Gods in the Lianreida - Part 11 of 15

Tanalir did not recognise the chant, only knew that its results would envelope good soldiers even as they enveloped the once-living creatures they sought to destroy. With trembling fingers, he nocked his next arrow and prepared to fire. If he could not kill the murdering beasts, perhaps he could blind or cripple them so his men could escape the spell’s path. He did not get to see if his plan might have worked.

The chanting ended and a sheet of flame spread from the edge of the clearing to engulfed both elven warrior and undead griffin in a conflagration of heat and vengeance. The intensity of the light made Tanalir shield his face from the flame, as the heat drove him stumbling back into the shelter of the trees. He was dimly aware of an even greater flare of light following the first but he could not be sure. Instead, he rolled into a crouch, one hand feeling for his bow, the other pressed against his eyes until the pain subsided.

When he could see again, Tanalir saw the clearing that had held the fortress named Saran’s Watch was empty, except for a mass of smoking, blackened ground. There was no sign of the remains of his men or the undead creatures they had faced. There was no sign of the fortress itself.