The worst possible situation

"Get down!" Tri'lanna screamed, roughly tackling Ceinwyn down to the ground.

In a single moment, the fury of all nine hells broke loose. Glowing jets of fire and ice, sprays of multi-colored light, magically constructed fists, heavy clouds of poison, and illusory creatures of bone and muscle. All of them soared just over their heads and Ceinwyn could feel them on her back as they passed over her, an ebb and flow of tingling sensations that left gooseflesh in its wake.

A dischordant symphony of magical energy released, reflected, and rebounded through the room, and an echo of agonizing shrieks followed behind it as the spells found their marks. After reeling back from the first wave, both sides recovered and then came the counterattack as a second salvo of spells were unleashed. More screams. After Grandmaster Malvern's surprise attack on Tel'Eria, war had broken out in the Mage's College between the First and Second Circles.

Still lying prone on the heated stones, Ceinwyn risked a glance around the room.

To her left, a tall man with a thick, scraggly beard dangled helplessly in the air as two magically conjured swords danced around him, cutting him into small pieces. Just ahead and to the right, a young girl, no more than sixteen winters, clawed violently at her skin as a green, gooey substance began to spread along her flesh, leaving behind dark, web-like scars in its wake.

Then she heard a groan nearby and the druidess' gaze flicked to its source. Tel'Eria was crawling towards the entrance. Her black hair was a mess as it clung to her face in sweaty clumps. The elf looked terrible, with her naturally pale face and lips even more ashen than before. But she survived Malvern's attack. If only barely.

Sensing a lull in the storm of magic, Ceinwyn shot to her feet and ran over to Tel'Eria, with Tri'lanna right on her heels. The two of them reached down and helped the enchantress up from the ground, keeping wary eyes on both sides in case any of them attacked again.

"You son of a whore." Tel'Eria muttered to Malvern in a low, pained tone. "We could have worked together. We could have stopped the Pretender without killing each other!"

Grandmaster Malvern was panting heavily but otherwise unharmed. His arms were outstretched in front of him with a glowing, orange sphere in each hand. He had them pointed towards the opposite side, ready to intercept, but they had their arms up in defense as well. After the initial flurry of action, both sides were more wary now, and sizing each other up for weakness. There was a tense pause as both sides waited for him to answer back.

In response to her words though, Malvern only sneered and readied his spells again. This time towards Ceinwyn, Tri'lanna, and Tel'Eria.

But suddenly, something unexpected happened. A young woman with mousey brown hair ran into the middle of the room and stood between them and Grandmaster Malvern, holding her arms out protectively. Ceinwyn realized that she recognized the girl. It was the young wizard Morina, who had helped them when the civil war began. Now she was the only one between them and one of the greatest wizards in the entire island.

"Grandfather!" Morina yelled at the grandmaster. "What's the point?! Why are you doing this?!"

"Rina..." Malvern gasped. For a brief flash of time, the Grandmaster's face transformed. It wasn't power hungry or furious, there was only the sad, tired face of an old man who cared too deeply for his people, for the ones below him. It was a face filled with despair over the people lost and the chances wasted. Then it was gone, and only Malvern remained. "Only someone of equal strength can hope to face the Great Pretender in combat."

"What? What do you mean?" Morina pleaded.

"The Akashic Records." He stated simply, "The ritual worked. That means I can acheive the same power that the Pretender has! But if I worked with the others, then our power could be divided. I would be too worried about the other wizards betraying me to focus on defeating Vanarim. It must be this way."

"No, it doesn't! We can still work together! There is such a thing as trust!"

"No, there isn't, girl. You're just too young to know it. There are only people you use and people you dispose of. Now get out of the way."

"No!"

"Move, or I will cut you down like the others."

"Please don't do this, Grandfather. I would give my life up for you....please."

Malvern scowled in uncontrolled anger and said, "Then die."

Placing his hands together, the glowing spheres merged together and changed into a pearly white colour that arched and shook like lightning. Morina didn't even have time to speak. There was only a look of shock and betrayal in her eyes before Malvern's spell, a bright, white sphere, struck her full on. The crackling energy swelled up to a crescendo and a blinding flash of light struck everyone in the room.

When Ceinwyn's eyes readjusted, the white orb seemed to have passed right through Morina, leaving her unscathed, because she was standing there much like she was before. For a moment, it looked like nothing happened, like it was all a bad dream. Soon, she would wake up and there would be no war, there would be no Pretender, Master Derreth would be alive, and they could all be safe and happy.

Then Morina crumbled into dust. Flesh, fabric, bones, and all.

There was no time for mourning though, because Malvern's disintegration spell kept driving forward. Mages dived to the side to avoid the sphere and once again, Tri'lanna pulled Ceinwyn to the floor, this time together with Tel'Eria. They hit the ground just in time for the sphere to pass over them.

Then, to everyone's horror, the orb moved forward even further and collided with the wall of the Wizard's College. A bright framework of shielding spells flared up in defense, protecting the stonework from Malvern's spell. There was a point when the warding spells on the College walls held the disintegration sphere in check, but a full spectrum of colors shot out from the insribed wards as one by one they failed to the magical onslaught.

All at once, the shield broke and an entire section of the college wall disintegrated. The stones fell apart in the same way that Morina did and left the interior of the college exposed to the rest of the city. Anyone could walk inside now.

"Fool....you insane fool." Tel'Eria could only whisper. "What have you done?"

Outside, beyond the massive hole in the wall, hollers and howls echoed in the streets of Elohin. Dozens of faces emerged from the streets before the college, bloodied and blood-crazed pillagers and warriors of Vanarim's army. Orcs, lizardmen, undead, humans, even other Elves, the ones who turned to the enemy's side. They pointed to the opening and cried out in victory. After weeks of seige, the Wizard's College was open and the Pretender's armies flooded into the breach.