I was in the grand hall of the King’s Lodge, surrounded by the most powerful masters and grandmasters that the Elven Kingdom had in its capital of Elvendell. While Elven mages are generally less ambitious than human mages, let’s say half as quick to acquire spells and artifacts of power. Still, on average, they lived ten times longer than human mages. So by the math, they should be five times more powerful.

  And since the hall was filled with all the mage guilds and nearly every mage was accounted for, you’d suspect it was the most powerful source of magical practitioners in the Shallowlands gathered in one place.

  And you would be right.

  So how was it that the Legendary Shadow Lord was taking them all on? And winning?

  It is true that the majority of mages were now focused on the Shadow Lord, but a decent number were confronting the insectoid summoning conjurer. They were at least holding their own on that front.

  The shadow insects seemed to keep multiplying, but a team of elementalists was pressing the shadow mage back toward one of the great hall’s corners.

  Clerics were also joining the fight. Holy Light and their Holybolts were effective against the greater shadow conjurations, but at best, their numbers were holding steady.

  It reminded me of the battle with the Bishop, where Bido surprised us all with his sunlight spells.

  I smacked myself on the head, remembering Bella’s advice to stop doing that, and stood back up on the Speaker’s Stone.

  “Get down from there, Seneschal! My wizard protector yelled at me.

  I used the magical amplification effects of the Speaker’s Stone to announce, “Mages, if you have sunlight or daylight spells, use that against the shadows. Radiant spells have the best effects and won’t damage the hall or innocents below us.”

  The mages had not truly cut loose despite the magical explosions, lights, and effects, in fear of damaging four thousand years of history. And fire, which would also have some effect on the shadows, would likewise have an effect on the entirely wooden construction of our hall and the Lodge.

  While powerful radiant spells would also produce damage, they would be far more constrained than most other alternatives.

  I was pulled down from the Speaker’s Stone by Sir Daeqen just as one of the Shadow Lord’s misty pseudopods broke through a magical barrier and swung through where I had been standing only moments earlier.

  “Thanks!” I said as I stood back up.

  Both paladins had raised a magical shield before us that encompassed the king, his protectors, me, the clerics, and the wizards. It was not far-reaching, but it seemed secure. However, I could tell from the strain on their faces that the incessant attacks upon their shields by the shadow were draining them.

  “We can’t just sit here. It's growing stronger with time and entering our realm more fully.” The younger paladin cried. “Eroan, we must confront it directly!”

  Sir Daeqen looked at me. “He is right. We can protect you now, but soon it will be too powerful for us, and by then all the others will have perished.”

  I looked at the king, who nodded at me.

  “Sir Daeqen, lead the attack. I will protect the king.”

  He looked into my eyes and said, “Remember, you are not alone.” And turning to the two wizards, two clerics, and his comrade, he stated. “We go. Now!”

  I slid over to stand between the king and the creature as the magical shields and their paladin keepers pressed forward.

  The king said, “Your plan working out for you, is it?”

  I turned and saw humor in his eyes even as his face was set and taut with strain.

  “More or less,” I replied.

  He couldn’t help himself and laughed out loud.

  “I've missed you, my king,” I said earnestly. “I am out of my depth.”

  He turned away from me and faced the carnage before us. “I know Gwydion. But we must keep this up, no matter the costs. If I fall this day, you must lead our people.”

  The shock of his words almost distracted me from hearing Sir Daeqen’s warning. The Shadow creature had two primary targets, and they had both placed themselves before him and out of their previously protected spheres. It shot its shadow appendages out around the edges of the paladin’s spells and was zeroing in on where the King and I were standing.

  “Protect us!” I prayed as I stabbed my blade into the floor.

  The blade seemed to absorb the green magical barrier from the floor; its energies almost looked like they were being sucked into the blade. And just before the shadow arms with their wide range of blobby, blunt, pointy, and jagged edges struck us, an explosion of brilliant pale green heatless light created a barrier around the king and me. The light burned away the shadow whenever they came into contact, but I could feel the strain of keeping it running.

  A casting point was pulled out of me, and then another. I lost a point every few seconds trying to keep the border alive, so intense was the attack.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The creature screamed, and its sound was painful to my ears.

  Still, I held on. I remember my dwarven master trials and kept hold of the sword’s hilt. My vision narrowed, but my perceptions improved.

  I could see the creature clearly through the brilliant light, although most others were a mere blur to me.

  The paladins, clerics, and wizards glowed with a strong green aura, and I could tell that they were fighting the Shadow Lord both physically here and spiritually elsewhere. It was not spiritual warfare in the sense that I had learned about with Bella or in my studies on sorcery. But they were being attacked in ways more than just physical.

  I also saw that the Shadow Lord had its eyes focused on me. A hatred consumed it and fueled its power.

  It was full of hate.

  And I sensed fear.

  It was hostage to the magics of the hall and the mages surrounding it. But even more frightening than it was the pair of holy avengers before it. The holy warriors, holy priests, and holy mages encircled it and were battling it back into itself.

  It had been momentarily freed of some unknowable torture and wanted to remain here.

  It renewed its vicious attacks, doubling the ferocity of its attacks on me and the king. I felt myself getting drained even more quickly by the creature, and I was losing a casting point every second.

  You are not alone.

  The words resonated in my mind. The voice was not Bella’s, it was not the Bishop’s, it was different and more.

  With renewed vigor, I poured the extra casting points I had in reserve into my bracer diamonds and all over my possessions.

  Its attack increased yet again.

  I was losing two casting points per second. Then three. Then four.

  I couldn’t hope to last.

