Author's Note: Greetings and salutations! Welcome to the revival of Slayers PLUS, the introductory tale for several of my more regularly used OCs and my very first Slayers fan fiction story. I have gone through and improved upon a variety of mistakes and plot holes I had come across in its previous incarnation. For everyone who was already familiar with this tale, I've kept most of the original elements but changed some of the events and instances. I've also toned down some of my original characters to some degree, but rest assured that everyone is still the same, as is the story plot. ^_^
Let me know what you think! Please remember that all questions, comments, constructive criticism, and/or suggestions are welcome and appreciated. Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Slayers. I just like to write. ^_^
Slayers PLUS
By Kuroneko
Prologue: The Desert of Destruction
The Desert of Destruction was eerily still and silent beneath the silver light of the moon. Long shadows cast by the sand dunes created eerie spectral patterns for as far as the eye could see, twisted and bizarre. The only sounds to be heard were the howling faraway wolves and the sands rustling in the gentle breezes that occasionally picked up.
For the pair of wanderers standing atop of one of the higher dunes, it was either a relief or a massive disappointment that everything was so naturally quiet.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" the taller of the two asked, giving her partner a quizzical glance.
The other girl paused and frowned while overlooking their surroundings. "I think so. We calculated the coordinates, so this should definitely be the spot. But…" She brushed her long dark red bangs aside and frowned even more. "No. This is it. It has to be."
"Don't you think that maybe we should have contacted Inverness and the others before we came out here?"
The former shook her head. "No. Those guys all have jobs now; it wouldn't be fair to have dragged them all out here if this turned out to be another tall tale. Besides –" she gestured at the area around them "– we've got plenty of open space to cause a distraction and get the heck out of here if anything happens."
"I guess you're right," the other girl said slowly. "Still, Ky, I don't have a really good feeling about this place. Maybe we should do this another time, like when it's still daylight."
"And miss out on this magical light show everyone's been talking about? No way!" Kyrie Landis folded her arms and looked up at her companion disapprovingly. "C'mon, Jiima! I know you're just about as curious as I am as to what's going out here. You wouldn't have come if you weren't."
Jiima sighed. "Okay, okay. You got me. I want to know what's out here, too." She frowned a little. "But there's still something about this place that gives me the creeps."
"You sound just like Helmina. What's the matter with you?"
"I dunno," she admitted. "I just don't think we should be out here tonight. Something feels off. Let's go back."
"Out of the question."
"I knew you weren't going to listen to reason," the bespectacled girl mumbled. Whenever there was something out of the ordinary, there was just no stopping that precocious redhead from investigating. "Reckless", "ambitious", and "stubborn" were three ways to describe Kyrie Landis, and that was only when people were being overly polite. "Pigheaded" was closer to the mark in Jiima's opinion.
"You worry too much," said the redhead in question, waving her hand dismissively. "We're only out here to see what everyone was talking about. Odds are that it's probably just another one of those desert mirages that travelers talk about after they've been stuck in the dunes for too long."
"Right…" Jiima deadpanned. "In other words, you're just going to treat this as flippantly as you did with that crazy textbook you claim you found a few months ago."
Kyrie raised an eyebrow. Without so much as a second thought, she pulled an aged tome out from an astral pocket and held it in front of the taller girl. "You mean this old thing?"
"Yes, that old thing!" said Jiima, eying the text warily. "I meant it when I said you should have gotten rid of it, Ky. There's something wrong with that thing!"
"And like I said before, it's probably just some old grimoire that was probably left over from some city falling into ruin," the redhead said offhandedly, opening the cover and casually flipping through the first few pages.
"'Old grimoire' nothing! What about those spells you've been concocting? I'm telling you that thing is a –"
"And I've told you already to drop it, Jiima," Kyrie interrupted sharply, accentuating her point further by snapping the text shut and dropping it back into its former astral holding space. "I know what I'm doing."
"Yeah, but I don't know what you're doing, and that's the part that scares me," Jiima muttered under her breath. Already familiar with the futility of attempting to get into an argument, she instead slapped on her best game face and said a bit louder, "So what now? Do we look for underground entrances, or just wait out here until something comes after us?"
"You could always play a game of End Catcher in the meantime," a somewhat nasal and decidedly unfamiliar voice suggested. The two girls froze and looked above them.
