[ Something as dark and thick as lead drops coldly into the pit of Sage's stomach when Rowen doesn't even react to him. It sinks in like teeth, momentarily loosening up his guard. That's when the second arrow pierces the air, and Sage doesn't have the strength to defend himself from it fully. His armor's instincts pull wildly at him - he leaps backwards at the second before impact, avoiding the arrow but not its blast radius. As the energy hits the earth and explodes, it catches him and grounds him again, slamming him into the dirt and making the seams of his armor bite all over his body.

He's winded. He was winded before the hit and now all he can feel is the well of heat in his lungs and the cold sweat dripping down his temples. Somewhere behind him, he can hear Ryo calling for him. Sage pulls himself to a bended knee, flipping his sword back up. Its blunt side faces Rowen, the angle of the blade tucked defensively against his arm. It gleams intelligently. It searches. ]

Stay back, Ryo! Something's not right!

[ It's then that his gaze darts to Anubis, and his eyes grow hard. Angry. Ryo appears behind him, swords lifted, but unsure of where to focus. ]

What do you mean, not right? And what's going on with Rowen?

[ Sage doesn't even stand, not yet. He'll do something foolish if he does. Instead, he projects his voice towards the warlord. ]

It was you! What did you do to Rowen?