42. Sorin: Gods in Flame

Summary

• Sorin and her guardian, a small red dragon named Jaculus, arrive at a clearing in battle where a large, blue-god dragon has fallen to a swarm of wraiths.
• The wraiths are numerous and unending. Despite Sorin’s and Jaculus’s best efforts to destroy the wraiths and save the fallen god, they fail.
• Desperate, Sorin wonders where her ally, Magnes, is and realizes she lacks the magic she would need for a decisive blow against their enemies.
• Sorin fights these wraiths until she is attacked by a Starveling, a creature known for its fierceness and desperation.
• In the midst of their duel, Sorin recognizes the Starveling as an individual from her past who had tried to sell them a powerful claw.
• Sorin is beaten badly by the Starveling, ending up with a broken nose and a deep bite on her forearm.
• The Starveling doesn’t retreat until Sorin hears Magnes’s voice in her head commanding it to stop. Magnes arrives at the cave entrance just in time to save Sorin.
• Magnes retrieves the powerful claw from Sorin, giving her reassurance before turning his attention toward the Starveling. Before leaving, he does what he can to ease her pain.
• Even though she is wounded and in pain, Sorin decides to rejoin the battle with renewed bravery.