Overhead, silhouetted against the moon and floating effortlessly in the night sky, was a purple-haired man dressed in clothes indicative of the priesthood. He seemed to be lounging in his spot in the air, a dark staff made of gnarled wood cradled in the crook of his arm and rested atop his crossed legs. He held his head propped up in one hand and looked down at them from behind closed eyes, a grin reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat on his face.
"Uh… what's 'End Catcher'?" Jiima asked quietly, bewildered.
"That's not important, Jiima! And who are you?" Kyrie demanded, attempting to cover her initial shock.
"Oh, don't mind me," the priest replied cheerfully with a wave of his free hand. "Please feel free to do as you like. I try not to mingle with marauders unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Who're you calling a marauder?"
The priest raised an eyebrow. "If you aren't marauders, what would you call yourselves?"
"Tourists," the taller of the two girls responded brightly. "We got bored and decided to separate from our group."
"I don't believe you," said the priest, an even more pronounced grin spreading across his face.
"Tourists, Jiima?" The redhead looked at her companion wryly. "Seriously?"
"What? That's the truth, more or less…"
"Under ordinary circumstance I would find it of minor interest that two young sorceresses are prowling in this part of the Desert of Destruction," the man overhead interrupted. "However…"
"However?" Kyrie prompted.
The priest cracked one eye open lazily. "While I don't believe you're of any particular threat at the moment, I'm not so certain about that gentleman over there."
The girls whirled around in the direction the priest's gaze had landed, and unconsciously took a step back upon seeing a man in a dull moss-colored cloak standing on the dune just opposite. In the moonlight pouring down from above, they could make out the outline of a stern expression beneath the hood over his head.
"Great! Another weirdo!" Kyrie put her hands on her hips in irritation. She missed the sour look that passed over the floating priest's face. "And just who the heck are you?"
"No one you need to worry about just yet," said another voice. The duo had to turn again to find yet another man off to the side. He was dressed various shades of brown, and had a large broadsword strapped to his back; dark green hair pulled into a loose ponytail was slung over his left shoulder. His eyes danced with amusement as he smirked down at them from his position.
"Nazar?" Kyrie slapped a hand to her forehead. "I might have known. You would have to show up in a place like this, wouldn't you?"
Jiima looked down, noting that a third figure had appeared just behind them at the bottom of the dune she and her friend stood upon. She cocked her head to one side and raised an eyebrow. "Uh, oh. Weirdo Number 3, present and accounted for. It looks like we've got a werewolf hybrid."
Kyrie let out a loud groan. "A werewolf? That's just what I don't need! And I suppose that guy – huh?" She looked up to glare at the priest, only to find that he was no longer there. "Where'd he go?"
"I think it would be best if you focused your attention a little over this way," the swordsman called Nazar chided under his breath, a little peeved at having been ignored.
"Uh, Ky?" Jiima hissed, frowning at the trio in evident confusion. "What's Professor Kenny's henchman doing here? And who are those other two?"
"That's a good question." Kyrie bit her down on her lower lip, not feeling at all comfortable with this new situation. Nazar suddenly showing up in the Desert of Destruction with a mage and a werewolf was just a little too convenient for her tastes.
The sorcerer across from them regarded the two girls with hooded eyes. "This is not the place for battle. It would be in your best interest to surrender quietly and accompany us."
"Oh, sure," Kyrie said with a roll of her eyes. "Like we're actually going to believe you three aren't going to pull anything. Especially since we're already acquainted with Mr. Swordsman." She looked back over to Nazar. "If you're here, I take it that means Professor Kendall's somewhere nearby. What does he want this time? I thought I already made it crystal clear that I didn't want anything to do with him anymore."
"Oh, you did," he answered coolly. "It's just that he's decided not to give you a choice in the matter. From what my understanding is, your assistance in this particular endeavor is very much required; Professor Kendall won't be taking 'no' for an answer this time."
"Well, he's just going to have to," she retorted with a sneer. "I don't have the time or the patience to deal with him and his whack job experiments. Sorry, but even I follow a code of ethics. Take that back to the professor and tell him I sent my blessings."
"If you are unwilling to negotiate, we will have no alternative but to use force," said the man in the cloak.
"Yeah, like that's going to work," Jiima deadpanned under her breath. She cast another glance down at the werewolf below before looking back up to the cloaked man. Narrowing her eyes in sudden realization that something was very wrong with the scenario, she muttered, "Hoc est malum."
