Chapter 42: Lightning Bolt
Thunder crashed in all directions. Lightning sliced through the blackened sky like a freshly wiped butcher's cleaver. Gears ground against one another, forcing high-pitched whistles of steam through slatted vents. Distant metallic feet reverberated off carved stone, while similarly forged skulls and bodies rang against tooth, claw, and fist. Entangled cries of anger, pain, fury, and desperation had grown all but indistinguishable. Ral Zarek, standing at the center of this chaotic whirlwind, had grown blind and deaf to it all. The only sound his ears could register was the erratic pounding of his heart, and the only sight his eyes could process was the tiny speck of white that was Tomik Vrona flying in his direction within the dwarfing shadow of the bird-headed God-Eternal.
The blood that rushed through his system with almost charged acceleration was loud enough that Ral could not even hear himself think. This fact, however, did not stop him.
Krokt! he inaudibly yelled as he stared through the eyes of Kasmina's owl familiars, circling the skies far away from the belltower. The birds' frenzied flight, dodging around errant sparks of lightning and the swarming enemies that flooded to investigate, would have easily triggered Ral's vertigo, were his own vision not anchored to the steadily growing form on the horizon. Krokt, krokt, krokt! What does he think he's doing? Shouldn't he be at Orzhova, helping Teysa oversee the guild's deployment and definitively not in the middle of the gods-be-damned apocalypse!? Maybe it isn't Tomik. This new vision could just be messing with my brain, letting it fill in what I see with familiar memories. I mean, it couldn't be Tomik, right? He's too rational to be doing something as stupid and reckless as this, right?
Ral tried to focus his vision harder, urged by the desperate, bargaining tone of his inner monologue. Unfortunately, he found that he could not see anything in the small, approaching form but Tomik. The starched white of his Orzhovan advisor robes, accented with golden trim that was only now coming into focus as it caught the light of the passing sparks. The neatly cropped brown hair that fluttered against the raging wind. The tangled crosshatching of brown leather across his slender chest that denoted the knapsacks and scroll cases that carried his important work. The snarling gargoyle, whose stony, moss-eaten wings beat with a ceaseless cadence.
These details had long been etched into Ral's mind, often bringing him a grounded comfort, even in his imagination. Now, their role had reversed, allowing him to easily confirm, without a shred of doubt in his mind, that the figure careening towards him was none other than his beloved.
Ral felt his heartbeat increasing, a feat he did not think was possible, but its frequency seemed bent on matching that of the electricity he continued to pull from the Beacon. But why? Why in the name of Krokt is Tomik coming here, now? What business would Teysa have out here of all places that couldn't be handled by a thrull?
He scanned Tomik's steadfast figure, searching in vain for any clues to the Orzhov's motives. Though his details were getting sharper with every passing second, Ral found nothing. Far be it for them to make things easy, right? Blast those Orzhov. Even if they did promise to help today, what help is this? He pauses, struck by a new idea. Though maybe he isn't moving at the Orzhov's behest. It's possible… But then who would send for Tomik to fly to the Beacon? Could Kaya be sending word from the ground? Are the other missions compromised? Or do Jace and his Watch simply have such little faith in my team's abilities?
As the hurricane of doubt raged in Ral's head, fueled by the continuous megavoltaic discharge that coursed through his frame, his vision suddenly shifted. The owls had cautiously approached the incoming aerial figures, but were now suddenly thrust into a disorienting tizzy. It ripped Ral from his tempestuous mind, nearly dredging up a wave of nausea that threatened his concentration. Luckily, the owls' vision steadied before any ill effects could take hold. Once his sights settled, he recognized the cause of the birds' unexpected turbulence. In trying to survey the threats, they had grown too close to the massive heron-like Eternal and gotten caught in a whirlwind produced by its unnatural gilded wings.
That thing, Ral internally muttered, his senses still slightly discombobulated, what had Jace called it? There were four God-Eternals. A cat, a crocodile, a snake, and a bird… Kefnet. That had been the bird's name. The mindful god, I think he called it. Well, I guess there's no accounting for irony, is there?
The owls' flight paths smoothed, and Ral's mind followed suit. He took in the full sight of Kefnet as they did, finding himself struck by the terror the sight inspired. It filled the sky unlike any airship or zeppelid he had ever seen. Its head was encased in fractured gold, with only the twinned pits of absent eyes revealing anything beneath the armor. It hovered on disjointed wings held by what Ral presumed to be dark magic, giving its flight a truly eldritch appearance. Its weapon, an obsidian bident that measured its entire body, was held tight by its side. It did not need to wield its staff to clear its way, as each beat of its wings drew bolts of iridescent blue lightning from the clouds above. They bounced off the Amonkhetian gold, striking out at any structure or creature that came within range.
Buildings broke before Kefnet as it moved headlong for the belltower, whether disintegrated by lightning, blown by errant gusts, or simply bowled over by the god's immeasurable strength. It seemed that nothing could slow it down, that it would reach Ral and the Beacon before too long. What concerned Ral even more, however, was how quickly Kefnet was closing the gap between itself and Tomik.
Just as the owl's had, Tomik now struggled against the meteoric gales generated by Kefnet's wings. The combined mass of him and the gargoyle kept them from being tossed about like a leaf in a monsoon, but it also meant they were slower to react to the unpredictable sparks that flew their way, blasting the spires below and sending brief clouds of obfuscating dust into Tomik's face. With each passing moment, Ral could see Tomik's exertion growing more and more pronounced across his chiseled features, which were only becoming harder to read as Kefnet's shadow loomed ever closer.
Ral felt a chill drip down his spine. No one knows how to navigate Ravnica's skies better than you, Tomik, but is that enough? You can't outspeed or outmaneuver that thing if you're both coming here. If you don't do something soon, you'll be completely swept up!
Another blue bolt leapt from Kefnet's wings, atomizing one of the brutalist Azorius fountains that Tomik attempted to circumnavigate. The impact flung a barrage of masonry into the air while dousing the area in a hallowed, turquoise mist. Tomik's considerable maneuverability allowed him to dodge the largest stones, the ones that would have knocked even a hellkite from the sky, but he could not dodge them all. Bricks the size of thopters pelted him and his mount on all sides. From the owl's view, Ral could see Tomik's face change from its determined stare to a look of pure pain.
Tomik, no! Ral felt his jaw clench at the sight. He can't stand much more of this. Another close call like that and…
He did not get to finish this thought before its prescience came to bear. Another flap of Kefnet's wings sent a surge of lightning rippling across the immediate vicinity. It struck multiple towers and signaling antennae, a newly added network installed by Dovin Baan to tighten his surveillance's grip on the Azorius districts. The electricity spread across the rooftops like a sluiced river before lashing out at whatever conduit was within its reach. Several thopters and airborne Eternals erupted in cerulean flames, but this all happened in Ral's increasingly fringed periphery. At the center of his focus, he saw Tomik attempting to outrun the diffused lightning, but he was not fast enough. It surrounded him, ready to pounce and drag him from the sky.
