So bright was the raw magicka being focused into the Staff of Magnus’ crystal that Meesei could hardly even see beyond what was right in front of her. Even with the staff, it was no easy task to try to pull in and contain the immense power in front of her. Vile had truly grown powerful during this war, as this was only a part of the energy that was spiraling up towards the top of this tower. In any case, it did not take too long for her to pull in everything she felt she needed to make her portal. All that remained was to use that power to tear that portal open. 

The hours upon hours of fighting had taken their toll on Lorag’s body, perhaps more than most due to his age. Of course, one would not be able to tell just by watching him. Whatever pain he felt fueled his rage, and fed the fury of his beast spirit. In times like this, he had no problem allowing its savagery complement his own. Janius soon found not only spearmen coming to his aid, but Lorag pouncing from off to his right side. The series of spearheads that had pieced the xivilai’s body were punctuated by Lorag’s jaws clasping down on his throat. Just a moment of thrashing tore apart the Daedra’s flesh to the point that it perished even before Lorag ripped his head from his body. Lorag did take a few hits to his armor for his aggression, though the mace from the side was the one that actually seemed to affect him. He lashed out quickly against the Skaafin officer that made the swing and managed to get a hold of her arm. As quickly as Lorag had pounced, he retreated back behind their spearmen, dragging the Skaafin along with him to maul at his leisure. 

From the Dark Anchor, the fireballs raining down from the sky continued to land among Vile’s Daedra. Although it was somewhat difficult to see in the chaos, the Daedra that it was bringing to the field were starting to make their mark. Explosions of cold-flame erupted from among the horde, and the amount of Daedra reaching the frontline started to lessen. Particularly from a distance, it could be difficult to differentiate Molag Bal’s Daedra from Vile’s, but there were a surprising number that rose out above the rest. Dread Daedroth and harvesters towered over many of the Daedra around them, along with creations of Molag Bal like grievous twilights and Xivkyn. These were not simple churls; they were powerful Daedra that Molag Bal was dedicating to this fight. It was doubtful that the Daedric Prince’s motivations were selfless, but he actually seemed to be honoring his alliance. While Vile’s horde was still bearing down upon them, they were becoming more disjointed and their numbers more manageable. The Dark Anchor would still only be a delaying tactic, but it was working effectively to buy them time.

For Meesei, the act of actually creating the portal from the power the Staff now contained was far more difficult than merely collecting it. She could see to the top of the tower to place her portal in a useful location, but there were two more pillars of magicka flowing to the top, just like the first she had drained from. She needed a great deal of power to break through that interference, but controlling the power in the Staff proved even more difficult than charging it in the first place. With the Staff, she held more power in her hands than any mortal body was meant to withstand. She had to try to coax it out in smaller amounts, but even her cautious, measured attempts sent surges of raw magicka through her body that felt as if they burned her skin from the inside out. After a large surge, she let out a growl and collapsed to her knees, only to force herself back to her feet moments later. 

Closing her eyes, Meesei calmed her mind and, perhaps to the surprise of those around her, started to shift her form. Her armor loosened and fell to the ground in pieces as she returned to her Argonian form. Evidently, every bit of mental clarity she could achieve was valuable enough to her in this moment to be worth sacrificing the protection and enchantments of her dragonbone armor. She certainly would not be able to put it back on now that she had abandoned it.