Kyrie dragged her fingers through her pinned up burgundy hair in annoyance as she continued to glower at the swordsman. "You know, Nazar, you have some pretty bad timing. I might have been in a nicer mood if you'd waited to annoy me after I confirmed whether the reports out here were bogus." She put her hands on her hips and suddenly smirked. "Then again, I think I just figured out my answer. Nice trick."
Nazar shrugged nonchalantly. "What can I say? When conventional methods turn up a dead end, it's time to think outside the box."
"So you guys finally grasped the concept of originality." Kyrie snorted. "I didn't figure the professor would go for something so flashy, but I guess I was wrong." She looked over at his companions and cocked an eyebrow in disbelief. "Honestly, Nazar… Only three people this time? You aren't being serious, are you?"
"I think he is, Ky," Jiima said quietly, casting a quick glance downward as the werewolf below walked slowly in the direction of the other two. She then looked back up at the sorcerer. "That guy in the cloak is certifiably Mazoku."
Kyrie looked at her in a slight panic. "Wait, we've got a Monster here?"
She nodded, still staring at the man in question. "Mid-level is my best guess, but not somebody I feel like playing around with at this time of night."
The younger girl bit the inside of her cheek. Adding a Monster into the equation changed things dramatically. While she was reasonably confident that she and Jiima could handle just about anything even out here in the desert, Kyrie knew that dealing with even a mid-ranking Monster without any backup would be asking for trouble.
They were left with only one option.
"Mega Brand!" A large explosion engulfed the small group, sending up loud and angry yells. Jiima hardly had time to react before a petite redheaded blur ran by her and snatched her up by the wrist screaming, "Run for it!"
She had absolutely no problem with that order. Not wanting to waste a moment, Jiima darted quickly after her companion, sparing only one fleeting glance over her shoulder just in time to see something dark, fluttering, and ragged bolt out from clouds of the explosion. "Uh, oh! The Mazoku got out!"
"Try to see if you can get it to back off! I want to try something!"
"Right!" Jiima skidded to a stop and spun around, arms crossed in front of her as the Monster rapidly approached. A split second before the creature could slam into her, the girl suddenly outstretched her arms and vanished into thin air.
The monster screeched loudly and twisted the top part of its body in an attempt to turn. It realized its mistake when it was suddenly captured in previously unseen thin strands of white.
Letting out another screech, the Monster thrashed about wildly, succeeding only in tightening the threads ensnaring it. From behind the binding strands, Jiima grinned at him crookedly, her arms once more crossed in front of her. "Weren't expecting that, were you?"
"Elmekia Lance!" One bolt of white sped towards the trapped demonic being, hitting it directly.
"Nice shot, Ky!" Jiima chirped over the Monster's screeching.
"No problem!" she hollered back with a grin, which promptly fell as a sword came crashing down in front of her.
"Stupid girl!" Nazar snarled, still wiping granules of sand from his eyes. "Do you have any idea how irritating that is?"
"Do I look I care?" she shot back. "Fireball!"
The sword flying again, this time blindly as its wielder yelled and attempted to shake off the sensation of having a fire-based spell go up in his face. Kyrie managed to dodge it, and promptly threw an additional Fireball at the werewolf coming up from behind his partner.
Overhead, Xellos watched the battle intently, eyes opened and darting about in an attempt to keep up with the girls as he attempted to figure them out.
The one with glasses was by far the more puzzling of the two – she obviously wasn't human. He doubted very much she was a Dragon; aside from the physical details, that bit of quit-witted deception she'd just performed was hardly befitting of a member of the Dragon Race – Dragons in general were more the head-on, brutal type; they lacked subtlety. On the other hand, there was no way she was Mazoku. Even if it was cleverly executed, that string attack positively reeked of white magic bordering on weak holy magic.
The Monster continued to struggle wildly, screeching loudly. Jiima cinched the strands even tighter around it, her brow furrowed in evident frustration.
"Okay, Mr. Rags," she said through clenched teeth, "I think I've just about had it with you. Why don't you be a good agent of darkness and give up so my friend and I can get going?"
The bulbous portion that served as the head of the astral-based creature rose up, and three crimson orbs began to glow. "Little sprite…" it rasped; "You're in over your head!"
