Character 2 - serious looking angry man, dark hair, bearded
The last of the invaders were driven away, some smoking bodies remaining on the battlements.
He turned to his companions, they visibly tensed, wondering just what he was planning to do, or if he intended to attack them next.
"Yes, I briefly acted with you, but for my own reasons. Now, I am claiming this gatehouse for my own, and any who pass through this gate will have to pay me a fee.
You are, of course, welcome to build a new one..."
The kings had little to say to that. They did, after all, owe him greatly for his services, no matter how unwillingly they were delivered.
He drew the potential for lightning out of the sky into his staff, augmenting the dark aura he had previously stored there. Much of spell casting boiled down to power management, after all.
He started drawing his ward on the ground, leaving behind darkly glowing lines of magic.
It would not do to be too greedy... A reasonable amount of space for a wizard to claim.
And it would not do to claim the nearby shrine devoted to some halfling goddess, even though he would dearly love to claim the power source inside.
In is head he conferred with his body's true owner. A young man who had made a terrible bargain. "For a time I will let you have control.
I need you to reclaim my old spell books. Don't be too slow about it, either..."
Probably the same character, in a different location. Probably earlier in time
His lair was dark and foreboding. The rumble of thunder was partly natural, and partly a side-effect of his workings.
The castle was dark and menacing, and very dangerous on it's own before he started.
He left the ancient wards in place, tapping deeply on his magic, he wove several subtle and deadly traps.
It would not do to place them in any obvious places...
More power.
He pulled deeply from one of the creatures he had a pact with. He could feel it shriek fom whatever unfathomable distance away it was located.
Ah well, it should have known better than to bargain with the likes of him.
"Let's see..."
He wove in strands of darkness, the smell of old stone, and the ominous ancient feel of the castle.
He then blended the edges of his spells, so they would coil hidden in the darkness, waiting...
As his special added touch, they would slowly leach power from the environment, growing stronger with time.
"Excellent work, even by my standards."