Janius showed his teeth and barely stifled a shout of encouragement. Julan's attack was not perfect but it was enough to give him the initiative.

"It could," Janius answered Kaleeth just as quietly. "It's taken hard work but he has mastered a few basic spells that can give him some options. The question is if he's practiced enough to use them in the rush of a fight."

He couldn't give any further details while the fight carried on.

[hr]
Rhazii's shamble did not stop from any of Ahnasha's words. The calming spell struck and he slowed. He slowed to a limping walk. He stopped with his back still turned to Ahnasha. His chest rose and fell more evenly.

He half-turned to look over his shoulder. Whenever Ahnasha tried to move towards him, he would stumble back an equal distance, but he did not run further away. He looked brought to the brink by a mix of fear and sadness, perhaps barely contained by Ahnasha's spell. He took a long silence to even say anything.

"You...You didn't even react when you...crushed that woman." Rhazii whimpered loud enough to hear. "She was screaming. You didn't even flinch. You were looking forward to it." He raised his voice. "You say all this stuff about them deserving it. I don't believe you, mother! No one deserves that!" His head sank. "You're just cruel. I'm...I'm scared of you. I don't know how to help."