The Magus moved first.
At Tristan's order, they raised their staves in unison.
Circles flared beneath their feet, and mana and aether surged like a burning tide.
BOOM!
The cavern shook as dozens of spells fired at once, flaming lances, spears of ice, bolts of lightning that tore through the air with a howl.
The Krell Mages roared back.
The massive circle they had woven above the army burst with light, splitting into nine smaller arrays that rotated in formation.
From the floor, shields of shimmering crystal surged upward, locking together into a wall.
Fire smashed into them, exploding into waves of heat that washed harmlessly around the army.
Spears of ice shattered on impact, scattering into sparkling fragments.
Lightning split the cavern.
The arcs were caught by thin lines of light that shot from the rotating circles, drawn into glowing conduits that ran along the walls, then discharged harmlessly into the ceiling crystals.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