Jiima pulled a face. "It sounds like somebody needs to take a chill pill. Luckily for you, I happen to have the prescription: Holy wind, wind which flows gently across the land, let all things be filled with your pure breath. Van Rehl!"
Icy tendrils darted up along the threads binding the writhing Monster, covering it entirely until not a peep was heard. Where the thing had been flapping about insanely, only an ice statue with the Monster's form in the center remained.
Jiima dropped the threads and sighed. "Good thing I paid attention to all those ice spells Saitron likes to throw around." She looked over her shoulder and found her companion still throwing several attack spells at the werewolf and the swordsman. "I think I'd better give Ky a hand."
The redhead in question quickly dodged another blow from the sword being wielded by the mercenary called Nazar. "Well, I've gotta hand it to you: you're still pretty hardy for an old guy!" she panted, ducking. "Fireball!"
Nazar shifted his footing, dodging attack.
"Break!"
He winced slightly upon feeling the spell's remnants hit him in the back. "Aren't you ever going to learn? I've developed a tolerance for those silly little spells of yours!" He lunged again, his blade in one hand. Kyrie managed to dodge again, but missed the long, thin dagger he held in the other.
She hissed loudly as the blade bit into the palm of her right hand. With her left she threw another Fireball, which was quickly deflected by Nazar's sword.
"Not so nimble, are you?" he taunted, tossing the dagger aside. Several drops of blood were instantly soaked up into the sand.
Somewhere in the background there was a short and broken off yelp, followed by a thud.
Casting a quick healing spell, Kyrie winked. "That may be, but I wonder if you're any better."
Nazar snorted, swinging his sword back. "What are you going to do? Hit me with a Damu Bras?"
"Who said I was going to hit you with anything?"
A brief look of confusion crossed over the swordsman's face just before someone trilled, "Night, night!" and a loud CRACK filled the air.
Jiima grinned happily as Nazar sank to the ground. She slung the silver staff she now possessed over her shoulder and gave her companion a quick victory sign.
"Now that," she said proudly, "is how you bag a bad guy!"
"Nice job, Jiima," Kyrie laughed, shaking her hand to rid it of the tingling sensation left over from the healing spell.
"Coatl really ought to have listened when I warned him about the sprite." Xellos snapped his head in the direction of the comment, finding the speaker to be a grey-enshrouded figure on his left. "Contrary to what they believe, I think that they all could have used a little more exercise. Ah, well. C'est la vie." The man raised up a hand of pale green light. He looked over to the Trickster Priest and appeared to smirk at the Monster from beneath his cowl; a feral silver gaze latched onto the priest's open eyes. "Sorry. Were you interested in taking care of that one?" He indicated the bespectacled girl with a slight tilt of his head.
Xellos merely stared at him narrowly, his lips pursed in a decided frown. Where this stranger had come from or when he'd appeared not even the Trickster Priest could tell; the only shifting he'd felt from the Astral Plane had come from the Monster currently stuck in ice and that odd girl with glasses.
The figure in grey shrugged. "Suit yourself." He looked down at the pale green orb of light in his hand with mild amusement. "A little stronger, I think. Don't want to risk having any setbacks." The orb flared up and blanched into a pale grey color. He smirked a little, allowing the spell to gather a little bit more power.
He was interrupted by a red jewel abruptly being thrust at his throat.
"Just to clarify," Xellos said calmly, catching the man in deathly serious stare, "did I hear you correctly when you called that girl down there a 'sprite'?"
"And here I was just going to let you sit back and enjoy the show." The man's lip curled in an evident sneer beneath the cowl. He clenched his hand into a fist, cancelling his spell. "Beastmaster's infamous General-Priest would have to stick his nose into business that doesn't concern him or his master."
"I'm afraid that's incorrect," Xellos countered. "This land we're on concerns the Monster Race very much. As such, whatever it is you are doing here concerns us as well."
The man scoffed. "You really are a good little lapdog, aren't you?" His eyes shifted slightly off to the side before meeting again with the amethyst shards belonging to the Trickster Priest. He smirked beneath his cowl. "Unfortunately, I don't have time to play around with Beastmaster's messenger boy."
Xellos's jaw clenched as the man promptly vanished without a sound.
Below the seething priest left unnoticed above, Kyrie Landis stretched and looked over to her friend with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Well, Jiima, what do you say to a nice trip to Mipross Island?"
