It was the first deliberate action of the fight and it was barely an action at all—just a breath, slow and controlled, released downward. But the ash that came with it was not a breath. It spread from him in a low rolling wave, hugging the ground, moving outward in all directions with the particular behavior of something heavier than air. Within five seconds the stone floor within a ten-foot radius of Ravok's position was obscured—not dramatically, not a wall of grey, but a drifting low layer that made the ground hard to read and the footing uncertain for anyone moving through it.
Drex didn't move into it.
He held his position and raised a pressure field in front of him—not aggressive, not directed at Ravok, just a wall of compressed air sitting between himself and the ash layer. The edge of the ash cloud reached the pressure field and stopped, curling upward along the barrier's surface, unable to push through.
