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There is a hole in the wall melted through by dragon fire. The wards inlaid in the stone are tattered, shuddering when he brushes his awareness over them; they will take much time for him to repair(, to study the extent and nature of the damage, perhaps make improvements. Is it possible to make them immune to dragon fire itself? Or, at the very least, last longer—perhaps he could construct a series of overlapping wards that would activate in response to the threat and extent of damage, such as exploding outwards or entrapping the intruders—)
Maxim's sanctum has been compromised.
That was not his first thought, when their attackers had finally been taken care of. When he turned to a shaky VR-LA (to whom near-death is likely a common occurrence, and yet Maxim had never witnessed it with his own eyes, not until that moment when time seemed to stop), something like a laugh underlying his words. The crew of the Per Aspera has made powerful enemies, and that is a testament to how powerful they have become since he first met them. How much more powerful they may still—no, certainly will become.
It has been a long time since he last felt the heat of battle. Spells flying lightning-quick from his hands, the terror seizing him when he watches a comrade fall—the relief of watching them rise again, the rush of victory—all the strange feelings it inspires in him. Long-dormant limbs being powered up again, stuttering to a start.
Then VR-LA offers him a compromise. For Maxim to be able to freely travel the Planescape within the comfort of his own home, with a spell that has not seen use for centuries (that VR-LA and his crew had fought for, nearly died for themselves).
And Maxim is—
("It is the fight against entropy that makes life worth living.")
Maxim feels—
(Many organisms, when threatened, grow and evolve rapidly in order to survive. The threat of annihilation, extinction, is the current that runs below the drive of most societies to develop. To improve. To burn bright, to leave records of their existence no matter what has happened or what they have lost, before they inevitably flicker out themselves. Many things from the past thought to be dead actually live on today in changed forms, having adapted. This is the way of living things.)
—alive.
He accepts.