The goblin mage tried to speak again.
Lucien acted first.
He reached into his inventory and pulled out a reed-thin object that looked like a piece of dried plant and a piece of metal had been braided together into one.
Stillvoice Conduit. A Legendary Drop from Heartmurmur Reeds.
He crushed it in his palm.
The battlefield changed in a way no eye could see.
Sound did not vanish. Sound became property.
Lucien chose who could make it.
The goblin mage opened his mouth and no noise came out. Not even the shape of a syllable.
An Edict required reality to hear it.
Reality heard nothing.
The goblin mage's eyes widened in genuine alarm.
His lips moved in goblin cadence.
Silence answered him.
The allies felt the shift immediately like a weight lifting from the air.
The human woman barked a laugh, fierce and crude in the best way.
"Finally," she spat. "Shut your mouth and fight like a coward properly."
The goblin mage recoiled, furious, and began building formations instead.
