Ragnar's mind is a blur as he weaves his way through the fleeing crowd, his thoughts focused upon defending his home. His mind pauses for a moment, although his body continues to mechanically make its way through his fellow Suinians. This HAS become my home, to me. In spite of everything they do to me and all that they say behind my back...this is my real home. Funny how I never noticed that happening in my mind until now.

The clanging of the iron bell echoes louder in his ears as he reaches the outskirts of the town itself. Fires rage in every direction. Chaos dominates the peaceful civilians and they scramble to gather their most treasured belongings as they leave their homes behind. Men and children of all ages stand fierce in their doorways, brandishing any makeshift weapon they could gather in a hurry. Unfamiliar men, dressed in ragged clothing and wielding cutlasses, storm through the city without order. Several mages from Suin are gathering into a collective group to ward off the attack by the pirates. They take up a chant, but Ragnar's thoughts are broken by a pirate leaping in front of him.

The sharp edge of a cutlass tears through the air in the blink of an eye. Ragnar's command of his mana is even faster, forming an impenetrable armor of stone over his body. The blade breaks cleanly in two and the pirate stops grinning. Ragnar reaches up with his stone-encased arms and lifts the man into the air and hurls him at another pirate. Three pirates suddenly take notice of Ragnar and close in upon him. The one on Ragnar's left leaps forward with an overhead slash of his saber and Ragnar brings up his left arm, blocking the blow. To his right the pirate seeks to take advantage of the distraction and darts in low to tackle Ragnar, but a quick raising of the knee catches the pirate in the jaw and sets him reeling back, blood oozing from him mouth.

The final pirate drops his cutlass and falls to his knees, begging to be spared but Ragnar ignores the hollow pleas and swings hard with his right arm, rendering the man unconscious. By this time the professors from the university have put forth a defense of their own and slowly the pirate horde is being driven off. One of the pirates nearby grabs a young woman and starts to run off with her in tow. Ragnar makes a hasty decision and gives chase to the pirate, the ground trembling with each heavy step along the way as he is still encased in stone. He is gaining ground, slowly yet surely, and uses his mana to propel himself through the air, landing in front of the pirate. The scoundrel comes to a sliding halt and drops his captive, turning to run the other way but a large rock flies from Ragnar and cracks into the pirate's skull with a loud crack.

He picks up the sobbing maiden and carries her back to the original point of abduction. Ragnar fails to notice the wild stares in his direction: he is so used to being watched and mocked that he thinks nothing of it. He sets her down and, seeing the threat has left, drops the stone encasing from around his body. A loud gasp from the professors gives Ragnar pause, and he realizes the cause is him. They've never seen anyone able to be fully mobile while encased, except for Professor Jarn. The professor's words ring through Ragnar's mind:

This is very important, Ragnar: tell no one else what you can do.

He berates himself for the impulsive use of his power as the Administrator approaches him.

"Ragnar, I think you had best come with me to my office."

They turn to head back to the university when they notice something looks out of place. The Administrator screams out in horror upon the realization of what took place.

"Quick, everyone to the university! The pirate attack was a diversion! The ancient tomes must be saved at all cost!"