Allystin cleared her mind once again and concentrated, these spells were critical to her battles with the elves. In the past they would have come nearly unbidden to her mind and flowed through her body and out her fingertips, but lately ah yes lately. Her face mirroring the confusion and turmoil going on in her mind as she reviewed the disasters of the last few weeks.

Slowly but with ever increasing frequency she had felt an enemy’s presence in the area the elves called the glade. It was a malevolent presence that was probing her mind and interrupting the sequence of the spells. Spell after spell had failed and it was making her look the fool. If there was anything she hated, it was being made to look the fool. Allystin Nniz couldn’t see herself but even the smallest life form tried to silently get out of her way; her outwardly beautiful face was twisted with such hate and fury nothing but this *thing* would dare to be near her.