A vein appeared at Therion's temple.
"Don't," Elaris said quietly, from the side, though it was unclear whether she was talking to Rex or to her husband.
Therion's hands moved into the starting position for the lightning magic again, but this time they kept moving, building into a configuration that was significantly more complex. The air around him began to carry the specific charge that preceded a high-output lightning formation.
And then he spoke.
"Thundering Lance of the Ancient Ground!"
'He's casting the spell's name now...'
The name of the spell echoed through the courtyard as a distinct event, preceding the actual magic. This was an ancient magic, the kind that had been constructed and refined over enough iterations that a practitioner gave it a title because the title was easier than carrying the full construction sequence in working memory every time.