Then, Ral's vision went completely black.
"TOMIK!? NO!"
The cry ripped from Ral's throat, reverberating with the electrical current that continued to flow through his body. He heard his voice resound off the belfry's hewn walls, decimating the uneasy silence that had filled his ears a moment prior. In the sudden, unexpected darkness that consumed him, the only thing he could sense was his own cry as it swiftly faded to nothing.
Then, not even a moment later, the black changed to white.
It stung, a familiar burn to the experienced stormmage. Ral blinked at the blinding white of the lightning bolt that still stemmed from his outstretched palm out the belltower's window. Slowly, as the overwhelming brightness of his efforts waned to their normal levels, Ral's vision returned.
His vision, truly, not the view provided by Kasmina's owls. He was once again fully in the belfry, caught between the indomitable chrome of the Interplanar Beacon and the churning gray sky framed by the window. With this realization, his senses righted themselves with an accustomed quickness. He could only peer out through cracked eyelids, unable to see past the lightning's luminous aura. Its buzz filled his ears, drowning out all but the harshest clashes from the conflict that no longer sounded as far below as it had. The smell of ionization nearly choked him. But all of these proved insubstantial distractions as his mind frantically pieced together what it could.
The owls must've gotten caught by that last discharge. It looked like it would've been enough to fry them easy if they'd flown to close to that lightning…
His thought fragmented there, as whatever sympathy he had for Kasmina's familiars was syphoned into his reestablished panic.
Tomik! By Krokt, are you okay? That damn bird!
Ral strained his eyes to open against the overwhelming brightness that surrounded him. Stringent tears flowed freely, instantly evaporating as they hit the supercharged air. He hardly noticed the acrid sensation though, his attention totally consumed by the desperation in seeing what had become of Tomik.
Though he no longer had access to the owl's impressive eyesight, he no longer needed it. Outside the window, practically the whole of Ravnica's overworld could be beheld. While the streak of lightning partially blocked his vision, it could not keep his eyes from instantly homing into the only other speck of white that dared to stand against the day's darkness.
Oh, thank the gods! Tomik, you're…
Ral's jubilation was cut short, the initial excitement over Tomik's survival swiftly curdled at the sight of his partner's condition. His whites were no longer pure, with both his clothes and face now tarnished with soot and blood. He had shifted the gargoyle's reins to a single hand, using the other to tightly grasp a handful of broken leather straps that threatened to scatter his work to the wind. The mount itself did not look much better, its progress sluggish and uneven. Ral quickly spotted the chipped edges of the wings it so laboriously flapped, which sent a thin trail of dust and moss into their pitiful wake.
Seeing Tomik in such a state boiled Ral's blood. His frame suddenly flushed with an even mixture of anger and worry, the results of which set each of his nerves on end, crackling like static.
That damned bird! Bolas thinks his abominations can just run roughshod over our plane, huh? We'll see about that!
Rage-fueled eyes snapped away from Tomik, who continued to limp towards the belltower, and towards the shadow that now loomed almost directly behind. While Kefnet had started as a smear of midnight against the far reaches of the dusky sky, he had now grown close enough that Ral could easily recognize the same monstrous features he had seen so sharply a moment ago. The God-Eternal showed no signs of slowing, and Ral's keen eye for mechanistic calculations instantly confirmed for him that it would reach the tower in a matter of moments. The only difference he could see from before was that Kefnet now held its dual-pronged weapon in both hands, rearing it back as if to strike.
Kefnet's changed posture send a brief rush of concern down Ral's spine, temporarily dousing his fiery resolve. Guess that confirms the belltower really is the target. Krokt, with the range on that staff, it could take the whole tower down from there! Hell, it'd probably level the whole damn skyline with one swing if it wanted. All the power of an off-plane god, but without the mercy, or consideration, or hesitation…
His eyes darted back to Tomik, still struggling against the direly turbulent conditions. The sight of his gritted teeth, his steely gaze at the tower ahead, and his bone-white hands clenching his figurative lifelines for all they were worth, reignited Ral's conviction. White-hot rage sparked to life within his chest, feeding of the ecstatic energy of the flowing lightning. He felt the internal regulations of the power inexplicably shift, slotting almost naturally into his own biorhythms, as if pulling the electricity from Niv's overwrought contraption were no more arduous than drawing breath. The stinging in the corners of his eyes disappeared, his vision clear and focused on the grim specter of destruction coming his way.
Amidst these bodily and mental transformations, Ral finally realized something, something so obvious that he felt he must have already known it. He was not here, on this mission, simply to depower the Beacon. He was here to save his home.
His eyes locked with Kefnet's hollow sockets and, with a storming ferocity, Ral ripped his voice from between his clenched jaws.
"Just who the hell do you think you are, huh? You come to my plane, threaten my people, destroy my city, and nearly kill the love of my life! All for what, so you can stop this storm? Take my spark and rip my lightning from the sky? Well, if you want this lightning so bad, YOU CAN FUCKING HAVE IT!"
Ral's voice rose with every word, fueled by a rising electric intensity as he unconsciously drew more and more power from the Beacon. His wrist monitor beeped in warning, but he did not hear it. His gloves were growing inadvisably hot, but he did not feel it. His allies were drawing nearer to the landing as the unending Dreadhorde pushed against them, but he did not sense it. All he felt was the rising tenor of his voice, growing and building along with the voltage in his body, until both reached a brilliant, evacuative crescendo.
With this last righteous yell, Ral's swung his outstretched arm in a sweeping arc, dragging the lightning bolt across the clouded sky. It twisted unnaturally, bending to the overwhelming will of the stormmage's spark. Through Ral's manipulation, the bolt flew over the rooftops, gathering the errant sparks from Kefnet's wings to add to its own power.
Then, with one last deft flick of his wrist, Ral bent the bolt one last time, arcing it around the solitary thing that occupied his tunneled vision. He saw Tomik flinch as the massive blast of lightning flew right past him so that it could strike Kefnet with all its summoned intensity.
It hit Kefnet's wing with a crackling explosion, whose impact suddenly filled Ral's ears with a painful ringing. The supercharged plasma welded clean through it, spurred by his fury. Fire and smoke engulfed the floating gold bones and obsidian feathers, rendering them suddenly inert. It held in midair for a moment, as if Kefnet had not yet noticed the truly unprecedented impact. As the ibis-headed God-Eternal moved to swing its weapon, still dead-set on completing its mission, it found itself unable to support its weight. Dragged by its broken wing, Kefnet fell to the earth, crashing amidst the unblinking Azorius architecture.
