Display of Power

With Counsel by her side, the fearless Queen taunted the creature over a thousand times her size.

If it were anyone else, Noble would have thought the woman was trying to commit suicide.

With Queen Emira though, she wasn't so sure.

The Tyrant overhead began to move downward. From such a height it looked slow and lethargic, but Noble was not fooled.

The enormous creature was moving at blinding speed straight for Her Majesty and Counsel. The man began to chant words that Noble could not hear. All she could see was the rhythmic movement of his mouth and body.

Emira, for her part, was strangely still in the face of coming death.

Then, all at once, everything changed.

The Tyrant's hum turned into a crackle once more as another streak of lightning lit the sky. At first, it looked like it might arc into every corner of the heavens, but then it coalesced into a single bolt.

A bolt aimed straight for the two Awakened humans.

Before it could reach the ground, Emira's body burst into flames.

No, that wasn't exactly true…Emira's body became flames.

The lightning struck her a moment later, but instead of obliterating the Queen or dissipating into the ground, the electricity became one with the flames.

The charged inferno grew. Counsel lifted his hands, yelling loud enough for Noble to hear him over the chaos.

Then the fire compressed to resemble Emira's form before exploding upward in a column of flames. Counsel looked upward, his determined eyes reflecting the conflagration.

Noble held her breath. Would the strike be enough to even be worth the Tyrant's notice?

It seemed so. The four massive wings stuttered enough to bring the Tyrant's body out of alignment with the inferno.

'Oh no, they are going to miss!'

The shot blasted into the canopy of bats that hovered above the tyrant.

The core of the brood exploded, sending charred bits of flesh raining down. But that was not all.

Snaking from the ball of flames, streaks of electricity hungrily licked at the creatures out of reach of the blaze. Their eyes glazed over and they dropped from the sky with streaks of smoke trailing behind them.

The attack fried or flamed countless winged abominations, ripping a hole in their dense cloud of destruction.

The world was suddenly bathed in the sun's rays, making Noble realize just how dark it had been. The air grew warmer by many degrees. 

Now in the direct sun, the Tyrant retracted its long legs with a hiss. Its dark shiny covering turned from black to red. With a sound halfway between a hiss and a scream, the creature turned its head away from the orb overhead. 

It shook, sending dark feathers flying. 

'Is it...getting sunburned?'

The few remaining bats came to their master's aid, clustering overhead to provide shade once more. 

But it was not enough.

The Tyrant shivered in rage. It came so low that the dead creatures on the ground began to blow away. Then, just as it looked as if it might try to attack from the ground, the scorched Nightmare Lord turned northward, back to the dark mountains. 

There the ash-filled clouds loomed thick and heavy. 

The Tyrant was heading home. 

With the withdrawal of their mighty master, the remaining beasts fled as well. They chased the looming shadow, hoping a bat would carry them away. That hope was in vain. 

'It's…really leaving!' Noble could barely believe her eyes. Releasing the tension in her body, the woman's knees buckled. How foolish she had been to come out here. She was lucky to be alive!

There was a moment of stunned silence. No one dared breathe in fear of changing the Tyrant's course. 

But then Queen turned to face her troops, unsheathed her sword, and raised it to the sky. The message was clear. 

It was over. 

Emira walked toward the city, barely sparing a glance as she passed her niece. "Come. Now." 

The men cheered for their Queen, welcoming her with praises as she came inside the runic circle. 

Her Majesty graced them with a small nod and a wave of her hand as a reward. While her face was stern, Noble could see the subtle strain in her walk as well as the paleness of her cheeks.

A step behind her, Counsel also greeted the troops. He shook forearms with a few of the soldiers while they wished him well.

Kosi hurried up to the heroic trio while favoring his good legs. His ears were back until Noble scratched under his chin. 

"You did nothing wrong," she told him. "I made my choice." 

"A foolish choice," Emira sniffed. 

The professor was too amazed by what had transpired to argue.

"How else would I have seen up close what you can do? Both of you! That was amazing!" Noble had no idea Awakened could harness so much power.

Of course, most of her experience was limited to the Dreamscape where reflecting Nightmare Creature's powers back on them was not exactly an option.

"I am honored you allowed me to assist you, Your Majesty," Counsel announced proudly with a bow. "It felt just like the old days."

Those around them began to murmur.

"Too bad your trickery couldn't save my brother or his wife. If that had not worked just now, not even being my niece's Counsel would have saved you this time."

Emira's fierce gaze fell on those around her. All conversation fell silent.

"What are you waiting for?! Go collect the dead and help the wounded." The Queen's words snapped her subject from their reverie.

With wary glances at the clear sky, they exited the safety of the array to obey their Queen.

Kosi whined softly.

"Go and eat, but leave enough for the rest of us," Emira told the Symncus.

The golden pup yelped and bounded off on three legs.

'It seems everyone around here needs Her Majesty's permission to do anything.' Noble found the interaction curious.

Kosi was weaker than the Tyrant of the Mountains, but he was still mightier than any Awakened. So why would he so easily obey the human queen?

Maybe Counsel had somehow ordered Kosi to listen using his Ability, but Noble did not think that was the case.

Noble recalled an old tale about massive creatures called elephants being tethered to a stake when they were young. When they were big and could break the bonds, they didn't bother trying because they had been conditioned to stay and obey.

Since both Emira and Counsel treated the Symncus like a child, Noble guessed the same principle applied.

With a wagging tail, Kosi frolicked as he tore pieces of flesh off of dead abominations. It was adorable…in a grotesque sort of way.

Noble winced at the thought.

Emira caught sight of the grimace and pursed her lips. "Do not think I have forgotten what you have done. I will deal with you and your blatant disobedience later."

The Queen took a proud step toward the city and faltered. Her emotions spiked as her body threatened to give out.

Emira had been putting on a good show, but after hours of using her fire and then tearing a hole in the sky, she was utterly drained.

Noble rushed to her aid. She wrapped her arm around the older woman's waist and steadied her.

"What can I do?" Noble asked gently.

"The healer should be around here somewhere to help," Emira muttered angrily, "It seems the line of people I need to execute grows ever longer."

Her back straightened. A soldier approached and bowed low to the ground. The fear coming off of him was so great that Noble immediately looked to see if the Tyrant was returning.

But the sky was still clear.

"Your Majesty!" The soldier said, his voice shaking.

The Queen's expression darkened. "How dare you approach me without permission?! Only my general can do such a thing. Where is Regel? How could he let this happen? Bring him here this instant!"

"I cannot," the soldier answered. "General Regel is dead."