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The lack of sight and the magic being flung around made it almost impossible for anyone to see or find anyone else. Numerous different security details searched desperately for their charges while the armored men attacked the Scions and their Templars ruthlessly. There had already been injuries and casualties hidden in the dark.

Salome relished in it for a moment. Edmund had rightfully departed the scene to tend to a stranded Maya, and the woman walked into the crowd. She was calm in a sea of fear as she knelt down, her gloves lighting up as the floor around her glowed red. A few other red lights could be seen around the room; a variety of devices plugged into the walls at different locations. Salome rose as the shadows danced on the walls and eyed Rosemary’s light as it hung above.

[color=indianred]“Back into the darkness we’ll go,”[/color] She stated, snapping her fingers once again.

A high pitched sound emitted from each device and synced up, and a loud sound echoed through the vents. The air seemed to bend around the ballroom and the sound died as soon as it came. However, every Scion and mage in the room felt its effects. The same mana that kept them moving shifted violently within them, attacking them for a few seconds before it would flatten immensely. Any spells were completely negated and every element warped to their will would no longer follow. 

Belle held her head as she sank to her knees, the many bullets ricocheting off of Abram and hitting her wall of ice. She reached out to him, her head positively swimming, but the wall remained as it was. Her eyes widened as the shock helped clear her head, her hand running against her own creation as she realized she couldn’t channel any of her magic into it. Unfortunate for her; she had encased herself entirely and had unwittingly trapped herself.

[color=turquoise]“No way…”[/color] She uttered in disbelief, though she let out a gasp as she spotted the ice beginning to crack to her left. She could see several men outside trying to break in, and she hastily crawled to the opposite side, praying the ice would hold long enough for Abram to notice.

Above the din, high in the now-darkened ceiling, Maya’s grip on gravity failed completely. She screamed as she fell, upside-down, from her perch, clinging to the chandelier chain for dear life and landing painfully on one of its ornate arms. The fixture swung with the force of the impact, many crystals clattering musically to the floor, and the whole chandelier slipped precariously as part of its base was yanked out of the ceiling. For the moment, though, it held firm; Edmund, however, would need to rely on his own gravity to avoid the same fate. 

On the other side of the ballroom, Rosemary got up from under the chair she had hidden under, feeling particularly dizzy. She looked for Sonia blindly as her light had gone out, hands on her stomach. “Sonia–” Her call was interrupted as she was suddenly yanked to the side. It took her a moment to realize she had been grabbed by one of the armored men, and she let out an ear-piercing scream.

Sonia turned in the direction of the scream, shocked to see Rosemary no longer invisible.  It took her longer than it should have to realize the orb of light Rosemary had created was gone. Despite the area no longer being illuminated, Sonia released three strobes of light, materializing closer to the princess with each flash. One more flash of light, and the armored man’s arm was suddenly detached from his body.

She hurriedly kneeled in front of Rosemary, checking the princess for any injuries and ignoring the man’s scream of pain. [color=rosybrown]“Are you okay? What’s wrong?”[/color] She asked her.

Rosemary shook her head, kneeling down as she held her stomach. [color=lemonchiffon]“I don’t know,”[/color] She whimpered. [color=lemonchiffon]“It hurts.”[/color]

Sonia wanted to get to the bottom of it, but she could already see the armored men regrouping. Reluctantly putting her weapon away, she scooped up Rosemary in her arms. [color=rosybrown]“Hang on as tight as you can, okay?”[/color] She asked her. Once Rosemary clung onto Sonia as best as she could, the pair vanished from sight and Sonia moved away from any enemy and blended into the crowd, focused on getting the princess to safety.

Chaos ruled for a moment. In the dark, it was impossible to distinguish friend from foe, masked intruders slipping unseen between panicked partygoers with suspicious ease. The chorus of screaming and suppressed gunfire created a cacophony no voice could hope to penetrate, and through the sea of bodies it was nearly impossible to navigate more than a few steps in any direction. The wiser civilians crept along the walls, pawing for an exit; the more frightened ones either fled aimlessly or froze in place, succumbing to the panic. The grand bank of windows on the North wall, broken from the intruders’ ingress, was the only source of light, casting only a foreboding silhouette of the moonless sky over the heads of the melee below. 

But then, with a loud [i]BANG![/i] the darkness was penetrated; opposite the windows, bright light poured into the ballroom from a large door that burst open, soon to be filled with dozens of armoured silhouettes: new combatants entering the fray. 

