Dread Mage

The ones that were standing too close got singed and had their robes, beards, and eyebrows burned. It was mostly their own fault.

One should never get too close to a mage duel.

Smoke of every color billowed, and it didn’t relent, filling the courtyard with plumes of thick smoke.

Vell held a hand to his eyes; the heat bothered him, and he waved away the smoke.

Though it wasn’t necessary, in the next moment, both the fire and the smoke were whisked away in an instant.

It was forced away, and the mages who weren’t ready almost lost their footing due to the sheer strength of presence that revealed itself next.

It was Sonder in all her garish banshee glory. She hovered above the ground, and her dress was again ripped at the seams.

Many mages recoiled in fear, regardless of their race or gender. They shared a common sense of apprehension and unease.

"What’s this?" A few cried.

It was known that banshees were highly resistant to the usual methods of magic, so Sonder here was the natural enemy to everyone present, not even mentioning that they were usually mindless beasts, ready to strike all those around them.

“What is the meaning of this?” Yelled the Ahsepian mage.

“What’s the problem?” Vell called, acting oblivious.

The Ahsepian mage’s face crumpled in anger, and he pulled his apprentice from the stage.

Members of the mage came together and built magical barriers around Vell and Sonder.

Outside of it, they called, “Dread Mage Vellichor, explain yourself.”

“What?” he asked. “I can’t hear you through the barrier.”

And then an older man stepped up and said, “This is no time for jokes. You bring a monster into our midsts and have the gall to play dull-witted.”

“She is no monster,” Vell clarified to him in a serious tone. He walked up the steps of the stage and stood next to the oh-so-frightful banshee. “Sonder, my dear girl. You aren’t that scary, are you?”

He took her hands, with nails like claws.

She was passive all the while.

“See!” Vell told the mages around him, “She won’t attack, not me, nor you—if you keep your manners.”

“Why have you done this?” The older man yelled back at him.

“Why? That’s a good question. Maybe I wanted to dispel the notion that all banshees were monsters? Maybe I wanted to show mage-kind that the Dread Mage is still acting in the interest of research? Maybe I wanted to show you all that I could easily make a creature this powerful my pet? Maybe I just wanted to show off? Who knows. I could also sell her to the highest bidder.” Vell made a grand show: “Who wants to buy a tamed banshee?”