The plan to stabilize the Gate required the synchronized effort of a hundred mages. As preparations neared completion, tension built, but not all were loyal to the cause.
High Sorcerer Marek of the Eastern Reach, blinded by greed and ambition, sought to harness the Gate's power. Believing Helena was too bound by principles to wield the Gate's full potential, Marek incited a covert rebellion among a faction of the mages.
As the Convergence Ritual began, Marek unleashed his sabotage. Energy lines feeding the Gate stabilizer were disrupted, and chaos erupted among the ranks.
"Marek, you fool!" Helena's voice boomed, her fury palpable. She saw through the illusion and pinpointed Marek's location, her eyes blazing with uncontained wrath.
Marek, arrogantly confident, sneered as he confronted her. "You've kept the world chained to outdated ideals! It's time for a new era, and only the strongest will lead it."
With no hesitation, Helena invoked a spell of containment, imprisoning Marek in a vortex of inescapable force.
"Your ambition blinds you to the suffering you invite," she said, her voice sharp with condemnation. With a flick of her wrist, the vortex collapsed, obliterating Marek and ending the uprising in one decisive moment.
But his treachery left the ritual compromised, and the chaos forces swelled further.