I stood before the towering, shimmering golden dome of the Aegis Wards. The magic radiating from it was immense, designed to repel any dark or kinetic energy with lethal force.
But as I reached out with my senses, I didn't feel the holy righteousness of the Moon Goddess. I felt pain. I felt the trapped, echoing sorrow of my ancestors. The barrier was a prison, built from the stolen, crystallized essence of the White Wolf bloodline.
Behind me, Kaelen and thirty thousand warriors stood in absolute, breathless silence.
I took a deep breath, letting the biting winter air fill my lungs. I didn't summon ice, and I didn't summon fire. I simply opened the vault within my soul and extended an invitation.
I placed both of my bare hands flat against the shimmering golden barrier.
Instantly, a shockwave of energy rippled across the entire dome. The Paladins on the walls of Solaria screamed, raising their shields, expecting an explosion.
But there was no explosion.
"You don't belong to them," I whispered to the magic trapped within the barrier. "You belong to me. Come home."
The golden light of the Aegis Wards suddenly turned violently, blindingly white.
The ancient magic recognized its true heir. The barrier didn't shatter; it liquefied. The massive dome of energy began to flow downward, spiraling like a colossal vortex directly toward my outstretched hands.
I gasped as centuries of stolen White Wolf magic flooded into my veins. It was agonizing, terrifying, and the most euphoric sensation I had ever experienced. The power of a hundred slaughtered ancestors merged with my own, amplifying my core until I felt like I could tear the sky in half.
I absorbed the entire defensive grid of the Golden Citadel in less than thirty seconds.
Where a towering, impenetrable barrier had stood, there was now only thin air. The Citadel was completely, nakedly exposed.
I lowered my hands, my entire body glowing with a breathtaking, ethereal aura. I turned around to face my King.
Kaelen was staring at me, his crimson eyes wide with a mixture of absolute awe and feral hunger. He drew his massive, frost-forged broadsword, the metallic shing echoing loudly in the sudden silence.
"The door is open, My King," I said, my voice resonating with the combined power of the ancients.
Kaelen threw his head back and let out a cataclysmic, earth-shattering roar.
"SLAUGHTER THE GUARD!" Kaelen bellowed, spurring his dire-wolf forward. "TEAR DOWN THE GOLD!"
The Lycan army surged forward like a dam bursting. The roar of thirty thousand wolves descending upon the defenseless city was deafening.
I remounted my white mare, riding at Kaelen's side as we charged through the grand archways of Solaria.
The Paladins of the Inner Guard tried to form a shield wall in the main thoroughfare, but without the Aegis Wards backing their magic, they were nothing but men in heavy metal suits. Kaelen and General Thorne crashed into their lines with the force of a meteor. Frost-forged steel easily cleaved through golden armor.
The pristine white marble streets were instantly painted crimson. The Lycans didn't just fight; they unleashed centuries of pent-up, cursed rage upon the architects of their suffering.
I didn't wield a sword. I rode through the chaos, an untouchable goddess of ice and light. Whenever a cluster of Paladins tried to flank our forces, a mere flick of my wrist sent massive, jagged spikes of pure, unbreakable ice erupting from the cobblestones, impaling them where they stood.
We didn't stop to take prisoners. We carved a straight, bloody path through the opulent city, heading directly for the towering, gilded steps of the Sun Tower.
The reign of the High Council was over. Now, it was time for the Supreme Councilor to pay his tithe.