any further. Parthenelle, can you track Semari or Vrintar?’

‘Can try.’ Parth turned away, going to look at the churned-up ground.

‘I’m going to study this further. It may help us find out more about what’s going on, or at least about what Janaxia can do.’

The balls of light vanished, Carissia dismissing them. ‘As you wish. Your powers should be sufficient to keep the locals away, should they try to interfere. I will go with Parthenelle. Pajaran?’

‘I’ll stay here. Ask the locals, see what they know, find out who the hostage is.’

‘Very well. Then let us go.’