The scene outside Thale Manor was chaotic as the riot erupted. A crowd had formed, including many who had been present the last time such an event occurred, though few would notice that fact. Some shouted Johannia’s name, others railed against the hoarding of wealth. Others still roared in a more wild rage, caught up in the crowd and the city's general unrest. Unlike the crowds elsewhere in the city though, this one was being egged on by a very well armed man. He had a fine mace at his side and wore a fine chain shirt - though this was somewhat obscured beneath his dark cloak and cowl. A few others also stood out amongst the crowd - big brutish men with crude but effective weapons and rough leather armor. Hired muscle to be sure - thugs that would give the crowd more punch if, or rather when, violence broke out.

Before the Manor’s grand doors stood Captain Moros and several House Thale guards, shields raised, but weapons still sheathed. Alongside the Captain, Sir Hansen of the Order of St. Elenor stood, longsword tip down… For now. He was sworn to safeguard Lady Dionisa from exactly this kind of threat, just as Moros and his guardsmen were sworn to safeguard the Manor and its occupants.

“Disperse! Go back to your homes!” Moros was yelling, though even his booming voice was drowned out by the din the crowd was making. Even the hooded man could barely be heard now as he whipped the crowd into frenzy. They shouted and pushed closer to thin line of armored men before the door - two sword lengths away, then one. Then they were pressing up against Moros, not yet attacking, but pushed forward by those behind. He shoved them away with his shield, many falling to the ground only to be trampled by the mass.

It was chaos. Seconds dragged on, then minutes, as the crowd shoved, shouted and roared. Then there was a clang of metal on metal as a hammer struck the shield of a guard. Swords were drawn - some of the front of the crowd tried to scramble away, though to no avail. Others saw it as provocation and struck at the guardsmen. Sir Hansen’s greatsword rose into the air - and was about to strike when a female voice cut through the roar of the crowd. It was commanding and proud. Powerful beyond the capacity of mortal lungs. It simply said “Stop.”

Above them all on the small second floor balcony, Lady Lanaya Dionisa stepped forth, and the crowd was silent. All eyes turned to her, some burning with hatred and rage, most fearful.

Someone in the crowd shouted “Kill the witch!”

Several rocks flew, aimed squarely at the fragile looking lady on the balcony. Apprehension filled the crowd for a moment. But then something unexpected happened. The rocks sparked off a glowing white barrier, being repelled back over the crowd’s heads at great speed only to shatter on the stone walls of the buildings behind them, showering them with shrapnel. As quickly as it had appeared, the barrier faded, only now two arcane glyphs, one each to either side of the balcony bled harsh witchlight out over the street.

The crowd froze, shocked into silence once more. This time, primal fear was etched into their faces. Lana spoke again, her voice still magically amplified, only now her eyes blazed with power and light radiated around her.

“This House is protected. This [i]City[/i] is protected. Go back to your homes, lock the door, and await the dawn if you value life and limb.”

The crowd remained transfixed by the beautiful, yet terrible sight before them, though it was now evident many sought to leave. Lana continued, her voice now taking on an edge of challenge, and of wrath.

“To those heretics among you, to those who would see all mages burn. Come now, test your faith, your hate, against my will. My power is a gift from the true gods, and I will eagerly do their will by scourging your falsehood from this land!”

At that, there was motion in the crowd. Three of the thuggish brutes and two men with torches pushed forward, taking her challenge. She reached one hand up to the sky, then purposefully made a fist. The word of power she spoke split the sky itself. A great fork of lightning snaked down from the cloudless sky in an instant. It split into five tendrils, each sought one of the men moving towards her. The bolts struck perfectly. All five targets were charred to a cinder instantaneously, the blackened remains falling to the ground. The silence persisted only a moment longer as the events of the past seconds sank in.

Then the mass of people broke, running, fleeing as fast as they could, their faces masks of abject terror. Within seconds, the street was empty, save for the five charred corpses and the thin line of the houses guardians.

Moros had barely begun to congratulate his Lady when he noticed more witchlight from the balcony above. Then a swift bird with a streak of orange-red around its neck took to the air. It circled for a moment to gain altitude, then soared in the direction of the palace.

---

Lana circled above the city for a few minutes, quickly confirming her suspicions. It was a city-wide riot. From the shouts she had heard outside her own dwelling, it seemed to have two distinct elements: one religious - the mad heretics of Johannia, an apparently more capable foe than she had first thought… And the discontented general populous. With the recent string of monarchs being bled dry by the Ironbarks, the people had begun to feel the financial pressure as well. The war had only worsened matters. Nyhem had been a midsummer bonfire just waiting for a spark. A spark Lana was eager to lay at the feet of Johannia.

The scene below was horrific. Lana had never seen the sights of war herself, but this is how she imagined it would be. Fires, thankfully still fairly small, dotted the city. Mostly churches, but several manors in the garden district were ablaze as well, and someone had evidently accidentally lit several smaller structures in the market on fire as well.

The masses writhed through the city, clustering around a few locations consistently but otherwise on the move. The Market was filled with looters and the Garden district was being hit hard - the people evidently deciding to take out their displeasure on the wealthy nobles. The bank of Nyhem was besieged, but the Ironbark guards seemed to be keeping them at bay, at least for the moment. There was a notable absence around her own Manor - her display of power had apparently been effective. She could see the banners of the Steel Fist merc company proceeding through the Field and Stone Districts, wooden staves in hand, displaying all their famed efficiency as they set about quelling the riot.