Ral forcefully gasped as he felt the last of the bolt's energy leave his fingertips, snapping his mind and body back to their non-electrified states. He felt suddenly drained, his limbs and head exceptionally heavy, as if he did not have the strength to even wear his clothes. The blinding light slowly waned, forcing his eyes to uncomfortably adjust to the imposed darkness of the day. He could feel a fit of coughing rising in his throat, but he pushed it down. Though lightning no longer coursed directly through his frame, his brain was still alight with a panicked rage. Even though his body begged him for rest, his instincts were too strong, gathering all the strength he had left to raise his eyes back to the horizon.
He looked up just in time to see Tomik hurtling towards the window frame with breakneck speed. The cratering impact of Kefnet's body generated a huge cloud of debris, which swiftly covered the immediate area in an indelible cloak of brown and grey that even the remnants of Ral's lightning strike could not illuminate. It expanded rapidly, spurred by the sudden intense gusts formed from the fall. While the flimsy thopters and unexpectant Eternals were swept away by the growing cloud, it provided the exact propulsion that Tomik needed. Setting his gargoyle's wings to a tight gliding formation, he rode the shockwave all the way to the belltower, his grip on the reins never loosening.
This sight reinvigorating Ral enough that he could raise a hand to stifle the violent coughing fit that he could no longer ignore. Though his lungs burned, he managed to get his senses under control just as Tomik broached the belfry. He rocketed over Ral's head, nearly toppling him with the force of his wake. With a dexterous pull of the reins, the gargoyle folded its wings, diving to the ground as they maneuvered around the Beacon's monolithic frame. The gargoyle's stone talons tore into the creaky wooden floor as it gradually skidded away its inexorable momentum.
Once it came to a complete stop, Ral watched as Tomik's chest heaved with a rapid succession of reaffirming breaths. His hand finally released the reins, quickly joining his eyes as he scoured himself and his mount for anything that might have gone missing during the tumultuous flight. As Ral stared at Tomik, so flustered from his ordeal, he suddenly felt his legs compelled to move. A few experimental steps at first, but once he found his strength returned in full, he broke into a dead sprint.
"Tomik! Tomik, you…!"
At Ral's call, Tomik's ears pricked up, as if he had truly lost sight of where he was. He barely had time to look up from his furtive search, let alone dismount from the now slumbering gargoyle, before Ral reached him and swept him into a tight embrace.
"You're alive!" Ral exclaimed, practically yelling it directly into Tomik's ear as he buried his chin in the tarnished white of his cloak. He pressed his arms around Tomik's frame, squeezing it tight, as if his body still needed substantial proof that he was there before him. "Oh thank the gods!"
The radiating hug clearly caught Tomik by surprise, but only for a moment. He soon let go of the cases and bags in his grasp, letting them clatter aimlessly to the belfry's floor as he reciprocated Ral's gesture.
He felt Tomik's head rest against his own, the erratic beating of his overwrought heart syncing with the flutter of his own.
"Oh Ral," Tomik said, "I doubt any gods deserve my thanks more than you do."
His voice, normally so assured, now faltered with breathless overextension. While Ral was certainly worried about Tomik's condition, such conservative senses were all instantly drowned out as soon as his words graced Ral's ears. His body began to move on its own, pulling slightly away from Tomik so that the two men's eyes could meet. Though Tomik's face was utterly disheveled, his hazel irises still shone as they always did, reflecting all Ral's mercurial feelings back at him with pinpoint precision. This was enough, and with all the impulsivity of the Izzet, Ral placed a hand to Tomik's cheek and drew him into a deep kiss.
Electricity coursed through Ral's system as Tomik leaned into it without hesitation, flushing his system of everything but the sensation of their lips together. He had been acutely aware, ever since last night's mission, of how long it had been since he had seen Tomik, felt his gentle skin or smelled the wafting tinge of incense that always clung to his hair. While he had been dutiful in pushing thoughts of Tomik aside as he focused on dismantling Bolas' schemes, they had always been there, just beneath the surface, scratching at his forebrain with a yearning that he only now recognized. The war around them melted from Ral's mind, isolating him in the paradisial embrace.
He wanted this moment to last forever, for his passionate thoughts to reign eternal and shield him and Tomik both from the dangers they had been narrowly escaping since the sun dawned. Sadly, his rational thoughts still held enough sway that he knew this kiss could not last. Though slowly and regretfully, Ral pulled his lips from Tomik's. As he felt the warmth on his lips gradually fade into the clammy belltower air, he stared into Tomik's eyes, his head resting in his palm.
"I've missed you," said Ral.
"I've missed you too," wheezed Tomik. "I cannot imagine the horrors you've been experiencing all day."
Ral nearly laughed. "You're certainly one to talk, after what you've just been through. What in the gods' names are you even doing here anyway? Are you here about the Beacon?"
"No, I'm not here about all that." Tomik straightened himself slightly as his strength started to return. He lifted himself from Ral, revealing a dusty imprint of his body on the front of Ral's robes. Upon seeing this, Tomik immediately started brushing himself off, while Ral was content to simply let the embossed form of his beloved stay where it was. "I was actually instructed to come here so I could retrieve… her."
Once he found his robes to be in sufficient condition, Tomik pointed a scabbed, dust-caked finger past Ral. He followed it back to the window and saw, much to his surprise, that it was pointed at the floor where Hekara's body still lay in deathly recumbence.
Ral's eyebrows tented in confusion. "Her? What do the Orzhov want with Hekara? There's not much spirit they can pull out of a Rakdos witch."
Tomik shook his head. "Not the Orzhov in general. Mistress Teysa gave me the orders, which she apparently received from Mistress Kaya somewhere on the battlefield. She instructed me to collect Miss Hekara and her things and ferry them back to the Rakdos. I'm not quite sure why this has become such a priority, but if she took the time to send such a missive in the middle of her duties, I won't question it."
"Interesting…" Ral mused, a slight edge to his voice. As he pondered Tomik's explanation, his lip curled in annoyance. "Putting you in harm's way like that, for a job that seems like it could have been just as easily completely by a few thrulls. Why would Teysa put you at risk like that?"
Once again, Tomik shook his head. This time, however, as if sensing the rising protective ire in Ral's tone, he placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It was not Mistress Teysa's decision. Mistress Kaya specifically requested I be the one to handle this mission. I had inquired about Hekara's condition earlier, and she must have sensed my concern." Tomik paused, and he flashed Ral a soft, diffusive smile. "She must also have known that you would be here, so I can't discount her choosing me as an excuse to allow us this time together."
Whether it was his words or his smile, Ral felt his anger dissipate into the crosswinds. He laughed, the deep chuckle that leaps to one's throat without them even knowing it is there, and shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah, that sounds like something Kaya would do, all right. I bet she'll think I owe her one now, but I'd say after what you had to deal with out there with Kefnet, we can call it even."