The armoured figures split up, taking to the periphery of the room. At the head of the pack strode none other than Dame Irina, still in her white dress uniform, cavalry sabre gleaming in her right hand. The assailants immediately recognized the new threat, several masked gunmen swarming out of the crowd to deal with the new forces. Irina never broke stride; with one swing of her sabre she severed both the arm and head of the nearest combatant, transitioning smoothly into chopping off the leg of a second to her left. Two more rushed her, commendably unfazed by the carnage, and were dispatched in the same way. Crimson blood flecked her white uniform, and she flicked any excess from her blade. A close observer might have noticed that under her practiced grace, which she still maintained, the Dame’s golden eyes burned with a dark and very visible hunger. 

If she was shot, which was unclear, she didn’t react; instead, she cut a path into the ballroom and started funneling civilians toward the door, pausing only long enough to bark orders to anyone with the sense to follow them. 

[color=lightskyblue]“Nevermind the gunmen! Evacuate the building!”[/color] she commanded to the room at large, her voice somehow audible above the din. To the royal guards, she yelled, [color=lightskyblue]“Get the royal family out! Use the windows if you have to!” [/color]

As a uniformed man ran past her, evidently a member of some noble’s retinue, on his way to the new exit, Irina caught him by the collar, yanking him back. [color=lightskyblue]“Secure a perimeter,”[/color] she ordered ominously, [color=lightskyblue]“do not let a single one of these rats escape.”[/color]

Shoving the man into the crowd with absolute confidence that he would do as she asked, Irina then turned to her watch, fiddling with it for a moment as if nothing was going on around her. After a moment of static, an integrated earpiece in each Templar’s helmet came to life. 

[color=lightskyblue]“Take your Scions and evacuate immediately by any means necessary,”[/color] Irina’s voice rang in each Templar’s ears, her tone leaving no room for disobedience. [color=lightskyblue]“Rendez-vous with the royal family and go West; the army is staged on Stern Hill, and you [i]will[/i] be there when I arrive.”[/color] 

When she had sent her message, the earpieces crackled into silence. Job done, Irina eyed the crowd with unsettling eagerness, launching herself once more into the fray. 
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Lucas remained hot on Tyler’s heels, but he’d be lying if he didn’t say he wasn’t a little affected by the sheer amount of panic everyone had. He wasn’t stupid enough to let it completely overwhelm him, but seeing the same snobs who practiced their expressions to keep their true intentions anonymous didn’t bother hiding behind their masks anymore. He wasn’t scared or nervous, but it was unsettling. He focused more on keeping up with Tyler, even if he disagreed with the plan. Tyler’s initial idea of getting him out was the better move, but he guessed maybe the other Templars might have been having trouble or something and needed his help. 

He clearly wasn’t focused enough as he ended up tripping over a man on the ground. Managing to catch himself, he did a double take as he realized it was the unarmored Templar of Lightning. His eyes were glazed over, a massive hole in his chest accompanied by what had to be a dozen bullet holes. The marble around him was slowly beginning to stain red, but there were few footprints. 

The prince immediately looked around, realizing the Marchioness was missing. No, could it be– [color=dodgerblue]“Sir Ulysse is dead!”[/color] He called out to Tyler. 

A wave of nausea then hit him, and he was certain that if he hadn’t already emptied his stomach he would’ve lost it there. His free hand was already at his temple as that stupid headache came back with full force. Was he actually getting a vision [i]now[/i] of all times?! But as soon as the thought hit him, he realized it felt different.

The symphony of the chaos around him congregated into a high pitched ring. And as soon as it came, it was gone. He was free of his headache but he suddenly had another problem as his knees gave out and he outright collapsed into the ground. The exhaustion was something he had never felt before, any ounce of energy and drive he had in the last minute evaporated. He hadn’t even done anything!

Was this what the man was referring to? The thought panicked him for just a moment as his body refused to comply with any of his commands. After a few seconds, however, he could finally move, getting himself onto his knees at least. He couldn’t hear anything over the sound of his lungs desperately gasping for air, his heart thumping in his chest fiercely.

He could see Tyler as he was picked up, and without thinking, he pointed his gun and squeezed the trigger. While the sound of armor hitting the floor let him know it was an enemy, he realized that he would have shot someone innocent if he wasn’t careful enough. He tried to make things slow down around him to give himself a chance to catch his breath, but everything carried on.

[color=dodgerblue]“Something’s wrong,”[/color] He managed to utter. [color=dodgerblue]“Can’t use my magic.”[/color] And it was a struggle to talk, apparently.
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[right][sub][@Scribe of Thoth][/sub][/right]