Raelendra opened her eyes, her body aching and her spirit floundering to find something to latch onto. There was a strange feeling brushing through her body, something akin to the Weave she was familiar with, but so different at the same time. She stood up from where she had fallen, in the center of the encampment near the rift. Strange blue-white clouds had gathered above the Rift, growing with every moment they hung overhead. Dark lightning bounced from cloud to cloud leading to a continuous roar of thunder.

From the northern edge of the encampment, she heard the small explosions that had peppered their defenses throughout the day, then there was a blinding flash of light and sound as one of the magi on the northern edge of camp unleashed a lightning bolt. Dark lightning from above struck him even as the lightning he had conjured struck the enemy. There was a series of explosions and a second magi wove a spell of air and suddenly there was silence over the Imperial encampment.

That silence lasted only a few heartbeats before the wind whipped up from the west spinning through the encampment and crashing into the glowing clouds above it. It shattered as the storm above took flight. Rather than hovering over the encampment, it unleashed a powerful series of dark bolts that set fire to a few of the tents in the camp and started moving north and east at a slow crawl. The Archmagi heard screaming as the black bolts continued raining down upon the camp.

“Varen!” She shouted as she reached for the Weave. Her spirit trembled, exhausted by her previous actions and she struggled to even touch the powerful Weave that now filled the camp. There was no answer to her call as the storm above continued to grow. She had counseled patience and consideration of the outcome of freeing the Weave and then gone ahead and done it herself. Her hands shook as she looked down on them then back up at the storm. What had she done?

Varen did not return her call, perhaps he was with the others at the northern edge of the encampment. “You.” Her voice was firm as she pointed at one of the soldiers near one of the fires that ringed the Rift’s area. “Fetch the magi here. Find Varen. And the Chancellor.”

The soldier leapt to his feet and ran. He had seen her working the Weave near the Rift and had no desire to anger what was likely the most powerful Magi left to the elven empire.

Again, Raelendra reached for the Weave. She could sense the power coursing through it, just outside of her grasp. Her spirit seemed to recoil from the contact. Her efforts had freed the Weave in the camp, but exhausted her spirit. Cursing she drew in a deep breath, reaching for calm. She would recover, eventually, but exhaustion like this was a complication she didn’t need.

It only took a few minutes for the Magi to start gathering near the Rift, but well outside of the range of the Rift itself. Only Raelendra stood within that influence. There were so few Magi left, Raelendra knew they needed to conserve their resources for whatever was to come. Destroying the outsiders that had attempted to oust them from their claimed territory was sure to bring other, stronger threats with time.

Once all of the Magi had gathered, Raelendra stepped in front of them and raised her arms for silence. “I have freed the Weave of this world from its restraints.” They cheered and she again raised her arms for silence. “Now we have much to do to secure this land for the Empire. Varen, weave a barrier to be raised around the encampment. How many will you need to assist you?”

“I would like at least three.” He answered.

“That doesn’t leave much for the other preparations.” She answered.

“Yes, but this preparation is most important, don’t you think?”

Raelendra nodded after a moment. “Leave Jeshimon and Keshina to begin building then. They will start working with you so that the outside edge of the fortress they will create will mesh well with the outside edges of the barrier you and the others create.”

“And you, Archmagus?” Varen asked, his pale blue eyes studying her as though seeking weakness.

She straightened her robes and tucked her hands away in her sleeves, while the gesture made her look calm, it gave her hands something to grip to both stop the shaking and clench in anger. The expression on her face remained smooth and calm. “I will be resting, Varen. Freeing the Weave of this place was no simple magic.” Her voice was calm, even, showing no hint of the anger that flowed through her. How dare he question her.

His eyes challenged hers for a moment longer, at least it felt like a challenge to Raelendra, before he looked away. “Yes, Archmagus.”

“Be about your work then, you are dismissed.”

The magi dispersed under Raelendra’s watchful eye.She looked to the sky and the ever growing glowing storm now moving away from the encampment. “What have I done?” she wondered to herself as she watched for a long while. Finally, she turned away from the storm and the encampment and sought her tent where she settled down to meditate and rest.