Tomik shared in this momentary blip of mirth, his shoulders raising and falling in tune with his quiet, sighing laugh. "She is quite devious. I will truly never understand how someone can be both so opposed to the Orzhov ideals while fitting so well into them. I suppose that's what it takes to run a guild. It is hardly any wonder that she and Mistress Teysa rarely see eye-to-eye."
At this, Ral unconsciously stiffened. He let the laughter die down naturally, but there was something in Tomik's words that seemed to strike an unseen chord within him. As his mind turned them over, he could only respond with a wistful, "Yeah…"
Tomik, likely still in an adrenaline-fueled haze, did not seem to notice the shift in Ral's disposition. With the faint hints of a smile still playing on his lips, he turned back to his gargoyle and began rearranging the now haphazard gear. His strength seemed to have fully returned, allowing Tomik to move hastily without sacrificing his typical exactitude. As he secured the broken scroll cases and bag straps to the saddle, he said over his shoulder to Ral, "From what I saw on my descent here, it looks as though this belltower is still crawling with Eternals. I assume they're making their way up here as we speak. Once I secure Hekara, if your work with the Beacon is complete, I can fly you back to wherever you're set to rendezvous with the others."
Suddenly, Ral froze. While Tomik silently retrieved a tarp-like Orzhovan burial shroud and brought it to Hekara's corpse, his words mutely echoed in Ral's ears. He had been so caught up with the rescue and subsequent reunion, that he had not noticed the noise in the belfry had completely changed. It was only at Tomik's unintentional prompting that his ears finally opened, and the first thing he noticed was that the persistent buzz of the Beacon had all but disappeared.
His eyes turned to the Beacon and saw that it no longer gleamed with its clarion magic. While a faint trickle of light still shimmered within the intricate machinery, it now more closely resembled the lifeless pillar he had confronted last evening, just before his lightning had ignited it. He searched in his chest for any remnants of its pull, finding only the most ephemeral trace still tugging at his spark. This absence of sensation was quickly filled with a rush of pride.
I did it. I did it! By krokt, I did it! The Beacon's off, or at least off enough to leave the planeswalkers where they are. Niv, you draconic bastard, you knew I could beat you, and I fucking did! We secured the Beacon and we shut it down, without any…
Ral's celebration was cut short as his attention continued to widen, past Tomik and the Beacon. Even in his early Izzet days, he easily became wrapped up in whatever was right in front of him at the expense of all other external stimuli. Now, however, his mind found the peripheral sensations all too deafening to ignore. The second thing his ears picked up, now free of the Beacon's interference, was the increasingly close sounds of battle coming from the belfry landing.
What had been little more than a distant whisper before he began siphoning the Beacon's electricity now roared at him with tenebrous strength. The Dreadhorde continued to tromp up the stone stairway, but the endless rattling footsteps were nearly drowned by the sounds of battle happening, it now blatantly appeared, directly on Ral's doorstep.
My team! Huatli, Narset, Kasmina, are they…?
With a sudden rush of panic, he turned to the landing, craning his ear to the newly discovered cacophony. He sifted through its overwhelming scale, past the maelstrom of blades slicing through air, claws catching on armor, and magical bursts resounding off the worked stone. He could feel anxious energy begin to build in his hands and arms, ready to lash out in anger at the undead creatures that might have claimed his allies. Fortunately, it quickly dissipated as he identified the distinct sounds of the planeswalkers within.
Trill screeches perfectly tuned to prehistoric roars, incomprehensible chants that grew and shrank like a roiling tide, and deep exhalations that brought sonorous silence in their wake. He felt a sigh of relief bubble to the surface with this confirmation that, at the very least, Huatli, Kasmina, and Narset were still alive. It was quickly replaced with a surge of urgency, the electricity that itched in his veins compelling him to leap into battle alongside his teammates. Ral cast a single glance back at Tomik, who had started the ritualistic process of wrapping and sanctifying Hekara's body, before he started to run to the landing, lightning balancing on his fingertips.
He did not take more than two steps, however, before a sudden flurry of action at the landing caused him to brake. A flash of disorienting colors leapt from the opening, sending Ral into a temporary sense of shock. He nearly loosed a powerful blast of lightning, but his mind luckily decrypted the frenzy of reds, greens, and blues before his body could react. It was a raptor, one of Huatli's summons. It virulently hissed as its talons latched onto the creaking board, a beauteous crown of auburn feathers flaring around its jade, lizardlike muzzle that was stained black with Eternalized blood. It swung its tail aggressively at the landing, though seemingly not at the bidding of any master, as the creature was not being ridden by who Ral expected.
It was Kasmina who straddled the creature's back, her arms wrapped tightly around its pronounced neck. Her hood had fallen from her face, spilling fetid tangles of orange hair and brown viscera into her face, partially obscuring her gritted demeanor. Her skin was even paler than the last time Ral had seen it, made even more sickly looking by the chilling blue light that engulfed her eyes. The only spot that was not white as bone, to Ral's horror, was her injured leg, which lay exposed amidst fraying fabric and dislodged plating. Where the Eternal had grabbed hold, just for a moment, now bore a fleshy, shriveled handprint, looking like a peach that had been left to bake in the sun. Tendrils of corrosive magic spread from the necrotic brand, slowly working their way through her calf and ankle. The sight alone was enough for Ral to recoil in sympathetic pain.
Kasmina, despite the overt signs of her degradation, refused to back down. From the raptor's back, she continued her incantations, sending wisps of sapphiric light into the depths, each often accompanied by the distant call of some newly metamorphosed animal. She was still in this battle mode when the raptor ran from the landing towards Ral. It reached him before he could flinch, and it stopped more suddenly than either he or Kasmina expected. She bucked to the side, looking as though she was about to be thrown from the dinosaur's back.
"Kasmina!" Ral shouted, voice hasty with unease. He moved to catch her, but she grabbed a fistful of the raptor's feathers and used them to hoist herself back into a seated position. "Are you alright? Why are you all the way back here?"
It took Kasmina a moment to right herself, though her efforts did not make her appear any steadier. Now up close, Ral could clearly see the signs of her exhaustion and pain. Robes torn asunder, underlying armor chipped and cracked, arms barely holding up as gravity pulled at her elbows. Ral somewhat expected her to simply collapse right then and there, but to his dampened relief, she had not yet lost her voice.
"It's worse than we could have imagined." Her voice was weak and hoarse, each syllable laboriously summoned. Ral's mind instantly connected its withered state to the creeping mark on her leg, but he said nothing. "The Eternals broke through the barrier I had set up, and now they keep flooding in. The reservations they had once held about entering buildings is long forgotten. We attempted to hold a barricade halfway up the tower, but we couldn't dispose of them fast enough. They pushed us back, and now they'll be up here before long!"
