Screams. The desert fshed between its normal color and blood-red hues. The Dark Elves watg flickered between their normal forms and the creatures Myra despised.

  Arae, Scorpions, Green-Skins.

  Raw hatred bubbled inside her, the desire to kill flooding her mind- intoxig like wine.

  Myra's form was shrouded in waves of red mist and the swirling sands of the duhe onlookers watched with unease and uainty, unsure if she would remain herself or bee corrupted like the brethren they had been forced to put down.

  From within the mist, the edges of Myra's bck hair vanished, repced by aernally flowing red mist. It rippled in waves and flickered wildly- mimig hair tufts but disappearing like vapor.

  Her scars disappeared, her skin smoothed, and a red gem surfaced on her forehead, the surrounding skin turning crimson. Veins pulsed toward her eyes in deep red hues, though they did not discolor the skin around them.

  Visions of satisfying violence filled her mind- acts she loo inflict upon the creatures that had taken her brethren from her.

  The temptation to cast aside this god, who had left them bereft for turies, and send his being to the horrid depths of the Underworld.

  But her will, her desire to protect her children and her brethren, anchored her sanity. She khat if she could not trol this power, everyone would be lost—everything she had fought for over turies.

  At this point, however, even if her race burned, she wanted her children to survive.

  Myra gritted her teeth so hard that her gums bled as the magic around her intensified before bursting outward, sending a tidal wave of sand across the dunes and throwing everyoo their backs.

  Thankfully, she had dohis away from the Oasis; otherwise, their only source of water would have bee useless.

  Xanveris looked up at her figure, h by the will of her red mist, with caution. She stared back, her gaze locked onto him as the others recovered.

  He could feel the indescribable power radiating from her, flowing from her form in heavy tration. pared to her, both his and Xelvanya's powers were mere droplets.

  "Myra!"

  Zark emerged from the cave atop his samander, his body soaked in green blood. His eyes widened in shod fusion as he dismounted, striding toward her without hesitation or for his safety.

  Myra's eyes flicked sharply to Zark, but he remained uerred, stopping just below her, hand outstretched, his expression raw with desperation aion.

  Slowly, she desded. They held each other in a warm embrace, an instinctual uanding passiween them. Silenketed the dark elves. No one dared to speak.

  Those who had doubted her words no longer questiohem. They watched ihough some now wrim expressions as her words of warniuro their minds.

  Releasing each other, Zark watched with quiet patiend admiration.

  Myra turo Xanveris. Aation he had was gone, and she embraced her son briefly.

  Zark's momentary patience shattered ohey separated.

  "This was the will of the God of Tenebris?"

  Myra nodded.

  "And the green-skins?"

  She nodded again before finally speaking. While her voice remaihe same, an uone of power and authority resohrough, carried by the overwhelming presence of the Red Mist.

  "Ten thousand souls march from the West t our doom," Myra aowledged, her tone darkening.

  "But I will deliver theirs."

  ---------------

  Xelvanya and the other two dark elves returned in despair, having pushed their samao their limits to gain time.

  They had seen the horde- ten thousand goblins moving with unnatural haste.

  Their eyes were a maddened frenzy, ung of fatigue, as a singur objective resohrough their minds.

  Kill the Dark Elves. Fy their bodies. Feast on their corpses. Bathe their liver caps and bodies in a pool of elven blood.

  When she arrived, she was momentarily stunned despite her despair. She felt the power radiating from her mother and saw the ges in her appearance. Uainty filled her until she saw her father and brother standing beside Myra.

  Her gaze quickly darted to the others, whathering and preparing their ons.

  Xelvanya bit her lip, uainty gnawing at her thoughts. 'Will this power be enough? Or is this our st stand...'

  Shaking her head, she cast her doubts aside and jumped from her exhausted mount.

  "Mother! You were right! A horde is desding upon us with a bloodlust unlike anything I've ever seen in all our hunts!"

  Dark expressions rippled through the gathered. Fathers, mothers, even children- eae armed and experienced.

  The only tould not joitle were those who had just given birth. They could only hope, pray, to survive.

  Without speaking, Myra calmly pointed past Xelvanya. A massive cloud of dust rose in the distance as the goblins neared.

  "We should retreat into the cave," Xelvanya urged in arm. "It will force a funnel and give us a fighting ce!"

  Many dark elves nodded in agreement- it was a sound battle pn. But Myra shook her head and smiled, cupping her daughter's face as she stepped forward.

  "There is o put the newborns in danger," Myra said gently.

  Xelvanya opened her mouth to protest, but Myra hushed her with a look.

  "Trust me. We will keep our home and water untainted."

  The feral screams of the goblins echoed now, despite the distaill between them.

  While Myra remained rexed, everyone else gradually tensed.

  After a moment longer, she released her daughter's face. fidence remained in her gaze as she slowly began to asd.

  "Spread out! Families stick together! Stay in teams of two at the minimum!" Zark barked, and the dark elves moved swiftly to spread out with their mounts.

  Uioning trust, despite the odds. Despite the situation.

  The feral horde's rrew louder. Closer. Two miles.

  Myra closed her eyes, and a faint, whistling scream pierced the air.

  Red mist flowed up from the soil, tratiween her hands with growiy. The air around her shimmered violently, and the uainty among the dark elves faded into anticipation.

  One mile.

  Energy rippled outward from Myra before her eyes snapped open and her hands spread apart. A massive, dark orb expanded outward.

  In an instant, everyone-including the goblin horde- was swallowed by darkness.

  The eerie, red glint of the dark elves' crystal eyes, and e glint of samander eyes, shimmering ominously in the abyss before vanishing.