The archons directly below him shifted, setting themselves.
The trees on the periphery of Garin's vision shook and thrashed in a course directly toward him. As the thing drew nearer, he got a better look at it.
What he spied made him catch his breath.
A huge bear made of plants and vines burst through the foliage and charged the hound archons. It was not the largest specimen Garin had ever seen-not nearly as massive as the one he and Micus had found slain near that spot when they had been pursuing Tauran and the half-fiends-but the grotesque way the backlash of magic had warped the creature made the angel cringe.
Madness, Garin thought. Magic has fallen into madness, and it's taking the whole plane with it.
The angel spied several eladrin caught up in the growth that formed the creature's body. They appeared as a jumbled mess, with arms, legs, and heads poking out at random directions. They weren't merely entangled with the creature. They had somehow been fused with it. Garin could see vines piercing the chests, thighs, and even mouths of the hapless eladrin. When he did spy a face, the expression of horror and misery made his heart weep for them.
The nearest hound archons exchanged nervous glances as the warped beast rushed closer. One or two took a step backward.
'Steady,' Garin commanded. 'It's almost caught.'
When the creature got within ten paces of the closest of the hound warriors, the trap sprang.
Concealed netting ripped up off the floor of the forest. It engulfed the creature, wrapping it and confining it. The net closed tight, hoisting the beast up off the forest floor and sending it swinging lazily back and forth between the stout trees.
Garin sighed as the beast howled and thrashed. Thank Tyr it's just a small one, the angel thought.
He leaped from his perch and glided on feathered wings to the ground, near the front ranks of the archons. He offered a few of them praise and encouragement for their service. As the other angels landed near him, he began issuing commands. 'See what we can do to aid those trapped within it,' he said. 'And we must try to spare the beast too, if possible.'
The other angels and their archon assistants nodded and began their work. The process of separating creatures from the bizarre fusing they had experienced required both physical and spiritual efforts. The celestial creatures would be at it for quite some time.
A lantern archon appeared a pace away from Garin and hovered there. 'My pardon, holy one,' it said, 'but your attention is needed-'
The glowing ball's last words vanished in a roaring blast as wild magical energy surged through the forest all around them. Garin launched himself skyward as the ground tore apart. Curtains of color slashed across huge swaths of ground, shredding soil, tree, and creature alike.
Not again, Garin thought as he maneuvered to escape the deadly fields of raw arcane force. Please, Tyr, stop this madness!
Below Garin, several archons screamed and went silent. The rest managed to teleport themselves out of harm's way. The rippling, shimmering walls of magic churned across the landscape, tearing apart the forest like some terrible multi-hued tornado. Garin sped away from what he thought of as the 'edge,' where the astral shock waves slamming into the plane steadily consumed, bit by bit, the reality of the House of the Triad.
Just as abruptly as the outburst began, it stopped. In its wake, acres of the world had been obliterated. Where forest once vanished into the haze of distance, it simply ended. A roiling, rumbling barrier of silvery-blue clouds shot through with crackling deeper blue lightning marked the border between the House and… whatever lay beyond.
By Garin's estimation, the forest ceased to exist nearly half a mile from where the portal to the World Tree once stood. The waves of energy had chewed up that much of the land. He hated to think of what the other side of the gate was like.
If this keeps up, there won't be anything left of the House, Garin thought. Surely Tyr must know this!
A small voice in the back of the angel's mind began to question whether Tyr was, in fact, capable of stopping the horrific waves of destruction crashing against the plane. Garin chastised that voice and silenced it. Tyr knows what he is doing, even if you don't.
Garin turned his attention back to the aftermath before him.
Hound archons and other devas moved through the woods, seeking some sign of others in need of help. Based on the initial reports, they had lost several of their number-four or five hound warriors and two devas-as well as the corrupted bear.
'Garin,' a voice called from behind him.
He looked up and back and spotted the lantern archon. 'Yes?'
'As I was reporting before, your attention is needed farther south, along the Springflow Trail. It appears to be even more urgent now, after… that upheaval.'
'I'll get there promptly.'
A cry of agony rose up from the distance. The lantern archon vanished. Garin turned and sped in the direction of the forlorn sound.
A hound archon had been caught in the whirlwind of magic. The tumult had melded him with a tree. His face, arms, and feet protruded from the warped, twisted trunk. The creature was still alive, but Garin was uncertain for how much longer. The tree had become animate and was expanding, threatening to engulf the archon, to absorb him.
Angels and hound warriors worked feverishly to halt the growth of the tree and save their companion.
'Take over here,' Garin ordered one of the devas. 'I'm needed elsewhere.'
The other angel turned his attention to the desperate rescue.
'And be careful,' Garin added as he went aloft. 'If another of those arcane maelstroms erupts, get everyone out of here.'
The other angel nodded and returned to the task at hand.
Garin soared above the treetops, opting for a higher view of the terrain as he sped toward his new problem. To his right, the great wall of roiling Other continued to churn.
Garin spied another maelstrom nearby. He increased his speed, angling to get near the storm without getting so close that he was in danger of being affected by it. The veils of color and light sliced through the forest like a barrage of whirling blades. Everywhere they touched, reality changed.
We're losing this fight, Garin realized. We cannot slow it down.
Shoring up his resolve, he dived toward the place the lantern archon had indicated. He could already see another crew of devas and archons scattering before the churning, obliterating maelstrom. Garin sought out the commander.
The fleeing angel heard Garin's shout and changed his course. They met in midair, well back from the surging power of the wild magic. 'It's too much,' the other angel said, panting. 'That's the fourth one just since I sent word to you. We can't do any good here.'
Garin gave the other angel a stern look. 'We have our responsibilities,' he said, chastising the deva. 'You will hold your position and work to cure the damage done until you receive new orders. Is that clear?'
The other angel glared back. 'You would sacrifice us all to this madness just because that was the instruction handed down to us? You're as foolish as Tyr himself.'
Garin, dumbfounded at his counterpart's insurrection, could only gape.
'Perhaps Torm has a more level head on his shoulders and can think of better ways to use those loyal to him. If you wish to die needlessly, then you and your rigid commands are more than welcome to do so. I leave you to it.' With that, the deva turned and flew away.
Garin watched the traitorous angel depart, sadness filling his heart. Please act soon, Tyr. Your followers begin to abandon you. Hope is dwindling.
Below him, another eruption of magic roared. He looked down to see the very land turn inside out, blossoming like some bizarre, nightmarish flower. When the upheaval abated, a strange seedlike object twenty paces across bobbed in the ground as though it sat upon the surface of water.
Several archons approached the peculiar object cautiously. As they drew near, it shimmered and shook, then began to crack along the top.