She paused, catching the breath that seemed to fade all too quickly from her reduced frame. The raptor bared its teeth as she dug her fingernails deeper into its scaly hide to keep herself upright.
"Tell me, Ral," she continued, "has the Beacon been silenced?"
Though he could feel his instincts advising him to simply stand still and process all the information he had just received, urgency bade him forward. He shunted what Kasmina had said to the back of his mind for later comprehension, speaking to her almost faster than his thoughts could form the words.
"Yes. Well, not fully silenced, but I believe enough so that its range shouldn't be able to penetrate the Blind Eternities anymore. I haven't had time to run any of the usual diagnostics, but considering the situation, I think it'll suffice." Ral's eyes shifted back and forth between the fading light of Kasmina's and the bestial beadiness of the raptor's. "What about Huatli and Narset? If they're still down they're fighting, they could use my help. I've got plenty of extra juice right now, maybe it w-"
Before he could finish his sentence, Ral was cut off by another explosion of sound from the belfry's landing. His head snapped in its direction just in time to see another figure emerge from the stairwell, framed by a chorus of reptilian shrieks.
"Come on, Narset!" Huatli shouted down the stairs, her normally melodious voice now almost inaudible between the clear exertion from her constant war cries and the sounds of voracious dinosaurs below. "Don't worry about any of them! Just break as many as you can and get up here now!"
Huatli stood over the threshold, hunched and panting like some great beast of prey. Suddenly, she looked in Ral's direction, which drew a shocked gasp from his mouth. It was not the fearsome, desperate glint in her gilded irises that caused such a reaction, nor the bloodstained teeth she bared, but the jagged, dripping stump where her right hand should be. The edge of the hideous wound was withered and pallid, covered slightly by the concisely shredded metal of her gauntlet. If the wound was causing her any specific distress, it was impossible for Ral to discern it from either her imposing posture or her snarling voice.
It was only when she spoke that Ral realized her piercing gaze was not truly aimed at him. "Kasmina!" she roared. "We need another barricade for this landing, now! Fast as you can!"
Despite her obvious fatigue, Kasmina did not hesitate to give an affirmative nod. "Of course, I'll see what I can do."
She pulled herself up as best she could, leaving one arm fully wrapped around the raptor's neck. Ral watched as her other hand, now pointed towards the landing, glowed with a series of hovering blue runes. Kasmina paused, however, before letting loose any of her magic, and Ral saw her shrouded eyes dancing around the room.
"There's nothing here," she whispered, a hint of desperation creeping into her words. "I don't see anything organic up here. Only the floorboards, but those won't buy us any more than a second. There must be some living tissue around here I can use."
Kasmina frantically searched the immediate area of the landing, looking for anything that would serve her purpose. Unfortunately, as Ral confirmed by following her gaze, the belfry was pretty much devoid of any organic matter. It had been purposeful on Niv's part to build the Beacon in a spot that was as isolated as possible while still affording a proper vantage for its multiversal signal. Now, it seemed, the ramifications of such a decision had made themselves known.
"Kasmina, now!" Huatli rabidly yelled, voice resounding even amidst the building clamor. "They're coming up, we can't let them overtake us here! If we're going to escape, we need to buy time, and fast!"
The growling reprimand only served to stoke Kasmina's anxious surveyal, stretching her weary features tight and gaunt. Huatli saw none of these consequences, however, as her full attention had snapped back to the landing. She had sheathed her rounded blade and reached her remaining hand out towards the abyss.
"Narset, just run! I'll pull you up, just get yourself free! My beasts will clear a path as best they can, but you need to move!"
Huatli's primordial cries seemed to provoke the darkness below, as a renewed soundscape of horror met her in reply. Though the Eternals' mouths remained sealed behind their lazotep masks, the rest of their bodies, endlessly pushing and clashing forward with a dogged determination unmatched in life, were free to make as much noise as possible. The only worse sounds were those made by their victims, as the plaintive wails of dying dinosaurs echoed up like some ancient tar pit. It was a sound, Ral figured, that would ordinarily bring tears to Huatli's eyes, but now, she was made of unmovable stone.
Her hand, now her only, did not waver as it waited for Narset's own. As the tide of Eternal noise rushed forth, it was finally preceded by the sight of Narset's pale, radiating fingers, which strenuously peeked over the landing at the fullest extension her tired body could allow. Her arm soon followed, the normally immaculate arm wrappings now unraveled and stained with spoiled crimson. As Huatli stooped low to meet it, however, Ral saw other shapes begin to break the shadow's surface. Blue fingers and claws rose from the landing, ready to grab ahold of their fleeing prey who had finally grown too weak to fight back.
Seeing the emerging Eternals, Ral turned back to Kasmina, who had not moved in these achingly long seconds. Between her own exhaustion and the lack of obvious resources to help her allies, she had become utterly paralyzed with indecision. Ral, however, did not have such handicaps. His mind was whirring as slick and clean as any of the best Izzet inventions, a feeling he had not noticed in a long time.
If there's nothing Kasmina can freely use right now, I'll just have to give her something. I mean, what kinda leader would I be if I couldn't help my team out of tight spots like this, right?
His nerves flaring with electrifying purpose, Ral stepped around to the raptor's side, giving him a clear line of sight between himself and the landing.
"Kasmina," he called from the side of his mouth, voice deep with conviction, "watch the space just above the landing. There should be something to work with once I'm done."
He did not bother to check if Kasmina had understood him, let alone heard him through her already exacerbated haze. He trusted her enough that, even without warning, she would know what to do when needed. She was a planeswalker after all, and Ral knew better than most what that meant.
Without hesitation, Ral clicked the gauge on his Accumulator, allowing the high-pitched whine to drown out the unyielding sounds of the coming Dreadhorde. He aimed his gauntlet at the landing, sparks already leaping from his fingers with enough intensity to raise the hairs on his arms, and he let loose a massive bolt of lightning.
The CRACK that emanated from Ral's palms was far louder than he expected, causing him to go temporarily deaf. This disorientation of his senses, coupled with the sheer intensity of the discharge, nearly caused his feet to falter. Had he not already been braced on solid ground, the blowback likely would have thrown him across the room, but instead it simply pushed him back a few meters, his heels grinding against the aged wood.
While he had not anticipated the strength of his attack, he saw that his aim was dead on. He had angled the bolt to skim along the belfry's floor, unconcerned with the worked wood that surrounded the landing. Narset had halfway emerged from the portal, her hand wrapped tight around Huatli's as she hoistered her to safety, but the Eternals' arms were still only just broaching the sanctum. The bolt, tuned to Ral's specifications, leapt hungrily to the first lazotep-coated arm, igniting the Eternal from within and bursting it like a fetid balloon. The horde's proximity allowed it to then jump to the next arm, inflicting the same damage, until every Eternal that had Narset in their reach popped like a firecracker. The sound was sickening, but no more so than the sight of smoking limbs flying into the tainted air.