"Mipross Island?" Jiima cocked her head to one side. "Where is that?"
"It's an island off the coast that was once located very near to the continent," Kyrie explained cheerfully. "Legend has it that it was once inhabited by elves, and there are ancient ruins left over for people to explore in. And," she grinned widely, "it's also a five-star rated hot springs resort!"
Jiima's face lit up considerably. "A hot springs resort beats out the desert any day – count me in!"
The redhead pumped a fist in the air. "All right, then! Let's snag Helmina and Saitron so we can get going!"
"What about Invy and Aramis?" Jiima inquired as the shorter girl began to march away. She wondered if her friend even remembered their earlier conversation about everyone now having jobs they couldn't get away from.
Kyrie waved one hand dismissively. "They're boys! Let them find their own way! This is a 'girls only' trip we're talking about!"
"Well, Helmina is always complaining about Aramis being a pervert," Jiima agreed with a giggle, mentally noting that the girl had either chosen to forget or simply didn't care.
"Yeah, and I'll bet there's no getting Invy's nose out of whatever book he's reading, so why bother? Forget them! Next stop: Zoa –" Kyrie froze in mid-rant. She peered over her shoulder with a quizzical look on her face. "Did you hear something?"
In the eerie silence of the desert night, a faint crackling sound could be heard. The two girls whipped around, and discovered the ice cube holding the Monster to be breaking, cracks appearing rapidly. The entire form appeared to shake.
"I thought you took care of that thing," Kyrie hissed, giving her companion an accusatory look.
Jiima's eyes narrowed. "I did…"
The ice suddenly broke, loosing tiny shards of dagger-like icicles in all directions. The two girls quickly shielded themselves. Before either could react beyond simple defense, a loud voice boomed overhead:
"Astral Break!"
Jiima let out a loud shriek as the spiraling blast from the Astral Plane slammed into her back. Another blast struck her again, and she flew forward and slammed into the base of a nearby dune, accidentally letting go over her staff and losing her glasses in the process. A barrage of crimson attacks quickly followed, hitting both the intended target and the area around her. Waves of desert sand flew up all over.
"Jiima!" Kyrie moved to aid her friend, but she was quickly halted by an arm wrapping around her neck.
"You aren't going anywhere," a voice said into her ear.
The cloaked Monster floated overhead, an orb of crimson floating in his hand. He leered down at the prone form crumbled at the base of the dune below.
"Little sprite…" he rasped, sounding almost amused. "Time to die!"
He launched the sphere of magic in the girl's direction, the spell streaking towards her at incredible speed. Just before it could hit its target, something black flitted in front of her and a red barrier sprang up in time to shatter the attack.
Jiima had barely enough time to register the fact that she was still under attack when she suddenly realized that someone was protecting her. Looking up to see who it was, she astonished to see that it was the purple-headed priest from earlier.
"Damn you… Xellos‽" the Monster bellowed. There was a sudden flicker of what looked like panic over his previously expressionless features. "Y-You interfering pain in the ass!"
'Xellos?' Jiima had to squint without her frames; this time her irises and pupils contracted into little more than feline slits whilst gazing upon the priest in front of her. She let out a small gasp of astonishment as the Monster above hurled another attack in their direction.
Xellos swatted the spell aside with a wave of his staff as he regarded the assailant with narrowed eyes. He quickly tossed something in Jiima's direction. She was surprised to find that he'd had her glasses. "I don't think you have much room to talk," he warned. "This area is banned to lower-ranking Monsters such as yourself. Unless you want to face more punishment than what you're currently due, I recommend that you stand down immediately."
Jiima slipped her frames back on. To her slight confusion and that of the priest in front of her, the cloaked Monster chuckled. It raised one arm and pointed a long, thin finger off to the side. "I think you have other things to worry about."
"Damn it, Nazar!" Kyrie yelled, attempting to jab the green-haired swordsman in the abdomen. Xellos and Jiima turned, giving the Monster time enough to escape. "What the hell is your problem? Let me go!"
"Really now, Miss Landis!" another voice said sternly from off to the side. "Would it harm you to be even a little bit civil?" A tall and willowy older man with long silver hair soon shimmered into being just in front of the struggling pair, his arms folded across his chest. He testily tapped against his forearm the dagger Nazar had thrown previously.
