Huarti descends the dune face with his guardians below the terrace. The red beacon pulses ahead, fixing the basin where black scales crowd together in the gloom.

The host shifts at the glow, hissing low and tight. Several heads lift at once, searching the sand for the source of the mark.

Huarti keeps moving, and the sand seems to part around his long stride. The beacon hangs over the basin like an accusation, pointing straight to the densest knot of enemies.

A black dragon at the rim spreads its wings and snarls, drawing the whole host into motion. The hunt becomes a purge, and this basin is the first place Huarti can crush their incursion and seal the nursery's rule over the desert.

(similar to medusa's stare) to paralyze them","outcome":"success","trait":"Willpower","traitLevel":"Legendary","roll":0,"register":"advance","commitment":"committed","committedIntent":"paralyze the black dragon host with a devil's stare","sceneTitle":"The Devil's Stare Freezes the Host","location":"Undulating desert sands beneath the Obsidian Spires archive"}

Huarti stops on the slope and lets the world narrow to the host below. His stare hardens, flat and dreadful, and the basin answers with a sudden hush.

One black dragon locks first, wings half-open and rigid. Then another, then many, their necks fixed as if the sand itself has turned to stone around them.

A ripple runs through the packed host. Claws skid. Tail tips freeze mid-swipe. The whole front line stalls under Huarti's gaze, held fast in a web of fear and will.

A few rear ranks try to wrench free, but even their movement falters. The beacon glows over the trapped mass, marking every black scale as a target.

The host stands pinned in place, broken into a silent, glaring knot, while the desert waits for Huarti's next command.