The final conspicuously empty place, however, was the courtyard before the Grand Temple. The stones there were slick with blood, and the waterways and drainage systems were already beginning to flow red. It was then she spotted yet another massacre just as the last rioters were being cut down - virtually on the steps of the Palace. Glistening plate armor and barded horses covered in gore could mean only one thing. Lycaon’s men were slaughtering the heretics wherever they found them. Even from on high, the sight horrified Lana to her core. Such bloodshed as she had never seen. The streets ran red with a river of blood - and already the harbor was taking on a crimson hue as it began to drain away. She could not imagine what it was like up close.

She decided she had seen enough, and began to swoop down towards the Palace. She spotted Duncan and Isabel atop the wall and vectored towards them, but changed course at the last moment when she spotted Lycaon emerge. Instead setting down out of sight, but within earshot, she remained in bird form and eavesdropped on the King’s conversation… As one sided as it was… With Lycaon.

When she heard Lycaon leave she flew back up and, landing several meters away from Duncan, re-assumed her normal form swiftly. “My King” She said, stepping towards him, barely stopping to hurriedly curtsy as she did. “The harbor runs red with Nyhem’s blood. The bank is besieged and the Bazaar is being looted. The garden district is suffering badly as well.” She wasted no time reporting what she had seen from the sky in a clipped tone that almost, but not quite, hid her horror at it all.


Despite his best efforts to calm himself, Duncan was still furious. However, his anger was now not only directed towards the riot, but towards the realisation that Lycaon had far more power than Duncan had previously thought. Now that he had killed the heretics, Lycaon had complete support of the people of Nyhem. A feat that the Duncan could only ever dream of. Right now the man was untouchable; even after committing a bloody massacre in the center of the city. If Duncan attempted to apprehend him then the people would be in an uproar. Lycaon's power was becoming a threat, and it was all of Duncan's own doing. 

Duncan was surprised by the sudden appearance of Lanaya, however his surprise did nothing to cool his temper.
"You think I don't see that" he snapped at Lanaya as he violently gestured towards the city "The entire city is burning right in front of me, or do you perhaps think I am blind"? He knew that Lanaya didn't warrant any of Duncan's fury. Right now he was simply venting his anger and Lanaya had been unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end.

Lana was taken aback by the sudden rage directed at her. She was only trying to help the King with accurate information, not rub in his apparent failure. “My King.” She began, her tone mild. “I think no such thing. Not all the city burns - already the Steel Fist begin to clean up the outer city. I can descend to the streets and subdue the populace as well, but I can only be in one place. Which would you have me prioritize?” She spoke as a humble servant, imploring him to direct, as was his role. Yet deep inside, an irrational anger began to flare.

Duncan paused for a moment as he tried to compose himself, to no avail. It was flaw both he and his siblings suffered; once his anger started it spread like wildfire "fly to the steel fist and order them to secure the garden and then proceed to Bazzar. And be quick about it" He shouted before mumbling "perhaps you might finally be of some use to the Concord".

Lana began to turn away and prepare her shifting spell again - it was an errand unworthy of her, yet it was the king's order. But when he called her worth to the concord into question, she whirled back around to face him. Who was he to question her value? Just a mundane with a fancy chair and circle of useless metal. When she spoke her voice was icy cold.

"My use to the Concord? Hah! My work will unite all of [i]Formaroth[/i], then force the Elven Imperium to acknowledge us as their [i]equal[/i]."

Both Duncan and Isabel were taken aback by Lanaya's retort. Isabel was the first to reply 
"How dare you speak to you king in such a way" She shouted as she looked at her brother, expecting him to punish Lanaya for her insolence

"Your work" Duncan coldly laughed as he walked towards Lanaya slowly "The credit of [i]your[/i] work doesn't even belong to you, it belongs to Aurelia. I would be careful making such bold claims for someone who is merely riding the coattails of her betters".

"You're right." Lana replied, cold fury overcoming her. What had been a heat of the moment retort now led to words of icy and hurtful intent. The Gem upon her breast flickered and glowed as she continued. "Aurelia was better than me. Better than [i]all of us[/i]. You didn't deserve her. To think I ever encouraged her feelings for you. Madness."

Duncan's response was almost instant; without a second thought he punched Lanaya squarely in the face, breaking a couple fingers as he did. Duncan had never punched someone before and the sudden realisation of what he had just done was enough to bring him out of his anger. Even Isabel stood in shock at what had just occurred. It wasn't the first time she had seen Duncan anger but she had never seen him like this before.

Lana staggered back from the unexpected blow, her cheek stinging like fire. It hurt more than anything she could remember. She fell to one knee as she lost her balance and looked up at Duncan, stunned. She had never considered this a possibility, and for once, she was completely without words. All she could manage was to bring one hand up and gingerly touch her cheek where the blow had landed.

Duncan was stunned. It had been years since he had let his anger take control of him, and the last time it happened he had sworn he would never let it happen again. Duncan just stared at Lanaya, not with malevolence this time, but simply with shock unsure what to do or say. In the end Isabel was the one break the silence

"Consider yourself lucky, you deserved to executed for your vile words" Isabel said. She tried to sound confident though she was clear still shaken by Duncan's actions "Now do as your king commanded and be quick about it".

Lana barely heard Isabel’s words as she stood. If she had, it wouldn't have made much difference - she already despised the De Reimer sister. She turned and began to walk away half in a daze, still running her fingers over her cheek. It hurt so much… Yet really it was barely a noteworthy blow at all. It only hurt because she was so unused to such physical pain.

After a moment she gathered her wits about her again, and in the midst of wondering why she had done something so stupid, transformed back into a bird. She would do as the king said and inform the Steel Fist of their new orders.

[i]Written by TheDuncanMorgan and Myself[/i]