  “Use the ruby!” The king shouted.

  Somehow, he saw and knew my struggle. He pointed at my chest, where my necklace with the 49pt emerald and 49pt ruby sat next to each other.

  I reached into the ruby, and things slowed down around me.

  There was a presence, and I felt it. It was not sentient or a spirit in the way I had experienced gems in the past. It was life. Vibrant. Powerful. Undaunted.

  My staff returned back into a ring and my free hand lifted the ruby. I looked directly at the Shadow Lord and its burning, red eyes.

  In my mind, I thought of sunlight and warmth. I thought of green grass and blooming flowers. I thought of birdsong and gentle breezes. I thought of crashing tides and gentle rains. I thought of friends and family.

  I thought of life.

  Without taking my eyes from it, I spoke gently and calmly and yet with as deep a conviction as I had ever held in my life. I focused on all that stored life energy and channeled it into a single command. “Depart.”

  The Shadow Lord screamed again. This time in pain. But somehow I knew that the pain had not been inflicted by me or the paladins or any mages present. Its pain had been what it was escaping, and it was being dragged back there.

  It broke off its attack on me and the king, almost like it had lost its grip, and it fell back into itself.

  The paladins pushed it forward, slashing with their blades and sending wisps of shadow to vanish into the air. The wizards had cast a beam of radiant light into the shadow that was more intense than any spell of its kind that I had ever seen. And the clerics were praying as they struck with their magical maces. Each strike sent splashes of shadow off the creature to vanish into the air.

  They took methodical steps, one after the other, until they surrounded the summoner and a retracting shadow that finally snaked its way back into the mage. What followed was a gurgling sound unlike anything I had ever heard.

  The mage convulsed once more and was still. His body melted before our eyes, turned to powder, and then vanished save for his torn garments and magically drained jewelry and equipment.

  It was done.

  The first to my side, and I had to blink to recognize him in my hazy state, was Grandmaster Iolas Naevys Ronala, guildmaster of Wizards and second only in power to the archmage if stories were true.

  “I was only able to slow his entrance. Whatever you did, my boy, it sent him back kicking and screaming. I am proud of you.”

  He helped me stand.

  I noticed that the king was back on his throne and surrounded once more by his protectors. Mine were nearby, but they gave Wizard Iolas room.

  He whispered, “Go back to the speaking stone, call the meeting back to order, ask if there is any new business, and seeing none, dismiss Council. Stay calm and be casual. I’ll explain later.”

  I walked back to the Speaking Stone and stood once more upon it. There were only a few conversations. Everyone was looking at me, and the king, who once more refused to make eye contact with me.

  I looked over at the Steward who lifted his staff, but I shook my head and raised my hand to him.

  He lowered the staff, which made a boom sound, far less intense than before, and no shock accompanied it.

  The room became silent again.

  I looked around the room and saw destruction, fear, injury, anger, and hope.

  They all looked at me, expectantly.

  “I call this Council back to order.” I paused. “Is there any new business?”

  The looks I got back were priceless. Elves who, aside from the troublesome elementalist, prided themselves on detachment looked at me in open astonishment.

  I looked around the room slowly. “Seeing none, I dismiss Council.” And as an afterthought, added, “Healers, see to our wounded. Friends, see to one another.”

  The Steward struck the floor with the familiar BOOM, and the soldiers moved to remove the bars and open the double doors.

  When I turned to look, the king was already out of his throne and moving toward his exit with his back to me. His protectors followed close behind, along with his royal guards.

  The king’s father, who had been at his son’s side, looked torn between me and his son. With a sigh, he bowed to me in thanks and departed after the king.

  “Well, Seneschal,” the Commander said, “that was one of the more interesting Council meetings I have been to in many months.” He said it with a straight face, which caused those around us to smile. He bowed to me more deeply than he had ever done before and said, “I shall await your summons so we can debrief this evening's events.”

  And he also departed, barking orders to some of the soldiers as he went, ensuring that bandages and litters were brought in to assist those in need.

  I stayed behind and made rounds to speak with any injured or those who wished to talk with me. My protectors stuck with me like glue.

  The first to approach me was the troublesome elementalist, who approached at a brisk pace and just as he got close enough that Sir Daeqen placed his hand on his sword hilt, the mage knelt before me.

  It was an action unheard of by an elf, let alone a powerful master mage.

  “Seneschal, I beg your forgiveness for my actions.” The direct and short-worded pronouncement was also uncharacteristic of elves and only slightly less amazing than his kneeling and offer of apology.

  Those around me looked on, awaiting my action.

  “What is your name, mage elementalist?” I asked in a normal conversational voice.

  “Inchel Petkas Tranala, from Lodge Tranala, Lord Seneschal.” He replied, but still did not arise or look at me.

  “Master Tranala, I would also like to take back some of the language I used with you earlier this evening. Perhaps we could both forgive one another and call it even.”

  He looked up at me, eyes wide.

  “As you know, I am elf, human, and dwarf. If you, who are elf and an accomplished master, sometimes lose your way, how do you think I feel?”

  He stared at me and then burst out laughing. Granted, it must have been in relief, but the smile was genuine. I reached out my hand to him.

  Elves really did not like touching others, but he did not hesitate. He took my arm, and I helped him to stand. He shook my hand like another human would do and said. “I thank you, Lord Seneschal.” He bowed, turned, and departed.

  The AL whispered into my ear. Enchanter Gwydion earns a friend in Master Inchel Petkas Tranala. You earn improved favor with elf merchants and authorities. Prestige changes from level four Estimable to level six Splendid. Additions and notes have been added to your Book of Quests that remain unread.