Kaeso''s gaze snapped upwards, drawn to the contemptuous voice. There, silhouetted against the fortressed interior, stood a man swathed in borate robes and sporting an immactely trimmed beard. Something about the figure''s sharp, aquiline features triggered a jolt of recognition in Kaeso''s mind.


    One of Daikrimore''s lieutenants rushed up behind the robed man, looking agitated. "Lord Reemush! I don''t think we can hold this position against their assault for long. We''re far too outnumbered!"


    "Silence!" The one called Reemush cut him off with a curt wave of his hand, never taking his eyes off Kaeso''s embattled soldiers below. "Don''t you dare insult me with your cowardly prattling. Can''t you feel the power of my enchantments already taking hold?"


    Even as the words slithered from his lips, Kaeso saw Reemush extend his arms in an unmistakable arcane gesture. As he did so, flickering motes of me began swirling into existence, rapidly coalescing into two searing balls of white-hot fire hovering in rhythmic orbits on either side of the mage.


    "No!" The lieutenant cried out in dismay. "My lord, what of our own troops are still engaged below?!"


    "Then tell them to flee, fool!" Reemush barked without even ncing at the man, "unless they wish to burn alongside these vermin intruders."


    At his rebuking words, the lieutenant quailed and began frantically motioning for the Daikrimore infantry to pull back. But it was toote. With a series of guttural arcane sybles, Reemush thrust both hands forward in a smooth, vicious movement.


    The spheres of elemental me shot forward like streakingets, hurling directly into the storeroom, where Kaeso''s forces were still bottlenecked. The first impacted with a resounding concussive roar, unleashing a hellish torrent of fire that began consuming everything in its path.


    Screams of sheer anguish tore through the air as soldiers were immted alive within the inferno''s imcable grasp. Battle mages sprinted to the fore, channelling their own defensive wards in a desperate bid to contain the raging firestorm. But the arcane tempest was simply too potent, searing through their magical shields like a dervish through silk.


    That''s when Kaeso saw Jaegar emerging from the churning melee, his towering silhouette cutting towards the heart of the inferno. The diator seemed to draw the fiery torrent''s full force towards himself, shrugging aside the mes with bulwark sweeps of his arms. Explore hidden tales at mvl


    Reemush watched this disy with widening eyes, his arrogant sneer gradually melting into an expression of disquieted awe. "Impossible..." he murmured under his breath. "What devilry is this?"


    Jaegar continued his inexorable advance, each step carrying him further through the heart of the mystical congration until he emerged on the other side. The diator was now standing directly below Reemush''s balcony, surrounded by the dissipating tendrils of smoke and embers. Not a single scorch mark marred his skin or clothing.


    With a powerful kick of his legs, Jaegarunched himself skyward in a physics-defying leap, soaring upwards on a clear trajectory to meet the stunned mage. But just before he would have careened into an uncontrolled impact, an invisible force seemed to grip the young man, arresting his ascent into a slow, controlled hover.


    He alighted on the balcony with a subtle tap of his boots, now standing only a few paces from Reemush. The two sized each other up, the tension crackling almost palpably between them.


    "I did not realize there were any in Wrescia capable of such...unique abilities," Reemush said atst, recovering some of his customary swagger as his eyes raked over Jaegar in reassessment. "To shrug off my pyromancies so trivially..."


    "This is just the beginning of what I''m capable of," Jaegar responded, his deep bass rumbleced with subtle promise. "I suggest you retreat and spare yourself a more visceral demonstration."


    A cold chuckle escaped Reemush''s lips as he shook his head. "Oh no, I have no intention of yielding this keep so easily. Especially not to some half-trained ult whelp like yourself." He cocked his head slightly, examining Jaegar with new curiosity. "But perhaps you''d be willing to enlighten me as to the true extent of your abilities? If you perceive there''s still hope of walking away from this?"


    Down below in the storeroom, Kaeso had been watching the entire confrontation y out with a mixture of awe and eagerly suppressed excitement. Now, Jaegar''s booming baritone carried clearly through the dissipating smoke.


    "Kaeso! You can go on and do your thing now."


    The man''s smile stretched into a savage grin as he whirled to face the handful of soldiers who had survived the fiery onught. "You heard the man!" he roared over the ringing in his ears. "Push forward and secure the interior! Leave that smug prick to face a more...esoteric judgement!"


    With a rallying cry echoed by his men, Kaeso led the charge deeper into the fortresspounds, cutting down any remaining resistance in their furious path. His blood sang with rejuvenated fervour; Jaegar''s disy had awakened a newfound sense of invincibility. Those cowering snakes didn''t stand a chance.


    Down in the storeroom, Drasus remained rooted to the spot, his face drained of all colour. He had just witnessed the full, terrible scope of the forces they had allied themselves with this diator from the pits. And it was clear they had only glimpsed the barest fraction of Jaegar''s true, devastating potential.


    As a tremor of bone-deep dreadnced through the aged warrior, he could only hope that keeping such a power nobly bound to their cause would prove to be worth the inevitable carving price it would demand from them all.


    Overhead, Reemush studied the waiting Jaegar with a newfound sense of wary respect. This was nomon man, of that much, he was now certain. That meant dealing with the brute would require much more of his craft.


    "Very well, young man," he dered with an elegant sweep of his hand. "Let us indulge in a sharing of esoterica, shall we? Though be forewarned, I do so despise having my time wasted by overconfident fools who mistake themselves for true arcanists..."