"So even Fairy Law, cast in dragon form, isn't enough to finish him in one strike."
Rowan Mercer pressed a hand against an ancient tree, drawing in its steady, patient vitality to replenish what he had spent. His wings unfurled, and he rose into the air, circling the battlefield with measured intent.
The exchange had told him everything he needed to know. Sauron could survive a direct execution. And if Sauron realized that, he would flee the instant the tide turned.
If Sauron escaped back to Angband, this battle would mean nothing.
That was why Rowan hadn't stopped Galadriel when she charged, nor Lúthien when she followed. He needed time. Time to build something Sauron could not simply outrun.
He had learned a sealing array not long ago, then reshaped it using Kabbalistic structures and ritual barriers into something new. Something uniquely his.
A prison, not a weapon.
Rowan halted at the edge of the battlefield and raised a single finger, inscribing glowing sigils into the air as he spoke.
"One of the five pillars that shape the world. Primordial Fire, arise. Witch-Queen, take form."
Flame gathered, folding inward, condensing into a towering female giant of living fire that stepped onto the ground with a tremor.
Rowan vanished and reappeared elsewhere, repeating the process.
"From earth shaped, by breath awakened. Stone, arise."
A giant of rock followed.
Then water. Then metal. Then wood.
Five colossal figures took their places, each anchoring a cardinal point. Rowan brought both hands together, fingers locking into a precise seal, and struck the ground.
"Metal. Wood. Water. Fire. Earth. Fivefold Sealing Array. Engage."
Energy surged upward. Lines of force connected the giants, forming a vast sigil in the sky. Black and white currents spiraled at its heart, drawing on the land itself as a translucent barrier descended and enclosed the entire battlefield.
This construct had no killing power. That was never its purpose.
Its strength lay elsewhere.
The elemental giants were not bound to fragile constructs or physical cores. They were manifestations sustained by Kabbalistic logic. Destroy one, and it would simply reform. Tear it apart, and it would rise again.
There were only two ways out. Defeat the caster. Or unravel the ritual itself.
Rowan had closed the second option entirely.
The barrier's true function was simple. Once Sauron was wounded, he would not escape.
The sudden formation of the seal sent a ripple through the battlefield. Sauron sensed it instantly. With a violent sweep of his dark blade, he forced Galadriel and Lúthien back and withdrew, regrouping with his vampire guard.
The Grey Elves fell back as well, gathering near Rowan with their wounded.
Even injured, even under pressure, Sauron had held the upper hand. Galadriel felt it clearly now. Without the sudden interruption, she and Lúthien would not have lasted much longer.
"His strength is absurd," Galadriel said, breathing hard, disbelief etched across her face. "I knew I couldn't beat him. I didn't think the gap was this wide."
Lúthien wiped sweat from her brow. "I could sing."
Both of them understood what that meant.
Her enchantment would not discriminate. Allies and enemies alike would fall into sleep. They could escape afterward, yes, but only retreat. No victory. No kill.
Galadriel clenched her fist, frustration burning bright. "Damn it. This was a perfect chance. You don't get Sauron alone like this."
She looked at the towering giants encircling the field. "Rowan. That thing you built… is it an attack spell? Can it hurt him?"
Rowan shook his head. "It's a seal. Its job is to keep him here. Not to kill him."
Across the barrier, Sauron laughed.
"Keep me from running?" He drove his sword into the ground and straightened, contempt written plainly across his face. "Human, you mistake the situation. I will not flee from you again."
In his eyes, the two elven women were already accounted for. Dangerous, yes, but not fatal. The only real threat was Rowan himself, and Rowan was visibly drained.
To Sauron, the conclusion was obvious.
The human had gained power, but not wisdom.
And that, Sauron believed, would be his undoing.