Though the bolt was effective in clearing the visible outstretched arms, it only left more room for the countless others sitting just behind them to push their way through. As more swarming fingers poked through the dark barrier, he readied another blast just in case. To his great relief, such an attack would not be immediately necessary. It seemed that his trust had not been misplaced, and Kasmina seized the opportunity Ral had provided for her. Her glowing eyes fixed onto the body parts that were flung into the air, and with a renewal of her lyrical, ebbing chant, she caught hold of a particularly crisped arm. A blue aura overtook it, highlighting the humanoid limb as it began to change. The fingers grew and sharpened, the skin split into tessellating scales, and the forearm expanded until it was nearly the size of a tree trunk. Huatli managed to pull Narset onto the belltower's floor before the fully formed dragon arm smashed into the landing with a splintering THUD.
Ral watched this with pride in his successfully executed teamwork, but he had little time to revel before the gravity of his teammate's exhaustion made itself manifest. Once the oversized claw fell, blocking the entrance from the scrabbling Eternals, the blue light surrounding it faded. Out of his periphery, Ral saw Kasmina's body start to slip from her seat, and he managed to catch her before she fell from her seat.
"Woah, I got you. You alright, Kasmina?"
He could feel her labored breathing against his shoulder, and her eyes, no longer aglow, fluttered intermittently as she tried to focus on his voice. "Yes… thank you, Ral. That was precisely what I was looking for. Though… a bit more forewarning would have been preferable."
Ral flashed her a tight smile. "I'll keep that in mind. Either way, it looks like it was effective, at least for the time being." Shifting her weight with his grounded hand, he helped her back onto the raptor. She leaned heavily on its neck, clearly using all her remaining strength to remain upright.
"Do you think… it will hold for long?" she asked.
Ral glanced at the dragon claw. Though it looked far different from his usual view of Niv's impatiently clacking talons, it seemed just as sturdy. Unfortunately, Ral could already see its substantial mass starting to shift, with the Eternals on the other side likely either throwing themselves at it or reasoning out a way to move the awkwardly shaped stopgap.
"Not sure," he sighed in response, "but we probably shouldn't wait around to find out. Let's get you and us out of here."
Kasmina nodded weakly as her frame slumped against the raptor's mane. Knowing she would likely be unable to help them any further, Ral turned away from her to address the others. While Narset stood by the landing, taking up a complex meditation pose to catch her breath, Huatli was already making her way over to him. She still glowered with fury, her fanlike blade once again tight in her singular grip, but he noticed that her eyes were once again not trained on him.
He waved at her, attempting to grab her attention. "Huatli, hey, we need to get a move on. The Beacon's as off as I think we can get it, so we should b-"
"It seems our defenses have been breached," she interrupted. "I will take care of this interloper."
Ral, confused, followed Huatli's predatory gaze from the corner of his vision. Almost immediately, he traced it back to the gargoyle resting near the Beacon, where Tomik was working to secure Hekara's swathed body to its seat. He was too caught up in his work to realize the attention he garnered, but Ral was not. He jumped in front of the bloodthirsty woman with his hands up in protest.
"No, no, Huatli, wait a second. He's with us."
She paused, cocking her head contentiously at Ral. "He did not come with us." Her eyes narrowed. "Has your mind been compromised, Ral? I've seen what some of these Eternals can do."
"What? No. Listen, that's Tomik Vrona. He's an advisor to the high-ranking Orzhov. Kaya sent him to retrieve Hekara's body, that's all."
"And he's to be trusted?"
"Very much so. I trust him more than anyone else."
Her eyes ricocheted between Ral and Tomik, who had finally taken notice of Huatli's murderous intentions but knew better than to do anything that might provoke her. During the tense pause, she sniffed at the air, as if she could clock the smell of traitorous intent. Whether it was because her nose came up empty or the pause had allowed her feral adrenaline levels to wane, Huatli eventually relented.
"Understood," she said as she straightened her posture, the movement shaking loose a few drops of blood from her heinous injury. At this distance, Ral could now fully see how fresh the wound was and, despite her implacable features, how much pain she was biting back. "Well, if your work with the Beacon is complete, then we should plan our exit now."
Ral nodded. "My thoughts exactly. We can't go back the way we came, so our only option is out there." He gestured with his thumb to the open window, which was now momentarily free of any thopters thanks to his discharge. "We planned on you summoning something to carry all of us. Do you think you still have the strength for that, considering…?"
Her eyes flashed with indignance. "If I am still drawing breath, then I still have all the strength I require. The only thing this injury will affect is which hand I use to compose the hymn of our victory this day."
This outburst nearly sent Ral reeling, but he managed to plant his back foot before fumbling any further. He had no time to question Huatli further, as the gold of her eyes started to burn with an unchecked brilliance. A resonant screech erupted from her diaphragm, and the shimmering silhouette of a great winged beast began to take shape at her feet.
"Oh great Zetalpa, I call upon your image. Deliver unto us your unflappable will!"
Ral ran to the side as the creature's leathery wingspan began to spread across the belfry. He moved out of its way just as its form solidified, revealing a massive winged pterodon replete with golden feathers and a bladelike beak. It let out a honking bellow, harmonizing with Huatli's chants. When they both fell silent, she turned once again to Ral.
"Secure Kasmina to its back, and quick. I'll rouse Narset."
He nodded, and Huatli gave a final hissing command to the pterodon before making her way back towards the landing, where Narset stoically remained. Inspired by the maniacal energy of her movements, Ral immediately moved to the raptor's side. He powered down the Accumulator with a low whine, rubbed the remaining static on the dinosaur's plumage, and flung Kasmina's arm over his shoulder. He could feel her mumble and wriggle in mild protest, as if trying to make it without his assistance, but she soon acquiesced, sagging her weight on him so that he could swiftly ferry her to their awaiting ride.
There was no seat on the pterodon, so Ral simply sat Kasmina in the middle of its back, allowing her to temporarily lay along its spine. I assume Huatli will be at the helm when we take off. Kasmina can hold onto her then. As he helped get her securely on the creature, his mouth formed a taut line. Hopefully both of them will have the strength for that.
While getting Kasmina in a position from which she would not fall, Ral heard a familiar voice from behind. "Ral, is everything okay?" Tomik asked. Though his voice was as even and professional as ever, Ral could easily pick out the hint of worry. "Is there anything I can do to help her?"
Ral peeked over his shoulder and flashed a grateful smile. "I don't think so, Tomik, but I'm sure she appreciates the sentiment. We just need to get out of here as soon as possible. You got everything you need?"
"I believe so," he nodded. "It seems like Hekara had all her possessions on her person. I've got it all ready to transport, just as Mistress Kaya instructed."
