45 The Watch has Ended

The leader of the Clandestine Order dropped to his knees as arcane battle raged around him. He tried to claw at the electric bolt lodged in his throat while his fingers were zapped away. His senses began to numb and his sight grew blurry as his eyes rolled in its sockets. The last thing he would ever see was the protective barrier of the Lord Magistrate crumbling into the air.

"Elethorne has fallen!", a shout came from the Arcane Watch stragglers and their morale suddenly boosted up. For the Clandestine Order, however, the death of their leader came as a shock. They began to fall apart and scramble towards safety. The Arcane Watch was beginning to gain ground.

The Stedores saw with their own eyes how Duke Elethorne foolishly tried to engage the Lord Magistrate on his own. His effort was not useless entirely. His attack had forced the Lord Magistrate to lower the protective barrier in order to deal with the deathly lightning bolt. As their comrades tried to flee the uplifted Arcane Watch, the Stedores carefully positioned themselves for an opportunity. While Juron had his back turned on them fighting some other Clandestine members, the Stedore couple stood side by side once again reciting a spell in chorus. Moving in unison, they moved in a haunting dance. They faced each other and held their hands out, dark streaks of black magic starting to form in between them. Thrusting their arms out, they launched their dark sphere to the direction of the unsuspecting Juron.

Five Clandestines were throwing spells at the Lord Magistrate. They were already being overrun by the Arcane Watch but they still wanted to avenge their leader. One by one they fell to Juron's attacks or some other spells by the Watch. The last of them was struggling to keep herself alive when suddenly Juron's spells stopped. She looked at the old man and saw that he had fallen to his knees, black tendrils snaking from his body, and he was coughing out black liquid. She looked at the triumphant Stedores, and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Victory for the Clandestine Order!"

By now, most of the Arcane Watch had overextended chasing down the beaten Clandestines. But as the shout echoed through the halls, they looked back towards their Lord Magistrate. Now, it was their turn to lose heart. The sight of the almost decapitated body of Duke was horrifying, but seeing Juron on his knees and slowly coughing his life out, it was almost pitiful. The Arcane Watch realized their mistake too late, and as they rushed to protect their leader, the Clandestines cut them all off. One by one the members of the Arcane Watch fall to the sheer numbers of their opponents.

Most of the Watch had been killed mercilessly. Only those strong enough to hold their ground were rounded up and tied to the Nullifier for their execution. Juron Althemor, Elaina, Kiri, Thoran, and a handful of the remaining Watch were among them.

"You know, back in ancient times, witches were burned at the stake to pay for their sins. Torching that hideous contraption along with the rest of you will be a fitting end for the survivors of the Arcane Watch. From your ashes, the new Clandestine Order will rise." Agaven Stedore quoted, as he declared their verdict. The efforts of the Stedore couple turned the tide of the battle, and now, because of the untimely death of Duke Elethorne, they were selected as the new leaders of the Clandestine Order. Destroying the Nullifier with magic won't work, so they resorted to a more traditional method.

Juron was still convulsing and coughing out black liquid, and his comrades tied with him only felt pity.

"Get on with it already!", Thoran screamed at their captors.

Just when the torches were about to be thrown at them, the whole assembly area turned pitch black. The torches started going out one by one, and only the screams of those who held it could be heard. Silhouettes of fluttering, hooded figures could be seen before each of the glows was snuffed out.

A soft voice was heard amidst the screaming. "I'm here, father. Please hold out much longer. I'm going to get us all out of here."

Juron recognized the voice immediately. "L-Leia…", he could barely whisper, his words distorted by the black liquid. "Leia…"

Just in a few minutes, the pitch black darkness washed out and the assembly area was back to what it was. Except that nowm the Clandestines present are now lying on the ground unconscious, and the Nullifier, along with the Arcane Watch was nowhere to be seen.