The Elves watched, paralyzed with horror, as their greatest defense. The accumulated knowledge and resources of thousands of years of martial tradition were deleted from existence by nothing more than the air this dragon breathed.
Elara's hand had gone slack, her bow falling from fingers that could no longer maintain grip.
Her mouth was open, but no sound emerged. The sentinel who had defended the Azure Gate through countless conflicts, who had never wavered, doubted, or shown fear, was experiencing a fundamental rupture in her understanding of power and hierarchy.
Emberion's arrival was not an accident but a strategic, calculated maneuver that demonstrated complete command of the environment.
The dragon's talons, emanating the intense heat of the planetary core, effortlessly pierced the white-veined marble.
