Therelon stepped out into madness.  The guards of the Pit were being torn apart by the freed Children of Aton.  The air was filled with the sounds of fear and death, and the smells of blood and urine.  There was a scream behind it.  It turned its head to find one of the Pit guards charging it, sword raised.  Normally, Therelon would deal with its assailant with magic, but being both laden with the corpse of its Devoted, and channeling all of its magic into physical power to carry that burden, Therelon was unable to do so.

So instead, it brought one of its taloned feet to bear against the warrior's head.  It collided with his helmet with what, if the air was clear of noise, would have been a resounding hit.

[i]What.[/i]

Therelon had used such a maneuver in the days before the Pit.  The magic-born strength of the blow and the sharpness of its talons had been enough to tear through any metal forged by mortal hands.  But now it had failed to do so.

The Pit Guard fell to the ground, unconscious.  Therelon returned its foot to the ground.

[i]I knew I felt weaker, but I had thought it accounted for by powering the Pit for so long, but that wouldn't appear to be the case.[/i]

Another warrior charged Therelon.  Therelon kicked him as well, this time in the gap between helmet and cuirass, tearing a gash in his throat.  He fell to the floor

[i]Having constructed the Pit, I know for a fact that there was no aspect of it that would siphon power to anyone else, and Eyra lacked the skill to alter the enchantment without causing it to collapse.  The most probabl—[/i]

Yet again, Therelon was charged.  This time by a woman.  Therelon dispatched her all the same.

[i]This is not a suitable place for deduction.[/i]

The stone above Therelon groaned.  It had only a moment to see that its Sister had struck at the roof before it began to bear down on him.  This was not an assailant Therelon could effectively kick.

Therelon was in the air in an instant.  It released, for the first time, the Devoted it carried, trusting in momentum to keep it aloft.  Therelon's power was drawn out of its muscles, out of its ligaments and tendons, and brought to bear on the falling stone.  With a mighty flap of its great wings, Therelon sent raw force hurtling against the roof, blasting it apart enough that it could fit through.

Therelon circled around under the Devoted, and, magic surging once more through its body, ascended through the opening that it had created.