As the king spoke Alexander resisted the urge to laugh at all of them.  This task would prove impossible to many, since they thought that most forms of energy were not physical.  Though it was true that a rock could be stopped by a barrier but fire might not, if the barrier truly stopped all physical attacks then fire would be no more effective.  A barrier of that size and power though, Alexander couldn't help but wonder who had created it and why?  He shook his head slightly.  Not having seen it or tested it, there was no point in getting all worked up.  All these questions and more could be answered upon arrival and no sooner.  A position he didn't want, though the title never hurt.  The roar that filled the hall irked him.  All of these mages were like children still, unable to contain their excitement around others.  Another proof they would fail.  The ability to control one's emotions was directly linked to their ability to control magic.

He briefly considered using magic to travel to the temple and beginning his study, but reconsidered.  Even if he did so it would tire him, and so many others would do the same.  They would see his magic, though many would fail to understand the complex castings from the southern isles.  A few may have studied it and may be able to interpret his runes though, and that could cause problems.  Better to arrive late and see their progress.  Walking to the temple took some time, and the temperate air blew through his robes unencumbered.  The runes stopped the chill and the extreme heat, but this air was not warm compared to his native land.  It felt nice.  Alexander could tell by the road he traveled on that this land had not suffered, it was wealthy too.  He wondered during his travel how a land could grow large and wealthy without developing a system as they had.  A good question for a book he might write.  Thoughts of writing and ruling disappeared as he saw the barrier.  Powerful indeed.  This dome felt to him as if it had been placed on this temple from above by a God or something else.  But Alexander shook that depressing thought, there were plenty of ways an entity could manage something like this that didn't require them all to fail and possibly get obliterated.  As he grew closer and closer he couldn't help but hear the dismay as many realized the difficulty of the task at hand.  So many would leave on the first day, some without trying, some without failing.  Time would tell.

Finally the mass was close to the wall.  Being rather late compared to many, Alexander noted that many elementalists cast their magics on the wall to no effect.  The dome seemed to absorb their power.  It made sense, if some lesser being had created the barrier and used physical energy to power it they could maintain it easily.  Or they could have some sort of trap set up to use all that energy it gathered.  Caution, not fear, would be his motive.  After all, he was mortal.

Alexander had almost given up watching when suddenly a wizard stepped up from the group that had been watching.  His aura was alive like a fire, though it was not tangible yet.  Looking at the aura instead of just feeling it he saw it for what it was.  An actual fire, reaching almost ten feet in height.  This wizard was far stronger than those who wasted their power first.  Alexander couldn't wait to see how the barrier reacted to so much power.  The air sizzled and the area seemed to heat up as the wizard ignited his aura, making it into a tangible fire and giving him incredible power, if temporarily.  A streak of white fire flew and hit the wall, it's reverberations actually sending blue lightning sparks across the dome.  Alexander smiled, studying the wall with his eyes that could [i]see[/i].  The wizard launched an entire wave of this fire, almost twenty-five feet in width, at the barrier as his aura disappeared.  It was like watching lightning in a storm dance across the clouds.  In the end though, the barrier stood with no damage done.  If anything it glowed with more power.  The elementalist of power no longer had even the average mage's aura.  Shaking his head at the foolish waste Alexander returned his attention to the dome.  All that energy was good, it lit up the membrane and allowed them to see the actual sections of the dome that held it up and projected energy.  This thing was not paper thin.  It was thick enough that they could not see the temple beyond.

Deciding not to test the dome while it was so strong Alexander walked around looking for somewhere to make camp.  Though it was only lunchtime he had no doubt that the dome would not be normal today, and he wanted to have a decent meal before writing out possible theories and magical tests to verify them.  Once he isolated a theory or eliminated a majority Alexander would consider a solution, or rather, a way inside.  Even if he knew the exact composition of this dome and had the power to tear it down, doing so from the outside was wasteful.  It's weakness was, without a doubt,inside.  So inside he would go.  Opening a small tear would still not be easily done.  Drawing a summoning circle on the ground, Alexander summoned his tent.  The circle lit up with energy before disappearing and poof, there was his tent.  Inside it was larger than it looked, thanks to enchantments he had cast when the tent was made.  It had a queen sized bed, a bookshelf, a small table and a place for him to cook.  It was fairly difficult to enchant something and mark it for summoning at the same time.  Usually they interfered with each other.  Quite a bit of work had gone into his tent.  After making a stew he sat out in front of his tent and stared at the mages that panicked and yelled at each other as they attempted to figure out what to do about the dome before them.

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