"Good. That's real good. Don't know what Kaya's thinking with all this, but at least Hekara will get to do more for this cause than just being a thorn in my side."
He had meant it as a joke, something to lessen the frantically grave energy pulsating through the belltower. It did not have the intended effect, as it sent both men into a somber, reflective silence, with only the ominous knocking of the dragon's claw and the furious calls of Huatli's awakening attempt to break it up.
As if hastened by the ambient urgency, Tomik broke the silence before it could even truly settle. "I know I can't ask you to stop fighting, as much as I want you to simply find somewhere you can stay safe until the day is done. The day won't be done without your help, I know that. Just promise me you'll make it back alive, okay? I've collected and catalogued far too many spirits today to add yours into my figures."
Ral felt a sad smile break across his face. You always were better at telling the right joke at the right time. All that damn bureaucratic training, I guess, no need to be as scattershot as me.
He stood up from Kasmina and turned to face Tomik, to look him fully in those eyes he loved so much. "I have no plans on dying today. I mean, what would the Izzet even do without me?"
This time, Ral's words had the intended effect, and he saw a mirrored smile crease Tomik's features. His hand quickly moved to the red strip of fabric wrapped around the opposite wrist, the token that Ral had given him upon receiving Tomik's, which he now felt pressing at his side from within his robe's pocket.
"And," Ral continued, "I trust you to do the same. If we're being honest here, you're the only one keeping the Orzhov from collapsing in on itself. Without you, Teysa and Kaya would just be helpless. So, you stay safe for their sakes. And for mine, if you want."
"I do. Though if the Orzhov were to fall apart, it might be easier for our relationship."
Ral shrugged. "After today, I think there'll be a lot more urgent things for the guilds to deal with than the two of us. Hell, I bet we could get married next week and they wouldn't notice for a sun cycle."
He froze, the words having spilled unintentionally from his mouth, far too quickly to dam them back up. He could see Tomik stiffen as well, though he also noted that his face had not changed. There was no apprehension or unease or disdain, just that same loving smile to match Ral's own.
"Sorry, sorry about that," Ral stuttered, running a nervous hand through his silver-streaked hair, "forget I said anything. Everything's just a little hectic right now, it just slipped out."
"No need to apologize," Tomik said through a warm half-chuckle at Ral's flustered state. "I understand. It's not exactly the proposal I would have imagined. Maybe we'll wait until after Ravnica's saved… though I doubt my answer would be any different than it is now."
Heat bloomed in Ral's chest, rushing immediately to his cheeks. He reached out to Tomik and brought him in for another slow, tender kiss. Once again, time seemed to slow, begging Ral to stay in this moment for even just a second longer. Unfortunately, this one was even shorter-lived than the last, as the already tense air of the belfry was suddenly enflamed with the sounds of unrelenting death.
Pulling away from their labial embrace, both Ral and Tomik turned towards the source of the surprising noise, only to be met with a sight more startling that either could have anticipated. The transmogrified dragon's limb, the last bulwark of their tenuous defense, no longer sat atop the belfry's landing. Rather, it now hovered just above it, hoisted several feet off the ground by a detachment of Eternalized sphinxes. They held the immeasurably heavy arm in their leonine claws, their metallic wings beating fast enough to send the sounds of keening slices through the air. Their faces, naturally masklike, stared blankly as they surveyed the belfry, radiating an unspoken malice that struck Ral in the chest.
The sphinx's appearance, however, was simply a precursor. They had only just managed to lift the dragon limb from the boards before the Dreadhorde, waiting just behind this last barrier, surged forth. Like a ruptured pipe, the Eternals began to pour up from the landing, spreading with diabolical precision into the confined belltower. The small space suddenly filled with the sounds of readied weapons and unstoppable footfalls, and the air, formerly fresh with ozone, became diffuse with the grim scent of the Elderspell.
While the sight was horrific enough for Ral to feel his knees reflexively lock, a voice cut through the melee long enough to bring his attention back to his own part in the situation. It seemed that Huatli had managed to wake Narset from her meditative state just before the Eternals figured out how to overcome their defensive measures. The two haggard women now ran side-by-side for the pterodon, with the flooding Dreadhorde nipping at their heels. Huatli swung her fanned blade emphatically at Ral, barking at him through gritted teeth.
"Get on the pterodon! If we don't get flying now, they'll tear us apart before we even get off the ground! GO!"
Seized by the sudden shift, Ral gave her a single, forceful nod. He then turned back to Tomik, whose softened, tender face had instantly hardened back to its professional countenance.
"Grab your gargoyle and get yourself out of here," Ral stated, leaving no room in his voice for secondary options. "Get yourself clear of this district, and watch out for thopters. I'll see you again soon, I promise."
Tomik understood, and he offered a resolute nod in response. "You've never broken a promise to me before. I should hope today will be no exception."
Before either man could fall back into each other, knowing how hard it would be to extricate themselves again, both Ral and Tomik looked once more into each other's eyes, confirming their shared promise. Then, without any further delay, no matter how much they yearned for it, they each broke into a dead sprint for their respective steeds.
Ral wanted to watch Tomik leave, to confirm he was safe as he secured his gargoyle for a timely exit, but he knew that now was no time for such distractions. His focus narrowed to the pterodon, where Kasmina still lay sloughed across its ridged back. Leaping forward, Ral positioned himself at the helm of the beast, arousing a threatening honk from its toothy maw. While he locked his legs beneath the prickling feathers on its flanks, Ral reached behind him and grabbed ahold of Kasmina's arms.
"Kasmina, I'm gonna need you to hold on tight, okay? You think you can do that?"
As he wrapped her arms tight around his waist, he felt the dripping tendrils of her hair bob in understanding. "I think I can manage that, yes. Thank you, Ral. A lesser leader would not work so hard to save someone in my condition. Had I not a home to return to, I would be proud to join your guild."
Ral opened his mouth, an automatic response already on his tongue. This time, however, he simply pushed it back down, allowing only a single word through: "Thanks."
Sensing Kasmina's grip take hold, he swiftly dug his heels into the pterodon's sides, even letting slip a mote of electricity to make sure the signal was sent. Can't be much different than riding a drake, he reasoned. Luckily, his intuition paid off, and the pterodon let out a symphonic roar, spread its mighty wings, and began to take off.
Ral hunched over slightly from the initial shock of the beast's movements, but as it began to beat its wings, his spine straightened with an unforeseen assuredness. This soon faltered, however, and Ral felt the dinosaur start to lift itself off the ground.
"Wait a second," he called aloud to no one in particular, "what about Huatli and Narset? We can't take off withou-"
As he spoke, his head whipped around, a sudden desperation controlling his jerking movements. In the span of a few seconds, Ral beheld, the belfry had become filled with Eternals. The brown of the floorboards was no longer visible beneath the sea of deep blue, the summoned raptor had been swallowed in the depths, and even the indefatigable Beacon was starting to be overtaken by the shambling mob. Amidst this chilling void, however, the figures of the two planeswalkers still burned bright.
