Argenor was as good as his word.  At random intervals through the night, groups of the Entranced formed parties and burst into the Prime Room.  The first time, they caught an Aspirant member with his arts down and sent him flashing back to his return point.  After that, the Aspirants were better prepared, but still lost another member to one of the assaults very early in the morning.

 

After that third raid, Argenor sent his people off for some rest, bidding them to be sure to return by the tenth hour for the final assault.

 

Renmur found it difficult to settle to dreamless sleep.  Knowing there were enemies camped in the very heart of his house galled him.  He knew that Argenor’s plans were sensible and gave them the best chance they had of taking back their home, but his instinct was to keep fighting as long as he could hold a blade.  Finally, an hour or so before the appointed time, Renmur gave up trying to rest and returned to the Dream.

 

Standing in the Initiate Entrance, he checked over his supplies.  Despite the night of heavy fighting, his pack was still in reasonable shape.  “One of the advantages of fighting with a blade,” he thought, “doesn’t use up the elemens like blasting does.”

 

He quickly cast his protections, grasped his Gatesmasher and began a quick, silent prowl through the House.  In the last room before the Prime Room, he found an Aspirant battling the Room Guardian, trying to make her way back to the Prime.  Renmur caught her from behind and made quick work of her. 

 

Saluting the invisible Guardian, Renmur ran upstairs to check the Main Entrance from the vantage point of the highest balcony.  He emerged just as the portal chimed to admit a party of allies from the Radiance.  He waved and signalled that he would meet them, then ran lightly back down to the main portal.

 

“Hey, Ren,” Darkwing, Guardian of the Radiance, greeted him, “We thought we’d come along and bring you some extra supplies, then hang around out here in case anyone tries to reinforce the gang inside.”

 

“Morning, Dark, folks,” Renmur saluted them with his blade, “That’s a kind thought, thanks!  Just caught one trying to get back in.  And I’m sure we can use some extra supplies.  It’s been a busy night.”

 

Darkwing laughed, “You don’t know the half of it!  The Light’s still camped out in HC’s Prime Room.  They should be set to start draining the Prime in just a couple of hours.  We have some people in their Main too, just in case the Union decides to try and help out their allies.”

 

“When’s your main assault?” one of the others asked.

 

“An hour or so,” Renmur replied, “We raided them a few times in the night; kept them using up supplies and got rid of a couple more.  Argen wants to start before the eleventh hour.  They’ll be expecting us then, so going in a bit early may catch some of them off guard.”

 

The Protectors nodded, “We’ll hang around out here and make sure they don’t get reinforcements,” Darkwing told him.

 

Renmur stood with the Protectors, chatting idly and waiting for the rest of the Entranced to return for the final assault.  They beat off an attempt by three of the Aspirants to get back into the House and were feeling pretty cheerful by the time Argenor arrived.

 

They caught the Ruler up to date on the happenings and he smiled grimly at the picture of the Calenturi trapped by their own plots, “That’s great, guys.  And you’ve been a major help defending out here.  I’m very glad of a few more Insight elements too.  Blast’s cheap, but eventually you do go through the eles.

 

“Ren, everyone’s gathering in the Sanc.  We should join them and plan our assault.”

 

Renmur nodded and saluted his friends from the Radiance.

 

“We’ll hold the fort out here,” Darkwing promised.

 

In the House Sanctuary, Renmur and Argenor distributed the supplies from the Radiance. 

 

Argenor looked around at his troops, “OK, people, this is it.  We win this one, or we’re homeless! 

 

“We have to win this battle but I think once we do, the Aspirant will disband.  HC will be calling them home to try and get the Light out of their own Prime Room!”

 

“You all have your parties.  SMs will stay here to restore.  Seers, Phase into invisibility and keep it up for as long as you can.  They don’t have a lot of Seers, so they won’t have much natural Vision, and they should be running low on alts and eles by now.

 

“There are only nine of them left, so we target their best fighters first.  Once your prime target’s down, take on one of the lesser fighters. 

 

“No way to predict who’ll have the Prime Key.   If it drops, grab it and get that Purify evoke off!  The invisible seers will be watching for it, but anyone who sees it should make a grab for it.”

 

As Argenor spoke, his members were casting their protections, sorting through their packs and making themselves as ready as they could.

 

The six parties split up, heading for the four portals to the Prime Room, ready to hit their enemy from all sides at once.

 

Renmur took a firm grip on his Gatesmasher, counted down then yelled, “Now!” and plunged through the portal.

 

He ran quickly to the side to avoid making himself a target and glanced around for Gerrol, his first objective.  To his unholy glee, it appeared they’d caught many of the Aspirants off their guard. 

 

The crackle of Davanna’s Paralyze froze Gerrol in place as Renmur leaped in to slash at the Aspirant’s chest.  Felissa’s Blast caught Gerrol before he could recover, and Renmur’s second swing brought him to near dissolution within seconds.  Stumbling back, the Aspirant fumbled frantically for his Dexterity alteror and a Dreamsoul elemen.  Unable to hit both at once, Gerrol dissolved into a soulsphere as Felissa Blasted him twice more in quick succession.

 

Renmur paused a second to snatch up Gerrol’s essence in case it had fallen on top of the Prime Key.  Finding only a Will elemen, Renmur left it to lie as he turned to find another target.

 

Off to one side, one of the younger members of the Aspirant Guild was casting Restores.  Renmur charged across the room, blade flashing, and brought her to dissolution in three powerful blows.

 

To his astonished delight, the Prime Key fell from her dissolving avatar and he snatched it almost before it hit the floor.  Holding his breath, he began the lengthy Purify evoke.  Seeing the evoke, Davanna and Felissa closed in around him, intercepting Terwin’s charge.

 

Gritting his teeth, Renmur held his evoke as he was hit from the side by blasts.  Just as the evoke finally fired, Renmur saw Argenor throw himself between him and a fusillade of fire and dissolve into a soulsphere.

 

As Purify touched the Prime, the murky smoke surrounding it evaporated and a sudden silence fell over the room.  On every side, Aspirants vanished as the house expelled them.  In the hush, the low humming song of the healthy Prime could be heard.