The battlefield was silent.
Then, like the tearing of a veil, the silence broke. Black shadows rippled outward from a single figure at the center of the devastation. Vespera, the Shadow Monarch, stood amid the lifeless corpses of draconic beasts. Her form was untouched, and her eyes shone in the darkness like twin voids.
Anyone who would see this woman in her current state wouldn't hesitate to label her a monster.
Hundreds of draconic creatures surrounded her still. Their wings beat the air, stirring ash and dust, but her expression did not change for a single moment.
She lifted one pale hand.
From the floor of the dungeon, innumerable shadows erupted like spears, skewering the creatures. Some fell instantly, others roared and struggled, making their fire-breath cut swathes of darkness, but it did not matter. Their efforts were futile.
Her shadows regenerated, devoured their flames, and bound their throats shut until silence reigned once more.