By the time Ral turned to find them, with the pterodon's talons having now left the compromised floor, Huatli and Narset had just barely reached them. He twisted in his seat, prepared to reach his hand out to help them up, but it became immediately clear that, despite their exhaustion, his assistance would not be necessary. Narset took Huatli by the wrist and, with eyes still glowing a pale cerulean, she brought them both off the ground with a graceful leap. As Narset's body positioned in midair for the inevitable fall back to the belfry, a ripple of blue appeared just beneath her foot. Pressing down upon this summoned veil, Narset pushed herself and Huatli further upward. Another sheet of energy appeared, and then another and another, which she used as steppingstones until both she and Huatli finally jumped to the pterodon's back, taking up positions tightly behind Kasmina.
Ral eyes went wide, both at the spectacle of their ascent and at Narset's unexpected elegance. It took him a beat to regain himself. "Are you both okay?"
Narset nodded, allowing her opaline irises to dim, revealing the bleary truth of her toil. "In a time when survival is not a given, I should say we are as well as we can be. My injuries are not nearly as dire as theirs."
"That's good." Ral looked past Narset to Huatli. "Do you want to take the reins up here?"
In response, Huatli raised her bleeding stump, which elicited a sharp inhale through her clenched teeth. "I don't think it would do much good for me to be up there. I'll keep communicating with it from back here and relay instructions to you. You just worry about getting us out of here before the Eternals close in."
Ral's eyebrows furrowed for a moment, but as he looked past Huatli, he saw what she and Narset must have already known. The pterodon had gained enough height to be out of the reach of the earthbound Eternals, but the same could not be said for their aerial brethren. Aven were swarming to their direction, talons and spears wielded at the ready, while the sphinxes that had released these floodgates were now poised as if preparing to throw the immense dragon claw at them like a hooked javelin. Whether the birds or the limb would reach them first, he could not say, but Ral's mental calculus was still acute enough to know that, at their current speed, their escape was anything but secured.
Even worse, as Ral's eyes took in the dreadful panorama of the overtaken belltower, he saw Tomik rising alongside them, closer to the danger than any of them.
Despite what Ral saw, however, there was no great rush of panic through his body this time. Instead, there was only the overclocked purring of gears in his mind, fueled by the sheer culmination of every moment from this past day, every plan and scheme and inhibition that had led him here. It had been a while since he felt an idea come so smoothly and fully formed into his mind, as if he were discovering his first invention all over again.
His eyes flicked down to the gauge on his gauntlet. The dial flashed a dire red, confirming what he already knew. The power needed for the lightning bolt that subdued Kefnet had overcharged his Accumulator, leaving it in an unstable condition. Most times, this would be cause for concern. Now, it was exactly what he needed.
As he turned the dial on his apparatus, he called to the others, "Everyone, I suggest you duck down and brace yourself."
They listened without protest, with Narset helping get Kasmina in a proper position. Once secured, Ral leaned over them and, staring down the oncoming aerial assault with unwavering eyes, let loose a crackling white bolt. It bathed the belfry in searing light and deafening noise, streaking through the air with untraceable speed. It reached the flying Eternals in an instant, but it did not strike them. It dodged between them, bypassing these airborne obstacles until it reached its true destination.
Ral's bolt hit the Beacon with pinpoint accuracy, boring past the teeming corpses into the exact spot where his hand had rested not a minute before. He instantly felt the connection to its machinery, felt the ionic current flow from him to the nearly depleted mizzium cores. They began to swell with energy, faster than he knew they should. The chemicals began to boil and churn as Ral pumped more and more power into them, knowing the exact moment when they would reach their unstable zenith.
Then, he severed the connection, dissolving the lightning bolt with a succinct SNAP.
"Alright, we need to get moving, now!"
He kicked the pterodon, signaling it to charge the open window with all the haste it could muster. It screeched in compliance, but the sound was overshadowed by the building industrial noise now coming from the Beacon. Ral turned away, knowing what was about to happen, allowing the winged Eternals that were at their backs to fade from his vision. Before he fully turned away, he stole a single glance at Tomik, and he knew right away that he had seen the lightning and, as in all things, Ral had been completely understood.
The pterodon beat its wings once, propelling it to the window, and the Beacon erupted. The overloaded cores burst, engulfing the belltower in a raging fireball. Loosened gears and plates and springs and levers became shrapnel in an instant, moving with more than enough force to shatter any lazotep in their path. The floorboards gave way, splintering from the immense power. The walls cracked, sprinkling dust and masonry over the unsuspecting Dreadhorde as they instantly began to tumble back to the belltower's ground floor.
Ral felt the heat at his back as it propelled them forward, the pterodon instinctively folding its wings to catch the updraft. They soared clear of the window just as its frame crumbled under the pressure. As they passed into the open air, he could hear the faint scratches of talons against the brickwork, trying desperately to pursue.
His skin felt clammy in the shaded air, but it did not dampen his emotions, which screamed at him with a fever pitch. They may have seemed clear, but he needed to know for sure. While the pterodon continued in a straight, streamlined path, Ral turned back just in time to see the belltower's ceiling collapse in on itself. The implosion quickly turned to explosion, jettisoning Azorius stone in a rain of hellfire over the district. The rest of the edifice could not withstand this blast, and it swiftly buckled, trapping the pursuant Eternals within its folding walls.
He knew this should be a triumphant sight, but Ral's face remained terse with worry. His eyes bounced around the smoldering skyline, searching every inch. It was not until he spotted Tomik and gargoyle, streaking across the sky in the opposite direction, that he felt the corners of his mouth finally turn.
"Well," he sighed, "I think that should do it."
His body was too electrified for any part of it to relax, so he could only crane his neck against his rigid spine to see his allies. Slowly, Narset, Huatli, and Kasmina sat up, looks of shock and awe playing at different intensities across their faces. While Narset helped Kasmina reestablish her hold around Ral's waist, Huatli shot him a scrutinous look.
"I thought the Beacon couldn't be destroyed."
For some reason, Ral found this funny, far funnier than he should. A hearty laugh leapt from his lips, followed by a deep shrug of his shoulders. "It can't. The cores that exploded had already infused their natural energy. It didn't need them anymore. And the signal's too weak now, but it isn't done. Underneath all that rubble, on top of all those bastards it took with it, it's gonna keep going."
Huatli seemed unsatisfied with his response, but she felt no need to say anything further. Sensing this, Ral turned back to the pterodon's bow, staring at the darkened horizon. "Alright, let's get back to Svogthos. We need medical attention, and I bet they'll want to know that our mission was a success."