The diminutive sorceress snarled and aimed a kick in the other man's direction. "All right, Kendall, just what in the Nine Hells is going on here? What was the point of luring me out into the Desert of Destruction?"
"Specifically, Miss Landis, I needed you and your sprite friend." A pair of tired eyes shifted over to where Jiima crouched. A faint flicker of curiosity lit into the garnet irises upon noticing the priest with purple hair standing in front of her.
Kyrie glanced wildly in her friend's direction before redirecting her sight back onto the robed man. "Fine then – why'd you need the both of us out here? What are you trying to pull?"
Kendall merely smirked in her direction before turning. He held the dagger at arm's length away from him and looked down. He swept an arc in the air with his free hand. From where Kyrie's blood had fallen, a thin beam of crimson light appeared. Underneath the extended blade the light began to spread, creating a large circle in the desert sands. Five points of light appeared along the perimeter, and crimson lines began to extend each one, weaving and connecting and spreading until an intricate pentagram symbol was formed. Words in an ancient language inscribed themselves in the spaces between, and smaller, indiscernible symbols sprouted all over.
Kyrie took advantage of the momentary distraction to slip out of Nazar's grasp. She elbowed him in the stomach and scrambled away.
Reznik Kendall extended his other hand once again, this time with his palm facing downward. With the dagger he cut into his palm, not even wincing as the blade bit into his skin. Several drops of blood splattered onto the outer edge of the magic circle, causing the design to flare up brightly. Magic surged and danced all along the perimeter, bolts of it shooting along the arcs and lines within.
Kyrie slumped several feet in front of the Trickster Priest, eyes wide at the scene. "A blood ritual…?"
"This is ancient magic," Jiima said quietly, suddenly next to him. Xellos looked at her from out the corner of his eye. Her face was lined with sand and worry, and her irises were still contracted into shards. "I recognize the markings. It's a resurrection summoning."
"Resurrection summoning?" Kyrie echoed. "But an ordinary resurrection spell is white magic! This is black magic!"
"I know!" Jiima said. "This isn't like an ordinary resurrection spell or a summoning spell – it's more powerful than the Necro Vuud, the Gaia Graze, or the Vun Ga Ruim!" A gust of wind hit against them as another surge of magic went through the formed circle. The trio braced themselves and shielded their eyes against the waves of sand, wind, and magic pulsations.
Kyrie grimaced as she lowered her arm from her face. To her stunned horror, the pulsations had increased in their frequency and power. "The only spell that would make any sense would be the Ragna Drive, but that's no longer castable!"
The ground shook, and the magic pulsed again. Wind whipped about them furiously, howling. Out of the noise, they could make out the incantation Kendall bellowed at the top of his lungs: "Magnus spiriti aeternam abyssi! Entia tenebris qui morantur in ignota! Ego vocant super te!Iuro ipse ad te!"
"'Great spirits of the eternal abyss…'" Xellos muttered, reciting the incantation to himself. "'Beings of darkness who dwell in the unknown…'"
"'I call upon thee… I swear myself unto thee…'" Jiima continued in an awestruck tone.
The two looked at one another curiously just before a surge of green light bolted up from the circle and shot into the sky.
"Qui equiescat in tenebris, expergisci nunc! Excutite a artus vestigia invitis somno, et ambulare inter nos iterum!"
"What's he summoning?" Kyrie screeched.
Her words went unnoticed, as both Jiima and Xellos were too fixated on the words. "'He who slumbers in the darkness, awaken now…'" They recited. "'Shake from your limbs the vestiges of this unwanted sleep, and walk among us once again…'"
She looked over her shoulder, catching the translation in the din.
There was another surge, and the green light suddenly expired. Kendall's words were lost to them as the winds twisted and weaved into one another, spinning into a column over the circle. Bolts and sparks of raw black magic lashed out violently before letting go in one final, explosive pulse that generate a series of shockwaves over the land.
Silence fell.
Kyrie peered into the darkness accumulating over the circle. Behind her, Xellos and Jiima clung onto their respectable staves.
For a moment it seemed as though nothing would happen. The tendrils of black continued to whirl and crackle with bolts of red and green, and the faint outlines of the circle and its markings could only vaguely be made out.
"Did it… fail?" she heard Jiima practically whisper, awestruck.
There was a low rumble.
The air suddenly went cold as a roar pierced the ruined silence of the night.
Latin translations:
Hoc est malum – "this is bad"