Aether , Palace of Elementals.

chapters 4 part 13

As the tempest continued to rage, the students and professors were still disheveled from the chaotic battle. Lord Thalgrim and Professor Thandor desperately tried to suppress the storm before it wreaked havoc throughout the realm. Xander, Thorn, and Soren joined them, pooling their magical abilities to aid in controlling the tempest.

Seraphina and a group of other professors, determined to exorcise Vecna from Alaric's body, surrounded the weakened figure of the malevolent entity. Magistra Calina began to work her transmutation magic, attempting to shift Vecna to another plane where he could be locked away for eternity.

However, as they concentrated on their task, something inexplicable and shocking occurred. Alaric's youthful voice erupted in a scream of agony, his entire persona undergoing a horrifying transformation. His single eye glowed with a bright, sinister magenta, and a chilling smile curled upon his face.

Astrid, cautious and taken aback, spoke Alaric's name with deliberate slowness, "Alaric?"

In response, he uttered in a deep, grumbling, and menacing voice, "That which lurks will always lurk."

Suddenly, Alaric's arm rose, clenched into a fist, and an eerie force emanated from him. It struck everyone involved in the exorcism, including Seraphina, Astrid, Magistra Calina, and most of the other professors and students. Even Thorn, Soren, and Professor Thandor were not spared. They all clutched their heads, their faces twisted in madness, writhing, and screaming in torment.

Xander, his mind somehow unaffected, continued to struggle to subdue the storm, aided only by Lord Thalgrim. The elder sorcerer was now torn between the raging tempest and the looming threat of Alaric's transformed state.

Thane Ironbeard, the commander, and his strong mind managed to resist the mental assault. He wasted no time and charged Alaric with his axe, commanding the ground to rise and crush the malevolent entity. To everyone's shock, Alaric's body was completely crushed, or so it seemed.

But from the very earth that had engulfed him, Alaric emerged unscathed, his form undamaged and seemingly impervious to harm. Thane, undeterred, attempted to unleash a cataclysmic earth elemental attack, yet it too passed through Alaric's body without effect. With a sinister smile, Alaric flung Thane aside as if he were a mere pebble.

Turning his attention to the still-raging storm, Alaric locked Lord Thalgrim's legs in place with his chaotic whispers, rendering the eldritch lord immobilized. Thalgrim struggled and sneered at Alaric as he watched him approach Xander.

With a menacing voice, Alaric addressed Xander, "But you, you are not an Eldritch, you are too young. How do you resist?"

As he drew closer to Xander, intent on something ominous, Patronas gracefully levitated into the scene. His hands moved with a mystical elegance, tracing intricate sigils into the air, and the ethereal platforms beneath his feet lowered him to the ground.

Elara had followed Patronas into the plaza, concern etched on her face. She watched the bizarre events unfold with a mixture of fear and determination.

Patronas observed the scene, taking in the madness that had gripped the academy, the storm that still raged, and Alaric's transformation. It was then that he muttered to himself, "Ghaunadaur."

Alaric, upon noticing Patronas, halted his advance. He spoke a single word, "Istradroth."

Without warning, Alaric's body soared up into the air, flying out of the academy through the still-churning storm. Patronas, despite his magical prowess, was too slow to stop him.

The abrupt departure of Alaric seemed to release everyone from their psychotic behavior. They slowly regained their senses, disoriented and shocked by the events that had just transpired.

Patronas turned to Lord Thalgrim and Xander, both of whom were struggling to subdue the massive storm that now engulfed the plaza and threatened the entire academy. With a determined look, he joined them, his fingers dancing with grace, conducting an intricate symphony of magic to quell the tempest.

As the students and professors watched in awe, the storm gradually relented under the might of Patronas.As the  Storm expanded in magnitude, Patronas's hands began a slow, deliberate rotation, drawing the eldritch energies of the cosmos closer to him. His fingers parted the veil between reality and the mystical realms, calling forth the arcane forces that would answer his command.With the fluidity of a masterful conductor, he raised his hands higher, fingers extending towards the dark sky, and as if in response to his silent symphony, the very air around him quivered with anticipation.

It was as if the universe itself held its breath, awaiting his next move. Then, in a crescendo of power, Patronas thrust his hands forward, palms outstretched, and the mystical tempest erupted into existence. The Gusts of Zephyr surged forth, radiating from his fingertips like radiant tendrils of light.

They spiraled and coiled, forming a radiant, ethereal barrier between him and the oncoming Storm.With each graceful gesture, the storm obeyed his will, gracefully clearing into dark clouds from the encroaching malevolence. It was a spectacle of mystic mastery, a dance of magic that defied the very laws of reality, and Patronas, the so called elemental master , was not just any elemental master but an enigmatic choreographer that commanded the cosmos itself , little did the academy know of this though as they awed in this spectacle,  as they awed in the ease in which their Director of Education dispersed the storm which , tempest mage  Thandor himself could not control.

Now what the storm finally subdued,  Thane Ironbeard,  in agonizing struggle, rose and posed the question," Since when could Vecna do that?"

Patronas with a glance of worry and distress,  gazes over the others present and declared, "That was not Vecna , that was the lord of Abominations, that was Ghaunadaur,  and we've let him escape with full access to this Entire realm..."